sqwook

Did you try 'Black Phoenix' yet?

Oh man! The Salon had some really great ones, and that's one of them. Nothing is quite like it. But in the same family are some others you may like in their own way: The Lilac Wood, Green Phoenix, Orpheus, Antony, Unicorn. (Some of these are not necessarily easy to find either, though, sorry!)

Belle Vinu to me is VERY similar to The Temptation.

I would definitely need 5 bottles of this! Yum. I have a mild skin allergy to cardamom, but amber/vanilla bean/cardamom would smell so amazing that I'd probably buy two bottles and wear it anyway. This would be a blind bottle for me for sure. Maybe even two blind bottles. 3 of my very favorite notes!! Oh. Wow. That would be incredible.

Given that the target blend has all those great notes plus a dark berry / fruit, I totally rec that you try Mme Moriarty!!! You might really like it. And maybe Anactoria, Blood Kiss, and Lampades.

There's a great orange-blossom thread here: http://www.bpal.org/topic/24950-orange-blossom-and-neroli-recs/page-4 Akuma would be a good one to try!

I love this idea! Time sensitive, yes. Do you have two bottles of The Bride, so that you still have one if you give her one? You need to tap into your own intuition to feel if it's something that the joy of giving it feels stronger than the joy of keeping it -- and it's ok either way, it's more important to know what you will feel, so that you make the right decision. What other GC or more-readily-findable bottles do you have (that are in good condition, good label, full) that might be appropriate, that you could then re-order from the lab or forum for yourself? I agree that symbolic is better than random scent, because you can't know what they'll like and lbr many guys won't be into it anyway but it's the symbolic side of things. I like the idea of Elf & Rogue! Bliss & Jolly Roger would also make a cute set, if he's a pirate guy.

Once it's dry on me, Voodoo is a really beautiful clove. The other notes all take a back seat to clove for me.

Ohhh! Time to track down this old Yule! I've actually tried most of the ones you've mentioned Belle Vinu was a little too citrus for me- and Les Bijoux I think the peach, rose and myrrh reacted amped strangely with my chemistry and made it smell weird.. but I think I might try it again! Kali had this strange chocolate scent (i love chocolate but it went funky on me ) I'm not a huge fan of myrrh in my florals (and most of my favour with spices and incense comes from them as background and supporting notes) Do you know how much myrrh you got when applying yours? I've read that it can smell a bit herby. I love the sound of flora! so sad it's a discontinued scent but Ill definitely hunt it down. Hetairae did not work on me at all i think it might have been the patchouli and clove being too much for the honey to handle (even though back then the honey absolutely reeked on me, I know clove and patchouli are still two notes I need to caution myself with. hmmmm Loralei I don't think is my kind of scent to be honest, neroli and sandalwood aren't really notes I run to as they amp on me strangely- and I seem to only like sandalwood with creamy or vanilla and musky bases...and riceflower doesn't tend to smell too fantastic on me, how much black musk is in Temp Temptation? hmmm - but I think hermia is on point!! adding to my list! Looks like all the discontinued scents piqued my interest...noooooooo hahaha Kali - oh, true, I always forget about the cocoa because the first imp I tried was i think ancient and it didn't have that at all, sorry! Is it Les Bijoux you're asking about myrrh? I don't notice it, other than perhaps grounding the scent and binding things together, to me it was a skin-close scent honey golden sweet. Eros, too, myrrh didn't necessarily stand out, the scent is fairly light and well-blended on me. I woudln't describe either of them as herby, on me. The Temptation - I didn't not get black musk, again other than possibly grounding the scent? On me it was a sweet outdoorsy floral with an *extremely* light not-at-all-overly-prominent slight peach.

Celestia - Blossoms in Springtime - maybe The First of Three Spirits -- really golden and lovely, in a different way than Blossoms. And, it's GC, but have you tried Belle Vinu? or Les Bijoux? Eros, Flora, Kali, The Temptation, Loralei, Hermia, Hetairae...

My top 3 for that would be: Mag Mell Manhattan Lyonesse All three are *amazing*, and if you haven't tried them yet HIGHLY REC.

Maybe also Sed Non Satiata. Imp if you like peach. Did you try Aureus or The Coiled Serpent? And different, non-patchouli but golden-cinnamony and might be good for layering to get closer: Chimera, Inferno, Bengal.

If you like the greens-and-herbs scent, you may also want to try Apothecary. And if the Salon ever comes back around, definitely try Orpheus and/or Garden Path with Chickens.

Oh! I never even tried Forest Reverie because it had so many floral notes. I tend to not do well with "grape" scents, and my husband is allergic to lily, so I need to pass, but it'd be easy to try since it's GC. Also, I found the "forest" thread! http://www.bpal.org/topic/3325-forest-and-woods-scents-with-without-evergreens/ Though I literally disagree iwth the very first rec in the thread so LOL YMMV. Yeah, reading more of the thread, it's confusing, because some of those first-page recs definitely sound like recs for "wood" not "the woods". But it reminded me of Troll, which is another suggestion for ya. Also yes definitely stay tuned for the fall Halloween LEs and the Yule holiday LEs, there are often some really great ones that are LE.

Forests. yay! I've tried so many but I know that the specific thing in my mind is not necessarily the specific thing in yours, so here is a bunch of ideas: Yggdrasil is my FAVE, I'm sorry it didn't work for you! If it doesn't work on your skin, perhaps try a scent locket. Yup, Druid really is like the whole forest, including moss and lichen and soil along wtih trees. Death on a Pale Horse (just ignore the name and think woodlands) Odin Robin Goodfellow The Apothecary (seems more field than forest to me but reminds me of the sunshine and leafiness you mention) Greed (I know, odd, but again just ignore the name and think woodlands) Arkham (this doesn't fit the type of forest I was looking for personally but may fit your description) Machu Picchu (maybe?) Pais de la Canela There are usually some scents like this at Yuletime, like Yule or... others? for foresty, i've tried to steer clear of LE in case something were to become The Ultimate Beloved and hten be impossible to find, haha. Ochosi (maybe?) Maybe Slobbering Pine ? Which on me was *less* pine than many others despite the name; I totally hear you on the dangers of too-pine-esque.

Wolfsbane had something akin to Belladonna, to me - might be worth a try! They're not the same but something you may like in its own right.

@lookwaffles - Hi! Bayou -- Perhaps try Arkham, Banded Sea Snake, Nuit I haven't tried the others actually!

Grapefruit is a scent they say can suppress appetite, (and Muse has citrus, too, with its lime) so possibly: Manhattan Night-Gaunt Embalming Fluid Queen has sage & black pepper, here are some evocative of sage: Robin Goodfellow Antony Oya Phoenix Steamworks Not thinking about food cravings is also like not thinking about an elephant - once you think of it, you are thinking of it, lol. So maybe a scent that has NOTHING to do with appetite, suppressing or not, like florals, or somethign evocative of air or wind, something like that. Or something that exemplifies your goal for yourself, such as, if your goal is "to be healthy & energetic", then what scents most remind you of that feeling, or embody that feeling for you? This will depend on what your actual goal for yourself is.

Oh my gosh, so many good ones! I like lighter scents in summer, and here are some I love that are GC so imps are available: Embalming Fluid Dorian Mag Mell Manhattan Here is the main thread, that will keep you busy for days, haha: http://www.bpal.org/topic/2460-best-bpals-for-summer-is-it-hot-sweltering-sticky-outside/?hl=summer

First on: Yum! This is woodsy-cinnamony on me, kind of like a tea-house / spa version of the original cinnamony Hamadryad, or a lighter no-musk Oblivion. Dry-down: The woodsy-cinnamony fades away, now skin-close light and soft-green.

1-3) Haven't tried King of Clubs, or Oborot, but since you mention forest-incense, have you tried Druid yet? 2) Orpheus! I mean, it was really distinctive. The Salon scents were deliciously complex, so many amazing winners there. But, you might try Mag Mell, 51, Apothecary. And if you like mostly-greens then maybe Yggdrasil. None of these are "like" Orpheus but you may like them in their own right. Amsterdam is more watery and lighter and a bit more floral less green.

Maybe Jersey Devil with a layered dirt note? The moss/foresty parts were like Jersey Devil to me, but Nocnitsa had those added dirt / soil / earth notes.

I just tried Druid and it could definitely be like a greenhouse, you should add it to your list-of-many-possibilities! I don't normally like the dirt scents, so I don't have a lot of recs in that regard, but wanted to rec Druid your way.

> how strong would you say the frankincense is in Robotic Scarab? It's a really complicated, well-blended scent with lots going on, so definitely worth a try. Imps are available from the lab even, so you dont' have to go full-bottle just to try it. I love trying imps. Robotic Scarab is really gorgeous,and I think that since it has so much else going on it might work for you. From my notes: "At first, fairly cologny-resiny, & it fades fast to really smell like bronzy metal might smell! And then sweet & warm, outdoorsy, confident, refined." Uh this makes *me* want to get out my imp of it again, haha. They're just really neat scents.

I agree with annemathematics, I think the Steamworks line is also somewhere you should look -- they have such a perfect mix of nostalgia and modernity, plus so many of them feel like machinery or equipment, though not dust necessarily. My favorites from that line are Robotic Scarab, Phoenix Steamworks, and Aelopile. Also not in that line but similar in machineworks-feel is The Ninth Cage.