NCD: An Autumn II Assortment

As someone who never really grew up with a lot of pumpkin, I'm always enamored with the sheer amount of pumpkin goods at every Autumn release - again, having never tried the fabled PSL (pumpkin spice latte for the uninitiated), I often can't help but wonder how close we're getting to the real thing. Despite the veracity of the scent, I have to say, the most important part is usually how delicious it smells since pumpkin baked goods are nothing but a theoretical existence to my mind - but I've never been let down. 

Ramblings aside (and of course, at this point we're only a skip and a hop away from Christmas), I've finally got these autumnal goods in the palm of my hand and I'm ready to wax poetic about it all over again. As always, a gracious and heartfelt thank you to Forest and Josh for sending these press samples through for review. 

Basic Witch - Simple pleasures for complex people. An impeccable pumpkin spiced latte conjured from true Ceylon cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, candied ginger, cardamom, espresso, steamed vanilla oat milk, and a surreptitious shot of Grand Marnier.  

Yum. This is delicious. Immediately I'm greeted with a bouquet of spices, nutmeg and cinnamon, paired with an almost fruity sweetness. Although this has a slight edge of savoury from the pumpkin, this is a lovely sweetened latte scent. For me, this reminds me of a PSL version of Hooligan from the April collection, as they also have a super similar list of notes, but with the pumpkin included. After dry down, this brings out more of that lovely tannic, slightly bitter, sweetened milk tea paired with the whiff of dry espresso grounds. For me, I'd say this is definitely in the Venn diagram of Hooligan and Hoodwink, the same subtle sweetness and all the aromatics of the coffee/latte base with an indulgent sprinkling of simmering warmed spices. I like this one a lot, and I might even prefer it to Hooligan because it's a little lighter and more wearable. 

Pumpkinocalypse - A welcoming scent to help you feel at ease. Perfectly baked pumpkin pie, still warm from the oven and garnished with nasturtium flowers.  

This opens with a bite of buttery, pastry crumbs before giving way to the nasturtium flowers - a bittery, peppery affair. The opening is loud, it's a little woody, sharp and a little sour. Even after dry down, this scent is strangely savoury and a little dispersed in its profile - it's almost like a mixture of basil, pepper and drying flowers. The longer I wear this, the more of that subtle nutty smoothness from the pumpkin pie peeks through ever so slightly, but the majority of this scent is overshadowed by the floral element here, which is fabulously pungent at first, but eases into a sweeter, almost floral, lilac-esque scent with an unavoidable kick of peppery greenery. I don't really get any pumpkin from this one at all past the early stages of pastry, but I did find this scent far more agreeable the more time post application. However, there are scents I can comfortably tolerate until it eases into it's best state, but this one might be a little too demanding for me to have another gander at. I can see someone enjoying this one, but I don't think it's for me. 

Candy Catapult - A motley confectionery to lift spirits and sweeten dispositions. Classic vanilla caramels, chocolate covered cherries, almond brittle, lemon taffy, and shredded coconut confetti.  

When first applied, this is a sure fit for the name - it's a crayon colored version of a gourmand, it's not refined, but it's fun, with a haphazard dip of sweet lemon curd, nutty almond, desiccated coconut and chocolate syrup. It's a little all over the place, but it's so sweet you'll find yourself lost in it. After dry down, this scent is slowly tempered into a softer gourmand - the coconut and chocolate as a compliment to the slight touch of caramel with a little lemon zest, before fading off into the classic NCD maple vanilla caramel. I also always tend to love the maple-y undertones to the NCD gourmands, because I think its delicious and lovely. So more of it here is never a bad thing. I really enjoyed this one - I think it definitely captures the mishmash of sweetness of a candy pail, or in this case, a candy catapult. I'll be using this one up for sure! 

Forbidden Library - A spooky rendition of our beloved Bibliophilia.  The vanillic scent of aging paper infused with ceremonial incense, venerable bookshelves of black oak and sweet himalayan cedarwood, a hint of mossy stone, and an undercurrent of faded suede.  

Mmm. Opening up, this is definitely a moody type of scent - with slightly bitter leather covers and the splash of cold stone. It's slightly tannic, but also evocative of dry stone walls with a whiff of incense, but the dry down brings out all of the fragrant oak and cedarwood. It's surprisingly aromatic, not like a heavy mahogany, but a lighter, almost sandalwood-esque aspect. For me, this scent has a lovely textural dimension, with the smoothness of leather bound books, and the peek of smooth suede over the fragrant wood - and while I usually find leather too harsh, it's soft and supple here, and a lovely treat. I was expecting this scent to perhaps be a little more gloomy, dark and dappled with clouds of smoke, but I ended up discovering soft leather on sweetened paper, displayed on beautiful oak and cedarwood tables. I enjoyed how delicate and lovely this scent was! 

Ghost Train - A spectral glow racing down the long-abandoned tracks, the chilling wail of its whistle like the memory of a scream. Stark white copal, cedarwood, coal dust, grey cashmere, cardamom, toasted marshmallow, and shining steel.

This is not a scent I'd pick up for myself (in fact, it wasn't - it was an extra sample chosen by the house), but I am actually really glad I was able to try this. The opening here is a sharp, steely sugary copal, underpinned with a slightly minty sweetness, absinthe, wormwood and crushed herbs. Dry down brings through more of this dustiness from the ground cardamom, paired with the sharp sweetness from the copal and steel, and fluffy marshmallows. I definitely wasn't expecting this scent to be quite as sweet and cheerful as it ends up being (especially when considering the name), and the longer I wear this scent, the more the classic maple sugar simmers to the top. I, for one, really enjoyed this scent - it's a little sweeter than I think the sweet-averse would enjoy, but this is the sort of, gateway scent for gourmand lovers who want to branch out a little but still want to keep that gorgeous rich, syrupy sweetness while also experimenting with other notes. Maybe just a little... copal-curious. Not at all copal-furious.