Dead Leaves, Blackcurrant, and Tobacco Tar

[bheansidhe]

[No additional description given.]

Of the five DL blends I tried, this one one smells the most dead-leafy when wet, with a strong, bracingly bitter edge. The leaf-ness of the dark tobacco marries really well with the leaf-ness of the DL note. The blackcurrant is tart and astringent and *just* fruity enough to keep the blend balanced and wearable. This is outdoorsy and cold and wild, not tame and pipe-shop. It takes a softer, more dried-fruit aspect as it wears. I didn't expect to like this one as much as I do.

 

ETA: bought a bottle! That's how much I liked it.

Edited November 17, 2016 by bheansidhe

[LizziesLuck]

I used to think I disliked dead leaves, but it turns out I really enjoy that note when it's with something sweet. I adore both blackcurrant and tobacco, so I had to have this.

 

Wet: Mmm. Lots of dead leaves (which are a tad bitter on my skin/to my nose, but I have come to appreciate that scent). The tobacco comes through next, and it is chewy and rich. I get faint hints of sweetness from the blackcurrant, and the tobacco is sweet as well, so they're balancing out the dead leaves nicely. It's lovely, and smells so much like fall.

 

 

Dry: Love this. The leaves fade into the background, and the currant and tobacco shine. It's so pretty. Everything is perfectly balances. I know I will get a lot of wear out of it this fall.

[forspecial_plate]

Both previous reviews used the word "bitter" and I agree - there is a bitter aspect to this scent. The dead leaves note is sharp and strong at first, but the sharpness backs off a lot after a few minutes.

 

All the notes are here, but so well-blended it's hard to pick apart individual notes. I agree that it's outdoorsy. This isn't aquatic, but something about it smells salty somehow - like salt encrusted dead leaves. And the bitter, medicinal quality - that could be blackcurrant, tobacco tar, or both notes combined.

 

For me this wasn't easy to like, I had to grow to like it. It's very appropriate for fall and I'll be keeping it and wearing it again. I have a feeling I'll grow to like it even more as it ages. Today I layered it over a non-bpal amber scent (Amber 114), and it went really nicely with the amber, and almost starts to remind me of Death of Autumn. But on its own, DLBC&TT is much less complex.

[cherrycherry]

Dead leaves as the top note - which I'm used to - and as others have said, it's very cold and outdoorsy. Like a wet autumn day captured in a bottle. Emphasis on the cold here. It's almost chilly.

 

I anticipate the tobacco showing up more over time as, for me at least, it's the sort of note that can need some time to say hello. I get a bit of blackcurrant and I expect that to become louder over time too. Pleased with this. Given a few months, this is going to be a very unique and evocative blend.

[patina]

Dead leaves by themselves can be a disaster on me. October certainly was. This starts out as leaf cologne, green a little bitter, but not too bad. Then after a while it starts heating up and sweetens a good bit. It's astringent and never quite foody-sweet but it's a really lovely cold outdoors scent like a blustery and dark fall night.

 

On the late drydown there's a faint waxy note I can pick out but the scent is still nice. I'm on the fence.

 

EDIT: No longer on the fence, this smells better the longer I wear it and is also good layered with Tumbling Over a Ghost.

Edited November 22, 2016 by patina

[roseus]

Oh my I love this. It's chewy, sweet tobacco made a little more complex by the slightly bitter leaves. The currant is underneath, adding some intrigue. I am having a hard time explaining this one, but it's so beautiful.

[Little Bird]

I just don't care for the dead leaf scent used in these and last year's dead leaves. It's green, aquatic, sharp and reminiscent of men's cologne. Weirdly white musky. I don't get any black currant from this, but lots of that leaf smell and sweet, dark tobacco that isn't pairing well with the leaf scent for me.

[Casablanca]

On my skin, the tar is the immediate strongest impression, made rustic by the dead leaves and colored dark purplish berry by the black currants. I get a sort of musty musk underneath.

I'm not enjoying this version of tobacco. Combined with the dead leaves, for me it sits too close to "tar-gummed ashtray," which, in my head, causes the black currant to seem like a room freshener to hide nicotine habits.

I don't think this is working for me.

[sprout]

And finally a Dead Leaves perfume that disproves my rule of not being able to wear these kinds of scents, yay!

 

Dead Leaves note starts this off with peppery vegetable vibes (as in cutting Red Bell Peppers). Luckily this straightens out as the Tobacco comes into play. The tobacco note is earthy, dry, and toothsome. Interestingly, the tobacco note helps the Dead Leaves smell drier and more like actual leaves.

 

Drying, the black currant joins the party and keeps the dry ingredients in check. Without smelling like fruity shisha, it brings a balance to the dry leaves and Tobacco, keeping things from blowing away, becoming too dry, bitter, or acrid. It adds a hint of sweetness without smelling fruity.

 

This has medium sillage and better than average wear time.

 

My love of tobacco perfumes compels me to add this as a full bottle to the ranks. Brava! Beth. Love this one. I am pleased as punch to have a dead leaves scent that I can wear and will be eagerly searching through my decants as this gives me hope that there could be other winners.

Edited November 14, 2016 by sprout

[zankoku_zen]

Dead Leaves, chewy tobacco and just a touch of berry. Actually, the berry may well be MIA since I get a ton of chewy tobacco (it smells like a darker version of French Tobacco SN) and dead leaves. Great throw and wear length.

[lizabelle]

This is super dry, like leaves that are so very dead that even a light breeze will make them crunch. The tobacco co-stars with the leaves and makes it an almost smoky, earthy kind of blend. The currants are a teeny bit there in the background, but they're dried and not very prominent. Overall my impression is DRY. There's a hint of natural dead-plant sweetness and some spicy, pepperiness, but it's mostly just exactly what it says.

[Soupy Twist]

A bitter, woody, leaf pile/acorn note. That's it. Not getting any berry or tobacco.