Dead Leaves, Bourbon Vetiver, Nagarmotha, and Vanilla Absolute

[ladymeag]

Every leaf tells a story.

In the bottle: mossy, warm, a little vanilla, a hint of vetiver.

On my skin: I have two choices with vetiver - it either amps beyond all comprehension or settles in and provides a woodsy warmth. This scent has the second one with a nice mellowing of vanilla. There's an ozone quality here I can't quite place but it carries this scent straight into "crisp fall day among rustling leaves." Where October gives me all of the damp-day fireside warmth of leaves, this one is a nice dry-leaves scent that's not quite as sharp or bright as A World Where There Are Octobers or Sonnet D'Automne.

On someone else in my house: All vetiver, all the time with a hint of soapy vanilla. Edited October 14, 2018 by ladymeag

[melandie]

This one is still confusing me a bit...in a good way. It goes on super sharp but mellows into a lovely sweetness and the vanilla comes out after about a half hour. I think I need to let it age just a bit to let it settle and come into its own. I was looking for a successor to my 2016 Dead Leaves Bourbon Vanilla Raw Leather and Clove and this is not quite it, but is a lovely option that I think will get better over time.

[brineydeep]

I was expecting earthiness from this blend but “woody” is a better description.

 

It’s predominantly vetiver with, I expect, support from the nagarmotha (no idea what that smells like). I’m hit-or-miss with vetiver; I can’t handle it if it’s too strong, but here it’s lighter and woody instead of really strong and bitter. The dead leaves aren’t heavy but rather blend into the feeling of this scent with a hint of earthy dampness. The vanilla comes out more with dry down.

 

I agree with the above reviewer in that I initially couldn’t get a handle on this blend, but I think the final verdict is going to be positive.

[zankoku_zen]

Moss, vanilla, hint of vetiver and dead leaves. It's got that ozoney sense over it. There's something perfumey about it. Medium throw and wear length.

[puellacaerulea]

I get mostly vetiver with this one, but it blends with the vanilla and dead leaves in a way that makes it woody with just a hint of sweetness. I was also picking up something a little off-puttingly ozone-like at first, but it seems to go away on drydown. This is a little more classically perfumey than some of the other dead leaf blends, but I think in a good way.

[marared]

Leafy vetiver. It's not as sharp and smoky as fresh vetiver can be, nor as rich and gooey as the aged sort, more like what I would expect a vetiver *plant* to smell like. I would never have known there was any vanilla in this, but I think maybe that's what's softening the vetiver and the dead leaves, both of which can be a little harsh, especially fresh.

[Dark Alice]

Dead leaves, vetiver with a hint of vanilla. I was hoping the vanilla would be heavier here..but it's not.

[Lucchesa]

Dead leaves, subtle vetiver, and mostly what must be nagarmotha because I don't recognize it as any of the other ingredients. Tbere's something almost citrusy on my skin here, which may be what is striking other reviewers as an ozone note. Vanilla is present, again subtly, in the drydown, but I was hoping for more vetiver, more bourbon and more vanilla. I'll retest in a couple weeks to see how it's settling down.

 

ETA Four years later, DL & sweet long-lasting vetiver, gorgeous!

Edited October 15, 2022 by Lucchesa

[mandragora369]

This leave is quite weak, not strong at first. Wet it's a bit green on me, with little vertiver and maybe a hint of vanilla. But still not bad.

Dry there's a deeper scent, which I suppose is Nagarmotha (and/or vanilla?) Googled it, it's an Indian medically used plant, which is supposed to smell deep woody earthy.

 

Curious how this will age.