voodoobaby

You might try La Petite Mort. It's fairly musky, but I definitely smell both the ylang ylang and myrrh. It's very pretty and sweet.

Update: OK...prepare to be weirded out. I just received an enormous swap package, including an imp of A Bold Bluff. And yeah, that's it. I don't know WHAT could possibly be in it that makes it smell like the interior of those temples and the Holi powders, but it's there. The only thing I can think of is tobacco? Is fresh tobacco used in Hindu worship at all? I am confused, but happy. I've found a new favorite scent. Oh, and the more I smell it, the more I am likening it to some kind of spicy note in nag champa after all, but it's still definitely very different. It's more like the nag champa perfume oil I got my mother for Christmas than the actual incense, and even then, not so much. Also, maybe it's not floral? It's so hard to tell. Again, I'm confused.

Thanks, everyone, for all the suggestions! My wishlist just got a mile longer. I saw that nag champa was a common suggestion. Actually, I've been burning that incense since I was about 13, and while it's one of my favorite scents ever, it's not what I'm looking for. The Hindu temple smell I'm thinking of is a lot less earthy than nag champa...I'm starting to wonder if it is a type of rose. I will check out neem, though -- that could possibly be it.

Cucumber! Yes, cucumber. Plain and simple. OK, call me crazy, but for a brief period I thought I detected...ambergris? That was weird. I don't know. I still think it kind of smells like it. The main point is cucumber, though. This would be lovely on a spring or summer day spent outside, and it smells delicious, but I'm not sure if I'd like to wear it or not as it's not really "me". I might wait until the warm weather comes around before I decide.

This is one of the sexiest scents I've ever smelled...and I've smelled quite a lot. It's one of those second skin scents, only it does border a little on perfumey (which I like). Upon first applying it, I get patchouli? Something earthy at least, but it doesn't smell like BPAL's patchouli. There's also a ton of red musk, which again doesn't smell quite like the red musk in other blends. It really does smell like skin somehow. I get a whiff of fruitiness every now and then, but it's not constant. The vanilla remains in the background, rounding everything out and making it sweeter. It's the musk and patchouli that really make it explode with sexiness, though. And it lasts! And the end result is amazing! The next day, I was pleased to notice that I still smelled of it, only it had morphed into the exact smell of incense lingering on your skin and in your hair. I didn't think that could be reproduced. I am extremely impressed. This is definitely a new favorite; I'm actually considering a big bottle, and that's unusual for me after getting a decant. Absolutely delicious.

Black Lace is a very clean, sweet scent. To me, it smells almost floral, but not quite. I think that's the cotton. The musk is fairly prominent, and it mixes with the vanilla scent very nicely. I only catch the tobacco very lightly, and only if I sniff really deeply. I do get an incensey smell, but again, it's mixing with the cotton/vanilla/musk combo fairly seamlessly. Oddly enough, this strikes me as very exotic, and also quite comforting for some reason. It's not typically something I would really like because it's so clean-smelling, but I definitely do anyway. Mmm.

First things first: THIS SMELLS LIKE NAG CHAMPA! Nag champa and sweetness and sandalwood and deliciousness. With perhaps a bit of an ambiguous spice...and there might be something slightly floral, I can't really tell. It's sooo nice. Kind of dusty or powdery, but still very sweet and earthy. I definitely get more incense out of it than cake, but the foodiness is definitely there. However, All Souls is very light, so if I want to positively reek of delicious Indian incense (which I do) I'll have to slather. But it is sooo nice, and is definitely a new favorite resiny blend for me.

In the bottle: Sweet, yet sharp. Hmm. This is kind of intimidating. Wearing: Immediately I get a giant whiff of pomegranate candy (the latter part is probably the honey), mixed with a hint something that smells kind of like BPAL's opium note. It smells lovely. Then I sniff it again and I get sunscreen. WTF? Well, it's not unpleasant at all. It reminds me of summer a lot. I think maybe I'm getting a hint of cinnamon, too, but I can't be sure. This is a lovely blend despite the weird sunscreen smell. I like it a lot.

In the bottle: Black musk and...some kind of sharp, ginger-like spice. Hmm. Not sure I have much to say about this. Wearing: Uh. Eh. Something about this reminds me of Schwarzer Mond, and how it went straight to the burning tires scent on me. I don't think it's the opoponax, because most blends with that note in it work on me. I think maybe it's the mixture of the musk and the tamarind. It's a very powdery-yet-deep, bittersweet scent...with tires burning in the middle of it. Ugh. Other than what I've mentioned above (even then...) I can't pick out any notes specifically. All I know is that this is NOT working with my chemistry. I suspect it would be lovely on the right person, so away it goes.

OK, so...I wore Imp yesterday, and my boyfriend loved it. He kept telling me how nice I smelled (which he usually says, but unless he's especially impressed, he doesn't usually tell me more than once), and kept kissing my neck a whole lot where I had applied it. I certainly wasn't complaining. But then again, he LOVES patchouli, so it probably could have been any blend with that in it.

Maybe I'm totally crazy, but I wouldn't hesitate to suggest Machu Picchu. It doesn't smell exactly the same (or probably even close to the same), but it gives me that same impression of light, airy fruitiness that I get from Neo-Tokyo. The strongest differences I smell are that Machu Picchu isn't quite as green or clean-smelling as the other (also, the amber is fairly strong, so keep that in mind). You might try it, though.

In the bottle: Holy crap, that is whiskey! It reminds me of doing shots of cheap whiskey with these three random guys at a party and proceeding to dance the night away, while my other friend put a large orange traffic cone on his head and started doing the robot in the middle of the room. Yes! That's how evocative it is. It kind of stings to smell it, but not in a bad way...I expect this will smooth out a lot upon application. I can definitely smell the oak underneath, too. On the skin: Yup, it smoothed out. And it is so nice. There's just barely a bite from the whiskey, and the oak has taken center stage. It's kind of sweet. The more I wear it, the more I catch a whiff of...clove? It's not as strong as straight clove oil smells--it smells like I have a bracelet of whole cloves around my wrist, and their scent has worn down a bit with age. That's unexpected, but very nice. I like it a lot.

Snake Oil with blood orange, red apple, lemon peel, plumeria, and gardenia. In the bottle: Apple, with a bit of a soapy floral thing going on. Wearing: Apple! Apple, and little else. As it dries, I get a whiff of plumeria, but that's it. I don't smell citrus, I don't smell Snake Oil, all I get is the apple and plumeria. It's very pretty and not unpleasant, but definitely not me, and anyway, I think Hesperides is enough to whet my appetite for apple any day.

In the bottle: Ooh, that is NICE! It's very masculine and cologne-y, but not screamingly so. I think all (or at least most) men should smell like this. Wearing: Uh. Oh. Wow. As soon as it hits the skin, it goes from quiet and thoughtful to explosive and, well, insane. Unhinged is a bit of an understatement. It feels like there's something...wrong with it or something. I get a really bizarre feeling from wearing it, but I kind of like it. It's unsettling in the best way, and certainly not unpleasant to my nose. I think the neroli adds to the unsettling bit--I can smell it jumping out from the rest of the notes, and while it feels out of place, it still smells terrific. As an observation, have you ever seen Jacob's Ladder? Remember the one scene with him being wheeled on a gurney to the hospital room, and there's a series of mentally unstable horrors going on around him? That's the image I get from wearing this (weird, right?). That said, I love Jacob's Ladder, and I really like this blend. I want to wear it out and see what others say, which won't be too hard because the throw seems to be fairly strong. Props to Beth for conjuring up such an evocative scent.

In the imp, I smell a profound boozy and very, very strongly medicinal scent. It...ugh. To be honest, I retched a little upon first sniff. This is the first time I've never made it past the imp. Something about the way it smells in the vial brings back unpleasant feelings or memories or something. I'm really, really, really doubtful about wearing this. I might try it before I take a shower because I've seen other reviewers say it smells a whole lot better on than in the bottle, but I'm going to have to work up the courage to do even that. Maybe I'll get back to this review later, but for now, those are my feelings on the blend. ETA: I finally tried it on my skin, and yeah, it does change a lot. It actually smells quite pretty on. I do get the tea scent that others have mentioned. It smells like honey with a generous helping of cassia sprinkled on top, with a drop of citrusy tea. I can appreciate cassia for what it is, but I'm not the biggest fan, and that's definitely the dominant note here. Thus, I think I will still swap this out, but I'm glad that Death of Sardanapal and I could part on a friendly note.

In the bottle: Uh, wow. This is...strong. And floral? Where did that come from? I'm pretty sure I smell some kind of lily. Wearing: I was hoping this would get better on the skin, but I don't think it has. For a little bit I get a hint of something sexy and spicy, but it's still overpowered by the floral smell. A second after sniffing it I get a remaining hint of honey, which is odd. For the most part, this is really really sweet, and my skin is turning it to rubber bands like it often does blends with creamy notes (it must be the caramel). It does smell exotic. It's just way too sweet and floral on me, and my skin is otherwise not doing pretty things with it. It will go to someone who will appreciate it.

In the bottle: Nosegasm alert! It smells sooooo good. It's juicy, creamy coconut with a little bit of tartness from the aquatic notes. Oh wow, I need this injected into my veins now. Wearing: It's basically the same, only creamier. The longer it stays on the skin, the more the aquatics fade. You can still tell it's there, though. I admit that there is a hint of a plasticky smell that I got from blends like Snow White, but it's very faint and unnoticeable, so it doesn't bother me. This scent is so refreshing and summery and soothing, I really want to drink it. But because that's a bad idea, I think I'll just wear it all summer long and feel pretty and tropical. Edit: It's been over a year since I wrote this review... Either this one doesn't age well, or I just didn't pay enough attention to the drydown last time. It still smells lovely when first applied, but after a few hours it takes on this weird stale smell...it's hard to describe, but I got a much stronger, grosser whiff of the smell in Cockaigne after a few hours. As much as I love it wet, I think I'm going to have to trade it off.

In the bottle: Wow, perfumey! And very masculine. And just slightly spicy. Ooh. On the skin: OK, call me crazy, but this smells a whole lot like Noir to me. I think they must share a similar note--it has that same slightly sharp, old perfume smell (opoponax, possibly?). It does smell kind of clean, but not quite. It's hard to describe. The impression I get from the blend is of a drag king from the 1940s, if one ever existed at that point. It's masculine smelling on the surface, but at the heart of it it's clearly feminine. Definitely a "me" scent. Again, at least the way it smells with my skin chemistry, I strongly recommend Ozymandias to those of us who mourn Noir's passing. Edit: I decided to test Ozymandias and Noir side by side. In comparison, Ozymandias is definitely cleaner, dryer, more masculine, and a whole lot lighter. However, I still think they must have at least a couple of notes in common. I'm thinking opoponax and rose here. Eh. Maybe. Also, anyone else love Gonesh No. 6 incense? I'm smelling a hint of that in Ozymandias. *loves*

From the bottle: Wow, that smells good. Soft vanilla and a touch of floral. It almost has a candy-like feel to it. Wearing: The vanilla gradually fades a whole lot, and I'm left with a bit of powder, violet, and a hint of something lemony fresh (linen?). I usually love violet, but this is just a wee bit powdery for my tastes. It kind of messes with my sinuses, oddly in the same way that fabric softener does...so if you're looking for violets strewn across a freshly dried bed sheet, this is definitely the blend for you. However, that's not exactly what I'm looking for, so this will go to a loving home elsewhere.

My best guy friend (and mutual crush) is a huge fan of BPAL's patchouli. So far he's given me a lot of positive feedback on Anne Bonny and Luperci, and to a lesser degree, Mantis (which is more musk and herbs on me). Also, my other best guy friend has given me compliments when I've worn Noir and Blood Kiss. My boyfriend is less responsive to perfumes, but in the past he's liked Circe and Ace of Pentacles, as well as Bordello (which I think I mentioned before).

Upon application I get a buttery chocolate scent. It's more along the lines of Vice than Velvet to me, but still not that. The chocolate really comes out after a few minutes, but somehow the pumpkin goes a little sharp. I don't feel that that blends very well with the creamy chocolate scent. However, after a bit, both the chocolate and pumpkin mellow down (though they're still there) and the nutty smell comes through. I can't say I've ever sniffed a walnut, but I do recognize hazelnut. At this stage, it's quite nice. Yummy. However, that's the thing--I don't want to smell like food, and I can't justify using a LE imp as a room scent. So yeah, swapping it.

First going on, it's nice, buttery pumpkin and sandalwood. The pumpkin fades a bit, leaving the incensey smell of sandalwood and something sharper (has to be orris). But then...OK, call me crazy, but cinnamon? I most definitely smell cinnamon, on top of a pumpkin note. Hmm. I liked it before, but now I'm not sure as it's gone a little bit potpourri/craft store for my liking. I think I still like it, but I probably won't wear it, so I'll give it to someone who will. Edit: This is weird. In its later stages, it smells hot. Like, really. It smells like Red Hots that have been baking in the sun for a few hours. If I could get just that Red Hot smell all throughout rather than the incensey or potpourri smells beforehand, I would totally keep it. Oh well.

Iambe is mainly florals and tea on me. These are big, white flowers that remind me of summer. But then I think that that association might be that it kind of smells like an Avon perfume I smelled over the summer. I think the amber in the background mixing with the dominant notes might be what's giving me the impression of an old lady trying to smell young. This one is just a wee bit perfumey and floral for my tastes.

Arrr! Avast ye, matey! This be the scent of pirate rum! In the bottle, Grog is deliciously buttery, with an alcoholic kick behind it. Mmm. I want to drink this. For a while on the skin, I get pure yumminess, and the throw is lovely for a long time...but unfortunately, after it sits long enough, I get the sad result of what happens to many ultra buttery scents--burnt rubber bands. I get that smell sniffing directly from the arm, but even the throw after a while ends up smelling like latex gloves. Darn. Off it goes.

In the bottle, I smell a lot of green tea and jasmine, and some lemon. Wearing it at first, I get mostly green tea for a minute or two, and then a big blast of lemon, and then a little later it's jasmine and some creamy neroli goodness. It's very pretty. However, it's a bit too similar to Shanghai in my mind--like a sweeter, stronger spring version--and I don't like it as much. If I want this scent, I could just layer New Orleans over Shanghai. For that reason, I will pass this prettiness on to someone else.