Light, gentle, subtle scents for the office, class, expectant moms

[AlectoNox]

I've had good luck with Rosalind, Chypre, The Raven and especially Cathode being clean and light smelling. Since it's currently 110+ where I live, I've been avoiding anything too strong or heavy. And I second Boots recommendation to swap anything that doesn't work out for you...that way you can really preview a wide variety of perfumes before you decide to buy. =)

[Shollin]

Phantasm is a very soft misty lemon scent. If Bordello worked on you, you might try Bewitched and Old Glasgow... they both have the same berry thing going on, and they're both softer than Bordello (and not nearly as bright).

 

Rosalind is probably the lightest scent I've tried. Water of Notre Dame and Dove's Heart are also very soft.

 

Good luck!

[Neko]

If you don't mind a sweet scent, Katharina was very light on me. Let me repeat, she can be extremely sweet (so if you don't like sweet blends, stay far away from this one), but she tends to fade quickly into a barely there, gentle fruity sugared scent, rather than a cloying, overpowering, headache inducing one.

[Gothabillywench]

Similar to Bordello- Bewitched, Kitsune Tsuki, Maiden, Morella, Seraphim & maybe give queen of hearts & viola a try

[Effluvia]

Pele, Pele, Pele!

[capricious]

I dislike people being able to smell me unless I'm standing close to them (I want to make people lean in, not step back ) Any recommendations?

[quinkel]

Dana O Shee makes a good one, I mixes with your own skin like it's your natural skin scent

 

I love it but the reason it stays very close to me I only wear it to sleep with.

[capricious]

are there any I should definately avoid? ones that really jump across a room?

[Ishtar]

Off the top of my head, Old Morocco, Old Sybaris, Maiden, Pele, Seraglio and Virgo stay fairly close to the skin.

 

A few oils that have a lot of throw: O, Spellbound, Snake Oil, anything with dragon's blood, Lust, Old Madrid, Hellcat...

 

I also found some oils to be way stronger than I expected them to be. They are not overwhelmingly strong, mind you, just a lot more powerful than I would have thought from the description. Marie and Twilight come to mind. But maybe that's just me

 

Hope that helps. Were you thinking of any oils in particular?

[capricious]

I have these imp's on their way (my first order!):

 

Dana O'Shee

O

Queen of Sheba

Snake Oil

Dragon's Milk

Hellcat

Burial

Lop Garou

Zombi

Seance

Darkness

Black Phoenix

The Hesperides

Noir

Bordello

Lady MacBeth

Sacred Whore of Babylon

Harlot

Lightning

Belladona

Tempest

Depraved

Hurricane

Entropy

 

hmmmm.....do you think some of the strong one's I've chosen could be diluted with apricot oil to dimenish their "range"?

 

Snake Oil sounds so lovely but I'm really wary of anything too strong.....I work in a fisheries ecology lab with alot of rugged outdoorsy types whose favorite scents are probably beer and barbaque sauce I love the folks I work with but I feel like I can't be too girlified (I wore earrings the other day and they wanted to know what I was "dressed up" for...hee hee) or they won't take me seriously. But I still like to smell nice....but just not "perfumy".

 

Another question - I have a major crush on a guy I work with...which scents do men love?

[Vicious Mistress]

I work in agriculture too and here's my advice. Be yourself. Be girly if you want to. The guys will tease you at the beginning, but they do need to see you as female and not just one of the guys.

 

As for which scents guys love, it depends on the guy, unfortunately. Just wear what you like and what seems like you.

 

I personally love Tempest and Lightning, but I wear them on hot, muggy days when I want to feel and smell fresh. I don't think I'd snag a guy wearing them, but I feel better, and therefore the guys around me feel better because I'm my usual sweet self and not some sweaty, cranky woman-beast. Then again, some guys like fresh ozone-y smells on a girl. Clean is good.

[Morrighana]

There was a post around here somewhere about which scents had the greatest effect on the sexes (of all scents, not just BPALs) and the thing that I remember being the most effective with guys is the foody scents.

 

From your list, I'd say that Dana O'Shee, O, Snake Oil (this one I can personally back up, as I've tried it and it really gets noticed!), Hellcat, and possibly Black Phoenix would be the ones I'd reccomend you try first for this purpose. I don't know all of the scents' notes offhand, though, so there may be a couple that you can add to this list.

 

Basically anything that smells like food gets a nice nose-to-groin response!

[feline.by.design]

As of now, I've found my niche in light, citrus, crisp scents. Here are the ones I've tried and liked:

 

Baoban Sith - crisp apples galore

Jabberwocky - a tricky scent but one I really enjoyed

Cheshire Cat - made me purr

Hakkotsu - the first scent I fell in utter love with

Succubus - very orangy, loverly!

Kumiho - this scent is very green and sharp

Embalming Fluid - sweet lemony tarts

 

Hope this helps.

 

-doreen

[fairywingmaker]

A light beautiful scent that I'm in LOVE with right now is Luna. Maiden is also very light. (if you're looking for light and lovely scents to try) I love Bordello too, in fact it was my first BPAL oil that I tried, and fell in love with.

[theshapeshifter]

An online friend of mine is intrigued by BPAL, but she's got a five-week-old daughter and doesn't want to overwhelm the baby with strong fragrance.

 

Any suggestions of some oils that are pretty, but not so intense?

[Macha]

Pele.

 

I hear the Maiden and the Unicorn are both gentle and soft, but I haven't tried them.

[scarlet]

The Dormouse is the gentlest BPAL I've tried.

[Penance]

Pele is a good suggestion.

 

I find White Rabbit, Snow White (if you can get it) and Dorian to be soft and comforting smelling, too.

[Julilla Regina]

I found Veil to be really gentle and pretty. I think it's nicely understated.

[VorpalBunny]

Dana O'Shee is nice and light and sweet and almondy. I think it would be a lovely new mom scent.

[Jessica]

Kumiho in a pretty light scent. Fresh and a little lemony. It doesn't have a very long staying power, though.

[Merteuil]

I second the Unicorn and the Dormouse for gentleness and fresh prettiness. Gotta love the Mad Tea Party scents.

 

I found Veil, though interesting and nice, to be quite an intense and sometimes sharp floral with the sandalwood and lavender in there.

[sacred_poetry]

I agree, the Dormouse is definatly a very light and fresh scent. Not very lasting, though, but maybe that's not such a bad thing.

Dana O'Shee might be interesting since, although it doesn't really work on me, I've always though it smelled rather like baby skin...

[babykitty]

I associate Alice & Dragon's Milk with newborns. Dorian would be good too.

 

My husband puts up more of a fuss than either of my daughters--

[judas_kiss]

I'm about to become a mom again for the third time and I would also highly recommend Dana O'Shee (I'll be taking an imp with me to the hospital) due to the lack of floral abundance as well as the fact that it is light and very sweet. Also, the milky-honey-grainey smell is very comforting and stays close to the skin .

 

I would be very careful of gifting floral scents as newborn babes can have allergies (esp if exclusively formula fed) that mom doesn't show sign of, as they have not had time to build up their immunities. I've read that quite a few people on the forum have allergies to roses.

 

Good luck, and let us know what you decide!