parrot_suspect

The notes for Red Phoenix sounded great, so I bought it. Unfortunately, it just isn't that great on my skin. It smells like a watered-down spice tea type of fragrance -- and it's EXACTLY the same as Blood Moon on me. I guess I just don't care for these "mildly spicy" blends. Give me Gingerbread Poppet, or Sin, any day!

Try Vixen -- either by itself, or layered with something else. Its scent is not too far from Prada.

In general, I like warm, spicy scents (e.g. The Lion), but Sol wasn't quite what I was expecting. It smelled like burnt orange peels -- both in the bottle and on my skin. I found it rather unpleasant. Those who like citrusy or spicy scents may like this, but it's not my cup of tea.

Please tell me I'm not the only one who thinks Antique Lace smells kinda like Numb in the opening notes?? It's like Numb minus the violets. That same creamy, soapiness with a bit of a sharp edge to it. (This is the resurrected Antique Lace I'm reviewing -- ordered the day it was re-released). As it dries down, it takes on a more calm, soothing vanilla-musky aspect, but for a while there, it sure does smell like Numb's twin. I love the drydown and can envision myself wearing Antique Lace quite often.

An imp of this was included in my most recent order. My main impression is a fresh, crisp, lavender-herbal type scent. I detect green notes, but the lavender really comes through on my skin. If I didn't know this was "Peace," I'd think it was part of the Somnium range. A pleasant and refreshing, yet calming, scent, is my take on it.

Wow, is this ever a beautiful scent. Jacob's Ladder caught my eye because of the notes -- I'm a fan of resinous scents -- and I'm happy to report it's everything I'd hoped it would be. This scent doesn't morph much as it dries down. It starts out, and pretty much remains, a lovely sweet, golden, resinous amber scent. Warm and comforting. Not as "dry" as, say, Aureus (bet it would be lovely layered with Aureus, though!) It's slightly powdery on the drydown. Amber is a tricky note -- sometimes it can smell medicinal (I'm thinking of L'Artisan Ambre) or too powdery. But this is just about perfect. My only complaint (and it's not really a complaint, just an observation) is that Jacob's Ladder is not very long lasting and doesn't have much sillage. So it will be one to slather, and to use in a scent locket, as I do with other "light" scents such as Alice. I'll be stocking up on Jacob's Ladder...wish this were a GC scent.

That might work, Xith. Also -- have you tried Tezcatlipoca? That has a powdered cocoa/woodsy vibe. Velvet might work well, too.

Here's a fragrance that truly lives up to its hype. Snake Oil deserves its position as the most popular BPAL scent. It's sexy, vanillic, spicy, smoky -- a gothic vanilla, if you will. Sweet and smoldering at the same time. It lasts forever and has great sillage. A classic, and one of Beth's masterpieces.

Vixen is a gorgeous, glorious, seductive scent. Imagine LUSH Karma without the pine notes. The genuis of Vixen is that it blends bright, sunny, sweet notes (orange blossom and ginger) with the dark earthiness of patchouli, and the two opposites balance each other out. Anyone who thinks they can't wear patchouli needs to give this a try. This is a perfectly blended scent -- it's difficult to pick out the individual notes, they blend together seamlessly. The drydown is lovely. I should mention as well that this is a strong scent, not for the faint of heart, and it has considerable sillage. One of my top favorites -- I find myself reaching for this quite often. Bravo, Beth!

This is a nice, relaxing lavender blend. In comparison to Somnus, I'd say Oneiroi is more soft and gentle; Somnus is stronger and heavier on the jasmine. Oneiroi is a very pleasant scent to wear to bed, and I've ordered a big bottle. I don't know if it has been helping me to sleep, but I haven't had too many terrible nightmares since I began using it.

I find Snake Oil -- by itself -- quite similar to POTL, and have in fact layered the two on many occasions.

If you like Cashmere Mist, try BPAL Morocco. It's not exactly like Cashmere Mist, but it's in the same family (creamy, warm, woodsy, skin-scent). Others to try would be Buck Moon or Coyote. Sorry, I don't remember what Realities smells like.

The description sounded awesome, and in general I love amber. So I ordered Haunted unsniffed. But alas, it just isn't right for me. I'm sure on some people this is awesome, but on me, the lemon/citrus note was overpowering. Haunted reminded me a lot of Shalimar, which is another fragrance that almost works for me, if I weren't put off by the initial citrus notes. The drydown of Haunted is lovely, but the first few hours aren't good. I would say that if you like Oriental-type fragrances and you don't mind citrus notes mingling with amber and heavier notes, Haunted may be just what you're looking for.

Samhain '04, of which I only have an imp, is a wonderful scent. Smoky, woodsy, spicy, mysterious. Samhain '05 is reminiscent of '04, but not exactly alike. This year's Samhain seems weaker, more watered-down smelling, and sharper. At first whiff, I definitely get the "medicinal" note that many have mentioned. There's something spicy and sharp, but not pleasant, at first. As it dries down, it becomes tremendously fruity, smelling just like apple cider after a few hours. For some people, that's great, but me ...I don't want to smell like apple cider...I wanted the woodsy, smoky, mystery of Samhain '04. I get very little woods from this one. Ah well, it was worth a try.

This is like Girl Scout Thin Mints with an undertone of nuts. The description sounded perfect -- I was hoping for a smooth blend of cocoa and sandalwood, but it doesn't come across that way on me. It's foody, but not in a good way. Definitely a disappointment.

This is a lovely soft, slightly "dark" vanilla musk with a powdery, sweet drydown. Unfortunately the scent itself is so light, has almost zero sillage and disappears on me within an hour. If it had better staying power, I'd definitely buy a big bottle.

I seem to be getting something different from everyone else. I don't get leather, books, or any warm notes -- rather, I'm getting the scent of a forest filled with evergreens. Very, very forest-like; similar to Black Forest. The drydown stays green. Not to be insulting, but this reminds me of evergreen-scented air freshener or potpourri. It's not a bad scent, but I don't want to smell that way. I can see this as more of a room fragrance than a personal fragrance.

I really like this one. I like the idea of a chocolate scent, but I don't want to smell like a doughnut. Tezcatlipoca does a great job of balancing different notes to create a spicy, dark, yummy type of scent that isn't too foody. It starts out all chocolate, then slowly dries down to patchouli, with some spice along the way. I don't get leather at all, which is a good thing. This scent reminds me of sipping a xocolatl (spiced Mexican hot cocoa -- if you like this fragrance, you must try xocolatl!) on a fall day. Just beautiful.

Yggdrasil is wonderfully "woodsy," so you may like that as well. And definitely check out Samhain.

Hi Oro. Sounds like you and I have similar tastes. Just based on that, I'd suggest Snake Charmer -- it's not a super spicy blend, but it's similar to Snake Oil and quite wearable. In the spicy category, I third (fourth?) the rec. of Bengal and would also suggest Baghdad and Sri Lanka. I think you'd love Bengal -- it's the closest thing I've ever smelled to a cup of chai tea. Other possibilities would include Red Devil, Jack and Sybaris. And if you can get your hands on some Hexxenacht, I can see that working for you as well.

Anyone else think this is a lot like Sudha Segara? There's that same sweet, fresh, gingery sort of feel to it...clean and almost soapy. I detect a bit of cinnamon and amber but not nearly as much as everyone else seems to be getting. In any case, I agree that this is a "golden," warm and sunny scent, uplifting and pleasant. Like sunshine in a bottle.

I think Jack (catalog scent) is quite similar to last year's Harvest Moon. They both have a similar buttery, candy-corn type of feel in the opening notes.

Oooh, I like this. It starts out uber-violety, then slowly dries down to a soapy white musk, with a bit of iris and violet hovering in the background. Very clean, very easy to wear.

Others have already said it, but it bears repeating. This fragrance is an amazing blend of patchouli and a sweet grape note. You wouldn't normally think of putting these notes together, but somehow it works. The sweetness of the grape takes the harsh edge off the patchouli, and the earthiness of the patchouli tames the sweet fruitiness of the grape. The overall impression is a clean, earthy, slightly sweet fragrance...almost soapy at times. Lovely! I'm going to have to get a bottle of this. In short, if you're searching for a wearable patchouli, look no further.

This isn't bad -- it's nicely crafted, but it's a little too floral/fruity for my tastes. I was hoping it would be heavier on the amber. Florals just aren't "me."