alterosen

Scrumptious! On me, this is a peppery citrus/fruity floral with a background of non-powdery amber. Not too sweet, not too peppery, not too in-your-face floral - another perfect summery fragrance.

I can't get enough of Dorian right now, with Lady Una a close second. So, I guess I'm with the other people who've been recommending the tea scents (though sadly, Severin is pure bug spray on me) Last summer, I was wearing Titania & Mum Moon a lot for that sweet fruity floral kick. It's only moderately humid here, though, those two might be too strong if it's sweltering.

I love using slices of the BPTP soaps as sachets in my clothes drawers & in the totes I store my linens. Even a small slice really infuses things nicely & you don't have to worry about oil stains. My favorites are Shub-Niggurath, Dorian & Snake Oil. Perhaps Miskatonic University would fit the bookish vibe you're after?

I really like Phantasm (green tea, lemon verbena, jasmine & neroli). The tartness of the tea, citrus & verbena keep the jasmine from overpowering everything in sight. It's a great summer evening fragrance (provided you can wear lemony scents without having them turn into cleaning products). There are similarities to Embalming Fluid & Shanghai but I feel it's a bit more girly/feminine because of the jasmine.

I cherish my imp of Parlement of Foules so I was very happy it was re-released this Lupercalia & I could order a bottle. When I first tried it, I was expecting it to be very close to Rose Cross since they both have similar notes (white rose & resins/rose & frankincense) but they're really quite different. I must be the only person who's getting the smell of berries from the resins in this It's more pronounced in the 2006 version than the 2008, so it might be partly an aging thing but is most likely my odd nose At least there's no sign of molasses. For me, this is a lovely light sweet rose with a few raspberries on the side - yum! Very much a warm weather scent, while Rose Cross is more resiny & cozy so I prefer it in winter. They both remind me of the scent of old roses rather than that of modern varieties.

I adore this scent! When it came out, I thought the notes all sounded nice but knew I would have to try it before I could justify a bottle purchase. I finally found some in a swap & moments after I tried it on I was trawling the sales pages for a big bottle I was a bit afraid after reading the reviews that the blackberry would go bad, but thankfully, no cat pee, just tart berry goodness with a honey background. I often amp vanilla & find it cloying but this combines nicely with the green tea in a similar fashion to Dorian though there's no citrus listed in the notes. Honey & blackberry are generally scents I don't really get that excited about but this combination with the Dorianesque vanilla tea & musk with hint of spice is incredible. My only quibble is that it's quite light & requires slathering & reapplication throughout the day if, like me, you want to be surrounded by a Lady Una cloud. Fortunately, I now have a bottle on the way & can try doing some layering with lotion & major slathering. I imagine this will be one of my warm weather staples.

Gorgeous in the vial; nasty strong baby powder on my wrist. Sometimes cinnamon behaves this way & ruins a blend for me by turning super sweet & amping like crazy. If only it would stay smelling like cinnamon - I'll take redhots any day over this stupid powder! Sigh. Hours later there's a hint of musk & rum.

For some reason, Imp smells like peaches & black tea to me. The notes don't suggest tea (peach, amber, patchouli, musk) but that's how my nose reads it. You may find it a bit sweet, though. I think it's really yummy. Your best bet for finding those discontinued scents is the swap & sales threads or to post an ISO. I've found people to be very helpful & generous (all you fabulous evil enablers out there, stand up & take a bow!) Good luck!

I was surprised by the green aquatic-ness of this wet. I was expecting something along the lines of Fae because of the notes but they're really not similar at all. I'm not sure if it's my cup of tea but my 4 year old son wanted to wear it, so there's some support for this one in the household I'll have to revisit it later.

Great review before this one! I'm on the fence about this blend. I love the smell of it wet (I spilled some on my table & it smells grand) but on me after drydown it's teetering on the edge of becoming baby powder. I suspect the amber is the culprit. The creaminess is really lovely but I haven't decided if it's too cloying or not with that hint of powder. I'll have to try it a few more times because I want to like it I agree with whoever mentioned the similarity to the Body Shop's Woody Sandalwood (& that I wore for years)

I William Blake & I was really looking forward to this one because it has so many notes that I adore. Unfortunately, I got the super cedar effect with sour wood/pencil shavings overpowering everything else. I never sensed any rose or sandalwood & the spices only came out faintly after hours of wear. Someone else mentioned Pulcinella & Teresina & the cedar in it behaved the same way on my skin, amping like crazy. No fair! I love the smell of cedar - why doesn't like me? Perhaps it will be better on the husband.

Pumpkin Patch #4 from 2005 & 2006 (pumpkin, sandalwood & orris) is a nice slightly spicy scent that has a bit of a yeasty component to it according to my nose. I find it very comforting & it definitely fits into the baked goods category without being sickly sweet (unless you slather) It's not that rare, so you should be able to find some on the swaps page.

Versailles is rather nice. It has a very sophisticated feel with the combination of citrus, rose, amber & jasmine. After testing it, I immediately thought my mother might like it, which is a first (she likes Lancome's Magie Noir & not much else).

I'm a big rose fan & am still searching for the ultimate scent in that category. I have over 40 very fragrant varieties growing in the garden (mostly old roses & David Austins) & find perfume hard to measure up to the real thing. Having said that, Beth has a huge number of rose blends and anyone (except the absolute rose-haters) is sure to find several to their liking. Some of my notes on the rose scents I've tried: GC London - pretty tea rose, a classic (my imp is different than the aged bottle I acquired which has an acrid background or bitterness to it - rather disappointing) Two,Five & Seven - rather sharp & overwhelming Marie - lovely rose & violet Harlot - sweet, faint & powdery, couldn't sense the cinnamon Rose Cross - love the rose & resin combo, like an old moss rose Persephone - juicy rose with a berry finish Zombi - couldn't sense the rose in this, only the dirt which turns spicy & ginseng-like: neat! Moon Rose - aquatic, green-tinged rose, not my thing Black Rose - too heavy for me Blood Rose - nicely sultry & fruity, then gets sharp & the rose disappears under the dragon's blood Whip - sharp rose & the leather note turns my stomach Seraglio - rose, almond & orange work together wonderfully on me Rakshasa - rose, patchouli & sandalwood: a really nice blend if you like strong woody notes Eve - perfumy, honey & sharp rose: changes to honey & apple blossom, a bit musty Knave of Hearts - caramel with hint of black currant & fleeting rose Maiden - nice & spicy but the carnation gave me a headache Viola - sweet & pretty: seems kind of innocent & young, girly? The Rose - similar rose as Rose Red but not as strong or long-lasting, nice for when RR seems like too much Snooty Rose - I would have guessed there's cedar in this - the sandalwood is not behaving, perhaps aging will help Miller's Daughter LE/Unimpables Rose Moon - bright tea rose, hint of other florals, bit too fresh Pulcinella & Teresina - too much resin for me, I smelled like pine sap Victoria - sweet tea rose, hint of lily & musk, a bit soapy Rose Red '07 - bright juicy rose with a hint of earthy honey ('05 is a bit earthier, both are fabulous ) Libra '07 - lovely fruity(cherry) rose, not as tart as Persephone Parlement of Foules - nice: sweet rose with raspberries. This is my #1 - the rose blend I wear the most Peacock Queen '07 - tea rose, a bit sharper than London Silentium Amoris (DC) - rose & ylang ylang, I had high hopes but the rose is too sharp for my tastes Hope - sweet (duh, sugared rose) like the rose in Harlot/Lucy's Kiss but much stronger, little bit powdery Queen of Clubs - strong dirt note fades to nice berries, roses far in the background Tabula Smagdarina - like P of Foules with slightly sour wood note Lady Luck Blues - honeyed floral with spiced rose, lovely skin musk finish April Fool - citrusy rose with touch of green, rosy berry finish Katrina von Tassel - sweet Hope-like roses with cream, honey not very noticeable; this one can feel a bit thick & cloying sometimes Autumn (Salon) - rosy, then autumnal smoky leaves, hint of apple (this one is so very me - must track down a bottle) Blasphemare Reliquary - bubblegum, powdery rose with a sharp edge RETEST Eustephanos - very sweet, thought there was honey & peach in it (actually pomegranate), rose in background contributing to general sweetness RETEST Pothon Meter - interestingly spicy, pepper combining with something to become almost gingery, not very sweet or rosy but very enjoyable Unity Set 1) Red Rose - not very rosy on me, strong tobacco/fir combo with the Indian musk is a bit harsh 2) White Rose - fruity & creamy (hint of coconut?), not super rosy either but very nice 3) Combined - very nice, complex Gwyneth - sweet coconut & sage, bit of a sharp floral/rose note, goes to harsh cleaning product (orchid & lily= nasty on me) Chaos Theory IV CMXVII - soft roses & lilies, spicy floral, bit too powdery Last Rose of Summer - a woody rose that works on me! Madeline Maud Ruthyn The Masque

Miskatonic University - I don't get any coffee, wood or whiskey just buttery caramel.

I found Calliope to be very peppery, though I think it's actually thyme. This is one of the soon to be discontinued GC's.

I wish I could help. I work in a library, too, but we're not supposed to wear scent to spare those of our co-workers with chemical sensitivities & allergies so I haven't had a chance to notice if things work or change. I keep imps in my bag in my desk to sniff during the day if necessary to keep myself happy. It's a large open building, anyway, so it's probably not the same kind of stuffy atmosphere (though the Special Collections division is a different kind of beast). Good luck!

I'm also a big fan of Samhain. It's not as sweet or buttery as Jack but is a bit similar with the apple & spice with an addition of smokiness. You might want to keep an eye out for some of the old Pumpkin Patch blends (2005 & 2006). Pumpkin Patch #1 is full of spicy apple goodness & Pumpkin Patch #4 smells like buttery baked goods to me though it's pumpkin with sandalwood & orris. I haven't tried any of the new Pumpkins yet so I'm not sure how they compare. Another good autumnal scent is Harvest Moon. Though it has a floral aspect, to me the fruit & leaves are what really comes out. I also really like Sugar Skull. It's a hard one to describe. The sugar note isn't caramel but rather like sugar melting (if you've ever made candy or caramel yourself, you'd recognize it) with light fruit (I get pear) & a bit of spice & smoke as it dries. If you get some Shub-Niggurath, make sure to try it layered with Miskatonic University. On its own, MU is pretty caramelly but added to Shub somehow brings out this fabulous smoky note in addition to the general yummy gingeriness.

There's always Black Cat, and Velvet has a nice soft fuzziness about it while still being sexy I wouldn't say my cats have that kind of scent but it evokes the feeling of fur, if that makes sense. Bastet would also be a good choice. It never hurts to smell like a goddess when attending a party!

So happy to finally try this version (thank you Ishtar!) On me, it's like my beloved Samhain with cherries as the fruit note instead of apples - smokey, sweet and tangy - yum, yum, yum. Must find more...

My 3 year old little guy really likes some of the chocolate scents (no big surprise - he's got the biggest sweet tooth ever!), particularly the Candy Butcher & Velvet, though strangely he turned his nose up at Bliss. I haven't checked to see if he still likes Samhain after he poured 3/4 of the bottle on himself - mostly because I don't want to share the super-precious until I get some more & I'm a little paranoid. He seems to have pretty broad tastes - yesterday he chose Fairy Market for himself No scent gender-stereotyping here! Hopefully he won't outgrow his open-mindedness, though I suspect he'll start to care more what other people think as he gets older. I doubt I'll ever have to try to steer him away from nasty cheap cologne as a teen at least! Educate them young!!

I'm going to answer my own question since I got my hands on some nice aged Candy Butcher and ... it isn't really that chocolatey on me. Maybe white chocolate with all that creaminess & hint of floral but not the dark chocolate I was hoping for (though it is very nice). Lump of Coal is way more chocolatey & Velvet runs a close second. Now I need to get a hold of some Boomslang... KikuPeach, what did you end up choosing?

How does Candy Butcher compare to Lump of Coal? I know it's not nice to bring up a hard to find LE but it's the richest chocolately goodness on me & I only have an imp, so it would be great if something currently available was as good.