Similarities Between BPAL Scents - GC and general discussion

[rosefaith]

Yes, Old Morocco has stolen my heart but my skin has stolen the scent.  Is there anyone that can recommend something similar to that sweet and spicy lover Old Morocco that has more power, more oomph?

Bummer! This is a minor tragedy, because Old Morocco is sooooo yummy. Other scents I can think of that have some similarities to Old Morocco are:

 

*Scherazade (slightly more floral and just a tad sweeter than Old Morocco)

*Snake Oil (you've probably tried this already, though)

*from the description, Queen of Sheba seems as though it might have some similarities. I haven't tried this one yet, but just received it today and will report back when I have some firsthand info for comparison.

 

Also, are you absolutely sure your skin has swallowed Old Morocco? I used to feel this way about Dana O'Shee, then gradually discovered that it was not actually the case. In the beginning, I could hardly smell Dana O'Shee on me, but others could smell it. Later I wouldn't smell Dana O'shee when I first put it on, but could smell it after it'd been on my skin for awhile. I wonder if this might be the case for you?...Also, sometimes scents smell differently/more/less on your skin at different times.

[babykitty]

Try putting some on a cotton ball & tucking it into the front of your bra. It finally occured to me to do this recently...Your cleavage will keep it warm & waft up to your nose, but the fragrance stays truer.

 

I wish I had done this before I swapped a bunch of imps away!

[Tesseljoan]

If you like Embalming fluid, you'll like Kumiho. Same with Zombi and Burial.

 

I think Lightning, Storm and Tempest fit into the same category, although they are notably different as well.

[Ina Garten Davita]

Delirium and Desire are similar. Desire is a sweeter version though.

[renaissancerouge]

To me:

 

Old Shanghai is very similar to Kumiho (crisp, clean, tea, ginger, water)

 

La Belle Dame Sans Merci is like a more potent Silentium Amoris (roses, soapy freshness)

 

I have a hard time telling Eclipse from Black Phoenix, both are very cherry almond cinnamon sweet to me

 

I could see comparisons as well between:

 

Undertow and Hurricane

Chypre and Ace of Swords

Old Port-au-Prince and Voodoo

 

But even with the similarities the scents aren't interchangeable...they were blended to capture an idea or character or mood and I haven't smelled any unsuccessful creations (pre- my freaky deaky skin)

[AllyKat]

My two faves thus far are Snake Oil and Hollywood Babylon.

 

Any suggestions as to what I should try next?

[allamanda]

Kabuki, Kali, O, Lust, Spellbound and Vixen.

 

Not quite as random as they look. Several contain Red Musk, as does Hollywood Babylon, which I usually means I will like the scents. Kabuki even has Cherry as well as the Red Musk. O and Vixen have a similar 'feel' to me as Snake Oil. They are all wonderful in my opinion.

 

Hope this gives you some ideas.

[ViolentKitten]

I love Snake Oil and Hollywood Babylon! Other ones I like are:

 

Dragon's Milk - Yummy sweet cherries with vanilla. The cherry is not too sweet or medicine-like at all. Dry down is musky and warm.

 

Fae - Gorgeous white light. The white musk mixes beautifully with the bergamot, heliotrope, peach and oakmoss.

 

Spellbound - Beautiful roses, kind of incensy...love this one.

 

Dana O'Shee - Warm, soft, and comforting. Smells just like dry oats with honey.

 

Velvet - sandalwood warmed by cocoa vanilla & a veil of deep myrrh - sort of woody chocolate on me, definitely velvety.

 

Lust - sexy red musk and with patchouli, ylang ylang and myrrh - love it

 

Imp - earthy peach - white peach, amber, golden musk and patchouli.

 

Tamora - soft and sensual floral peach w deep warm, vanilla bean.

 

Umbra – Dry spicy sweetness of cinnamon which goes a bit candy musk on me mixing with a gorgeous patchouli and cedarwood.

 

Fenris Wolf – Gorgeous unisex blend of rosewood, amber, red musk & red sandalwood. Sweet and dry.

 

Some of these aren't in quite the same vein as Snake and Hollywood, but definitely worth a try!

 

I agree with allamanda on the ones with Red Musk, quite a few of my faves have the gorgeous Red Musk! Fenris Wolf has it and uses it in yet another way to Spellbound, Lust and Hollywood.

[lorajc]

I love Snake Oil and Hollywood Babylon!

 

I also love Bordello, Maenad, Jester, Lolita, Golden Priapus, Eclipse, Haunted and O.

[miss apple]

I love Snake Oil. Never smelled Hollywood Babylon but I would recommend:

 

Kali - deep, flowery, chocolate but not foody

Velvet - rich chocolate scent but again, not foody

O - sweet, heady, honey

Regan (which is rapidly becoming one of my favorite scents)

Eve - honey and jasmine

Dana O'Shee - if you like almonds (this one kind of reminds me of Lush's Honey I Washed the Kids)

[Aurelius]

Imp smells very similar to Hollywood Babylon on me, and I love them both. Imp has more staying power on my skin, and Hollywood Babylon smells sweetly strawberry-ish. They both make me happy.

 

I can't help you with Snake Oil. I've never tried it, but I have an imp en route to me.

[ismene]

Maenad is even more strongly strawberry than Hollywood Babylon. I'd probably like HB much better if I hadn't tried Maenad first and been so crazy about it.

 

You might like Swank, too. I'll second the recommendations for O, Bordello, and Tamora.

[Effluvia]

I can't recommend O enough! Fae is glorious. Lolita is fabulous, too. Spellbound is wonderful, but much haughtier than Snake Oil. It's very formal smelling. (IMHO, anyway)

 

Another one I'm addicted to is Blood Lotus. It's red, velvety, luscious, smooth and irrisistable.

 

Glasya's another one I can't get enough of. It's warm, spicy and powerful in a very feminine way.

 

Lady MacBeth is red, juicy, tart and extremely delicious.

 

Haunted is almost pure amber with dark tinges. It's incredible, a must try.

 

Blood is another one I highly recommend...it's deep and heady and slightly metallic. It's very dark and very sexy and powerful.

 

And of course, there's The Almighty Black Phoenix, which is warm, sultry cherry rose deliciousness in a dark, sexy, velvety way.

[riddel]

Okay, so I'm love, love, loving Seance. Loving it. I'm thinking I might also like Ouija, Voodoo, and Zombi. What do you all think? Am I right on, or right off? Any others to recommend? BPAL is just way too much fun.

Edited August 13, 2004 by riddel

[minilux]

Seance is one of my favorites, too. Ouija and Zombi have rose in them (at least I think Zombi does) and rose is a big no-no for me, but if you like rose, then you should definitely try them. I saw your comments on Seance smelling like vintage clothing and I think if you like that aspect of it you will definitely like Zombi. Voodoo is a much wilder ride, I don't think there's anything remotely like Seance about it. At the moment, I've been really enjoying some Seance and Masquerade I mixed together. I also can't help thinking that you might like Perversion, as long as you're not totally averse to sweet scents, though I consider it quite restrained in its sweetness.

[Effluvia]

I've never tried Séance, but I can vouch for Voodoo being AMAZING. I can't imagine anything else being like it, though...it's probably the most fascinating BPAL I've ever tried.

[shadow]

Oh! I just tried Seance and really liked it too! I do get the same feel when I wear Ouija (that dry, dark Victorian sitting room vibe), unfortunately the rose in Ouija almost immediately takes over. Is there tea rose in that? Whatever kind of rose it is, we don't mix. In Seance the hazel comes out strongly after a bit, and the other scent that does that on me is Danse Macabre. But that one is much stronger and darker to my nose.

 

ETA: Danse Macabre also doesn't have the green or the age that Seance does.

Edited August 12, 2004 by shadow

[clover]

The Hesperides reminds me of an appley Seance. They have similar drydowns, to my nose - they both remind me of fallen leaves. (and I love them both)

 

Also, if you like Seance, you might like Rakshasa, too. They have a sort of similar dry golden woody feeling.

 

As for Zombi and Voodoo...I like both of those very much, but I don't really see any similarities to Seance. Zombi is practically pure dirt on me, and Voodoo is really hard to describe...I would definitely recommend ordering it though. It's one of my favorites.

[viciousviolet]

You might also like Cathedral, Shadow, or Anne Bonny.

[minilux]

You might also like Velvet. I just tried it for the first time the other day and it was amazing. Once you get past the initial blast of cocoa powder, it morphs into the most amazing warm scent. It only vaguely reminds me of seance in thes sense that it has a sweet, creamy aspect to it that is not foody at all. It's a very mellow, warm sweetness.

[Anita_Blake]

I got to the point where I couldnt tell the difference between Dana O Shee and Alice unless I put one on each wrist and got the boy to smell them an hour later

 

That was about the point I thought to look at the labels...

 

*oopses*

 

But they are very similar though - I'd say Alice is a bit lighter and less 'milky' - more honey notes.

 

Wanda and Bordello remind me a bit of each other, but only in the bottle.

[Ina Garten Davita]

Fae and Tamora are very similar on my skin. I love them both. I also find that Veil and Le Serpent are similar and work very well on me as the only violet blends that I can wear. And Imp and March Hare are similar. One is my ultimate room scent and the other smells sooo good on me.

[pekeana]

O and Le Petit Mort are very similar on me and in the vials. The differences seem to be slight.

 

At least to me.

[sarahjay]

can anyone tell me if black rose & spellbound smell similar?

 

thankyou

[Alice Aforethought]

Not really, Sarah - Spellbound is more musky and smooth, whereas Black Rose is sweeter, darker and more floral. They do have the rose note in common, obv, but in Spellbound it's a lot more subdued. They are both very lovely though. Hope that helps!