Your Best-Bet "Must Try" Enabling Scents

[Laoire]

Thank you for starting this thread!

It's a tad overwhelming looking at the hundreds of scents and trying to narrow it down without knowing anything...it all sounds so good!

[ami226]

Let's see... I would suggest:

 

Snake Oil

Shub-Niggurath

Bordello! (sweet yummy goodness!)

Phantom Queen (good floral one to start out with-black orchid!!)

I Died for Beauty

Bengal (vanilla chai!)

 

 

[copyshopclerk]

I'd also say something like Black Forest or Jersey Devil to see if you like pine/evergreen type scents.

[Monster]

URD! Umm...yeah...I just had to throw it in! (of course)

 

I'll also add White Rabbit, Pervesion, Bewitched, De Sade (leathah!), and The Red Queen

Edited August 30, 2009 by Monster

[Heavenlyrabbit]

There is an entire Forum especially for BPAL Recommendations here:

 

http://www.bpal.org/index.php?showforum=10

 

And an entire thread in that forum for Newbies here:

 

http://www.bpal.org/index.php?showtopic=10948

 

Have Fun!

Edited August 30, 2009 by Heavenlyrabbit

[Dymphna]

One classic that hasn't been mentioned yet is Bastet. It can be spicy (cardamom and saffron), foody (almond), resinous (amber and myrrh), musky, you might even get a bit of floral from it (lotus), and it's a good introduction to Beth's uncanny ability to capture the scent of clean fur, in this case cat fur. It's not listed as a note, but I'm not the only one who finds Bastet to smell a bit like burying your face in the fur of a beloved cat.

 

Others that haven't been mentioned: Miskatonic University (sweet, creamy coffee and polished wood), Katharina (if you like apricot/peach scents), Bon Vivant (if you like strawberry).

 

And GC but not impable, from Stardust: Yvaine (my favorite lavender), Lady Una (a unique honey musk and blackberry blend), and Fairy Market (the best way I can describe it is strange candies smooshed in the grass).

[Mousesong]

Let's see... I would suggest:

 

Snake Oil

Shub-Niggurath

Bordello! (sweet yummy goodness!)

Phantom Queen (good floral one to start out with-black orchid!!)

I Died for Beauty

Bengal (vanilla chai!)

 

See, this list, and the fact that it echoes lots of other proposals here, just proves to me that my nose is broken I haven't tried PQ or IDFB but I have tried the rest and didn't like any of them D: What am I missing out on? Stupid nose.

 

The only ones I've personally tried that have gone over well with non-BPALites on a consistent basis were Morocco (everyone loves Morocco), Dorian (everyone loves Dorian), The Bow and Crown of Conquest (everyone loves B+C provided I am the one wearing it; YMMV), and Dee (mostly for the guys to wear, but lots of girls get very excited over it too). Antikythera Mechanism is, I feel, a good "unconventional" scent--it's delicious, but it's a good one, I think, for people who are looking for something daring and different, but familiar--if that makes sense!

 

Morocco and Dorian are definitely good enabling blends. Dorian was especially successful for me :nods:

 

How could I forget? Not on me, but on practically everyone else, Miskatonic U is an excellent enabler.

Edited September 8, 2009 by Mousesong

[Jupita]

Well, being a newbie myself...

I'd like to say, that from what I ordered, the scents that totally won me over were Cathedral, Sudha Segara and Prunella...

 

Now, I use mostly Dragon Claw, Wolfs Heart and Tintagel, but that's cause autumn and dragon blood seem to work well for me...

 

Then again, my friend, who smelled some of my BPALs, said that Lawn Gnome and Lady Lilith were fantastic... but I guess GC are better for enabling... even if from the little I've tryed, I've noticed that LE are somewhat more touching, than GC...

From the 7 LE I tryed, I liked 6 of them.

From the 30 GC I tryed, I liked more or less 6 of them... so, I guess this means that LE are more suitable for me, I don't really know why, tho...

[lookingglass]

Please add, in addition to the lovelies mentioned:

Sin

Dragon's Heart

Antique Lace

[mooncityminx]

So far, I've only gotten compliments from the uninitiated on:

The East

Schwarzer Mond

and Cupid Complaining to Venus

 

I point out these in particular, because people will actually stop me to ask what that perfume is I am wearing, and gush about how great it is. I personally love a lot of bpals, but I've noticed that bpal virgins do not always have appreciation for the more eccentric bpals that I love. Snake Oil is wonderful, and some people who are bpal virgins love it at first sniff, but many people are not ready for how bold and sexy it is. Oh well, more for me.

Edited September 9, 2009 by Tempest

[Apple]

When I've given BPAL as gifts, I've tried to tailor my imp selections to the preferences of the intended recipients by trying to figure out what types of scents they enjoy and what current fragrances they use. I do have a sort of mental list of scents that I think are very accessible, interesting, and/or representative of BPAL, and I've listed those by scent category below.

 

If I had to pick just six imps for a totally random newbie, I would probably go with:

 

1. Dorian (I really dislike this one, but so many people love it.)

2. Snake Oil (Ditto.)

3. De Sade

4. Nosferatu

5. Embalming Fluid

6. Something from either the "Fresh/Clean/Light" category below, or something from the "Foody" category.

 

FRESH/CLEAN/LIGHT

51

Amsterdam

The Dormouse

Lightning

Mag Mell

Rosalind

Sea of Glass

Sudha Segara

Szepasszony

Titania

The Unicorn

 

CITRUS

Croquet

Embalming Fluid

Kuang Shi

 

FRUITY

Akuma

Blood Kiss

Bon Vivant

Bordello

Fae

March Hare

 

FLORAL/ROSE

Hermia

Two, Five, & Seven

Whip

???

(I don't wear heavy floral scents and don't know anyone who does. If I'm going to wear something floral, I tend to prefer lighter scents like those listed up above in the "Fresh/Clean/Light" category, so I'm at a loss here.)

 

VANILLA

Dorian

Lyonesse

Mouse's Long and Sad Tale

 

SPICY

Bengal

Plunder

 

INCENSE/RESIN

Bastet

Cathedral

The Lion

No. 93 Engine

Snake Oil

anything with red musk (Czernobog, Fenris Wolf, Scherezade, Sin, Vixen, etc.)

 

FOODY

Bliss or Vice (chocolate)

Dana O'Shee (almond extract)

Eat Me or Cockaigne (cake/butter)

Hellcat (frosting)

Jack (pumpkin)

 

OTHER/INTERESTING/WEIRD

Nosferatu, Death Cap, Jazz Funeral, Penny Dreadful, Zombi, or Yorick (DIRT!)

De Sade (leather)

Perversion (tobacco)

 

MASCULINE/UNISEX

Dee

Jolly Roger

Olokun

Wilde

[Moryssa]

I pretty much agree with Apple above, but I will say that almost EVERYONE that I've handed an imp of 51 to has talked about how much they love it. It's one of the very few scents that both I and my best friend (who is a complete scent opposite from me) both have bottles of... so it's one that I definitely pull out to share with people when I'm trying to enable them.

 

I usually use some of the more unique ones, too-- like Love's Philosophy (cake batter!) and Graveyard Dirt (dirt!)-- just to show them how amazing Beth is... but obviously this is for enabling when I'm sitting with someone handing them a bottle to sniff, not when I'm telling them what to order.

 

--M

 

[reina]

Baker's Dozen!

 

I'd go for:

 

-51 (the closest thing to a commercial perfume Beth does, and that's said in a good way.)

 

-Destroying Angel (to show how Beth can take a traditional 30s style scent and turn it upside down. so familiar yet so different - Chanel no. 5 that I can actually WEAR!)

 

-Xiuhtecuhtli (the first BPAL I fell in love with. it can work on either man or woman, and very sophisticated)

 

-Van Van (conjure bag) to show another side of BPAL's scent alchemy. those new to bpal will notice how empowering it is to one's psyche and be intrigued. I know I was.

 

-Sudha Segara for being so clean, so warm, so womanly, so calming. a totally different, and fascinating take on a "clean" scent.

 

-Wanda for a scent that screams WOMAN!!!

 

- one that is masculine to the extreme

- one for citrus

- one for "tropical"

- one for "oriental" spice and/or resins

- one for green/herbal

- one for fruit (berries or summer fruit like peach or apricot)

[lainevierge]

Man, I'm pretty shocked to see 51 on many of your lists. That was actually one of the first BPALs I sniffed and I was NOT impressed. It's way too generic for my tastes.

 

The stuff that seems to have enabled my friends and family were pretty unexpected scents. At a recent party when I pulled out my mini-stash everyone went for Depraved, and it seems I've hooked my mom with a frimp of Brown Jenkins. Odd, because I never would have chosen that one for her.

[inkaddict]

The ones I've had better enabling luck with are Morgause, Midnight Mass, Dee and Mama Ji, so if I had to just pick an imp pack it would be something like

 

Morgause (non perfumey heady floral) or Alice (light and sweet, for the floral-weary)

Cathedral (resiny yum, sub for Midnight Mass)

SO/Dorian (very "lab" vanilla scents that everyone but me seems to love)

The Apothecary (light and crisp)

Sherazade (the spicy one) or Dee (spicy woods for those who don't mind their oils a bit more on the unisex side)

Bordello (the sweet berries one) or Eat Me (for the foody lovers)

 

For someone whose likes and dislikes are close to mine smellwise I'd skip the SO/Dorian entirely and toss in one of the lab more unusual scents like Nosferatu (boozy dirt), Against Idleness and Mischief (a cup of herbal tea. So calming), or Death Cap (a gorgeous mix of dirt and coconut).

 

 

[Lorelai1945]

I sent my mom her first enabling pack this morning. I sent:

 

Dorian

Eve

La Belle Au Bois Dormant

Debauchery

Fairy Market

Blood Pearl

Eat Me

And something else which currently escapes my memory..(Regan?)

 

It made it easier since i already know some of her likes/dislikes, but I feel like I gave her a decent range.

 

[Lyanna]

Aaaaaahhhh *runs around in circles*

Ok, newbie here and overwhelmed. Trying to get my first dozen imps together, and wondering if I haven't chosen a lot of scents that look alike, are too "difficult" for a newbie, or maybe if I'm missing out on something wonderful.

 

So far, this is my list:

 

Paris

Pontarlier

Rome

Ephemera

Harlot

The Temptation

Dragon's Eye

Kali

Eve

The Lady of Shalott

Bastet

Bengal

 

What do you think? Fine to start off with? I made this list without checking the recommendations here, simply by giving in search words in the search engine and seeing what it came up with.

Edited September 28, 2009 by Lyanna

[Sperling]

I would generally recommend the following out of the scents I've tried.

 

Dorian - My first BPAL love and absolute favorite to date. The first time I smelled it I smeared it all over my wrists and held them to my nose all day. Mm.

French Love - An introduction to dragon's blood.

Persephone - A big, juicy rose-fruit. For those who love their Bath and Body Works.

Sea of Glass - I do not enjoy clean scents, but my mother was converted when I passed my imp on to her. Excellent.

Rapunzel - A pretty, sparkling green floral.

O - Honey just doesn't work on me. It smells lovely on others, though, and O is the purest honey I've tried.

 

For friends, though, I like finding a scent description that matches them best. I gave Anne Bonny to a particularly fiery, rebellious girl, Cheshire Cat to a goofy literature-lover, and Lawn Gnome to a sweet culinary student. Whenever I run into them, they smell like these scents. p: Success!

[sqwook]

@Lyanna - HI! I didn't reply earlier since I haven't tried most of those you've listed -- hopefully somebody else has & can talk about them.

Of those you've listed, I've tried only Paris, Bastet, & Bengal, which are nothing like each other. One thing I'll say is that you definitely don't have many "forum faves" on your list - I'd at least consider adding Snake Oil to see what people are talking about.