Apple

Ginger ale! In the imp and even more so on my skin, I get fizzy, sweet, ginger ale! I'm trying to sniff out the other notes, but I'm not getting anything reminiscent of the dirt or leather or cloves that I'd hoped for. But that's okay, because I'm also not getting any cumin or dried blood, and amazingly, the cinnamon is not amping on me. The ginger is what is loud and clear, with an effervescent quality that tickles my nose delightfully. The longer I leave it on, the more I can smell just a hint of a clean-yet-slightly-plasticky note lurking underneath that suggests juniper and that brings to mind Twenty-One and Visiting the Temple of Auspicious Fortune Alone on the Winter Solstice. Thankfully it doesn't turn to full-on plastic the way Twenty-One does; it just stays clean and sparkling like Visiting the Temple of Auspicious Fortune. It's not what I expected, but I love it! ETA: Several hours into the dry-down, the spices emerge. I can see why some reviewers have described a somewhat masculine, cologne-type scent, although it doesn't quite cross over into that category for me. It's much warmer now, but still clean and zingy. Great lasting power, too.

I was so excited to see a decant of this in an incredibly generous package sent to me by the lovely tartchef! Cracking open the imp, my nose gets a big hit of black pepper, which is great! Upon deeper inhalation, I get a waft of something floral... and familiar... and not in a good way. Then I notice the color of the oil, which is orange-y and looks like it might contain one of my nemesis-notes, dragon's blood resin. I resist the temptation to look up the notes and instead forge ahead, applying a dainty drop to my hand. I sniff, and... ... peppered lilacs. Dragon's blood strikes again. Instead of a fierce, fiery scent, I get a fiercely overbearing grandmotherly scent. *sigh* Still, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to sample this one.

Here are some other threads you might be interested in browsing: Woods~, From oiled banister to creaking pirate planks Forest and Woods Scents (with & without evergreens) The most natural or lifelike scents?, forest, earth, rain, water, grass, moss and so on... no floral, no sweet, no food, but not masculine either? I want to smell like dirt! Dirt, Earth, Soil recommendations You'll probably need to do some layering to get the effect you're going for, but you might like: Aureus (Bewitching Brews) - True, perfect golden light, refined into an incomparably glorious scent. Smells like the lumber section of Home Depot. Danse Macabre (Ars Moriendi) - Black cypress with oakmoss, frankincense, oude, and a sliver of toasted hazelnut. The cypress made this a little sharp and medicinal on me, but you might like it. Mandrake (Rappaccini's Garden) - no scent description Smells like faint cedarwood essential oil. Omen (Bewitching Brews) - Deep, mysterious, and full of dark portents: oakmoss, juniper berry, myrrh and patchouli. Robin Goodfellow (Illyria) - Dark musk, moss-covered wood, ragwort, heather, and sage. Sri Lanka (Wanderlust) - Indian sandalwood and cedar, and the dry incense smoke of olibanum, gum mastic, patchouli and myrrh. A very dry, woody scent, with just a hint of green and an almost-citrus zing. Ulalume (Bewitching Brews) - Starry white lilies lend an eerie brightness to the deep black wooded scents of cypress and oak, layered with a touch of crushed dried leaves and the faintest aquatic note. The lilies in this ended up amping on me, making it too floral. Before that, it smelled very fresh and natural - might work better with your skin. These are all general catalogue scents that are available in imp-form from the Lab. If you want to try to swap for or buy decants of limited edition and "unimpable" (e.g., Salon, Gaiman, Carnaval Diabolique) scents, I would also recommend: A Blade of Grass (2008 LE) - Autumn leaves scattered among blades of grass. Fresh-cut grass. The smell of summer outdoors. Badger (2008 LE) - Warm earth, deep-reaching roots, dark myrrh, galangal, and Atlas cedar. Very similar to Graveyard Dirt, with a bit of cedar. Graveyard Dirt (2005 LE, resurrected 2008) - Pure graveyard dust, spattered with grave loam and dusted lightly with tombstone moss. Humid, mossy, and mushroomy. Luperci (Lupercalia LE) - Raw, down and dirty patchouli, Gurjam balsam, and essence of Sampson Root sweetened with the heightened sexuality of beeswax, virile juniper, oakmoss, ambrette seed over honey and East African musk. Meditation in Autumn (2008 LE) - A desolate scent, dusty, bleak, and withered: old wood, burnt brown sandalwood, and twisted vines. October (2007 LE) - Dry, cold autumn wind. A rustle of red leaves, a touch of smoke and sap in the air. This is actually a very bright, fresh, green scent. Samhainophobia (2006 LE) - Menacing Haitian vetiver, patchouli, and clove with a shock of bourbon geranium, grim oakmoss, and dread-inspiring balsams pierce the innocuous scent of autumn leaves. Very similar to October. ETA: I forgot about Yorick! Yorick (Illyria) - Grave dirt, bone, decay, angel's trumpet, and moldering scraps of shroud: the essence of finality.

I definitely understand why many yogis ask that you not wear scent to group practice (I'm sensitive to scent and have even been distracted by the strong scents of other people's deodorants!), but I don't think there's anything wrong with a teeny swipe that's just for you. I find Sudha Segara to be wonderful during yoga. It's very gentle and fresh - both invigorating and calming - and very non-intrusive. It's light and sticks close to my skin, so I don't have to worry that it's affecting someone else's mindfulness. One time I made the mistake of going to an afternoon yoga class with the remnants of that morning's BPAL still clinging to my wrists. The Candy Butcher was not a good choice... very distracting, and not in a pleasant way. You know, I've been doing this as well. It's very fresh and keeps me feeling clean, even when I'm literally drenched in sweat and dragging myself across the mats. I find honey to be extremely long-lived and good for counteracting sweaty funk, too. Bengal makes a great underarm deodorant, as do White Rabbit and Alice.

I also find that aged Sudha Segara smells like mild ginger tea... that's when I like it best! But when it's fresh, it's much more citrusy-zingy-assertive. That's interesting about Zephyr; I've heard that complaint about white musk scents sometimes, but it's not something I've personally experienced. I tend to amp anything sweet, vanillic, or "girly," though (much to my dismay). You could also try layering a vanilla scent like Mouse's Long and Sad Tale with something like Severin (pure bergamot on my skin) or Croquet...

I love Sudha Segara and agree that it is both citrusy (the ginger is very lemony in it) and creamy. Have you tried Zephyr or Alice? I get a lot of vanilla out of both: Zephyr (Bewitching Brews) - Lemon, lemon verbena, neroli, white musk, white florals, white sandalwood, China musk, bergamot and a drop of vanilla. Alice (Mad Tea Party) - Milk and honey with rose, carnation and bergamot. For a straight-up citrus + vanilla scent (it smells just like an orange creamsicle), try: Kuang Shi (Diabolus) - Mandarin orange, white musk, mango, and white sandalwood.

You know, it's funny that you mention smelling toothpaste... some BPAL vanillas end up smelling like wintergreen on me. Sadly, Dorian, The Illustrated Woman, and Love's Philosophy (and Inez, to a lesser extent) did that to me. I could definitely smell vanilla in all of them, but as they dried, this horrible minty smell would come out and ruin everything. On me, Mouse's Long and Sad Tale was a quiet, mellow vanilla. It didn't have much else going on, and so I found it a little too bland. That being said, you might like its straight-forward vanilla-ness. I found Lyonesse (Wanderlust; Golden vanilla and gilded musk, stargazer lily, white sandalwood, grey amber, elemi, orris root, ambergris) to be similar, just a gentle vanilla without much complexity. O was more powdery and just... not very nice to my nose. I should have included the caveat that I tend to amp vanilla, so your experience may be significantly different than mine. (Although I don't get vanilla from Snake Oil, either.) Are you trying to limit yourself to a single imp?

From the general catalogue, I would recommend: Dana O'Shee (Bewitching Brews) - Offerings of milk, honey and sweet grains were made to placate these creatures, and it is that the basis of the scent created in their name. Dorian (Sin & Salvation) - A Victorian fougere with three pale musks and dark, sugared vanilla tea. I didn't like this one, but it's a forum favorite and is definitely super-strong vanilla. Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener (Doc Constantine's Pharmacopoeia) - Sassafras, vanilla extract, oak leaf, CO2 butter extract, and onycha. Unfortunately, most of the super WHAM-POW vanilla/vanilla-spice scents that I would recommend to you are limited edition/unimpable: Illustrated Woman (Carnaval Diabolique) - Skin musk, smoky vanilla, pine pitch, patchouli, Indian resins, golden honey, and tobacco. Inez (Carnaval Diabolique) - Golden amber, vanilla musk, myrrh, cedar, carnation, and red sandalwood. Love's Philosophy (2008 LE) - Vanilla, saffron, and cream. Midway (Carnaval Noir) - Funnel cake, caramel apple, cotton candy, salt water taffy and sugar tart. This dried down to a vanilla candle smell on me. Saw-Scaled Viper (Carnaval Diabolique) - Snake Oil with cinnamon, cassia, and red ginger. On my skin, this goes on smelling like a super-spicy ginger cookie, but it dries to a glorious, edible vanilla. And I feel bad even mentioning this one, it's so hard to get (but so delicious!): Hod (Sephiroth, discontinued) - Glory and Majesty, Kokab, God's Judgement. It's a perfect vanilla-carnation scent.

I'm afraid I'm not familiar with Tyrian, but for soft floral/musky vanillas, maybe try: Black Opal (Bewitching Brews) - A play of geological darkness and jagged brilliance. Soft and luminescent with flashes of black fire. Lyonesse (Wanderlust) - Golden vanilla and gilded musk, stargazer lily, white sandalwood, grey amber, elemi, orris root, ambergris and sea moss. Zephyr (Bewitching Brews) - Lemon, lemon verbena, neroli, white musk, white florals, white sandalwood, China musk, bergamot and a drop of vanilla. These were all very vanillic on me, but a soft, gentle, non-foody vanilla. I personally found them rather bland and boring as a result, but they might be subtle enough for your husband to appreciate.

Black musk is rather loud on me and turns to baby powder. The blends that did this the most were (i.e., these were all powder, all the time): Dance of Death (Ars Moriendi) - Dry, bone-white orris, black musk, serpentine patchouli and our murkiest myrrh. Haunted (Ars Moriendi) - Soft golden amber darkened with a touch of murky black musk. Iago (Illyria) - Sinuous black musk, wet leather and vetiver. Since you're leery of patchouli and more traditionally masculine blends, I'd recommend Haunted.

Have you checked out the "Rose is a rose?, an inquiry into all note variants" thread? It might give you some clues...

I'm in the same boat. I love White Rabbit, but it doesn't smell like tea on me, and Dorian was just wretched. I was hopeful that Ichabod Crane would be the answer, but alas, no. And so the search continues...

Have you tried Amsterdam or Rosalind? Amsterdam (Wanderlust) - Tulips, peony, fresh flowing water and crisp green grasses. Rosalind (Illyria) - Dew-covered berries and fresh green grasses with a faint breath of spring flowers.

There was a BPAL package in my mail box today. I gleefully ripped it open and was immediately greeted by a very unpleasant aroma. I was a little surprised; none of the bottles I ordered should have smelled like that. It was a sickening sort of scent that reminded me of red musk and smelled a lot like Satyr, both of which turn my stomach. The Lab had generously gifted me with several frimps, and I hurriedly rifled through them to find the source of the stench. I spied two with that tell-tale red musk coloration: Loviatar and Lust. I'd tried Loviatar in the past and while I didn't like it, I didn't remember it being this foul. I picked up the imp of Lust and tentatively sniffed it... ...and almost lost my lunch. Even with the cap still on, the pungent combination of red musk and civet was too much to bear. A cloying sweetness overlaying a sweaty funk... grape incense covering up the scent of unwashed bodies and animal excrement wafting around a headshop... oh god. I feel bad writing such a negative review without even doing a skin test, but I can't even bear to have the imp in the same room with me. I'm actually considering throwing away the imp just so I'll never have to touch it or smell it again. I should qualify that I am a red musk hater, and ylang-ylang and civet are not my friends, either. If you enjoy strong red musk scents (e.g., Scherezade, Sin, Snake Oil, Vixen) or nag champa incense, or if you like the civet-y aroma of Satyr, I would encourage you to try this. I do so wish I got the super-sexy vibe so many of you seem to get! ***************** Edit: My husband also hates this one. I left the imp in my home office this morning while I went to work for the day. When I saw my husband in the evening, I mentioned that I had gotten a particularly nasty imp that was so strong that I couldn't be in the same room with it. He said he thought he smelled something unpleasant throughout the whole house today. I asked him if it smelled like hippies, and he nodded grimly and said, "Wet hippies."

This ended up smelling like a hybrid of Hurricane and The Music of Erich Zahn on me, which is to say that it smelled like charred wood with a citrusy edge, Play-Doh, and baby powder. It was... not so good. As always with any blend containing vetiver, the charred wood smell came roaring out first and foremost (I will forever be grateful to blood type thread for explaining why this happens to me - why yes, yes I do have Type A blood), although it stayed in the background on my husband. The citrus note (neroli) was present on both of us. The sandalwood smelled light and clean on him, but began turning powdery on me almost immediately, like someone was trying to put out a campfire with baby powder. Underneath it all, I could smell a weird Play-Doh note on both of us. Eventually the vetiver died down, and the scent became sort of a powdery clean one, but rather strong. I tried this right before bed, and the next day the scent was entirely different but still quite strong. It was much more fresh and dryer sheet-like. I found this stage more pleasant, but not so engaging that I'd be willing to wait through several hours of charred powder. It was much more successful on my husband, but I didn't love it on him either.

The description is "Dewy grass, summer breezes, and dandelion clocks." Muchas gracias!

I'll second the Roadhouse and Fairy Wine recommendations: Fairy Wine (Stardust) - An ethereal vintage, steeped with dandelion, honey, and red currants. This one is sweet, but the dandelion note is very prominent, especially when wet. Roadhouse (Sin & Salvation) - Weedy dandelion and hops with a whiff of tobacco and hemp and a swirl of booziness. The tobacco is definitely leaf, not smoke. For the record, I do get a beer-y whiff from the hops. For limited editions, check out: One to Tie, Two to Win (2007 Dogs Playing Poker) - description currently unavailable The description appears to be missing, but it's supposed to be grass and dandelions, and it definitely nails it. Unfortunately, it's rather hard to get a hold of. The Passionate Shepherd to His Love (2008 Lupercalia) - Heather, clover, Irish moss, English ivy, tea rose, and carnation. This one should be easier to find. You might also want to browse these threads: Meadow scents!, Fresh grass with florals or something extra Fresh, green grass The most natural or lifelike scents?, forest, earth, rain, water, grass, moss and so on...

My favorite summer scents are: Alice (Mad Tea Party) - Milk and honey with rose, carnation and bergamot. Lovely for spring or summer, makes me feel clean and fresh. I can't usually wear rose, but I can wear this. Maiden (Ars Amatoria) - White tea, carnation and Damask Rose. Similar to Alice, but less sweet - more clean/sharp. Another rare rose blend that I can actually wear - it's the carnation that's the stand-out, giving it a green, crisp, almost peppery quality. Sudha Segara (Bewitching Brews) - Sweet milk and warm, healing ginger with a touch of golden honey and our blend of Ambrosia. The ginger in this is lemony, and it's a very light scent. Refreshing. Kumiho (Diabolus) - A sharp, biting blend of crisp white tea and ginger. Another one where the ginger is citrus-y. Very fresh.

*jealous* Where is the green-with-envy emoticon? Out of the gates, Eclipse is almost perfect, but it turns soapy and powdery on my skin very rapidly. I tried it on my clothes and it stayed better longer, but eventually it turned to soap there, too. So far, I'm having the best luck with a frimp of Dana O'Shee that I received in a swap. It's still not as potently almond as I would like (and a little too vanillic), but it's nice. I had tried it previously (fresh from the Lab, I think) and didn't like it - it was too sweet and sharp. I guess maybe aging helped mellow it? I still yearn for a long-lasting almond extract scent, though.

Uruk was hearbreaking on me... all nasty jasmine! Salomé, too. Yes, I have high hopes for Miss Lupescu and am hoping to score a decant at some point. Fingers crossed.

For your first request, I'd recommend sniffing out an imp of: Hell's Belle (Diabolus) - Oleander with wet, sweet mandarin, lush magnolia, a rush of deep musk and a touch of spice. It's languid and very "Southern". You might also try: Black Dahlia (Sin & Salvation) - Voluptuous magnolias strewn over orchid, star jasmine, black amber and smoky rose. House of Night (Ars Amatoria) - A sorrowful graveyard bouquet of somber blooms, funereal boughs, dismal green and laden with grief. Don't let the description put you off; it's actually very similar to Hell's Belle: a humid floral. I don't find it sorrowful or somber in the least. (Oh, and FYI - For tea olive scents, try searching using the term "osmanthus".)

I have the same problem and the same desire... I love almond! I've tried using almond-y scents in my hair or applying them to my clothes, but that only helps a little... that beautiful, delicious almond note is still so fleeting! Please do tell if you know of a blend where it stick around.

From the general catalogue, you might try: Cockaigne (Wanderlust) - Milk and honey, sweet cakes and wine. It was all butter on me, but most people get cake. Lyonesse (Wanderlust) - Golden vanilla and gilded musk, stargazer lily, white sandalwood, grey amber, elemi, orris root, ambergris and sea moss. I know it doesn't sound cakey (and I don't remember it smelling like cake the one time that I sniffed it), but I've seen several mentions of this smelling like vanilla cake. If you don't mind tracking down limited editions, I would recommend: Gunpowder (2008 Halloweenie LE) - Carrot peelings, hay, chaff, molasses, maple oats, red apples, stable wood, and musk. Carrot cake! At least at first. Then it gets a little oatmeal-y and finally turns a bit powdery and plasticky, but you might have better luck. Huesos de Santo (2008 Halloweenie LE) - Orange-glazed cake, dotted with anise seed, and filled with custard, set beside a bouquet of celebratory funeral flowers. Like Gunpowder, this can go a little powdery/plasticky on me (and I do amp the anise for awhile), but in the imp it is gorgeous orange cake. Vampire Tears (2007 Shojo Beat LE) - Wisteria, white grapefruit, neroli, green tea, jasmine, white ginger, honeysuckle, iris, and tonka. This one was an utter disaster on my skin, but a lot of reviewers indicate that it smelled like lemon cake on them. I've also heard/read good and cakey things about the following blends, although I haven't tried them personally: Knave of Hearts (Mad Tea Party) - Crushed roses and blackcurrant tarts. Monster Bait: Closet (2006 LE) - Bourbon blackberry buttercream over red velvet cake. Monster Bait: Underbed (2006 LE) - Cassia-caked cocoa coconut over angel food cake. For buttercream, you might give Hellcat a whirl: Hellcat (Diabolus) - Hazelnut, buttercream, honey mead, rum and sweet almond. And if you don't mind spices with your cake, go for: Saw-Scaled Viper (Carnaval Diabolique) - Snake Oil with cinnamon, cassia, and red ginger.

I don't use Lush or Villainess products, so I'm not sure what Honey I Washed the Kids or Canaan smells like, but I do think that BPAL's honey notes smell distinctively of actual honey. The one that I find to be the most "honeyed" is White Rabbit: White Rabbit (Mad Tea Party) - Strong black tea and milk with white pepper, ginger, honey and vanilla, spilled over the crisp scent of clean linen. It starts off a little weird (almost fruity-floral), but it dries to a lovely warm honey. I do amp honey, though, so your mileage may vary. Otherwise, you might try some of the limited editions suggested by ivyandpeony upthread, particularly: Hanerot Halalu (2008 Yule LE) - Olive oil, beeswax, and smoke. The beeswax note is very pronounced, warm, and honey-ish. And these two Stardust scents are crisper, sweeter (too sweet for me), and un-impable, but they might be worth tracking down decants to test: Fairy Wine (Stardust) - An ethereal vintage, steeped with dandelion, honey, and red currants. Lady Una (Stardust) - Honey musk, green tea leaf, blackberry leaf, vanilla bean, and fae spices.

The first thing that leapt to mind in the GC is Alice - have you tried that one yet? Alice (Mad Tea Party) - Milk and honey with rose, carnation and bergamot. A similar scent from the Carnaval is: Zarita, the Doll Girl (Carnaval Diabolique) - White carnation, iris, orange blossom, and sugared cream. I also find Dana O'Shee to be very similar to both Alice and Zarita, but I think that it might be too foody for you: Dana O'Shee (Bewitching Brews) - Offerings of milk, honey and sweet grains were made to placate these creatures, and it is that the basis of the scent created in their name. For something different, I would recommend Blood Kiss. It starts out with a blast of cherries and vetiver (the vetiver really keeps it from smelling like food on me), but it dries down to a creamy honey scent: Blood Kiss (Bewitching Brews) - Lush, creamy vanilla and the honey of the sweetest kiss smeared with the vital throb of husky clove, swollen red cherries, but darkened with the vampiric sensuality of vetiver, soporific poppy and blood red wine, and a skin-light pulse of feral musk. Others to consider: Athens (Wanderlust) - Voluptuous myrrh, golden honey, red wine, and sweet flowers. Hetairae (Ars Amatoria) - Golden honey, fiery patchouli, sweet fig and clove, and a blushing touch of ylang ylang. Jezebel (Ars Amatoria) - Honey, roses, orange blossom and sandalwood. Oh, and I forgot: No. 93 Engine (Steamworks) - Balm of Gilead, benzoin, frankincense, balsam of peru, beeswax, saffron, galbanum, calamus, hyssop, mastic, lemon balm, and white sage. The beeswax note in this one is divine and gives it an orange blossom honey-ish feel, especially when aged.