shalottian

Oleander, iris, bitter almond, tonka, and a bit of smoke. That sounds gorgeously sinister! I wish it were real! I'm thinking a dark, slinky floral (jasmine or ylang ylang, for preference, but I could see her going for something fresher and younger, like rose or violet, if she's trying to seduce poor innocent d'Artagnan) with a heavy undercurrent of vetiver. Or maybe patchouli? One of those scents that could go epically wrong, but she makes it sort of darkly seductive instead of skunky. It would be sexy and enticing on top, but once those notes burned off, BAM! Vetiver city. I did a bit of checking around, and it looks like Marquise de Merteuil, Serpent's Kiss, Tombeur, A Countenance Foreboding Evil, and Highwayman (oddly enough) all fit. This is actually a question of great interest to me, since my plan to go as Milady for Halloween last year was sadly thwarted by being unable to find a costume that cost less than like $200. But if I find one this year, I'm totally wearing one of these! Oooh! I have such mixed success with vetiver. Sometimes it goes really sexy on me, but sometimes it just overwhelms everything else. I'll consider *plots*. Also, I hope you find a great costume for Halloween! Milady is one of my favorite villainesses EVER! She's just as passion-driven and ruthless as the Musketeers, but has no real legal outlet for it as a woman. And she does what she wants anyhow.

I'm trying to figure out a good scent for Milady de Winter from The Three Musketeers. You'd think it would be easy for such a classic femme fatale, but there's almost too many options. Any ideas?

Smooth and lovely. For me it goes on sweet and rosey with a little fizz, but gets some gorgeous vanilla in there on the drydown... at least on my right wrist. The left is still rose.

*bump* So for Halloween, I'm performing in a belly dance show my dance teacher is putting on. I'm dancing to Sally's Song from Nightmare Before Christmas, and while my costume isn't going to literally be Sally, I'm definitely going for a dancing rag doll kind of look. Any ideas for a scent to complete the costume?

So, I just got my hands on some Pipevine Swallowtail Smooch, and I am absolutely in love with the scent. I usually think of citrus as being something I like in the shower only, but it smells so amazing on me that I think I'd like to wear it all day. Sadly, it's not available as a perfume from what I can tell. *sob* The notes are: Aromatic basil and bitter tomato leaf in an ephemeral haze of neroli and tangerine. I get mostly neroli (floral citrus) with a bite of something sharp and green. You'd think the basil would make it smell foody, but it doesn't at all. Can you think of a BPAL that would be a good dupe? Thanks so much!

Hi! I'm a belly dancer myself (tribal and Egyptian styles mostly), and for recitals or class my favorites have been: Hetairae, Bastet (Luxuriant amber, warm Egyptian musk, fierce saffron and soft myrrh, almond, cardamom and golden lotus), and Snake Oil. I also sometimes just pick a scent that makes me, personally, feel beautiful because that helps me feel more confident. Good luck!

I was a little nervous about this one because aquatics are hit or miss on me (I usually go for spicy scents)— I bought it mainly because Yeats owns my heart forever. I'm pretty new to bpal, so I'm still learning notes, but I get sweet water and a nice, leafy scent (falling leaves, not green ones) with a hint of soft floral. It really does evoke early autumn to me. I like it.

My one rec was Vasilissa (to be layered with one of the Riders in order to represent a kind of girliness that wants to be badass), and the scent is great on me: creamy and a little spicy. I chickened out on the leather scents (one of these days I'll give them a go ) I don't know if it really fits personality-wise though—I don't think of myself as really being a girly girl (but I love the scent anyhow, so I don't really care ) If anyone has any more ideas, let me know! I don't know why, but I'm thinking No. 93 Engine. For some reason that scent always reminds me of bustling activity and productivity, and it seems like you're always pushing forward, trying to learn new things and go new places. EDIT- Haha... I just looked back in the thread and realized that I recc'd 93 Engine to the other person I had an idea for too. Apparently I find that a very evocative scent.

I love chrysanthemum, and the idea of cactus flowers is really intriguing. I'm a little afraid of rose, oddly enough. I don't do well with traditional florals. imp- Oh hi there, you must be that vetiver that everyone is afraid of. You smell a little dirty... But I'll give you a try because I'm nice like that. wet- Vetiver. Eek... Oh, hi, roses, so nice of you to come out and play with the vetiver. The rose is coming to the forefront--hey, this is actually pretty. Dry- Woah. Actually... now that everything's stabelized, it's beautiful The Vetiver gives it this dark, sad earthiness that the florals just soar over. Unfortunatley, it's making my eyes itch. Nooo! I'll need to give it another try before I'm sure about it

The inspiration sounds like Emma Peel thrown back in time to Ancient Greece (don't ask me why my brain goes right to that--I have no idea), and that alone makes it a must try. And the notes sound lovely. *excitement* imp- honey with a hint of something earthy (clearly patchouli) and a hint of something floral. wet- I'm getting a kind of spiciness with an undercurrent of sweet (Is that the fig? My nose is still learning...) all wrapped up in honey. I like it. It's oddly seductive. The patchouli gives it a kind of smokiness dry- A little sweet, a little spicy, a little earthy. I get a whiff of a very faint floral in the background every once in awhile. As it dries, the honey comes out more strongly, and the whole thing is just gorgeous. I have a feeling I can rock this one.

Someone with a broader knowledge of scents could probably do more justice to the first bit, because my mind just goes to something in the steamworks category: No 93 Engine or The Coil. I haven't tried the coil, but it sounds more specifically electric, whereas No 93 engine to me is a weird combo of being industrious and dreamy. But I like the idea of them being appropriate for the job, and yet evocative of this whole fantasy steampunk world. For the second bit, my mind jumped to students with glittering eyes and forky tongues: the inspiration is so morbid (the snakes leaping out and killing the greedy wife in The Little Sparrow With the Split Tongue), but it's such a cheerful, colorful scent. -- Me, I'm a publishing student studying editing and book marketing. I eventually want to work for a small press, hopefully doing something with YA literature. So it comes to no surprise that reading and writing are two of my passions. I majored in English during my undergraduate years, and I still get geek joy out of anything literary. I have a special fondness for Virginia Woolf. When I'm not being a lit. geek, I study three different styles of belly dance (I used to do modern dance but switched after undergrad). If it were humanly possible, I'd buy all my food at local farmer's markets. I love the arts and am very creative. I prefer to walk to get where I'm going. I also strongly identify as a feminist and have a passion for social justice. Oddly enough, I'm pretty shy despite having outgoing interests, and I have this cutesy youthfulness to me, but sometimes I wish I were a little more badass (see Emma Peel).

Candle Moon turns into this gorgeous soft, slightly cold blackberry muskiness on me. Does anyone know of a similar scent?

What a fun thread! I'm not sure that there's a scent very appropriate for my costume but... My geeky friends and I have been obsessed with Star Trek the past few months, and so I'm going to my friend's Halloween/birthday (best holiday to be born on y/y?) part as a genderswapped!Spock. Do you think there's anything even remotely appropriate?

My very first BPAL scent ever. I don't really wear perfume, but I was buying Blood Kiss for my friend's birthday and thought I might as well give it a try. I'm a belly dancer (well, in training) and figured it would be a fun scent to help transform my attitude in class. I apologize for not really having the scent vocabulary. In the bottle- Eek! Too much incense. Hippie perfume for sure (I like hippies, but I'm not one.) This is what I was afraid of. I'm suddenly reminded of why I don't wear perfume: too strong, interrupting the smells of my day. This will never suit me. Wet- Now it's getting sweet almost, and heady. I'm a little nervous, and yet, I can't stop smelling my arm. There's something surprisingly sexy about this. It's still very much like hippie shop incense, but I think I like it. Dry- This is spicy and lovely and soft. This is a scent for someone who simply radiates beauty--she's not trying to get your attention, but she does anyhow. I'm not her (yet,) but I'd like to be her. It still smells slightly sweet to me, but I think that may be my body chemistry. I'll keep trying it. Maybe perfume will work on me after all.