Pumpkin IV (2014)

[Dedee]

Pumpkin artwork by Neal Segler!

Warm pumpkin with three honeys, oudh, sweet frankincense, and champaca resin.

A PUMPKIN SCENT THAT WORKS ON ME! A PUMPKIN SCENT THAT WORKS ON ME!

I am one of those unluckies whose skin amps cinnamon like nobody's business. I have tried many a pumpkin creation by Beth and my skin has failed me every time, turning beautiful pumpkin scents into a terrible cheap smelly candle awfulness!! Well, I am ecstatic to say that this scent is THE PUMPKIN ONE for me and I am in love!

Wet it is a warm, slightly spiced pumpkin scent. I could sense the cinnamon trying to force it's way to the top once again, but as it dried the Champaca resin made its debut and the cinnamon disappeared!! Then the most wonderful thing happened... the three honeys showed up and melted into the pumpkin and champaca for a sweet foody melody... It is what I always wanted a pumpkin scent to be!!! I was so happy I hugged Beth!! I have spent the evening driving home from Will Call with my wrist glued to my nose.

Verdict: I should have bought more than one bottle!!! WINNER!!

[Magycmyste]

So, this was a blind bottle buy for me. Cause... champaca, mostly. And sweet honey. I got this yesterday, and sniffed, and it smelled like this heavenly sweetness, but not too sweet. So, now for the official test (and since it's rested a day):

 

In the bottle: Pumpkin cake. Or rather sweet pumpkin bread. Almost like gingerbread, except pumpkin.

 

Wet on skin: About the same? Honestly, the throw from the bottle sniff just stayed in the air, so I can't quite tell if the two dabs I put on my wrists smell any different. It's a lot lighter, definitely. Which I guess makes sense since there's a lot less oil on my skin than in the bottle. After a reapplication, because the first try disappeared into my skin before I could properly smell it wet, it smells similar, but a lot lighter, and a little bit nutty, like someone threw a whole lot of pecans into the bread.

 

Dried down: The same. I'm also getting a hint of Indian hot pickle from this in the throw, but I suspect that might be my skin. Or me getting hungry.

 

Throw: The throw is very light and pleasant. I'm pretty much getting pecans and a bit of the pumpkin and spice. I get a little sweetness from the honey, but only if I sniff my wrists.

 

Verdict: *** 1/* I think this one might take a second try for me. I'm really surprised I'm not getting the honey much - I think that might take this oil to a whole different level, as long as it doesn't overtake the other notes entirely.

[Myria Jean]

On me this dries down to a beautifully complex honey with incense and a little spice.

Before drydown it tries to kill me with CINNAMON but even that is more complex than Redhots - kind of smoky, like a burnt cinnamon stick.

Edited November 2, 2014 by Myria Jean

[DarthArwen]

This started with a heavy, dry spice scent that made me check if it wasn't accidentally Pumpkin V from 2009 - which I generally find too heavy to wear.

It mellowed down in maybe 20-30 minutes and became a very pleasantly foody spice scent. Not really what I had expected and not as distinct from things like Pumpkin Latte as I had hoped, but I'll be wearing it nonetheless.

[Arden Ivy]

So this was my very first ever BPAL, Decanted by the very nice Mellifluous. As it is my first, I might not be as good at picking out scents as some, so forgive me.

 

In Bottle: Very sweet, heavily glazed spice bread. Kinda like the candles, but, you know, good.

 

First Applied: It's not very sweet at all. I would definitely agree with DarthArwen when she called it a dry spice. I don't get any pumpkin or honey. I think I'm mostly getting Oudh. Maybe it's because I'm all "Ahhhhh first BPAL ever" and I keep huffing my wrist, but it's a little too spicy for me. However, both my little twin sisters came wandering in proclaiming my room smelled great, so there's that. I guess that would be a good indicator of its throw.

 

After an hour: The honey came back, I believe, because the dry spice is now damped with an almost mapled sweetness. No pumpkin I can detect, though, but as this is my first I might just not familiar enough to recognize the pumpkin note. Resembles the smell in the bottle much more, but not entirely. Nice, but I'm not sure I like it enough to sit through the very heavy straight spice stage.

Edited November 6, 2014 by Arden Ivy

[Leopard403]

This is goooood. I tend to amp honey notes and this is still true for Pumpkin IV, but it's glorious. The pumpkin on the label was created by Mellifluous, and I know champaca is one of his things; IIRC he's described it as "chewy" and I think that's a great description of this scent. I want to tuck it up in my cheek and gnaw on it a bit. The pumpkin here manages to be milky, spicy, honey-sweet, and "chewy" all at once. Love.

[LiberAmoris]

Resiny, honeyed pumpkin! Like the other pumpkins from this year, the pumpkin is very well balanced here. The honey is the most prominent note on me, followed by the champaca, and then pumpkin. Oudh and frankincense add depth, warmth, and more sweetness. After it settles down, it smells like honey made from pumpkin-loving bees, with a waft of incense. Very pretty, and another blend that will be fun to wear until it's time to start wearing Yules.

[somacat]

Wet: Mmm. This is awesome. It starts out as honeyed basmati rice with fruits and a wafting curry note. Now it's a cinnamon basmati jaggery saffron raisin pudding. I am drooling and huffing. I'm kinda gross right now but this scent is amazing.

 

Dry Down: The cinnamon tries to swarm a little, but it doesn't get to cheap candle this into a bad place.

 

Dry: I bit of a bowl of Cinnamon potpourri with rice floating through and hints of the earlier yum.

 

I hope this settles down and turns into initial application all the time.

[EphemeralFey]

In the imp and wet on my skin this is straight up pumpkin cupcakes, with the baker being heavy handed on the cinnamon. After a little bit this has mellowed out to smell exactly like the gingersnap cookies I got from the store to make some pumpkin cheesecake bars. I'm starting to give sketchy side eyes to arm with thoughts of nomming on it.

 

Beth, many kudos for making a perfume that smells exactly like some of the autumn baked goods that I adore! Sadly though, I am not a foodie perfume person. However, I think this will smell absolutely amazing in an emulsified sugar scrub or a whipped cocoa butter. Into the scents for B&B products box you go!

[Jangzonrice]

in imp: pumpkin and allspice...hope it smells better on my skin

 

will update when I get to try it on!

in imp: pumpkin and allspice...hope it smells better on my skin

 

will update when I get to try it on!

[zankoku_zen]

If there is pumpkin in this, in general, I don't get it. I get a mainly sweet frankincense and resin blend, with perhaps a whiff of buttery pumpkin.

 

On drydown, I can really pick up the honey notes. Making this a honeyed resinous blend. Low throw, and decent wear length.

 

This makes me think of pumpkins even if the scent isn't a strong pumpkin note.

[Katlyntje]

The first, and last, time I tried a BPAL pumpkin blend it was completely overwhelming and I have been a little scared of trying more. For some reason though this really spoke to me and I have blind-bought an entire bottle. Here goes!

 

In the bottle this is all cinnamon and pumpkin. Mostly cinnamon.On my skin it starts off as spiced honey and as it dries the spicy-dry cinnamon starts to take over with the sweetness taking a backseat. It's still there, complementing the cinnamon, but the cinnamon is definitely the star of this show. And this is the red-hots and fireballs type of cinnamon; dusty, dry, almost-but-not-quite burning the sinuses if I take too deep a breath up close to my skin.

 

Twenty minutes later and this is still hot cinnamon with a touch of sweet pumpkin. I am ok with this. This is definitely a scent to keep you warm on cold days. A sit by the fire with hot drinks, blankets, and books type of scent. Warming and comforting and totally snuggly.

[schneagl]

In the bottle: Honey, pumpkin, caramel. Very sweet, and heading to the cloying side for me.

Wet on my skin: Sweet but NOT cloying now. Spicy notes start to come into play, and actually strike me as nutmeg more than frankincense. It's still a little on the *shudder* Yankee Candle side of the fence.

Drydown: Nutmeg-y molasses. The burndown has the spicy resins much more present.

Once again, I knew this one was risky for me but wanted to try it anyway! It's a little too overdone-candle mix for me, sadly. Both of the Pumpkins I tried this year are turning into molasses on me in the end. It appears to be working for the foodies, so hey, YMMV! The throw and duration were both average.

[radioaction]

In the decant this is a very sweet, sticky spiced honey with some foodiness. On, it goes straight up sweaty curry. Pumpkin I did the same thing on me, so I'm guessing it's the pumpkin note in this year's patch. *sad trombone*

[milo]

I love the pumpkin spice scent, but do not own any. I like it more for cozy days at home, when it's cold and windy outside, but I don't reach for it as a rule, and I find them all pretty similar. This one is a little heavier on one of the spices, allspice I think, its a bit grittier and muskier. I thought the honey would make it sweeter, but the spices seem to dominate here. Nice, but all my sniffies will satisfy my pumpkin craving for the year.

[Minh Scent]

This is a stunner to me. It starts out heavy with pumpkin and then settles into spice (not too much cinnamon), with the honeys making it deliciously sweet. However, not too sweet, as the oud and frankinsence ground it nicely. I was going to layer it, but love it as it is so much, that I did not. My students loved it, said it smelled like caramel candy. It does not to me, but I think that is what they know, as they are children.

[Little Bird]

Tons of cinnamon and the tiniest hint of frankincense and sweet honey. Reminds me of Bengal, but the honey is more apparent in Bengal.

[lizabelle]

Recently blind-bought this from a forumite based on notes, and I'm very, very glad I did. This reminds me of pumpkin custard rather than pie; whenever there's leftover filling from any pies we might be making, my family always bakes the remainder alongside said pies and then we eat it as a separate dessert. I actually prefer the custard version, and this smells just like it. Buttery, rich pumpkin, definitely not fresh but cooked with some sugar and spices. It also smells like someone upturned a full bottle of molasses into the pumpkin mix, which is amazing.

 

Looking at the notes again I'm honestly shocked there's so much honey here, because BPAL's honey notes tend to completely take over on me and this is not all that sweet. Must be the oudh and resins keeping it in check! This is foodie, but the sweetness mostly just smells like the natural sweetness of a pumpkin; with all those dark, rich notes in the background I think it could easily be unisex.

[fairybites]

I haven't had it in years, but somehow this perfume reminds me of that cinnamon swirled bread you find in grocery stores with the raisins inside. Just drizzle it with honey and that's pretty much what this smells like on me. Very very foodie, moreso that I imagined. 

 

No oudh on me at all, can't say I miss it in this blend though. Not an upgrade for me, this decant should be more than enough.