Alia Kaitan

Light-winged Smoke, Icarian bird, Melting thy pinions in thy upward flight, Lark without song, and messenger of dawn Circling above the hamlets as they nest; Or else, departing dream, and shadowy form Of midnight vision, gathering up thy skirts; By night star-veiling, and by day Darkening the light and blotting out the sun; Go thou my incense upward from this hearth, And ask the gods to pardon this clear flame. Aged champaca, golden amber, guiac wood, dusky patchouli, twilit oudh, and feathery orris, with a touch of grapefruit, davana, and elemi to help lift it to the heavens. Am I really first? The grapefruit is definitely apparent in the bottle, but is the first note to subside when on my skin. It leaves just this slightly citrus feeling behind, while the patchouli and some other resiny? notes come to the surface. (I'm trying to do this without looking at the actual notes list, for moar accuracies. ) Yet both the patchouli and whatever dusky woodsy resiny bit is going here are gentle and very soft, smooth. I do really get the image of smoky feathers here - that's exactly the texture of this scent. Downy and smoky without saying 'incense' or 'campfire'. Champaca, is that you? It's a little like the smoke when you blow a candle out, but much lovelier. The patchouli is like a softened version of the one in White Peacock, and is very well blended with the other notes... after about 10 minutes drydown it's not standing out on it's own but I can still smell the depth of it. The lighter notes come out to play later on in the drydown adding a slightly dusty (in a good way) sweetness on top of it all. The sweetness makes me think of raw bee pollen, if anyone has ever smelled that. It's got medium throw on me, but definitely isn't an in-your-face kind of scent. Intimate and sensual, and yet not overtly sexual in any way, I can see wearing this day or night, for just about any occasion. It might even be gender neutral, though that's hard for me to say, as I often prefer more 'masculine' scents. This is absolutely a comforting scent; I think I will slather it on and curl up in bed with it. Like being wrapped up in great downy wings. Unique, and the most earthy ethereal scent I've ever sniffed. I am so, so glad I have a backup of this. (edited for typos...)

I will second the rec for Ceanothus Silkmoth. It is amazing soft woody scent with a gorgeous blood orange. Very much a 'rind' note, like what you are looking for, but with a lovely fullness to it. Not too sharp. The jasmine does not register as 'floral' to me in this. I get mainly the blood orange, oudh, bog wood and benzoin. Another ahhhmaaaayzing citrus LE is Velvet Tiger. Definitely worth the effort to find it, IMO, if you can do vetiver. (I vetiver, so this blend was a huge hit for me. It's the scent that showed me how awesome citrus could be; before this, I wouldn't touch anything w/citrus.)

rabbitwhisperer: It seems both Sunflower and Schlafende are in moderate to high demand among Salon-goers, so if they didn't work out, you would probably be able to re-home them pretty easily. </enabling >

I've managed to get my paws on some Bat (thank you, you know who you are!! <3) and oh. my. It is an absolutely perfect dusky musky night floral. A little 'damp' and cool to my nose, like a dew laden garden at night, a tad sweet - I can pick out wafts of honeysuckle from time to time. Not overwhelmingly floral, though. The musk and amber give it a soft, fuzzy grey feeling. Eeeeee. This one may be back up worthy, or several. It'll be getting a lot of love from me.

Hi Quanta! Er, are you me from when I was an almost-20? Do I learn how to time travel and now you are coming forward to tell me so??? AWESOME. Because it's a little unnerving how much we have in common, from being story-loving physics majors all the way down to loves of Tolkien and A:tLA. It's also interesting that we have pretty different taste in perfume, even with all the similarities! Still, here's a few you might like: Lights of Men's Lives. It has a golden feel like many of your favourites, and is beautifully atmospheric and warm. It, too, is lovely and literary in it's solitude. Get thee some Heavenly Love and Earthly Love, if you can. It is one of the most gorgeous incense blends I've ever had, vastly richer and deeper than Cathedral. Another amazing incense is Philosopher in Mediation, also from the Salons. Delphi. I'm not sure how you and wine notes get along, but on me, Delphi is a glorious honeyed outdoor incense-touched blend. Very evocative of walking up the road to an ancient greek temple, or to an Air Temple if your imagination works like mine. Good luck on your search!

Pteropus is amaaazeballs, and I'm just diving into really exploring resiny/woody blends, but of the ones I have tried Heavenly Love and Earthly Love comes a close second. I did not have much trouble finding it here on the forums, even though it is a retail exclusive. ETA: Oh, and, if she can do patchouli, White Peacock is awesome, as well. The patch in that is smooth and tame for me, and the red sandalwood is soooo beautiful on drydown.

We've all been assuming they are, I think, as no word has come otherwise from the Lab. But, take the assumption of a bunch of panicked fans with a few grains of salt. I know at least one person has asked the Lab directly, and I haven't seen that there has been a response yet. *continues panicking*

Oh noooes, I spoke too soon. I knew I should have just left it at my order for Philosopher and tried to forget about the rest... but I made the critical mistake of reading reviews! So now my must haves list has triplified. I'm officially on the Cloister Graveyard train. After picking through last year's Yules and failing to find a cold blend that was just right, I kind of gave up and forgot about it. Then, like magic, I remembered! Ahh, the magic of the reviews section. (I'm justifying buying these on the grounds that I DIDN'T buy any yule bottles last year... ) Also Death of the Grave Digger. Yay dirt and snow. Isle of the Dead. I normally steer clear of aquatics. Why? I have no idea. The few aquatics I've tried have been just fine, if not lovely, but not usually dark enough for my tastes. So, after talking myself out of this one, I read the reviews and realised there's nothing not to love here, and talked myself back into it. Satan and Death.. etc. Again, nothing not to love. Opoponax, benzoin and vetiver are my homeboys, yo. Orange blossom is welcome to play, too. The Three Brides and Spirit of the Komachi Cherry Tree I am less certain about, but definitely want to try, so while they will be the first to get cut if funds fall short, I am still going to hope for getting my paws on them. Three Brides I wonder if it will be a little too 'normal' perfume for my tastes? All the notes are love, though. Komachi is just outside of what I normally wear, but sounds intriguing and lovely. Three Gorgons and The Great He-Goat: Intense! Dark! I know I love that - more than half my collection is INTENSE DARK. Do I really need more? Er. Yes. Probably. Of course I do.

It's not GC, but Body, Remember might be just what you're looking for. Profoundly sensual. The echo of caresses: raw black coconut, ambergris accord, ambrette seed, champaca flower, and sugar cane. It's got that sweet/dark thing going on that you've mentioned you're looking for, and the ambergris and champaca give an incense vibe with a fabulous non-foody sugared coconut. It's from this year's Lupers, so probably not too hard to find.

For anyone still regretting not having grabbed Variety of Pleasing Amusements (or looking for something similar for whatever reason), I've found that Perversion gives a very similar scent and feel on the drydown. Must be the sweet + leather combo. On me, Perversion is a bit sweeter with the hint of coconut/vanilla, and also more feminine, while Variety is smokier, muskier and more 'raw', but the core of the scents is very very similar.

Frimp'd this from the Lab, and of course I had to test the funky looking green oil right away! Oh my gosh. How come this has never been on my radar? First on, there is something almost almondish, but that quickly gives way to deep, smooth, draw-you-in and steal-your-soul darkness. It's a earthiness and musk and woods with just the right hint of sweetness. Very black without being smothering. If anything, I do get a sense of space from this, even if I can't see a damn thing. I find the individual notes hard to pick out, and am very content to just bask in the overall effect. I can has bottle?

Great Cry in Egypt is the only Salon I own right now, and I looove it. Have been coveting Philosopher in Meditation for a while now, too, so I tagged that onto my Singing Moon order. There's a handful I'm considering grabbing by July 30, but my brain is divided: One half says BUY THEM NOW OR THEY WILL BE GONE FOREEVVVAAAR and the other half calmly assures 'There Will Always Be New Smells To Love... You've lived this long without them, I think you will survive.' Anyway. Internal dialogue aside, the ones I'm coveting the most are among the retail exclusives, so getting them will be dependent on some fortunate arrangements. The Black Swan - I normally don't seek out aquatics, but if there were ever an aquatic I would wear, I think this would be it. Deep and dark. Yes plz. Lucifer - I've coveted this for a while for the imagery, but even moreso in the last few months since I've discovered my love of patchouli AND vetiver. Unnngh, I want this so bad. Heavenly Love and Earthly Love - Every note in this is win for me. And I love love ambergris and benzoin. Bat - Apart from the SUPER CUTE bat, I love night time florals, and the addition of amber and musk? Omg. Want. I would also love to try Haloes, Lucretia and Satan and Death with Sin Intervening, but I'm not drawn to the notes enough to spring for whole bottles.

I'm a massage therapist, so I have a similar dilemma, as I do work with a lot of people with sensitivities. Gentle vanilla scents seem to be all around unoffensive to everyone, and I've even had some scent sensitive clients remark on how pleasant the smell was. Also beeswax and coconut scents are a big hit. I think one of the reasons is neither of these things registers as 'perfume' to most people. As far as GCs go, I usually wear The Lights of Men's Lives or Black Pearl. You might also look into Neutral from the RPG line, or maybe even the Honeys from Rappacini's Garden. I agree with other posters about trying to find something that stays close to the skin. ETA: Oh, I almost forgot - I recently tried Yemaya (from Excolo line) and she was a lovely fresh, light honeydew melon. Would also probably be good for working in.

I agree w/the above poster on Bow & Crown and Paladin. Also: They're not impable, though you should be able to track down decants on the forum here... but if you think a bit of incense might work well for you, I can recommend And There Was a Great Cry in Egypt and Philosopher in Meditation. They both have a kyphi note to them, kyphi being a traditional Egyptian incense that is a bit sweet/spicy, so might be exactly what you are looking for. I also love Cairo's kyphi, as far as impables go, though the aforementioned Salon blends I think have a little more depth to them (at least on my skin). Delphi is a lovely bay and honey wine on me, definitely a bit masculine but also with a kind of dry sweetness. Speaking of bay, Baron Samedi was another sweeter masculine blend that I've tried. In conclusion (tl;dr ) And There Was a Great Cry in Egypt Philosopher in Meditation Cairo Delphi Baron Samedi Good luck!! ETA: I know Great Cry doesn't technically have Kyphi listed as a note, but the combination of notes in there came across kyphi-esque to my nose.

... what the. So, who put Ivanushka in my Creat Cry in Egypt? O.o Not that I'm complaining, just not a similarity I was expecting, at all. Baffles me even more after reading the notes for this. Ah, okay, it only smells like Ivanushka on my arms. On my collar/chest this is entirely different. Welcome to fun with skin chemistry! I'll review the down-the-shirt Great Cry: The woods and spices are the strongest on wet; rich and complex layers of woodiness. What starts out a little sharp is quickly softened... while there's no overt honey, I'm pretty sure I can 'feel' it in there, blurring the edges of the woods and resins, smoothing everything together. Wow. Drying down, I get this sensuous ribbon of musk that manages to be both subtle and present. On the dry side, but not parched. I don't usually expect this masterfully layered subtle awesomeness from GC blends, but here it is! Not a whole lot of throw, but then, this is such a perfect elegant skin scent that I actually really like that it stays close. ...and yes, my arms still smell like Ivanushka. Go figure.

This is a perfect, raw silk scarf. She drapes lightly over your shoulders, keeping the sun off all the while fluttering pleasantly against your skin. A constant yet gentle, skin-tingling, sensuous pleasantry that makes me wonder... how did I ever enjoy summers without this? How could I have ever worn polyester when silk exists in the world? How can I get more of this in my life? When I'm not wearing perfume, I find that I'm missing my Ceanothus. I think that I catch wafts of her on the breeze, and I am immediately overcome with the urge to go slather her on. No other perfume has done this to me. Something has happened to my brain here. I might only be cured once I have a lifetime supply of this.

In my imp of indeterminate age, this smells like a somewhat sharp, incesey, fruity mixture. It gives me a burst of fruit when applied wet, yes, plum... but there's some others in there, too. On the drydown is where this was by far the best on me: a smoky, resinous plum with a touch of woods. Sandalwood, maybe? I'm not good at picking apart the wood notes yet, but my nose is definitely catching something along those lines. The plum keeps this from being overly dry, though it is definitely on the dry side. Glad I got to try Oya!

Definitely agree with the other reviewers: gingery vanilla creme with a lovely dance of spices in the background. Sadly, because my skin hates lime, there was also a bit of lime-funk in the background, too. But this is a proven fault of my skin chemistry, and has nothing to do with the scent. It has great throw, with a little going quite a long way, and was still enjoyable enough for me to leave on all afternoon, even with the lime-fail. Oh Vespertilio, my first heartbreak of the spring...

I have a lot of black musk blends, and this is definitely the most incense-y of the lot. Sweet and smooth and resinous. The first time I wore it (right after it arrived in the mail) it was more nag-champa-esque, but after it had time to settle I got more complexity, a deeper sweetness to round out the incense, and overall a more unique scent. The notes are very well balanced, and no one stands out for me, though I am catching a purring warm base that I think must be the ginger. The musk sort of permeates everything and carries it all along together. Definitely evokes a prowling night hunter! After all the effort to hunt down a bottle, I am so glad to absolutely love this. Will love and cherish my Panther Moon!

I this thread so much. At least one other person has mentioned this, but Centzon Totochtin is my #1 creepy scent right now. There is just enough blood underneath that lovely cacao and wine to make it quite disturbing! I love it. Others that evoke unsettling darkness to me: Faiza, the Black Mamba Velvet Panther Black Pearl Fallen Nephilim Morgause Darkness (haha, yes.) Dance of Death (like so many others here.)

I was perusing the recs forum and came across an older Ginger thread: http://www.bpal.org/topic/71612-ginger-scents-the-different-types-of-ginger-notes/ Some of the same are mentioned there, but also some that haven't been brought up here yet.

GC-wise, Black Forest might be a good fit. Reviews are here. Many of the Yule blends have cold+woodsy notes. You shouldn't have too much trouble tracking most of them down on forum. I'm not super familiar with them, as I just got into BPAL toward the end of the last Yule release, but Woods in Winter and Faunalia were both masculine, winter woodsy blends on me.

I was actually just wondering the same... if we could do this again, but with some different GCs/ recent LEs. How would you structure the poll for this? I've never used the forum's poll thingy, so am utterly clueless here. After the data is gathered though, it's simply a matter of some spreadsheet magic. Which oils would we even want on a new poll?

Took a chance and bought a partial bottle of this unsniffed. The bottle has an older style label, so safe to assume it's aged a bit. Wet, this is sweet, fruity cocoa, which is nice, but dry is where this one really shines on me. The sweetness backs off just enough, letting the rum play with the cocoa over top of a rich dry red wine. The cocoa in this is the good stuff: not too sweet, not too bitter, beautifully smooth and drizzled with just a little cream. At first whiff it's the scent of a king's dessert banquet... but wait. Underneath the bounty of chocolate and booze, this unsettling, slightly salty, more human scent. It's delicious and downright disturbing and I love it. Definitely one of my favourite GCs. I might even get a back up to age while I use this one.

So, back when I got my decants at the very start of the Luper update, I remember testing this and thinking, meh. I remember it smelled slightly 'off'. Maybe it was hormones that day, or something, or the decant hadn't settled, but anyway: I am so glad I held onto that decant and re-tested, because... oh myyy. This is smokey (but not distinctively cigarette or anything), sweet leathery musk on me. It does have a slight resinous feel, which plays well to balance and give depth to the sweetness. For some reason it makes me think more of the way a person's skin smells sweet, rather than honey itself. Honeyed skin, maybe? Plus it lasts forevvvvver on me. On the far, far drydown I'm left with this lovely scent that is almost a sweetened Ivanushka. Delicious and definitely a keeper. So glad I was able to get a bottle of this. The bottle is the same, if not slightly more robust even, than my decant. (I should note that generally my skin chemistry is agreeable, and most scents end up well balanced for me.)