Thursdae

Thank you both for your advice. Bookishgrrl, you rock for finding the list of notes. I’m going to search on all those notes and, with so many fragrances in the catalog, I’m sure I’ll find something I overlooked that will come close. TroubleDoll, I remember Delight as being too heavy in the jasmine department for my chemistry. Sometimes jasmine works for me (Oneiroi ) but, as a rule, it does not. I have Pele in my imp box; I’ll pull it out and do a side-by-side sniff check with the candle. And a lovely forumite stepped up and offered to investigate the candle and see whether the scent evokes any particular BPAL oils. I’ll report back on her findings for anyone else who may be surreptitiously rubbing candle shavings into her wrists.

I’m searching for someone with tons of BPAL familiarity and a keen nose. I’m on a mission. I received a candle made by a company called Lollia. The candle’s scent is called Cotton and Clover, and it smells amazing. Lollia makes hand creams and other products, but as far as I can tell, Cotton and Clover comes only in candle form, and it’s awfully hard to apply as a fragrance! Plus, Lollia products are ridiculously expensive. If you’re willing to share your expertise, I’d like to send you some fragments of the candle in the hope that you can come up with recommendations of similar BPAL oils. I was excited when I read the ingredients of Enraged Bunny Musk, but although I like the oil a lot, it doesn’t smell much like the candle. I really love the Cotton and Clover scent. I’ll send candle fragments to anyone who wants to give this mission a shot. Thank you all!

Both apple trees and roses belong to the Rosaceae family of plants. The Wikipedia entry has a cute poem by Robert Frost, "The Rose Family." Oh, and to stay on topic, I love grapefruit scents but R'lyeh was a little too quirky for me. I've got imps of all of the others on order. You might try Aizen-Myoo as a stopgap--it's a truly gorgeous citrus scent.

I've tried every one of the Ars Draconis series and I haven't fallen in love with any of them. Until now. Dragon's Eye sat in my to-try box for months. I wasn't eager because I'd had no love with any of the other dragons. And that's how the Lab constantly keeps you on your toes. Oh, you don't like frankincense, eh? Smack! Try Tzadikim Nistarim and how do you like it now? Dragon's blood not pleasing to your cranky sniffer? Thwack! Try Dragon's Eye and say that again. I'm so glad that the Lab is around to make sure I don't get set in my ways. I love this beautiful floral oil, and every day I can't wait to try the next mysterious imp in the to-try box. Smooches to the Lab!

I'd say Titania is flirty. It's got kind of a kicky high note, and it lasts a long time on me, which is rare. I second Bewitched, too. Aizen-Myoo makes me hot and bothered when I'm wearing it, but I don't know how it affects anyone else. It's one of the ones that only works during part of the month for me, and at other times, the unusual citrus note gets a little dissonant. You might want to give thought to fruity or fruity/vanilla combos. Yerevan got me compliments, and Tamora is like a sweet promise (as opposed to the ones that are knock-ya-down sexy like Hell's Belle).

I love it when I breathe in a new perfume and an unexpected memory is pulled forth from the back of my brain. With Tombstone, I thought, "Stables!" but what was really underneath that was the feeling of walking out of the sunshine into a dim, old barn, with its mingled dry plant aromas of sawdust, hay, and alfalfa seed, the sweetness of the molasses barrel and bran mash, and a bit of leather. Yummy. After a few minutes, the sarsaparilla stepped forward, making the blend sweeter and less woody. I didn't expect this result from Tombstone, but .

Obatala smells like milk and fresh, sweet coconut to me. It has good throw, too. I'm liking it very much indeed and am tempted to put it on the bottle list with no further ado.

Khajuraho is not my usual fare. I’m usually into fruits and florals, and seldom go for incense blends. But the incense/resin aspects of Khajuraho like my skin, and it has very good staying power. I love layering it with Chaste Moon. I wear Khajuraho quite often, and even searched out a backup bottle. It’s funny that some of my fruity loves are sitting there untapped while I pull out the Khajuraho again. I may have to adjust my thinking about my scent preferences. Beth’s magic touch has blended the disparate elements of Khajuraho into a magic mixture. I don’t know what I’m smelling, honestly, but I know I love it.

Sniffing Absinthe conjured up a scent memory. This doesn't often happen to me, and in this case, it means I won't be wearing Absinthe. Its destiny is the frimp pile. What was the memory? When, as a kid, I went fishing with my dad, he sometimes used a type of bait that looked like a raspberry. A rubbery, translucent, orange-colored raspberry. We kids used to enjoy squishing it and sniffing it. And that's what Absinthe brought to mind. It's not fishy or anything like that. There is a sweetness to its peculiar odor. I'm glad to have been reminded of those long-ago fishing trips but . . . you catch my drift.

I adore Xiuhtecuhtli. It's so well blended that I can't pinpoint any notes. No other oil smells like it. It really lasts on me, too. I usually have to reapply oils every couple of hours but Xiuhtecuhtli's pink-orange magic stays with me all day. It's a must-have oil for me.

I saw someone post (I think earlier in this thread or in the replace-your-longlost-LEs thread) that Tiger Lily was reminiscent of Al-Araaf. I like Tiger Lily quite a lot but I found Al-Araaf to be very faint on me. The Mad Tea Party blends just universally rock!

I put Oneiroi on one wrist and Sophia on the other. I couldn't tell them apart. I love them but I must be missing something. Is anyone able to smell notes that differentiate these two?

When I think evergreen, I expect the smell of pine or fir, both of which I like very much. Yew-Trees laughs at my expectations. On my skin, Yew-Trees smelled like a sharp mint or pennyroyal with a touch of wintergreen and some kind of sweet sap, like birch. Nothing overtly fruity or berrylike; in fact, it was almost toothpaste-fresh, with a definite cooling effect. Not really for me as a body scent but a good candidate for room scent, especially on days when my stomach needs a little soothing.

I was afraid The Queen of Hearts would be all lily-of-the-valley, which always turns to soap on me. And I don't much like lily-of-the-valley even before it becomes soap. But The Queen of Hearts surprised me, mingling light florals and sweet cherry in a completely pleasing and gracious way. My husband thought it smelled "gentle." I will definitely use up my frimp and keep The Queen of Hearts in mind for a full bottle order in the future.

Come to Me smelled clean and light, maybe pointing its toe in the direction of Dirty. I'd call it closer to green/herbal rather than citrus on me, with an attractive background of soap. It was not overpowering and it seems like it would a make a very good addition to my select few bedtime scents.

Eos almost jumped the jasmine shark but misjudged and fell into the crashing jaws of that bully of the floral fishtank, jasmine. It became soapy after the first few minutes, as jasmine tends to do on me, and I had to wash it off.

It didn’t break my heart when Katharina didn't work on me. It starts with an appealing apricot note that lasts about an hour. Nice, but not dislodging March Hare or Tamora from my list of peachy loves. Then my skin morphs Katharina into something less appealing, a bit funky, even. The same thing happened with Psyche, and I blamed the frankincense, but that's not an element listed as part of Katharina. It could be a particular musk that is giving me trouble. Some lingering musks work well for me, as with Embalming Fluid and Lick It. Katharina's musk, if that's what it is, makes me smell like I skipped my morning shower.

Oneiroi on my wrists and neck garnered me a lovely compliment. "You smell so good, what are you wearing? It's wonderful! It smells exactly like flowers!" I like it very much, too, although I've only worn it at bedtime. Usually jasmine makes like The Old Soap Factory on my skin, but not with Oneiroi. It stays a pretty floral. My skin drinks the oil fairly quickly, though.

My favorite rose scents are 2, 5 & 7 Blood Rose Wanda I love Spellbound but it doesn't read like a rose fragrance to my nose. Rose scents that I wouldn't go back to include London, Marie, and Parlement of Foules. I'm also not a fan of Moon Rose but that's not because of its rose but because moonflower doesn't work very well on me. I think it's quite pretty and worth chancing.

Alice in the Mad Tea Party series is absolutely lovely. Its notes are milk and honey with rose, carnation, and bergamot. Yesterday I had a dentist appointment, and dear Alice was the one to help me (nerves of spaghetti, here) through it.

Euphrosyne went into my "try again" box. It was pleasant and wearable but for me had a soapy undertone. It's a scent that really shines if I waft it around rather than going for the close-up, nose-to-wrist huffing.

This morning, I put The Star on. It's been rolling around in my to-try box for months because I sniffed it and it seemed pretty uninspiring in the imp. After a minute on my wrists, it exploded--ZING! ZOWIE! ZAPPO! I can't wait for The Star to dry down because I think it's going on the bottle list. Lime and coconut without being suntan lotion--how can it be?!

I wave my wrist under his nose. "Guess what it's called!" "Hmm," he says, taking a deep breath. He coughs, and says, "Cotton candy!" I am vexed. "It's called Smut!" He takes another whiff. "No, I know what smut smells like, and that ain't it. That's sweet--it's cotton candy!" I flounce away with my candy-sweet self, but he calls after me, "Hey, hang on to that one. It really clears me out." Smut. For when you were hoping to rev 'em up but only succeeded in clearing 'em out.

To me, Polyhymnia is a lovely citrus/sage. I covet it, but first I have to do a wrist-by-wrist comparison with Embalming Fluid. I love EF so so much that I wonder if I would tend to reach for it when in need of a waft of fragrant lemon. Going by memory (unreliable, I know), EF is sweeter and Poly is more herbal. Smelling Polyhymnia brought a smile to my face. Definitely a keeper.

So me and Antique Lace are going down the road, and I'm saying, "Hey, Antique Lace, how you doing?" and Antique Lace is saying, "I am like so mysterious." I'm like, "Mysterious? You're like that time I took my littlest doll and played hide'n'seek with her and found the best place ever to hide her: on top of the light bulb in the tall floor lamp in the living room." Antique Lace turns her face away from me and shrugs one shoulder haughtily. "I mean in the best way," I say, talking fast. "I loved her, even after the fire. She had no hair and her skull was melted in the back but she had a special smell forever." A breeze swirls Antique Lace's organza skirt. "Others think I'm mature and enticing. Lots and lots of people," and she leans close to whisper in my ear, "say I'm sexy." "Nup," I say. "Nuppers. Baby doll." So that's it about Antique Lace, but let me tell you about the time me and Hell's Belle were hanging by the fire on a cold winter's night . . .