VetchVesper

Phoenix Steamworks is a fragrance that has been on my list of favorites for a while, but it's been a while since I sat down and had the whole "scent experience," so I thought it was high time I wrote a review! Imp - wonderful, clean, cool sage. Light and lovely Wet - This begins to morph on my skin quickly. There's a slight metallic tang at the front of my teeth and a warm sweetness that has a vanillic quality. The incense comes forward a bit, but I would at no point call this an incense blend. It's just there adding complexity. It's not smoky. The sage is still present and takes on an almost citrusy sharpness. Dry - P.S. cools down again and smooths out, and I'm left for about 6 hours with a bright sage with a slightly salty metallic tang and a honey like sweetness. It has a wonderful clean b/slightly sticky quality to my nose, like coitus after a hot shower. Yes, I am dirty minded, but that's what this scent makes me think of, and it's just lovely. 5/5 stars

Ashinros - I'm going to have to keep an eye out for your swaps page. I think we have very different tastes! X-P Rendezvous in the Bath - Polyester Spider Web (starts out funky but really deserved more love). Possibly Envy if you like lavender. It's got the mint and herbal cleaness. A similar vibe? Snow at Noon reminds me of Embalming Fluid and The First Time I Saw a Ghost Titania - other cool, sweet fruity florals would be Kitsune Tsuki, Juliet, 51 and La Bella Donna Della Mia Mente Hope that helps!

When I first tried this scent, several years ago, I detested it. All I wrote in my notes was "Yuck! Lemon Pledge and Dirt." Recently I got another chance to try this one out from a friend whose imp had been aging over a year, and you know what? It wasn't half bad. Mind you, cedar is a note that is always terrible on me, but my rating went from a 1 out of 5 up to a 3, and I could actually see wearing this. I'm even considering buying my own imp. I think Namaste might smooth out and improve greatly with aging, which patch and cedar both tend to do. Just wanted to mention that since it seems there's a lot of negative reviews. This one might take a while to come into it's own.

Freyasfae - The Sorceress from the 2015 Weenies shares a lot of notes with Lullaby and smelled similar to my nose, just darker and more incensey. PersimmonSeeds - You might try Deep In Earth since you like Yorick, Zombi, and rose. JoeStiletto - High again! I'll add to my recs Bruised Violet Compound - beautiful, mossy violets and patchouli, and The Coiled Serpent - equal parts sandalwood and patchouli to my nose. You might also like Namaste - sandalwood, jasmine, rose, patchouli, cedarwood and lemongrass. Cedar and lemongrass hate me, but it might work great for you!

You might see if you can get a decant of Geisha in a Green Kimono. They are still floating around from Lupercalia and available at the lab. It's got citrus and green musk in it, along with gun powder tea. The Teapot is also lovely and smells like honeyed tea to me. You might also look at, Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat. It's effervescent melon/lemon/lime, great for summer, and a GC scent, so you can order an imp from the lab. Also, there's a thread under Recommendations for Top 5 Favorite Scents. You could post yours and possibly get some more reccs. Good luck and welcome to BPAL! :-)

It seems like no one's mentioned The Bear Prince, but I swear I picked up coconut on me when I tested it, and that was before knowing Snow White had coconut in it. Perhaps the "shaggy fur" is a reference to coconut? I dunno, but I got a dash of coconut with my roses. Also, I LOVE Goblin, but I also love patchouli. It makes me think of a slightly dirty fairy child eating macaroons - if that's any help. X-P. I'd say it also has a toasty vibe.

After reading all the reviews here, I went ahead and sprang for a blind bottle. I was feeling adventurous and had good luck with Raw Cacao, Chestnut, Honey, and Patchouli. I was hoping for another deep chocolate, not so foodie blend. Over all I'm pleased. The two scents are pretty different, but both are dark, rich, warm, and not overly sweet. Also, The Avenue smells just like those little chocolate donuts that come in the Little Debbie packages. Opening the bottle blasted me back to college, where those things got me through many a long night. Mmmmmmm... My husband agreed with the choc. donuts description and said he could smell them all the way down the hall, so good sealage on this one! Up close though, there's more spice and amber coming up, taking the foodiness down a notch and the sexiness up a notch. Glad I got a bottle and looking forward to how it ages.

I'm not very familiar with hyssop, but for amber, I'd definately go with the Lion. It's practically amber single note to my nose.

I second Freya's comparison to Elizabeth Arden's Green Tea fragrance. That was actually the first thing that popped into my head upon 1st sniff. I can smell all 3 notes, but they are well blended. It's very fresh and clean and spa-ish. Sometimes bpal's cucumber note has a plasticky vibe on me at first, but this didn't. Very nice, but alas, like E.A.'s Green Tea, it's short lived on my skin.

I am one of the above mentioned resin lovers who gourmands don't normally work for, and let me say, this is gorgeous. This is dark, deep chocolate and smooth patchouli, with a hint of chewy sweetness. It lightens and smooths on me with wear, and a little bit of spice comes out, but over all, it doesn't morph much. It lasts forever. This is a definite bottle purchase, and I'm very glad to find a chocolate I can actually wear without feeling like a candle or a walking bonbon.

Squeeee! This is so fun. I bought a blind bottle and am very happy. This smells like red fruit punch in the bottle, but not the cheap kind. We're talking the good stuff. Fire Monkey stays fruity on me and doesn't go fake. The orangey citrus notes take center stage, but there's a lot of morphing and complexity around them. I get some evergreen sharpness adding to the citrus tartness. I get sweet hints of the florals, and I think I catch a whiff of the dragon's blood grounding it all, but throughout this remains very fruity McFruit fruit, and I LOVE it! Reminds me a bit of Shango, and also of Tanuki w/out the floral notes. Also, the beginning stages of Winter in My Room, which I loved before the floral messed it up for me. Darn you tuberose! Fruity mixed drinks on hot summer nights. Yum yum yum.

This is all almond and rose on me at first, very sweet and syrupy. After a bit, the fig starts to come out, and during dry down I get lots of red musk, but I never get the orange or the cognac, which I was pretty interested in. This is a very nice, sweet rose though, where as sometimes rose goes sour on me. I think almond fans might really like this one. It's sort of Hecate meets Hedeylogos. Edit: This has really come into it's own with a bit of aging. The red musk is much smoother and lends a lot more of a resinous vibe to this, and the almond and rose have blended with it to be a truly lovely, rich scent. Probably would have considered a bottle if it had smelled like this originally. Ah well. I shall enjoy my decant.

In the bottle this is knock you down lavender with some woody/resinous stuff going on adding weight. I don't hate lavender, but I don't love it either, so the first sniff was a bit intimidating. Once I put The Dream on though, the lavender quickly recedes and is replaced by the now very strong woody/resinous smell. I'm not sure if this is the agarwood by itself or mixing with the red patch., but what I get is something in between sandalwood and cedar wood, dry, woody, and a bit sharp. It's not bad, but more masculine than I was expecting. The Dream continues to calm down, becoming more gender neutral, and the wood becomes less harsh. I'm still working on my oude detection but I think that is what's coming out, along with the saffron, making this warm, smoother and sort of golden smelling. I'm not familiar with the lab's "wildflower" note, but this doesn't strike me at all as a floral. It sort of reminds me of a less masculine All That I Possess, so if you were a fan of that, you might try this. You might also want to check this out if all the floral, fruity, and candy fragrances aren't your thing. Very nice and will probably age well. I'm being super picky with bottle purchases, but I'm considering this.

So... Am I the only one who thinks the art for this is hilarious? Anywho, this is really nice and different from most things I've smelled. I get soft, smooth leather, spicey incense, and oddly - sassafras. It's not foodie though, more of a clean, musky skin scent. It's very well blended and has a lovely warmth while still managing to be light enough for spring and summer. I'd say it's unisex. Luverly!

This is really yummy strawberry syrup and cherry blossom in the bottle and when I first put it on, but my chemistry aparently doesn't like it. The strawberry cream goes acrid on me and then waxy, sort of like the way lipstick smells. After a while it settles down and becomes pleasant, but not enough to warrant a bottle. With someone else's chemistry though, I could see this being a really fun, flirty fragrance.

At first this reminds me of Lovers in the Tea House, my bottle of which I dropped and shattered a few months back. 😭 Geisha in a Green Kimono is bright, and crisp, and sweetly citrus with a sort of soft muskiness underneath. I don't love it as much as LTH, but it's still very nice. Unfortunately, the green musk takes over fast on me, and while I like the note generally, it messes up all the loveliness going on. After an hour, it's nothing but green musk single note. Alas and boo.

I was kind of hesitant to get this one, cause WHOAH that's a lot of floral, but I was curious because I'm unfamiliar with some of the notes. I am SO glad I gave in to temptation on this one. Cascading Blossoms is heady and exotic, almost fruity in its sweetness, but I get no artificial or soapy smell. Just pure, luxurious blossoms - perhaps attended by jeweled bees and cavorting nymphs in some sacred paradise. This is the first time I have truly understood people's need for a back up bottle. I do not want this smell to go away - ever.

In the bottle, the violet in this reminds me of the violet candy note in La Befana, of which, I am not a fan. Luckily, on my skin, the sweetness dies down and is balanced by a greenness that makes this wearable for me. This is a VERY powdery violet. Like, it should be applied with a white, fluffy puff to fluffy, white bottoms by fluffy, white cherubs who also have fluffy, white bottoms. That's the visual I get. Old fashioned and dainty and works well with the art, but not really my thing.

Blood Kiss is a fav of mine and definately has the sexy, seductive vampire thing going on. In Deep Earth has a really nice earth/loam smell w/ a touch of florals that I could see being old school vampire. Destroying Angel smells cool and earthy and white to me. I could see it evoking a vampire or a damsel in a filmy nightgown sort of vibe, as could Phantom Wooer, which has sort of silvery, soft quality to it that makes me think of night air and moonlight.

Psychosygnet - I'm not the best person to ask about wine notes. $2 Trader Joe is what I tend to get. You might try Kali though. It's got the wine and chocolate combo and my mom loves it. Wines that worked on me were Queen Alice, which is also one of the few foodie type scents that works on me, and Obsidian Widow, which is very rich, heavy floral and wine. Bathsheba is exsquisite. It doesn't have wine as a note, but it smells like plum wine on me. Heavy, rich fruit and spicey carnation. You might also look into getting a decant of Chinoiserie from the Lupers if you haven't already. The couple of reviews that have come through have been good. I've been struggling to resist.

You might try Cheshire Cat for Pere Noel and Aunt Caroline. It has a candied citrus vibe with herbs and is light weight. Cockaigne is all delicious, boozey cake and shares a note with MU. Also, if she hasn't tried Eat Me yet, well it just makes sense with Drink Me.

I really think All That I Possess is amazing and it reminds me of Dee. Scholars Tower. Pottaskefil. Perhaps Le Pere Fouettard? It smelled very masculine/leather on me and more foodie on my husband. Oh, and don't forget to check out the GC RPG scents. Ranger is fantastic on my husband. Orc, Dwarf, and Gnome I'd say lean towards masculine and have interesting food notes. Fighter - blood, leather, musk, and steel. Nough said. Dwarven Ale smells like pumpkin beer.

I love this in the bottle. I get lots of bright, candied citrus and a hint of vanillic tonka. I see images of froofy, frozen drinks piled high with tiny umbrellas and fruit. It's delicious. Unfortunately, something in this goes soapy on me in the dry down. I'm guessing the tuberose. I still like it, but I can resist a bottle for now. Perhaps age will subdue the soap. (Crosses fingers)

Unxolve - I'm not a huge fan of Antikythera myself. The tobacco and vanilla together don't work for me, but to my nose, it's got that warm vanilla/wood vibe that's similar to Prosperous Flowers. Scholar's Tower has got the warm wood/leather vibe and a similar weight. It's less sweet and more incensey than PF, but I really liked it. Ploutos is pretty fabulous. One can only hope the lab will make full bottles one day. Happy hunting! Rosedamask - Sorry. :-( The only one of your favs I've sniffed is Lucille Sharpe and I gave my recs for that a couple posts back. Psychosygnet - You might try Wilde - It's what I think of as a very classic fougere scent. (oakmoss, lavander, tonka bean). For Firethorn Berry Tea, have you tried Baneberry? It lacks the tea note, but it's a tart, bright green berry scent. You might also try Bewitched - berries and tea, and I'd second the Lampades rec as it's got a tart, fruity quality and is lovely. Centzon smells of light, tart, spicy pear to me, so you might try Alice's Evidence as it's very cinnamon apple/pear. Just know it's a heavier scent. Also cassis/ cinnamon can burn, so beware if your skin is sensative. As for White Rabbit - well, the musk went all dryer sheets w/ my chemistry, but I'm pretty sure the "ornery hedgehog musk" in Croquet is the same one used in WR, so you might give that a try. It's an interesting blend and not a citrus overload like I was expecting. Plus - ONERY HEDGEHOG MUSK. P.S. You might try The East. Really nice fruity, floral, tea blend. I have a bottle, and there's nothing else quite like it. P.S.S. I am crazy and got Centzo Totochtin confused with Tenochtitlan. Disregard the Alice's Evidence bit. Hope that helps!

The red of an open artery, the red of congealing blood, the red of a scarlet tomb: burgundy musk, bitter clove, crushed saffron, red sandalwood, and red oudh. Oh Crimson, I'm afraid you are a bit of a dissapointment dear. You were my most anticipated decant. All your notes were perfect win, but then I popped you open with trembling fingers and you smelled - alright. Good, but not great. Scherezade lights a kretek after a long day sans deodorant.