Haus of Gloi Fall Haul

It's faaaaalllll time! Of course, here in Iowa that means we jump between hot as shit to cold as shit weather-wise every few days. (The other night it was 30-some degrees and I was pretty much ready to end it all.) But it also means fall perfumes. This, my bubs, is my first fall with indie perfumes in my life and I'm pumped. Though I do have to control my spending, I definitely plan on dabbling here and there. I just want to smell like a pumpkin pie. I don't think that's too much to ask for.

Everybody and their various mothers were chomping at the bit when Haus of Gloi was getting ready for their fall collection to go live. Myself included. It was wild. Shit was emptying out of carts, listings were going out of stock pretty much instantly and it was just an all around madhouse. I was hoping to grab a Ghost Puffs Pumpkin Butter but alas, it wasn't meant to be. I did manage to get a sample of all of the perfumes (even if it did involve placing several panicked orders). I did skip out on Samhain and Queen Mother though being as they were limited/full size only/what have you.

Let's get on to these sceeeeennnnttts~

Ghost Puffs: Buttery popcorn and marshmallow goo orbs, presented on a wooden stick.

I was sooo excited for Ghost Puffs! There was a lot of hype building it up before this season's release and by god, if it sounds like something I wanna eat then I'm going to want to smell like it. Out of the vial it's sweet, sweet butter. Perhaps a touch of marshmallow. I want to bathe in it. On my skin the butter lightens up a bit and the marshmallow comes out a bit more. Underneath it all I swear I pick up some sort of wood note for the stick. Or maybe I'm just imagining things. The butter and marshmallow fade out quick however and I'm left with a lingering, quiet sweetness. It's a bit generic after all that and it sits really close to my skin. I'm really hoping that I'll be able to pick this scent up in a pumpkin butter. I feel it'll be more enjoyable as a body care product than an all-day type of perfume.

Olde Cider Haus: Old oak, sweet drying hay fields, crushed apple pulp and vanilla bean husks.

This was another super hyped scent! The notes sound lovely and I almost considered just blind buying a full bottle but I made the responsible, adult decision to stick with a sample first. The cold sniff is pure apples and vanilla. Red, cider, autumn apples. I can't necessarily pick out the oak and hay but all together there's something really soft in the background keeping Olde Cider Haus from being too foody. At this point it's nice as a 'home' scent but I was looking forward to how it transformed on my skin. Applied the oak really comes out and the apples stay pretty strong. Then the hay comes out. It's very well done - almost too much so. It's not an in your face hay scent but rather an afterscent that sits in the back of your throat. I feel like I just smelled hay and it makes my nose tickle. It's really the oddest sensation. Further dry down yields a warm, woody, slightly sweet scent with a good touch of apple left behind. I'd say it leans unisex. Personally, I'm not into it. It's very well done and I think it'd make a great candle but I don't care to smell this way myself. Good job on not getting this in a full size, me. Thinkin' ahead.

Persephone's Descent: Pomegranate, pale musk, narcissus blossom and black amber. 

I friggin' love mythology. And I love products with built in narratives. I wasn't sold on the list of notes but I was gonna give it a go either way. Out of the bottle I get tart fruits with a touch of musk. To me it's definitely a more mature, grown up fruit scent. And surprisingly pleasant as I've always assumed I disliked pomegranate as a perfume note. Applied, the pomegranate loses it's tartness and the musk and narcissus come out but it all blends really, really well. It could easily be something you'd find in a Sephora. At first I was worried it'd turn a bit 'old lady' on me which may have been a touch of the black amber (which always scares me off a bit) but in the end it's just so seamless. The first time I wore it started fairly 'eh' but by the end of the day I knew I was gettin' this puppy in a full size. And I totally diiiid.

Pumpkin Eater: Cream, glowing pumpkin, rich vanilla bean and the tiniest touch of nutmeg butter.

That's a pretty list of notes! I was lookin' forward to some sweet pumpkin goodness with this one. Out of the vial is all sweet cream and very little pumpkin though. It's good! But not what I'd been hoping for. Applied, it smells very fresh and sweet. The pumpkin comes across as a bit peachy to me, oddly enough. In fact, it reminds me of Solstice Scent's Chantilly Cream. A LOT. Except slightly less peachy and more pumpkiny. It's nice but not a must have for me.

Pumpkin Queen: Gentle hay pillows, pumpkin, ripe peaches dusted with clove and nutmeg, dried summer herbs, and lastly, a lovely crown of amber.

Cold sniff is sweet, pumpkin pie-esque pumpkin. Fuckin' delish. A touch of clove and nutmeg. Applied it is much less foodie. All herbs and hay - no pumpkin. :( The cloves come out pretty strong for a bit and then it's literally all herbs - like a kitchen. It's okay. But it's not quite for me. I may have to let it age a bit and try it then because there's so much potential here. More likely than not it's just my poop skin chemistry though.

Spider Silk: Procured from a dream: delicate water mint, wispy grey musk, crystalline webs of amber, oakmoss, torchwood, copaiba resin, and a touch of withered violet leaf.

I love the description of this one. It's otherworldly. Straight from the bottle I'm not a huge fan, however. It reminds me of Selkie/Driftwood. I'm guessing that's due to the musk but I'm no expert. There's a slight touch of mint there also. So far, no good. On my skin the mint comes out more and it's kind of nice. There's a woody/resinous background but it's not obnoxious. It's also just a tad mentholy. Further into the wear time it turns more floral - it reminds me of the violet note in Splendiferous. It's quite nice and the sillage is decent. I could catch wafts of it as I went about my day. I'm still not sure if I need this in a full size but I'll for sure be giving it some more wear time.

The Horseman: Autumnal forest and wood, distant fire, smooth saddle leather, brown musk and the lingering scent of a dark gentleman's cologne on a black woolen coat.

Ahhhh, super musky and masculine! I'm having a hard time picking out individual notes though. I'm not one for wearing super dudely scents on the regular but I figured it wouldn't be fair to not give this one a go. Once on it's a touch smoky, very musky and I can pick out the leather. It's alright but I wouldn't be into my man smelling this way; it's just a bit much. The dry down is a bit more calm. I catch something like wool and can definitely see what they're saying with the last part of the description. It's very colonial - if that makes sense.

Tobac: Pipe tobacco, a wisp of smoke, Bourbon vanilla and two cedarwoods.

Oh god. In the vial Tobac is bourbon vanilla exactly - so sweet and rich. This is exactly what I was hoping to get from Solstice Scent's Cenobite. There's a barely there touch of cedar sitting in the background but at this point it's leaving well enough alone. My skin chemistry was designed by assholes however. Applied, everything that I've ever loved disappears and my skin decides the only thing I need is cedar. Cedar for years. The tobacco comes out pretty strong too and I end up smelling like a cigar box/tobacco outlet/grandpa. Only hours later it does it calm down and sweeten up a tad but it can never be what I thought it was. I know some people have better luck with Tobac than I did. I may try to convince Wiener Boyfriend to give it a go. If not, I will literally swab this shit on strangers until I find the one for me. 

The one pumpkin butter I managed to grab:

Pumpkin Eater: Cream, glowing pumpkin, rich vanilla bean and the tiniest touch of nutmeg butter.

I mostly picked this pumpkin butter in defiance since I was unable to get the one I actually wanted. Plus I needed more pumpkin butter in my life. It's not bad at all though. Just like the perfume, it's a bit short on pumpkin but the sweet creaminess is still very pleasant. A+

Finally, lip balms! (Always good.)

Pumpkin: Yummy sweet pumpkin!

Finally, pumpkin! Sweet with a touch of spice - it's perfect.

Hazelnut Mocha Latte: Nutty, chocolatey, coffee.

Oh god, this one's so nice. It is fairly strong on the coffee for those of you who're weenies.

Pumpkin Lavender: Sweet pumpkin and our beautiful Bulgarian lavender.

Pumpkiny but the lavender wins out on this one. There's a bit of spice but otherwise it's nice and mellow. I like to wear this one to bed.


And that's everything! I was thinking I'd absolutely need a full size of everything. Thankfully/disappointingly that is not the case. But that leaves me open for the part 2 release coming on the 28th, I believe! I'm so pumped. I've heard that the candy bowl is coming back and flipping through a few of the scents they seem a bit more up my alley. Fingers crossed!

xxx