chaismolokom

Hanami is sakura, ume blossoms, and wisteria. I love it to pieces. I'm not really too into florals, either, but I feel like blossoms are less "kick you in the face", as you put it. I think it could be a good match for Monet's Japanese Footbridge!

I'd second the rec for Womb Furie, especially if you can get your hands on the 2010 vintage (supposed to be more honey). I've had my imp of Snake Oil for 2.5 years and can still barely smell vanilla on my skin at all, but Womb Furie 2010 really works for me. I also get more vanilla out of the Snake Oil Bath Oil - it definitely helped me see what all the hype for the perfume was about.

Me, too! Green and springy and perfect for the occasion and the lovely weather we had today.

Smoky Moon 2009: Tristesses de la Lune, if you can find it! It's not particularly sweet, but it is fairly light and smoky and gorgeous. Notes: soft sandalwood, nicotiana, and velvety orris drifting over lustrous pale musks, stephanotis, elemi, and cyclamen.

I did read all of the discussion about The Coil, but Volt hadn't been mentioned.

I absolutely adore The Coil and only have an imp. I'd definitely like to track down a bottle at some point, but in the meantime, does anyone know if Volt is at all similar in feel?

Any thoughts on whether Nymphia would appeal to someone not used to BPAL? I love the concept and picture, and I've been thinking about getting it for my sister for a bridal shower gift. The notes seem like she'd probably like them, but I don't think she's done EO perfumes before.

I'm starting to like SO now that my imp is approaching 18 months old. I'm one of those who thought it was too sharp and medicinal fresher. I'd say Saw-Scaled Viper is a good one to try if you like spicy scents - the Snake Oil is fairly overwhelmed on me. My current favorite SO blend, though, is The Phoenix. It's an aquatic I can wear! It was available in 2007, so the SO has smoothed out by now. I'm loving the sea air and lime, and the SO just lends a bit of vanilla sweetness to back it up.

Maiden is a good light scent for summer (white tea, carnation and Damask Rose). I also really like The Mock Turtle's Lessons (blurry aquatic notes, with a confusing, contrary splort of iris, ambrette, green apple, vodka, white mint and a squish of lime). It isn't super aquatic on me - I mostly just get the other listed notes. ETA: Oh, right, apple and lime are fruits. FAIL, Chai. It might be exactly what you're not looking for. I'll leave it up, though, in the spirit of the thread. I'd also like to add The Coil, from the Steamworks line, if you don't mind ozone (ozone, eucalyptus and mint with purple orchid, passionflower, white ginger, and purple lotus).

I have no idea what most of the lyrics mean in Sonne, so this is just based on the sound of the song, but I could see Priala, maybe. Dark, warm myrrhs, smoke, cinnamon sliding along the high notes... I'm feeling a lot of vetiver in Rammstein, as a whole.

June Gloom! The notes are: Bright summer flowers, fresh herbs, and a bit of citrus rind dampened by the scent of morning mist and rain. It is absolutely beautiful and still not too difficult to find.

Thanks for the suggestions! Honey blends sound delicious in summer heat - I'm pretty sure I have some Lady Una and Hetairae, so I'll definitely have to dig those out. Ooh, maybe Bengal, too! Hell's Belle should be perfect when I go back home next week. Corrupted southern belles are so much more Virginia than Pennsylvania!

I looked up Dragon Moon '06, and it's definitely going on the wishlist! Here are the notes, for the curious: Dragon Moon 2006: Dragon's blood resin, tea leaf, bamboo reed, sandalwood and cherry blossom. Speaking of my wishlist, there's another cherry blossom scent there: Neo-Tokyo: A scent that captures a meeting of the serenity and elegance of ancient Japan, the vibrant, shining, neon-lit and ultra-modern splendor of today's Tokyo and the fantastic electric fantasyland of post-modern manga fantasy. Urban metallics and an ozone-tinged breath of electric light mingled with reedy bamboo, crisp mountain air, cherry blossoms, delicate orchid and a splash of playful, wet fruits. Very unfortunately discontinued and rarish, but there's still some floating around, so I'm keeping my hopes up!

I didn't like Kyoto very much because of the anise, but I'm a huge fan of cherry blossom scents. Some of my favorites are Voyeurs Among the Cherry Blossoms: Soft moss, vanilla musk, and cherry blossom. I think this smells like cologne to some people, but it's soft and delicate on me. Hanami: Sakura, ume blossoms, and wisteria. The plum blossoms smell rather like the fruit, and the wisteria adds a coolness to the blend. The Spell of Amorous Love: Red currant, plum flowers, sake, green tea, and cherry blossom. Fruity! Jingu: Sakura, white orchid, mandarin, bamboo, red sandalwood, plum blossom, and lilac. Haven't worn this enough yet to get a good handle on it, but I love it. Those are all LEs, though. For GCs, you could check the Salon. I haven't tried any of those yet, though, so no impressions. Spirit of the Komachi Cherry Tree: Cherry blossom, blue lilac, lavender monofloral honey, white sandalwood, and Asian pear. The Fox-Woman Kuzunoha Leaving Her Child: White tea, cherry blossom, wisteria, star jasmine, and teak. The Lantern Ghost of Oiwa: Black tea, cherry blossom, ho wood, calla lily, rice wine, and white mint. The only other GC with cherry blossom is: Aizen-Myoo: Yuzu, kaki, and mikan with cherry blossom and black tea. Hope that helps!

Does anyone have recommendations for scents that work well with the heat? I do love the refreshing scents in the summer, but sometimes I just want to give in to the weather and wear something sultry.

Sticky Pillowcase was very similar to Treat #1 on me. Should be somewhat easier to find!

On me, June Gloom smells a lot like BBW's Dancing Waters lotion - the same fresh water and flowers with a hint of citrus.

My favorite Japanese-inspired scents so far are both Shungas - Voyeurs Among the Cherry Blossoms and The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife. ETA: Forgot - Tokyo Stomp and its awesome bottle art! Maybe it doesn't smell particularly "Japanese", but I love it!

I haven't tried it yet myself, but you could perhaps look for Haunted. The notes listed are golden amber and black musk. Oblivion, one of my favorite blends, has dark musk, wood spice, labdanum, patchouli, dark African woods, and saffron. I don't really get the patchouli, so it might be worth a shot, unless you tend to amp that. Bewitched is another with dark musk - blackberry, sage, green tea, wild berries, and dark musk. It's a nice berry scent, if blackberries work for you. Two-Headed Goat is another that I haven't tried, but dark musk is the first note - dark musk, pimento berry, oakmoss, birch wood, petitgrain. ETA: Also! Titus Andronicus (dark musk and black amber with frankincense, red sandalwood, neroli and bergamot) and Robin Goodfellow (dark musk, moss-covered wood, ragwort, heather, and sage).

I saw some of the suggestions made for Rice Flower and Shea that have been posted in this thread, but I came to mention that I found a near-perfect match in Tissue! I guess it probably won't smell the same on everyone, but on me, it smelled just like Rice Flower and Shea, I was so excited when I tested it! I haven't gotten my decant of Tissue yet, so I can't comment on that one, but Lovers in a Ricefield smelled very similar to Rice Flower and Shea on me, especially when wet. I would definitely recommend checking out the Shungas!

I really love Day of the Skulls for beeswax. I don't get a lot of rose like some reviewers seem to have, and the drydown is all gorgeous warm waxy honey with just a touch of cocoa. Note description: white sandalwood, beeswax, and frankincense crowned by hydrangea, rose, and kantuta blossoms, dressed with tobacco, cocoa leaves and flowers from the sacred Cactus of the Four Winds.

I'd been avoiding aquatics (I blame commercial "ocean spray"-type scents!), but just in the past couple of days I've fallen in love with Water Phoenix and Moana. Which, incidentally: I'd recommend Moana for this. It's definitely a warmer or tropical ocean, and I can see it representing the idea of a dolphin very well. ~ I'm going to have to search this thread for some new BPAL aquatics to try! Anyone have any thoughts on what might have a similar feel to Moana?

I'm not sure if I can pick out Peru balsam, but of the scents I've tried, it's in Kubla Khan and the aforementioned No. 93 Engine, both of which I love. On me, No. 93 engine starts off gleaming metal and dries down to a comfortable sweet warmth. Kubla Khan has a lot going on, so I imagine it's pretty dependent on skin chemistry. My nose isn't very well trained yet so it's really difficult for me to describe it, but it's definitely one of those BPALs that smells complex and unique.

My first review! Sorry for the unsophisticated nose. This oil's not too hard, though - it's just what it says on the tin! In the imp: Syrup! Wet: The pancakes and butter come out and balance with the syrup. Pancake Breakfast is making me hungry. Drydown: Stays the same - like walking into a Shrove Tuesday dinner. Absolutely amazing! I enjoyed this scent so much. I never wear anything that foody, though, so it's out to swaps to pass on the love!