haus of gloi pumpkin queen

Haus of Gloi Pumpkin Queen pumpkin butter and perfume oil

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

Pumpkin Queen has been part of Haus of Gloi's autumn release for the last few years. I picked these up this past autumn (2012), but I remember getting a sample of it in 2011 as well.

In the jar the pumpkin butter smells of peaches, sweet pumpkin and clove. I think I get a bit of amber but it's not overpowering. On skin it's much less sweet, and I smell the hay, nutmeg, and herbs a lot more. Honestly, it's a bit savory. The amber is there but it's not going crazy on me like amber tends to, so that's nice. I like this one more in the jar. It's still nice on the skin, just very different. I recall another autumn release (Saft Ernte) being very peachy as well, so next autumn I'll grab a jar and/or bottle of that instead.

The formula is wonderful as always. HoG's pumpkin butters are my favorite.

In the bottle the perfume smells like sweet pumpkin, clove, and a touch of amber. The peach is much less pronounced, but there's a creaminess. Wet on skin it's again much less sweet, with the hay, spices (especially the nutmeg), herbs, and amber coming out more. The amber is stronger here, I think. It does have that same savory note that I get from the pumpkin butter, but there's also something else... as it dries the pumpkin gets a bit more present, bringing it back from dangerously close to Eu de Christmas Ham to a dry, spicy autumn scent. Once it's been on the skin for a while I smell something slightly smokey, like a distant bonfire, and as time goes on it seems to regain a bit of that peachy sweetness I liked about the oil in the bottle. Actually, it's lovely. My opinion on this one has been a bit of a roller coaster while wearing it. I loved it in the bottle, didn't like it so much at the start, but by the end I love it again.

Misc. Notes:

Would I buy it again? Hmm. This is a tough one. It's not what I was expecting - if I'd gotten a sample first (actually I think I DID buy a sample of this, sniffed it, loved it, and ordered the full-sizes without ever trying it on because I AM STUPID) I likely would've gotten Saft Ernte instead. But after my initial disappointment, I really do like it. So, yes, I would buy it again.