Theme in Yellow

[puck_nc]

Ghost songs and love to the harvest moon: fresh pumpkins warmed by candlelight and aglow with Halloween joy.

Origin: decant circle

Initial Thoughts: With the very first Pumpkin Patch in 2005 I have learned the delights of pumpkin in perfume. Whether it's paired with woodsy notes or foody ones, I like a variety of the BPAL pumpkin blends. But the closest I've ever come to smelling a lit jack o'lantern was another company's Halloween scent, and it was paired with autumn leaves and other notes. So this was definitely on my must-try list.

In the Vial: Buttery pumpkin with a strong dash of nuts and spices. The first impression is overwhelmingly pumpkin pie.

Wet: Wow. The beeswax jumps out so fast my nose is spinning. And the pumpkin is much more like raw pumpkin rather than cooked with spices.

Drydown: The spices come back but do a better job of blending with the rest of the notes. And the candle impression remains. I'm willing to bet there's some cinnamon in here because my skin is itching slightly where I applied.

Verdict: Something pumpkin and foody lovers must try. I hesitate about a bottle because of the skin irritation - it's not at all severe, but it's nagging and persistent. Edited October 25, 2013 by puck_nc

[Floria]

This is a foodie pumpkin, not a Jack O'Lantern pumpkin. It reminds me of Jack, but without the peach note and the buttery-spicy quality is not as strong. There's a bit of warm sweetness to the blend that might be beeswax, but it's not an overpowering honey scent. It's very mellow and well-blended.

I'm a bit disappointed that this doesn't smell like Jack O'Lanterns, but it's very pleasant and autumnal.

[Poenari]

Thankfully, this is not pumpkin guts. It is a sweeter scent than I had expected, with only a hint of butter, not nearly as inyourface as the butter in Jack. I think the sweetness is actually coming from the beeswax. I "get" the impression of a candlelit jack-o-lantern, although thankfully there is none of the burning pumpkin flesh that turns me off from carving and lighting pumpkins myself. This is a very nice autumn scent, but it's not special enough for me to need more than my decant. However, I am glad that I tried it.

[StevenBoatman]

I..........don't actually get much pumpkin from this one! (Not that I'm complaining, mind you.)

 

In the imp: Woah, woah, woah. Back that truck UP. Is that...Gluttony I smell? Really? Yep, it's true. To my nose, Theme in Yellow smells almost identical to the now-defunct Gluttony in the imp.

 

On, wet: Less of the Gluttony smell now. It's changed into some dry, almost woodsy spices. No real pumpkin.

 

On, dry: The spices have calmed down a bit. There's a tiny hint of pumpkin waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay in the back, but I get mostly spices and slightly sweet candle wax.

 

Overall: This isn't really what I expected from Theme. It's not at all bad, in fact it's rather pleasant. But there are several scents I like more, so I think I'll just stick with my imp.

[stellamaris]

I kind of really love this one, it's warm and very rich, sort of reminiscent of A Wonderful Light

[zankoku_zen]

Warm waxy pumpkin. Smells very much like a Yankee Candle. Warm, rich, waxy.

[Gwydion]

In bottle: Fresh gourd. It still has the pumpkin spice feel to it, but it does smell fresh. Wet: There is a yellowish feel to this gourd. I love this, but am worried how it will age. It’s so perfect now, but delicate. Dry: Wears well fresh gourd with extra sweet.

[tinyvulture]

On me, this is more foody pumpkin than fresh pumpkin...buttery, cinnamony, sweet. The beeswax is only slightly noticeable since my skin amps pumpkin. I was hoping for that scent of freshly-cut-into pumpkin rind. This is more like a pumpkin pie-scented candle. I think it will be a lovely room scent, but probably not something I'd wear.

[doomsday_disco]

In the decant: Sweet, lightly-spiced syrupy pumpkin with a bit of beeswax. This seems to be a different pumpkin note than the one found in this year's pumpkin patch scents. It does not remind me of raw pumpkin guts whatsoever, and this is a good thing.

 

Wet: This is very similar to how it was in the decant, but I think the pumpkin note has a slightly buttery quality in addition to the sweet syrupy quality. Although the pumpkin note is lightly spiced and reminds me a bit of baking pumpkin, it also has a fresh quality to it that makes me think of an actual pumpkin as opposed to spiced pumpkin puree. I can smell the sweet beeswax as well, which helps give the impression of a newly carved pumpkin warming up as a candle burns within it (save for the smell of pumpkin guts).

 

The boy thinks that it is rather foody.

 

Dry: Hmm. This is actually a lot sweeter than I thought it would be. The pumpkin note is still lightly spiced. I am getting even more of a warm, fresh pumpkin with candle wax now.

 

Verdict: I had really high hopes for this, but I guess I prefer my pumpkin more heavily spiced or blended with other notes. I do get the 'fresh pumpkins warmed by candlelight' from the description of this scent, but sadly, it is just too sweet for me, and I don't see myself wearing this as much as something like Snakes in the Pumpkin Patch or Dorian in the Pumpkin Patch. I am glad that I went for a decant instead of buying a bottle.

[Redillon]

Well, I put it on and got the thick buttery note but as it warmed on my skin it turned into a real squashy scent. It was as if I rubbed a gourd on my arm.

 

But it didn't last long at all on me and it turned to straight up candle wax after an hour.

[Rshields]

Pumpkin pie spice with extra dashes of cinnamon. I wish I got the beeswax candlelit jack-o-lantern impression too. Sadly this is all overly cinnamon spiced, baked pumpkin pie with a buttery tone. Not sure if I will need my bottle.

 

After the initial cinnamon-spicy buttered pumpkin,I am left with a faint sniff from a pumpkin candle. Lasted about an hour on me.

Edited November 6, 2013 by Rshields

[taramarie]

I love the BPAL pumpkin blends, so I had to get this. In the bottle and wet on my skin, it's lovely straight-up pumpkin. As it dries, there's a light note that must be the candlelight. This is perfect.

[surlygurl]

Pumpkin and I normally don't get along. Pumpkin 5 - 2006 worked, and that's it. Reviewers said this was buttery (aka Jack), but not on me. I don't even really get pumpkin. Instead I get a thick golden yellow scent spiced with cinnamon and possibly other pumpkin pie spices. Something warm (probably beeswax) contributes to the glow. It's kinda fun on my skin but would make an amazing room/ candle scent!

[astarinel]

I am a glutton for pumpkin punishment.

 

Every weenie release, I always end up going against my better judgment and trying a pumpkin scent or two, fully aware that they will most likely turn into hot buttered fail on my skin.

 

This was unfortunately no exception. Thick buttery pumpkin. Not very spicy, slight honey-waxy note, but oh my god pumpkin.

 

Maybe next year I'll be able to stop myself.

 

Probably not.

[asciident]

Wet: There’s definitely something spicy in this, but the scent is very much of fresh, creamy pumpkin more than it’s about spices.

 

First on: Warm, creamy. Like a delicious-smelling pumpkin-scented candle.

 

Dry: It’s not really a foodie scent, even though it’s obviously a scent about food. What I mean is that it’s not really a dessert scent. It’s more like a warm jack o’lantern with a hint of spice lingering.

 

 

[CiaoBonefish]

Wet: Sweet robust pumpkin with a hint of cinnamon and wax in the background. This is sweet and glowing and so round smelling if that makes any sense. There is an almost sparkly quality to this scent and I find that the wax gets more and more beeswax and prominent as it starts to dry. I'm really surprised about how sugary sweet this is becoming!

 

Dry: Pretty much the same as wet except everything is far better blended together now and I don't get that sparkly quality to it as I did before and it isn't really super sweet at all anymore which is surprising because I kind of liked the sugary quality to it. It is mainly pumpkin and beeswax with a hint of cinnamon and spices. It is all very smooth and not as glowy as before.

 

Overall: I thought I would love this more than some of the other pumpkin scents from the Halloweenies, but something about this is just too mellow. I hoped for a bit more sweetness and I got it initially, but after a while it just dried down to the almost typical cinnamon pumpkin scent with only a tiny bit of beeswax. Overall I found it to be underwhelming, but I think it may be my skin chemistry. My decant will be more than enough!

[Soniadevi]

I'm not sure I'm smelling the same thing that everyone else is smelling, because I simply cannot stand this scent on me. It starts off ok, quite foody, then it all goes downhill, burning into a strange stale cookie with the eggs that have curdled. Awful. I love most BPAL's, even the questionable ones, but this is the first time I have actually hated a scent. I couldn't wash it off fast enough!

[thekittenkat]

In the bottle: Warm beeswax and gentle pumpkin.

 

Wet: Much as on cold sniff, but the honey-sweetness of the beeswax is more obvious and lovely.

 

The dry-down: Not much of a morpher! Just lovely. If you like scents like Candles Moon, but wanted it to have a richer, warmer scent, this comes highly recommended by me. The label of cats is spooky-cute. Probably my fave of the new Halloweenies.

[Sakura Tsukikage]

This one has such an adorable label, I totally agree. Just so cute!

 

In the bottle, this one does smell sweet and a bit buttery, but it doesn't strike me as at all the same buttery pumpkin as other BPAL pumpkin scents. It actually reminds me of butterscotch, with a slight green undercurrent that still strikes me as slightly spicy, but still green spice, somehow.

 

On, that greenness becomes a slight touch of pumpkin rind, while the rest of it is a warm, sweet pumpkin. I agree that it's not raw pumpkin, and totally agree with the previous reviewer who compared it to a wedge of pumpkin straight off the vine, cleaned and chopped, and warmed in an oven, not spicy but warm and sweet and you can still smell the green hint of the rind just a little tiny bit, perfect analogy. I also get that sweet thick beeswax smell and a hint of smoke. It really does make it feel warmed and glowing, honey-vanilla beeswax heating up that warmed-up half-cooked pumpkin, which sounds kind of weird, but smells yummy. There is a bright almost green freshness to it, but it's also warm and sweet and beeswax-y and creamy, like there's still just a touch of green in the pumpkin rind. The pumpkin is almost, but not quite, pumpkin spice, warm and creamy and melding with the beeswax to sweeten it in a way that makes it rich and smooth and almost spicy. On my wrist, it turns warmer and sweeter than it does on my arm.

 

After a while this gives me a strong impression of the smell that comes off jack-o'-lanterns with the candle burning, smoky and sweet and candley but with that rich organic warm orange pumpkin smell around it, especially from further away. It actually vaguely reminds me of the sort of Japanese incense I smelled in Kyoto from a distance, but still with that touch of pumpkin-y warmth and sweet beeswax.

 

I really love it, it's so perfectly autumnal, warm, and Halloween without being at all dark. I think it fits the poem perfectly (and I also admit to getting a bit emotional after putting it on and re-reading the poem, dang those scent memories)! It's gorgeous, though, and I love it. Smoky, candlelit pumpkin with a hint of warm sugar-sweet-beeswaxness (which is now a word, because I say so).

[MCS4096]

I was really excited when I started seeing reviews of this blend describing it as a "realistic pumpkin", or fresh pumpkin complete with lit candle. But... this was one more blend that just smelled like a generic pumpkin and spice candle on me I did really bad with all the pumpkin blends this year, but this is the one that broke my heart most-- I thought for sure I'd love it. I dont get any realistic pumpkin flesh, and in the imp there is *maybe* a hint of beeswax and smoke, but the minute it hits my skin it's butter and plastic pumpkin and spices up the wazoo. So sad!

[Circaea]

Sweet gourd, spices, and something that seems lightly floral and buttery, but is most likely the beeswax. Theme in Yellow reminds me of Pumpkin V 2012, with its vanillas and spices, but it's not so blatant over the top foody. It has an edge of something like baked cookies. I like it very much, and I decided I needed a bottle.

[reynardine]

A very buttery pumpkin scent, much like Jack. But Jack didn't work on me and this one is lovely. As it dries down, the beeswax comes out and a touch of cinnamon. It's nice and light, and smells like autumn.

[milo]

You know what this is don't you? It's the pumpkin and spices in all the pumpkin patches this year without the base of Snake Oil, Dorian, etc. This is warm and spicy and also reminds me of Asp Viper. This is a little too foody for me to wear, it's making me rather crave cookies and pumpkin pie, but still nice to try. I'm betting the foodies will love this if they haven't already tried t.

[Lucide]

This is the first pumpkin scent that I ever tried. It is really a lovely autumn smell: buttery, spicy, gourmand pumpkin! Not an everyday scent for me but definitely a nice one.

[starfish327]

Occasionally I run into a blend that gives me a really intense mental image of theme-and this is one of them; this is October in a vial. I get a blast of pumpkin right away, then the candle wax which makes this smell like a jack o lantern. The peach starts coming forward. Unfortunately the peach is a little too strong for me and makes this more of a 'thematic' blend than a wearable one for me, but this is such a cool oil. Even with the peach this conjures up October to my nose.