Scented Musings

I 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.

Hello, yet again! Previous parts of my Possets reviews can be found here and here, which also explain a bit about how this is laid out, what TAT was like, etc. etc. I initially just went to purchase Well Bred, buuut then I got sucked into the spring retour rabbithole, and.. well, obviously it didn't just end with Well Bred. 😂


🍵Well Bred (Highly refined tea, a green and refreshing heart note) (Valentine's retour)

Preliminary notes: Something about this one grabbed my attention when I first came across the listing and refused to let go. I'm a sucker for tea scents, as noted in my other reviews, but this one seemed extra special for whatever reason. I've been getting into Peaky Blinders lately, and something about the description for this one reminds me of the mood of that show.

DH's preliminary notes: Tea time in a British park? Certainly has nothing to do with the fact that we're watching Peaky Blinders.. (Eyyy, I'm not the only one)

In bottle: Very tea-forward with something that smells almost like coffee or soft leather. Interesting.

DH's thoughts: Whoooa, that's like peppery almost. It's got an interesting musk to it. Is there like, some sort of tree in there?

On skin: That coffee-like nuance is still there, and the tea has taken on a slightly dusty quality, but dusty in the sense of like.. it smells like the bottom of a loose-leaf tea tin when you reach the bottom of it. I still can't figure out what the "green and refreshing heart note" is, but it's not mint. Maybe a bit of lime leaf or labdanum? I do love the tea note in this, which isn't surprising at all, given my previous experience with Possets' tea notes. This is no exception. The coffee-esque tone this has makes it really nice for wearing in the morning.

DH's thoughts: Is there cinnamon in that? Really? It smells like cinnamon apples. Like green cinnamon apples. Is there apple in that? Fuck's sakes..

Verdict: 5 morning coffee/tea spreads out of 5. I do really like this. I've never smelled a scent that has both coffee and tea in it (even if the coffee note is per my own imagination), and it's very interesting. It kind of does fit the Peaky Blinders theme.


🍍Perkin (Pineapple, the smoothest of custards, dripping with cream and vanilla) (Spring retour)

Preliminary notes: I used to hate pineapple. I hated the smell of it, I hated the taste and the texture; it was repulsive to me. I don't know what changed, but a few years ago, I got inspired to try fresh pineapple again, and suddenly, I loved it. DH and I regularly have fresh pineapple chunks and/or pineapple juice in the house now. I don't have many pineapple scents, and this sounded delicious and perfect for summer.

DH's preliminary notes: Sounds like a Hawaiian treat of some kind.. Hawaiian Delight, that's what it's called!

In bottle: Yesss. This reminds me of Alchemic Muse's Pineapple Milk a little bit, but it's so much better. Pineapple and custard are a perfect match for each other. There's something slightly crumbly and softly spiced lurking beneath the pineapple and creaminess, which smells akin to a graham cracker crust.

DH's thoughts: Chocolate. Mint. Mint chocolate.

On skin: So I don't know if pineapple cream pie is a real thing, but if it is, I'd imagine it smells exactly like this. There's a very distinct pie crust-like note in here along with the pineapple and custard. I want to eat this. The pineapple and custard/cream/vanilla are very well-balanced, and it really does smell like a fresh slice of pie. Unexpected but fantastic. The pie crust-like note goes into almost saltine cracker territory sometimes, which I don't overly enjoy, but the rest of the scent is stellar.

DH's thoughts: Whoa, that caught me off guard. That's a real mix of smells. Whatever this is, these are smells I've never seen paired together before. It has a very unique, fascinating smell.

Verdict: 5 potentially fictional pineapple cream pies out of 5. I have nothing else to say about this beyond it's amazing and one of the best gourmands I've smelled.


🌸Tidal Wave (Cherry blossom, aquatic notes, splintered green woods) (Spring retour)

Preliminary notes: Much like pineapple, I used to think I hated cherry blossom. BPAL's Cherry Blossom Vulva changed that. The description for this one sounds like sitting in a park lined with a grove of cherry trees with a decently-sized pond in the background (or maybe in the middle).

DH's preliminary notes: Sounds like driftwood on a Japanese sea.

In bottle: The mother of all laundry detergent scents. This makes me very sad. I know better than to take Possets scents at face value before aging them though, so we'll see how that goes.

DH's thoughts: It's kind of refreshing, like evergreens and some kind of tea infusion.

On skin: Fuck, this is the spitting image of wet laundry, like when you take laundry out of the washer to transfer to the dryer. Do not want.

DH's thoughts: Fresh linens?

Verdict: 1 pile of wet (but clean) laundry out of 5. I don't like clean scents or laundry-adjacent scents, and this is the queen of both. Great for someone else, but not for me.


💐Primavera (Hyacinth, lily of the valley, a touch of sweetness) (Spring retour)

Preliminary notes: I adore hyacinth, but it's not a note I see often in indies. The "touch of sweetness" is apparently similar to cookies, according to various reviews, so this kind of sounds like a romantic garden party.

DH's preliminary notes: Walter White's backyard before he became Heisenberg.

In bottle: Slightly floral cookies. The florals are nondescript and don't smell like anything in particular.

DH's thoughts: That's odd. There's something almost sweaty about this one, and something floral about it too.

On skin: I am.. not a fan of this. It smells like dusty, stale cookies. I don't get any floral notes whatsoever. Hard pass.

DH's thoughts: None. I scrubbed this off before DH had a chance to smell it and threw Reason on to cover up the remnants of it.

Verdict: 0 old, dust-covered plates of cookies out of 5. I am sorely disappointed by this one. I had high hopes for the hyacinth note, but it's literally nonexistent.


🥧Indy 499 (Fluffy peony, the flakiest and most tender of pie smells) (Spring retour)

Preliminary notes: Peony is another floral note I don't see often. It's been many a year since I've smelled a peony (minus a tree peony I had that smelled like lemon ice cream, before our neighbor accidentally mowed it along with the grass), but I do remember liking the scent quite a bit.

DH's preliminary notes: Eating pie at my grandma's farm. (How friggin' adorable is that?)

In bottle: Pie and peony is such an odd combination, but strangely enough, it works. It smells like a cut peony on top of a piece of apple pie, or maybe apple rhubarb pie. The pie note has a smidge of tartness to it.

DH's thoughts: A light floral scent with maybe a wine infusion of some sort, like maybe an ice wine.

On skin: Peony lovers, eat your hearts out. The peony note is potent, but in a good way. It's the most realistic peony note I've come across. The pie crust recedes a bit, so it ends up primarily smelling like eating apple slices in a garden full of peonies. It's very pretty and fresh.

DH's thoughts: Fresh linens and flowers of some type? Something like that.

Verdict: 5 apple-eating excursions in a peony-laden garden out of 5 (I'd give this a higher score if I hadn't limited myself). I was a bit worried that the apple pie portion of this scent would be overbearing, but it evens out really nicely on the skin and becomes almost a peony single-note, but with a bit of depth from the (presumed) apple. This takes me right back to being a kid and smelling my sister's peonies in the front garden after she moved into my grandfather's house. This will be lovely for warmer weather.


🏘️3336 Reservoir Road N.W. (Cool green tree-lined streets, a whiff of tea being served in some successful man's drawing room, a bit of class-laden perfume worn by the ladies at tea, the far away scent of labdanum) (Spring retour)

Preliminary notes: More tea, more Peaky Blinders mental associations. Neither are shocking at this point. Classy tea scents are a huge weakness of mine, apparently.

DH's preliminary notes: Sounds like somebody having an affair in a Victorian manor.

In bottle: I can't really make out anything beyond a really nice evergreen note and some tea. Quite atmospheric, this one. It doesn't pull too masculine, either. It kind of smells like an outdoorsy cousin of Well Bred.

DH's thoughts: There's something kind of earthy about this. What is it...

On skin: Yesss, this is so good. The evergreen note mingles really well with the almost-fruity tea, and the labdanum and nondescript perfume notes provide a solid backdrop for it all. There's a very faint jammy spice note in there, which could be the jamminess of the evergreens mixing with the spiciness of the tea. I adore this. The thing I really love about Possets' tea notes is that they smell somewhere between a hot, steaming cup of tea and a cannister of loose tea leaves, split pretty evenly. It's fascinating and ends up smelling incredibly realistic most of the time.

DH's thoughts: None.

Verdict: 5 high-class tea times in a fancy townhouse out of 5. It's very rare that I don't like a tea scent from Possets, and this is no exception. The balance of the notes is perfect. As with most of Possets' tea scents, this one has its own personality and stands out from the rest of them while also being very obviously related to them. This makes me want to try more of their scents with evergreen notes as well.


🔥The Great Housewife of Babylon (Deep black musks, smoke from incense braziers, thick black tea, a mighty wallop of tobacco resin) (Spring retour)

Preliminary notes: This sounds spooky and commanding, and also kind of like a speakeasy.. or how I'd imagine The Garrison in Peaky Blinders would smell. (Sensing a theme?)

DH's preliminary notes: My version of meditation?

In bottle: Primarily the black musks and tobacco. Still smells like a speakeasy or The Garrison.

DH's thoughts: It's kind of weird; there's something kind of almost peppery and sweet about it. It kind of has the scent of new clothing to it, like a new boot. I actually kind of like this one.

On skin: From a distance immediately after application, this smells powdery and almost sweaty. Up close though, it's almost caramelized-smelling. It is a VERY dark and intimidating scent, which I'm perfectly content with. I could not imagine wearing this in warmer weather, even in spring. It's quite heavy and intense. Still smells like a speakeasy or The Garrison, so I'm happy with that as well. I don't get any specific notes beyond the tobacco resin and resins in general. As this wears a bit, the tea comes out more, and let me tell you. If it hasn't been mentioned 500 times yet already, I love Possets' tea notes so much. They're my favorite tea notes from all of the houses I've tried over the years. The Great Housewife is very resinous, and very foreboding. It smells a bit witchy and would no doubt be a hit around October/Halloween time. There's also something a bit haunted cathedral-esque about it, or like drinking tea in a crypt.

DH's thoughts: None. Destashed.

Verdict: 3 very smoky speakeasies out of 5. There's a very distinct powderiness to this one, which I'm not a fan of at all, which I'm assuming is something in the musks. The tea, smoke/incense, and tobacco notes are nice, but that powderiness kills it for me.


🎃The Great Psychiatrist of Babylon (Bourbon vanilla, incense smoke, auxiliary smoke from punk fire, caramel, incense, a small shot of whiskey) (Orphans retour, special order)

Preliminary notes: This one was one of the first Possets scents I came across on the brand's forum, and it hasn't left my brain since. It also sounds spooky, and delicious.. *resists the urge to make yet another Peaky Blinders association*

DH's preliminary notes: A hippie party on All Hallow's Eve.

In bottle: That damned fruity-leaning Possets vanilla I'm not a fan of, but also whiskey, a bit of incense, and what smells like a soft suede note a la Arrival of the Queen of Sheba. Not nearly as sweet as I was expecting.

DH's thoughts: Smells like a custard, almost. Like a very sweet, almost like a pudding of some kind. *tells him the notes* Fascinating. Well, it comes out smelling pretty great.

On skin: There's some sort of weird sour note when this hits the skin, but it burns off pretty quickly. It smells veeery similar to Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, sans the suede and with an added smoky note. If you like Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, you'll probably like this.

DH's thoughts: Sandalwood, pine musk, and something floral?

Verdict: 3.5 smoky, leather-clad psychiatrists eating caramels out of 5. I do like this quite a bit, but I wish it wasn't so similar to Arrival of the Queen of Sheba. I feel like you could get a very similar scent by layering Arrival of the Queen of Sheba with a tiny bit of Iowa or Reason, which I'll have to try at some point.


🍰Tea with Mr. Rosedale (Jasmine tea, cream, a sandalwood tray) (Valentine's retour)

Preliminary notes: More tea, again. This one has a bit of a reputation for going sour or savory on some people, so hopefully that doesn't happen here. This kind of reminds me of Keeping Up Appearances, to be honest. It sounds like one of Hyacinth's fancy tea/dinner parties.

DH's preliminary notes: Old high-class British tea time.

In bottle: I can totally see where the savory aspect comes from for some people. It does smell a bit odd initially, but after the first sniff, it mellows out and smells like floral tea with a creamy/woody background. Something about this in the bottle reminds me of a dentist's office.

DH's thoughts: I smell tea, AND IT COULDN'T BE BECAUSE THERE'S TEA IN THE TITLE. Is there silk in this?

On skin: In the bottle, this has a touch of sourness to it, but it evens out on the skin and no longer smells like a dentist's office. I will admit that I've never had jasmine tea, so I have no idea what the real deal smells like, but this is very pleasant. The cream note is intoxicating. It very much smells like fresh cream, and it's fairly light but comes out more the longer it's worn. The sandalwood and floral tea notes are the strongest though.

DH's thoughts: DH popped into the room a couple hours after I applied and said, "It smells lovely in here, like a field of flowers." (Which is funny, because a major component of this scent is sandalwood, which he claims to hate)

Verdict: 4 lightly floral, fancy teas at dinner parties out of 5. This definitely isn't my favorite Possets tea scent of the ones I've tried, but I do quite like it. The floral tone makes it a bit different from the rest.


🌾Iowa (Crystallized vanilla, turbinado sugar, wheat accord, whiskey) (Permanent)

Preliminary notes: I had requested a sample of this in my second order, and it was on the draft list for wedding scents back before we decided to put our wedding off for the time being (because holy shit, wedding planning is stressful). This review was written when I received the sample.

DH's preliminary notes: It honestly just sounds like something I wouldn't drink. It ruined the whiskey on itself, which is not very good English. Yay, all of that gets posted. For fuck's sakes. ARE YOU ACTUALLY GOING TO DO THAT. God damnit..

In bottle: Very sugary whiskey with a caramel-like note. It smells almost like caramel corn but not quite as popcorn-esque as that. It kind of smells like burnt sugar. I'm sort of in love with it already. I was expecting it to be more wheat-forward, but the wheat might come out more on skin.

DH's thoughts: Ooo, my food senses are tingling. Somebody's baking for me. It's very inviting.

On skin: Still smells like caramel-laden whiskey and burnt sugar, no trace of wheat whatsoever. This is sublime, and I immediately upsized it. It's funny; I have smelled this exact scent outside of our apartment before (there is often a mishmash of foody smells out there during the day).

DH's thoughts: Has vanilla in it? Thought so. Uhhhhh... Is this one of the ones I said smells like baked goods? Yes? Aha!

Verdict: 5 boozy, slightly burnt caramels out of 5. I loved this in the bottle, and I love it on the skin. Caramel isn't even listed as a direct note, but it's one of the best caramel scents I've smelled.


🌷Tulipomania (Reminiscent of a huge field of tulips in Holland) (Spring retour)

Preliminary notes: Much like hyacinth and peony, tulip is another note I don't see much and is probably the most uncommon of the bunch. Tulips smell green and kind of peppery to me, so this should be interesting. For whatever reason, this kind of reminds me of the landscapes in Ghibli movies.

DH's preliminary notes: Sounds like Abbotsford.

In bottle: Doesn't smell at all like tulips to me, but it's a soft, sweet, purple-white floral. I have a feeling this is going to go soapy on the skin, but hopefully it doesn't go as soapy as Tidal Wave did. It's verging on smelling slightly fruity, but it never fully goes there.

DH's thoughts: That's an interesting smell. I actually rather like it, whatever it is. There's definitely something floral about it. I say that all the time.

On skin: Largely the same as in the bottle. Definitely didn't go as soapy as Tidal Wave and still retains its floral character. Still doesn't really smell like tulips to me, but it's a very pretty, happy floral.

DH's thoughts: None.

Verdict: 3.75 fields of tulips out of 5. I do like this, but it's very simplistic and lacks depth. There's a weird dusty undertone as well, which I've experienced with several Possets scents. I'm not the biggest fan, but at least it didn't go soapy.