kajacana

Chiming in here to suggest citrus scents, which tend to be light, have low throw, and burn off rather quickly -- plus the added bonus that a lot of soap/shampoo is citrus scented, so it's a fairly ubiquitous smell that most people probably wouldn't find jarring. Some from the GC you might try: Whitechapel Gobo Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat Baobhan Sith

In the bottle: sweet, tropical floral. Wet: that amazing BPAL black coconut note, with sugar and a little salt (the ambergris, I imagine). Dry: sweet, floral coconut. I am someone who typically steers away from florals and I really like this, if that tells you anything. The coconut is definitely center stage, but the rest of the notes prevent it from becoming foody. It's soft but not wimpy -- the black coconut is assertive, but the blend as a whole stays close to the skin and just kind of creates this lovely, beachy cloud.

I was gifted a decant of this by my Switch Witch! Smells like brown caramelized sugar, sweet honey, and just a touch of oak wood. It reminds me of Sugar Skull but not as sweet, or Hellcat but not as foody. It kind of reminds me of Christmas but I can't put my finger on why.

This was my initial thought, too. If you can get your hands on Single Note French Vanilla, that would be perfect but unfortunately it's a bit hard to come by. Alternatively, you could try a blend with a nice base of vanilla or honey, and maybe some coordinating/complementing florals as well. From the GC, maybe... Mouse's Long And Sad Tale: "Vanilla, two ambers, sweet pea, and white sandalwood." Alice: "Milk and honey with rose, carnation, and bergamot." O: "Amber and honey with a touch of vanilla."

Bright mandarin, fresh and juicy, just a twinge soapy -- reminds me of a scent you might find at Bath & Body Works or The Body Shop. I'm not getting much fig. It's surprisingly strong for a citrus scent, and not high-pitched at all -- maybe that's the fig helping out? It's a simple, clean, and refreshing citrus scent.

Starts out strong on the patchouli (and yes, it is gnarly!). Quickly morphs into black coconut, which is different from foody or beachy coconut... it's darker and less sweet. This initial phase of patchouli + black coconut is very reminiscent of So Below, one of my favorite blends. Unfortunately, the morphing stops in a spot that's almost entirely benzoin. It's sharp and woodsy, almost like cedar, and the other notes are practically gone. I would have liked this one a lot more if the benzoin wasn't so overpowering on me.

In the bottle, this is extremely similar to standard Perversion. But after I skin tested, that's when the magic really happened. This is Perversion with an autumnal accent. There's a hint of warm spice that complements the original blend really nicely. For those worrying that the pumpkin spice will be overpowering -- it's not. This blend is warm, spicy, and rich, but not foody. As a big fan of original Perversion, I wholeheartedly approve and am happy to have this in my collection.

Definitely getting oud, beeswax, and sandalwood, but it all blends together into something warm and woodsy. The initial smell in the imp was kind of leathery, then it went sort of astringent on my skin, but the drydown is smooth. It smells clean and snuggly, like a freshly washed blanket that someone folded and left sitting by the fireplace in a log cabin in winter. I'm a big believer in the gender neutrality of scents, but I gotta say this seems like more of a guy's scent to me.

I absolutely love BPAL's peach note! I haven't smelled any of the convention-exclusive Peach Pit scents yet, but I hope I get the chance to someday. For now, my favorites are: GC: Aglaea ("three golden ambers, bright musk, peach wine and myrtle") Fae ("white musk, bergamot, heliotrope, peach and oakmoss") LE: Adventure With Bandits In A Kago ("nectarine and pearl peach, white frankincense, and gardenia") Mare Nectaris ("sweet peach liquor with papaya-infused musk, golden musk, and green ti leaf")

In the bottle, it's all tobacco. As someone who was afraid of tobacco notes in perfume for a long time because I feared they would smell like cigarette smoke, I am thrilled to report that it's actually nothing like that. It's rich and dark, almost caramelly without being foody or sweet, if that makes sense. Once it's on my skin, the rum comes out and I really love BPAL's rum note. It's not overpowering though, and I wouldn't even call it boozy. It's balanced beautifully by tonka and vanilla, and I definitely get the incense more and more as it wears, and even though the other notes start to take a backseat, they still round out the blend really nicely and give it some depth. It reminds me -- and I mean this in the best possible way, truly -- of the Renaissance Faire. It smells kind of mysterious and mystical, like I should be wearing a cloak while I'm wearing it. So happy to have found a bottle on the forum, since I waffled too long and missed out when it was originally available!

I just went to the other thread to check if I'd already talked about Hesiod's Phoenix, and.... yep, there's my post! It's one of those things I'll probably still be muttering about on my deathbed.... (croaky voice) "Did I ever tell you about the time I ordered backup bottles of Hesiod's Phoenix and there was a batch variation? *sputtery cough* My original bottle even had the MISSPELLED LABEL! They don't make 'em like that anymore!" It's always a bad surprise to find batch variations in the GC, but at least I can understand how a year or two between batches could result in some differences. But an LE, with all bottles (in theory) made and bought within a few months? What the heck!?!? The good news is that a few years of aging seems to have resolved the issue. I know I had an imp of Bensiabel at one point, but I can't remember if I still have it and can't remember what it smelled like, either, so I'm no help there, sorry. If it were me, I'd put the new bottle away to age and see what happens. Can't hurt, right?

The same strawberry note from Strawberry Moon, only without embellishments or accompaniments. This is bright, juicy, very sweet but also ever so slightly tart, delicious ripe red strawberry. Perfect for summer, and surprisingly wearable for something so intense and straightforward. I keep going back for more sniffs and I can't stop smiling!

In the bottle: smells like plants, but it's a very soft smell. I would call it herbal. It's got a hint of pine, but not like Christmas pine or air-freshener pine at all -- more like the scent of a breeze that's just blown through a stand of pine trees. It's all softness, nothing sharp or aggressive here. On skin: This is a tough one to describe! It's the same soft, herbal, vaguely pine-y scent from the bottle, only it gains some musky sweetness. There's a slight powderiness to it, but not in an off-putting way. The musk sits very close to the skin and the "clear, warm evening air" from the description makes total sense. The pine goes away as it wears, and the scent deepens just a little, becoming a clear, lightly sweet, lightly herbal musk. This scent reminds me of summer evenings where I'm from in New England; it reminds me of being in the woods, far from people and towns, listening to the loons call across the lake. It's calm and tranquil. It's comforting and close, like a hug in scent form, without making me feel claustrophobic. When I smell it I can see the summer evening sky. It's really beautiful and unlike anything else in my collection. So glad I decided to blind bottle this one!

Yuzu as HECK!!! Initial application is a burst of high-pitched, bright, tart citrus. I recognize the yuzu for sure but the closest other citrus I'd compare it to is grapefruit. I'm getting just the softest background whiff of white floral as it dries down, and not a trace of black tea. This is a sharp, cheerful, yellow citrus scent with just a breath of flowers from the nearby trees. It's very much the smell of the skin of the citrus, like if the peel of a yellow grapefruit, white pith and all. I wouldn't call it juicy. This is just such a light, clean, happy scent with an energetic zing! I really like it and will hang on to my imp.

It's hard to pinpoint what this smells like. All I know is that I read the notes list, then I opened the imp and I was shocked because it smells nothing like I expected it to. It goes on warm and brown, like woods and toasted nuts. It gets drier and herb-ier as it wears; loses some of that rich, foody quality and gets sharper and a little cologne-y. It ends up a surprisingly soft, woodsy, musky scent. Not for me but just goes to show you that you should skin test everything!