All Hallows Chaos: Samhain

[wendyb1063]

Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void, but out of chaos.
― Mary Shelley, 1831

This Samhain, were reveling in the desecration of a classic blend: Damp woods, fir needle, and black patchouli with the gentlest touches of warm pumpkin, clove, nutmeg, allspice, sweet red apple and mullein.

I was the lucky recipient of #12. It starts out with a bit of orange and maybe a bit more of the the eucalyptus vibe I get from regular Samhain. I love it! With time, it morphs into the sweet, honey/apple-like scent of regular Samhain. I love it!!! My best Chaos Theory gamble ever!

[forspecial_plate]

#46

 

There's a pretty clear wine note in this, it reminds me of grape. If you had asked me, "What's one note that you DON'T want in your Chaos scent?", I might very well have said grape. But, this is so good, and a great fall scent! I'm surprised at how well it works on me.

 

Up close, I think there might be some kind of stone or clay note. And I think there's some kind of incense too. Samhain is in the background and comes out stronger as time goes on.

 

I mentioned elsewhere, this kind of reminds me of Temple Viper with Samhain instead of Snake Oil. But the "crumbling stone" note kind of reminds me of Lace Phoenix and (from what I remember) some of the Crimson Peak line. 

 

Edit 6/26/25:  HONEY.  I think there's honey in this.  Another note I wouldn't have picked.  But I still like it. 

Edited June 25 by forspecial_plate

[AirimirOfGondor]

I got a few bottles! Regular Samhain is already one of my most favorite perfumes ever. It is earthy and woodsy, but with the perfect level of foodie/fruity notes and autumn spices, without being overwhelmingly sweet. This was my first CT release, and has been very exciting for me!

 

#5 -- I have no earthly idea.... I've thought it was red musk, pomegranate (or other dark fruit), dragons blood, maybe even saffron, or a dark fruit and incense mix... But, every time I think I've gotten it figured out, it seems to change on me.

It is slightly sweeter than plain Samhain, but equally as deep and dark. I will figure this one out yet!

 

#11 very gourmand to me. It might be vanilla, or perhaps tonka. It vaguely reminds me of some notes in Arcana's Honey Thief, so it could also maybe be labdanum, of some kind of honey. I can't fully place it, other than it is warm and sweet. It really reminds me of the time I was introduced to namoura cake as a kid - #11 really reminded me immediately of that super-dense/moist/chewy, sweet cake. There is also some kind of a golden dry-ish sweetgrass-reminiscent note as well. Very nice, but very sweet! (It is lovely, but just not so great for me, the mostly-anti-foodie )

 

#14 is a little lighter and more fresh. I also can't tell if I'm second guessing this one. I think it is cherry, or pomegranate? Could also possibly be cranberry or plum, or some other red fruit. It does dry to be mostly just Samhain, but the juicy red does stick around for a little while.

 

#50 - I swapped someone the #11 for this - the other person thought it smelled woodsy, with an 'ashy' quality, but I personally just get lots of extra pumpkin. Perhaps with amber? Amber sometimes has a powdery quality for me, so I could easily equate that to being ashy.

Edited October 26, 2018 by AirimirOfGondor

[forspecial_plate]

#3

 

This has a soft bonfire note and some kind of musk, possibly red musk, and Samhain comes out over time. It's a beautiful fall scent, reminds me of Witch Dance except a lot softer. There's nothing harsh, just a warm glowing musky bonfire, with the sweetness of Samhain. I love it!

 

Edit 3/31/19, I'm wearing this now and I swear it's straight up tobacco with some Samhain around the edges.  How did I not smell tobacco in it before??

Edited April 1, 2019 by forspecial_plate

[torikitty]

I got bottle #15. I tried this on the other day, and was having a hard time identifying notes. I'll give it another shot.

 

In the bottle: Rose? Rose oude? Is Rose oude even a thing? There's something from the garden in here. I tend to stay away from the garden/rooty/weedy kinda smells, so I can't pinpoint what GC smell might be in here.

 

Drydown: It does sweeten up quite quickly, but there's still that stinky oude hanging around. The rose calms down. It begins to take on something minty or eucalyptus-like. Samhain is struggling in the back to get out. Maybe there's some rosewood?

 

Dry: The rose is angling towards more of a sweet, powdery floral. Eventually the Samhain is there, but it's still under a layer of powdery rose. It's pretty, but it's not for me.

[vonham]

I got #38! Exciting! My first reaction sniffing it from the bottle is that is smells like the pumpkin musk I had also just gotten, mixed with Samhain. On the skin I still get that muskiness, but with a sharpness that reminds me of dead leaves. There is something slightly off putting about it, and I haven't decided if I like it yet or not. My partner thinks it smells like a musty goodwill shop .

 

I think I'll age this a bit and go back to it.

[DryFrogPills]

#52 - This is fairly close to classic Samhain in the bottle. On the skin, I can pull out the addition of something bitter, but in a good way, and an additional fruit. I'm still not at all sure what that bitter edge is, and it's definitely /bitter/, but it acts to balance the sweetness I get from rosin and adds a slightly menacing edge in the first few hours of wear that I enjoy. Later, it fades down to a long lasting glow of rosin made edgier by what I'm now pretty sure is currant and apple. The currant, if that is the fruit note, fixes the apple a bit so it lasts longer. Rather than turning into super-sweet honey rosin on me after about an hour and a half like regular Samhain, this stays complex for about two hours, then the fruity-slightly-bitter-honey for about another six, and a very slightly fruity soft rosin even beyond that.

 

I'm happy, since the mood of the original is maintained, and this makes it more lasting and forgiving of my skin chemistry's insistence on amping rosin into overwhelming sweetness and keeps it a complex, moody fall perfume instead.

[isisonearth]

Bottle 67 was a bit of a wild ride. When I opened it it was WHAM honey and floral. You could smell the bottle from a block away. On my skin it started off with that strong honey plus rose and I think another floral with not an autumnal glimpse of Samhain in sight.

 

After a bit it had a soft, warm mixed spice scent with some nice pumpkin that began to give way to fir needles as it dried. Fully dried down that honey came back in.

 

Overall dramatic and beautiful with a huge throw. Everything I want from chaos in a bottle.

[KezzieZ]

#3

 

Im trying this fresh and unsettled, just like Samhain earlier, so this stuff could be somewhat subject to change.

 

In the Bottle: This definitely smells more like a dark red fruit version of Samhain. Its less bitter maple syrup than the regular smells in the bottle to me (at least, judging from the first sniff I had of Samhain in the bottle).

 

Wet on Skin: I think the other #3 review is on to something with the red musk theory. This smells familiar to me, but its difficult to place without the frame of reference a notes list would give. Samhain is pretty far in the background at first, making this version a tad gentler from my perspective.

 

Later: The bonfire vibe I have from Samhain feels both lighter and more accurate in this version. Samhain in general is becoming more apparent now. The red musk or whatever it is keeps things a little sweetened and amplifies the apple and mulled wine. The spices are still present, too. This may be fading more to the soft bonfire scent or could be a bit of a morpher.

 

Overall, I like this blend. It softens Samhains harsher edges, though Im sure thats not what everyone would want from a Samhain blend. The stage its in at the exact moment makes me worry that it could soften a bit too much, but I do sense some throw and stuff. Ill see how it goes in future testing.

 

EDIT: Fixed a typo and the apostrophes disappeared again. Thats pretty weird.

Edited October 21, 2018 by KezzieZ

[mandragora369]

I already love regular Samhain ever since it's been in my first order last year! It's perfectly fruity dark, mysterious. This was my first CT release, and I've been very exciting!

 

Additionally to the full sizes, I got Ajevie decants from the CT. So there are a couple more to review.

 

#35

 

I smell spearmint, out of the vial and on my skin! The mint note is strong but almost creamy! Samhain is far in the background, mint is very dominant in my skin.

 

#49

 

Definitely rose, there's rose in there! Also quite dominant, but not unpleasant!

 

#63

 

I'm not sure what I get here, might be leather with some powdry aspect? Not really my cup of tea.

 

#84

 

In the bottle I get something fresh like eucalyptus or camphor. On the skin the fresh aspect isn't as strong as in the bottle. It's really nice though! Just like regular Samhain with a wee bit less fruit and a bit freshness. Excited how this will age!!

 

#196

In the bottle it's sweeter then regular Samhain, but nonetheless lovely! I guess it's added musk, might even be skin musk. After hours that's what I'm smelling on my skin 😍

 

Think I'll definitely order more variants.

Edited December 26, 2018 by mandragora369
added second bottle

[zankoku_zen]

#85 (I think - I may be mixing up with the PS. One is 85, the other is 45)

This Samhain has some extra patchouli in it. There's a very strong dirt leaf note I'm getting from this. On wet, it had a very blackberry tone to it. To me this smells like Dirt + Samhain.

[sprout]

#24

 

I didn't think Samhain could get any better but clearly that's not the case;)

 

First time I dabbled, it was Samhain with more of the smoke note, a hint of tobacco perhaps, a nice cola note, perhaps Samhain with oppoponox?

 

Next time, I slathered, maybe it made a difference? Less smoky, more of the cider note with a smooth ass patchouli cranked up to 11: And, luckily I'm a fan! I lurve the Patchouli notes and that may be what I originally thought was tobacco and oppoponox. I find patchouli to be quite variable yet usually good on me. Banshee Beat is a favorite.

 

I will keep testing because I'm trying to discern the notes but I really love this version of Samhain with extra mystery resin and patchouli. Not sure if the extra is oppoponox, copal, or tobacco and this could also be the regular Samhain notes with some serious morphing minus aging (my favorite Samhain is 2007 as it is very nicely aged yet I have no clue of the notes) but I'm fairly certain that there's patchouli, cider, bonfire smoke and a hint of pumpkin and dead leaves in my original but I could be misremember. I don't have it for comparison because I am moving and it's packed:/

 

 

I'm going to treasure this bottle, it may be my favorite Weenie yet and I wish I could get my grabby paws on moar but hey that's what I get for dancing with Eris!!

 

#24

Edited November 1, 2018 by sprout

[Aveya]

#171

 

Was hoping for more reviews to see what it is in mine that I love, lol. Honestly 171 is almost exactly Samhain straight to me, but it has a warmer gentle touch. My gut response is to say Vanilla. I've been sniff comparing to Samhain 2010 that I have - it's warmer. It doesn't have that sharp cold wind aspect. It's warmed up and toned down. It's really lovely. Maybe a benzoin/tonka/vanilla. Maybe something else entirely but that just brings out the warmer aspects of this blend. It's fruit-pulp heavy and gently sweeter. More foody-edged than forest-pine edged.

 

In any case I adore it. I might swap some decants just to trade for sniffing others because I think Samhain is a beautiful one to play with.

 

 

[alterosen]

#135

Samhain with a black cherry note, very sweet, sugary & strong. It actually overpowers the Samhain base while occasionally letting elements peek through. This is a dark & mysterious fruit scent. As it dries, the cherry becomes less defined & takes on a whiff of wine or sugar plum. It reminds me somewhat of Hearth '04. Though it teeters on the verge of being too sweet for me & doesn't last quite as long as regular Samhain, I'm totally enjoying it!

[Juliamon]

Grabbed a leftover Ajevie decant of #35 and then... uh, forgot about it. I mean, "aged" it. Unlike the previous reviewer I only get the slightest hint of mint, as though the Samhain spices took the last handful of months to really intensify. Especially the nutmeg. There is WAY more nutmeg in here than normal Samhain. I'm not sure I'm digging it.

[alterosen]

#49 - Samhain with lots of honey. Unlike Mandragora above, I'm not noticing any rose

 

#71 - Samhain with sweet red fruit (cherry?) & maybe some honey. This one might have a bit of rose, as well, because there's a plastic-y incense phase that happens with some rose notes on me though it goes away after a while

 

Edited November 11, 2019 by alterosen

[alterosen]

#76 - Samhain with a bit more dead leaves & a splash of booze.

[artisjok]

#135 decant from alterosen~
 

I definitely smell the cherry in the vial, and it’s strong while wet on my skin. The scent becomes kind of tart and powdery upon drying, not as juicy as I hoped and definitely less sweet than the wet phase. Reminds me of candy, the powdery tablet-shaped ones. I can also see the it being plummy, like alterosen mentioned. I can detect a little bit of Samhain hiding beneath, specifically on my right hand. 

 

I’ll have to try this out after I mosturize, because I love a yummy cherry scent, and hope that it’s just my dry skin that makes it flee so fast! 

Glad to try this Chaos scent~~🌟

[Poenari]

#159

I reached for my bottle this morning, as the weather is going to turn cooler today and feel like autumn. I applied and took note of the scent that has now aged for three years, and then went to look up my review to see what I initially thought. Well damn me, I never posted a review! So here it is, with my now aged bottle.

 

Wet and in the bottle, distinctly Samhain, but without the initial nose-wrinkling effect I usually get when sniffing wet: typically from the fir and mullein. Applied on skin, and after dry down, this is a lovely version of Samhain where the apple is truly prominent. That is usually a hidden note to me! The fir and mullein are way in the background. 

 

After 30 minutes or more, this has worn to a lovely autumn apple scent, slightly spicy and with that distinct "Samhain" smell that no other Halloween-themed perfume has. I really love this version!