Similarities Between BPAL Scents - GC and general discussion

[isyche]

I love Utrennyaya, but I don't think there's anything that's too similar to it scent-wise. Shattered had a similar sweet/light mint note on me, but it's not floral. Marie has rose and violet, but it's less delicate.

 

I tend to put The Apothecary, Rosalind, Baobhan Sith, Ode on Melancholy, Neo-Tokyo, The Dormouse, and Maiden in the same mental category of "light pale herbal-floral" as Utrennyaya, so you might like them.

 

ETA: Oh, also, Ingenue has the same fresh, light rose-violet thing, although it's super-rare.

Edited May 26, 2006 by isyche

[laurahcory]

OK, I've found my first BPAL love , and it's Baron Samedi. What scents would you all consider to be similar to that one?

[portalkat]

Okay, I am totally obsessed with Manila and have worn it every day since I got the imp over a week ago. I read the reviews on Eden and thought that I might like that too. Does anyone have any suggestions about what I might like if I love Manila?

[Beatrice33]

Portalkat -- it's been a while since I tried Manila, but The Hanging Gardens is also fruits and lush plants to my nose, like Manila. I think they might have a similar vibe.

[kmasden]

weirdly enough, scales of depravation and devils night are similiar to me, i have no idea why.

 

Regan and Santo Domingo...both have that creamy bottom that i love, though this year something in Regan makes me physically ill (which didn't happen all last year).

[HennaFairy]

i've come across a few now that really remind me of other scents, and i started making notes to compare two (or more) at one time to see what the differences are - so far my list is:

 

al-shairan vs seraglio (al-s. is less orange i think. it's been a while since i wore seraglio)

 

13 vs freak show vs velvet (mostly the first two, velvet starts off similar but dries down differently)

 

dragon moon vs holiday moon (same at first for me, dragon moon has cherry blossoms in dry down...)

 

queen of sheba vs the red queen (i know red queen is sweeter berry, but QoS's almond reads as cherry to me - so this is not so much as a dead match but which do i like better!)

 

 

there's more i can't think of right now... also there are a bunch of "summer garden at night" scents in my reviews, someday i'll pull those all out and try them against each other. (midnight, luna, evening star, perfumed garden.... although i gave luna away, i like the others better)

 

oh and alecto and kathmandu i find similar when dry (different when wet though)

[indicolite]

Khephra (Stations of the Sun: Midnight Sun) on me is quite similar to Haunted - but there is a subtle warmer edge and Khephra dries down spicier.

 

Dragon's Heart and Fallen I've confused in the dark, since they both go musk-musk-musk at the beginning - to me at least. On drydown they are fairly different, and Fallen wins by a slim margin. But then I am a lunatic where Fallen is concerned.

[skyeblue]

Hi all,

 

I just got some imps and have totally fallen in love with Swank

 

I seem to like that type of fragrance (light & fruity/citrusy), so can you help me by recommending other Bpal scents to try that are similar to Swank??

 

Thanks so much.

 

Edited July 6, 2006 by skyblue

[Blood onmy hands]

You might just want to try out some of the other 'boozy' scents. The Hamptons is wonderfully fruity and refreshing, and Twenty-One is another martini scent that's fizzy, citrussy, and cool with the juniper-ish bite.

 

They're all lovely and very different from each other, but in the same sort of category in my mind.

[Reinier]

I'll second Twenty One... Beth makes fabulous boozy blends!

 

I also love Grand Guignol (which layers beautifully with Swank), Elegba and Juke Joint.

[clovepod]

Dirty has a very clean scent, and Embalming Fluid is a good example of citrus, with a little warm white musk in the background.

[styro]

I seem to like that type of fragrance (light & fruity/citrusy), so can you help me by recommending other Bpal scents to try that are similar to Swank??

 

If Swank (which I've always found to be quite bold and bright) reads as "light" to you, then I'd guess you like a fair bit of intensity in your scents. Bearing that in mind, I'll suggest Xiuhtecuhtli for a complex summery citrus-floral and Bordello for a bright berry scent.

[TroubleDoll]

Persephone is a great fruity rose with that pomegranate note.

[modesty_blaise]

Aizen-Myoo reminds me a lot of Swank (and Twenty-One and The Hamptons) with the kinda sharp, refreshing citrussy feel

[smallvoice]

Eos and Red Devil were twins on my skin.

 

Arkham Revisited reminds me of Jailbait and Hamadryad, though I don't know if it could be duplicated by layering, as I think there are just notes that are similar from those two. Or I could be crazy.

 

Seduction reminds me of Numb, though I liked Seduction a LOT better. In turn, Hecate reminds me of Seduction, with Seduction winning out again. Hecate was fairly soapy on my skin.

[smallvoice]

As I am wont to do when anyone so much as hints that citrus is an agreeable scent, I must recommend Whitechapel. It's light and citrus-y and just wonderful.

 

I'd also recommend Moxie, though it isn't incredibly like Swank either, it has that same bubbly feel to it.

 

And I second Aizen-myoo and Embalming Fluid.

 

Another fizzy-fruity scent you might want to try is Thalia. Hmm. I'll have to think.

[Iona]

Another fizzy-fruity scent you might want to try is Thalia. Hmm. I'll have to think.

 

Have you considered Bon Vivant for fizzy-fruity? I've never tried it myself but it sounds perfect.

 

An effervescent blend of crystalline champagne notes and sweet strawberry.

 

I also second Persephone

It is the perfect scent if you are hunting down the pomegranate note.

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

Yep, Bon Vivant "feels" more like Swank than anything else I've tried--just as bubbly, slightly different sweet fruit note. Persephone is Swank + Rose, if what you like about Swank is the pomegranate rather than the "fizz".

[Katinka]

Another vote for Persephone (rose and pomegranate), and I'll throw out Megaera (grapefruit and plum, I believe) as another possibility.

[jewelbug]

I'm also a big fan of Voodoo (actually, it was my first BPAL love and still is my number one scent, lol). The only thing that I have found with that same cola scent that is in Voodoo is the voodoo oil, Love Me. But Love Me was also very cinnamony (actually smells like Holiday Spice Coca Cola on me), so it's still a very warm scent.

 

I'll have to give love me a whirl, then.

I just came across another oil that reminds me a bit of voodoo--Baron Samedi. It was very similar to Voodoo in the early phase, but then went pure almond smokey (on hubby's sking, at least, i haven't tried it on me yet).

 

I don't think I posted this yet, but I was trying on Bastet the other day, and it REALLY reminded me of Devil's Night--I don't get much almond from bastet as others were saying, but a lot of deep golden, smokey, musk. I don't really know what it was (maybe i'm nuts?), but everytime I sniffed it I thought of DN. With a hint of non-bubblegum lotus. I'll be needing some bastet for when my DN runs out.

Edited July 19, 2006 by jewelbug

[Mountaingrrl00]

Intrigue and Manila have a similar humid-wood-and-fruit-thing going on. I prefer Intrigue as I'm more into fig than banana.

[ajcj213499]

Libertine, Rome and Wolfsbane are all very similar on me (Libertine is my favorite of the three).

[blu°]

OK, I've found my first BPAL love , and it's Baron Samedi. What scents would you all consider to be similar to that one?

Late answer, but since nobody else did it: Port-au-Prince is very similar to Baron Samedi in my opinion.

 

Red phoenix was nothing like blood moon for me. Bloodmoon is sweet, red phoenix is pure incensey.

 

Similarly, Gypsy queen for me had a fruityness...while baghdad... is incensy. I seriously dislike baghdad but on the other hand would actually buy a bottle of gypsy queen.

 

The only GC scent that instantly reminded me of Gypsy Queen was Alice. They must share the exact same combination of florals or something. It's that combination plus milk and honey in Alice, and with romany incense and candle smoke in Gypsy Queen.

[yellowrose]

Discovered Golden Priapus is very similar to Tombstone. It's the slightly more manly kissing cousin.

[smallvoice]

Dude! I know I just said this on my review, but Port au Prince dries down to a spice that smells just like the spice in Shub! That is awesome.