Magnificent Autumn

[Bluestblood]

By what a subtle alchemy the green leaves are transmuted into gold, as if molten by the fiery blaze of the hot sun! A magic covering spreads over the whole forest, and brightens into more gorgeous hues. The tree-tops seem bathed with the gold and crimson of an Italian sunset. Here and there a shade of green, here and there a tinge of purple, and a stain of scarlet so deep and rich, that the most cunning artifice of man is pale beside it. A thousand delicate shades melt into each other. They blend fantastically into one deep mass. They spread over the forest like a tapestry woven with a thousand hues.

Magnificent Autumn! He comes not like a pilgrim, clad in russet weeds. He comes not like a hermit, clad in gray. But he comes like a warrior, with the stain of blood upon his brazen mail. His crimson scarf is rent. His scarlet banner drips with gore. His step is like a flail upon the threshing floor.

The scene changes.

It is the Indian summer. The rising sun blazes through the misty air like a conflagration. A yellowish, smoky haze fills the atmosphere; and

A filmy mist,
Lies like a silver lining on the sky.

The wind is soft and low. It wafts to us the odor of forest leaves, that hang wilted on the dripping branches, or drop into the stream. Their gorgeous tints are gone, as if the autumnal rains had washed them out. Orange, yellow, and scarlet, all are changed to one melancholy russet hue. The birds, too, have taken wing, and have left their roofless dwellings. Not the whistle of a robin, not the twitter of an eavesdropping swallow, not the carol of one sweet, familiar voice! All gone. Only the dismal cawing of a crow, as he sits and curses, that the harvest is over, – or the chit-chat of an idle squirrel, – the noisy denizen of a hollow tree, – the mendicant friar of a large parish, – the absolute monarch of a dozen acorns!

Another change.

The wind sweeps through the forest with a sound like the blast of a trumpet. The dry leaves whirl in eddies through the air. A fret-work of hoar-frost covers the plain. The stagnant water in the pools and ditches is frozen into fantastic figures. Nature ceases from her labors, and prepares for the great change. In the low-hanging clouds, the sharp air, like a busy shuttle, weaves her shroud of snow. There is a melancholy and continual roar in the tops of the tall pines, like the roar of a cataract. It is the funeral anthem of the dying year.

A scent that wanders through the Ages of Autumn, from the last green leaf to the first breath of winter.

This is truly magnificent. When it's wet, I smell it in layers and it truly does cycle (quickly) through different stages of Autumn. My nose catches (in order) green stems, dead leaves, tree sap, something sour and slightly sweet that reminds me of black currant or pomegranate. Once dry, it melds into a gorgeous leafy (dead and alive) scent with hints of the sweet/sour from the earlier stage.

It is an up close and personal scent with little throw. I love this.

[Wanderbyy]

My notes in order are: Green leaves/stems, dead leaves, a dry warmth comes up-a bit incensy maybe- then they all kind of meld together within a few minutes.

 

I adore, adore this scent. I really do. It's a wonderful fall blend and stays very subtle to my skin......but unfortunately disappears within an hour or two. Trying to decide if I can be responsible and pass this along as I do have more scents than I can wear in a lifetime, but I can't quite bear to let it go just yet. I keep wearing it again, hoping it will last a bit longer.

[Lycanthrope]

This is very light, but very atmospheric, and I think probably more true to the idea of Autumn than any other scent I have run across. It is predominantly a slightly dry, woodsy maple leaf, with maybe a hint of frost (so, not frankly mint, although there is some coolness, maybe a mist note like in Leanan Sidhe but not as aquatic, a very slight brush of smoke, but not so much as to be dominant like bonfire).

 

I don't know how else to phrase it, but it has the idea of October and November without being In-Your-Face-Leaf-Pile like October, and much much less snow/slush than November. It really does bridge multiple components of the end of the year.

Similarly to Wanderbyy, this is one of the softest throws I have ever experienced with BPAL - I have to work to find it even after five large swaths over both wrists, neck, sternal notch. And it is pretty much gone and needing refreshment in an hour.

 

Like it, but will use only intermittently.

[tyche]

I'm trying this out today; I just received my order on Halloween.

 

In the bottle this is green leaves, almost grassy, very pleasant. When it's on, the greenery morphs into something a little darker, a little heavier. It is very much the scent that you find in the woods when on a late autumn hike. It doesn't smell like dead leaves, it smells like the pretty colored leaves that you find newly fallen on the ground, or ones that you have to reach to pick from the tree.

 

I've only had it on for 2 hours and while it's still there, it's not as strong as I'd hoped it would be. I'm definitely glad to have a bottle, this will be enjoyable throughout November (especially since Louisiana autumns tend to begin this month!)

[lucycat]

In the imp: Dry leaves sweetened by mapley sap. A sweet dustiness. Cut stems or greenery with a short blast of bitterness.

 

As this dries, and I’m moving around, I get a brief burst of fruit, which then subsides. I agree with Bluestblood’s suggestion of blackcurrant or pomegranate, or maybe blackberry.

 

Once dry, for about an hour, Magnificent Autumn smells almost exactly like the Arpege my mother wore when I was growing up. Then a sweet, incensy note emerges. The fruit comes out more on the final drydown.

 

This is very pretty in all its stages, and very soft, as others have noted.

[Astarial]

Wow, this is a serious morpher! This starts out in the imp as VERY RED wood varnish! I know that sounds weird but I actually really like it. It brings me back to the shop classes of my childhood.

 

Once it hits the skin it starts changing a lot. First dead leaves, then wood, then a milder varnish, then something a bit sweet, then very wet, alive leaves, then a grassy scent. It seems to have settled on wet grass and dried leaves, though I think I'm getting maybe some maple when I sniff my wrist closely. There's something sweet there, in any case.

 

I grew up in New England, so this is very evocative of the sudden, unpredictable mood swings of autumn. Once it's dry, though, I'm not sure it's terribly distinct from Autumn Coolness. I'll have to do a side-by-side comparison.

[riddel]

I've been a fan of BPAL since 2004. When I first smelled Samhain I was astounded at how gosh darned evocative it was. It was just way too strong for me. Mofo had some throw. (Now, all of these years later, I can happily enjoy Samhain in candle form. And I do. Oh, I do. BPAL, you're all growed ups. Sniffle.)

 

But this... this the perfect autumn scent for me to actually wear. It's so artistic, the way it cycles: green leaves; minty snow; autumnal fruitiness (currant or pomegranate would be my guess); dead leaves; then finally some of the woodsier, smokier elements from Samhain and Samhainphobia, only not as strong.

 

Lovely.

Edited November 10, 2014 by riddel

[HerbGirl]

I am confused. The waft from this is beautiful, Autumnal and warm. Up close it smells terrible. This reminds me of Samhain and Autumn and i like Autumn best so this will hopefully go to a loving home.

 

Dry down doesn't smell terrible anymore but i don't smell anything magnificent here. I will stick to the leafy scents! :-)

Edited November 12, 2014 by Herb Girl

[loubric]

In the bottle/imp it's warm, spicy, sweet and slightly herby. I can't identify a specific note though.

 

On me it's actually sweeter and very green, leafy and soft. Some icyiness and a slight smokiness but the sweet softness is the most dominent. It's much more floral and fruity than I expected. Very light.

 

This is all sweet Fall flowers.

Edited November 13, 2014 by Lilly

[Gwydion]

In bottle: This has a lot of familiar elements, some of which are hard to place. It has a strong almost ivy, vaguely ozoney feel to it with what I strongly believe are berries and a touch of rotting leaves. Wet: Green an ozone one second then berry and maybe pomegranate the next, then dead rotting leaves, then pine and ozone again. This cycles very quickly, so you want to be smelling all of it. It settles much as in the bottle, only with the fruit dominant and the various leaves second strongest. I like a lot of this, but something in there doesn’t quite work on me. Dry: Mostly fruit with a touch of wood and leaves.

[schneagl]

In the bottle: More notes than I could even try to collect, but here's an attempt. Gold and red leaves, sap. A little apple, a little bit of a leaf's decay. Grasses, cinnamon.

Wet on my skin: More grasses/hay and earth than anything, then shifts more to apples and cinnamon, and a hint of smoke.

Drydown: Smoky cinnamon and apples. Like a slightly sweet incense rather than a full fruit smell. Very nice effect on me.

This was my favorite Weenie this year. It's so hard to nail down a profile for this scent, it's obviously a morpher - I started to wonder if my brain was just making up more notes each time I sniffed it. The throw was a little below average, but it lasts well, pretty much all day. It really is trying to be autumn in a bottle! Might or might not hit all of your favorite notes, but there's something in it for most anyone.

[Aviatrix]

Thie has an almost spicy, smoky feel to it when I sniff it in the vial and right on my skin at first. Then come the leaves, which are somehow both a little green and a little dry at the same time. The spiciness gets a bit more subdued upon drydown.

It lasts several hours on my skin and has fairly good throw.

I am sort of waffling between getting a bottle of this one or Hallow-e'en 1914, as they have a similar feel to my nose. It's definitely bottle-worthy, and even if you have several leaf-scents in your collection, this one has a new feeling to it than any other BPAL leaf scent I have tried before, so you might also want to give it a shot.

[delicious4]

This smells awesome. It is green with a fruity undercurrent, utterly enjoyable. It does morph from very leafy and dirt smelling to something kind of indescribable, but I really love this and I am glad I bought a half bottle from a decant circle.

[EphemeralFey]

In the imp I get green stems, freshly turned leaves, a little bit of dirt and woods all wrapped up in a cold wind. This reminds me of taking autumn hikes in New England with my father, good times.

 

On my skin I only get the green leafyness for a moment before it shifts to something warm, spicy and slightly smoky. Like someone threw some spices into an outdoor fire. Occasionally I do get whiffs of apple and can pick out some cinnamon with it. Now I am reminded of doing 18th century camp reenactments with my father for the local fall festival, also good times (unless you got volunteered to be the stick gatherer, or it was really cold).

 

I'll definitely be keeping the imp, and not just for the wonderful memories. I have a handful of scents that go warm and spicy, but they're a creamy warmth and incense spicy, where as this is a dry warmth and spice spicy. I'll have to do a full day test to decide if I want to get a bottle of this or not.

[Jeni Mullen]

My nose and my skin disclosure: I like sugary, spicy, bakery sort of blends and sometimes woodsy scents that smell like forests and leaves and NOT wood. My absolutely never scents include vetiver, civet, lavender, jasmine, kitchen spices like sage (which sort of runs frankincense out too since it smells like burning sage to me), wax, leather and pepper. I know that doesn't give me a lot to play with!

 

Favorite woodsy (to me) scents include: Isle of Demons and Druid.

 

In the bottle: it smells like pine sol, but not to the point where I feel like I'll get a nosebleed out of it.

Applied to wrists, wet: a little bit mulchy, like a big old pile of leaves. It actually reminds me of my dad mowing the lawn when the leaves have fallen which gives you that sort autumn scent? I have no idea if that makes sense. I like it. It's subtle.

After 15 minutes: Almost no throw. I have to push my nose to my wrist but I LIKE it. It's got a freshly polished wood floor smell...which probably harkens back to the pine sol but I guess is more like furniture polish without any lemon or citrus in it. I want to say that there's some sort of white musk in this too, though I amp musk and musk usually has a better aura.

 

After almost 2 hours: Wow. Very sweet. This sort of scent is beautiful! I don't really know what it is because I don't feel like I have a sophisticated nose to all of these notes just yet but mmmm. The leafy green smell is back!

 

Verdict: Keeping this decant to maybe layer with Isle of Demons or Druid just to play with. I bet it would be seriously beautiful with Snake Oil or maybe even Morocco to give it a little more spice. Oooh, maybe Neutral to bring out the musk? However, I won't buy a bottle. I don't think I'd wear it all that often to be honest when druid and isle of demons do better jobs staying with me. I think this would make a great trading post atmo though. It's got such a nice, faintly lingering finish to it. I just wish it would throw more! Next time I'm going to dab this between my breasts to see if I can get it to last longer!

Edited November 22, 2014 by Yojenitan

[Jangzonrice]

in imp: green ivy, leaves, and green wood

 

will update when I get to try it on!

[thekittenkat]

To start w/, here are my notes from DSWC:

 

Magnificent Autumn

 

CS: green leaves starting to turn

W: leaves getting seared and crisp

D: sweet leaves; I like this!

 

 

Now for a more in-depth review.

 

In the bottle: Sweet green leaves that are just starting to redress themselves in their autumn array. I suspect that maple leaves and sweetgum leaves are part of the mix.

 

Wet: The leaves are really fresh, crisp, green and sharp! That's unexpected.

 

The dry-down: As this dries down, the sharp green scent softens into a sweeter scent, but with a touch of pepper, yes, pepper abt it. I've sniffed that peppery note on the air in autumn, but have yet to ID the tree's leaves from whence it came. Again, the maple leaves and the sweetgum leaves are part of the mix. This scent is a morpher, and rightly so, as Beth has captured some of the wonderful scent of the autumn air and the leaves scenting it, from early autumn to late. There just may be a hint of ozone in this as well. An amazing scent!

[zankoku_zen]

Green, sweet leaves. This one starts out as leaves and sharp green leaf note that turns a little sweeter as it dries. I also get some airy qualities and something that smells like hay on the drydown. After 45 minutes I think I get the sweetgums.

 

It makes me think of leaves in autumn, in all of its glorious stages. Decent throw, decent wear length. Somewhat gender neutral.

 

Soft, autumn leaves.

[Mountaingrrl00]

This starts out sharp, with the greenish leaf note found in several of this year's Weenies. Then it goes soft and warm, still slightly vegetal, but with a light vanilla sweetness - actually very much like Autumn Overlooked My Knitting in its middle stage. Then it goes spicy, in a lovely, subtle way that stays close to the skin.

 

Like autumn, it's gone all too soon.

[tinyvulture]

Tart berries...cranberries?...smutty red musk...greenery. Brings to mind sunlit autumn woods, before the leaves have dropped from the trees. Strong at first, but fades quickly.

[lady_pandora]

Like schneagl, I wondered if I was making up notes every time I sniffed this! I did catch a lot of fleeting scents and mental images, and I wonder what my experience would have been if I went in completely blind, without knowing Magnificent Autumn was supposed to morph a ton on purpose. Anyway, here are the notes I got during the first hour or so, mostly in order, but sometimes one from before would reemerge:

 

Dark green plants, wondered if it was vetiver

Mint

A golden cologney thing

Pine and ozone

Leaf smoke

Golden resin (sap?)

Apple

Bitter fruit rind

Soft powdery musk

 

And then my skin turns it into only the soft powdery musk from that point on. It reminds me a little of something from Avon my mom let me play with as a kid, and so it's nostalgic and comforting, but it's not really my choice of perfume now. I'd rather wear Samhain. However, Magnificent Autumn is a unique scent experience and worth trying. I won't need a bottle, but I'm glad I tried it.

[milo]

Lots of lush, green leaves, a bit acrid. These leaves are old, and changing color. This wouldn't be something I'd wear, but nice to try.

[forspecial_plate]

Interesting how there can be so many leafy scents that smell so different......this one shifts around quite a bit and seems hard to pin down. I agree with what I've read, from the other reviewers. Leaves, fruit, sweetness. For the first few minutes it's kind of sharp and green. Then it softens a lot.

 

The first couple times I wore this, I kept thinking of amber. But I could be wrong about that. I agree there is a nonspecific fruit thing going on. It's hard to say apple or berry or anything like that, it's just a general "fruit" aspect that is mixed in with the other notes.

 

I also smell honey, a little bit. When I wore it today, I kept thinking, if there was a 'honey musk' it would smell something like this. So....I get the musk part other people mentioned, a little powdery, and a little honey but I could be wrong about the honey.

 

I don't know......it's leafy and sweet, kind of like Oak Moon but different. I like it but October is still the leafy scent for me!

[claudia6913]

I bought this from a forumite on a whim, and man am I glad I did. My favorite autumn scent is Autumn Coolness - but Magnificent Autumn is very quickly making it's way to the top.

 

Wet this was very much a green scent, full of wetness from the tops of the leaves to the bottom of the forest floor.

 

However, as this dries, so does the forest. The leaves turn from green to gold and red, the sticks on the forest floor crack and pop whenever they are stepped on. A cool breeze comes in heralding the coming of winter. The ground stays a little damp due to the covering of leaves.

 

Overall, I'm truly in love with this scent. It is the perfect autumn day wrapped up in a bottle.

[moosue]

2015 version!

 

In bottle: planty. Almost more like the leaves of a houseplant, very fresh and lush.

 

On skin wet: Red leaves, alive on the tree, stems.

 

Dry: This has fairly strong throw. This is very interesting. There's a distinct fruitiness here - almost mangoey. Something fruity and juicy anyways. In the back is the crispy dead leaf scent, but on my skin the strongest note is the fruity one. The initial houseplant leaf scent is gone. Like fallen wet leaves and a wallop of mango. It's kinda weird, but also pretty. I think I'd like this better as a room scent rather than a "me" scent.

Edited November 7, 2015 by moosue