Dead Leaves, Bourbon Vanilla, and Myrrh

[claudia6913]

Leave it to Beth to make a hyper-realistic dead leaf note.

Wet this is a super strong blast of dead, crunchy with a under-layer of wet and desiccated leaves. As it dries the myrrh and vanilla come out and the leaves move to the back.

Dry this is a soft myrrh vanilla with just a hint of crunchy dead leaves scattered around.

[agirlnamedfury]

This is the most "dead leafy" of all the "Dead Leaves And..." blends I've tried from this year's weenies. I don't really get much vanilla, unfortunately.

[ziggystardust13]

This is one of my fave new fall scents!

 

The initial stage - the classic dead leaf note that Beth does so well. So earthy and evocative of fall. As it dries it definitely morphs! I still get dead leaves, but they are now in the background. The myrrh and bourbon vanilla balance things out and make this oh so beautiful. It fades pretty quickly on my skin, but I love it nonetheless. Bottle worthy.

[HerbGirl]

This is spectacular. This is a new "wrapping myself up in a cozy sweater while enjoying a crisp Autumn breeze at Dusk" perfume for me...I love it. I get the same vibe from Autumn Overlooked my Knitting from last year. Wow - I bet the Vanilla will become more prominent with age, and the Myrrh is just soft and dreamy. These Dead Leaves perfumes are a dream come true for me.

[Poenari]

Another stunning perfume with Beth's leaf note. This time, the leaves are very well-blended into the vanilla and myrrh, and don't stand out as sharp at all, making this less of a strictly autumnal scent on my skin. The vanilla and myrrh are prominent and comforting, and this is very much a cozy sweater-wearing scent. I'm thrilled that I got a bottle of this, as I can see wearing this one throughout the winter instead of just in autumn.

[savage_rose]

Dead Leaves and Tinkerbell perfume from my childhood. Warm, comforting, and fun.

[Floria]

The oil is mostly clear, with a thick light brown blob suspended in it, and needs a bit of shaking to achieve an even consistency.

In the vial, this is a bit cologny and bitter - if it smells like leaves at all, they're wet tannic leaves, not dry crunchy earthy ones, and I don't get the myrrh or vanilla. Once applied, it starts sweetening up and becomes a lot more wearable, and the leaf note becomes more dry and autumnal. Despite the vanilla and myrrh (which can sometimes smell like cookies to me), this isn't really a foody scent, more a resinous one. It has a bit of a spicy quality without smelling like any particular spices - I don't know if that's the myrrh or the leaves - and is very well-blended overall.

[Dark Alice]

This is a dead ringer for sonnet d'automne 2011 on my skin. Thankfully I only need my partial.

[patina]

Powdery vanilla and dead leaves on the drydown. Not bad, but I already have so many myrrh scents I love I can pass this one easily.

[Scarlettmortem]

^{I wanted so bad to love this, however the very sharp, masculine cologne notes (both wet and dry) caused me an instant, splitting headache. My boyfriend liked it though so now it's his to keep. Just wasn't for me ;(}

[LizziesLuck]

I am having bad luck with the leaves! I thought I liked them, but Dead Leaves Red Musk and Neroil was a disaster on me, as was the hair gloss. This isn't a heck of a lot better. I get no Myrrh (which is why I wanted to try this, love me some Myrrh) and no vanilla. Just dead leaves. Which aren't bad, I just don't want to smell only of that note.

[owlfeathers]

This is dead, dry leaves with a very light backing of vanilla and myrrh filling them out. Leaves in soft focus, if you will. It didn't change noticeably on me from wet to dry, and it didn't last long. It's by far the truest dead leaf scent I've tried so far, but I was hoping for more of the other notes.

Edited November 11, 2015 by owlfeathers

[strahlend]

Testing – at first it's autumn leaves as featured in many other blends, but!!! on the skin that immediately burns off and I'm smelling the most gorgeous myrrh and smokey musky vanilla.

This really is quite lovely. In the dry down I feel like I'm smelling a finish of oakmoss.

[zankoku_zen]

Vanilla, touch of myrrh and the leaf note. It's exactly as advertised. Good throw, good wear length.

 

I thought I would love this, but it's missing something for me.

[sprout]

In the vial: Hmmm, must be a misnomer. This is definitely a wet leaf note.

 

Wet: Still wet leaves, the same note as in October and the other "Leaves and..." scents. Unfortunately, either my skin chemistry changes this to, or my nose perceives this as, bell pepper.

 

Drying: The myrrh begins to amp, the wet leaves note, aka bell pepper, becomes a dry, more dessicated leaves note. Now it actually smells like dead leaves and myrrh.

 

Late drydown: Dry, dessicated leaves, resinous myrrh, and a hint of sweet vanilla. No cakes or cookies in this vanilla, just a hint of sweetness. Myrrh tends to go sweet and just shy of powder on my skin, and I also tend to amp it. So this is 40/40/20 dead leaves/myrrh/vanilla. This is no surprise as I think this particular blend, per upthread reviews, is heavy on the leaf note and my skin amps myrrh like gangbusters. Poor vanilla did not have much of a chance.

 

Final analysis: Very nice realistic vegetal note, which unfortunately brings to mind bell peppers, which quickly mixes and dries with the skin chemicalz to become a realistic dry leaf note, with a hint of powdery and slightly sweet resin. I tend to like myrrh, despite it being a diva of a note, amping and overshadowing the others on my skin, because it usually smells good. Being relatively unaged, this is more powdery and with less throw and sweetness than how it will probably become in just a few weeks to a couple of months. The vanilla note that is hardly noticeable now will likely become more prominent with age and sweeter with better sillage. The myrrh will undoubtedly become more complex, resinous and sweeter. The dead leaf note will hopefully become less bell peppery. I am torn. I will certainly keep this to age it and I am enough of a vanilla hoor to probably track down a bottle or a partial because I think this will age into something very nice. But, I will be taking a chance, because the wet phase is almost intolerable. I know from other blends with the wet leaf note that it is likely to mellow out so I can probably get past that bell pepper thing and besides, it calms down pretty quickly on my skin to become a more realistic leaf note. I do wonder if this is different enough from other Autumnal scents--like Sonnet D'Automne as Dark Alice astutely pointed out--to justify the purchase. For a certainty I will keep and hoarde imps and if I come across a well priced partial bottle or more decants, I will invest in those. Thus far, Red Musk, Neroli and Dry Leaves is winning as my favorite of the series but there is something about the myrrh and vanilla combo that I really like and I have to admit I have been compulsively sniffing.

 

Source: Decant from TrailerTrashPrincess Test Sites: Antecubital spaces both arms

[white_jenna63]

Oh my yes. Same dead leaf note as Dead Leaves and Tobacco and Sonnet d'Automne, but the vanilla and myrrh are present right away. A lovely soft scent with staying power; I was still getting whiffs of it this morning from yesterday. I may have to consider getting a big bottle of this.

[Mechanical Death]

Straight out of the bottle. Yup, dead leaves. Wet but also dry crunchy dead leaves-- that familiar autumn smell. It's the same across the board with all of the dead leaf blends. It's very strong and over powers the other notes in the blends.

However this is much more like it's hair gloss counterpart (white musk and vanilla) It starts out on the skin as a very strong blast of dead leaves, and stays dominantly that for a while, but there's something peaking through. something sweeter and smoother.

 

After about 2 hours on my skin the bourban vanilla and myrrh are strong, and vanilla is rich and lovely, and the leaf note is more in the background. This pairs so nicely with the vanilla and white musk hair gloss, and my bourban vanilla bath oil from last year (which has aged divinely). The combination there of is vanilla heaven, and it's a nice soft scent combination that I can wear it on days when I'm scent sensitive (migraine prone) but want something comforting, and is a deviation away from the very dark spicy incensey scents I am drawn towards.

 

This has a lot of lasting power. A full 24 hours and a shower later I can still smell it rather strongly on my wrist and inner elbows, and wafting closely around me. It doesn't have huge throw at any stage though.

[Little Bird]

This is my least favorite of the Dead Leaves series, but it's still good enough that I'll keep my bottle of it.
Dead Leaves, Bourbon Vanilla and Myrrh has a really baby powdery, dry vanilla and sharp green leaf thing happening to it, and the myrrh is sharp and a little sour here. The drydown is quite sharp and perfumey, mixed with the powder and green leaf.
I was hoping for more of a creamy, sweet vanilla and rich, sweet myrrh, but the whole thing is rather more thin, sharp, green, and powdery..

[doomsday_disco]

In the decant: Peppery, vegetal green leaves that are just starting to turn. No vanilla, no myrrh.

 

Wet: Same, though I don't get much of the pepper vibe on my skin.

 

Dry: Eventually, the myrrh does appear, so that it is mostly leaves and myrrh with just a faint hint of vanilla. It's somewhat powdery on me during this stage.

 

Verdict: I was hoping that the presence of the vanilla would make a leaf scent finally be enjoyable for me. There wasn't enough vanilla in this to allow that to happen, though. On the plus side, at least it didn't give me a headache. But it's not for me.

[kakiphony]

This is the most vegetable of the dead leave scents I have tried yet, and the one for which the dead leaf note lingers the longest. It eventually turns quite powdery -- it's a sweet, dusty powder with just a little dead leaf funk under it. Interesting, but a bit too sweet and powdery for me.

[sqwook]

Oops, the "dead leaves" note is not the note I thought it was -- I was going for dry leaves, and these are a bit musty in a way I don't prefer on my skin. BUT the myrrh, the myrrh! I think I need to look into more scents with myrrh, because by the time the leaves scent fades away, what's left is gorgeous.

[Argentwolf]

Like the other DL scents, this starts off for me as a mix of dead and green leaves. As time goes on it balances out into something nice and warm, a nice mix of the vanilla and myrrh although neither note stands out more than the other to my nose. Does seem to have slightly more throw than the others I've tried so far, and is as long-lived as the rest -- these scents seem to be the kind that will gladly just hide out on your skin all day, for you to come to and have a sniff to enjoy whenever you need one.

[Nicnivin]

Would it make sense if I described this scent as an autumnal forest cathedral? When it goes on wet, the dead leaf smell takes centre stage, but it steps back quickly and softens to a myrrh that I associate with the Catholic masses I attended as a child. To me, the scent is reverential and regal; vanilla doesn't show up on my skin at all, but instead the scent dries down to a soft, murmuring myrrh rustling through the dry leaves. It's beautiful, but definitely a "special occasion" scent rather than a day-to-day perfume.

[Elspethdixon]

In the bottle/wet - the dead leaf note is very strong, and incredibly realistic. In fact, it smells so much like piles of damp dead leaves that it makes my chest tighten a little as I subconsciously expect my leaf mold allergy to kick in. Unless it morphs substantially, this one will be a no go on me.

 

Dry on my skin, the vanilla and myrrh notes come forward more and it becomes sweet and a little powdery, but alas, the dead leaves remain as a strong undertone. I wanted to like this one, because I love myrrh and vanilla, but the sharp leaf scent was just too much for me. (For someone who doesn't associate the smell of wet dead leaves with wheezing and sneezing, OTOH, it would probably smell very pleasant).

[milo]

Lots leaves here folks! Basically resins and leaves with no sweetness. I like the lab's leaf note, but it needs at least a bit of sweet to make it more wearable. Maybe the Bourbon vanilla will come out in time, but for now, this is a 'no'.