Samhain

[Macha]

Truly the scent of autumn itself -- damp woods, fir needle, and black patchouli with the gentlest touches of warm pumpkin, clove, nutmeg, allspice, sweet red apple and mullein.

I must admit that I didn't expect to get a hold of a bottle of Samhain, since I know how loved and cherished this fragrance is, and it came out several months before I discovered BPAL. No one was more surprised than me to discover that I'd successfully won it at jj_j's auction, not just a 5ml but a 10ml! I was terribly excited: without question, Halloween and all its associations are my very favorite time of year, beating every other season out hands down. I was whooping for joy on this one.

Wet, in bottle: I smell a strong boozy apple note, and pumpkin, but layered over all of it is an almost rancid butter note and strong, strong honey. Oh dear. It didn't occur to me that this would be so...buttery. Or that I would have such a strong reaction to that. My boyfriend doesn't smell any pumpkin, just a buttery spiciness. He likes it.

Wet, on skin: This scent is very true from bottle to skin, and I might have loved that if I loved how it smelled in the bottle, but truthfully I'd have given a lot to have lost that butter honey smell. No such luck however. Instead I lose the apples and gain some spice, but not enough to make any real difference.

Dry, on skin: Damnit, I love cooking with honey! I love pumpkin! I adore apples! But I've never been a huge fan of the smell of butter in large doses, and I'm learning the hard way that too much of it makes me a bit nauseous. After a looong time this scent calms down to spice and wood smoke and dry leaves, and is more tolerable, but it's a long time getting there, and I find myself scowling every time I catch a whiff of my own perfume.

Conclusion: I had hopes that it was one of those 'time of the month' things, but I smelled it on my boyfriend when he wore it a few days later and had almost the identical gag reaction. I would trade it away, but naturally my dear Irish boy ADORES it, the first scent yet on which we have had such diametric disagreement. For his sake, I may try it a few more times, but I don't even enjoy the scent in a locket, so my options may be limited to trying to find a good layering scent to go with it. I can see the artistry and skill of it. I can understand how people would adore it. Ultimately, though, Samhain is not for me.

This makes me very sad.

[voodoobaby]

Got a few imps in a swap for a bottle of Snow White, and this was one of them.

 

In the vial: A lot sweeter than I expected. I get the caramel smell with a little spiciness underneath. Yikes, I'm scared I won't care for this.

 

Wearing: Apples! Tart red apples, but for some reason it doesn't seem like the kind of apple you would eat. More the type that you would put on display or photograph. Of course, this isn't all apples. I get a slight touch of patchouli, but this patchouli is nowhere near being overpowering. The wood is prominent as well, as is a sharp spicy smell. I swear there's cinnamon here. Oh, and luckily no pumpkin. I don't want to smell like a jack-o-lantern!

 

Later: Oh. my. goodness. I want to make sweet, sweet love to myself wearing this. The alcoholic note comes out so pleasantly and warmly. I smell like a perfect mulled wine! It's so gorgeous! While wearing this, especially in this stage, half of all I could say was "Man, I smell GOOD!" or the alternate "Smell me!" when someone I knew entered the room (I was at the library).

 

Overall: Yowza! This is definitely in my top three list, if not my #1. It's such a "me" scent--a perfect blend of earthy and fiery, but neither too strongly. A very good deal for my Snow White (which hated me). If this is resurrected this coming September/October, you'd better believe I'm ordering a big bottle.

[anshara]

OH Samhain HOW DO I LOVE THEE!!!!

 

In the imp: spice lucious warm nutty spice freshly toasted and milled (HEAVEN)

Wet- swiped on my wrist - :MOAN: warm spice with a sweet pumkin basenote! I'm going to cry I smell heavenly!!!!

 

Drydown: Immediate and Orgasmic!!!!! Warm pumkin accented by sweet spice... Must be the apples mixing with the cloves and patchuli.... This is insane, I'm going up to perfect strangers and telling them to smell me... I'm edible this is gorgeous like a cloud of the best freshly baked pumkin cookies on the planet...

 

Elizabeth, I beg you please bring this back next year and don't change a thing about it!!!!

ETA: AS IF this could get any better!!! It's faded to the sweetest subtlest most sophisticated patchuli after having stayed true to warm sweet pumkin spice goodness for hours!!!! I MUST HAVE A BOTTLE OF THIS!!!!

Edited June 1, 2005 by Shollin

[phaedrine]

This is one of the first bpal scents that really gave me scentgasm. It was glorious!

 

Both in the bottle and on the skin, Samhain is far more apple-y than I had expected, but it's the warm, sweet apple cider, full of spices. It's hot spiced liquid on a cold day.

 

I love the scent, it throws for hours and hours, and I just keep thinking "I smell goooood" when I wear it.

[Witch's Dagger]

Samhain

 

I hate to say it, but Samhain was the worst Black Phoenix experience I've ever had. Like others have mentioned, I get strong boozy butter with a little apple and a lot of caramel. The apple, though, is very, very sweet, yet biting at the same time. I recoiled slightly, and I must have moved my arm funny, because a whole bunch of it spilled all over me. I left (for Borders) hoping that it would grow on me, but it just got worse and worse, and now I can't even open the bottle without needing some coffee beans to "erase" the smell. It's way too sweet, in a drunk kind of way. Not for me.

[nevermore]

Samhain, on my skin, is mostly smoky autumn air with a bit of apple thrown in for good measure. The first time I tried it, I really didn't like it, and considered swapping it without trying it again. I did try it again, and it's really grown on me. In fact, it's the LE I wear most, because it's so darn addicting and because I need my fall fix (as we get about 3 days of "fall" here in Saskatchewan).

[ViolentKitten]

Samhain is a strange brew on me, which I found difficult to review, even though I’ve had it almost three months now.

 

My very first reaction from the bottle was crisp apples, spices and woods. Wow!

 

On my skin ~ A strong gust of full rounded spices overwhelms me. I can really feel the woods and crisp autumn air… And then come crisp, juicy red apples…lots of apples! There’s some freshly chopped chunky pumpkin drifting about in there too. But, whoa, it’s so intense – too much Samhain is definitely too much – catches in my throat in an unpleasant manner and causes a sneeze-fest. But as it warms to my skin, it’s mulled cider steaming on the stovetop with the woods, fir needle and patchouli giving it a snugly background to rest upon. Hours later, the drydown is even more lovely…like spiced apple pie filling, soft, warm and musky. Minor thing though, there is note in there, and I hesitate to say it, because it’s not quite that, but it reminds me of ammonia - could be the mullein or fir needle – it’s very faint though, not strong enough to stop me wearing it. If it does bother me, I wear it with Sugar Skull, it makes Samhain deliciously foody, and Sugar Skull has a strong enough sweetness to take on Samhain’s robustness.

 

Overall, while a wee bit ambivalent at first, I do like Samhain. As long as I don’t apply too much, it’s a glorious scent and so beautifully blended.

 

PS: This is one of the longest wearing BPALs I’ve worn – applied it at 8am one day and it was still going strong 5 ½ hours later at 1.30pm. I wear it to bed sometimes too, and it’s still there in the morning.

 

PPS: While writing this review I actually had a comment that it smelled yummy, like pipe tobacco! So it’s got great-smelling sillage too…yay!

Edited February 1, 2005 by ViolentKitten

[blackwifey]

Without a doubt my favourite smell ever! Not my favourite bpal smell but my favourite smell in the whole wide world!!! I'm an autumn baby and it is the most delightful of seasons so when I saw the description of this I thought "that's me" but was too slow to get it, stoopid Den So, I picked myself up and dusted myself off and sat in wait in front of eBay until someone decided they didn't like it. I got some!!! I was SOOO happy

This is bottled autumn. It's walking through woods while season reddened leaves spiral to the ground, it's curling up with hot herbal tea while your dog snoozes on your lap, it's getting ready for your hallow's eve and all the excitement that brings but it also possesses a certain melancholy quality. Not in a bad way I hasten to add. You know how sometimes you don't feel happy and you're leaning towards sad, you just don't know why? But in a way you can take comfort from it? I get that feeling from Samhain.

On me, it's a very warming smell and quite strong in a woodsy way but dry wood, not earthy as such. I also got quite a herby scent. It has a large bonfire element to it. It's long lasting but not strong. I find it so hard to describe things in the proper way, i'm sorry. All I can use are the images they conjure up so i'm sorry if this isn't much help

All I can say is, this isn't an oil you want, it's an oil you NEED! I can't wait 'til I can get it again, i'll be putting in a rather massive order I wish this was an all year round scent but then it probably wouldn't feel as special. It gives me something to look forward to I suppose *walks off kicking the ground and grumbling like a 6 year old who isn't allowed to go out to play *

Edited February 2, 2005 by blackwifey

[requieminblack]

I have anxiously been trying to get a hold of Samhain ever since I discovered BPAL. From everyone’s reviews here this one sounds like perfection in a bottle to me. The lovely Ms Astrid was kind enough to swap me a bottle, which I just received today. Squee!

 

First sniff from the bottle- Woh, patchouli!

 

After 10 minutes- The patchouli has settled down now thank goodness because patchouli and I do not get along. Now I am getting the autumn woody smell...damp woods, fir trees, rotting leaves. Nice, but not what I was expecting! Where is the pumpkin spice?

 

After 30 minutes- Ok, the spiced apple and pumpkin has come out to play now. Yea! The damp earth scent is dominate though. I am surprised that some people described this as 'buttery spice sweet’. I don't get that at all. To me this is a walk in the woods on a crisp autumn day with the scent of baking apple pies and jack o' lanterns in the air.

 

Summery-Samhain smells like...Samhain! Not what I was expecting but I love it anyway!

Edited February 4, 2005 by requieminblack

[diabolique]

i've been more wishy washy about samhain than any other scent; i didn't care for it, initially, but gave it a couple of chances before i swapped my bottle to someone else. i realized a few months later how much i regretted this decision and swapped for another 5mL of it, but wound up with a 10mL (because indigowhatever rocks my world). i loved it at first and wore it quite often, but the powdery pumpkin smell started to get on my nerves, so i passed my bottle onto jasminepearl's loving arms.

 

the last time i wore this, i actually got some negative reactions. i accidentally spilled my imp on myself, and didn't have much time to wash it off because i was at school. i washed as much off as possible before heading back to class and people couldn't figure out where the smell of tobacco was coming from. i thought this was strange, as i've never actually gotten any tobacco out of samhain at all. it's always been a somewhat sweet pumpkin with a powdery edge.

 

so, yeah, i've had a pretty rocky relationship with samhain. i don't care if you don't think these kind of scents are for you, every BPAL fan should at least try this. it's truly marvelous and it might just surprise you.

[AlectoNox]

Honey wine. I don't do so well with wine scents, so this one I have to be careful with and only wear when I'm feeling especially tolerant. I think I was expecting more 'red' autumny scents from this one, but there are other bpal perfumes that have that covered already. It is a brilliant scent, I just wish my skin chemistry could handle it better. I would *love* to smell it on someone else, though.

[Sheila]

When I first learned about BPAL, I kept hearing about this fabulous LE scent called Samhain. I was curious, and read the description, and thought it sounded awful. I didn't want to smell like a pumpkin! When it was rereleased at Halloween, I didn't order it. Then I got an imp in a swap...and immediately had to swap for a full bottle. (The same thing happened to me with Snow White.)

 

This scent is very well-blended. In the bottle it has that foul popcorn-flavored-Jelly-Belly scent that I've noticed with some of the foody blends. But once it's on, it morphs into creamy loveliness with a hint of clove, apple, nutmeg. It's sweet and smooth. I love it.

[joseybird]

In the bottle, Samhain is dark, sweet patchouli...like the distant sounds of midnight revels on a warm, black night.

 

On my skin....

 

Well, I tried it once then went on a desperate search for another bottle X)

 

Tart apples, pumpkin, a touch of smokiness (amazing use of patchouli) and wine...some beautifully blended "green" notes...

 

How I wish I could have discovered this in the autumn, when it was fresh and crisp and dark out =( I have a feeling I'll be saving this beauty for colder days!

 

Edit: Well, it's still cold out, and I find myself reaching for Samhain all the time! =)

Edited February 26, 2005 by joseybird

[Gin]

2003 - Sharp acrid smoke over sweet apple. This is *the* scent of autumn nights spent outside with friends around a roaring fire.

 

2004 - Very similar to 2003, but a bit sweeter. It made me feel a bit sneezy when worn on the skin, but it has a fabulous throw and made a wonderful room scent just by sitting in a closed bottle in the dark corner of my bedroom.

[fragrantgrasse]

This scent's rapturous previews & cult status had me so curious I was dying to try it and discover it's appeal. Then it was re-released this fall and I purchased 5ml.

 

I slathered it on AS I was smelling it out of the bottle, being the adventurous type.

 

I discovered Samhain isn't really me. I was also distressed to discover it lasting power is nothing short of miraculous.

 

However (as I have discovered so many of Beth's creations are) it is SO immensely intruiging, complex & multi-layered with a certain pastiche (is that the right word?), that I find myself constantly sniffing it anyway.... And, see, that's what I love about BPAL. The fact that I can still enjoy a fragrance that I don't even like!

 

Does that make *any* sense?

 

So for today's review, I put Samhain on a professional perfumer testing paper.

 

The initial top notes wafting throught the air are ones of strong tobacco & the sweetness of fermenting apples with a hint of wood fires smoldering in the background.. This is certainly an autumn scent. There is an undercurrent of something casting a 'perfumy' mid-note that I can't quite identify maybe all the pumpkin & spices.

 

The fir needles, damp woods & black patchouli to me, are the soft backdrop to all the up front sweetness of apples, spices and pumpkin.

 

I am enjoying this scent in small doses and occasionally in a candle burner at night. Even on a scent blotter it casts its warm autumnal shadow....

[Malista]

Samhain

 

Until you try any particular blending artist’s scents you can’t really know what will happen on your skin, and when I first read the description of Samhain I had never knowingly smelled any BPAL scent. Still, I felt an instant affinity with Samhain, just from reading the notes involved. Since I’ve only known about BPAL for a few weeks, all the scents I have are from eBay, and all of them were bought unsniffed (as of course were my first two largish orders, pending, from BPAL itself). Today I received my bottle of Samhain, and didn’t wait to take off my coat before ripping open the box.

 

I didn’t have hopes for this scent – I had certainty. I knew with a knowledge transcending common sense that it was me in that bottle.

 

In the bottle: Woodsy – more fir than pine, thank heaven, faintly spicy. Chilly. Wet oak and maple leaves underfoot, so thick you can’t smell the cold wet soil as you walk along.

 

Wet: Instant mulled cider! On my wrists, “family” cider; in décolletage, hard Somerset cider spiced with nutmeg and cloves, heated in a pewter tankard with a poker from the applewood fire. This is pure sense memory, because I spent a Samhain in Somerset curled up in a wing chair by just such a fire, drinking just such a cider from a pewter tankard and listening to a fine older literary gentleman’s collection of British Isles traditional music as he picked and chose it for me, track by track, tuning the concert to my reactions. Earlier we had gone to Glastonbury and been caught in a wave of fermenting apple scent from a nearby press whilst still at the bottom of the Tor. I wrote a poem about that. This is a combination of the cold late afternoon at the Tor, drowning in cider-in-the-making, and the later evening, toasty by the fire, drinking last year’s pressing. This has a pretty powerful throw, but Himself sniffs appreciatively from four feet away, then wants a closer inspection, sniffs down my shirt and chortles, and it’s all good.

 

Dry-down: Still cider, still spiced, all warm, now. Some jack-o-lanterny notes (the others are right – pumpkins being partially cooked by flaring, waxy candles. Lovely). No fir or leaves at all, now.

 

Dry: Now the patchouli peeks in again, bringing the leafy scents back. My skin adores patchouli; it goes all warm and creamy on me. This doesn’t get to creamy, but stays crunchy and dry and spicy and just right for autumn leaves. Still apples – back to the outdoorsy cider fermenting scent. Pumpkin retreats to the background, but is still evident. This phase lasts quite a long time.

 

Fade: Leaves and yesterday’s jack-o-lanterns in the afternoon sun, lying close to the skin now, with only the occasional faint waft as I type. Now the patchouli drifts toward warm and creamy, still with its familiar spice, but no edge to speak of. It’s still very present – I’m not sure I should call this the Fade, because although it isn’t wafting, and I would likely be comfortable getting into an elevator with others, at this point, it isn’t moving off into the distance, either. Ooh! Apples are back, very faintly.

 

Summary: I was absolutely right on about my feeling for this scent. This is a very strong aspect of Malista – what my friend Adrienne calls my "Goldberry aspect." Warm, not tame, but welcoming and merry; the Libran who wants everyone to have what they need and be comfortable, while maintaining a little reserve. This is an expansive scent, not a bumptious one. The night will end in wistful music, not a brawl.

[Phaedra]

Samhain 2004: I recently got an imp of this and am already searching for bottles on eBay. This is gorgeous!! At first this smells very soft, floral and a bit resinous. It's kind of hard to describe. It smells smoky- like real smoke from a fire. There is a definite apple scent in here too in the middle notes. It dries down very soft and lightly sweet. This is a very unique blend and I feel really good wearing it. I am hoping this will be brought back again this fall. Another truly stellar creation from Beth!! I did end up buying a bottle of this in the spring of 2005.

 

Samhain 2005 I love the 2004 version of this so it was a no brainer that I'd be ordering a bottle of the 2005 version. My 2004 bottle is still pretty full but that didn't stop me On to the review- wet this is the same lovely blend of spicy apples and autumn leaves as the 2004 version. When first on it's spicy apples with a hint of smoke. In the background there's a bit of honey (at least to my nose there is). After several hours I can smell hints of patchouli. This is very similar to the 2004 version but is maybe a bit softer and sweeter- this might just be due to the aging of the 2004 bottle I have. Either way this is spectacular!! Lovely

Edited November 29, 2005 by Phaedra

[cormeretrix]

on me and to me, it smelled like an orange glade candle. one of the special holiday edition ones that they release in the fall.

 

(i have such a weird nose!)

[anmorata]

Samhain:

 

Oh, I could've loved you, Samhain. But my body chemistry hates me and made this into nothing but smoke and baby powder.

 

Ahh well. Back to the drawing board.

[Medici]

^^ Likewise. This started off so good wet - delicate spices & damp woods - three hours later, all I've got is baby powder.

 

You, my little impy friend, are going to the burner because my skin hates you.

 

Poor thing.

[wickedgoddess]

First time I tried this, I had an allergic reaction. Since I am allergic to many commercial perfumes, I didn't worry too much about it. But I came back to it today, and OMG, this is simply a masterpiece!

 

Wet - this is too well-blended to pick out any one note, but it smells autumny and sweet.

 

Dry - help me, I can't stop sniffing myself. Yes I am having a slight allergic twinge, but this is so good that I don't even care. I smell patchouli and clove and honey and smoke and the sweetness of pumpkin and apple, but the overall scent is greater than the sum of it's parts. Five hours later and I can still smell this, which is almost unheard of on me. I so need a big bottle of this!

 

On the wickedgoddess scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best, this rates a 5.

[olympia301]

Another Limited Edition I couldn't wait to put on. My favorite holiday with notes of autumn, I had high expectations of Samhain. Sorry to say, it wasn't me. Headshop, all I could get out of this one was the inside of Bleeker Street or High on the Hill. Maybe it was my unschooled nose or my dislike of the deep notes or my skin chemistry but it was a flop on me.

 

The color is beautiful, the idea is sublime, its limited edition status gives it a great deal of cache but it simply wasn't my perfume. Sad to say, I swapped it away...but...the receiver loved it to pieces. So that ended well and it just goes to show you that what's just "feh" on me may be glorious on you.

 

If BPAL comes out with it again this year at Halloween, I will give it another try. No kidding

Edited May 9, 2005 by olympia301

[pensive]

In the imp: Crunchy fall leaf pile, spicy cooking something.

Wet: Mm, yum. Spicy.

Drying: Oh my. I smell like hot apple cider. (I apples)

Impressions: It's fall in an imp.

Verdict: The ultimate fall scent. I hope it comes around again.

Edited May 21, 2005 by pensive

[mobilejessie]

I could have sworn I'd reviewed this a while back, but after a fruitless search, I realized I was wrong. Samhain did the strangest thing today.... I bought it from a forumite about two months ago, and I was massively disappointed. The first four times I tried it (over a period of a few weeks) it smelled like apple-scented baby powder, and I flat-out hated it. I had been so excited to try it because I ADORE fall scents, and every note sounded unbelieveably wonderful. I was very upset with my skin chemistry, and opted to put it in the swap pile in case someone had something I couldn't otherwise get.

 

However, that all changed last night when I tried it again. I recently got my bottle of Hexennacht, and I immediately noticed its similarity to Samhain. I loved the fir needle and woodsmoke notes, and I was so sad to have gotten only one bottle. Hexennacht worked so well on my skin that after a few days of wearing it, I thought I'd give Samhain another go.

 

I'm SO glad I did, because it smells fantastic now. I have no idea what changed, but it no longer smells like baby powder. My fiancé keeps telling me that I smell like apples, butter, and pumpkin pie! It's a nice link between Hexennacht and Jack, and I'm glad to have something that's both foody and woodsy without being overwhelmingly one or the other.

 

I can't stop sniffing my wrists, and I'm beyond thrilled that I have a more woodsy compliment to Jack (which I wear damned near constantly) to wear when I'm not feeling quite so foody.

[Reinaluna]

Samhain: How lucky I feel to have been able to get a 5ml of this in a swap. This blend is very nice and it is a lot more my style than Hexennacht. I smell the Patchoulie and the sweet red apple and fir. It is very autumnish, and has great staying power. This is a very deep and spicy blend. I love it, a definite keeper!