cranberry

This is a higher, sweeter version of Snake Oil on me. I can smell the frankincense but I’m not sure that I know what copal smells like. It reminds me a lot of Ravenous and is also making me think of Lyonesse. Ravenous has a brightness to it that I find similar here, and there’s a prominent amber scent that is making me think of Lyonesse. I just looked up copal and that’s got to be it. I’m smelling a brighter amber and that has to be the copal. Now the frankincense is gone and I’m left with the copal. I can’t really describe how it smells to me other than it’s too much. There’s an aspect on the sweetness that pushes this scent to a place that I don’t care to go. I don’t associate incense or darkness with this scent at all. This is the bright sun of midday – glaring and strong. After about ½ an hour, this really faded. Now I can barely smell it. Maybe if I slathered. Regardless, it was good to try this and I’m glad that I finally figured out what copal is. Regarding the scent, I’ll content myself with the imp.

This is a sweet, fruity chocolate scent. I keep waiting for the clove to come out but it really doesn’t – or at least it hasn’t so far. No, instead this remains a fruity chocolate scent. The chocolate seems fairly dry, and as it wears the fruity becomes more distinctly peach. This smells completely edible, like an exotic fruity truffle. I like this version of 13 quite a lot, not as much as the Oct 06 version , but more than the others – so it’s my second favorite 13 version. It is quite chocolate – not the cream filled chocolate of Candy Butcher but dry, almost dusty chocolate. Exotic fruity truffle is the best way to describe this one. Yum!

both oils here I got through a fantastic CT swap with SueDonym! CT III CDXIII In the imp, this is all vetivert and herbs. On the skin, this is a light vetivert scent. The herbs I sniffed in the imp are there on the skin. There could be a touch of pennyroyal ... it's almost minty but not quite. This scent sticks close and I have to plaster my nose right up to my skin to smell this. There's a woodiness here but it's subtle. This is a cool scent and is a little like cologne. It reminds me of scents that are generally characterized as masculine ... Casanova or Whitechapel, though it is not a ringer for either ... it just reminds me of them. I think there's white musk here too. Now that it's been on a few minutes, it turns to that grassy-type scent so characteristic of vetivert. There's something sweet there too which is really interesting with the vetivert dry-down. The herbs seem to be stronger now. I don't care so much for this phase of the scent as when it was wet. I smell something like fennel seed or some spin on anise. This seems more like a scent you'd randomly encounter than wear as perfume. Last reviewed by SueDonym. CT III CCV In the imp ... wow, this is interesting! Watery, herbal, like something I'd encounter when gathering wild herbs or traditional medicines. This reminds me of springtime and what I'd smell when gathering nettle or even picking the occasional watermelon berry in the middle of summer. This is a wonderfully evocative scent. It's like a juicy, succulent stem. I think there may be a touch of cucumber in here but it's not going soapy on me which I fear that cucumber does, so I can't be sure. God, the more I smell this scent the more I like it. It's a pale green of a scent, fresh beyond belief. There's a sweetness there ... maybe a touch of tonka and white musk to sweeten it up. It reminds me of a green stem version of Antique Lace. In a word ... WOW. I just can't get over how amazing this oil is!

Many, many thanks to SueDonyn for the sniffie of this and many thanks to tikiera for the swap – I absolutely love it!!!!! And to GypsyRoseRed for including me in her circle. Ok, on to the review. Wow, this is a gorgeous deep dark floral. I’ve never smelled Queen of Spades so I can’t comment there, but when this is first applied, there is a plum-ish vibe to this and it smells purple to me. As it wears, the plum recedes and it changes. Even the mental color I get from this scent changes. Now it’s more a dusky, rich pink. I can smell rose in this – and from that respect it reminds me of Bearded Lady or even Beatrice. It’s got that smoothness that both of those scents have, plus a tiny bit of spice. I could believe there’s a touch of lily in here too. I could believe musk too, maybe even an Egyptian amber, but it’s subtle, subdued – adding more to a velvety impression of this oil. This reminds me so strongly of Bearded Lady – that sweet smooth rose. It’s beautiful and I’m so grateful that I have some to treasure.

Many, many thanks to SueDonym for the sniffie-tester of this wonderful oil! This has a wonderful texture – very light, it sinks in fast yet seems very moisturizing. It has a wonderful scent, spicy, peppery, resiny, it smells golden brown to me – very rich and sumptuous. It’s completely relaxing and Alicia_Stardust described it perfectly. I too am a huge Aveda fan and this is better. Or at least like Aveda of the past. If anyone is familiar, this reminds me of Amazonia pure-fume spray, a fantastic patchouli-woody-spicy scent that has been long discontinued. It was my absolute favorite. I can see Terrae becoming an absolute staple and I’m looking forward to getting a bottle when finances are a bit better. What a treat to be able to try this – I want to bathe in this stuff!

bumping this thread - I really love Prada and would love to find a similar BPAL. On me, patchouli is probably the strongest note, but it's a light one. so, are there more bpals out there that remind you Prada? eta: so I tried Vixen on one arm while wearing Prada, I think there's a similarity there but Vixen (which I love) is much more vanilla. Prada is drier, grassier, kinda like Coyote and Vixen got together....hmm. I should try that one! but back on topic, I would love to hear of anyone's thoughts on this subject.

In the bottle: the BPAL snow note On the skin: The lemony BPAL snow note is most prominent at first. As it dries, the lemon reveals itself as verbena. The verbena is actually playing nice on my skin - a lot of times it turns to a weird dough smell on me. It mixes well with the pine and slush notes. After it’s been on a bit, the amber and sandalwood come out. This is gorgeous and I can’t stop huffing my arm. It has a sweetness to it, and seems sweeter than some of the other snow scents. It’s kinda like a mix of Hungry Ghost Moon and some of Beth’s snow scents (Snow Moon, Tavkikuu, etc), but heavier on the snow. I really like it and am so glad that I have a bottle.

This is a beautiful oil. I’ve sniffed the original and I’ve got a bottle of this one and while it’s different, I like it just as much, if not more. On the skin, this is a soft and gorgeous floral scent. I can smell the moonflower but beyond that, I really can’t say. The cucumber isn’t especially strong to me, which is good, because unless it’s sweetened considerably I think it can go soapy on me. There’s a sweetness to this scent which I’m attributing to the orchid, but whatever it is, it’s not sweet enough to be overbearing or piercing. Kindly Moon has a texture to it, and I find the same is true for this oil – it has a velvety, tactile aspect to it. Despite that, it has an airy, ethereal feel to it, not earthbound in the least. It makes me think of clear skies, dark nights, moonlit water (pond or lake, not the ocean) in a field of wildflowers. It’s a silvery shimmering scent and I love it. It’s a wonderful tribute to the Blue Moon and I’m so glad that I’ve got a bottle of this.

Sweet, sweet flowers. As it dries, the orange blossom peeks out, as does the carnation. The spice of the carnation blends well with the orange blossom. I can’t smell the cream here at all, it’s predominantly the sugared flowers. As such, it reminds me of the other sugared flower scents – Pink Moon, Faith and the initial sugared lavender I got from Emathides. What stands out most to me is the edge from the orange blossom and the spice from the carnation. I’m enjoying this scent a lot, just as I have with the rest of the Carnaval.

In this bottle this is very mild, herbal and slightly resinous. Once applied it becomes more herbal. It becomes lighter and fresher. There’s a slight bitterness too. Before I ordered, I was really afraid about the fennel – I must have been thinking of fennel seeds and how they smell/taste. Of course the plant would have a completely different smell. This smells green, fresh, clean. This is gorgeous and completely unique in BPAL that I’ve tried thus far. This would make a fabulous room scent or perfume to wear in the middle of winter when snow is all around and you’re yearning for summer. This does smell like a garden and I really like it. I was thinking I could do with a shortie of this, but now that I’ve retested this, I’m going to hold onto my bottle.

mmmm. Wet, this is all myrrh and spice. As it dries, the cinnamon becomes stronger. I can smell the smoke too – this is a wonderful scent and I’m kicking myself to taking so long to try this scent. The cinnamon is spicy but doesn’t turn to cinnamon candy on me. It blends well with the myrrh. This scent is lightly sweet and because of that, this would work as well on a man as on a woman. It’s dark, spicy, resinous. Yummy in a word. When I sniff my wrist all I can think is how good this smells.

I remember when I first got this decant when this Act was first released, it reminded me strongly of the Asian themed moons from earlier this year – Holiday Moon and Dragon Moon in particular. Very fresh and green. Now, after it’s got some age on it, the bamboo is still strong initially, but it burns off quick and I’m left with a light, sweet Snake Oil. It’s strongly vanilla, sweeter than the original. The musk is there too adding a sensuous edge to this scent. I really like how this scent has aged and I am so tempted to get a bottle.

I don't have any advice for you on Bakeneko, wish I did coz that's a fantastic scent, but I just had to post that Singing Moon is a close relative to Shanghai Tunnel. Especially at first, I could barely tell them apart. They dry different (but similar). They're both LEs but one is a lot harder to get than the other.

When first applied this smells mossy, damp, like stones and shadows. It reminded me Shangahi Tunnel so strongly that I dug out my bottle and I applied some to my other wrist. To my nose, they are remarkable similar. Shanghai Tunnel may be just the tiniest bit sweeter and a bit more juicy, but they are so similar they could be sisters. Almost twins really. This is a very green scent, but it’s a darker, more muted green; it’s not the bright green of spring buds. There is a dirt note here that is more pronounced when wet. Going back to my comparison with Shanghai Tunnel, it’s like Singing Moon is the masculine (yet effeminate) counterpart to Shanghai Tunnel. They are no longer sisters. Shanghai is drying to a much sweeter scent, while Singing Moon is mossier and drier. Singing Moon also seems to be a bit muskier, though I’m not sure that it has any musk. Now going back to Singing Moon, I recognize what I thought was musk a second ago. It’s the fires and smoke from the Halloween scents such as Samhain, Devil’s Night, DDM 05. Wow, it’s totally getting that distinctive scent that linked (just about) all of the 2005 Hallowe’ens. It’s like cider and smoke. It’s the perfect prelude to fall and I’m amazed at how this scent has changed. In summary, this is a wonderful scent. Similar enough to Shanghai Tunnel so that if you love it and are looking for a similar scent, it will meet that need, yet different enough so that it is its own scent and worth having bottles of each. Truly amazing.

This is like sugared, caramel lavender on me. I think it’s a combination of the amber, orchid and currant. The amber reminds me a bit of how I remember the amber in Hymn to Prosperpine, but I can’t be sure. But both Hymn to Prosperpine and Emathides have a candy-ish sweetness to them. When I first tried this, I was convinced that I needed another bottle but now I’m not so sure. It is SOOOO strong on me. So sweet. It’s rather overwhelming in fact. I quite like it but it’s very strong. There’s an edge to this scent and it’s reminding me a bit of Geek when first applied. It’s hard for me to explain but it’s like they are hitting the same note but getting there in a different way (i.e. with different ingredients). There is a depth here and I think that’s where the similarity I smell with Geek is coming in. It's providing some sort of foundation to that sugary lavender. They both have cedar in common, so perhaps it's that. But, I want to be clear; this does not smell like Geek. One note I was worried about with this oil was rose and I’m not getting any of that here. No, it remains a sugared, ambery lavender with traces of vanilla. As it wears the sweetness takes over the lavender and becomes the dominant scent. It seems very fluffy to me but I can't explain why. Looking over this, I realize this is kind of a weird review, but I can't describe this any better. I like this a lot but it sure is strong on me. Similar oils would be Faith (for that sugared flower), Hymn to Prosperpine (candy amber), and Geek (same pitch).

I’ve waited a long time to review this. When it first came out, it was so strong that it took my breath away. Literally. I couldn’t wear it, got rid of all my backup bottles (I was sure it would be instant love for me) and only kept one. Now how many months later, it’s still pretty strong, but it’s mellowing, which is good. On the skin, the mums are strong. But just as strong, if not stronger is the smell of smoke and incense. It’s a heady scent and perfectly fits the images it is intended to evoke. There’s musk there too, and exotic flowers. If I had to use one word, it would be exotic. If I had two, I’d choose exotic and heady. Knowing it’s there, I can detect the slight heat of the ginger. I’m not sure how this has changed with age. I remember it being so strong that it felt like it was warming my lungs when I breathed it in, which I attributed to the ginger and smoke, so perhaps the ginger is calming down. Now I quite like it and which I had kept a backup of this scent. It’s mellowed beautifully. It’s still a powerhouse of a scent - strong, assured, and sensual and with great throw.

This is a lovely, light chypre. The citrus and oakmoss blend well with white musk. The citrus is stronger in the bottle, the oakmoss too. On the skin it’s much more a white musk scent on me. It’s crisp and clean smelling. Quite nice in fact. It does remind me a bit of Snow White which is fantastic. I’m so glad that I swapped for this!

At first I couldn’t place the smell. Floral, rich, deep, dark. I was thinking resins with some kind of floral. But now I recognize it as acacia flower if my memory serves. It’s very distinctive and smells just like the oil I got at an alternative bookstore when I was a teenager (so it's well aged ). Now that it’s dry, this smells like Mum Moon or even Mama-Ji. So perhaps there’s chrysanthemum in here too. To test this out, I tried Samael and Mama-Ji on opposite arms. They smelled almost identical and one is an excellent substitute for the other. There are subtle differences, but I can only notice them when doing a direct comparison. This is a wonderful oil and I like it a lot!

Wow – this is a spectacular scent! It’s even better than I thought it would be. In the bottle, this reminds me of Black Moon, the orchid I think. But darker and richer. Once applied, the orchid remains, but other elements come out. Now I’m picking up the patchouli that reminds me of the patchouli in Mme Moriarty. It’s sweet like there’s vanilla in here but I don’t remember seeing that listed. There’s a hint of coconut in the background. This is a lush, rich, exotic, sexy scent. There’s a slight fruitiness that melds so good with the orchid and other dark florals. There’s a rich, strong resinous base that with the patchouli grounds the blend and makes this so sexy. I never thought that I was a fan of florals - I wasn't for the majority of my scented life. But over the last year, that's been slowly changing and this oil had a lot to do with it. I am absolutely in love with this scent and it reminds me of dark velvet, moonlit nights, and seduction. It reminds me of Black Moon, Mme Moriarty, Ravenous, Queen Mab.

I echo suggestions for Whippoorwill and Banded Sea Snake. Whippoorwill was the first one that I thought of when I read your question. The moss in that scent is amazing. Banded Sea Snake has that same kinda moss and is probably more accessible than Whippoorwill since that was from 2005. It reminds me a "Snake Oil -lite" but with heavy moss. It's quite beautiful. With CD being live, if you're at all partial to a lighter Snake Oil, I'd snap it up. I can't really think of any GCs right now, I wonder if any of the new oils from the Springtime A Picnic in Arkham line have that mossy feel? I'm finding that I'm loving moss more and more, so I'll be watching this thread too! (edited: not Springtime, A Picnic, edited to fix)

I just tried Dixie Love Perfume and it reminds me a lot of Love Me. Makes sense, they're both based on voodoo recipes. OK, just pulled out Love Me and they are on opposite hands. Love Me is more vanilla, DLP has more cinnamon (watch out those with sensitive skin), but other than that, they could be twins.

I've been an Aveda fan for years. I thought that Kether of the now discontinued Sephiroth smelled a lot like an Aveda scent. Don't know how hard that one would be track down, but others that remind me of Aveda include Crossroads - I think it's the jasmine/gardenia, and Arcana - lots of lavender and herbs. Good luck in your search!

you know, my first thought was Osun, which is a heavy honey scent, but what I think actually matches it better is Nahemoth. It's a Sephiroth and will unfortunately be discontinued in the very near future, but it's sweet yet sharp. Wonderful in fact. I think it has the same feel as Chergui and while not an exact match, pretty close. It's probably the most popular of the Sephiroth's so if you discover you don't like it you could probably get rid of it fairly easy. You may just want to pick up a bottle before the next update when it'll go poof into the night.

I would love to hear of a scent equivalent to Charisma. It's such a yummy scent and I know what you mean about not wanting to overwear it. On a different note, I found the Fool to be similar to Concentration. It's funny, I even felt like I could concentrate better wearing the Fool!

Wet, this is resin and incense. It smells like there’s frankincense in here. This is best characterized as a light incense blend. Now there’s rose too. The rose gets stronger as it dries. After it’s dry, this is purely rose. Powdery rose. Tea rose I think. Later it smells like there’s lemon verbena in there too. In sum, this oil is train wreck on me – tea rose usually goes powdery and lemon verbena just about always goes bad on my skin. The wet phase when it was all resins and incense was great, but once the rose came out that was it for me.