parrot_suspect

Vixen! If you like Snake Oil, you'll probably like Vixen -- it's long lasting and has great sillage. Same goes for Urd and Scherezade.

Here are two I find amazingly similar. So much so, that if you have one, you don't need the other.

Mouse's Long and Sad Tale and Aeval. I think it's the sweet pea and musk notes. They're beautiful fragrnaces, but I can't tell them apart.

Hiya guys-

 

Does anyone here think that Ochosi is a good Buck Moon sub?

I haven't tried Ochosi yet, but I think Coyote is similar to Buck Moon!

I second this. Coyote is very, very similar to Buck Moon. Buck Moon is a bit lighter and more skin-scent-ish, Coyote is a bit sweeter. But overall they are very much alike. I'm wearing Coyote today -- I really love it. I think it's one of the "sleeper" GC scents; more people would like it if they tried it.

I found that Antique Lace smells very similar to Stila's Creme Bouquet.

Interesting! I find Regan to be incredibly similar to Creme Bouquet -- it has that sweet, vanilla floral feel.

Here are a few others I've noticed:

If you like Vixen or Sin -- you'll like LUSH Karma, YOSH La Contessa or Dana Tabu.

If you like Jacob's Ladder -- you'll like Chantilly. Yes, the drugstore perfume you wore in high school. Compare the two, and be amazed!

If you like Gingerbread Poppet -- you'll like Philosophy Gingerbread Man.

If you like Morella or Aeval -- you'll like Philosophy Baby Grace.

If you like Morocco -- you'll like Sensi, Cashmere Mist or Bogner Wood Woman.

If you like Dirty -- you'll like J. Lo Glow.

If you like Florence -- you'll like Dolce & Gabbana (red cap).

If you like Dana O'Shee -- you'll like DSH La Fete Nouvelle or Winter White.

I always enjoy wearing this scent. It starts out sweet, kind of like a blend of Dragon's Blood and Snake Oil. Then it morphs into something deep and musky, with a Snake Oil-ish vibe. Eventually the drydown is powdery and musky, and I can't detect Dragon's Blood anymore.

All in all, a wonderful scent, and a must-try for anyone who likes musks, Dragon's Blood or Snake Oil. It's sexy without smelling "sweaty," overly spicy or animalic. I wish it had a bit more throw, but otherwise it's perfect.

What about Beaver Moon, is there a GC similar to it?

I'd suggest Gluttony, Eat Me, Velvet, Elegba or Hollywood Babylon.

On me this is a slightly spicy, slightly fruity musk. It's VERY similar to Enraged Orangutan Musk. As a matter of fact, I can barely tell the two apart. Voodoo Queen seems to be stronger as it dries down. I think anyone who liked Smut or EOM would like Voodoo Queen.

This is a beautiful scent. On me, it smells like a marriage of Vanilla Lace and Aeval. It's fresh, sweet, clean, slightly vanillic, a little musky, a little powdery. On me the sweet pea note comes out moreso than the sandalwood. All in all, definitely big bottle worthy.

Given the description, I thought Dragon's Blood would have a starring role in this blend. However, I can hardly detect it. Dragon Moon, on me, is a green floral with a dash of fruit and tea. It's kind of sweet, but doesn't have the heady, lush scent I associate with Dragon's Blood. I'm definitely getting the bamboo note, and the tea note, but not a lot of sandalwood. There's a distinct "wet" feeling to this scent -- it's like sipping a cup of cherry-scented green tea in a bamboo forest, with tropical blooms all around. A nice spring floral for the rainy season.

Ozymandias is a beautiful blend. It's hard to pick out the individual notes. I agree that it has a classic, almost "perfumey" quality along the lines of Chanel No. 5. In the BPAL lineup, I'd say it smells like a mixture of Numb and Antique Lace. I get something vanillic, a little powdery, a tad soapy, a little floral, and very musky. A lovely, very feminine fragrance; not at all what I was expecting, based on the description.

ETA: This has become one of my top 5 and is in regular rotation. It's so smooth and easy to wear, it's perfect for any occasion. Excellent to wear to work, out for a nice dinner, or for occasions where one's headier/more "headshoppy" scents won't do. And yet, you could still wear this with a T-shirt and jeans. Perfection!

This smells a lot like Milk Moon to me. Upon application, I definitely get the coconut note, and a vanilla-y sort of scent. But then, unfortunately, it does what Milk Moon did on my skin -- morphs in to a plastick-y sort of note. It just doesn't work on me.

This is a wonderful fragrance. It's soft, slightly sweet and smells kind of like a baby. The notes combine to create a gentle, soothing, clean sort of scent. Imagine Morella without the iris. Aeval doesn't morph much as it dries down. I applied it this morning and it's still quite true to the original scent, although the tonka is a bit more apparent in the drydown.

If you're looking for a pleasant, "clean" spring fragrance that isn't too floral, give Aeval a try.

Yes....try Xiu (oh hell, I don't know how to spell it) -- Xiuheculti? Something like that. I think it's in the Excolo blends.

Gluttony and Hollywood Babylon are quite sweet and milky.

Since you're a musk lover: any experience with Fallen and/or Libertine? My notes say "Watch the violets..."

I'm willing to venture ANYwhere for my musk. The Gap and Vinci-Rakos scents you mention: are they oils? or sprays? I use oil pretty much exclusively.

I read about Kiehl's on the Net and sniffed out their Paris store, but what a disappointment: it just smelled like Johnson's Baby Oil on me.

Paris, I haven't tried Fallen -- I've been meaning to, but have never gotten around to it. I do recall Libertine having a strong violet note.

Beyond BPAL: Gap OM is a spray and can only be purchased at Gap outlet stores. It also comes in lotion and shower gel, and candle form, I think. The best thing about it is it's cheap! And it really does smell nice. Vinci-Rakos Earth is an oil and can be found at www.vincirakos.com. It's lovely -- a smooth, woodsy, rich, musk. More feminine than masculine. It's what I wanted Coty's Wild Musk to be. You can purchase a sample if you e-mail the company. And I agree with ViolentKitten's rec of DragonflyBlue Nile Musk. It's a very nice musk, with a soapy/clean vibe. It comes in oil or body cream form.

Oh, and I almost forgot. Fresh Scents by Terri's "Zoe" is a musk worth checking out as well -- it's soft and wearable. Comes in lotion, shower gel, oil and spray form. And I don't know if you've tried Attar Bazaar, but they have some great musks, particularly Sweet Musk and Pearl Musk (these are oils).

Vixen would be perfect to wear to a bar or club. It's loud, sexy and can cut through smoke and sweat.

Another good scent would be to layer Snake Oil and Scherezade. I tried this the other day and it was wonderful.

Sin, Anne Bonny, Spellbound, Lust or Bordello would be fabulous as well.

This is a wonderful musk blend. I was a bit wary of it since I didn't like Smut (which sounded so great in its description). But I'm glad I ordered EOM.

It starts out smelling vaguely citrus-y and floral, with an undercurrent of musk. But after a half hour or so, the citrus notes disappear, and the musk turns deeper and "muskier." I think the ambergris helps soften the musk, and it dries down to a lovely soft, snuggly, clean, musky skin scent. It's definitely a feminine musk -- a very easy to wear, all-purpose scent.

All the suggestions so far have been great, but I'd like to add Utrennyaya. I just tried it for the first time the other day and was struck with how much it smelled like a cold, starry night.

My reply to you got eaten by the cybervillains as well. Like you, I'm a musk lover, though I've never smelled Mostly Musk. It sounds wonderful.

I think Fenris Wolf and Coyote are probably your two best bets as far as BPAL is concerned. You could also try Scherezade and Dragon's Musk -- but they're not woodsy. They're a bit incensey.

If you are willing to venture beyond BPAL, I'd strongly suggest Gap OM (woodsy, incensey musk) or Vinci-Rakos Earth (woodsy musk). Another possibility is Kiehl's Musk -- it's animalic, soft and sexy.

Good luck in your search!

Now that this blend has been re-introduced as part of the Maelstrom series, I've noticed many people saying, "It sounds nice, but I hate civet." I want to encourage everyone to give this blend a try, because the civet most definitely does not overwhelm this blend -- you can barely detect it at all.

On me, Morella is a gorgeous, soft, sweet, baby-clean type of scent. Have you ever tried Philosophy's Baby Grace? Morella is a lot like that, but it has more depth and character. It's innocent, yet sexy; and has a clean, fresh, just-showered sort of feel. I only have an imp of this (I've ordered a bottle), but whenever I dab it on, I can't stop sniffing my wrist. It has great lasting power and is a delight. I'm so glad this has been brought back.

Aromatics Elixir is a serious, heavy-duty, love-it-or-hate-it chypre. I'll be honest and say I have not found anything in BPAL remotely like it. Beth does not seem to dabble much in chypres. Sure, she has some scents with oakmoss (a note that is almost always found in a classic chypre fragrance), but they don't have that telltale chypre "twang" that's present in fragrances like EL Knowing, Aromatics Elixir, Miss Dior, Coriandre, etc.

How about something contemplative and thoughtful? Something quiet and not playful. I'm thinking woods, incense. Aureus comes to mind, as do Cathedral, Kathmandu and Morocco. If you like patchouli, Urd would be a good choice as well.

From what I recall of Onyx, it's a dark sort of scent with a bit of a coconut note. The closest BPAL that comes to mind is Black Pearl.

I'm sorry to say that Smut and I will have to go our separate ways. I thought I'd love it -- the notes sounded great, and I adore musk in almost any form. But on my skin, this smelled like a watered-down version of Scherezade or Sed Non Satiata with an unpleasant boozy top note. Sed Non Satiata doesn't work on me (though Scherezade does), so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised Smut isn't for me. I think it's that boozy top note that smells funky on me, because the drydown (of Smut) is lovely -- and there's definitely red musk in here, which I like. But I can't see myself wearing a scent that smells icky on me for several hours, just to get to the lovely drydown.

For a "sleep" blend Somnus smells surprisingly strong in the vial. The jasmine and lavender make their presence known in no uncertain terms. And even on the skin, it's pretty tenacious. If you're not fond of lavender or jasmine, I strongly suggest sampling this before purchasing.

I don't know if this is helping me to sleep or not. You know how some blends you're just not sure about, but you don't necessarily want to get rid of them either? I was considering swapping Somnus, but then I kind of got used to dabbing a bit on before bedtime. I have Oneiroi as well, and I slightly prefer Oneiroi as it's a softer and gentler blend. I think I'll try using both and seeing if that helps me sleep even better.