Trying to branch out!

[sweetrose]

Hi!

 

So I've been doing some research on the fragrances that I tend to like best, and I've noticed a trend... These notes seem to show up a lot:

 

Patchouli

Musk

Rose

Geranium

Jasmine

Vanilla

Orchid

Pink pepper

Vetiver

Amber

Orange

 

I can easily go through the forum and the BPAL website and find lots of great scents that have these notes, but I don't want to get stuck just endlessly buying the same types of scents (cause I could totally see myself doing that- pretty much all of my non-BPALs have orange top notes, floral middle notes, and patchouli or musk base notes). Based on the notes that I know work well on me, what other notes or oils do y'all think I should look into? Basically, I'm trying to learn about what other notes work for me, but I don't know where to start.

 

I've tried just buying imps of oils that sound cool, and it hasn't really worked out. The things that appeal to me artistically or emotionally have so far not been things that work well with my skin chemistry!

[Haltija]

I could give you some of my suggestions.

 

Look into some oils with bay or bay rum as a note. They work really well on my skin and it's a note that fits into the ones you like at the moment.

Santo Domingo- An exotic, sultry blend of tobacco leaf, bay rum and heady Caribbean blossoms.

Jazz Funeral- (One of my all time personal favorites) Bittersweet bay rum, bourbon, and a host of funeral flowers with a touch of graveyard dirt, magnolia and Spanish Moss.

Lear- A regal, commanding scent, but poignant. White cedarwood, blue sage and bay leaf.

 

I also suggest looking into oils with plum or currant as a note. A lot of bpal plum blends are so deep and beautiful.

Kitsune-Tsuki- Kitsune-Tsuki are malevolent Japanese spirits, akin to western werebeasts: women are possessed by the spirits of foxes, who compel them to perform acts of wickedness and mischief. Asian plum, orchid, daffodil, jasmine and white musk.

Edited November 19, 2014 by Haltija

[dangerbunnygirl]

My suggestion for you is to try as many as you can, there have been a couple I thought would work great and didn't at all and some that were wonderful even though the notes listed didn't seem like they would work. Have you tried any from the beloved favorites category? Which ones have worked for you and which ones haven't?

[sweetrose]

So far, the #1 scent that smells heavenly on me is Rumpelstilzchen.

 

The only two that have really been terrible on me are Dragon's Bone and Catherine, which I got as frimps. They were soo bad on me.

 

Most of what I've tried are fine on me- just not awesome. I've tried Ranger (pretty much just patchouli and juniper on me), Elf (delightful- then gets soapy), Yorick (surprising works pretty well), Dragon's Milk (only smells like dragon's blood), Miskatonic University (holy coffee, Batman!), Coyote (it's pure amber on me), and a handful of Weenies and others.

 

Like I said, most of them are fine but not great... I guess I'm still trying to find my BPAL niche.

I could give you some of my suggestions.

 

Look into some oils with bay or bay rum as a note. They work really well on my skin and it's a note that fits into the ones you like at the moment.

Santo Domingo- An exotic, sultry blend of tobacco leaf, bay rum and heady Caribbean blossoms.

Jazz Funeral- (One of my all time personal favorites) Bittersweet bay rum, bourbon, and a host of funeral flowers with a touch of graveyard dirt, magnolia and Spanish Moss.

Lear- A regal, commanding scent, but poignant. White cedarwood, blue sage and bay leaf.

 

I also suggest looking into oils with plum or currant as a note. A lot of bpal plum blends are so deep and beautiful.

Kitsune-Tsuki- Kitsune-Tsuki are malevolent Japanese spirits, akin to western werebeasts: women are possessed by the spirits of foxes, who compel them to perform acts of wickedness and mischief. Asian plum, orchid, daffodil, jasmine and white musk.

I'll definitely look into these, thanks! Jazz Funeral sounds especially amazing!

[lady_pandora]

I could give you some of my suggestions.

 

Look into some oils with bay or bay rum as a note. They work really well on my skin and it's a note that fits into the ones you like at the moment.

Santo Domingo- An exotic, sultry blend of tobacco leaf, bay rum and heady Caribbean blossoms.

Jazz Funeral- (One of my all time personal favorites) Bittersweet bay rum, bourbon, and a host of funeral flowers with a touch of graveyard dirt, magnolia and Spanish Moss.

Lear- A regal, commanding scent, but poignant. White cedarwood, blue sage and bay leaf.

 

I also suggest looking into oils with plum or currant as a note. A lot of bpal plum blends are so deep and beautiful.

Kitsune-Tsuki- Kitsune-Tsuki are malevolent Japanese spirits, akin to western werebeasts: women are possessed by the spirits of foxes, who compel them to perform acts of wickedness and mischief. Asian plum, orchid, daffodil, jasmine and white musk.

 

Oooh, another good plum is Oya. Most of the notes aren't listed, but it's kind of "headshop with plum."

[cvelis]

The good thing is you have a list of notes that work on you, and do you also have a sense of what doesn't work? Here's a way to look at things:

 

Base notes: Patchouli, Musk (all kinds, or just some?), Vetiver, Amber

Floral: Rose, Geranium, Jasmine, Orchid

Food: Vanilla, Pink pepper

Fruit: Orange

So do all variations work for you? For example, I can do musks but not red musk. I can do earthy like frankincense but not a ton of vetiver. How about in the fruit category? Have you tried plum, strawberry, melon, peach, apricot, etc?

Like you, I also tend to love the spicy fruit musk, almost Asian blends, and I try very hard to break my singular love. :-) In fact, most of your notes are my top faves, minus jasmine & rose although in the right scent it works.

Here's some things that have worked on me and are very different from above but similar in vein to what you mentioned. I underlined the notes that you can give a try:

Oldies, hard to find

Selkie - The chill waters of the Orkney coast, tea-leaved willow, honey-touched Grass-of-Parnassus, sea aster, and Scottish Primrose.

Leo 07 - Egyptian amber, walnut bark, chamomile, frankincense, and saffron.

Agony of Heartache - Purple sage, red patchouli, blackberry, lemon blossom, and lime rind.

Diwali - Lotus root, mogra, mango, tamarind, cardamom, clove, almond milk, cashew, rice flower, coconut, supari, raisins, and incense crafted from aloeswood, red sandalwood, cedar, and spikenard

 

Newbies, easier to find

Black Lotus - Black lotus flower, amber, myrrh and sandalwood.

Mr Ibis - Papyrus, vanilla flower, Egyptian musk, African musk, aloe ferox, white sandalwood.

All Saints - Based on a venerable French pontifical incense blend: monastic frankincense and myrrh, Damascus rose, Russian gardenia, cassia, and lily of the valley wafting on a chill Autumn wind.

Ezekiel’s Phoenix - wild plum, North African saffron, frankincense, pomegranate, limonite accord, and golden amber.

Famine - Sleek black tea, tobacco leaf, frankincense, lilac, and white musk.

Les Bijoux - Skin musk and honey, blood-red rose, orange blossom, white peach, red apple, frankincense and myrrh.

Ave Maria Gratia Plena - Rosewood with Sicilian lemon peel, red Mysore sandalwood, pale musks, sweet mountain sage and a dusting of lily, night-blooming jasmine and orris.

Bewitched - blackberry, sage, green tea, wild berries and dark musk.

 

Good luck!

[sharkdiver]

So I guess a good start would be to know which oils you have tried, so I can suggest some that maybe you haven't tried.

 

Just form looking at your list, I would suggest:

 

White Rabbit

Vixen

Snake Oil

Haunted

Visions of Autumn III (current Weenie)

Coral snake (carnival diabolique - which should be coming back very soon)