donnatron

Kubla Khan has a prominent mandarin note and some of the same florals as Lady Lilith. Hell's Belle is musky florals with mandarin. The Great Sword of War has the same mandarin/red musk combo as Lady Llith. It's more masculine, though. If you're looking for light and fresh Hell's Belle is the closest to a light fresh Lady Lilith. If you're just looking for a bright and clean mandarin blend, 51 is excellent.

Bottle: Very floral. Definitely getting the jasmine and orchid. The rose is really unique and although I register it as rose, I honestly can't picture the colour or shape of this rose. The sandalwood and musk are lurking in the background, just sort of hanging out and keeping an eye on the florals. Wet: Queen Mab has a brief, strange phase where it hits my skin and smells like gross, cheap soap. I'm not sure if that burns off quickly or if jasmine and rose just take turns kicking it into submission. The musk lends a smokey sweetness to the blend. Dry: A nice unusual floral. The sandalwood really develops and lends a soft grounding quality. The sandalwood puts me in mind of Veil although I would say that this is definitely a lot more... brusque than Veil. I find the florals in Veil to be profoundly teasing and very sultry and sensuous. Queen Mab's florals are more crisp and defined. I can smell each floral distinctly and they blend together as a bouquet rather than in a haze. Completely dry this is sweet and smokey jasmine touched with rose, orchid and sandalwood. Throw: Personal. Overall: I'm glad to have the bottle just so I have something I can slap on in the morning without thinking about whether or not I'm going to stink everyone out at the office. It's not my favourite floral in the BPAL catalogue but it's pretty and unusual and has a bit of soft feminine allure to it without being completely "come hither." I'll probably never touch it on the evenings or weekends, but considering that I, you know, work five days a week, it will probably see heavy rotation in my scent wardrobe. Definitely check it out if you're looking for something unobtrusive but a bit personally empowering for the office or if you like distinctive floral blends.

So we meet again, Lady Luckless Guys seem to have ridiculously perfect chemistry for patchouli and it's always fun to enable. Masquerade: It's a nice, gender neutral patchouli that tends a bit towards masculine. Patchouli, ambergris, orange blossom and carnation. Fresh it's a bit more orange blossom than anything else, but the patchouli ages really well in this and it's smooth and very sexy. Voodoo: An interesting, complex, sensual blend. Patchouli, vetiver, vanilla, pine, and a few other components. Personally I find it quite strong and commanding. War: Patchouli, ginger and red musk (maybe blood musk, too?). If he's a Gaiman fan, it's definitely worth a try. The ginger is more of a savoury ginger than a sweet ginger. It's a strange blend, though--definitely grab a decant before you splurge on a bottle. Bloodlust: Drop dead sexy. Dragon's blood, vetiver, patchouli, red musk and cinnamon. I think it's an underappreciated gem in the BPAL catalogue--it's simple, evocative and an amazing personal power scent. Tezcatlipoca: Patchouli. Leather. Cocoa. I think that's all you need to know. Lust: Sort of a softer, more gentle Bloodlust. If he's not one for the vetiver, this might be a good blend to try. Namaste: It's got some floral components, but it just captures that whole "LUSH store" essence. Definitely a good try for a slightly lighter and brighter patchouli.

Twilight is one of my favourites from the entire General Catalogue. It's a gorgeous bright lavender back with honeysuckle and jasmine. It really evokes a sort of hazing, glowing scent association and is very classical, comforting and has throw for ages. I'm also a fan of Darkness. It captures a bit of that freshly-blown-out-candle scent mixed with a sweet, opaque creaminess from the opium. It's quite deep and elegant. Midnight is full of unusual florals and it's one that's very appropriate for work, school or somewhere where you don't want to smell offensive or "weird" but it's just so unusual that you'll be intoxicating. It's the essence of beguilment. And finally, I really like Nocturne. It's a really lovely violet with lilac and tuberose and it's sweet, almost playful and feminine but also a bit morose. If you've tried Ultraviolet, it's sort of like the wan, beautiful, minorly neurasthenic sister to Ultraviolet.

Ozymandias from Bewitching Brews is a good rock scent--Dry desert air, dry and hot, passing over crumbling stone megaliths and plundered golden monuments, bearing a hint of the incense of lost Gods on its winds. It smells like an Indiana Jones movie. Black Annis might be too musky for you. It has a definite animalistic scent but there is a great cold, wet stone/lichen note in this. Djinn: It smells like those cement blocks you make bookcases out of your frosh year of university. Brimstone: Djinn on fire. The Isle of Demons: Hot rocks and slightly rotting vegetation.

Singing Moon: It's a LE, but I see it around the forums fairly frequently and it perfectly captures a sort of damp, bonfire night touched by salt air feeling. It starts out really woodsy but the salty drydown is amazing. From the GC, Dragon's Tears might be a good bet. To my nose it smells like White Rock beach near Vancouver at low tide. I grew up landlocked so I mostly find it perplexing but I could easily see it being comforting if you're used to the salt air smell. Cthulhu from Picnic in Arkham is a dark, mossy aquatic. R'lyeh is a bit brighter with some citrus. And finally, The Isle of Demons might bring you a bit closer to home. It's more gritty, musky and tropical than Singing Moon. But it is available from the GC so that's always awesome.

Imp: Dark, herbal apples. It's not sweet and fresh; it's actually more masculine than I was expecting. Wet: The apples amp up and the amber warms to the skin a bit. Dry: Eh. It smells like apple cores and dried seaweed. It's not as iodine-y as seaweed but it definitely evokes that dark green colour. I stick with my original assertion that it's masculine. Throw: Close to the skin. Overall: I'm glad to have tried it but it's not my bag. If you want a more masculine or gender neutral apple, definitely give this one a try.

Imp: Bright fruity candy. Wet: This starts to smell like the Grindhouse of all things. Thei Grindhouse without the red musk. It's sort of sweet and fruity and has a touch of "skin" to it. Dry: I think there's a bit of lilac and definitely violet in here. It's predominantly floral on me with soft melon and tropical fruits in the background. Pretty and very unusual. If there isn't papaya in this there is something that smells like slicing a fresh papaya open. Throw: Decent. Overall: I've thought about trying this but the reviews always turned me off. I'm glad I did. The florals in this are wonderful and it's such a unique and offbeat scent. The fruit is lovely without being over the top and the entire thing is well blended but distinct enough to truly evoke Eris. A gorgeous scent.

Bottle: Sweet, honeyed wood. A bit of dark leather. It's really soft and sticky in the bottle--highly honeyed. Wet: The wood rushes out and starts to dominate the scent. The leather is the second most prominent note. The berries are starting to sweeten and I can sort of smell a bit of the honey sweetness. Dry: Beautiful. The wood and leather burn off into this soft background scent melding with the amber leaving berries and honeyed florals as the most noticable notes. It smells naughty and definitely like someone you don't want to mess with, but also very feminine, warm and a little seductive. Very powerful. Throw: Good. Overall: Nanny Ashtoreth is one of my go to scents. She smells like one hell of a badass woman and you have to earn her respect. This is a beautiful, slightly severe scent and it fits the character perfectly. I'm very happy to have this in my scent wardrobe.

Bottle: Cucumber water. Like you get at the spa. It's so remarkably clean and fresh and such a spot on cucumber. Wet: It doesn't morph much. Dry: I wound up with this because I wanted a fresh, clean scent to counteract all my florals and musks. It actually winds up bringing out a bit of floral--someone in the rec forum told me it had honeysuckle and I can definitely smell that aspect. It's like a weird foil to Chimera. It's gorgeous and soft and fresh but still a bit sweet and floral. The cucumber is definitely there and it's very green but I am digging this slight honeysuckle tinge. It's beautiful. Throw: Remarkably strong. Overall: I likes. It's not going to be an every day scent, but it's cool and refreshing and has a bit of elegance to it. Maybe in the warmer months it's an evening scent but I think that heading into the winter it's strictly for daytime.

Muscadine, black and red patchouli, cereus and nag champa. Imp: Grapey. Very, very grapey. In fact, it kind of reminds me of Midnight Kiss without the musk and the cocoa. Wet: So very, very grapey. I can smell a hint of my beloved patchouli in the background. Dry: Just sweet grapes. There's a hint of the nag champa and the patchouli, but otherwise? Grape. Is that the muscadine? I don't know. It's not unpleasant, but it doesn't have the oomph that I was expecting. Throw: Moderate. Overall: I don't know. I'll hang onto the imp because I have a sense that while this isn't my favourite, there's something weird about this that will have me wanting to smell like Urd every so often.

Imp: Woodsy, salty. This has an ocean-y edge, but it's certainly not aquatic. I also catch a hint of the perfume element--it reminds me a bit of a wetter Penny Dreadful. Wet: Is there a trace of skin musk in this? It definitely acquires that quick buttery blast I get from skin musk blends. Everything warms and this becomes a very sultry, woody rum. It's a bit spicy and touched with what sort of smells a bit like vanilla. Dry: Drop dead gorgeous. The wood is reigned in the perfect amount, whatever the "prostitute's perfume" (I get the sense there is some sort of "evoking perfume" note the lab uses, because this reminds me of Penny Dreadful, Antique Lace and the Attrocious Attic, all of which have some sort of "hint of perfume" note) is delicate and sexy. The rum is boozy without being clownish and the sea spray is just barely there. Altogether it just smells spicy and sultry and beautiful, but when you get close up it's remarkably easy to break down the components. Throw: Good. Overall: I have bad luck with the salt air/wood scents, so I wasn't too fussed when this showed up in a swap. This is really beautiful and a perfect scent to try if you're iffy on the pirate scents.

If he likes Chimera, he'll probably go head over heels for Bengal. Creamy skin musk and honey with a really beautiful bouquet of spices. Not particularly floral--it's more like Chimera on a bender. A few more traditionally floral/spicy: Lady of Shalott: It has aquatic notes and those might be the problem you're having with Danube. But if you come across an imp, definitely give it a try, because it's a gorgeous soft white floral spiked with a bit of ginger and aquatics. Hi'iaka: Sort of soft, tropical blooms scent. Also spiced with ginger. Moon flower, to my nose, is almost like white musk--like a much softer, sweeter white musk-style scent. Very soft, pretty and a bit spicy. Mama Ji: You might want to hunt down a decant first, but this is probably one of the favourites on the forums for spicy flowers. Belle Epoque: Lily of the Valley smoothed out with vanilla and mandarin with spicy opium and sandalwood.

That's a pretty specific scent but we here at the BPAL forums are always looking to please. If you want to pick up a few imps: Rosalind: Wet green grass with a hint of berries. It might be too dewey for what you're looking for, but it's your best straight up "grass" scent. Coyote: Musky, soft grass. It's hot, dry and smells like an afternoon driving through the prairies. The caveat is that it might be too dry, but the musk in this is amazing and it blends with the grass notes phenomenally. Scarecrow: Straight up prairie grass. It can smell like nail polish remover before it hits the skin so keep that in mind if you acquire an imp. Antony: Strong, masculine and herbal. Depending on your chemistry, this might work. I'd definitely recommend Coyote. Otherwise, be sure to check swaps and sales for LE decants and let us know when you've found something that works.

Bottle: Weird, plasticy lilies. Wet: Snow White almost immediately gains this creamy marzipan-y quality. The lily scent softens and the whole thing acquires a really creamy aspect. Dry: Cream, marzipan and lilies. There's a bit of a musky skin-like quality and it's overall quite cold and calming. It's a very cozy, comforting scent. Throw: Insane. It's a mild, unobtrusive scent, but EVERYONE can smell it when you walk into a building. Overall: This is a weird scent. It's not my style. I smell it in the bottle and I don't like it. But then sometimes I just feel compelled to wear it. It's very feminine and unusual and appropriate for work, school or anywhere where you just want to smell nice and not offend anyone. I just don't know, though. I'm happy with the bottle I have, but the weird power of Snow White compells me and I'll probably wind up with a back up if it returns with the Yule update. Weird stuff. Weird, compelling stuff.

Imp: Opium-y lotus. I get a teensy hint of rose and pine. Wet: LOOOOOOOOOOOTUUUUUS! It does as it is want to do. Bubblegummy. But there's something behind it sort of winding up and there it is--opium! I do love the opium (does that sound scandalous?) The opium is really beautiful and warm in this, it wrangles the lotus and lets the pine and rose sort of peek out. Dry: Beautiful. Lotus is the dominant note but it's not bubblegummy or cloying. The whole scent comes together beautifully and smells very serene and elegant. Most of my lunacies, I can't distinguish the notes and that's true for this one as well. It's just a very beautiful, feminine perfume. Throw: Good. The throw is sweeter and more "pink" than the up close scent. Overall: I'm not going to bankrupt myself seeking it out, but if I see it, I definitely wouldn't mind a bottle. A great lotus scent, especially for those of us who don't always deal well with lotus.

Bottle: Red musk. Red musk. REEEEEEEEED MUUUUUSK!!!! It sounds like I'm criticizing, but I'm not. This is a whole lotta red musk and I am ready for it. Wet: The florals and the bergamot peak out very briefly and burn off/get overpowered pretty quickly. Something--I think it's the orchid--is lending a soft spiciness to this. The red musk is blooming and the patchouli is starting to assert itself. Dry: The longer this goes, the sweeter and more skin-like the red musk becomes and the dirtier and more depraved the patchouli becomes. Marianne is raunchy and she will not let you forget it. Throw: It's a skin-hugging scent and it's a good thing because there is something distinctly biological and sexual about Marianne that would be completely gross if she was everywhere. Overall: Like a lot of people, I'm drawing comparisons to Scherezade. While Scherezade beguils, Marianne ravages. She's an intense, interesting, complex scent, and like every woman she is only going to get better with age. I am definitely picking up a back up bottle before the Carnival leaves town.

Tombstone: I have to second it. It's lovely. The sassafras and vanilla are gorgeous together and the cedar and balsam give it a ridiculously long wearlength. Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener: Tombstone without the woody notes. Sassafras and vanilla are very complimentary. Golden Priapus: If you can wait for the juniper to burn off (anywhere from a few minutes to an hour), it leaves a really soft, clean vanilla-amber frangrance. It's reminiscent of O but instead of the honey (which I think is what turns most people off O, although YMMV) it has a great rosewood note. Dragon's Milk: Sort of a softer, sweeter Blood Kiss. Dragon's blood can be a bit tempestuous, but it's a great combo. Euphrosyne: Unless you amp florals something awful, this is an amazing, sweet borderline foody vanilla. One of my favourites and one of the unsung heroes of the GC.

I slathered myself in Lust this morning so I understand the red musk love A few recs and seconds from the GC: Bloodlust: A beautiful and dark red musk with patchouli, vetiver and cinnamon. Blood Kiss does weird, candy-like things on my skin and I find this to be the gothic older brother to Blood Kiss. It's a really interesting use of red musk. Snake Oil/The Snake Pit: Red musk is one of the components in Snake Oil and especially as it ages, the red musk starts to round itself out nicely. Personally, I don't think you can go wrong with the original, but if it's too sweet or disagrees with you, the Snake Pit has a Snake Oil variant for everyone's taste. Himerus: A very masculine, powerful musk. It's best after the juniper dries down. The Witch Queen: I think there are a few decants of this floating around on the forums. Brand new it was molasses-sweet to me, but after a few months it's mellowed into a beautiful floral-musk. I find it's probably the GC unimpable that's closest to Mme Moriarty. War: A warm red musk-ginger. Another one you'll definitely want to track down a decant of before committing to a bottle. Loviator: Dark, sexy, sweet and completely sultry and lascivious. Leather has a tendency to go dry on my skin, but this is slick, hot, shiny leather in this one. Definitely worth a try. Fenris Wolf: Another one on the masculine side. The rosewood in this is exquisite. Limited edition: Mme Moriarty: Well worth a try. It's pretty drop dead sexy and is well balanced by the fruity aspects. Marianne: I can't even keep track of how many recs there have been. Just try it Irrelevant and Disturbing Surreal Crawdad Dream: The musk in this is going to age like a dream. It's still floating around the forum and ebay for really reasonable prices, so definitely try a decant or pick up a bottle if you can. Lunar Eclipse: Again, bottles of this are floating around for pretty darn reasonable prices. There's a gritty, dark base to this thanks to the vetiver and the fruit notes top it off beautifully. It's a good one to try if you don't like vetiver--all the other notes reign it in perfectly. Blood Phoenix or Red Moon 07: I find a lot of similarities between these two and think they're both common enough to find a decant or bottle if you want one. The red musk-dragon's blood combo is dynamite. Midnight Kiss: I'm with Andra, here. This is an amazing scent. The cocoa, wine and red musk play very, very well with each other.

It really depends on what scents like your skin and what scents also appeal to you. For instance, Satyr lasts days and days on me. That would be wonderful if it hadn't been a multiple shower ordeal to get the hideous scent off my skin. So if you hate something but it's lasts, it might be something of a gift of the magi situation From experience, the longest lasting scents usually have some sort of wood, resin or component that is largely non-floral or citrus. If you like those: Lust: With the exception of the ylang ylang, this scent is great for longevity. Myrrh, red musk and patchouli. Snake Oil: If you don't like sweetness, this may not be for you. I find it lingers, but the sweetness is really strong after awhile. I like it, but if I fall asleep wearing it, it sometimes smells like molasses when I wake up. The Caterpillar: It's got a base of patchouli and vetiver, which I find helps it hold onto the incense and floral notes better. It also has jasmine which tends to amp up on a lot of people's skin, so if you like jasmine and it stays true to scent on your skin, it will probably last a while. Hermia: The pink pepper and the passion flower give this throw like nobody's business. It's actually a bit of a lighter floral, but it tends to cling to skin. Black Annis: One of my favourite scents involving civet. Civet is a contankerous note and sometimes it can smell like something festering (Satyr) or it can lend a really interesting, animalistic note to a complex blend, such as in Black Annis. For civet, I haven't tried Debauchery yet, but it's got fairly positive reviews and it appears to also have a fairly long wearlength. Eat Me: Especially fresh, this one is like "HI! DO YOU LIKE CURRANTS? BECAUSE I SMELL LIKE CURRANTS! SO MUCH CURRANT! CURRANT FOR ALL!!! Oh, have some cake, too." I'll put this on before work and still smell it loud and clear at the end of the day. Dee: It's a combination of strong, masculine notes (rosewood, leather, incense, parchment, tonka) and it has lots of throw and staying power. Twilight: The best straight up floral I've found for lasting power. Honeysuckle, jasmine and lavender. Clean, fresh and pretty. If you check out the Beyond Perfume forum there are a lot of discussions about alternate uses of the scents and ways to increase throw and longevity. Mixing the scents with alcohol can work because then you can spritz the scent over your clothes as well. Using a scent locket or making lotion or dusting powder can also help because then you're doubling up on your scent as well as covering a larger surface area on your body. Good luck with your orders--hope you find something that not only lasts but that you love.

It depends on your own preferences--are you a floral sort, musks? Woods? Definitely find something that you think is sexy because if you're not feeling sexy or you don't feel that you smell good, it's not going to help. Some of the sensual blends with intent are: Seduction: From the Panacea. I haven't tried on the skin yet but I have an imp and it's sort of an earthy-green floral to my nose. If you don't like it on your skin, you could try it in an oil burner or misted on the sheets. All Night Long: Another one I haven't skin tested--I think it's cinnamon-y. Check the reviews for this one--lots of rave reviews. Fire of Love: A sort of creamy peppered patchouli. To my nose it smelled like The Coiled Serpent with a cream or milk note. This may or may not sound good to you. Queen: This one is interesting--it's got a honey-vetiver drydown and it's sort of like a more herbal and brash Illustrated Woman. It's intended to amplify female power and to really draw on sexual power. Personally, I love this one, but it does have a pretty tempermental drydown so try an imp and see how it makes you feel. Some of the scents that just generally make people feel sexy are: Snake Oil: If you like this, it works wonders. It's almost universally loved and it is a pretty drop dead sexy scent. O: Another sweet scent, a bit less in-your-face than Snake Oil, but still one of the favourites among the forum. Blood Rose: It pops up a lot in the smutty, sexy and provacative thread and it's in a different veing from Snake Oil and O. It's very sultry and womanly but also very classy, at lack of a better term. It's all elegant table manners and perfect poise until you're behind closed doors. Glasgow: This is the other end of the spectrum from all the other scents--heavy resins aren't necessarily everyone's bag. This is a really luscious heather-blackberry that has a surprisingly good amount of throw and smells sort of sweet and cozy while also sending out a bit of a come hither vibe. Darkness: Smooth, creamy opium touched with very faint floral and a bit of resinous myrrh. Again, you really need to look at your own tastes and see what you like and what makes you feel good. Hopefully something from here sorts of piques your interest and you can explore that scent family. Other than Seduction, most of these are available as individual imps so you can order direct from the lab if you want to try them, or you can haunt the swaps forum (and may be able to pick up a decant of Seduction that way). Good luck!

I like Brown Jenkins and Midwinter's Eve too. Brown Jenkins smells (to me) like warm, fuzzy incense and MWE is a bright, glassy plum scent. Going from your list and those two, here are some recs (It's still blindingly hot here, but fall tends to come swiftly and brutally and I've been thinking about all the scents I get to wear again): Dee: Warm, cuddly, manly incense. The leather and parchment is perfect in the background. It makes me feel like I'm snuggling up with a good first edition in front of a roaring fire. Queen Alice: Sort of like a less sensual Snake Oil. Sweet and treacly with a great wine note, but it's more cuddly and less voraciously sexy than Snake Oil. Blood Countess: I'd rec that over Bordello. I find it has a more prominant plum note than Bordello and the florals and opium give it a sort of creamy brightness that plays well with all the seasons. Frumious Bandersnatch might also be a possibility for a yummy plum--the carnation gives it a spicy kick a lot of the other plum blends lack. Bathsheba is also a possibility for a spiced plum. If you don't know if you like pumpkin, I'd try Al Shairan over Jack. Jack is pretty buttery and foody and the background notes are very similar to Al Shairan.

You can try rubbing alcohol or try slicking your arms with vegetable oil and then washing the vegetable oil off.

Imp: I totally get why other people think this smells like nail polish remover. I get an initially sharp, acrid blast with a soft sweetness underneath. Wet: Full on nail polish remover. Oddly, it's not unpleasant. It's sort of sharp and interesting and kind of reminds me of something from my childhood. Dry: This is really lovely. I get a bit of corn husk and that dry, "prairie" sort of scent you get driving through the prairies. It reminds me of the drive from Calgary down into the Crowsnest Pass. Very evocative if nothing else. Throw: Strong, actually. I applied thinking that it would be Coyote-esque in its strength, but this Scarecrow easily has Coyote pinned to the ground whimpering. Overall: It's an interesting and unusual scent. It definitely reminds me of something I can't put my finger on but I'm not sure if I necessarily want to smell like it all the time.

Bottle: Tart, fresh wild blueberries. There's a bit of a sugared edge swimming beneath it, but for the most part, all I smell is BERRYBERRYBERRYBERRY! Wet: The red currants pop up and the tea lends it a soft edge. Dry: Crawdad Dream is amazing. No way around it. It's a gorgeous berry-currant with all the other ingredients noticeable in a soft way. It's going to age amazingly and right now I'm happy to enjoy the bright, summery berry quality of it. I don't find it disturbing at all, I find it fresh, young, refreshing and kind of intriguing. Glad that I stocked up. Throw: Good throw, amazing wearlength. I had this on at my deep water work out the other day and when I showered afterwards, I was engulfed in a cloud of Crawdad Dream. Awesome! Overall: I think this is probably going to be a bit of a polarizing scent. Those of us who love it, love it deeply. Otherwise I can easily see how it can be overpowering or offensive to others' tastes. I can't wait to see how this ages.