Dawn Spencer Hurwitz • Halloween • Fragrances

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*TOP REVIEWER* redhead2000 on 7/20/2009 5:36:00 PM more reviews by redhead2000

Age: 30-35   Skin: Dry   Hair: Red   Eyes: Green    

Oh my goodness. This did not smell anything like I wanted/expected. I was hoping for fall leaves, apple cider, and other things that make me think of fall. No, no, no. This is reminiscent of a man's cologne. It is very strong and gave me an instant headache. Ugh. It was a truly gag-worthy, instant scrubber. I hated this.

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*TOP REVIEWER* snarkyharper on 4/25/2008 3:28:00 AM more reviews by snarkyharper

Age: 36-43   Skin: Normal, Fair   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Blue    

Another hit for me! I find I have excellent luck with the gourmands and orientals offered by this house. They are always fully developed womens fragrances, pleasant and wearable; never gimmicky concept scents, 'headshoppy' or outright weird as you sometimes find other places.


This is a simpler blend, but adding up to more than the sum of its' parts. Creamy anise with a touch of warm orange to start, then developing slightly spiced pumpkin and carnation notes, followed by a drydown that incorporates gentle moss. The moss is not dirty or unpleasantly overwhelming, as has happened to me with other moss-based fragrances. Here it adds a reminder of the cool season, and helps fix the fragrance.


I prefer this one in the oil concentration, it seems richer when it is clinging a little closer. A great autumn fragrance, and it would be perfect to wear on Halloween itself. I bet your daughters will beg for a spritz, too!

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*TOP REVIEWER* Halloqueen on 4/18/2008 1:29:00 AM more reviews by Halloqueen

Age: 44-55   Skin: Dry, Fair   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Green    

Ordered this as part of a sample pack, and it's likely to be a big bottle order. This is a lovely scent...I love anise and there's just a hint-not overwhelming or candy-ish, but it adds a bit of spice. For a fall, Halloween scent, this is not too strong. It can be worn any time of the year and I would almost classify it as an oriental type fragrance. There is a creamy undertone on the drydown which is very pleasant. This is a sophisticated take on Halloween...very classy and evocative. DHS's customer service is awesome.

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*TOP REVIEWER* tessture on 11/6/2007 4:28:00 PM more reviews by tessture

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

A very nice licorice-based scent, with some faint spice and a base of oakmoss. I doesn't remind me of Halloween, really, but it is definitely a fall scent. Licorice-haters steer clear, though: It's dry down is almost entirely that. I like it very much, but would hesitate to buy a full bottle. I have tried the oil form and it's very sticky and thick. Not sure if that's my sample or if her oils are just that way.

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*TOP REVIEWER* lisa_67 on 3/28/2007 1:52:00 PM more reviews by lisa_67

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Fair, Cool   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Blue    

Well boo. I so liked the top notes of this fragrance...the rich spices, the warm pumpkin, and the mossy leaves. But then it had to go and drydown to strong licorice (blech...neither a food nor a fragrance, IMO) and a strong and strange powdery essence (hate powdery too). If only I could keep the topnotes, I'd be a happy camper. Alas, Halloween was more trick than treat for me.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Dragun on 9/16/2006 12:06:00 PM more reviews by Dragun

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Blond, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Hazel    

My husband and I both love Halloween. It puts me in mind of walks through falling leaves, bonfires and cold, clear nights with a huge moon and lots of stars. One of my favorite DSH fragrances, she has an incredible talent for blending scents that conjure up memories.

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*TOP REVIEWER* chattykathy on 9/11/2006 8:19:00 PM more reviews by chattykathy

Age: 36-43   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

I have tried this about 10 times over the past 3 1/2 years and I don't think I ever really gave it a chance till now. I was always testing multiple things at once and never really able to identify this one but now that I have I pronounce this a true winner. I have worn it for three days now and everytime I wear it my BF says..."ohhhh it's that smell again! I love it!!" I have been into perfume for 4 years now and he rarely says this about anything. This scent is the epitome of fall. There is licorice (but not super sweet nauseating, overpowering licorice)and spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, clove) and a dried leafy, woodiness that I just can't identify. It is not at all masculine to me. It is so unique and interesting, not like anything else out there that you would smell on another person. It is so wonderful and it really comes so far from the initial scent. I asked Dawn in a conversation last year what she would reccomend for me of her scents to try if I was really loving Guerlains vol de nuit. She reccommended this. I though her to be insane. Now I get it. It is not even remotely close to vol de nuit notewise BUT it does have a snuggly, cuddly quality with a deep blankety richness in the same way as vol de nuit. I normally do not like oils but I have tested this in the oil version and it is quite good. That said, when I purchase this it will be in the EDP version because that is what I usually prefer from Dawn. Excellent scent well worth checking out.

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*TOP REVIEWER* freegracer on 3/10/2006 7:51:00 PM more reviews by freegracer

Age: 36-43   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

As disappointing as Jesus del Pozo's H'ween was, DSH's Halloween fulfills all my expectations as to what a fragrance with this name should smell like. Ditto to everything ellizam wrote below in her lovely review. I can't add much to it. I love wearing H'ween, especially in the autumn. I'm a fan of licorice, and H'ween has this note in it. It's wonderful. DSH's web site advertises this fragrance as better than witches' brew. Well, I'd hope so. LOL. Eye of newt and toe of frog can't hold a candle to this fabulous creation. Full bottle worthy? You bet. Don't wait for a full moon to wear it.

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*TOP REVIEWER* ellizam on 9/22/2005 11:19:00 PM more reviews by ellizam

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

I can only believe that if everyone else smelled the way I do in this scent, there wouldn't be any left. It is purely mystery. When I read the notes, they make sense, and I can even find some of them -- the licorice (which I arrived at before I read description on DSH site), the carnation, maybe the moss, the spice (very very very faint cinnamon wood, allspice). But the whole, mystery. It is spicy, in a soft, not hot at all way. There is a pumpkin-y richness, though not exactly pumpkin. It's sweet, but in a dry, almost brittle way as licorice itself is, and salty. And has a wood feel to it. But best of all, behind it is the carnation, a rich, spicy, deep floral that pulls this into Haute Couture. I have the oil and it lasts, changing and deepening in the loveliest way. It has more sillage than many oils, but still has an intimate feel. This really is lovely. I can't wait to get it in EDP concentration.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Maller on 8/21/2005 11:14:00 AM more reviews by Maller

Age: Unknown   Skin: Other   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

A mixed bag of Halloween candy dissolved in mossy water (emphasis on "water"). I was sure I'd love this as all the notes sounded divine (licorice, blood orange, carnation, pumpkin, spice, moss). What could go wrong? However, upon application it's like having all clear, sharp top notes with no base to ground them. It's like all those ingredients poured into liquid and made into a weak soup instead of a solid, edible candy. Moss is all that is listed as a base note...and it's just not enough.

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*TOP REVIEWER* bedhead19 on 8/10/2005 8:25:00 PM more reviews by bedhead19

Age: 36-43   Skin: Oily, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Blue    

i wanted to like this just based on the name and the amber pumkin-y glow of it. you know what it smells like to me? tabu.

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kealle on 7/18/2005 2:14:00 PM more reviews by kealle

Age: 25-29   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

After rummaging through my first DSH samples (seven fragrances, arriving within 4 days--great service!) I can now safely conclude that I'm just not on the DSH wagon. So I've saved myself a lot of money and pining. None of them impressed me, and there's only one I even enjoyed. And honey, this wasn't it. For me Halloween went on with a blare of bergamot that felt harsh and unbalanced. It got more and more acrid until transforming into licorice. Sweet, sweet licorice. And then a final stroll through a faint dried-leaf scent, into generic sweet ambery drydown ambling away over the horizon. Really, I think I was expecting too much from this line--I knew perfectly well that each scent was really just a handful of single fragrance notes; but then again even the finest, most complex perfumes are just a blend of individual scents, so I thought there would be some alchemy that bound these notes together and elevated them into a unified signature scent, a statement. Instead I get a note, then another note, then a third, and then nothing. I'm not criticizing; I guess I've just discovered that I need more complexity and development in my scents, and I'm not a blended-oil girl. Good to know.

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*TOP REVIEWER* blueelm on 11/20/2004 10:21:00 PM more reviews by blueelm

Age: 19-24   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

So pretty. This scent doesn't make me think of Halloween so much as fall in general. I get the orange scent very strongly right at first and this almost smells like men's cologne or like floor cleaner but that ends within seconds and opens up to a cool spice with the teensy tiniest amount of sweetness. Just enough to make you want to smell more. It's hard to get any specific notes during this phase, but it does remind me of freshly raked leaves.

This scent is truly comforting and ends up with a warm cream spice. It makes me think of fall, like taking a brisk walk on the first cold day of fall, then coming home chilled but energetic and finding the whole house looks brighter... and then having a warm cup of Chai. Halloween is a fruity spice scent that is not very sweet at all, and is not too heavy.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Flippit on 10/11/2004 9:25:00 PM more reviews by Flippit

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

This was a nice scent, but it smelled like I'd borrowed my dad's spice aftershave. Very warm, spicy, cozy, but not for me.

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*TOP REVIEWER* greenreed on 10/1/2004 10:01:00 AM more reviews by greenreed

Age: 30-35   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

I really like this a lot. I have the lotion version. I am not sure if this is HG material yet, because I have just started wearing it. Other people desribe the notes so well, but I have trouble picking them out. I will say that to me this has a nice mix of warm and cool notes, nicely balanced and unique! I detect apples for some reason, but not in a sicky sweet way!

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*TOP REVIEWER* Suzy_Queue on 8/25/2004 9:17:00 AM more reviews by Suzy_Queue

Age: Unknown   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

This scent really evokes the crisp-leaves-and-jack o' lanterns season more effectively than any other. I was wearing it last night--a hot August night in the desert. As I took my youngest children out for a night time stroll, the scent wafting up from my wrists made every bit of dry desert wind feel like a crisp autumn breeze. I kept looking for porch lights and glowing pumpkins, and wondering where the other trick-or-treaters were! One thing I enjoy: the anise note comes out strong on me initially, and it is a very potent and "juicy" licorice that is not ruined by sweetness.
Overall, the fragrance is slightly sweet,definitely sweeter than something like Messe de Minuit, but much less so than other halloween-oriented scents I've smelled, which tend to get carried away with the Candy Corn.

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*TOP REVIEWER* kara_mia on 7/12/2004 7:55:00 PM more reviews by kara_mia

Age: 25-29   Skin: Oily   Hair: Red   Eyes: Green    

This is nice, but not my speed. It's a little to green and slightly masculine on my skin. I was hoping for a little more sweet spice. Still, this is perfect if you are looking for a "crisper" fall scent.

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zill on 3/14/2004 9:58:00 AM more reviews by zill

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brunette, Curly, Fine   Eyes: Green    

This smells sooo good. I like it on me- but on my boyfriend I love it. It's my favorite scent for him, crisp and earthy.

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msfast3 on 11/6/2003 8:38:00 PM more reviews by msfast3

Age: 44-55   Skin: Normal   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Green    

I treated myself to the EDC spray for my Halloween birthday. I'm still testing the scent, but loved it from the beginning. Very complex to my nose and hard to define, but it does smell like autumn to me. Leaves, fires, crisp air, sweet mornings and evenings when the wind is softly blowing the leaves around. My only complaint is that it does not last long. Maybe the oils hold longer, but the spray is very illusive. Love it anyway.

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celticlass on 9/10/2003 2:21:00 PM more reviews by celticlass

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Coarse   Eyes: Blue    

Very sexy....Warm, sultry, dark. A fragrance right out of Anne Rices' vampire chronicles. I love it.

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