themeaningofV

Exactly what it says on the tin: a lovely blend of root beer herbs and leather, smoothed out a little bit by the cream. The leather comes out more on the drydown, but never takes over completely. Everything plays really nicely together. I may have to get a bottle of this before the Liliths come down. EDIT: Yeah, I've worn this pretty consistently since getting the decant and just bought a bottle. I don't want this one to get away. Possibly a new favorite.

This was very, very Dorian in the vial and when it hit my skin, but now it's mainly cream, honey, and the heavy cake notes I sniffed in Hungry Ghost Moon '13 and Cockaigne. Sweet without being overly sugary. My kind of foodie scent.

I had a feeling that this would be a winner from the notes list, and I took one sniff at NEWC and went "yup, that's the one". Sweet, spicy woods and incense wrapped up in rum leather (seriously, it's rum AND leather at the same time!). Be warned that this is HEAVY - a dab'll do you. Short summary: Streets of Detroit meets Spanked. Glorious.

I'm going to third/fourth Cockaigne - it's spiced honey cakes with a touch of milk and wine.

This is SO well blended - the cumin's up front on me, but the other notes aren't washed out by it at all. For once, I'm not amping the conifer aspect! This is a sexy, spicy scent with depth that would be perfect for the fall.

When I first put this on, it borders on doing the weird funky/sour/rotting thing that quite a few other roses tend to do on me, but it never fully reaches that point. However, once it's dried down, it's a really lovely mix of tea rose and black tea leaves! I'll have to hold onto the imp and test it a few more times before deciding whether this stays or goes.

I have never tried the original BB, but this is godly. It's just the PERFECT combination of notes - the vanilla really ties everything together. I have to agree with the "caramelized sugar" comparison, there's something almost candy-like about this. We got a bottle for my father for his birthday (he's a patchouli fan), but EVERYONE'S been hitting it and we'll probably need a backup or two at some point. Love.

First of all: this is SUCH a fitting scent for Jareth. It's very glamorous and almost effervescent in feel. Whoever can pull this off should definitely have glitterbombs exploding upon their arrival. Unfortunately, that someone is not me. There's something in this that reads as juniper to my nose that really reminds me of Golden Priapus. I was hoping this would fulfill my wishes as a less-sweet Dorian, but alas, the vanilla/tonka turns rich and cloying on my skin in exactly the same way. The leather note is VERY nice, but doesn't do enough to ground it. There's another note that punches me between the eyes - the white musk/ti leaf combo, maybe? I've tried this three times now in the hopes it would improve, with no luck - I'm going to have to pass this along.

Is anyone else finding that they only react to some cinnamon/cassis blends? When I first started BPALing, I thought I would be fine because I tested blends like Plunder, Al-Shairan, Faustus, and others with no problem. Others I've worn with no reaction include Count Dracula, Playful Wooden Mallets, and Harlot. However, other blends don't treat me as well - Spanked 2011, Jailbait (this one really didn't like me), Dark Pumpkin Mead, Inferno, and the latest, Alice's Evidence. Does it have to do with what else it's blended with, or am I just unlucky and doomed to play roulette with cinnamon blends?

So, this smells wonderful. It reminds me of the mincemeat pie we'd have with my grandfather over the holidays - the cassis, fruits, and rum are so balanced. I'm iffy on foodie blends, but this is something I would wear... ... were it not for the fact that it burned the heck out of my arm where I applied it and left a nice itchy disc as a gift. BOO. I'm gonna have to investigate which cinnamon blends cause irritation and which ones don't, because it's like playing roulette sometimes.

On me, this is leather. Sexy as HECK leather with a hint of sweetness from the honey and grounded by the woodsy notes and spices. I sniff this and think, "This is what my other leather blends aspire to be." The patchouli-infused honey really becomes prominent as it dries, and it makes me want to eat my arm. I usually have a fantastic miss rate with the harder-to-find scents, but not this time around. I'm definitely holding onto this decant and am probably doomed to a Bottle Quest. edit: Effin' a, this dries into the loveliest woodsy clove scent. This is perfect. Why must I fall in love with you?

A few hours after drydown, this is amazing - it's a really subtle and lightly sweet creamy coconut-tobacco blend. However, the wet stage is tooth-achingly sweet and has that almost dusty quality that made me recoil from Grog, and the coconut goes through a weirdly earthy phase for a while that does not smell very good on me at all. I already have Perversion for my rum fix (and it's just a muuuch better balanced blend on me), so I'll be passing this one along.

Unfortunately Mars Ultor is one of the most unique scents I've smelled from BPAL, so I've been having to ration as well. The closest blends I can think of are also LEs for the most part, but they still might be more readily available. Red Lantern is sort of similar, so is Eyes Made Strong and Grave with Sleep. Both of them are heavier, though. Nothing I can think of really has that unusual smoky airiness that Ultor does. If I had to come up with some GCs, maybe Antikythera Mechanism and Hellfire. In fact, Hellfire would probably be your best bet. It's got the sweet smoky musk, tobacco and incense. Still going to be heavier overall, but it's not incredibly far off. I remember Red Lantern turning really sweet on me. I'll check the others out, though! I'm way overdue for trying Antikythera and Hellfire... You know what I thought actually smelled really similar? The Black Vanilla & Cardamom HG. Too bad it's not a perfume.

So, I'm going through my bottle of Mars Ultor like mad, which is... not good. Does anyone have any recs for a GC or more common LE equivalent? (Note list: "Black amber and smoky vanilla with cistus, benzoin, caramelized tobacco, and blackened nutmeg.")

I know the feeling of being hurt by Count Dracula's inaccessibility - I love that scent SO MUCH and I have yet to find a proper general catalog equivalent. However, two scents that are cousins (and are relatively easy to find on the Sales forum/eBay/etc) are: The Wild Men of Jezirat al Tennyn - red amber, Spanish moss, Indonesian patchouli, ambergris, red pepper, two cloves, and vanilla flower I find this to be hotter, a bit more creamy from the vanilla flower with a bit of greenery from the Spanish moss. This was a Carnaval Diabolique scent that will HOPEFULLY come back with one of the later acts, but if it doesn't, it's definitely one of the easier ones to find on the secondhand market. I actually got my bottle from Etsy a few years back, and this hung around there for a whiiiile. The Hell-Gate of Ireland (2013) -Smoldering brimstone, bitter labdanum, clove, black musk, and copper-colored feathers. Lacks the woodsiness, but has the same black musk and clove elements. Drydown is smokier than CD. I'm sorry I can't think of many else (or hold to your "GC only" requirement)! I've been dying for a proper substitute myself.

Brimstone - might be a little more smoky than what you're looking for, but it's always reminded me of burning sage in the middle of a desert.

This should have been perfect for me on paper. The tester I have smells wonderful, like maraschino cherries on whipped cream with the rosewater adding a REALLY nice sweetness to it. However, once it hits my skin, something goes super shrill and powdery on me. It smells like perfumey moisturizer or lotion. Sadness!

I'm super-glad I got to try this, but on drydown, this turns into straight-up GRAPE!!! candy. Pez, to be precise. Alas.

I'm not normally into foodie scents, but this is amazing and something I /never/ would have tried had a kind forumite not thrown this in with an order. Just wow. It's rather boozy in the imp, but on my skin, it mellows out to honeyed spice cakes with a hint of milk and wine. I'm going to give this a full-day test at some point before making any rash decisions, but so far, I LOVE this.

I definitely saw the anise comparisons, but if I focused I could pick out the black tea note backed by the tobacco. On my skin, the neroli comes out just a teensy bit... and then poof, it's all gone. Didn't even last 15 minutes after application. D: WTF.

I tried this at NEWC last year and was utterly fascinated by it, but didn't get a bottle. Spent ages tracking down a sample and have finally found one! This is like RPG Evil taken up a notch. In the vial, it's all about the plum. Wet, it's a beautifully blended mix of plum, tobacco, and pine - the vetiver and I /think/ sandalwood intermingle with the plum on drydown to create a smoky, malevolent scent. A gorgeous dark scent with character.

Clean, slightly sharp/soapy vanilla deepened by tobacco and nutmeg. Light and sweet. This tends to fade quickly, so it's one for slathering or applying to clothes.

Frimp from the Lab. In four words: Fruit Punch from Hell. Smells like the red drinks I used to have as a kid (Hawaiian Punch etc), the kind that would stain your mouth no matter how carefully you drank them. Incredible throw - well after drydown, I can't even sniff the other test patches on my arm without this wafting in and going, "But what about meeeee?" If you like Bon Vivant, give this a shot.

I definitely get stone, moss, and dirt from this, but something turned a bit too perfumey for my tastes and threatened to give me a headache. I normally like earthy blends, but this just wasn't for me.

If you want a resin fix, you'd probably like Herodotus' Phoenix! For resins, coconut, and vanilla, Snake Charmer (and Snake Charmer Res.) have a list of WIN notes - it's DC and very popular, but comes up fairly regularly on the sales forum and eBay. Death Adder might be another choice for coconut (though that one might be harder to track down). Tattered Lace might also be up your alley. If you don't mind more rose, Ossa Arida's drawn a lot of comparisons to Hope and Fear Set Free.