parrot_suspect

Oh sure. Figures I'd fall in love with another LE. I didn't order it originally, since the fruit notes scared me off, but I got a partial in a swap and that was all it took.

Coxcomb is amazing. On me, what I mainly get is smooth, sweet musk -- well rounded, neither powdery nor soapy, just a super-sexy skin scent. It has great throw and lasts a long time. A must-try for any musk lover.

True to its name, this blend morphs quite a bit and changes as it dries down.

Initially it smells kind of sweet and resinous -- a little bit like O with incense added. Then, it makes a sudden and dramatic shift and smells ... I don't know how to describe it, other than it smells kind of like a cross between Numb and Black Opal. Sort of a white, fuzzy, solid, musky vanilla type scent. It stays this way for a while, then BOOM! It's all roses. Roses! Thankfully, that phase only lasted a half hour and now (three hours later) it's shifted back to a sweet, honey-like, soft skin scent, reminding me a bit of Coyote. Not powdery, but a little creamy.

It's fun to wear and to experience all the morphing. I'd recommend this to people who like O, Numb, Antique Lace, Black Opal, Coytoe, or white musk and honey notes.

I'm sorry to hear this -- I had some PPD too, after my kids were born. And it's certainly not easy taking care of a newborn and a toddler all by yourself. I know you weren't asking for advice, but have you contacted your hospital to see if there's a PPD support group, or any services offered? Maybe your doctor can point you in the right direction. You should post over in the parenting thread in Get Personal, too -- lots of supportive moms there who can at least offer a sympathetic ear, even if they can't come over and clean your house

Scent-wise, I'd think you'd probably want to go with something light, since you have a newborn. I would try Alice, Sudha Segara, Quietude, Maiden, Dragon's Milk ... maybe Antique Lace. I also find Kubla Khan and Khrysee uplifting.

Hang in there....things will get better.

I felt compelled to bump this thread in honor of the newest and bestest musk blend ever, Creature Feature. This is pure musk -- neither too light nor too dark -- through and through. All musk lovers owe it to themselves to check this blend out. I've reviewed it here.

Creature Feature is AMAZING. It's the perfect musk blend. It's the musk scent I've been waiting for my entire life.

I don't know how to describe it, it's so perfectly blended, but I'll try. It is a flawless unisex musk -- well, maybe a bit more on the feminine side. Soft, warm and round. Almost "furry." Slightly powdery drydown, but not baby powder-ish. I do not detect any red musk (with its telltale fruitiness) in here. White and black musks, maybe? Skin musk? Nothing green or soapy here, to my nose.

You know how Jovan Musk smells good but kind of cheap and high-school-ish? Imagine Jovan Musk in her mid-30s, wearing a little black dress and high heels -- grown up, sophisticated and drop dead sexy.

I am going to buy multiple bottles and hoard this.

So I just tried Zorya, and it is AMAZINGLY Lily of the Valley-ish on me. As in, it reminds me of the Jessica McClintock fragrance that was so popular in the early '90s.

Thank you for the suggestions Parrot_suspect,. I'm picky so I didn't like Black Tower (too loud and masculine), and I'm affraid Anne Bonny and Aureus doesn't work, respectively because of the red patchouli and the vetivert.

Hmm. Have you tried Sri Lanka, Umbra or Magus?

Thanks, Fireweaver...I think I have a Zorya imp, so I'll give it a try.

Capiteuse, you want something woodsy/spicy. I'd suggest Anne Bonny, Aureus or maybe The Black Tower.

This is a very pleasant scent. It's kind of like what I'd hoped Dorian -- by itself -- would smell like. On me, Dorian smells too masculine and I don't get any vanilla notes. But combine Snake Oil with Dorian, and what I wind up smelling is a deep, rich, vanillic version of Dorian that's not too masculine. As this dries down the Snake Oil comes out a bit more, but overall, this is not a very Snake Oil-y blend on me. It's fresh and clean, but with depth and character. Good for almost any occasion.

The roses initially scared me away from this blend. I'm the type who really doesn't like floral or rose-y fragrances. But so many people recommended it, and it's gotten so many good reviews, I decided to give it a whirl. And all I can say is, wow! Red musk is a note I can always depend on to bloom on my skin, and it does that here. But I never would have guessed the addition of roses and amber would make this so much better, so much richer. This is a deep, rich, strong (yet soft -- how does it do that?), powdery sort of musk with a light rose undertone. It's delightfully similar to one of my favorites, Scherezade, but where Scherezade is incensey and soapy, Spellbound is softly floral and powdery/sexy, like a courtesan's dressing table. For those of you who are into other niche perfumers, this strikes me as very similar to Lorenzo Villoresi Musk. Anybody who likes musk blends, or blends that have rose in them but don't scream "ROSE!" should try this. I'll be ordering a bottle soon, as I think this will be a perfect scent for summer nights.

Honey, patchouli, myrrh and musk are all notes that I adore and generally work well on me, so I had high hopes for this blend. What I wasn't counting on, however, was my skin amping the cognac beyond all reason. This scent is boozy, boozy, boozy on me, which I don't care for. If you liked Smut, I'm guessing you'll like this.

This blend is unusual in that the scent on your skin differs from the sillage. When I press my nose to my wrist, I get an odd burnt plastic sort of smell. However, if I simply inhale the aura of scent that hovers around me, it's magical. It's a glowing, golden, musky, slightly powdery, sweet honey-drenched sensation. Stunning. On me, it does not display the fruity/juiciness of red musk. It almost seems amber-y. And it's not at all foody, even though caramel is listed as a note.

Here's how it compares to other blends that were mentioned in this thread -- on me, anyway.

Scherezade: Bien Loin d'Ici is softer and warmer and doesn't smell as red musk-y.

Sed non Satiata: Although the notes are similar, I can't wear SNS because it's too boozy on me. There is no booze whatsoever in BLd'I.

Smut: There's something in Smut that doesn't agree with my skin chemistry. Smut smells harsh and dirty on me. BLd'I is soft and gentle, almost clean (yet still sexy).

Urd: Urd is a very strong headshoppy incense/grape scent on me. This is much, much softer and has a touch of powder, which Urd does not have in the least.

Skuld: It's similar to Skuld in that honey is a predominant note and there's an overall sweetness to it, and that the notes all blend together well. Skuld seems bolder and more aggressive, however, than this blend.

In a nutshell...if you like honey, musk or incense, you must try this.

Thank you again! If anyone else has ideas, I'd love to hear more thoughts on this topic. It's so fun to hear what other people have to say about scents I love.

Beatrice, I just tested Florence and found it somewhat similar to D&G red cap. It didn't have the same "oomph" of D&G, but the general floral-oriental feeling was similar.

I would love to hear anybody's suggestions on floriental blends. Now that the weather is getting warmer, scents that mix florals with woods, resins, amber and incense are particularly appealing.

I can't recall who was seeking a smell-alike for Lolita Lempicka, but I just noticed The Emathides smells a lot like it, except without the anise/licorice note.

BPAL Sudha Segara is similar to (and to my nose, even better smelling than) Fresh Sugar.

Although I don't have fibromyalgia, I often have insomnia, and find the following oils useful for helping to relax and fall asleep:

TAL Nocturne (puts me into a DEEP sleep)

Somnus

TKO

Quietude

You may want to check out the TALs as well; some of the oils there may be useful -- I think there's one called Healing. Good luck!

http://www.twilightalchemylab.com/

Copagirl, have you tried Alice? This is a very creamy, light scent that to me smells milky with just a touch of carnation. It's not a pure vanilla but it's definitely in the vanilla ballpark.

Bumping this topic to see if anyone knows of a BPAL scent - LE or GC - similar to YOSH La Contessa, which has been discontinued and is impossible to find. The notes are: Parvati and Arabian sandalwoods, Oriental kush, night queen, cucumber, bergamot and vanilla. It's sort of a warm, resinous, incensey floral that's not really a floral, if that makes any sense. It's not a super-dark heavy scent. BPAL's Vixen is close but much heavier than La Contessa.

Have you tried Snake Charmer?

Mouse's Long and Sad Tale?

Antique Lace?

I don't normally wear florals; I prefer darker, more resinous blends. Opium Poppy turns out to be a nice blend of both. It's actually quite soft, a bit powdery. It reminds me a bit of the soft, spicy scent of carnations. As it dries down, it doesn't morph but it becomes richer and a bit darker. There's something languid, dreamy and almost "blurry" about this fragrance. As soft and sweet as it is, it doesn't smell innocent. I'm hooked, and will probably buy a bottle.

I am looking for a scent that resembles CLEAN perfume and CLEAN for Men. I have searched but cannot find an answer. Please Help!

Thanks

You're going to laugh, but have you tried Dirty? It has a soapy-clean smell similar to Clean.

Others you might like include Nuit, Mr. Ibis, Szepassony, Nyalarthotep (not sure if I spelled those last two correctly), and almost anything described as "ozonic."

Wow, I love this scent. It's dark and kind of heavy, yet still wearable. Languid and decadent. The opium and opoponax (a form of resin) notes really stand out, but the orchid is apparent too, and that adds femininity and sweetness to balance out the resins. It almost smells musky. It's a beautiful winter scent, and I'm already halfway through my first bottle. If you like Schwarzer Mond or any of the darker/more incense-y BPAL blends, you will love this. I like Event Horizon *better* than Schwarzer Mond, as that one's a bit too masculine on me.

For something similar to Sandalwood Rose, try Bagdad or Faustus.

For Vanilla Bean Noel, try Mouse's Long and Sad Tale.

the incense blend i´m searching for should be:

an incense/resin blend without fruits or florals. but it should have a sweet quality.

does something like this exists?

Jacob's Ladder definitely fits that bill. It's sweet but not at all fruity or floral. It's amber-y.

Also check out Snake Oil and Temple Viper, and Scherezade.

I have a friend whom I am trying to addict to Bpal (hey its fun to share!) and he specifically said he likes the smell of Egyptian musk. So I got a list of five of the scents that specifically list Egyptian musk, but a noticed a lot of them just say dark, red, or white musk. Is there anyone who knows whether Egyptian is one of those kinds and or blends that would be similar muskily smelling?

Thanks!

Egyptian Musk is a different blend from red, dark, etc., musks. It has a clean, almost soapy scent. Mr. Ibis has it.