parrot_suspect

My tastes are similar to yours, N. I've sniffed all the Sephiroth blends and my favorites are:

Kether (this is warm and almondy but not too sweet; a tad spicy too)

Hod (beautiful carnation-vanilla-amber scent)

Chokmah (some say it smells like root beer. I think it smells like sexy, spicy musk. Very rich and deep, kind of unisex)

A very good friend of mine goes through the big bottles of Lovely by Sarah Jessica Parker like water, so I was wondering if there was a BPAL that would match it? Or even a bunch that I could get as imps so she could mix them.

 

"Lovely is a beautiful blend of mandarin, rosewood, lavender, apple martini and bergamot. The heart is of orchid, patchouli and finishes off to cedar, white amber, woods and musk."

Try Mr. Ibis, Vechernyaya, Coyote, Zephyr, Dirty, Coyote and Morocco.

I'm familiar with L'Artisan Tea for Two...it is a very smoky tea scent. I am sorry to say I haven't found anything in the general BPAL catalog that is similar. Dorian has a tea note but is not similar to Tea for Two; it's much lighter. You could try layering a vanilla scent (such as Antique Lace) with a smoky leaves scent (such as Djinn). Or you could try something leathery/vanilla, like Perversion, for a similar "feel."

The best "dark vanilla" or Oriental scent in the BPAL catalog, IMO, is the much-touted Snake Oil. It does live up to the hype.

Yes, there is a BPAL scent that smells almost EXACTLY like YSL Opium. It is Debauchery. Here's the description: "A sinful, licentious scent: self-indulgent and luxurious. Mingled heady civet and red Egyptian musk, thickened with opium."

Other scents that are *somewhat* similar include Vixen, Sin, Lust, Anne Bonny....but Debauchery is a dead-ringer, IMO.

Have you tried Dragon's Milk or Alice? Both are very creamy and milky, and I don't get any honey from them.

Mag Mell and Gluttony also come to mind.

Kether (from the Sephiroth line) is almondy but not too sweet.

Try Vechernyaya. It reminds me of the kind of scents that were popular in the disco era.

When my mind is racing and I can't calm it down; when I can't seem to forget my losses and hearbreaks, I find comfort with Panacea: Quietude and TAL: Peace. Usually they help me drift off to a calm, restful sleep. I've also found The Coiled Serpent helpful in making me feel "grounded." Tushnamatay is very relaxing and meditative.

I do agree with the recs for Dove's Heart and Water of Notre Dame as well. Fortunately those are available as imps, so you can see how well they work for you before investing in a bottle.

I strongly suggest you check out Bastet and Dana O'Shee -- they are very almondy, as is Kether. Also, Asp Viper.

Bumping this thread to see if anyone wants to share their latest musk favorites. Recently I've discovered Hellion and I'm really digging its musky, sweet drydown. I also can't seem to get enough of Scherezade and Dragon's Musk. What musk blends do you enjoy?

Wow, is this ever beautiful. In the bottle, it smells like the world's best-smelling candle or incense shop -- it has that spicy, incensey, slightly fruity vibe. On the skin, it starts out plummy then dries down to a gorgeous warm, sweet, slightly spicy, slightly "perfumey," musky skin scent. It's dark and sort of haunting, without being overpowering or aggressive. Lasts a long time. It's simply gorgeous, and I think even people who are normally scared off by patchouli could pull this off.

Aureus, Anne Bonny and The Coiled Serpent are the blends that smell like pure patchouli to me.

These scents smell like patchouli blended with something else: Urd (grape), Fenris Wolf (musk), Vixen (ginger and orange), Sin (spice and sandalwood), Hellion (plum).

You've gotten lots of good recs in this thread; have fun experimenting!

In the general catalog, Cathedral is probably your best bet.

There was also a Yule limited edition scent called Midnight Mass that many people felt captured the scent of incense at a Catholic Church. You might be able to find this on eBay or the swaps board.

There are a few BPAL blends that have sage (not necessarily clary sage) in them. Aeval and the discontinued Morella come to mind. You may also want to try Bewitched and Lear. Or try blends that have a green/herbal/forest vibe to them, such as Black Forest, the Apothecary, Yggdrasil, Black Annis and Nocnitsa.

To me, Arabian Nights smells somewhat like Baghdad.

Anthelion and Lionheart smelled a bit like Faustus on me (I think it's the frankincense).

Peace and Quietude are similar-smelling.

Meditation and Tushnamatay are similar.

Nocturne is a bit like Somnus.

I can't find any GC smell-alikes for: Amor, LaFlamme, Queen of the Nile and White Light.

I don't care for white florals either. If I were getting married in late May (actually, I did -- to my first husband -- and I wore Jessica McClintock, blech! -- but I digress), I'd choose one of the following:

-French Love

-Morocco (has sandalwood)

-Antique Lace

-Aeval

-Amor (TAL)

-Dragon's Claw (has sandalwood)

-Xiu-however-you-spell-it (because it smells so festive and cheerful)

-Scherezade (because it's sexy)

If you can find it: Chrysanthemum Moon. It's heady and "perfumey" like Spellbound. From the GC, your friend may like Vechernyaya.

Here's an an entire thread about vetiver, which may prove useful.

http://www.bpal.org/index.php?showtopic=2435

Try Mr. Ibis (from the Neil Gaiman scents) or Coyote.

I know this is kind of an old thread, but how strong is the carnations in Maenad and Desdemona?

IMO, not very strong at all. I couldn't even pick out carnation as a note in those blends...they just registered as "floral" to my nose.

Two scents that are VERY carnation-y are Hod (GC, Sephiroth range) and Chrysanthemum Moon (a recent LE, not too hard to find in swaps).

My question is....is there a good scent that blends amber, musk, vanilla and dragons blood? (the dragons blood doesn't need to be there.....but it works well on me.) I adore musky/amber/vanilla smells! (maybe some sandalwood, though it sometimes gets a bit soapy).

If you can find it, since it was a recent LE, I think you'd love Bakeneko. I don't think it has Dragon's Blood but it has the other notes.

And do give the "usual suspects" a try -- O, Bastet, the Lion. They are all warm and lovely.

Hanae Mori was a sweet vanilla scent on me, but YMMV.

Similar BPAL scents might include: Mouse's Long and Sad Tale, Eat Me, Antique Lace, Dragon's Milk, Regan.

Since I'm a Snake Oil addict, bath items in this fragrance are like a dream come true for me. And this soap is no exception. The soap is large, well-formed, and wrapped nicely. You can smell the scent even through the wrapper. I used the soap this morning with my scrubby, and it lathered well; the suds felt smooth and silky and smelled lovely. Some cold-process soaps can be drying, or can leave a film on your skin, but this one does not. It rinses clean. Definitely a high quality soap, and I'll definitely order another one.

Now all I need is a Snake Oil body lotion or cream, and my Snake Oil layering fantasy will be complete!

I really really love green scents. However, all the BPAL green scents seem to fall into four categories. They're either lemon balm herbal, sharp aquatic, sharp herbal, or evergreen.

 

I want to try something different! Anything out there?

Try Habu from the Snake Pit. It's green and wet, with some woods and incense to keep things interesting.

You're sitting in a treehouse in the middle of a jungle. The treehouse is made of teak wood and bamboo. It rained last night, so everything is wet and there is a fresh, clean, green (but not sharp) scent all around you. You're sipping a cup of green tea and catching a whiff of incense every now and then. That's Habu.