ljaylh

Hmm... I am a tad disappointed in this. I have the original Boo! perfume oil and it's beautiful vanilla marshmallowy cream goodness, although I've noticed that reviews from subsequent years of Boo! mention it has changed. So I was really hoping that the HG would be the same vanilla/cream variety of the original Boo! perfume, but I'm finding it has a very strong caramel/burnt brown sugar smell on me. And every now and then I catch a hint of lemon smell too. Because of the dominance of the brown sugar, I really have to look for the vanilla... it's in there, but it's really really hard to find. I just wanted a simple, clean vanilla HG and I was really hoping this would be it. Ah well, can't win them all.

Yep... this is lovely. It's everything that I wanted Silkybat to be (but alas, Silkybat was a ghastly nasty disaster for me). The coconut here is very subtle - it's not immediately obviously until you catch it on the breeze where it floats along very softly, but it's really very lovely here. The star of the show is the sugared patchouli though - again, very subtle - definitely not a KAPOW kind of patchouli - with a lovely smokey sweetness. I am SO glad this isn't a brown/caramel kind of sugar - I was really worried about that, but no... there's really no actual 'sugar' smell as such, it's just sweetening up the patchouli. Once again, I am reminded why it's almost always the two-to-three note blends that work best for me... this is another shining example of how less is more can be a beautiful thing.

As a proud member of BPAL's stinky hippie family, of course I had to buy this If you ever do in fact need assistance to locate nearby hippies, this oil will do the trick. Like bees to honey, the hippies will come to you because never in their wildest dreams (and you know hippies have the wildest dreams) could they hope to smell this good. It's patch, it's hemp, it's vanilla - all smooshed up together and making me feel warm and snuggly, like getting into a sleeping bag filled with puppies. The vanilla is definitely smoky rather than sweet, so if I were to compare this to my beloved Banshee Beat (sorry folks, but the comparison is inevitable given the similarities between these two blends) - where BB has that rich heady sweet vanilla making the patch and hemp warm and syrupy, Ask the Nearest Hippie's vanilla is smoky and dry and wispy - overall, the blend is much less gnarly than BB although the hemp in ATNH is not shy. I thought maybe they'd be like brother and sister, but for me they're more like cousins - the connection is there, but with a couple of degrees of separation. BB smacks you in the face, ATNH brushes your cheek. BB is Janis Joplin, ATNH is Joni Mitchell. And let's talk about the cannabis, shall we? Yes it's there. No, you won't smell like the couch at Willie Nelson's place. Or bong water. Or Snoop Dogg's hair. But there is a definite true cannabis scent here - if you've ever smelled fresh, sticky buds then that's the smell you get - and that may scare some people off but it's actually more subtle than obvious, plus it's tempered very nicely by the smoky vanilla and the earthy patch. I also find that once it's been on my skin for half an hour or so the cannabis smell has pretty much gone and I'm left with this gorgeous dry vanilla-patchouli thing going on, which is really quite lovely. A couple of hours down the track and it's faded down to a soft hint of patchouli with hemp in the background, but in the end it's the patch that sticks around the longest for me. In the end analysis this doesn't really knock my socks off, but it definitely does loosen them a little. I'm just happy to have another lovely BPAL to add to my little stinky hippie collection

girlryan - it would be helpful to know what in particular you find defines a 'sleepy scent' - lavender is the note that most people immediately go to for recs, but it's not everyone's isnta-sleep solution (for example, I find the Doc Constantine atmo spray great for sleeping, but it's not 'sleepy' smelling really). But assuming it's lavender you're after, I would suggest The Gladdener of All Hearts - Honeyed milk, baby powder, lavender, orris root, sage, carnation, angelica, frankincense, and rose otto - it's an LE from 2008, and it smells like bear hugs and puppy kisses.

Great photos, nathanielhebert! Thanks for sharing OK here are my two new loves... Revenant Rhythm hair gloss (left) and atmosphere spray (right) from the Trading Post; Who doesn't love a dancing skelly, right?

A tousled, sexy mix of patchouli, vanilla, and hemp. This makes my room smell like all my precious bottles of Banshee Beat opened up their lids and burped. BEST SMELL EVER.

Imagine if you were able to make your hair smell like soft, warm patchouli with hints of sweet vanilla and the fresh organic scent of hemp... imagine if every time a gentle breeze lifts your hair you let its scent cuddle you and smile quietly to yourself because you know nobody else smells as awesome as you do. And then imagine if as a bonus you got soft silky hair. Imagine no longer, my fine smelling friends, because you are able to! Right here, with this wondrous stuff!! It's no secret that Banshee Beat is my One True BPAL Love, and I have long been in the habit of anointing my locks with dabs of BB, so it's no surprise that this hair gloss fills me with joy. But even I am surprised at just how nice it is! Where BB is quite bombastic in its patchouli-vanilla-hemp-iness - there's no hiding that gnarly goodness BB delivers - this RR HG is much softer and subtle... overall sweeter and less oomphy. The scent is the same, but where Banshee Beat goes to 11 - Revenant Rhythm goes to about 4, but don't get me wrong... whilst I'm all about the gnarly uberness of BB, I think it's completely appropriate for a hair gloss to be less strongly scented. I get around 3-4 hours of good scent in my hair from this - after that it starts to fade pretty quickly but I can still detect little hints of fragrance up to 8-10 hours later. Previously, Amber & Patchouli HG has been my go-to... sorry, A&P, but you're going to be neglected for a while. I would also like to mention that this is the first hair gloss I've bought that actually sprays a soft mist - all my other HGs squirt, which makes them a little difficult to apply. And here's the most fabulous thing of all - this is the only hair gloss I've tried so far that doesn't weigh my fine hair down and make it my hair icky. Some may say that's just lucky, but I say these are two more reasons why RR HG is magical. Now all I need is RR shampoo and conditioner and some RR body lotion so I can smell like this from head to toe, and my life will be complete.

So when the Lupers came out, I thought... nope, nothing here for me. But Ivory Vulva did catch my eye because whenever I see 'golden amber', I get a little warm in the trousers area. So I ended up buying a bottle from another BPALer, and when it arrived I excitedly dabbed some on and waited for the golden amber goodness to waft over me. Imagine my disappointment when I realise I'm surrounded by a cloud of aroma d'peanut butter! Yes, you heard me - peanut butter. Damn you macadamia - why did you have to be here? I should have known that any 'nut' note would override everything else in the mix, but I was blinded by the prospect of golden amber (and possibly distracted by the warmth in the trousers area). When I manage to poke my nose through the macadamia madness, I find a lovely sweet and creamy marshmallow, a soft and earthy coconut, but no amber. This reminds me so much of Wezwanie/Hold... it would have been so beautiful if it weren't for the stupid nut note. So for me, it's not Ivory Vulva... it's Nutty Vulva and that's never a good thing.

Ooh! That is still my favorite brand name perfume to date when i want to spritz it all over on my clothes and stuff. Dont suppose you have any bpal recommendations that are similar to hypnotic poison at all? That is my favorite vanilla scent yet. Yep - Hypnotic Poison has actually been mentioned a few times on the 'Looking for a BPAL that resembles a favourite perfume' topic and also there's this topic for Dior perfumes My comment there was: I'd like to add to this - The Girl is way more jasmine-rrific than HP. I would also now mention Sybil, which has Egyptian Musk and a lovely dry bourbon vanilla but also tea rose which makes it different to HP in flavour but similar in tone, and Cabaret Goth has a similar musky/vanilla thing going on although neither of those notes (it's the amber in CG that makes it HP-like) . Others noted in that topic are listed below (although I can't say I agree with them all!) Vain Sorceress from the Trading Post Dragon's Milk Perversion Lovers With Rutting Cats (Shunga) Hamadryad Faiza the Black Mamba (CD) OK, end hijack of thread! Sorry folks

My big favourite in this category is Khrysee (Vanilla amber and orange blossom) - reviews here - so simple, but so very beautiful (and also, sadly, so very hard to find). Although it's not an orange blossom or neroli blend, one of my favourite 'orange' BPALs is Lilith and the Giant Crab - Tangerine cream, benzoin, white sandalwood, white pear, tonka, and ambergris accord - reviews here. I don't see it up for sale very often though. In the GC, my picks would be: Vixen (the innocence of orange blossom tainted by the beguiling scents of ginger and patchouli) Akuma (blood orange, neroli, and raspberry) Hunger (Black narcissus, orange blossoms, and vanilla) Seraglio (Sweet almond and Mysor sandalwood enveloped by a heady veil of Bulgarian Rose, neroli, nutmeg, clove and orange peel) From the Snake Pit - Australian Copperhead (Snake Oil with acai berry, amber, cardamom, neroli, and smoked vanilla) Old Demons of the First Class (Siberian musk, black clove, opoponax, tonka, black pepper, and neroli) is a worthy inclusion for something different to the typical 'fruity' or 'citrus' blends Oh, and Oceans of Love and Millions of Kisses (orange blossom and honey) bath oil is absolutely divine. *with apologies if any of those GCs are discontinued - I haven't been keeping up with recent news, sorry.

Oh you're very welcome! It's funny - not many people know about Lucy, Kissed.. I think it was one of those things that got a bit lost amongst the big lot of Halloween releases that year, but I think it's quite a masterpiece I hope you're able to find some, and when you do... I hope you like it!

ziggystardust - I know it's been a while since you posted this, but as soon as I read your list I thought of Lucy, Kissed - it was an LE from the Trading Post, but you should be able to track some down Lucy, Kissed Diabolical voluptuousness, a siren song from the grave: juniper and yew brushing against blackened violets and funeral roses, red musk and hot blood, veined white marble and icy, brittle musk, all pulsing with the sinister, hypnotic scent of patchouli, amber, oude, and cubeb. I know that might sound like an odd mix, but it's a deep warm and sensual patch/musk/smokdy rose - kind of like Snake Oil + Vixen + Midnight Kiss + Rose Red had some sort of illicit romp and Lucy, Kissed is the feral lovechild borne of their tryst Reviews here.

The most recent one I've seen is Vain Sorceress from the Trading Post. HP is one of the very few commercial perfumes that I love, and I haven't yet found a BPAL that is a total smell-alike. The Girl has a similar feel, but it's crazy hard to find. You should also try The Antikythera Mechanism or Stimulating Sassafrass Strengthener, if you haven't already. But for me, what I love about Hypnotic Poison is that gorgeous dry dusky sandalwood and the sultry vanilla + musk combination - my skin doesn't play out any of the florals or fruit notes at all - so those recommendations may be way off for you, depending on what it is about HP that you love

Hi littleflight As Mountaingrrl mentioned, the Recommendations section has two topics: Best BPALs for SUMMER - is it hot, sweltering, sticky outside? and Scents for summer into autumn so you'll probably find those helpful I think in general, people associate the lighter, brighter blends with summer - in particular, citrus notes like lemon/orange/lime get mentioned a lot... and there's also the sweeter florals that we associate with summer - eg jasmine, gardenia etc. The more 'fresh' scents (eg notes of cucumber, tea etc - green things, generally) also work nicely. But don't be afraid of wearing your foody/autumn blends in summer - often a bit of heat will work magic with certain BPALs and give a scent a whole new vibe in the warmer weather. Personally, I love wearing Snake Oil on stinking hot days because all that vanilla and spicy goodness just gets better and better the hotter it gets

LOOK OUT! A GIANT RED VELVET TRUFFLE CAKE IS BEHIND YOU!! LOOK OUT! A GIANT RED VELVET TRUFFLE CAKE IS IN FRONT OF YOU!! LOOK OUT! A GIANT RED VELVET TRUFFLE CAKE IS SITTING ON YOU!! LOOK OUT! A GIANT RED VELVET TRUFFLE CAKE IS CLIMBING UP YOUR NOSE!! That's my experience with this, it smells like someone has grabbed me and smashed my face into a red velvet truffle cake and I have bits of it stuck up my nose and in my ears and it's FOLLOWING ME AROUND AND IT'S ALL I CAN SMELL. This smells like a boozy, chocolate-y, velvety-, red velvet cake liqueur. Dastardly.