sqwook

Mag Mell has a wonderful brightness to it. I love it for its lightly sweet zing!

Hi! Do you know for sure it's the almond that caused the reaction? Eclipse also has cinnamon, and many people's skin reacts poorly to cinnamon. Either way, if you confirm what caused the reaction, before you buy scents from the lab you could also ask the lab about any scents you're concerned about - tell them you're allergic to almond & ask if a particular scent you'd like to buy includes it or not. Recs: I find that sometimes almond scent smells like cherries, so maybe you could check out things that have cherry as a note? I wonder if Black Phoenix has almond in it (the notes aren't listed but I got an almond vibe from it). Dana O'Shee smelled like light almond on me and doesn't list almond as a note.

My favorite that lists balsam among the notes is Faunalia - it's pretty awesome!

Sweet! I mean, the updated list. Not the demise of Loviatar.

For me, Eden & Snake Oil.

You might think that with a name like Flora, she'd smell devastatingly flowery, and that is just absolutely not the case here. Flora is a beautiful fruity-floral, with everything well-blended so that nothing dominates. I feel like the the wet fruits may be a hint of peaches, perhaps. But I think it's the Egyptian musk and sandalwood that's really making this such a knockout. It reminds me of Bastet without the almond. Really amazing, warm, and luxurious. ETA: My favorite out of the entire District!

Try Mag Mell - it's wonderful! (Is it even floral? um... well, if it's not, then forgive me...) I really like Maiden for hot weather and I don't get rose from it at all - I cannot wear rose. And Yvaine is always mentioned when the world ethereal comes up, so I'll put that out there now. Bat-Woman would be beautiful if you can find it. Fairy Market might be another good option, much sweeter though.

I love Yggdrasil - though it's less pine-y than Black Forest. Nero is another one to try - let it dry down before deciding because I found it kinda weird when wet. Loup Garou Nephilim (oddly) smelled like pine sap on me, so maybe it's worth a try. Also, do you think you like lighter musks instead of "black"? If a lighter scent might work, I love Faunalia and Fascinum - and I feel they hold their brightness well. I found Golden Priapus too vanilla-y, but many love it. And Antony is more field than forest but really wonderful. And an anti-rec: The juniper is Wings of Azrael fades away even QUICKER than black forest - perhaps nice enough in its own right but like you I was looking for more woodsiness. Also check out the forests thread for a fabulous source of (way too many) ideas.

Crib Girls!

Lemony-honey at first, though a rich, warm lemon - like smooth delicious lemon bars. Over time the lemonyness fades away, leaving a really nice honey scent that stays close to the skin. This is really nice. It reminds me a bit of Cairo.

Haven't tried this one either, but I hate seeing people not get suggestions! A search of the forum turned up only one comparison: La Mort Qui Danse. It's definitely peppery, and I also got a light floral and something slightly green, and it's very unique (translation: you may hate it ). Have you tried that one yet? Has anything you've tried come close, except "xyz"?

I haven't smelled the perfume you're asking about, but the notes list makes me think of Belle Vinu, Les Bijoux, The Temptation, Loralei, Rozpustnica... Or if it's more green, maybe Sunflower, The Unicorn, or Orpheus might have a similar feel.

On me, this smells much like The Snow Maiden - pine, perhaps cinnamon, floral, but better than all of that - as I said in my review of TSM, like Christmas & the first of spring all rolled into one. I don't mind the similarity - I think it'll "enable" me to get a bottle of each without feeling like I'm hoarding. I love this.

The Emathides is definitely one I hadn't thought of - thanks, Ahania! If anyone else has ideas too, let me know!

In the bottle: Sweet, slightly fruity (fresh ripe apricots) On me: Light, sweet, smooth. Completely blending together into a fruity honey over a warm sandalwood. There are no hard edges at all - the patchouli, pepper, and anything else that might have made this a "spicy" scent are simply lending depth, not overpowering it. Really beautiful. As I wear this, I start to recognize the sandalwood, as a grounding wonderful almost-spicy base. Oh, I bet this would be simply amazing on a sultry summer day. Note for rose-haters or ampers: I am generally too. Do not shy away from Copper Phoenix - I get no rose here so far. If you like this, you may also like: Belle Vinu, Hetairae, Hermia, Pepper, and perhaps All in a Golden Afternoon UPDATE: Okay, when dry for about 3hours plus, this is really just fantastic. It is much more rich & complex than the others I'm testing it against (Belle Vinu, Hetairae, & Hermia) - in fact it loses its resemblance to them - and it's just resinous, slightly peppery, soft, warm, and amazing, kind of the way Inez gets that warm spicy soft scent after several hours. Hmm... to bottle or not to bottle?

Hi! Have you tried any BPAL scents on your search yet, which ones, & what did you think? In particular, did you try BPALs Snow-Flakes and what did you think? It doesn't have pine, juniper, food, cider, or trees. But it does have vanilla I think, which might go foody on you. Other good ideas might be Ultraviolet, Yvaine, Bat-Woman (now discontinued unfortunately but may be possible to still find), Sea of Glass. Good luck!

In the bottle: Foody- Nuts and sweet fruity honey On me: The wallop of nut scent dries away to an oat-nut-berry scent. Sweet and cozy, creamy, comforting. If you like this you may like: Eden, which adds a green-ness (but DO NOT try them side by side like I did. Eden, which I love, turns into a green astringent mess next to Sleipnir somehow. )

In the bottle: Weirdly foody. (I say weirdly because with these notes, that surprised the heck out of me! Also because I was a bit disappointed, as I don't generally go for the foody ones.) Caramelly vanilla nag champa. On me: Warm sweet maple-syrupy. Almost cake-like. A slight hint of musk & incense grounding it. I've read all the reviews, and I think what's happening is that everyone who would love this scent hasn't tried it because of the listed notes, and everyone who loves the notes is flummoxed by how foody it manages to be. We need to get the people who *would* love this to actually try it!

Red fruity candy!

Wow, is this surprisingly amazing! Normally berry scents go way too sugary-girly-sweet on me, but this is ... Well, under consideration for a bottle. In the bottle: Like fruit punch (but in a good way!) made of real ripe fruits and dark berries On me: Ooo, much deeper and richer than expected -- incensey or spicy perhaps? Warm and delicious dark berries as soon as it hits my skin. Luscious, deep red. If you like this you may like: Hm... This reminds me of something with plum in it- maybe Mme Moriarty, Morgause, or the Witch Queen, or Frumious Bandersnatch or something. (Edited to add: I think it's Lampades it's reminding of, and FoP is more rich juicy berry than Lampades; I think they share some spices.) I already own bottles of Moriarty & Hymn to Proserpine, I probably don't need a bottle - (uh, maybe) - but it's far & away the best mostly-berry scent I've ever worn. Really wonderful.

In the bottle: Foody very spiced eggnog, hint of (banana??? or...) butterscotch On me: Ah, I think it's the coffee liquor & nutmeg or something that are combining to almost but not quite smell like a hint of bananas - but that odd note doesn't last long at all. It evens out & kinda smells like tiramisu, with coffee-liquor soaked cake & dry powder sprinkled over the whipped cream. Then after that the coffee-liquor fades away and it's now a sweet skin scent, creamy, and slightly spicy. Kind of like rice pudding, in a yummy way. Cozy and warm. Under consideration for a bottle purchase. ETA: Ah, this also reminds me of Castitas without the tinge of rice-flower, and with more baking spices.

I love this so much I can't even review it. Can I just say, I do much better when the notes are *not* listed, as they weren't for The Snow Maiden 2009. I am REALLY terrible at knowing what will work on me, and on knowing what a given list of notes will result in. I never would have ordered this had I seen the list of notes from the prior release. AND I LOVE THIS. In the bottle: OMG, brightness, light, sweet frasier fir and bright sweet herbs, maybe a hint of cinnamon. On me: Like Christmas and the first of spring, all rolled into one. It's not floral in any normal sense. I really can't describe this, it's not like any other BPAL I've tried (perhaps a bit like the sweet drydown of Yggdrasil maybe, after any semblance of wintergreen has faded from Ygg). It is JUST WONDERFUL in some ineffable way. This reminds me of The Thymes' Frasier Fir line, which is just fabulous. FF is more fir-tree, Snow Maiden is sweeter. Love love love.

In the bottle: Amber, oakmoss, rich sweet green herbs, hint of mint- Yum! On me: Slightly minty, amber, oakmoss; it's reminding me a bit of Cathode, but I haven't tried Cathode in so long I may be misremembering. Hours later, the brightness fades to something soft, cuddly, resiny, and warm. Lovely.

In the bottle: High-pitched pine and very dark musk On me: This is a dark forest, the kind with evergreens, though the evergreens don’t (thankfully) do that "HAI I'm a pine tree" thing on me. Dark, leans toward masculine, definitely. (Also, on my skin anyway, this doesn't remind me of Coyote at all - C was light, sweet, and dried sweetgrass; this is very dark, with dark musk.) A forest with a hint of danger in the shadows. What the wolf would wear on its way to waylay Little Red Riding Hood.

In the bottle: Menthol or maybe vetiver over… something I have smelled before, but what? On me: After the menthol bite burns off (which it does farily quickly), warm spicy deep chrysanthemums. I think Ciabonefish's description is quite apt: "It reminds me of the time between winter and fall when its quite cold, but the world is still colorful with reds browns and greens." EDIT: You know, as I retry this & re-read the reviews, I'm surprised so many people like this, and/or I wonder if I'm smelling the same scent. I get no mint, nothing remotely like Snow Flakes, very little sweetness. I do like it, but it's definitely in the category of "Things I like that not many other people do." It's VERY similar to the lovely fall/autumn vibe of Gomorrah on me, now that I've had the chance to test them side-by-side. And Gomorrah is, if anything, actually sweeter, though a little less spicy. So, if you love this, you should definitely check out Gomorrah.