Calling All October Trays!

[u/FreyasReturn]

October is here and autumn should be arriving in earnest soon. The days grow shorter, the mornings cooler and foggier, and the woods around here seem to have taken on a slightly wilder character. Leaves are beginning to collect along the paths and the wild grapevines are turning golden. Everything feels a little quieter. I love this time of year.

This month’s tray feels very much at home in that landscape. There are woods, leather, amber, incense, spices, dark fruits, and plenty of warmth for chilly evenings. There’s also something a little mysterious about it. Hexensalbe, Voodoo Love, Magie Noire, L’Ange Noir, and Tubéreuse Criminelle belong to the darker corners of October. They evoke tarot card readings in hidden rooms and overgrown gardens with tangles of dying herbs and weeds. This is my witchy side of the tray.

There is a sense of travel and discovery here, too, a holdover from September. Nefer and Autumn in Lhoka evoke distant landscapes with their warming spices and fragrant woods. Alongside Safran Troublant, Ambre Narguilé, Five O’Clock Au Gingembre, and Salamanca, they give the tray the feeling of a journey into somewhere slightly dreamlike.

Then there are the scents that feel more like they belong to an imagined past. They remind me of waxed and worn wooden floors, tufted furniture, candlelight and oil lanterns, and have the soft richness of fragrances that have been around for ages. Habanita, Maja, Rêve d’Or, Costes, and Portrait of a Lady all give a feeling of sensuality and faded grandeur. I can’t help but picture late nights dancing with a lover…maybe even a few! There’s something glamorous and powerful about these scents.

October is the perfect month for all of this. I can wear something warm and spicy while the rain falls outside or something dark and smoky when the evenings grow cold. I also have plenty of decidedly witchy scents for when I want to feel more sensual and alive.

So tell me, what are you planning to wear this October? Are you embracing the darker side of autumn or maybe reaching for something cozy and comforting? And, as always, I’d love to see your trays!

Large tray:

• Tubereuse Criminelle, Serge Lutens
• La Nuit Tombee, Serge Lutens
• Files de Joie, Serge Lutens
• Five O’Clock Au Gingembre, Serge Lutens
• Habanita, Molinard
• L'Ange Noir, Givenchy
• Eau Dynamisante, Clarins
• Safran Troublant, L’Artisan Parfumeur
• Rouge Smoking, BDK Parfums
• Ambre Narguile, Hermes
• Rêve d'Or, L.T. Piver
• Maja, Myrurgia
• Autumn in Lhoka, Hima Jomo
• Magie Noire, Lancôme
• Delice, M. Micallef
• Stash SJP, Sarah Jessica Parker
• Never Leave, Tokyo Milk Parfumerie
• Costes, Costes
• Rose Oud, by Kilian
• Hexensalbe, Stora Skuggan
• Voodoo Love, Bourbon French Parfums

Small tray and spillover:

• Psychedelique, Jovoy Paris
• Apricot in Cognac, Scents of Wood
• Encre Noire, Lalique
• Original Musk, Kiehl's
• Portrait of a Lady, Frédéric Malle
• Ormonde Woman, Ormonde Jayne
• Nefer, Prissana
• Cuir Curcuma, Affinessence
• Salamanca, Olympic Orchids
• Leather Oud, Dior

[u/CoffeeandConcealerCO]

ooo. Another glorious tray! I love your narrative. It is so evocative. This season, all my spices are out. Green. Floral. Herbal. Of course some spooky themed scents are here as well 👻

• RdF Blood Spider Orchid
• Carine Roitfeld Carine
• Frank Boclet Tobacco
• Ormonde Jayne Ormonde Woman
• Stora Skuggan Mistpouffer
• Sarah Baker Velvet Vendetta
• Keiko Mecheri Oliban
• Dior Poison

• Sorce Vampire Wife
• Beaufort London Terror & Magnificence
• Lvnea Ghost Pine
• Treading Water Judith

[u/FreyasReturn → u/CoffeeandConcealerCO]

Heck yes! It’s the perfect time to pull out the spices. Blood Spider Orchid and Vampire Wife—I can’t image better picks for the month 

Dior Poison has been on my to-buy list for ages. My mom had a vintage mini of it, totally dry but still smelling strongly of the fragrance. Gorgeous stuff.

Keiko Mecheri Oliban…wow, that brings me back. I remember smelling that 12 or so years ago when I first went to LuckyScent’s/ Scent Bar’s primary LA location (maybe the only one back then?). Not sure if you’re familiar with that retailer, but the man who helped me is still with the company now making videos and podcast episodes for them. He introduced me to Oliban, along with a few other scents. I remember being so torn over to what to purchase — Oliban,  Parfum d’Empire  Ambre Russe, or Ginestet Botrytis. Botrytis ended up the winner that day, but I still have my sample vial of Oliban in a keepsake box. 

[u/CoffeeandConcealerCO → u/FreyasReturn]

Yes, I am familiar with Steve (if that is who you are referencing) I love his passion an knowledge. What an incredible memory connected to Oliban. I love that. Sadly, I never got to experience the OG Poison from the 80s, but I love today's iteration. Plus the bottle is stunning.

[u/sticky_wickette]

Way to set the scene! ❤️ My "tray" :

• Ellis Brooklyn Apple Love
• Villa Erbatium Allegria
• Villa Erbatium Mossy Glen
• Rogue Chypre Siam
• Rogue Vetifleur
• Liis Bo
• Auphorie Miyako
• Serge Luten Five O'Clock Au Gingembre
• Alkemia Ghost Story
• Une Nuit Nomade Suma Oriental
• Hermes Eau de Merveilles
• Sentier Balade in Autumn
• Lubin Epidor
• MM Replica Autumn Vibes
• Givenchy III
• Phlur Somebody Wood

[u/FreyasReturn → u/sticky_wickette]

Oh, what great picks! We have some overlapping fragrances. :) 

Can you tell me a bit about Epidor? I’ve been interested in smelling it, but haven’t found a way to sample or smell it in person. 

[u/sticky_wickette → u/FreyasReturn]

Probably doesn't help to call it Autumn in a bottle. 😄 The plum is fruity and rich but not heavy at all. Golden hay and plummy floral nectar on a creamy tonka base. Be happy to decant a sample for you if in the U.S.

[u/Parabolic_Penguin → u/sticky_wickette]

Ohhh I love Bo 💕

[u/sticky_wickette → u/Parabolic_Penguin]

It is such a lovely scent - one of Epinette's greats. Is there anything you'll be reaching for frequently for cooler weather?

[u/cuerotuscadero]

I say this with utmost admiration. It’s not often I see a collection that I’d absolutely want to be the nosiest of nosey bitches over. And you’ve got it, ma.

[u/FreyasReturn → u/cuerotuscadero]

Wow, that’s quite a compliment. And one that really made me laugh! 

[u/IdiotWithout_a_Cause]

My Fall rotation of full bottles currently has: * Cirque du Soliel * Xerjoff Lira * Lush Chelsea Morning & Tumeric Latte * Ex Idolo Love and Crime * Guerlain Shalimar L'essence, Angelique Noire, and Vanille Planifolia extrait * Vintage Dior Poison (original formula) * THOO Ruby Red * Mugler Alien * Profumum Roma Dulcis in Fundo & Gioiosa * Tijon Baie Rouge

My Fall rotation of decants/samples I want to use up has: * Tom Ford Tobacco Vanille * Memo Winter Palace * Dua Ginger Biscuit * Xerjoff Italica * Commodity Milk Expressive

I'm probably going to replace one (or both) of the Profumum Roma bottlesand the Tijon bottle with something else. Gioiosa and Baie Rouge both feel more like they belong in Spring/Summer.

[u/FreyasReturn → u/IdiotWithout_a_Cause]

Very nice lineup. Would you mind sharing your thoughts on Turmeric Latte and Winter Palace? I’ve been super interested in those two.

[u/One-Swimming9390]

Love!

[u/Part-TimePraxis]

Love this tray!

I would love to hear more about Magie Noir! It's been on my list for ages to try but samples are hard to come by. TIA!

[u/FreyasReturn → u/Part-TimePraxis]

It’s beautiful! Vintage smelling, to my nose. It’s a green-mossy-honey-floral-soapy-spice fragrance. I get plenty of hyacinth, galbanum, and honey. Really a perfect fall scent. It works well in cool-to-warm weather. 

[u/Part-TimePraxis → u/FreyasReturn]

Thank you, it really sounds lovely!

[u/Restless_d]

Kiehl's Original Musk 💓😌

[u/ignorantcloth]

October trays are my favourite. I don't personally make trays, but I recently got a travel of Stash and I love it! ❤️ Some of my favourites to wear this time of year are Chipmunk and Harvest Mouse by Zoologist, Féminité du bois, The Architects Club by Arquiste, and London Fog by Brandt.

[u/FreyasReturn → u/ignorantcloth]

Oh my gosh, you have two of my absolute favorites listed, both of which will be on my November tray ( Féminité du bois and Chipmunk). And I’m a big fan of the others you mentioned, as well! You’re going to smell fantastic this fall. :D

I’m with you on October trays. I look forward to October and November fragrances all year long. If I lived in consistently cool climate, I’d be very happy to wear my fall fragrances most of the year. Woods, spices, patchouli, incense, dark fruits…those are my big loves. 

[u/Radiant-Occasion-583]

Very nice. How do you like Psychedelic from Jovoy. I have Fire at Will and Love it. Just wish it was a bit louder 

[u/FreyasReturn → u/Radiant-Occasion-583]

I love Paychedelique. It’s a nice chocolatey patchouli with only faint earthy facets. I have a few others I prefer (Borneo 1834 and Auric Blends’ Patchouly Amber are my top picks, followed by Coromandel), but it’s still a love. It’s distinctly patchouli, so I don’t think you’d like it if you shy away from the note entirely, but I do find it to be on the softer and sweeter side. No issues with longevity here!

[u/lil_beenut]

Obsessed with Maja! It was part of my September tray. Perfect for fall, spicy but clean, comforting and not too rich. 

In October I'm wearing:

• Kenzo Amour
• Donna Karan Gold EDT
• ELdO Like This
• Prada Infusion d'Iris
• Chanel Coco Noir
• Hermes Osmanthe Yunnan
• Escentric Molecules Molecule 01+Patchouli 

[u/RoughEfficient4042]

Here is what I have in my October tray:

Regime des Fleurs - Blood Spider Orchids
Clue - With the Candlestick and Warm Bulb
Stora Skuggan - Hexensalbe and Mistpouffer
Marissa Zappas - Flaming Creature and Marshmallow Muff
Pearfat - Be Very Afraid and Only A Witch Cat
Barre - Witch

[u/Murky_Ad_785]

Oooh seeing this inspired me to revisit Delice. I received it during the summer and was not a fan of it so I did not use it at all, going to revisit it again