fall is always such a wonderful season in the year, and even more so when it comes to scents.
as part of my Circle membership subscription for 2020 with Sixteen92, the second package for the year arrived in mid-september and contained pre-release samples of both the Fall 2020 and Halloween 2020 collections. the samples arrived in perfect condition without any leaks or spills - each collection comprised five 2ml sample vials which had been securely packed in a small ziploc bag and placed in a plain box. as with Sixteen92's releases, each collection also came with a pretty postcard listing all the scent notes!
even though both collections arrived in the same package, i've split up the reviews for the sake of brevity (and also timeliness), seeing as these had arrived barely a few days shy of their official public release and i was really itching to get my paws on these.
the Fall 2020 collection, Memento Mori, is inspired by iconic cemeteries around the world. overall, the scents had a low to moderate throw (about a foot or so) with about three hours of wear on my skin. most of the scents in this collection delivered unique scent experiences that i was glad to have tried, and there were quite a few strong contenders here for replacements / full-sizing.
starting with Europe, Cimetière du Père Lachaise - Paris, France (Faded lipstick, moss-covered brick, hazy morning fog, discarded petals, packed dirt, chestnut wood, distant chimney smoke) which was accurately described as a "hazy autumnal atmospheric".
in the bottle, i definitely get the lipstick and the dried petals, with the lightness and coolness of fog overlaying everything nicely. the scent changed quite considerably on application as the wood and some dirt surface, though without affecting the swirling fog that makes this scent quite something in itself. somehow this gives me the vibes of an abandoned lumberyard on a foggy evening, though the lipstick accord is throwing me off from a complete immersion in that mental picture.
i liked this quite a bit in the bottle with the more floral / cosmetic side of things, and the foggy lumberyard was a really cool experience, but personally the combination of these two is a little jarring for me and not really my thing. 4/10 from the perspective of where it would stand in my personal collection - something i would be happy to finish up but probably wouldn't think about replacing - though it just might tick off just the right notes for those who are into this sort of atmospherics.
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next, my scent journey headed north to Highgate Cemetery - London, England (Earl Grey tea, lavender sprigs, juniper berry, ivy, gravel, crumbling cobblestones, delicate fallen leaves & soft mittens) with another atmospheric, this time a contemplative herbal one.
this perfume is really not bad. with the initial sniffs, the individual notes are not as apparent with how well-blended the scent is, and i liked how the flannel/wool is comforting in this one. the lavender and tea are not as prominent as i had thought, even as i tried as hard as i could to find them.
on my skin, i was surprised that the juniper berry came out quite strongly as the main note. i find that the lavender works really well here, being more floral than herbaceous, so that there's not a trace of bitterness and overall it remains a very soft scent. this is the kind of scent that i would wear to curl up with a good book on a rainy day, a very very subtle scent that grows on you. Highgate Cemetery is the kind of perfume that one would wear to smell really good and feel reflective, a perfume that doesn't smell like you're wearing "perfume". 7.5/10, and i'm really on the fence about a replacement / full-size.
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moving to an entirely different continent, the third scent in the lineup is Hollywood Forever Cemetery - Los Angeles, California (Glamorous satin and soft feather fringe, black fig, orris, tonka, bourbon on the rocks, smoked cardamom, cold marble).
of all the scents in this collection, this one was the most interesting scent experience.
in the vial, i definitely get the bourbon, smoke, cardamom and black fig. i have no idea how in the world cold marble is a discernible accord, but it's here and it actually works. this is a really mysterious, well-blended scent where all the notes come together to make a great atmospheric that far exceeds the sum of its parts.
if i had to place a mood to this, it would work really well for the trope of an "ice queen" personality - distant, cool, glamour on a pedestal. just like Highgate Cemetery, this one is relatively subtle, a perfume that is just there and doesn't need to scream to the world that you just sprayed some on. it's really quite an amazing scent, but just doesn't match my personality well enough for me to want to wear it regularly. i was super glad to have tried it and will enjoy finishing the vial (on the rare occasion that i want to feel more tsun) but i don't see myself wearing this enough to justify the jump on a replacement or full-size. 7/10 regardless.
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still on the same continent, though with an entirely different vibe, is Lafayette Cemetery No 1 - New Orleans, Louisiana (White mandevilla, sooty dragon’s blood, wild datura, wrought iron gates, muddy clay, living moss, chicory root, bone dust, chalk (premium)).
Sixteen92's website describes this as an "eerie & spectral dark green atmospheric with floral nuances" and... whooo this is spooky! this is what a cemetery would smell like as you flee through it, tripping over gravestones and hearing the wind howl around you, running running running from some unknown sounds in the dead of the night. this and Hollywood Forever Cemetery are prime testimonies of Sixteen92's speciality in truly unique atmospherics.
i've never smelled mandevilla or datura on their own, though the initial sniffs from the bottle contain a slight floral with a dark, slightly sweet and spicy dragonsblood grounded in the clay and moss, giving it a rather earthy and heady feel. on application, the scent seems to get both heavier and lighter at the same time - the chalk imparts a lightness to it while at the same time the loss of the soft florals over time bring out the full graveyard atmospheric in all its glory.
this is a really interesting scent experience, but not something i can really see myself wearing much in the future. 3/10 personally on where it stands in my collection (as my own preferences lean more towards the sweeter 'wearable' scents) though i can appreciate that this may end up being really popular with its niche appeal.
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last but not least, Panteón Viejo de Xoxocotlán - Oaxaca, Mexico (Wreaths of marigold & cockscomb, dusty cocoa, canela, sugar cube, flickering votives, honey cakes) which is described as a "warm, resinous and spicy atmospheric gourmand".
the first sniffs reveal this to be dominated by the cocoa, but wow, the sweetness i'm getting from the honey cakes is amazingly accurate and honestly, quite addictive. this was the sample that i spent the longest time just huffing from the vial over the few days that i was trying these out.
on application, this scent really transforms. the cocoa settles down and is content to take a backseat as the honey comes out a lot more. there's also a slight floral element coming through and the initial bloom on application was surprisingly, not spicy to my nose at all. after about fifteen minutes, the resins and spice are pretty strong, standing out amongst the backdrop of decadent sweetness. to be honest, before the spice appeared, i would have pounced on a full-size immediately, but i personally didn't care much for the strong spice and unfortunately it was responsible for lowering my overall rating of this to a 7/10.
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this review is of scents that i had purchased at regular price with my own money. i wasn’t asked to review these scents as a condition of receipt and didn’t receive any incentives for writing this. i’m not affiliated with Sixteen92 and as always, all opinions remain my own.
the Sixteen92 Fall 2020 collection has been released here. prices are US$5 for a 2ml sample, US$14 for a 6ml bottle and US$22 for a 10ml roll-on (before shipping).
all information correct at time of publishing.
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