sqwook

I think I must be attuned to oakmoss, because once this is dry, oakmoss and soft powderiness is what I'm getting here. Reminds me a bit of what I remember of The Ring, which is also beautiful.

See, for this one, I'm with MuskWing -- I am totally getting a soft, beautiful scent of nag champa burning outdoors in the open air and a light breeze. Not the lab's typical nag champa note, but my scent-memory of what it's like at a particular store I visit, where they always have a single stick of nag champa burning just outside the door, and when you enter the store, the breeze outside the door floats the scent lightly past you. I do not know why it's hitting me this way, given the notes, but that's definitely what it's like on my skin!

I really like this on me. Lately, I haven't been looking at notes at all while I test things, and when this had just dried down, I thought I smelled myrrh here -- all these elements are just blending in a really beautiful way, what I thought was myrrh must be the smoky sweetness of the honey note, but not like the normal honey note which usually does not work for me. Nice. The drydown is a close spice. This is really good. Reminds me a bit of my scent-memory of Nemesis & Gomorrah and others along those lines.

This is beautiful. Vanilla with a lovely perfumey bite when it's wet (I can see the comparison to Angel, during this phase), and then resiny and complex when it's dry.

It just gets more & more complex & beautiful on my skin throughout the day. Deeper, richer, warmer, less floral (not floral at all really), and a bit more 'spiced' than I expected -- and also therefore much much /better/ than I expected.

I agree with the above comment - "sexy and grown up and yum", haha.

Love, love, love!

A lovely honey scent! But what compelled me to pop in here into the reviews section is that this reminds me tons of<b> Xmvlzencab bath oil</b>-- so anyone who was hoping for something similar as a perfume oil, you will need to try this.

This is so great on me! Starts out zingy and bright, like berries plus the zing / tartness of grapefruit, which is a scent I have been looking for in BPAL just FOREVER and nothing has even come close. And then a sweet almost-vanilla rounds everything out underneath, while the berries mingle together, and the red musk just makes it like a perfume and not a food. I just love it. Not too foody, not too saccharine/sugary, not too red-musky. Just perfect. And the drydown is so pretty on me, even 12 hours later - more a berries-and-vanilla-spice at this stage.

There aren't many berry-heavy scents I can wear - Fruit of Paradise is another - but this is just great. May need a bottle.

I get sassafras from The Soldier. (weird, given the notes, but I wasn't the only one to get it, so...)

Give Gomorrah a try, too.

Helios is great for high desert.

Hi! There is a thread that is GREAT for suggestions, depending on what you're looking for. I wonder if I can find it.

Some things depend on the situation. For example, Mme Moriarty I *do* think is a fantastic "Don't f*** with me" scent, with a lot of sexual undertones - like "okay, you can f*** with me, if I let you, and I shall be totally in charge of that." It would not be good for a work environment if that's what you're seeking.

For a work environment, Manhattan and Death & Life Completed both rock pretty hard, in my opinion. I also like Oya.

Let me try to find the other thread...

Voila! http://www.bpal.org/topic/18942-bravery-courage-confidence-intimidation-power/page__p__201548__hl__power%2A__fromsearch__1#entry201548

Hm, I'm not sure that's the thread I was thinking of, so there may be even ANOTHER one out there. Hmmm....

Emma - Dirty - Yes! If she could get past the name, right?

Quinn, yes, it would need to be something pretty, and even with a pretty name and inspiration.

And to clarify, in no way would Kurt Hummel actually wear BPAL at all, so I guess what I should have said is that he would "smell like" Dorian -- or maybe 'Death & Life Completed' -- even though it would likely be some kind of extremely expensive haute couture scent.

Tina, on the other hand, you know totally wears BPAL, and totally has like 37 favorites, not just one.

That awkward moment when you have 30 bottles in your bpal bottle box but you still want ONE MORE and it's because it's what you think a fictional character might wear. Namely, Kurt Hummel on Glee. Dorian. /is-ridiculous

In the bottle: rich and sweet

On me: There's something here that's almost going to red musk (or even jasmine or champa). Not getting caramel at all, which is good, because usually I amp it and it ruins everything. I think I'd most describe this as a purple musk. After 3 hours, it's now really really beautiful - the purple musk/orchid is now backed by sandalwood and tonka.

Fruit of Paradise that you mentioned is a good idea to re-try, and you might want to try Hymn to Proserpine again. Maybe Skuld. Also, Lampades. And, oddly, Black Lotus perhaps - it doesn't actually *have* a fruit note, but the sweetness of the lotus puts it into the same feeling, for me, and it's balanced by the spices so it doesn't become too lotus-y. Also, if you don't mind perfumey top-notes, Bette Noir is good.

I have Rituals Hammam foamy shower gel - it says it's eucalyptus and rosemary. I LOVE the scent, but it doesn't stick around long, and just mixing essential oils gets you something very different. Is there something of the lab that smells like it?

Nobody? *sadface*

You might try Grr perhaps - some people get a sage, eucalyptus feel from it. Also, if the essential oils aren't anything like the shower gel, than it could be a blend of lots of different things *including* eucalyptus & rosemary - I'm not familiar with it, so I can't say. Does it smell to you like there other notes in it, and if so, what might they be? That might help people come up with suggestions.

>Is there a way to find this info on the site? The search function wasn't working for me.

I never liked using the search, whereas I *love* using spreadsheets, so I downloaded a spreadsheet that someone had made. I find it super-easy to search within a spreadsheet, and I can add notes to myself on which ones I want try, what I've already tried, add in new scents when they're released, etc. I use the spreadsheet Hackess maintains, though there are others. The link is here: http://www.hackess.com/bpal.xls and you can find it in the future by going to her member profile - it's in her "About Me" signature. http://www.bpal.org/user/6364-hackess/

On the reaction side, the notes in those blends aren't the common ones that people react to (cinnamon is one to watch out for especially) but if your skin reacts to even those, then I'd use a base you already know to be fine for your skin, rather than trying both a new base and new scents. That way, if you have a reaction, you'll be better able to isolate the cause.

For me, I love The Ring, so I caved and have 2 bottles on the way.

Kypris is also really really (really) beautiful.

There's a pear note in Peacocks which is nice. And, it's not a listed note in this one, but Nothing Gold Can Stay had a pear-or-melon fresh feeling to me.

(chais - ah, sorry - I thought you were just looking for alternates in general, of which Volt could be just one - sorry! Hope someone who has tried Volt can chime in! )

I absolutely adore The Coil and only have an imp. I'd definitely like to track down a bottle at some point, but in the meantime, does anyone know if Volt is at all similar in feel?

This has probably been asked a million times but, is there anything similiar to Antique Lace. Either GC or LE. I love AL and would love to be able to find something similiar to it

Chairmolokom & nrl1978 - you can do a search in this thread once you are in it by finding the "search" box (with the forum skin I use, it's up near the top right of the screen) - make sure it says "in this topic" and then put in your search string. Yes, there are tons of suggestions in this thread for Antique Lace, and The Coil is also discussed relatively recently (scroll to the top of the page).

plainjean - Searching for Tiger Lily on the forum is trickier because so many other results come up, but reading through the review thread you might be able to find some comparisons. I noticed that someone felt that the floral had some similarities to Alice, and the honey-note to O, so maybe some layering? You've probably tried those two already, though, but maybe there are other comparisons.

This is really really good on me - surprisingly so, given some of the other lackluster reviews.

It starts off somewhat nutty, and then becomes soft and somewhat powdery-perfumey, smooth, and then over many hours, it's a skin-close spiciness of frankincense. I *love* oakmoss, and it's not sticking out on me here as it usually does - it usually makes things go more masculine than I wish them to, and it's not doing that here. I also don't get any type of overwhelming patchouli, other than perhaps that spiciness. No mint, either.

And I even get compliments on it. (Actually, two different compliments from two different people on different days, and normally neither of those people mention anything.) So it's not just me being weird in thinking it smells nice on me.

This is now on my want-bottle list.

I am a fan of Slobbering Pine, too! Interestingly, I don't get pine from it really, and... that's okay by me. It goes almost golden-fruity, while still staying bright and clear, and for me, that makes it a winner.

Smoother & sexier than expected! I agree with whoever said it smells more like tobacco than typical woods (though not the overly-sugary-ness of some of bpal's tobacco notes), even a tinge of smoke while it's wet. I get absolutely no rose at all, and I am extremely susceptible to it. I'm not getting any pine at all, either. Smooth, tobacco, and a sweetness that must come from either vanilla or honey. Fantastic!

I'm surprised I'm not hearing more chatter about this - it seems like it would be ridiculously popular. I wonder if the woods-and-balsam listed notes have made some people think it would be more masculine than it is.

I think it's the unisex (and awesome on a woman) equivalent of Moxie Nouveau's Girls With Cigars (blond tobacco, amyris, and ambergris, sweetness of blackberry, and the earthy spice of clove).

Really great.

You posted it in the discontinued GC thread.

And here's my answer: On me, Niflheim is like a more damp / green Gomorrah, so you might wish to try Gomorrah. You could also check the review thread for Niflheim& see if others compare it to other scents.

On me, Niflheim is like a more damp / green Gomorrah.