Mountaingrrl00

The first one that comes to mind is Umbra. The patchouli is strong, but it melds so beautifully with the cinnamon.

 

Depraved might work - again with the melding, the patchouli and apricot complement each other very well.

Tarot: The Sun is my favorite sunny scent.

 

If you want something less citrus, besides some of those already named, I find Al-Shairan to be a hot-sun cinnamony kind of scent.

In the vial and on me, this is pretty much all carnation all the time. There's a little fruitiness, but it's very very faint. It evokes memories of high school formal dances.

I was going to suggest Coyote too. The Lion has a dry-grass note, too.

On me this is very cedary with some sharp greenery and a bit of sweetness. The raspberry leaf is not cloying or even particularly fruity - it's almost like a tea note. I like having another scent with olive in it, too - those can be hard to find, and this is a nice, round note, not briny. It's a good scent for feeling grounded and strong.

I can tell there's some beautiful pomegranate in this, but alas, the ozone note is just too strong. It's that same headache-threatening ozone that made Macchu Pichu break my heart. Kind of like Everclear mixed with gin. Ah well.

This was the Yule blend I was most excited about. I love amber, saffron, frankincense and citrus of all kinds, and it sounded like my dream blend. Sadly, I find the florals overwhelm all the yummy notes I was anticipating. On me, this is a sharp, dry, perfumey floral. It has a pretty strong throw, but not a lot of staying power. I've been imping out my bottle, hoping my decants find users who appreciate it more.

I don't reach for this often, but sometimes it's just the thing - sweet but not too sweet, the butterscotch note tempered by a bit of wood and softness. I don't get a lot of coffee - it's not a jolt-you-awake scent. I think the coffee just lends some depth to the scent, and a subliminal suggestion of a hot beverage. There's nothing bitter about it. I like it on a cold morning when I want to carry a little comforting cloud around with me.

Hm, I thought I'd reviewed this already ...

 

Scentwise, I get the golden olive oil others have mentioned. It then dries down to a smoky sandalwood. I like the scent very much - it's quiet and doesn't smell like perfume, but rather like something that would be healing, without having a traditionally medicinal smell.

 

Purposewise, this works. I don't wear it often, but it's my go-to oil when I've been thrown off-balance and need centering. It does just what the description says.

Something about Black Lily reminds me of Queen Mab. I think there may be a similar sandalwood smoothing out and grounding the floral. I'm guessing that's the source of the sweetness and creaminess others have mentioned. Whatever it is, it works to make this a very attractive scent. This is definitely lily - a little green, a little sweet, very springlike. Minimal throw, little staying power, at least on my winter skin, which seems to be eating all but the strongest scents. It's nice enough that I will hang on to the partial frimp I got in a swap, and see if this works betterwhen the weather gets warmer.

I can't believe I haven't reviewed this yet! This is my favorite BPAL scent of all. It's earthy, woodsy and subtly sweet, with a soft animalic base. It just smells so alive and natural - but in a soft, wearable way. I don't get the super-sexiness some reviewers do, but it's definitely attractive. It's warm, complex and original.

 

Luperci strikes me as a blend with higher-quality versions of many of BPAL's frequent ingredients. I like the honey better than that in any other blend; it's more of a round smell. The patchouli doesn't announce itself, but mixes with the oakmoss to create a dirt/outdoors aura. The balsam smells slightly sweet, woody, real.

 

I'd wear this more frequently if it weren't an LE. It's such a beautiful, comfortable skin scent on me. Please make more of this!

I've worn this a few times now and it's been different each time. The first time the buttery note took a long time to dry down, and I wasn't all that keen on the scent. On subsequent wearings I've gotten more of the other ingredients. The best was when I put it on after a hot bath: warmed, the butter disappeared instantly and the scent instantly became a perfectly blended spiced amber with a bit of orange zest. I think the pumpkin does add nicely to the creaminess of the amber; it's not just some annoying buttery thing to be gotten past. The cardamom in this one is very true, and the ginger and orange are cheery. I'll be wearing this in situations where it can heat up properly to be an excellent feel-good scent.

Cheshire Cat!

This is like what I'd hoped The Dormouse would be. The tea and linden notes are most prominent. It does smell a little like iced tea with lemon, but there's more going on. Everything else is so well-blended that I can't distinguish other notes, though I'm sure they're all contributing to the fresh, cool, slightly floral-herbal, slightly aquatic vibe of this scent.

 

Spirits of the Dead is subtle and light. It doesn't have a lot of throw and fades rather fast. I don't see myself wearing this in the winter, but perhaps I'll edit this review in the spring, if I haven't swapped the imp off by then.

I just got a sample of Heavenly in the mail and it smells pretty close to The Sun to me!

The TALs Hand of Hermes and Charisma would be a great combo if you have them. One or the other would probably do the trick, too. Or Anthelion.

 

Some other possibilities:

 

High John the Conqueror

Paris (calming lavender, confidence-boosting spice)

Succor

Umbra (grounding patchouli, confidence-boosting spice)

The "short guide to common recommendations" has good threads on cinnamon and clove scents.

 

If you're looking for another saffron scent (that's the main spice I get in Scherezade) you might try Oblivion - very dark-spicy.

 

And if you want Scherezade's muskiness combined with the fig and pomegranate of the fruity scents you've mentioned, you must try Mme. Moriarty, Misfortune Teller.

I recommend Dorian, Morocco, and Xiuhtecuhtli.

In the bottle, it's a mishmash of notes - and yeah, rather medicinal. On me, it's earthy ginger root! A pleasant surprise, to be sure.

 

The mood I associate with this one is fiery and outspoken, so it does fit. So much so, in fact, that it might actually be good to balance this with other chakra oils.

TKO is a beautiful scent, but it hasn't worked for me as a sleep aid. (Fortunately, I have TAL Nocturne for that.) It is definitely a comfort scent for smelling on myself, and it's got such a nice edible/sophisticated balance, I want other people to smell it on me too. I think it's making me crave sweets, though.

I got this as a frimp in a swap, and when I sniffed it I thought, "This swapper sure knows my taste!" I've been really into the evergreen scents lately, and in the vial, this is a gorgeous Rocky Mountain scent - all tangy pine and wood. If it stayed that way on my skin, I'd be happy.

Wet, it gets sweeter, kind of like sassafrass, or maybe root beer. I'm not so crazy about this.

Drying down, the wood returns, minus the sharpness of the pine. Then it's a soft, sweet vanilla. I actually like the soft vanilla very much, but I miss the pine!

One trickster of a scent, on me, anyway.

I smelled this at a Meet & Sniff, and was impressed enough with its in-bottle stage to put it on my must-order list. It smelled like musky, earthy herbs.

 

First applied to my skin, it's still deep, dark musk, plus something piney/astringent, something tangy/sour and a sort of fizziness, like Dr. Pepper without the sweetener. It's a bit odd at first - the sour tang is too strong for my liking. I'm hoping that will fade.

 

As it dries down, the sourness is replaced by a dark sweetness very much like Smut's. The piney, herbal quality is still there, but softer, and this I do like.

 

The shifting mixture of musks is fabulous, and the greenery cuts through the heaviness and makes it more interesting.

 

I predict this will be a lasting favorite. If you like strong musks, definitely try this.

There is a quality that reminds me of the best aspects of Dorian - a lightly sweet creaminess and a hint of lemony tartness. Perhaps the Chinese musk is the common note? At any rate, it smoothes out the florals. Orchid is the only floral note that really stands out, which is the way I like it. The sandalwood gives the blend some staying power, although it's still not a very tenacious scent. I've ended up carrying around an imp for frequent re-applications.

 

I don't find the scent particularly dark or strong, but it is quite lovely for dressy daytime wear.

How about Tarot: The Sun?

For all its sharp greenness, Slobbering Pine also has a sweeter, resinous dimension. You can smell the sap and the wood as well as the needles. The pine wood smell is most noticeable after the oil has had some time to dry down. For me, it's a very comforting scent that reminds me of camping in a forest. It stays close to my skin and hangs around a long time for lots of wrist-sniffing moments.