I've never found a scent I liked!

[Nilbog]

Hello! I'm looking to get recommendations for my next purchase and opinions on my most recent one. I'm trying to find a BPAL oil I enjoy (hopefully love), which has yet to happen.

Here are the scents I have purchased in IMPS and tested on my skin (all aged a year):

Aglaea

Snake Oil- Just puts me off with how intense it is and I barely get any vanilla.

Nephilim- The most offensive of the lot to me.

The Rose- Disappeared on my skin. It definitely smelled like a fresh cut rose but it wasn't for me.

Poisoned Apple

Croquet

 

Ü- Was ecstatic to find this at the mutter museum a while back but I was not interested in the scent.

 

​Recent purchase I have yet to receive:

TKO (took a risk purchasing the full size as I saw it compared to Lush's Twilight scent)

Eclipse

Jack

Miskatonic University

 

 

Did I make good decisions with my most recent purchase? Did anyone else have such trouble finding their favorite scent? Any recommendations opinions? I love sweetness and I honestly kind of want to smell like a dessert (I'm a Taurus you see). PS Fruit Loops are my favorite cereal and any recs for perfumes that smell like that are greatly appreciated.

I have also been eyeing mouse circus since it was released. Thoughts? The idea of cotton candy and popcorn is so delightful.

Edited July 6, 2017 by Nilbog

[Numanoid]

Reading reviews really help...and just an FYI, I have learned that imps can smell different than the bottle. Seems since the imp is clear glass, it can age/go odd faster than the amber bottles. Miskatonic U is a perfect example for me.. I LOVED it in the imp, so I got a bottle and it was so wrong on me!! Also, some scents get SO MUCH better with age...like Snake Oil. Let it sit in the dark for a couple months and then re-try it.

 

But when I first got into it, it was hard finding scents I likes. Been into BPAL for going on 7 years already, and honestly, not many GC scents work for me other than Snake Oil and Poisoned Apple. I seem to only like the LE scents. Everyone's chemistry is different, so that makes it hard as well.

 

BUT I have learned to try scents with notes that I might not normally like... and I have ended up LOVING them, due to what other notes are blended with it, but pretty much, all you can do is trial and error.

 

You will find your likes and dislikes and will get to know what notes work and what doesn't. I am a foodie lover, and, for me, the ones that work the best seem to be the Halloween and Yule scents, which won't start showing up until late September. So maybe keep an eye on those.

 

I think you made great first choices....but like I said, it's hit and miss and just depends on what works for you!!

Edited July 4, 2017 by Numanoid

[Nilbog]

Thank you Numanoid! I had no idea the imps could age faster! They have been in an opaque black makeup bag for maybe a year now. Also did your Miskatonic bottle ever smell right on you after aging?

[Blood onmy hands]

I'm also a Taurus and into vanillas and gourmands but also earthy, sensual, deep fragrances. If you like Twilight, I think you'll enjoy TKO. Jack can sometimes be a little too buttery and holiday-candle-esque to me, but lots of people love it.

 

There are so many bpals that it can be really hard to find your favorites. One thing I'd recommend when starting out is to focus on the general catalogue and avoid the limited editions for a while. There are a lot of gems in the GC and it's just more affordable than getting into the LE collecting.

Snake Oil isn't really vanilla-y on me either, but I'd strongly suggest trying Dorian. It's one of the most popular bpal scents and is a very nice, cool, sweet vanilla tea. Alice, O and Dragon's Milk are also very popular and lean towards being gourmand. Eat Me and Drink Me are the very sweet, straightforward cake blends. Shub-Niggurath is gingerbread cookies.

 

I've gotten a few variations of Mouse Circus. The first bottle I had smelled like vanilla ice cream and peanut butter cookies, but the second bottle is like vanilla, salty popcorn and pink cotton candy. Gobo is one of my favorites (Fraggle collection). From my review: "It's sort of like marshmallows, salted vanilla cream and tangy lemon and tangerine custard."

 

I don't like Snake Oil, but I do like the Snake Pit blends in the Carnaval. If you like chocolate at all, I strongly recommend checking out Boomslang. The Other Hot Chocolate in the Coralines is also a great cocoa scent.

And for my random recommendations, I suggest Voodoo and Sacred Whore of Babylon. They just smell very bpal, complex, mystical, and have a good dose of sweetness to them.

[Numanoid]

Thank you Numanoid! I had no idea the imps could age faster! They have been in an opaque black makeup bag for maybe a year now. Also did your Miskatonic bottle ever smell right on you after aging?

Well....and this is just me, but I don't have the patience to wait for a scent to age where I like it. I have to like it from beginning to end, so when it comes to, that scent, I look for the imps...that way I know I will like it. I am sure it would have, but when I test a scent from imp or bottle, I have to like it all the way through...beginning to end. Some people love their scents after waiting, but I am impatient in that area!

 

Most imps I have tried have been the same in the bottle, but that can be a big factor...just wanted to clarify. Reading reviews on scents I was interested in really helped me when I first started out... it can be overwhelming. SO many to choose from. But if you want recs, here are all my scents that I own, and I am mostly a full on foodie:

 

Snake Oil ( I love this fresh and aged)

Western Diamondback

Boomslang

Halloween in Las Vegas

Snake Skin

Yuletide

Bah!

Snake Oil Jelly Donut ( I love me my Snake Oil, can you tell?)

Snow White

Pumpkin V 2009

 

Not a huge collection compared to many other people, but these are my all time favorites!

[Pixie-elf]

For foody, I love Dragon's Milk. It's sweet and kind of incensey, but also candylike. It's great.

For Almondy, if you like Snowcake, you'll love Dana O'Shea. If you like honey, O is wonderful, and if you like Honey mixed with Almonds and Spices, Queen of Sheba is not just foody... it's GORGEOUS. It's a scent that I sniff of and think "Damn, I'm sexy!"

 

Mouse's Long and Sad Tale is also gorgeous, sweet, cotton candy and comforting. And Jiggery Pokery is Orange , Vanilla, Cotton Candy.

Good luck! <3

[Nilbog]

Thank you so much both!

 

Tania- I saw your mouse circus review and the peanut butter put me off but if that was just a fluke I may try a bottle. Also gobo sounds DIVINE! I had never even considered looking at the fraggle rock collection.

Edited July 8, 2017 by Nilbog

[LizziesLuck]

I think your problem is you haven't grabbed the right scents yet! Don't give up hope! If you want to smell like dessert, try the following, all available in the General Catalogue.

 

 

Dwarven Ale Brewed with fermented mushrooms, pumpkin rind, honey, and apple rootstock I kid you not, it smells like slightly earthy spice cake. YUM

Cockaigne milk and honey, sweet cakes and wine.

Nibble Nibble Gnaw sugared nuts, crushed candies, hot gusts of chocolate, cakes, pastries, sweet breads, and a cascade of candy tiles. (from the new addition to the American Gods collection)

skekNa the Slave-Master The essence of vile gluttony: an abundance of spices, sweet cakes, thick creams, and opulent liqueurs mixed with the scent of whip leather and rusted padlocks.

Eat Me Three white cakes, vanilla, and red and black currants

Halfling Porridge, kukui nuts, and pastry crumbs. It smells like oatmeal cookies, so yummy!

Dana O'Shee Offerings of milk, honey and sweet grains

Kill-Devil Sugar cane, molasses, oak wood, and honey.

Sudha Segara Sweet milk and warm, healing ginger with a touch of golden honey and our blend of Ambrosia

Bliss pure milk chocolate

You might be surprised and like Elegba coconut, tobacco and sweet, sugared rum. the rum is almost like caramel. Mmmm!

The Knave of Hearts Crushed roses and blackcurrant tarts

Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener Sassafras, vanilla extract, oak leaf, CO2 butter extract, and onycha. Dries to one of the best vanillas in the GC, with a hint of root beer, so good!

Eden fig leaf, fig fruit, honeyed almond milk, toasted coconut and sandalwood.

 

I really hope you find things to love! There are so many to choose from, it's hard for me to believe you wouldn't eventually find some! Good luck!

[alterosen]

I hope you like Miskatonic University - it smells like butterscotch on me

 

Eat Me is definitely worth trying, as is Dorian which has unfortunately been out of stock for a while now so it might be a bit hard to find, but I'm sure it'll come back eventually.

 

You might like Bengal which is a lovely spiced honey, or Morocco which is more exotic than foody but is very popular.

 

Hellcat is like a very decadent dessert (hazelnut, buttercream, honey mead, rum and sweet almond). It was too much for me but it might work for you.

 

Keep your eyes open for Sugar Skull (A blend of five sugars, lightly dusted with candied fruits), a limited edition Halloween blend which was offered a number of years, so it shouldn't be hard to find a decant on the Sales pages. Sweet with just a hint of fruit - I find it incredibly comforting.

 

Anything with marshmallow in the notes would be worth trying because it usually means a strong vanilla note, like Breathless Chuckle, Stekkjarstaur or Marshmallow Cookie Pie (all LE, sorry!).

 

I feel I should mention that the Swap & Sales pages are a great way to try a lot of things less expensively & to find ones that are not currently available as well as a good way to re-home the scents that don't work on you. It's also a good idea to post a wishlist in the appropriate thread because you never know what people might gift you in a package.

Edited July 5, 2017 by alterosen

[lejlkwiet]

Ooh yeah, I love foodie scents too! I don't think any of the scents on your list quite hit the mark if that's what you're looking for...I second the recs for Eat Me and Knave of Hearts. Dragon's Milk is also goregous and warm and sweet and creamy as a scent. Bordello is also very nice and fruity.

 

Then of course there are the LEs you might be able to find - Gingerbread Poppet, some of the recent Liliths (an old Lilith that is an AWESOME foody scent is Anne Beany), lots of the Yules and Weenies. Any of the Beaver Moons are guaranteed to be foody too. Sugar Plum Fairy is also lovely, there's a hairgloss of that currently up on the Trading Post.

[Nilbog]

Thank you! I'll have to look into swaps and sales. I have never tried that route. lots of good suggestions! I'm writing them all down

Edited July 5, 2017 by Nilbog

[vanilla323]

If you like foodie definitely try Dragon's Milk, it's amazing. Also give Bliss a try too. Those are awesome GC scents! 😋

[VetchVesper]

Hiya Nilbog!

 

I love the idea of foodie scents, but they rarely get along with my chemistry. That said, I've had great luck with Bliss, Dana O'Shea, Dragon's Milk, Stimulating Sassafras Strengthen, and Eat Me, which I think have all been mentioned. I own Mouse Circus, which smells like kettle corn on me. It is a teensy bit fake on me, but that's my chemistry, and it's still a delight to wear when I'm in the mood.

 

I also wanted to throw out -

 

Poor Monkey - a Yule LE, but probably not too hard to find. It's like a sweet, syrupy dessert with a snuggly incense. It's so soft and cuddly, it hard to imagine anyone finding it offensive.

 

Yemaya and Titania. These aren't baked good scents, but both are very sweet, fresh, fruity fragrances with soft floral undertones. Yemaya especially impressed me b/c I usually can't stand cucumber/melon scents, but Yemaya just takes things to a whole new level. They both have a mouth watering quality.

 

Good hunting!

[slyvanestra]

I'd definitely try Eat Me! I'm not a fan of many foodie things, but that was a frimp and I ended up loving it. Maybe it'll work out for you as well.

 

And if you like sweetish things, try the Doc Constantine's Sassafras Strengthener. Root Beer with dark vanilla and some herbaciousness. <3

[Nilbog]

I picked up a bottle of mouse circus on eBay just because the art on the front is so adorable. Coraline is one of my favorite movies, I hope I love the scent. Dorian and Sugar Skull are the other ones I am going to try and find.

 

I also just got my order in and TKO is everything and I like Jack as well though it is very peachy on me. I also purchased Gobo and Nibble nibble gnaw. I'm a little worried about the apple but it was described as "candied".

Edited July 9, 2017 by Nilbog

[kolibri]

It's funny that I ran across this topic while wearing Blackberry Jam & Scones.

[hushmesilent]

Hi fellow Taurus! I am also in love with sweet and fruity smells. Off the top of my head, I would recommend:

 

Dorian

Antique Lace

Tweedledee (Smells like Skittles or fruity candy)

Eden (Sweet, coconutty, almondy.. mm)

Alice (Sweet, but not cloying.. fresh, innocent, and creamy orange.)

 

and if you're into the hair glosses (or willing to be), I just tried Wednesday hair gloss and it smells JUST LIKE S'MORES. It is incredible. I would highly recommend it! I never got into Eat Me, it smelled odd for some reason on my skin. Hopefully this helps, let me think a little and see if I can think of any more. Happy smelling!

[Nilbog]

Hi fellow Taurus! I am also in love with sweet and fruity smells. Off the top of my head, I would recommend:

 

Dorian

Antique Lace

Tweedledee (Smells like Skittles or fruity candy)

Eden (Sweet, coconutty, almondy.. mm)

Alice (Sweet, but not cloying.. fresh, innocent, and creamy orange.)

 

and if you're into the hair glosses (or willing to be), I just tried Wednesday hair gloss and it smells JUST LIKE S'MORES. It is incredible. I would highly recommend it! I never got into Eat Me, it smelled odd for some reason on my skin. Hopefully this helps, let me think a little and see if I can think of any more. Happy smelling!

 

Hey, It's been a while since I posted this!

Stekkjarstaur is probably my favorite scent of all, I just wish it threw more. Its so close to the skin argh! I enjoy Antique Lace but it's not something I would worry running out of.

Right now I'm just looking for 1. more stekk 2. scents similar to stekk /haha.

[LizziesLuck]

 

Hi fellow Taurus! I am also in love with sweet and fruity smells. Off the top of my head, I would recommend:

 

Dorian

Antique Lace

Tweedledee (Smells like Skittles or fruity candy)

Eden (Sweet, coconutty, almondy.. mm)

Alice (Sweet, but not cloying.. fresh, innocent, and creamy orange.)

 

and if you're into the hair glosses (or willing to be), I just tried Wednesday hair gloss and it smells JUST LIKE S'MORES. It is incredible. I would highly recommend it! I never got into Eat Me, it smelled odd for some reason on my skin. Hopefully this helps, let me think a little and see if I can think of any more. Happy smelling!

 

Hey, It's been a while since I posted this!

Stekkjarstaur is probably my favorite scent of all, I just wish it threw more. Its so close to the skin argh! I enjoy Antique Lace but it's not something I would worry running out of.

Right now I'm just looking for 1. more stekk 2. scents similar to stekk /haha.

 

 

You might try Stale Sugar-Crusted Marshmallow Chick - it's a bit easier to find than Stekk and is a very similar scent.

[Nilbog]

Ohhh! thank you Lizziesluck. I'll check it's reviews and look into a bottle!

[Nilbog]

I feel like I have a pretty good grasp now on what BPAL I like. There are still a few rogue anomalies like Jazz Funeral. Seriously, not one of those notes sounds good to me, yet it's a winner.

Now I am looking for vanilla favorites. I seem to enjoy anything featuring it. My recent favorites are The Moon Reflected in Every Rice Paddy and TKO massage oil. And I did get a shot at Dorian but it's not for me or my husband. He seems to enjoy Wilde much more.

Edited February 12, 2018 by Nilbog

[VetchVesper]

I would definitely recommend you check out the scents on BPAL's vanilla imp pack if you haven't already. Dragon's Milk is hard not to like and I LOVE Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener, which smells like a good root beer float on me. I've also heard good things about Detestable Putrescence and Sachs for vanilla fans.

 

My favorite vanillas would be Edith Cushing (buttery vanilla) and Pediophobia (more dry vanilla). Hard to find, but well worth a sniff if you can. Small Brown Cat (cozy) and Torture Queen (floral with dry vanilla musk) are also lovely.

 

Also, if you liked TKO, try to get a hold of some 2008: Sugar Phoenix!

[Nilbog]

Ohhh thanks for the phoenix recommendation! I wouldn't be upset if a decant of Edith ended up in my grasp too haha. I'll check out Detestable and Sachs. Never heard of the latter.

[Larinessa]

I also put a vote in for Eat Me (definitely a fluffy white angel food cake with underlying note of fruit), if you like strawberry, Pink Lace is strawberry and Vanilla, many of the older box of chocolate scents are worth a look (Dark chocolate Cherry smells like a genuine cherry cordial),or hunt down a long discontinued imp of Gluttony.

[hroki97]

Vanilla favorites?

Where do I start?

Lyonesse, Zorya P, Pediophobia, Celeste, Mouse's Long & Sad Tale, Love's Philosophy and O to name a few

Capax Infiniti has a lovely vanilla. I would say The Serpentine as well, but that might be a little harder to find and more pricey

Edited February 7, 2018 by hroki97