crebbsgirl

I'm shopping for Mom for Christmas. She's as much of a scent addict as I am and has been thoroughly intrigued by my obsession with the Lab. Her favourite commercial scents include Vera Wang Princess and Nina by Nina Ricci. (I've included this info because this gives her scent preferences). I found BPAL similarities but I want to get her an imp pack to introduce her to the wonderful variety the Lab has to offer. In essence, I want her to branch out. Here's what I've decided on: Snake Oil - pretty much a universal favourite, vanilla-y spice Alice - floral foody Velvet - foody (I suspect she likes cocoa as a note) Bordello - fruity Blood Rose - floral And I'm trying to decide between Fae or Baobhan Sith Thoughts? Comments? Did I miss something?

Thanks eleventhousand! I'll probably stay away from that one then!! Now, to track down Haloes....

Old Nick, the Devil himself, as seen through the eyes of Victorian New England. A jaunty, dapper scent, deceptively genteel: a lavender fougere with tonka, amber, rosewood and a whiff of diabolical patchouli. This was a really warm blend. The rosewood, tonka and amber cut the sharpness of the lavender beautifully. The patchouli is incredibly faint here, offering just a hint of earthyness to this blend. It becomes a woodsy, spicy lavender that wears very close to the skin on me. I like it, but in terms of warm lavender blends, I prefer Gaueko.

On me, this is a fairly heavy jasmine when wet. As it dries, the oakmoss and sandalwood come out a little more. The musk doesn't show up for me until almost an hour or so in. But it's beautiful. I don't get any almonds at all, which is good in my case because almond is rarely a note that works for me. Overall, this becomes a bit of a woodsy floral on my skin, with just a faint hint of musk. It's a dark, mysterious blend. I like it.

I really like this one. It's sweet but warm and a little earthy. I don't normally go for sweet but this is just mesmerizing. And a little familiar smelling at that, but I can't place it. I'm rather surprised at this scent. I wasn't expecting to like it very much and I think it just became one of my favourites.

This is a very bright and golden scent. Incense-y and resinous without being dark. I can smell the amber, and what I suspect is frankincense or verbena (both of these notes smell similar on my skin). There is a definite herbal overtone here. I like it, but I'm not in love with it. I'll probably try it as a room scent.

This was a pretty heady blend, very attention grabbing, and a little goes a very long way. On me, I found it resembled the closest thing to a department store fragrance I've yet tried, and that's not something that appeals to me. The narcissus and opium really take the foreground in this blend. The myrrh wasn't as apparent on me. I was a little saddened, because normally opium and myrrh are big hits with me.

Ok, I need to preface this review by stating that I don't think I've come across a rose blend yet that I really liked. Or rather, that liked me. That said, this is freaking gorgeous! I think it's the lavender/orchid combo that provides a tempering nature here, but whatever it is, the rose smells like rose, not the overpowering, in-your-face ROSE I normally get. I can definitely smell the orchid, and the lavender comes through in wafts. This is truly achingly beautiful.

Holy almonds Batman!! This is unreal! (Let me just state I'm not really a fan of foody scents). Wet this smells remarkably like pure almond extract on my skin. As it dries, it takes on a spicy mixed nuts kind of vibe. I'm blaming skin chemistry here, but Queen of Sheba and I do not get along!

I have fallen in love with Mr. Jaquel. On my skin, the patchouli takes a backseat and the amber and spices really predominate. That's not to say that the patchouli is undetectable, but it's definitely not at the forefront, which for me is unusual. It's a very warm and earthy blend.

I am going to blame skin chemistry here. But I get a WTF Kettle Corn smell. No red musk, no patchouli, no ginger, no honeysuckle, and no black spices. Kettle freaking Corn.

This was a fairly overwhelming scent in the bottle. I was a little frightened of the mandarin and the tea leaf, as these are two notes that notoriously don't work on me. Wet, this was pretty light, breezy. A golden incense as opposed to the dark and smoky kind. As it dried, the rest of the notes really seemed to develop beautifully. I get a touch of leather and champaca. The dark vanilla is rather predominant. I don't get any mandarin and the jasmine stays soft and subtle. This blend is really growing on me.

I really like coffee scents so I was pretty psyched to try this. Unfortunately, once I did, all I got was rose. Sigh... I think I may have to resign myself to the fact that I just can't wear rose scents.

Thank you!!!!

Alterosen! Thanks so much for your help! Yeats, Swinburne and Dickinson fall into the Victorian period. Coleridge, Keats and Shelley were all slightly before. Her favourite authors are the Bronte sisters, the Brownings, Dickens, James Joyce, Thackeray, George Elliot, Thomas Hardy, etc. She also loves Sylvia Plath and EA Poe. So maybe I should include the Raven?

I'm trying to come up with an imp pack for my sister-in-law who is way cooler than I will ever be. She's doing her masters in Victorian Literature. I was thinking of Wilde, and Dorian, but I need 4 others to round them out. I was hoping not to concentrate solely on Wilde. Any suggestions?

This is amazing! Wet, it's very musky and vetiver was predominant. I was a little afraid to try this because of the cocoa. I'm pretty frightened of scents with foody notes, but my love of musky resiny scents won out and I took the plunge. Boy am I glad I did! The cocoa here was the farthest thing from foody. It really lent a warm sweetness to an otherwise dryish blend. As it dried, the vetiver calmed down and mellowed out, giving an earthy overtone. It didn't go head-shop on me at all. In fact, this is the first blend I've gotten comments on. (At this point, I've tried about 65). All in all, a definite keeper!

Thanks so much Eoife! I'm looking at Christmas presents, so I really appreciate the help.

Wet, I don't get much more than patchouli. But as it dries, whoa momma! The spices start coming out. I get an almost cinnamon vibe here. It's vaguely reminiscent of Sin. But an earthier version of that scent. This is truly a beautiful, warm and inviting blend. I don't get "Big Red" at all. I get something much more complex and deeper. I really love this one!

This has become my new favourite. I absolutely adore The Masque. It is by far the most complex scent I have ever worn. Almost all of the notes are distinguishable individually, but they are so well-blended it's truly amazing. Wet, I get carnations and honey. As it dries, the sandalwood and incense come out, but don't chase off the flowers and honey. A couple hours in, the patchouli makes a very understated appearance. Its truly a beautiful scent. I had trouble with Masquerade going sickly sweet on me, but this is wonderful, so they weren't very alike for me at all.

Ok, I think I'm gonna blame my weird skin chemistry on this one. All I got was lemon soda crossed with sweet tarts. No resins, no incense... just lemony candy. On the other hand, I used it as a room scent and it's beautiful! No candy there!

I've been looking for a similarity to Princess by Vera Wang (my mom's favourite), and I'm wondering if anyone has tried Great Sword of War, 51, Les Bijoux, Privilege, Siren, Canaval Diabolique, or Haloes? The notes look to be fairly comparable: GSoW - Mandarin, tonka, saffron, black tea, cocoa, tobacco leaf, sanguine red musk and five classical herbs of conflict. 51 - green mandarin, neroli, honeydew, white amber, guava, freesia, white and green musks hovering over desert scrub, smashed wood, and the dry, biting scent of night air over the Groom Lake salt flats. Les Bijoux - Skin musk and honey, blood-red rose, orange blossom, white peach, red apple, frankincense and myrrh. Privilege - Armoise, tuberose, white citrus, rose absolute, oakmoss, tiare, tuberose, vanilla, linden, and lemon tree blossom. Siren - White ginger, jasmine, and a touch of vanilla and apricot. Carnaval Diabolique - opium smoke, lemon flower, heliotrope, tuberose, black musk, vanilla, coconut, apricot flower. Haloes - Oak, tonka, vanilla, white sandalwood, lily of the valley, white ginger, amber, and apricot. Princess - Water Lily, Lady Apple, Mandarin Meringue, Golden Apricot Skin, Ripe Pink Guava, Tahitian Flower, Wild Tuberose, Dark Chocolate, Pink Frosting Accord, Precious Amber, Forbidden Woods, Royal Musk Captive, Chiffon Vanilla. Thanks everyone!

Alright, I am not getting ANY smoky vibe here. Wet, Hecate is pure almond extract. The kind you use for baking. As it dries, I get a distinct amaretto smell. The almonds seem to be sharp on my skin. I cannot detect the myrrh or the musk in this one. After about an hour and a half, the almond finally chills out and I can smell the myrrh floating around in the background. All in all, this is too foody for me.

This is a very golden scent. Warm and light. The amber and honey combination is very reminiscent of O. This is slightly lighter, more floral. But not overly so. On me, the florals hung out it the background. Unfortunately, my skin seemed to eat this one right up. Even after slathering - twice. It hung around for maybe an hour and then totally disappeared. Stupid skin chemistry. I really, really enjoyed this one, it's just too bad it has no staying power for me.

Okay, even though it shares absolutely NONE of the same notes. On me, Wilde smells exactly like Cool Water by Davidoff. I can't explain it. I was sitting here for most of the day wracking my brain trying to figure out what this smells like and that's it! I can smell a little bit of the lavender but the rest of the notes are pretty indistinguishable for me here. I'll try it on my SO and see how it reacts on him. Overall I like the scent, I just don't like to smell like it.