parrot_suspect

Wonderful blend! Very almond-y, but not in a Dana O'Shee way, and not in a sweet cherry-ish way. It's just a warm, round, slightly spicy, almost-but-not-quite foody scent. Rather complex -- not just almonds, but there's something else in there, and it's all well-blended. Comforting and warm. It's sweet but not overpoweringly so. If you're looking for a different sort of almond scent, give this a try. I'm so glad I bought a bottle. (For those of you who are into commercial pefumes -- this reminds me of a smoother, more elegant version of Caron Farnesiana).

This starts out as a lightly spicy blend (think Red Phoenix or Blood Moon), but it quickly becomes apparent there's lots of wood in here as well. I'm thinking spices and sandalwood? Definitely patchouli in the drydown. Not a bad blend, but if you're looking for spices and woods, there are others that are better (Sin, for instance).

Midnight Mass wasn't quite what I expected. I was hoping for something somber and smoky, like CdG Avignon. There's incense in Midnight Mass, sure, but it seems buried under a pine forest (or is it cedar? some type of boreal forest) note. I really get more pine/cedar from this than I do incense. It's a nice scent but not really "incensey" enough for this lapsed Catholic.

Remember a fragrance from the 1980s by Coty, called Patchouli Musk? Vechernyaya smells remarkably similar. It's an interesting blend of musk, light florals and patchouli. The patchouli gives it a bit of a "bite," and the musk adds a sexy vibe. It's not a smooth or mellow scent -- it's kind of high pitched and "perfumey," but in the best sense of the word. Sparkling, sophisticated, and a little bit aggressive. Feminine and vampy. This is a scent to wear with a little black dress and high heels for a night on the town.

I was a little worried Jacob's Ladder wouldn't be very strong on the amber. I like heavy amber. What do you guys think about it?

Don't worry about Jacob's Ladder. Of all BPAL scents, it is the most amber-y. It's practically pure amber. I'm guessing you'll love it (as I do!).

You know, I think just about any oil you *really* like is good for a scent locket -- especially oils that tend to disappear quickly on your skin. The thing about scent lockets is they keep the scent right under your nose and wafting about you all day. If you don't absolutely adore a scent, a scent locket can turn you off from that scent pretty quickly. Or, if the scent you like is really strong, putting it in a scent locket AND applying it to yourself might be overkill. This happened to me with Vixen. It's one of my top 5 scents, and I adore it to no end, but it is strong. I made the mistake of applying it liberally, wearing it in a scent locket, then taking a train downtown to go to an art gallery. Big mistake. The double-whammy of the scent locket and wearing it on my skin was too much. I got nauseated on the train, and all the while I was at the (crowded) art exhibit, I was paranoid that my scent was knocking other people out. The experience put me off Vixen for a while. Now I've learned my lesson -- Vixen does NOT belong in a scent locket!

Snake Oil and Alice are two I often wear in my scent lockets. Snake Oil is another strong scent, so I don't use too much of it in the scent locket, but the locket I have is of a design that seems so perfect for Snake Oil. (click on link below -- that's my "snake oil locket").

http://cgi.ebay.com/Silver-Filigree-Marcas...1QQcmdZViewItem

No recs, since it seems everyone else has pointed you in the right direction, but I just wanted to say I love your sense of humor, Lobster!

I second the previous recs (particularly for Snake Oil and Sin) and would add Anne Bonny (a dark blend of incense and woods) and Vixen. These scents are all quite long-lived on me.

I don't know of any BPALs that smell like burnt paper, specifically, but Djinn smells like a wood fire. Chimera has cinnamon and vanilla. For some reason I'm also thinking Perversion -- it has vanilla, tonka, and a slightly "burnt" or ashy note.

I know this is the BPAL forum, but I'm wondering if you'd be better off looking in the mainstream fragrance world for something similar to Now or Never. Maybe Fendi Theorema, or Le Feu d'Issey Light?

Good luck!

An interesting blend. I get dragon's blood, tuberose (which smells a lot like gardenia) and a faint musk from this. Usually I can't do tuberose or any type of heavy floral, but somehow this is almost wearable for me. There's a certain soapy quality to this oil and it does feel exuberant and sexual. I think I'm going to try layering it with Dragon's Musk and seeing how that works.

It's easy to see why this is one of the most popular BPAL blends. Anyone who likes foody or sweet scents should try this. On me it's all sweet honey -- I don't get a lot of amber or vanilla. It reminds me quite a bit of Ginestet Botrytis.

If you like Black Cashmere, I'd suggest going for blends that have incense or woods as the predominant notes. Anne Bonny would probably be right up your alley, and I second the previous recs of Sin and Aureus. Cathedral is another you might like to try, and Depraved, Lust and Vixen are worth checking out as well.

Does anybody have any reccomendations for a scent that they find is similiar to Red Moon?

Greetings from a fellow Red Moon lover I found French Love to be quite similar.

Depraved, definitely! It's loaded with the opium note. Dark and sexy.

I am completely addicted to Beaver Moon. Does anyone know what I can use once my bottle is empty?

Sugar Cookie, perhaps? Or Hollywood Babylon. Both are very foody/vanillic.

Inkheart, BPAL's Haunted is a dead ringer for Shalimar. VERY much in the Guerlain vein.

Yes, if you like foody/seasonal blends you'll definitely like Gingerbread Poppet, and probably Hearth as well.

This smells just like Terra Nova Rain (or China Rain). Clean, a bit sharp, soapy -- an Egyptian musk/lily of the valley type scent.

Since I already have the Terra Nova blend, I don't see myself buying Dirty. It's nice, and certainly "clean" smelling, but there are plenty of other scents like this on the market.

The notes for Red Phoenix sounded great, so I bought it. Unfortunately, it just isn't that great on my skin. It smells like a watered-down spice tea type of fragrance -- and it's EXACTLY the same as Blood Moon on me.

I guess I just don't care for these "mildly spicy" blends. Give me Gingerbread Poppet, or Sin, any day!

Try Vixen -- either by itself, or layered with something else. Its scent is not too far from Prada.

In general, I like warm, spicy scents (e.g. The Lion), but Sol wasn't quite what I was expecting. It smelled like burnt orange peels -- both in the bottle and on my skin. I found it rather unpleasant. Those who like citrusy or spicy scents may like this, but it's not my cup of tea.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks Antique Lace smells kinda like Numb in the opening notes?? It's like Numb minus the violets. That same creamy, soapiness with a bit of a sharp edge to it. (This is the resurrected Antique Lace I'm reviewing -- ordered the day it was re-released). As it dries down, it takes on a more calm, soothing vanilla-musky aspect, but for a while there, it sure does smell like Numb's twin.

I love the drydown and can envision myself wearing Antique Lace quite often.

An imp of this was included in my most recent order.

My main impression is a fresh, crisp, lavender-herbal type scent. I detect green notes, but the lavender really comes through on my skin. If I didn't know this was "Peace," I'd think it was part of the Somnium range.

A pleasant and refreshing, yet calming, scent, is my take on it.

Wow, is this ever a beautiful scent. Jacob's Ladder caught my eye because of the notes -- I'm a fan of resinous scents -- and I'm happy to report it's everything I'd hoped it would be.

This scent doesn't morph much as it dries down. It starts out, and pretty much remains, a lovely sweet, golden, resinous amber scent. Warm and comforting. Not as "dry" as, say, Aureus (bet it would be lovely layered with Aureus, though!) It's slightly powdery on the drydown.

Amber is a tricky note -- sometimes it can smell medicinal (I'm thinking of L'Artisan Ambre) or too powdery. But this is just about perfect. My only complaint (and it's not really a complaint, just an observation) is that Jacob's Ladder is not very long lasting and doesn't have much sillage. So it will be one to slather, and to use in a scent locket, as I do with other "light" scents such as Alice. I'll be stocking up on Jacob's Ladder...wish this were a GC scent.

I just fell in love with pumpkin patch 2 (pumpkin with cocoa, hazelnut and walnut). To my (admitedly very unexperienced) nose, the cocoa is the note that really stands out the most. What do you think about layering Jack and Bliss to try for something similar?

That might work, Xith. Also -- have you tried Tezcatlipoca? That has a powdered cocoa/woodsy vibe. Velvet might work well, too.

Here's a fragrance that truly lives up to its hype. Snake Oil deserves its position as the most popular BPAL scent. It's sexy, vanillic, spicy, smoky -- a gothic vanilla, if you will. Sweet and smoldering at the same time. It lasts forever and has great sillage. A classic, and one of Beth's masterpieces.