forspecial_plate

I have Noh Mask and Maple Leaves on the way. I threw in imps of Dracul and Santo Domingo.

I tried Dracul ages ago, and ended up giving it away. Now I'm not sure why, it sounds kind of great.

I never tried Santo Domingo, and I don't see it mentioned a lot. One of those things I've been meaning to try for a long time, finally getting around to it.

Anyway.....I love the sweeter scents too, but I especially love woods and spices. Plunder and Port-Au-Prince are both fantastic.

I just found a really old imp of The Caterpillar (maybe from my first order??), and it smells a LOT like L'Heure Bleue to me. Not too much of a stretch, they do share some notes, bergamot, carnation, neroli and iris. Maybe more, depending on what's in the 'heavy incense' notes of The Caterpillar.

I think I have an imp of I Died For Beauty, somewhere, I'll have to compare (even though the discussion is 3 or 4 yrs old). : )

<!--quoteo(post=1526339:date=Aug 7 2009, 04:32 AM:name=Monster)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Monster @ Aug 7 2009, 04:32 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1526339"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I tested <b>I Died for Beauty </b> (<i>ylang ylang and violet stirred by hyssop, frankincense, and grave loam</i>) earlier and I think it <b>smells</b> almost EXACTLY<b> like </b>Guerlains <b>L'Heure Bleue</b> (<i>aniseed note, bergamot, tuberose, carnation, violet, rose, neroli, tonka bean, iris, benzoin, vanilla</i>.)

 

The notes aren't too similar but I swear it's almost a dead ringer. If there's another L'Heure Bleue fan out there who just-so-happens to own an imp of I DIed for Beauty, you've gotta compare the two and let me know waht you think! <img src="http://www.bpal.org/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_biggrin.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="icon_biggrin.gif" /><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

 

Oooh that's interesting.. I have an expensive L'heure Bleue addiction (to complement the expensive BPAL addiction <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_twisted.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="icon_twisted.gif" /> ) I'll have to see if I can get my paws on an imp of I died for beauty.

Okay, I think it's highly unlikely that anyone's looking for a BPAL-a-like of an old-fashioned men's scent that was common in barbershops in the 40s, 50s, and 60s but here it is anyway:

 

The Great Sword of War smells exactly like Clubman by Pinaud. If you want to (or want your dude to) smell like Don Draper would have smelled walking out of the barbershop with a fresh shave? This is it.

I for one am happy to hear that comparison! I love old classic men's (and women's) scents. I've read about Clubman but never tried it. I do love Great Sword of War, though. : )

Speaking of men's scents, every time I wear Love And Pain, it reminds me of A*Men/Angel Men (which I've only smelled once or twice, but it was pretty memorable).

Helloooooo comfort scent!

I can see how this would be a better room scent than a perfume, but I still like it. There are occasions when I want something just like this.

At first it's spicy and gourmand, but after a few minutes I start to pick up on the pine and holly. It's lovely. It's like bringing Jolasveinar indoors to warm up by the hearth. I'm actually thinking of tracking down more than my decant.

Carnaval Diabolique is a great lemon scent, and sooner or later it will hopefully be back.

Okay, I'm not sure which note is doing what at first. I put this on and for about 45 minutes, it was a stunning, sophisticated fruity incense deluxe fragrance. I thought uh-oh, another Salon perfume that I have to track down!

I love patchouli but there is a certain patchouli that turns sour for me. Apparently that would be Indonesian patchouli because it takes over and kind of ruins Madonna for me, unfortunately. It reminds me of the heavy, sour patchouli that I didn't like in Smiling Spider. : (

I guess it's okay, since I can't afford to get all the Salon scents that I want anyway!

I'll be gambling, why not. After all I have had so many hits, Cloister Graveyard, Philosopher in Meditation, Arrival at the Sabbath, Lot & His Daughters (shoot me and kill me, this is so good), I want to give a few others a chance, like The Ecstasy of St. Theresa, And There Was a Great Cry in Egypt, La Mort Qui Danse and Ressurection of the Flesh. And that is it. Maybe...

oh yeah, Judith Victorious, I knew there was one more.

I gambled too. I got really lucky and found 3 lovely forum members with partial bottles of the ones I wanted. Sailor's Den and Lantern Ghost of Oiwa are the 2 I haven't tried before, but they sound really interesting.

Love And Pain is the 3rd, which I've tried and know that I like a lot, although I've gone back and forth a few times on it.

I thought that Philosopher In Meditation was a must-have for me, but with repeated testings I finally accepted that I just don't like it. As burning wood/incense scents go, there are a few others I'd rather wear. Philosopher smells fruity and candy-like to me, not in a good way, just in a weird way.

Fox-Fires On New Year's Eve was also a disappointment. I thought the notes sounded so beautiful, and when I tried it, it just fell sort of flat on my skin.

See, at least there are some I can cross off the list with confidence. Anything to make the decision-making process a little easier!

So sad.....Some of my huge favorites are from the Salon. I have always been meaning to get bottles of The Smiling Spider and Cleopatra. Favorites that I do have bottles of are Carceri D'Invenzione, Love and Pain, Madonna, and Philosopher in Meditation. I should also probably think about Arrival of the Sabbath, The Great He-Goat and Satan and Death. I love deep dark resiny blends and the Salon has a lot of those.

Our tastes are so alike, as usual. : )

Great idea for a topic, ivyandpeony. I am a little overwhelmed and can hardly gather my thoughts on this, so I have a lot of decision-making to do. This will help a lot!

Right now Love And Pain is near the top of my list of last-minute bottle purchases. I've gone back and forth in the past, but I am wearing it now and I do like it a lot. It reminds me of Angel or A*Men (but better).

My top 5 wants right now, off the top of my head, would be:

Love And Pain

Carceri D'Invenzione (how do I not have a bottle already??)

And There Was A Great Cry In Egypt (thanks for the Vol de Nuit comment, parrot_suspect! I never made that connection)

The Great He-Goat (another one I'm surprised I don't already have)

Cup Of Death, Sailor's Den, or Smiling Spider? Can't decide! I haven't even tried the first 2 of those.

My favorites are:

Cloister Graveyard

Sunrise With Sea-Monsters

Mad Meg

Satan And Death

Silence

A few more ideas.....

Carceri D'invenzione...."Redwood, red sandalwood, black pepper, blonde tobacco and frankincense"

Lear....."White cedarwood, blue sage and bay leaf"

Ochosi...."His ofrenda is the soft shea he shares with Obatala, forest herbs, and sprucewood arrow shafts"

Aureus...."True, perfect golden light, refined into an incomparably glorious scent".....this might depend on whether you like patchouli.....it seems to be a golden amber/patchouli blend with wood, possibly cedar

Magus......"galangal, high john essence, frankincense, cedar, and sandalwood"

....I feel like there must be more that I'm not thinking of. The Pit and The Pendulum is good, although it's an older LE and might be harder to find. And too bad Sri Lanka was discontinued....

I love this! Something told me I might, but I didn't really expect to be wowed like this. I get the fruity bubble-gum top notes, but later this is sultry fruits and spices. This is special. Something about it reminds me of Djinn, which sounds crazy, but it's undeniable. There's nothing burnt about Plum Puddin', so maybe it's the spices? I also think of Joulumuori, which makes a little more sense.

Anyway I really like this, glad I took a chance.

I have a super-aged imp of Brimstone which I took for a test-drive the other day. I think it might be from my first imp order!

Anyway I get a lot of myrrh in it. It really jumped out at me, never noticed myrrh in that scent before. Not sure if the aging brought it out. I love myrrh and now I feel like getting a bottle of Brimstone just to put away for a few years.

I got this for my mom because she always used to sing a song about yellow snow. I was disappointed that the name is almost impossible to read on the bottle. But the yellow snowflakes are pretty. And I just had to try it, of course.

It starts out with a piney sort of snow note and a little fruit, reminding me of Ice Queen. It's zingy and zippy. I agree that it might be good in hot weather, as was mentioned above.

Later when it dries down, the vanilla cream and lemon drops make it kind of a suntan lotion smell for me and the snow note kind of disappears. I still like it, and I still think it would be good in the summer. It's sweet and mellow and yellow, lol. Not much more to say. I like Carnaval Diabolique better as lemon scents go, because that one has a little incense/musk intrigue going on. But this is good and I didn't get it for me anyway. My mom thought it smelled like cedar or pine when she first put it on. I didn't get her thoughts later on because there were a million people there.

CXCVII.....

I don't really like this one and I'm not sure how to describe it. I think there is vanilla but it's the kind that turns plasticky like a doll head on me. Maybe a little fruit or berry, and maybe a little tropical floral. It's not terrible but I wouldn't wear it.

MCCLI....

I think that Moonarcana gave me this one. It's a very soft spice scent. I can smell clove and possibly ginger. But it's so soft and light, and not really foody except for a little bit of 'bread' note in the very beginning. I want to say there is a very sheer musk, something light that makes it more perfumey as opposed to gourmand. Hard to pick apart but very pretty. It's like the female counterpart to Plunder. It's a winner and I should wear it more often!

I know it was mentioned before, but that was back in 06, and there may be newer suggestions, so I wanted to ask, since I will probably never afford any, and have never smelled any, what smells similar to Vol De Nuit?

I have a little decant of vintage VdN, and I just tried some on to reply here. I bet there is something in the bpal catalog but I can't think off the top of my head which one.

At first I was thinking The Harp of Cnoc I'Chosgair but I don't think that's quite right. That might be closer to Samsara with its vanilla and sandalwood.

Vol de Nuit is a light, spicy, powdery floral with amber and galbanum which is kind of a greenish resin note. I bet someone has an amber Chaos Theory that smells like it. But I'm still feeling like there's something GC that might work. I just don't know the powdery florals very well.

Edit: You know what.....after a while I realized, it is reminding me of Silk Road, except I think Silk Road has more spices. I know that's discontinued, sorry.

Leather Phoenix reminds me of a classic floral-leather chypre, without the moss that most chypres have. There is a 'skanky' (in a good way) animalic undertone but I don't know what that is....maybe the cedar or oudh? I think this scent is soft and pretty, elegant, and when I wear it I can't stop sniffing my wrist because it's so interesting. It doesn't change much as it dries. If you think that leather scents are masculine by default, this one might surprise you. The leather is really balanced with the softer prettier notes, and overall I'd call it unisex.

It also really fits with the other Phoenix scents that I've tried, if you consider them a 'family' of scents.

There is a dark layer in my bottle that's really hard to mix with the rest of the oil. I don't shake any of my bottles but I rolled and rolled it, and tipped it back and forth, and some of it mixed in but there is still a little thin layer at the bottom. I wonder what that is? I'm thinking it must be the aged oudh.

I love Egoiste! And I'm sort of on the lookout for a bpal scent that is similar. Egoiste has notes of sweet orange, rose and rosewood, vanilla, spice (coriander I think), ambrette seed, and sandalwood. Very lovely orange/sandalwood/rose/vanilla scent, with some spices. Notes vary depending on where you look them up but the rose is not central to the scent....it is a supporting kind of rose.

I have my eye on these, and they all happen to be Yules:

Harlequin and Columbine (from last year)....."French vanilla, red currant, sage, balsam, rosewood, mandarin, lemon peel, pomegranate, and cedar"

Thousands Of Lights....."Indian ambrette seed, beeswax, champaca flower, saffron, Italian bergamot, frankincense, oak bark, and vanilla orchid"

In Brightness And In Joy....."Divine mercy: sweet winter berry, orange blossom, frankincense, golden sandalwood, angel's trumpet, and red rose"

I am not too familiar with the lab's rose scents, just thought I'd put it out there and see what people thought. And I will report back on what I find, too. : )

boomtownrat....for dark and spicy vanilla, you should try Snake Oil or Madame Moriarty. They are pretty much must-try bpal scents although not everyone likes them. I haven't smelled the lotion you're talking about, though.

Love your icon, I love Klaus Nomi!

Pallas Athene is warm and sweet, orange and woods with a little spice. I think the spices and amber add a little sophistication. I wore this to work and it lasted all day. The orange flirts with candy sweet, balanced and grounded by the wood and amber. Overall this is very good. I don't get a lot of powder from the amber, maybe a little but I don't have a problem with amber like a lot of people do. Actually I wouldn't mind if this were more powdery.

Seems like it would be like Velvet Tiger or Three Gorgons.....I would say it's sort of close to Three Gorgons....but I haven't compared closely. I will update if I find any big differences that need to be mentioned. But I think if you like them you would like this too.

I like it too!

At first I thought I didn't like it. It goes on me like a powdery poof of green ivy. But you know.....sometimes I can be in the mood for a little powder. And a lot of times, when I don't like a scent, I know I should probably try it again.

So anyway, if you're familiar with the lab's green ivy notes, you will recognize the ivy here. When I sniff up close there's something kind of rubbery, like the inside of a balloon. Don't ask how I know what the inside of a balloon smells like. Just kidding, we all know that smell. But that is a minor part of this scent and not everyone will get it. Lots of times when I review something, people might read it and think, "Huh? Did he get a mis-labelled decant??" It's okay, don't worry. I just get weird impressions sometimes.

Not sure what else to say about this one. It's fresh and a little sweet, and I'm getting major powder, but it's kind of dandified and there are definitely times when I want that. If you have ever tried Habit Rouge by Guerlain, this reminds me of that same kind of slightly raspy powdery notes, only this is more stripped down and not woody.

I had written this off already but now I'm rethinking that decision.

Toasty, earthy, and bakery are all pretty accurate. This wasn't what I was expecting. I can't distinguish linen or vanilla at all, and I wish those were a little stronger in the mix. This reminds me of Bonfire Night but not quite as smokey. The Changeling doesn't seem like a really strong scent but it lasts and lasts for a long time. I like it but it doesn't stand out enough for me to seek more. I will probably keep the decant and wear it from time to time.

The Seekim is my big winner but I know it's not for everyone.

 

Muse Of The Night is really beautiful, but I'm not sure I can pull it off.

Your review for the Seekim is making me think that I need this. I love patchouli and incense and ash, so I must love this.

 

I ordered the Gorobble and Night Hag/Lapland Witches because burnt marshmallows appeal to me and woodsmoke in the latter made it a must have.

 

I swear, I always seem to be drawn to anything with ash, embers and smoke notes. I'm not sure why that is. Maybe it's the incinerator in the backyard when I was growing up in the hills of Los Angeles. Okay, I think that I just dated myself.

The patchouli in The Seekim made a weird comeback after having it on for over 6 hours. I was at work and all of a sudden started smelling patchouli. I knew it was me but it was still strange!

The Seekim is my big winner but I know it's not for everyone.

Muse Of The Night is really beautiful, but I'm not sure I can pull it off.

Uh-oh.....sorry Wulric but you've got some competition! Don't be too jealous. : )

When I wear this, it starts out weird and chemical and synthetic-smelling, and I didn't think I liked it at first. But then the hay and ash work together to create this ghostly, ethereal feeling that is silvery and shimmery, and this is what I love. I usually don't like cocoa or cacao that much, but it fits perfectly with this particular weird combination of notes.

I don't remember anything else like this.....it brings to mind Wulric, but I think Wulric is more warm and snuggly (but still kind of wild), whereas The Seekim is light and ghostly. Eerie. The patchouli isn't heavy, but see, I love patchouli so it makes sense that it wouldn't stand out to me. The shimmery quality does remind me of Sluagh a little bit, just the tone of the scent, but I don't think they have any notes in common.

[As a side note, I was hoping this would be something like Serge Lutens' Chergui, but it's actually more like Chene, another shimmery ashy scent....and my favorite non-bpal perfume]

The Seekim is light on me so I think I might need 2 bottles, so I can wear as much as I want!