NAVA Pumpkin #7 Review

Brand: Nocturne Alchemy
Availability: Limited Edition Halloween 2015
Notes: Amber Pumpkin perfumed with 7 rich exotic Amber notes to create the ultimate Amber perfume base for this Pumpkin infused scent. Spices of fig and raw pumpkin swim in a vat of decadent Sandalwood

First impression out of bottle: Fresh, creamy, hint of spice pumpkin. Tiny hint of something that reminds me of black tea, I think that’s the fig.

Freshly applied: Same as the initial impression, beautiful light airy pumpkin. Smells like fresh pumpkin purée and a carved jack o’ lantern, plus just a hint of spice. Not like a PSL or anything. Far less spice than #31. There’s a golden quality to this that is coming from the amber. I love the use of the amber here, almost like a syrup that’s surrounding everything.

Drydown: Yep, this is staying true. Raw/steamed pumpkin purée with a tiny hint of spice and swaddled in creamy white-gold yumminess. The hint of fig is definitely reading black tea to me, in a lovely earthy grounding way.

Pale pumpkin with warm, woodsy background

After several hours: Creamy amber and sandalwood.

Longevity: About 4 hours until it becomes a very faint skin scent
Sillage: At first, medium, then low for the rest of the day.

Would an [X] lover love this? I think anyone who likes pumpkin will find this a refreshing change of pace from the usual heavily-spiced or overly gourmand offerings.

Would an [X] hater love this? A pumpkin hater might be surprised. As this scent is more perfumed and soft, and less obviously FALL SPICE, it could be appealing even if you usually snub pumpkin scents.

Where am I? Being crowned the Pumpkin Queen at a Harvest Festival

Where would I wear this? This is a very daytime scent to me, soft, appropriate for work, but also sweet and fun enough for weekend wear. When Spring comes and I'm tired of my autumnal scents, I might still break this one out occasionally.

NAVA Black Crystalline Black Fig Review

Brand: Nocturne Alchemy/NAVA
Availability: Limited Edition Halloween 2015
Notes: Rich Black Crystalline Vanilla haunts this perfume while decadent Egyptian Black Fig permeates likes a phantasm within. Black Cardamom EO rises throughout the perfume like a ghost in the night treading across wooden floors but never touching the ground. A drizzle of sweet cream and black sugar are left where footprints should have been and an ethereal drift of White Fig haunts the spaces in-between

First impression out of bottle: Greenish fig, a hint of spice

Freshly applied: Still a VERY unripe fig, like the light green ones, not the nice ripe purple ones. Smells like fig skin and fig leaf, not the inner flesh. There's a hint of vanilla'd-spice but it's not like the typical strong NAVA vanilla, it's quite subtle. More spice with a whisper of vanilla.

Drydown: Whoo, the musk really comes out. This smells a bit old-fashioned, like a floral musk perfume worn by an older woman, or maybe the fragrance of midcentury face cream. There's a nice earthy spice that keeps it from going full Nivea/Avon but yes, it smells a LOT like an old lady's powder room. The hint of spice is from the fig (I noticed NAVA's fig perfumes often smell more like black tea than ripe fig) and a bit of sweet vanilla. But predominantly sweet musk is what I get.

After several hours: Still the same sweet, old-fashioned sweet musk. Not unpleasant but this is not the ripe blackened fig I was looking for. It's very "pretty" but it's not distinct enough, and I am one of those people who, once I have a couple musk perfumes, I get very bored of just musk.

Longevity: High
Sillage: Low-Medium. This is a strong-ish skin scent, which is to say I notice it, but only right against my wrist. It doesn't do a lot of wafting or traveling, rather it stays right up against my skin.

Would an [X] lover love this? A fig lover would be disappointed, the fig is super subtle here. A musk lover would be all about it, it's stronger than many skin scents, and a bit different and wicked from your usual pale musks.

Would an [X] hater love this? A musk hater would probably run away screaming from this. It has all the negative AND positive attributes of what musk can be. By that I mean it smells a bit powdery and grandma-ish, and it's purring and silky. So if you hate musk, no this is probably going to be a no for you.

Where am I? Remember when I said this reminds me of an old lady's powder room? You know, floral wallpaper, clean vanity, old jars of cosmetics? It's like that with a wicked twist. So maybe like an old witch's powder room. 

Where would I wear this? Work, sleep. It's a bit boring. I may layer it with something like Ava Luxe's Figue de Sucre to pump up the fig notes, but otherwise I think I may destash this to a more avid musk-lover.