ivyandpeony

I don't think Famine smells like vomit in any way, shape or form. It's a smoky black tea scent, very sexy. You're always taking a gamble on skin chemistry, but it looks like it's just a handful of people that have mentioned that odd morphing quality in their reviews. Off the top of my head... I got some aquatic notes from The Macabray and Stormhold, Spider is a clean scent that could almost be aquatic to some noses. What notes do you love?

I can totally see where that comes from, bluelena. Velvet Bandito smells extremely carnation-y to me - I had no idea that tumbleweeds could be so spicy and gorgeous! And Potion is almost all carnation on me, barely any rose. They will probably layer wonderfully.

There are a couple of threads that discuss some of the individual symptoms. Looking over them at your leisure may also give you some ideas to try, and you can share any thoughts, discussion of results, etc. here. None of them are too huge or unwieldy, but you can use the "search thread" feature (at the bottom left of any page of the thread under the last post) if you want to narrow it down to certain topics within the thread. BPAL for sleep issues BPALs to help with physical pains and illness Comforting, cheering scents Scents to help with depresson Relaxing and calming scents

I found this old post of mine in a different thread, but thought it might be relevant here. I still LOVE Silver Cloud and was excited when I found out that they returned in a limited run for a forum party this past Christmas but were also available online. Oddly, they don't smell "Christmasy" at all to me, they smell spring- and summer-y!

Any suggestions I have probably have to be tempered w/the fact that I really amp geranium - although I do love the smell, I sometimes don't like blends with it because I basically turn them into single-note geranium. Two that I don't see on your "tried" list - Winter Stress Relief, while not the ideal perfume for many, is a really yummy mint-geranium blend. The oil is hard to find but the bath oil from this past holiday season might be a little easier to get your hands on. Ephemera was pretty much all violet and geranium on me, like a green violet blend (the notes are violet, chamomile, muguet, white geranium, calla lily, tea rose, and "a hint of" autumn leaves).

Depending on how much you've been dabbling, you might want to try layering some of the florals that you are loving with Antique Lace and seeing how they click. I'm not the queen of layering, so I don't know how well Antique Lace plays along with other scents, but it might be worth trying. I get a lot of vanilla from Antique Lace although it does have some unique lineny qualities that I haven't found in many other scents, so I thought I'd recommend some vanilla-white floral scents in the GC you might want to try (if you haven't already) - Euphrosyne (vanilla, tea rose, gardenia and jasmine) and Le Serpent Qui Danse (vanilla, violet and gardenia). Monna Vanna, from the Salon, won't be available as an imp, but might be worth a try too - the notes are Russian rose, mimosa, gardenia, bois du rose, parma violet, calla lily, red currant, ambergris, and bourbon vanilla. A little harder to find but certainly not impossible, I have definitely seen both in the swaps forum and no one was demanding a firstborn male child for them - MonsterBait Bigger Critters (gardenia, jasmine, vanilla w/a little grapefruit that makes it bright); Marae, from last year's April Fool Tiki line (vanilla orchids and gardenia with a little incense). Two more past LEs, one that has a sultry, Southern white-floral feel to me - although it's lacking much in common with Antique Lace - is The Swan Maiden (notes: gardenia, white iris, sandalwood, calla lily, French magnolia, muguet, jonquil, and orchid). And one that lacks the magnolia-gardenia requirement but does have stargazer lily and a little bit of that Antique Lace vibe is Berenice (stargazer lily, white musk, clear aloe, blonde amber and linen). Just as an aside, I wonder if magnolia is an expensive bouquet for the Lab to produce or procure. It seems like it's been used much more in the pricier Salon blends and in LEs than in the general catalog. It's a note that I love, too, although I love so many white floral scents that I don't find myself missing it too much in the GC.

Lorelei, it's been a long time since I had a cuppa Sleepytime tea so I don't have a rec off hand - but I was going to mention that you might want to take a look in the thread about mint scents to see what spearmint-y scents may be available. You can crosspost your request there too. =)

Off the top of my head I don't know the answer - but I wonder if there's any kind of chlorine-neutralizing soap or bodywash on the market these days? My husband likes to swim and he uses some kind of chlorine-neutralizing shampoo but I can't remember what it is called. You might even want to try the shampoo as a bodywash if you can't find one. It might be that getting rid of the chlorine altogether would work better than trying to find something that offsets the smell, and it might be better for your skin (and health - since you can absorb chlorine into your body!) in the long run. ETA: a comment from my swimming husband! Are you using noseplugs in the pool? When he doesn't, he feels like he smells chlorine for much longer because pool water gets up his nose.

The occasional bump, since there's so much info for us all to keep up with.

Hand of Glory has this beeswaxy-honey quality that is offset by dry leather (I can't wear leather myself, so it didn't work on me, but it might be a good one for you). I also thought of Ichabod Crane, which has cream and beeswax/honey notes but nothing foody - a very unusual blend but I find it lovely. And Hanerot Halalu is a warm, waxy honey that I love! I find beeswax and honey notes to have a lot in common, so even though I think all of these listed beeswax rather than honey in the official Lab description I get a lot of honey on my skin. I'll be interested to see what other people have to say and what they suggest

unlaced, the closest thing to that - at least on my skin - is Midway. It becomes a very simple, creamy, sweet scent. It does not have the strong cream note that a lot of other BPALs have, more of a creamy undertone. But if you can find some it might fit the bill for you. And, I thought I'd cross post this request here for maximum results

Another LE to LE comparison - and it's more of a "if you like X, you might like Y" than "OMG these smell just alike!" Makhanitis feels like a kissing cousin to both Hellion and Nahemoth to me. It's probably the plum, champaca and sandalwood evoking Hellion - Nahemoth's notes are a mystery but it's quite plummy to my nose. Both Hellion & Nahemoth are a little more complex than Makhanitis. But fans of the two, and anyone who loves plum, should check it out. And that's not to say naaelah's comparison to Prospero isn't a good one - for some reason the champaca in Prospero went wild on my skin and I just turned into a walking, talking, blooming champaca tree. One that had been drinking a little too much red wine. And I don't loooove champaca in large doses, so Prospero and I parted ways. I had much better results with Makhanitis cinnamonmel, it has been a while since I tried Knecht Ruprecht so I checked the notes to refresh my memory (The snow-covered foliage of the Black Forest and the fruit and woods of apple and almond trees). I remember it being almondy on me more than anything although there was some evergreen and apple in the background. Maybe take a peek at the thread about almond scents if you're getting that note and branch out a bit from there? What are the predominant notes you get from it? Phox, have you tried White Rose from the Unity set that the Trading Post is offering? You have to buy White and Red together but of course there's always the possibility of finding a partner beforehand if you absolutely don't want Red or swapping it away afterwards. Two, Five & Seven has lots of sweet rose - Eternal also features that gorgeous white rose note with some other sweet florals.

The Lab would be your final word on this (answers@blackphoenixalchemylab.com). But because of two policies they've adhered to since I've been around - not permitting add-ons once orders have been placed and not combining separate orders - my guess would be that they aren't able to do it.

just a reminder!

Oh look, it's me again. This might seem like a really odd rec for the clove thread, but Red Rose (from the Trading Post set of roses) has such an incredible clove note. Oddly, I don't think you necessarily have to be a rose lover to love this scent. My mother in law had tried Rose Red in the past and didn't care for it, finding it too boldly "rosy" (she does like Alice) - however, she really liked the scent of Red Rose. The rose note is subtle, the clove is dominant when wet and as it dries, it becomes a more gentle spice that blends with the amber and musk. If you were on the fence about trying it before it's gone (or just going ahead and ordering the set ), I'm the enabler who would push you over the edge.

I'm anxiously awaiting reviews of the Box of Chocolates and hoping that someone who tries them all, will post some opinions about my questions: If you could only order one of them which one would it be? and Will you rate them from your favorite to your least favorite? (of course, commentary about WHY is welcome!!)

Bumping this thread because I think the Valentine's set of roses from the Trading Post may be the best rose scents Beth's ever done. White rose has been my favorite rose note for ages and the White Rose scent is phenomenal - it lasts forever, & the vanilla-y component and the tea and coconut are genius in combination with the sweet white rose note. And I think that the Red Rose scent may even work for people who don't like, or who can't usually wear, roses. For me, the red rose note is very subtle - instead I get lots of amber and spice and a little hit of that deep, pretty musk. It's completely different from The Peacock Queen or Rose Red, which are predominantly rose.

I think DeTox would also be good if you wanted to amp up the lime in a blend that already has a bit of lime in it. It's definitely the lime-iest thing from the Lab I have ever smelled!

Bumping this as I've been wearing Clemence a lot lately and I love the clove note. The combination of tea, carnation and cloves is just so warm and lovely - I can't get enough of it. Anyone who loves clove scents and hasn't tried this, get thee to the Carnival!

I just got a chance to try Water Phoenix and I think I might have found another aquatic that I can wear! Yep, I'm one of those who amps the aquatic qualities to the exclusion of everything else, so that so many aquatic blends that smell different and exciting in their bottles end up smelling too strong, cologne-y, etc. once they've interacted with my skin. But Water Phoenix has a really delicate quality and the other notes seem to be coming out to play. Thalassa works like this on me too, but these are two of the few and far between. It can be aggravating when you really like a note (and a blend) on so many other people and just amp it into something ugly! I really should count myself lucky for the notes that I love and can wear instead of complaining about it though

I have to jump on the Hand of Glory wagon here - beeswax lovers, you are denying yourselves what is probably your Grail if you haven't tried it. It strikes a really great balance between sweet and this dry-woody quality. I don't get a bit of leather from it, which is the note that was keeping me from trying it before! Although I still don't think that for me, HoG could bump Ichabod off his throne. The thing with IC is that there are some prominent floral and other notes there that may not be everyone's cup of tea (har de har har ) and I agree with all the Hanerot Halalu praise, the beeswax note is phenomenal!

oh, pretty, Tramp! I was expecting mine today but the Post Office didn't feel like bringing them. Now I am even more excited - I really love the colors and the stylized flowers.

My Recs regulars are so great beat me to that one! I'm looking at the reviews for La Flamme and here are some comments (I apologize for not toggling quotes but that can sometimes make a post unreadable... ) "a cross between Vixen and Hellion" (from tempest's review) "akin to the likes of Snake Oil, Scherezade, Lust and Smut" (from yeahbutnobut's review) If you haven't tried the GC scents in those comparisons, it might be good to try them first before going on a wild Smut (or Hellion) hunt - then again, if you land a bottle of Smut and don't like it, I am sure that you will easily find a new loving owner for it. It sounds like La Flamme has a red musk vibe, so hit up the red musk thread too if you want some recs in that vein.

It wasn't that long ago that I decanted some Smut 2006 for someone and I was goggle-eyed at how dark and syrupy it was! Like on the verge of becoming gel. I don't always notice the consistency when I'm just applying something to wear it, but when you are decanting it into a clear vial, there's no mistaking. Aged Snake Oil gets thicker and thicker as it gets older, but it doesn't darken as much - it seems to get more of a mahogany brown than a molasses, almost-black color like Smut.

just reminding the amber-maniacs to go order Jacob's Ladder before it disappears in a few days! It's my favorite for pure sweet amber.