Haus of Gloi Review: Pumpkin Eater

Peter, Peter, Pumpkin Eater, had a wife and couldn't keep her, put her in a pumpkin shell, and there he kept her very well...

As I promised, here's the review for Pumpkin Eater.  But the short version is:  Pumpkin perfection!

From the site: "Cream, glowing pumpkin, rich vanilla bean and the tiniest touch of nutmeg butter."

In the bottle - buttery pumpkin goodness!  I was already happy with it just from sniffing the bottle.  And it just got better. On, the butter note fades and lets pumpkin and cream take center stage.  However, there's something else in there that smells faintly ....floral?  Must be my skin chemistry, as there is no floral listed in the notes, however, I'm going to call it pumpkin blossom and actually I'm very pleased with this surprise visitor.  As it dries, with one sniff I get pumpkin and vanilla cream, with another I'll get that faint floral, and with the next, a buttery pastry scent.   This one seems to be  more of a morpher than the other Haus of Gloi scents I have tried.  So far I've really not been disappointed with any of the scents I've ordered from Haus of Gloi, and there are a few more left on my wishlist. 

As always, Matt and Britton of Haus of Gloi have no idea who I am, other than a random customer.  I purchased the perfume oil on my own, and was not compensated in any way, shape, or form for this review.  

And the winner is....

...Haus of Gloi's Pumpkin Eater!  The title, of course, is "Shel's Choice of ONE Pumpkin Perfume for Autumn, 2012". 

However, Pumpkin Eater kind of won by default - I had finally found some reviews that sounded delicious, and had planned on doing a bit more comparison shopping, but then I checked the site and Pumpkin Eater was ...*gasp*.... GONE.  Panicked, I dashed off a message to Haus of Gloi's facebook wall and got the reassuring reply that it was already restocked.   After refreshing the page, there it was, so in a moment of complete relief, I placed the order.

I don't even have a shipping notice yet,  so reviews will have to wait.  I'm still waffling over a couple of Violette Market's Diablo Canyon pumpkin blends as well... Peach and pumpkin, pumpkin and rice milk, plum and pumpkin....

Speaking of plums, I wish I could find a good plum/cream/pastry blend, or possibly a plum/light musk/white floral blend.  I think Haus of Gloi's Hex has a bit of plum in it, but it's not as strong as I'd like.   Several of the companies that I'm familiar with offer customs, I might have to try that route.

Midnight Gypsy reviews: Wicked Jack and Hesperides

In a probably futile effort to narrow down this year's perfume buying to just ONE pumpkin scent,  I'm testing the sample of Wicked  Jack that Tina of Midnight Gypsy was so kind as to include with my order of the big bottle of Pomona (which is absolutely amazing and an all time favorite scent of mine). 

On the left wrist this time I have Wicked Jack, and on the right wrist, Midnight Gypsy's version of Hesperides. (I am differentiating here because BPAL also has a discontinued blend called The Hesperides).

Wicked Jack's description, from Midnight Gypsy's website is: "Lavender absolute blended with pumpkin, fragrant ginger, cinnamon, & cloves - underscored by vanilla, cream, & caramelized sugar - and just a titch of molasses. A whisper of sweet hay & the faintest breath of rich & complex beeswax absolutes round it out. Haitian sandalwood & dark patchouli come together to anchor it all, and the addition of blood orange gives it a distinct orange spice tea scent straight out of the bottle. It dries down to a lovely spicy scent on the skin, which is where the gorgeous note of spiced honey laced with traces of wildflower & sweet grass really shines - that's the beeswax absolute making itself known."

On me, Wicked Jack is indeed, wicked, and he is certainly not shy!  Wow!  I probably should have been a bit more cautious in my expectations for this, given that both lavender and patchouli tend not to like me.  This is NOT your typical spiced-pumpkin autumn scent!  I can see a LOT of people really loving this because of that.  It is very well-blended, and I get quite a bit of spice, and I can definitely tell that there is patchouli in the base notes.  Once it dries down a bit and stops punching me in the nose,  it's mainly patchouli and warm spices.  Not for me, but as I said, I know a lot of people who will adore this blend.

The site description of Hesperides says, "Honeysuckle, sweet pea, and apple enveloped in a rich base of amber, vanilla, and cedar. I've rounded it out with subtle nuances of sandalwood and champa, and then anchored it with a deep animalic musk - but just a whisper!  This blend, on the skin, truly IS the embodiment of a decadent, golden nectar - golden apples, indeed! It dries down with a rich, creamy, almost powdery note with plenty of tenacity."

Now this....this is nice! Wet, I got a blast of apple wine, but as soon as it started drying the wine note disappeared and I got a rush of sweet, juicy, apple.  Beautiful.  As it dries down, the honeysuckle and sweet pea come out a bit.  This is a very pretty, light, scent.   It reminds me a little bit of a cross between Silver Apples of the Moon and Glittering Apples of the Stars from last year's BPAL 'Weenies collection.  Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately, depending on your point of view), it seems as if this is one of those blends that my skin is just going to eat.  Which means I might have to have a bottle...I really like this!

And again, the obligatory disclosure.  I purchased these perfumes of my own accord, and I was not compensated in any way, shape, or form for these reviews.