for_the_nonce

Is there anything similar to Star Promenade? The notes are "sloe gin, peach blossoms, banjo strings, hay bales, and apple pie." It smells mostly peachy and fizzy to me (I'm not sure I'd identify that as gin, but other reviewers seem to). I'd take recs for more easily-findable LEs too!

I bought a decant of this from someone on the fora recently. I don't use TAL oils that often and am not really one for ritual oils or ritual in general. This one, however, really struck me. I just wore it as a perfume when I needed a break from the noise in my head, and it helped me feel really, well, peaceful. It smells lovely and was very effective for me. I imagine if you used it in a ritual, it would be even more so.

In terms of the scent, it doesn't seem that lavender-y to me. It's definitely not the sharp lavender that I associate most with bpal. Puddingirl may be right about the geranium. I've yet to find a bpal with rose in it that I can wear, so I don't think it's that either. At any rate, it's a well-blended, creamy, sweet floral without... really being any of those things somehow.

Thanks, that's good to hear! Paladin does have quite a few strong notes so I will hope, for my own sake, that the bourbon vanilla indeed gets eaten.

I'm wondering if y'all can tell the difference between bpal's vanilla notes. Does regular vanilla smell noticeably different from bourbon vanilla or vanilla bean? I ask because, in general, vanilla makes me nauseous, even in very small quantities. I do, however, like Pink Phoenix and Wulric (these are literally the only two blends I've tried that list any type of vanilla that I can stand). I'm really intrigued by Paladin though, but there's that bourbon vanilla note that worries me. Do you think the blends I like just don't have a strong vanilla note, or is there something really different about bourbon vanilla and vanilla bean? Inquiring minds (and, um, pocketbooks) need to know!

Huh, I never would have thought of Gomorrah. Thanks; I'll check it out!

I thought I posted here, but I don't see it.

So, I will try again! What are some potential replacements for the recently discontinued Niflheim? I recently tried an imp of it without realizing it had been disconned and am now in love with it and in search of something similar. I don't usually like florals, so I'm at a total loss to figure out what florals are in it.

I finally got around to testing my imp of Niflheim, not realizing that it had been discontinued. If I had known, I might not have tested it at all, because now I love it and it's gone! I'm not usually a big fan of florals, so I've been looking at the review thread to try and figure out what notes are there and what others think it smells similar to, but I thought I'd ask here as well. So... what scents do y'all think make a good replacement for Niflheim?

This is a very refreshing lemon scent, with a hint of tea. It smells like *real* lemons, not cleaning-supply lemons. It's a bit masculine, but not too masculine for a girl to wear. It just doesn't smell... flowery or airy; it's got a distinct presence. Someone frimped me this and I'm glad- I like it a lot, though I never would have sought it out based on the notes. The only downside is that it seems to fade fast and stick close to the skin, but it's nothing a good dose of slathering wouldn't solve!

I'm still in raptures over Marshmallow Poof over here. Yes, I still have quite a bit left, but I love it too much to watch my supply dwindle without a plan. Most likely there is nothing in the GC at the moment that really smells similar, but can anyone make any distant comparisons?

 

To me Marshmallow Poof is a little bit of a pink-berry scent with a sweet dry powdery-ness. Do you know what I mean by pink berry? Are there any other pink berry scents?

I haven't tried Marshmallow Poof so take this with a grain of salt, but Pink Phoenix is very pink-berry powdery-sweetness to me. It's not GC, but might be somewhat easier to find than Marshmallow Poof.

Hmm... you might try Perversion, Priala the Human Phoenix, Black Phoenix, or Shub-Niggurath. To me, resins and cinnamon are very sexy, especially if you don't like overly fruity scents.

This smells *exactly* like Victoria's Secret Love Spell perfume, once it dries down. When wet, I get the mint chocolate note, but it fades away pretty quickly and I'm left with nothing by fruit-punchy goodness.

To me, Schrodinger's Cat smells exactly like fruit punch- the Victoria's Secret Love Spell variety. When I first put it on, I get the mint chocolate note, but that fades off pretty quickly. YMMV though, because the scent I get certainly isn't what I expected from the description.

This is so pretty! Having never smelled an actual crocus or snowdrop, I can't really pick out individual notes. This is a delicate, pretty, sweet, cool floral, appropriate for spring, summer, and winter. I like florals with one reservation: most smell the same to me. This, on the other hand, is very unique. It's a very happy scent and smells light pink, but isn't overly girly, if that makes sense.

...Okay, that was the most unhelpful review ever. I'll just say that I really love this scent and leave it at that.

This scent is my dad's holy grail, but I'd love to find him a BPAL scent that smells similar. It's an understated, lightly woodsy, clean-vetivery smell...Not really soapy, yet clean, and not overpowering or too strong.

You might also try Ides of March- it isn't at all woodsy, but is clean without being soapy and very masculine. It certainly won't smell like Declaration, but it sounds like something your father might like.

I use two finger's full (tip it over onto my finger.. wipe wrists/forearms) then tip another amount onto my finger and wipe sides of neck and cleavage.

 

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Are slatherers using way more then this?

I usually tip the bottle over my finger 6 times (one time for my wrists, once for the inside of each elbow, once for behind each ear, and once for my cleavage). And scents *still* don't last very long on me.

That said, Schrodinger's Cat has hella throw. It fades pretty quickly, but is very strong while it lasts.

I've gotta second the Loup Garou reccomendation. To me, Loup Garou is Black Forest on a sunny day.

You might also keep an eye out for Wolf Moon '06- it's a soft, furry sort of pine scent, if that makes sense.

I love this- it's definitely my favorite of the astrological oils thus far. It's earthy without smelling dirty and herbal without smelling soapy like some herbal scents can be (I'm lookin' at you, Allison Gross!). It smells like... a wet herb garden at night. It's a night-time scent without being dark, if that makes any sense. I don't know how to describe it, but it's very low key- soft and comforting. Also, it's way longer lasting than I expected and has decent throw.

Wow, this is... warmer than I expected. It's very inviting. I can smell the incense, florals, and sugar but they blend together without any single note overwhelming the other. This smells like a pale, dusky purple to me, if that makes sense.

Herbal, with a tiny bit of unidentified (to me, anyway ) florals. This is a very clean scent and actually makes me feel like I'm going to sneeze if I sniff to deeply. That said, I really like it. It's understated and not at all heavy. If you like Ides of March, this is a lighter alternative.

My mostly uninformed opinion is that Florence would be appropriate. It's girly, but also proper and elegant. I could see many Jane Austen characters wearing something similar.

I just thought of something else...it could be the "dry grasses" note...the coumarin style hay note is really sweet to the smell sometimes. That's in Coyote for sure and I think the Lion. and it could be the storax (sweetgum) in Anubis.

Interesting! I had no idea what storax was. I'll have to find something else with storax and see if it smells like bubblegum as well.

Also, this is pure speculation, but if it is amber, I wonder if it's Egyptian amber? I have also seen people talk about that as a particularly sweet form of amber (I think in recent reviews of Red Moon/Leo/Sportive Sun - whichever one has that in it). And if it is, I wonder if it's sneaked into Anubis as well - the whole Egyptian theme...

I haven't tried Leo yet, but I have a decant on the way, so I'll see then. I think Bastet has egyptian amber in it- it was overly sweet, but I think that was the almond note. It could've been the amber though.

Hm.. amber. I never thought of that. I know amber sometimes works on my skin (Brisingamen, for example), so maybe it's a specific type of amber?

On me, this was a perfumey floral with a base of almond to ground it. I'm hoping the perfumeyness will die down a little with aging, because the underlying almond-floral is really beautiful. It's dry and not too sweet, but not overwhelmingly nutty either. However, the perfumeyness is a little overwhelming for me. Here's hoping that aging helps. *crosses fingers*

Coyote, The Lion, and Anubis all smell identical on me- soft, pink, and bubblegummy. It's especially sad because I thought all three of those scents would be perfect for me. Alas, it wasn't to be. I can't for the life of me figure out why that is. They don't share any notes- at least not any that are explicitely listed.

Help?

Has anyone come across a GC oil that resembles Priala? I am currently besotted with her and although I don't plan on running out for quite some time I can see there's going to be much mourning and wailing when I do.

 

I have read that Laudanum does, but I cannot wear it as it turned to burning plastic on me.

I didn't find Laudanum even remotely similar to Priala. In fact, Laudanum smelled like barbeque on me. I haven't actually found anything too similar to Priala, though you might try layering Chintamani-Dhupa (unfortunately, another LE) and Shub-Niggurath. Note: I haven't actually tried this combination, but it seems like it might work.