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femmensteinI had an issue with the first shipment of some of these getting sent back before they went through customs, which wasn't BPAL's fault, and then Canada Post went on strike in November, so these took longer to get here than I had anticipated. Then, I ended up moving a few days after the parcel finally showed up, so this post is very late. My apologies!
A little Halloween in early winter action never hurt anyone, so let's Nightmare Before Christmas this place up!
(Some of these aren't technically Weenies, but they either came out around the same time or otherwise fit the theme of Halloween/fall)
🍬 Sweet Tooth (Scorched candy corn and melted toffees)
Preliminary notes: Honestly, if it wasn't for this scent, I probably would have bypassed the Weenies this year. I can't resist candy corn or toffee notes on their own, and I've never seen them together. The scorched aspect of this really interests me as well, so I'm curious as to whether this will just be a goopy sugarbomb, or if there'll be a bit of a smoky edge to it.
In bottle: Oh my goddd, this is SO toffee-heavy, which is exactly what I wanted from it. The candy corn melds into it as well, so it's very sweet and sugary. I get a tiiiny, tiny hint of smoke beneath that.
On skin: Be still my heart! This has the same toffee note as Drink Me, which is one of my very favorite BPAL scents. There's also something in here that reminds me of plastic witch noses from the 90s, and by that, I don't mean this smells like plastic (because it doesn't at all). The specific noses I'm thinking of had a sweet, almost fruity, almost melted candle wax smell, and I loved it.
This definitely has the same melted wax quality to it, and I love it. Sweet, melted wax and toffee with maybe a teeny tiny hint of a wispy smoke note, but it's barely there. I don't get anything scorched, but melty is definitely a good descriptor for this one. Delicious, melty, caramel-y goodness.
Verdict: 5 melty chunks of toffee out of 5.
🍂 The Autumn Folk (Hay-dusted oak, honey mead, pumpkin rind, vetiver root, corn husk, maple leaves)
Preliminary notes: Corn husks always remind me of our local pumpkin patch, and the rest of the note lineup here kind of fits that theme as well. It sounds like a delightful, dry autumnal atmospheric.
In bottle: Oh, wow. Warm and cozy right off the bat, which I wasn't expecting for some reason. The mead, corn husk (such a beautiful note), and oak are the strongest notes. I smell something a bit buttery as well, which is probably the pumpkin. The vetiver isn't acrid at all.
On skin: This is quite pretty! The mead is reading as almost citrusy to me, and everything else melds with it so well. There's a butteriness from the pumpkin, an earthiness from the oak, vetiver, and corn husk, and a bit of sweetness from the maple leaves and mead. It's delightfully autumnal, and a sunnier scent than the description would have one believe. To me, this is an early autumn scent, and it encapsulates the imagery of sunlight peeking through branches in an orange and gold copse of trees. Love it.
Verdict: 5 golden autumn days out of 5.
🎃 Vintage Pumpkin Blow Mold (White musk, sweet orange, crystalline amber, pumpkin rind)
Preliminary notes: I bought Vintage Ghost Blow Mold last year and LOVED it, so this was kind of a no-brainer. I'm also a fan of sweet orange notes.
In bottle: Oh, this is pretty. Weirdly enough, it kind of reminds me of eggnog (or maybe white chocolate), but if it was flavored with orange (which sounds kind of gross, but I promise, it smells better than it would taste). I'm curious to see if the eggnog vibe translates onto the skin.
On skin: First off, I love the orange note in this and might have to keep an eye out for it in the future. The eggnog vibe that was in the bottle is completely gone on the skin. It's all about the orange and white musk, which go together beautifully. Something about this smells sparkling and upscale, like an elegant person in white furs standing underneath a crystal chandelier. It's gorgeous and refined. Despite the (spiced) pumpkin and orange, I wouldn't categorize this as a gourmand at all. Vintage Ghost Blow Mold is absolutely a milky gourmand, but Vintage Pumpkin Blow Mold is just a really pretty, citrusy mood scent.
Verdict: 4.75 glittering pumpkins out of 5.
🎃 Jolly (Pumpkin cream, caramel-coated marshmallow, crushed candy corn, lemon peel, belladonna honey)
Preliminary notes: Pumpkin, caramel, AND candy corn? Yes, please.
In bottle: Surprisingly biting/herbal in the bottle! Once again, there's something in here that reminds me of holiday foods, and I'm not sure what it is. I don't get the pumpkin outright, but I do get a very thick, caramelized cream note. This has a sinister edge to it as well, like being presented a picturesque dessert that's been poisoned.
On skin: This reminds me of something I've smelled before, but I have no idea what it is. Something in here is reading as slightly vegetal, and I'm not sure if it's the pumpkin cream or honey. It has an almost.. dare I say, aquatic or saline quality to it, and I have no idea where that's coming from. I definitely get all of the sweet candy goods, a tiny glimpse of the lemon peel, and the honey note, which is clear and thin. This is still very much an inviting but sinister scent, and I think that's a really fascinating dichotomy to be able to capture in scent format.
Verdict: 4 sinister desserts out of 5.
🎃 Pumpkin Sugar (Crystallized glittering shards of lightly spiced pumpkin sugar)
Preliminary notes: This was kind of a last minute addition to the order. It was a toss up between this and the Candied Apple single note, but I'm very picky about apple notes, so I figured this would be a safer bet.
In bottle: I mean, it's exactly what it says on the tin: pumpkin spices and sugar. There's something a bit dusty and a tiny bit vegetal in there as well, which I would wager is a pumpkin note.
On skin: Delicious, sweet pumpkin spice and sugar. There's a little bit of a buttery pumpkin note in there, but my skin amps cinnamon, so it's mostly cinnamon and sugar on me. Actually, this reminds me of Possets' Sticky Buns a bit, but this is less intense/syrupy. Pumpkin Sugar is linear but really pleasant, and it'd be perfect for layering with other scents that need a bit of a sweet, spicy kick, or with gourmands (layering this with a black tea scent would be delightful, I feel). This is a perfect seasonal transition scent between fall and winter, as the cinnamon gives it a bit of a holiday vibe.
Verdict: 4.5 sugar and spice mixtures out of 5.
🎃 Knave of Pumpkins (Crushed roses, red currant, pumpkin tarts)
Preliminary notes: I had a free sample of Knave of Hearts and really liked it, so a pumpkin variant of that caught my attention immediately. This has red currant, however, and Knave of Hearts has blackcurrant, so it'll be interesting to see how that compares.
In bottle: Knave of Hearts but sweeter, is basically what this is giving me. Once again, I don't get any pumpkin outright, but the tart note in this compared to OG Knave is very custard-y.
On skin: This is similar but also quite different to OG Knave. The use of red currant instead of blackcurrant really stands out, and it meshes with the rose note really well and gives the blend a more candylike, playful vibe. My boyfriend clocked the pumpkin tarts right away, but I couldn't smell them for a while. I smelled the pastry note from the tarts and something creamy/custard-y, but not the pumpkin itself until maybe 10-15 minutes into the drydown. The pumpkin is interwoven with the custard and is very subtle, at least to my nose. Either way, I like OG Knave a lot, but I think I like this even better. My boyfriend loves it too.
Verdict: 5 heart-shaped tarts dripping in red currant juice out of 5.
🎃 Dead Leaves, Burnt Marshmallows, Clove Cream, and Whiskey (Dead leaves, burnt marshmallows, clove cream, whiskey)
Preliminary notes: I've only tried two Dead Leaves blends prior (Dead Leaves on Fire and Dead Leaves, White Sandalwood, and White Moss), but I loved them both. I am a sucker for a good burnt/toasted marshmallow note, but I've never actually encountered a realistic one. I'm hoping it's realistic here. I also love clove and whiskey notes, so this one was a no-brainer.
In bottle: The first sniff of this was.. bizarre. I don't have words to describe it. After that, the Dead Leaves note is the strongest, followed by a gorgeous clove. This smells more "natural" and realistic than Dead Leaves on Fire to me.
On skin: The clove cream definitely packs a punch. You also get the classic, vegetal Dead Leaves note, a bit of the whiskey, and miraculously, the burnt marshmallow note makes an appearance as well (though the marshmallow smells toasted as opposed to truly charred).
The whole thing has a very toasty, almost holiday pudding vibe to it, which I think is great for the transitional period between fall and winter. I wasn't sure about this in the bottle, but on the skin, it's absolutely lovely. Spicy, toasty, and warm. This is very clove-heavy, so if you're not a fan of clove, definitely skip this one.
Verdict: 5 clove-y holiday puddings decorated with fall leaves out of 5.
🎃 Bourbon-Soaked Pumpkin Peanut Butter Fudge (Bourbon, pumpkin, peanut butter fudge)
Preliminary notes: I have a pumpkin and peanut butter candle that I burned off and on during the fall and loved it, so if this is even remotely similar, I'll be over the moon about it.
In bottle: Spiced bourbon and caramel, oddly enough. The peanut butter is very subtle.
On skin: This is quite strong upon initial application. There's a giant, cinnamon-spiced, boooozy bourbon cloud that blooms up from the skin. Underneath that, there's a tiny bit of a vegetal pumpkin, but it's mostly bourbon and spice. I don't get any peanut butter, and the sweetness of the fudge is fairly subtle. This is very rich and spicy, despite not being overly sweet. Huge sillage on this one.
Verdict: 4.25 spiced bourbons out of 5.
🎃 Pumpkin Bliss (Honey-dusted milk chocolate pumpkin bites)
Preliminary notes: The original Bliss, to me, smells like warm chocolate chips. As if you just took a pan of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies out of the oven, but there's no smell from the cookies themselves, and it's just the scent of baked chocolate. I'm curious as to how a pumpkin note is going to meld with that.
In bottle: This definitely has cinnamon in it, or at least that's how it smells in the bottle. I don't get much of the original Bliss DNA in this.
On skin: Honeyed cinnamon bark with a tiny bit of chocolate underneath. Whyyy, skin chemistry. That's quite disappointing. No baked chocolate, no cookie-like note, just sweet cinnamon. That's 100% a result of my skin amping it and not a fault with the scent itself, as I have this issue fairly often. I didn't expect this to have cinnamon in it at all, so that's a bummer. If I had known that, I would have just gotten a bottle of OG Bliss. Oh well.
Verdict: 2 cinnamon-scented disappointments out of 5. Again, not a fault of the scent itself, but a huge bummer.
🎃 Pumpkin Latte (Espresso, pumpkin syrup, smoky vanilla bean, milk, raw sugar, a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg)
Preliminary notes: As mentioned in other review posts, I can't drink coffee, but I sure do love the smell of it. I've never had a PSL, but this sounds divine.
In bottle: Yup, that smells like a spiced latte. I don't get any pumpkin outright, but the rest of the notes are there. When I first got this, it smelled like stewed tomatoes in the bottle, which is an experience I've had with coffee scents before, for whatever reason.
On skin: Oh look, our friends Stewed Tomatoes are back. I think it's the cinnamon mixing with something else that's causing that, but I'm not sure. I don't get any coffee or pumpkin, just spicy stewed, syrupy tomatoes. Not into it.
Verdict: 0 cans of stewed tomatoes out of 5. I offered this to Fox, and it smells much better on him, so take this review with a grain of salt. It just doesn't mesh well with my skin chemistry at all but smells lovely on other people.
🎃 Apple Cider Donuts (Apple cider, donuts)
Preliminary notes: As soon as I saw this in the Virtualcon announcement email, I knew I had to get it. I haven't had stellar luck with BPAL's pastry/baked good notes in the past (they tend to not be as full-bodied or realistic as I'd like), but this also includes apple cider. Even if the donut note isn't realistic, I'll still like it if the cider note is good.
In bottle: Well, this is slightly disappointing. No baked good notes to speak of at all, but a very nice apple note.
On skin: Ahhh, there it is. Rather than a donut though, I get an almost fritter-y note beneath the apple, and even then, it's still 95% apple. A tiny bit of spice as well, but not to the point where my skin is amping it, thankfully. The apple note in this is very fresh and almost cooling, which is my preferred kind of apple note.
As this wears, the fritter-like note becomes a bit stronger, but the apple is the star of the show. I definitely wouldn't call this a strong gourmand or baked good scent, but I also tend to be slightly disappointed with BPAL's gourmands in general. They aren't quite foody enough for me most of the time. Regardless, I do like this a lot, even though it's nowhere near smelling like a donut.
Verdict: 4.25 fresh apples out of 5.
🎃 Hot Buttered Apple Cider (Hot apple cider, melted buttery swirl)
Preliminary notes: Hot apple cider is one of my favorite things during the fall and winter, so this sounds perfect since we're quickly approaching colder weather as I'm writing this.
In bottle: Rather than apple cider and melted butter, I'd say this smells like apple cider buttercream. There's a very distinct frosting-like quality to this.
On skin: Still very much apple cider buttercream. I almost wonder if there was some sort of labeling issue and this is actually Apple Cider Donuts, but then a strong butter note comes out, and it's very clearly not mislabeled. This is like a hot apple dessert with a fat pat of butter on top and is decidedly more gourmand than Apple Cider Donuts. If you don't like butter, I'd recommend avoiding this, since the butter note is very realistic and rich. I love this.
Verdict: 5 pats of butter on a warm apple dessert out of 5.
🎃 Pumpkin Gingerbread Creme Brulee Pie (Scorched pumpkin creme brulee in a gingerbread crust)
Preliminary notes: This has been on my radar for quite some time now, and I figured I might as well get it with the other pumpkin scents I picked up. Not technically a fall/Halloween scent, but.
In bottle: More or less exactly what it says on the tin. The pumpkin note here is the most realistic one I've come across from BPAL, and it smells like straight up pumpkin puree.
On skin: This is delicious. Slightly overcooked pumpkin puree, spicy gingerbread, and a bit of thick cream. This is probably the most realistic gourmand I've tried from BPAL, and it's one of their best for sure. Absolutely perfect pumpkin dessert scent.
Verdict: 5 gingerbread-y pumpkin pies out of 5.
🎃 Chocolat Viennois (A warm mug of dark chocolate and cream with a dribble of blood)
Preliminary notes: I don't usually vibe with chocolate notes, but after trying the original Bliss, I'm a fan of BPAL's at least. I've also been craving a hot chocolate kind of scent lately.
In bottle: Rich, dark chocolate for sure, with a bit of cream and either cherry or dragon's blood (or both) underneath.
On skin: Virtually the same, but richer and less creamy. The chocolate is very dark, and the cherry-dragon's blood combo is holding strong beneath that. There's something almost floral in there as well, which could just be the dragon's blood being extra punchy. After a while, something a bit vegetal and metallic comes to the surface, which smells almost mushroom-y. I liked this before the metallic/mushroom note popped up, but once that happens, it makes me a bit nauseous.
Verdict: 4 mugs of hot cocoa out of 5 before the metallic note pops up, 2 chocolate-covered mushrooms out of 5 afterward. I don't think I'm going to be able to wear this.
🎃 Snakes in the Berry Sonker (Snake Oil, baked blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, warm pastry crust, vanilla ice cream, molasses)
Preliminary notes: The only Snake Oil variant I've tried is Snakes Basking in the First Sunbeams of Spring, which I didn't like. The orange blossom was way too sharp for me, and it just wasn't my thing. I've sampled regular Snake Oil and like it, but not enough to buy it on its own. Mostly, I was thinking about blueberry scents and this one just happened to get released around the same time, so I was willing to take a gamble on it.
In bottle: Definitely Snake Oil, with a ton of berries dumped on top.
On skin: Snake Oil, but make it baked. The pastry crust and ice cream are the strongest underneath the Snake Oil, though the berry notes are very close behind. There's something salty and almost astringent in here, and that's a problem I had with Snakes Basking as well (which leads me to believe that Snake Oil variants just aren't for me). I don't dislike this, but I'm not over the moon about it either. I think I've finally accepted that I need to stop buying Snake Oil flankers.
Verdict: 3 baked berries out of 5.
🍯 Dead Leaves and Honeycomb (Dead leaves, honeycomb)
Preliminary notes: The honeycomb got me, y'all. I haven't tried many BPAL scents with honeycomb notes (Elf and Strawberries & Honeycomb specifically), but I am familiar with the Dead Leaves note. I'm curious to see how the two interact. I'm hoping for kind of a wild beehive in the middle of a fall forest vibe.
In bottle: Strictly just the Dead Leaves accord. I don't get any honeycomb at all.
On skin: Mostly the Dead Leaves accord (which smells fresher than in other DL variants I've tried), and lovely, warm, golden honeycomb beneath that. There's something almost lemony (or maybe mandarin-y. Definitely a citrus of some sort) in here, which further adds to the golden feel, like an autumn afternoon in a forest, with rays of sun breaking through a copse (I know I said something very similar about The Autumn Folk, but it's true in both cases). The leaves in this one smell like a yellowing green as opposed to truly dead, which I think is really interesting in contrast with the other DL scents I've experienced. This will be a lovely late-summer-into-early-autumn transitional scent, and a lovely autumnal scent in general. The more it wears, the more I like it. This is a beautiful and evocative entry into the Dead Leaves series.
Verdict: 4.75 wisps of yellowing leaves swirling around a beehive in a forest out of 5.
🎃 Moroccan Pumpkin (Pumpkin spices, warm musk, carnation, red sandalwood, cassia)
Preliminary notes: Ah, the last of my chosen Pumpkin Patch scents for this year. I was curious about this one but wasn't overly interested in it until I started seeing reviews of it, most of which cited a hidden buttery pumpkin note. I've been craving a good carnation-y gourmand lately as well, so.
In bottle: Hm.. I don't know about this. There's something in here that's a bit cloying to me, but I don't know what it is. Maybe the sandalwood? It's very warm and spice-heavy, which is nice.
On skin: I think I figured out why this is so offputting for me. Something in it smells vegetal and very similar to celery, which is one of my least favorite scents on the planet. It's like, spicy celery with a touch of cayenne on top, which is.. to be quite honest, it's atrocious. If you like spicy, heavy sandalwood notes, this might be a holy grail for you, but it makes me feel a bit ill.
Verdict: 0 stalks of spicy celery out of 5.
🕯️ Guttering Candle (Beeswax, a blackened wick, a shuddering gust of smoke)
Preliminary notes: Y'all know me and my beeswax/candle scents. As of writing this prelim (in late October), the only review I've seen of this was in a BPAL livestream from a bit ago, which didn't paint as much of a picture of this scent as I'd hoped.
In bottle: Much deeper and darker than The Lights of Men's Lives, which is what I expected this to smell like.
On skin: Oh, man, this is good. The beeswax is definitely the same as in The Lights of Men's Lives, but the smoke in this is exquisite. It really does smell like a still-warm candle that was just blown out, which isn't an easy thing to replicate in scent form. The Lab's description of "rivulets of beeswax" is definitely apt, as this smells thick and melty. There's a very tiny hint of sweetness in here, but it's largely smoke and beeswax. I almost passed this up, because how many smoky candle scents does one really need, but I'm very glad I bought this. This scent has a very odd cozy-but-unsettling vibe to it as well, which I find fascinating.
Verdict: 5 melty, freshly blown out candles out of 5.
A little Halloween in early winter action never hurt anyone, so let's Nightmare Before Christmas this place up!
(Some of these aren't technically Weenies, but they either came out around the same time or otherwise fit the theme of Halloween/fall)
🍬 Sweet Tooth (Scorched candy corn and melted toffees)
Preliminary notes: Honestly, if it wasn't for this scent, I probably would have bypassed the Weenies this year. I can't resist candy corn or toffee notes on their own, and I've never seen them together. The scorched aspect of this really interests me as well, so I'm curious as to whether this will just be a goopy sugarbomb, or if there'll be a bit of a smoky edge to it.
In bottle: Oh my goddd, this is SO toffee-heavy, which is exactly what I wanted from it. The candy corn melds into it as well, so it's very sweet and sugary. I get a tiiiny, tiny hint of smoke beneath that.
On skin: Be still my heart! This has the same toffee note as Drink Me, which is one of my very favorite BPAL scents. There's also something in here that reminds me of plastic witch noses from the 90s, and by that, I don't mean this smells like plastic (because it doesn't at all). The specific noses I'm thinking of had a sweet, almost fruity, almost melted candle wax smell, and I loved it.
This definitely has the same melted wax quality to it, and I love it. Sweet, melted wax and toffee with maybe a teeny tiny hint of a wispy smoke note, but it's barely there. I don't get anything scorched, but melty is definitely a good descriptor for this one. Delicious, melty, caramel-y goodness.
Verdict: 5 melty chunks of toffee out of 5.
🍂 The Autumn Folk (Hay-dusted oak, honey mead, pumpkin rind, vetiver root, corn husk, maple leaves)
Preliminary notes: Corn husks always remind me of our local pumpkin patch, and the rest of the note lineup here kind of fits that theme as well. It sounds like a delightful, dry autumnal atmospheric.
In bottle: Oh, wow. Warm and cozy right off the bat, which I wasn't expecting for some reason. The mead, corn husk (such a beautiful note), and oak are the strongest notes. I smell something a bit buttery as well, which is probably the pumpkin. The vetiver isn't acrid at all.
On skin: This is quite pretty! The mead is reading as almost citrusy to me, and everything else melds with it so well. There's a butteriness from the pumpkin, an earthiness from the oak, vetiver, and corn husk, and a bit of sweetness from the maple leaves and mead. It's delightfully autumnal, and a sunnier scent than the description would have one believe. To me, this is an early autumn scent, and it encapsulates the imagery of sunlight peeking through branches in an orange and gold copse of trees. Love it.
Verdict: 5 golden autumn days out of 5.
🎃 Vintage Pumpkin Blow Mold (White musk, sweet orange, crystalline amber, pumpkin rind)
Preliminary notes: I bought Vintage Ghost Blow Mold last year and LOVED it, so this was kind of a no-brainer. I'm also a fan of sweet orange notes.
In bottle: Oh, this is pretty. Weirdly enough, it kind of reminds me of eggnog (or maybe white chocolate), but if it was flavored with orange (which sounds kind of gross, but I promise, it smells better than it would taste). I'm curious to see if the eggnog vibe translates onto the skin.
On skin: First off, I love the orange note in this and might have to keep an eye out for it in the future. The eggnog vibe that was in the bottle is completely gone on the skin. It's all about the orange and white musk, which go together beautifully. Something about this smells sparkling and upscale, like an elegant person in white furs standing underneath a crystal chandelier. It's gorgeous and refined. Despite the (spiced) pumpkin and orange, I wouldn't categorize this as a gourmand at all. Vintage Ghost Blow Mold is absolutely a milky gourmand, but Vintage Pumpkin Blow Mold is just a really pretty, citrusy mood scent.
Verdict: 4.75 glittering pumpkins out of 5.
🎃 Jolly (Pumpkin cream, caramel-coated marshmallow, crushed candy corn, lemon peel, belladonna honey)
Preliminary notes: Pumpkin, caramel, AND candy corn? Yes, please.
In bottle: Surprisingly biting/herbal in the bottle! Once again, there's something in here that reminds me of holiday foods, and I'm not sure what it is. I don't get the pumpkin outright, but I do get a very thick, caramelized cream note. This has a sinister edge to it as well, like being presented a picturesque dessert that's been poisoned.
On skin: This reminds me of something I've smelled before, but I have no idea what it is. Something in here is reading as slightly vegetal, and I'm not sure if it's the pumpkin cream or honey. It has an almost.. dare I say, aquatic or saline quality to it, and I have no idea where that's coming from. I definitely get all of the sweet candy goods, a tiny glimpse of the lemon peel, and the honey note, which is clear and thin. This is still very much an inviting but sinister scent, and I think that's a really fascinating dichotomy to be able to capture in scent format.
Verdict: 4 sinister desserts out of 5.
🎃 Pumpkin Sugar (Crystallized glittering shards of lightly spiced pumpkin sugar)
Preliminary notes: This was kind of a last minute addition to the order. It was a toss up between this and the Candied Apple single note, but I'm very picky about apple notes, so I figured this would be a safer bet.
In bottle: I mean, it's exactly what it says on the tin: pumpkin spices and sugar. There's something a bit dusty and a tiny bit vegetal in there as well, which I would wager is a pumpkin note.
On skin: Delicious, sweet pumpkin spice and sugar. There's a little bit of a buttery pumpkin note in there, but my skin amps cinnamon, so it's mostly cinnamon and sugar on me. Actually, this reminds me of Possets' Sticky Buns a bit, but this is less intense/syrupy. Pumpkin Sugar is linear but really pleasant, and it'd be perfect for layering with other scents that need a bit of a sweet, spicy kick, or with gourmands (layering this with a black tea scent would be delightful, I feel). This is a perfect seasonal transition scent between fall and winter, as the cinnamon gives it a bit of a holiday vibe.
Verdict: 4.5 sugar and spice mixtures out of 5.
🎃 Knave of Pumpkins (Crushed roses, red currant, pumpkin tarts)
Preliminary notes: I had a free sample of Knave of Hearts and really liked it, so a pumpkin variant of that caught my attention immediately. This has red currant, however, and Knave of Hearts has blackcurrant, so it'll be interesting to see how that compares.
In bottle: Knave of Hearts but sweeter, is basically what this is giving me. Once again, I don't get any pumpkin outright, but the tart note in this compared to OG Knave is very custard-y.
On skin: This is similar but also quite different to OG Knave. The use of red currant instead of blackcurrant really stands out, and it meshes with the rose note really well and gives the blend a more candylike, playful vibe. My boyfriend clocked the pumpkin tarts right away, but I couldn't smell them for a while. I smelled the pastry note from the tarts and something creamy/custard-y, but not the pumpkin itself until maybe 10-15 minutes into the drydown. The pumpkin is interwoven with the custard and is very subtle, at least to my nose. Either way, I like OG Knave a lot, but I think I like this even better. My boyfriend loves it too.
Verdict: 5 heart-shaped tarts dripping in red currant juice out of 5.
🎃 Dead Leaves, Burnt Marshmallows, Clove Cream, and Whiskey (Dead leaves, burnt marshmallows, clove cream, whiskey)
Preliminary notes: I've only tried two Dead Leaves blends prior (Dead Leaves on Fire and Dead Leaves, White Sandalwood, and White Moss), but I loved them both. I am a sucker for a good burnt/toasted marshmallow note, but I've never actually encountered a realistic one. I'm hoping it's realistic here. I also love clove and whiskey notes, so this one was a no-brainer.
In bottle: The first sniff of this was.. bizarre. I don't have words to describe it. After that, the Dead Leaves note is the strongest, followed by a gorgeous clove. This smells more "natural" and realistic than Dead Leaves on Fire to me.
On skin: The clove cream definitely packs a punch. You also get the classic, vegetal Dead Leaves note, a bit of the whiskey, and miraculously, the burnt marshmallow note makes an appearance as well (though the marshmallow smells toasted as opposed to truly charred).
The whole thing has a very toasty, almost holiday pudding vibe to it, which I think is great for the transitional period between fall and winter. I wasn't sure about this in the bottle, but on the skin, it's absolutely lovely. Spicy, toasty, and warm. This is very clove-heavy, so if you're not a fan of clove, definitely skip this one.
Verdict: 5 clove-y holiday puddings decorated with fall leaves out of 5.
🎃 Bourbon-Soaked Pumpkin Peanut Butter Fudge (Bourbon, pumpkin, peanut butter fudge)
Preliminary notes: I have a pumpkin and peanut butter candle that I burned off and on during the fall and loved it, so if this is even remotely similar, I'll be over the moon about it.
In bottle: Spiced bourbon and caramel, oddly enough. The peanut butter is very subtle.
On skin: This is quite strong upon initial application. There's a giant, cinnamon-spiced, boooozy bourbon cloud that blooms up from the skin. Underneath that, there's a tiny bit of a vegetal pumpkin, but it's mostly bourbon and spice. I don't get any peanut butter, and the sweetness of the fudge is fairly subtle. This is very rich and spicy, despite not being overly sweet. Huge sillage on this one.
Verdict: 4.25 spiced bourbons out of 5.
🎃 Pumpkin Bliss (Honey-dusted milk chocolate pumpkin bites)
Preliminary notes: The original Bliss, to me, smells like warm chocolate chips. As if you just took a pan of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies out of the oven, but there's no smell from the cookies themselves, and it's just the scent of baked chocolate. I'm curious as to how a pumpkin note is going to meld with that.
In bottle: This definitely has cinnamon in it, or at least that's how it smells in the bottle. I don't get much of the original Bliss DNA in this.
On skin: Honeyed cinnamon bark with a tiny bit of chocolate underneath. Whyyy, skin chemistry. That's quite disappointing. No baked chocolate, no cookie-like note, just sweet cinnamon. That's 100% a result of my skin amping it and not a fault with the scent itself, as I have this issue fairly often. I didn't expect this to have cinnamon in it at all, so that's a bummer. If I had known that, I would have just gotten a bottle of OG Bliss. Oh well.
Verdict: 2 cinnamon-scented disappointments out of 5. Again, not a fault of the scent itself, but a huge bummer.
🎃 Pumpkin Latte (Espresso, pumpkin syrup, smoky vanilla bean, milk, raw sugar, a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg)
Preliminary notes: As mentioned in other review posts, I can't drink coffee, but I sure do love the smell of it. I've never had a PSL, but this sounds divine.
In bottle: Yup, that smells like a spiced latte. I don't get any pumpkin outright, but the rest of the notes are there. When I first got this, it smelled like stewed tomatoes in the bottle, which is an experience I've had with coffee scents before, for whatever reason.
On skin: Oh look, our friends Stewed Tomatoes are back. I think it's the cinnamon mixing with something else that's causing that, but I'm not sure. I don't get any coffee or pumpkin, just spicy stewed, syrupy tomatoes. Not into it.
Verdict: 0 cans of stewed tomatoes out of 5. I offered this to Fox, and it smells much better on him, so take this review with a grain of salt. It just doesn't mesh well with my skin chemistry at all but smells lovely on other people.
🎃 Apple Cider Donuts (Apple cider, donuts)
Preliminary notes: As soon as I saw this in the Virtualcon announcement email, I knew I had to get it. I haven't had stellar luck with BPAL's pastry/baked good notes in the past (they tend to not be as full-bodied or realistic as I'd like), but this also includes apple cider. Even if the donut note isn't realistic, I'll still like it if the cider note is good.
In bottle: Well, this is slightly disappointing. No baked good notes to speak of at all, but a very nice apple note.
On skin: Ahhh, there it is. Rather than a donut though, I get an almost fritter-y note beneath the apple, and even then, it's still 95% apple. A tiny bit of spice as well, but not to the point where my skin is amping it, thankfully. The apple note in this is very fresh and almost cooling, which is my preferred kind of apple note.
As this wears, the fritter-like note becomes a bit stronger, but the apple is the star of the show. I definitely wouldn't call this a strong gourmand or baked good scent, but I also tend to be slightly disappointed with BPAL's gourmands in general. They aren't quite foody enough for me most of the time. Regardless, I do like this a lot, even though it's nowhere near smelling like a donut.
Verdict: 4.25 fresh apples out of 5.
🎃 Hot Buttered Apple Cider (Hot apple cider, melted buttery swirl)
Preliminary notes: Hot apple cider is one of my favorite things during the fall and winter, so this sounds perfect since we're quickly approaching colder weather as I'm writing this.
In bottle: Rather than apple cider and melted butter, I'd say this smells like apple cider buttercream. There's a very distinct frosting-like quality to this.
On skin: Still very much apple cider buttercream. I almost wonder if there was some sort of labeling issue and this is actually Apple Cider Donuts, but then a strong butter note comes out, and it's very clearly not mislabeled. This is like a hot apple dessert with a fat pat of butter on top and is decidedly more gourmand than Apple Cider Donuts. If you don't like butter, I'd recommend avoiding this, since the butter note is very realistic and rich. I love this.
Verdict: 5 pats of butter on a warm apple dessert out of 5.
🎃 Pumpkin Gingerbread Creme Brulee Pie (Scorched pumpkin creme brulee in a gingerbread crust)
Preliminary notes: This has been on my radar for quite some time now, and I figured I might as well get it with the other pumpkin scents I picked up. Not technically a fall/Halloween scent, but.
In bottle: More or less exactly what it says on the tin. The pumpkin note here is the most realistic one I've come across from BPAL, and it smells like straight up pumpkin puree.
On skin: This is delicious. Slightly overcooked pumpkin puree, spicy gingerbread, and a bit of thick cream. This is probably the most realistic gourmand I've tried from BPAL, and it's one of their best for sure. Absolutely perfect pumpkin dessert scent.
Verdict: 5 gingerbread-y pumpkin pies out of 5.
🎃 Chocolat Viennois (A warm mug of dark chocolate and cream with a dribble of blood)
Preliminary notes: I don't usually vibe with chocolate notes, but after trying the original Bliss, I'm a fan of BPAL's at least. I've also been craving a hot chocolate kind of scent lately.
In bottle: Rich, dark chocolate for sure, with a bit of cream and either cherry or dragon's blood (or both) underneath.
On skin: Virtually the same, but richer and less creamy. The chocolate is very dark, and the cherry-dragon's blood combo is holding strong beneath that. There's something almost floral in there as well, which could just be the dragon's blood being extra punchy. After a while, something a bit vegetal and metallic comes to the surface, which smells almost mushroom-y. I liked this before the metallic/mushroom note popped up, but once that happens, it makes me a bit nauseous.
Verdict: 4 mugs of hot cocoa out of 5 before the metallic note pops up, 2 chocolate-covered mushrooms out of 5 afterward. I don't think I'm going to be able to wear this.
🎃 Snakes in the Berry Sonker (Snake Oil, baked blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, warm pastry crust, vanilla ice cream, molasses)
Preliminary notes: The only Snake Oil variant I've tried is Snakes Basking in the First Sunbeams of Spring, which I didn't like. The orange blossom was way too sharp for me, and it just wasn't my thing. I've sampled regular Snake Oil and like it, but not enough to buy it on its own. Mostly, I was thinking about blueberry scents and this one just happened to get released around the same time, so I was willing to take a gamble on it.
In bottle: Definitely Snake Oil, with a ton of berries dumped on top.
On skin: Snake Oil, but make it baked. The pastry crust and ice cream are the strongest underneath the Snake Oil, though the berry notes are very close behind. There's something salty and almost astringent in here, and that's a problem I had with Snakes Basking as well (which leads me to believe that Snake Oil variants just aren't for me). I don't dislike this, but I'm not over the moon about it either. I think I've finally accepted that I need to stop buying Snake Oil flankers.
Verdict: 3 baked berries out of 5.
🍯 Dead Leaves and Honeycomb (Dead leaves, honeycomb)
Preliminary notes: The honeycomb got me, y'all. I haven't tried many BPAL scents with honeycomb notes (Elf and Strawberries & Honeycomb specifically), but I am familiar with the Dead Leaves note. I'm curious to see how the two interact. I'm hoping for kind of a wild beehive in the middle of a fall forest vibe.
In bottle: Strictly just the Dead Leaves accord. I don't get any honeycomb at all.
On skin: Mostly the Dead Leaves accord (which smells fresher than in other DL variants I've tried), and lovely, warm, golden honeycomb beneath that. There's something almost lemony (or maybe mandarin-y. Definitely a citrus of some sort) in here, which further adds to the golden feel, like an autumn afternoon in a forest, with rays of sun breaking through a copse (I know I said something very similar about The Autumn Folk, but it's true in both cases). The leaves in this one smell like a yellowing green as opposed to truly dead, which I think is really interesting in contrast with the other DL scents I've experienced. This will be a lovely late-summer-into-early-autumn transitional scent, and a lovely autumnal scent in general. The more it wears, the more I like it. This is a beautiful and evocative entry into the Dead Leaves series.
Verdict: 4.75 wisps of yellowing leaves swirling around a beehive in a forest out of 5.
🎃 Moroccan Pumpkin (Pumpkin spices, warm musk, carnation, red sandalwood, cassia)
Preliminary notes: Ah, the last of my chosen Pumpkin Patch scents for this year. I was curious about this one but wasn't overly interested in it until I started seeing reviews of it, most of which cited a hidden buttery pumpkin note. I've been craving a good carnation-y gourmand lately as well, so.
In bottle: Hm.. I don't know about this. There's something in here that's a bit cloying to me, but I don't know what it is. Maybe the sandalwood? It's very warm and spice-heavy, which is nice.
On skin: I think I figured out why this is so offputting for me. Something in it smells vegetal and very similar to celery, which is one of my least favorite scents on the planet. It's like, spicy celery with a touch of cayenne on top, which is.. to be quite honest, it's atrocious. If you like spicy, heavy sandalwood notes, this might be a holy grail for you, but it makes me feel a bit ill.
Verdict: 0 stalks of spicy celery out of 5.
🕯️ Guttering Candle (Beeswax, a blackened wick, a shuddering gust of smoke)
Preliminary notes: Y'all know me and my beeswax/candle scents. As of writing this prelim (in late October), the only review I've seen of this was in a BPAL livestream from a bit ago, which didn't paint as much of a picture of this scent as I'd hoped.
In bottle: Much deeper and darker than The Lights of Men's Lives, which is what I expected this to smell like.
On skin: Oh, man, this is good. The beeswax is definitely the same as in The Lights of Men's Lives, but the smoke in this is exquisite. It really does smell like a still-warm candle that was just blown out, which isn't an easy thing to replicate in scent form. The Lab's description of "rivulets of beeswax" is definitely apt, as this smells thick and melty. There's a very tiny hint of sweetness in here, but it's largely smoke and beeswax. I almost passed this up, because how many smoky candle scents does one really need, but I'm very glad I bought this. This scent has a very odd cozy-but-unsettling vibe to it as well, which I find fascinating.
Verdict: 5 melty, freshly blown out candles out of 5.
Tags:
- amber: white,
- apple cider,
- baked goods,
- beeswax,
- belladonna,
- blackberry,
- blood,
- blueberry,
- bourbon,
- butter,
- candle wick,
- candy corn,
- caramel,
- carnation,
- cassia,
- chocolate,
- cinnamon,
- clove,
- corn husk,
- cream,
- creme brulee,
- donuts,
- espresso,
- gingerbread,
- hay,
- honey,
- honey dust,
- honeycomb,
- house: black phoenix alchemy lab,
- ice cream,
- leaves,
- lemon,
- maple,
- marshmallow,
- mead,
- milk,
- molasses,
- musk: misc,
- musk: white,
- nutmeg,
- oak,
- orange,
- peanut butter,
- pumpkin,
- red currant,
- red sandalwood,
- rose,
- smoke,
- spices,
- strawberry,
- sugar,
- toffee,
- vanilla bean,
- vetiver,
- whiskey
