Wylde Ivy: Fall Perfumes

I found myself yearning for a few more dulcet autumnal perfumes to grace myself with as the weather cooled and the moody afternoon rains began in earnest. How fortuitous was it then that a timely newsletter from Wylde Ivy announced several new fall perfumes? I scrolled through the scents and narrowed down my choices to a full bottle of Dark November and a sampler pack of the Solstice Faire scents. If there is one thing I can count on when I order from Ashlee, it will be beautifully blended sweet musky scents that wear like ethereal vanilla candy floss.

Dark November- Notes: Smoked vanilla pods, dried tobacco leaves, apple peels, pink peppercorns, dry grass, black currants, spiced woods, baked ginger, caramelized sugar, and clove. $30

I chose Dark November blindly based on notes alone. The only note I was unsure of was the black currant since it tends to go very sharp and tart on my skin with an almost bitter, slightly uric edge. Thankfully the other sweet and snuggly notes quickly move in to lessen the power of the black currant. Dark November does open with spritely top notes of tart black currants and the brightness of those pink peppercorns. My nose gets a soft impression of a bakery at first with some yeasty and dry tones just underneath. I have not figured out if this is the baked ginger or the dry grass yet but it is there for a lingering moment. Once Dark November moves into the warm and sweet heart, very mild spices emerge along with the tobacco and vanilla. This is where the caramelized sugar sings. Bit by bit, slender ruby peels of apples twirl and glide into this cozy heart. Rustic apples, tobacco, spice and sugary musk all brew up a potion fit for anointing scarves, sweaters and breeze tousled hair. Now that I am paying minute attention to the scent I think it is the baked ginger that contributed to the yeasty bakery edge to the opening, because I sense a touch of it here still haunting the perimeter of the scent. Dark November dries down into the vanilla sugar musk I identify with Wylde Ivy so strongly. 

The Solstice Faire collection of samples is available in this beautifully packaged gift set with a tin, scent note cards and sprayer vials for $33. They all honestly sounded right up my alley so I wanted to sample them to perhaps pick one for full sized enjoyment. There are several here so I am going to strive for a down and dirty concise review of how they play out on my skin.

Treasure!

The Sugar Witch- Notes: A rich warm autumn sweet cream with a whisper of spiced maple and autumn leaves. Marshmallow, cream sweetened with vanilla and muscovado sugar, tonka beans, caramelized maple, and a shot of bourbon.

Sugar Witch is enchanting. She opens with a splash of maple sweetened creamy bourbon that smells like my favorite soft maple candies or the whisky and cream sauce I made a few times to drizzle over pecan pies. As she moves into the heart the cream becomes thicker and sweeter much like sweetened condensed milk. The tonka beans reveal their dusky vanilla flavors while the maple sugar continues to float about the concoction. Sugar Witch is an excellent study in creamy maple delights. 

The Candle Maker- Notes: Warm vanilla, melted amber, carved pumpkins and hay bales, smoldering embers, whole cloves, crushed allspice, and smoked tonka beans. 

Charred pumpkins and singed hay and baked breads all fly from the sprayer like bats out of a dark hole. This one doesn't have the characteristic sweetness I associate with Wydle Ivy and its departure is wild and moody. The embers and smoke are a touch acrid and damp as if a fall fog is creeping in around the carved and lit pumpkins that surround a nocturnal bonfire. The water vapor  smothers the impish flames, sending up ghostly smoke. This is ghoulish and unique, a mixture of atmosphere, smoke and unsweet pumpkin flesh that dries down into a creamy vanilla amber with a hint of ember. The drydown is my favorite part.

The Tea Blender- Notes: Tea leaves of black, green, and red, dried apples and pears, raw sugar, fresh amber resin, vanilla beans, a whisper of spice, and blonde wood.

Iced green tea infused with sugar and fruits, an herbal brew to revive the senses. This smells just like something from Celestial Seasonings, maybe iced raspberry zinger or a lemony green tea. The pears and apples and citrus merge effortlessly with the blend of teas. Nuances of bittersweet sepia tannins flow through the perfume. It dries down into subtle fruity musk and sweet woody musk. 

The Palm Reader- Notes: Black tea, dried bergamot, white sandalwood, incense smoke, autumn spice, caramelized sugar, and dried September apples.

Bergamot tea leaves sweep into the opening, curling and brittle, bright and slightly bitter against the crystalline autumn sun. Dry green branches, piquant bergamot and peppery tones persist into the heart. It almost smells of green bell peppers to my nose at odd times. The bitterness eventually fades into dark tea leaves that hold a breath of dried apples within. 

The Wood Carver- Notes: Cedar and oud wood spiked with clove, peppercorn, and smoked vetiver with a finish of amber resin, aged bourbon and vanilla, and a touch of sweet wood.

Lush peppercorn and sharp cedar open The Wood Carver with a chilled blast. It quickly sweetens and warms under the influence of smoky oud paired with spicy cloves. It is a lovely woodsy perfume that speaks of arid climes and tender smoky sweetness.

Solstice Faire- Notes: Ginger infused fruits, apple wood bonfires, golden hay bales, blonde sandalwood, smoked sugars, crimson tipped leaves, and spiced pumpkins. 

After smelling the ginger here I am confirmed in my thinking that this is the note contributing to the dry baked goods in Dark November. I get a whiff of that dry ginger note in the opening of Solstice Faire but there is also a creaminess present, perhaps the pumpkins and sandalwood. This is a golden aroma: fluttering leaves, slices of pumpkin pie, hayrides, and tender gilded sunsets viewed through the haze of woodsmoke and grasping branches. This is a dry (hay) and creamy (pumpkins and sandalwood) scent of musings with eyes half lidded in the autumn afternoon.

A few free samples rode along with my order and I was thrilled to see them!

Briar + Vanilla- Notes: Raw vanilla, charred amber, dried brambles warmed in the sun, white cedarwood bows, dried oakmoss dusted with crushed tonka beans, a touch of woodsmoke on frost nipped air mingled with a sugar musk.

Bracing cedar and earthen oakmoss fall into the opening to land gently upon a bed of vanilla woods and sugar frosted twigs. This a is stunning vanilla woods that morphs and sways from the sweet to delicately smoky and back again. It is gauzy and plush, brushed in soft textures.

Fireborn- Notes: Black cocoa powder, crushed tonka beans, ambrette seeds, roasted coffee, dewy vanilla beans, crystallized amber, dried orange peel, with a hint of woodsmoke.

Finely milled cocoa sifted with blonde coffee greets the nose upon spraying. This is a mild scent, nothing overpowering or artificial about it. After a few minutes a brightness pulls through and this must be the citrus and ambrette. The mild chocolate  and brun remnants of the coffee keep the scent snug and quiet, but the citrus acts like a small glowing ember amid the dark comfort. Fireborn is a unique gourmand among my collection. I rarely enjoy chocolate scents but this one is pleasant. 

Twilight Paradise- Notes: Fresh cracked coconut, crisp bergamot leaves, blue heliotrope, vanilla orchids soaked in coconut milk, night blooming jasmine petals, pink citron dust, and fresh cut sugarcane with a hint of sweet musk. 

This is a sultry and sweet tropical scent. It smells like a stroll through an upscale seaside spa in south Florida. The coconut is bright and juicy, not sunscreen, not bakery, but legit coconut. The florals only serve to highlight the coconut flesh and the citron adds a sunny zing that brings to mind tropical drinks with slices of citrus tucked into the rim. Gorgeous scent.

Annona- Notes: Sweet, slow simmered apples, mulled berries, cardamom and cinnamon, oak and peppercorn, golden wheat fields and fresh cream, caramelized raw sugar, and a hint of creamy pumpkin.

Annona is just what I want in a festive fall perfume. Spiced apples and caramel sweetness all stewed with jewel toned berries and accompanied by corn husk dolls. It is slightly reminiscent of some of my beloved fall candles and wax tarts but that does not deter me one bit. I love apple cinnamon scents and I actually have not tried one in perfume form that I love as much as I do this one. I think this might be my next full size.

I enjoyed wearing these varied scents and will be looking to perhaps sample some of the Halloween releases too from Wylde Ivy. Do you have any favorites from Ashlee for this time of year? I will be giving away some samples along with some wax and books here soon. Keep an eye out.