parrot_suspect

Hello, fellow powder lover! Haunted is a good one to try. It has a powdery drydown. Stinky isn't powdery the same way, say, Black Opal is. To me, Stinky smells like Burt's Bees "baby" line. If you like Gladdener, you may like Lilith Victoria, or even just plain Dorian, which doesn't go powdery on me but YMMV. Have you tried Alice or Creature Feature? How about TKO? At the risk of sounding repetitious, I always go back to my beloved Psych Horror when I want baby powder-musk. It is the ultimate powdery scent.

Those of you who pine after Jingo-Kogo should nab a bottle of Lilith vs. the Giant Crab. It's very, very similar -- Giant Crab is slightly more orange-y.

Glad to hear Dragon's Musk worked out so well for you, HK! That's one of my all-time favorites -- I've gone through several bottles. It smells so rich, sweet, warm and musky...kind of decadent and "fuzzy." The only way to improve on it would be to come out with layering products -- a Dragon's Musk body cream, soap or shower gel...or candle...yes, I can dream! I wore it Saturday and got several compliments.

The white musk/vanilla musk in this is strong, and the florals, not so much. For the sake of comparison...at first I thought this smelled kind of like Body Shop's Moonlit Path. But now, I'm sitting here sniffing it, and it smells a *lot* like Dior's Hypnotic Poison. It's a thick, murky, slightly Oriental vanilla musk. Very femimine. It has amazing staying power. It's not quite my thing, but I can see this becoming incredibly popular.

I am so frustrated! Every note in here is usually a good one for me. But in this case, the sum of the parts isn't quite what I hoped it would be. In the bottle, it's gorgeous. On my skin, there's a hopeful moment where a swirl of spicy red musk blooms, but then the clove and the "smoky" notes start coming out, and the scent morphs into something that's *just a hair* to smoky/sharp for me to love. It's close, but no cigar. I prefer red musk blends that are smoother than this (for example, Scherezade, The Grindhouse, Spellbound). I can't wear Mme. Moriarty and Marianne as they are both have that "something too sharp" about them. I'd love, love, love to have a candle that smelled like this...I just can't wear it on my skin, as my skin amps the sharp and smoky notes. *sigh*

I've tried Magie Noire; I think you should look for a dark, rich floral that has some fruits in it. Sacred Whore of Babylon comes to mind. I'm not a big floral lover, but maybe other forumites might have some suggestions. That's funny; I never would have thought of that comparison. On me, Morocco is VERY similar to the niche fragrance Costes, and in the same general ballpark (not identical, but with a similar feel) as Donna Karan's Cashmere Mist. We are all so different!

I think Black Opal is a lot like Antique Lace.

Do you like the scent of solid bar soap, such as Dove or Camay? If so, you'll love Come to Me. It's soft, opaque, dense, lightly floral, creamy soap. Very pretty, subtle, and unexpected for a Conjure blend!

Jasmine is a dicey note for me as well, but it did not stand out in The Girl. I didn't notice it at all. To me, The Girl smelled very much like a soft, round, slightly floral vanilla musk blend -- actually, you know what it really reminds me of? "Moonlight Path" from Bath and Body Works.

The drydown of Psychological Horror, to me, is quite similar to Skin Musk.

Just thought of another; it sounds perfect for you. Because it's a Panacea oil, you can't purchase a single imp of this from the Lab, but I'm sure you could find one in the swaps forum; or you could take the plunge and buy the bottle. Elixir II, Succor: Relaxation, Calm, Finding Center

I'm not pagan either, but I've worn certain TALs as perfume and they work fine and don't cause anything bizarre to happen in my life. I think you have to use them with intent, in a ritualistic way (e.g. anointing candles), in order to help bring about some type of result. If you have questions about a specific TAL, you could always e-mail Kathy at the Lab (wickedgoddess@blackphoenixalchemylab.com) who is very knowledgeable about them. The TALs I've worn as perfume, or used to anoint my head or wrists, are: White Light, Healing, Peace, Meditation, LaFlamme, Queen of the Nile, Amor, Anthelion, Nocturne, Charisma. Nocturne and Peace are probably my favorites, because they help me to settle down and relax before bedtime. White Light is beautiful, but I had it on when my mother died so it now has sad associations for me; however I think it could be perfect for you.

The Coiled Serpent is a good one from the GC -- but don't get it if you don't like patchouli. You might also consider Voodoo or Morocco. You might want to consider some of the TAL oils; imps aren't available for those, but you can sometimes find them on the swaps/sales forum. Meditation, Peace, Healing, White Light, Anthelion -- all would be good for the purposes you're describing.

This is lovely, but hard to pin down. Musky, ambery, a touch food-y -- but not too much -- a bit herbal, and a dash of spice wafting out every so often. The smooth/"golden" muskiness is redolent of Ozymandias -- I'd class Miss Lupescu as a sibling or at least a close cousin of Ozymandias. Medium throw and lasting power. Very easy to wear. Somewhat unisex, though leaning more toward feminine. Reminds me a bit of Lady on the Grey, but Lady on the Grey was more masculine-"cologne-y" than this. So glad I bought a bottle!

Try Perversion or Loviatar.

This is redolent of a bygone era. As previous reviewers mentioned, it has a "vintage" feel. You can imagine an elegant lady in the 1930s or '40s sitting at her art deco dressing table and applying this, along with dusting powder and red lipstick, while styling her bobbed hair into crimped waves. It's a "pearls and patent leather heels" type of fragrance. I don't know what the notes are, but there are definitely florals and powdery notes, and some soft woods in the drydown. it is not extremely powdery, though -- it's just that you can imagine expensive dusting powder smelling like this. I believe there is some rose, but this is not an "OMG! rose!" fragrance (I can't wear rose fragrances, so if this were too rose-y, I wouldn't like it). All the notes blend together beautifully to create a lovely fragrance with retro appeal. It has medium throw and longevity -- I did have to re-apply it after several hours, but I wouldn't say my skin "eats" this. It's great for wearing to work or a night out. It is soft and smooth and easy to wear. If you like older commercial fragrances such as L'Heure Bleue, Arpege, Normandie, etc....give this a try. I wish this were in the GC...I would repurchase it often.

(Note: I am reviewing the DD "vintage" Aug. 2009 release of this blend) I've always been interested in Pulse Points. Based on the reviews, it sounded like something I might like. I'm not afraid of civet or musks, and "band-aid" notes usually disappear on me after the first 15 minutes. So imagine my surprise when I opened my Pulse Points bottle and got...a soft floral. No civet, no musk (that I could detect), but just plain floral. Yet, it's a *wet* floral. A dark, quiet floral (yet not heady, creamy or heavy, like tuberose or gardenia). It brings to mind sitting around on a humid summer night in a garden full of honeysuckle bushes and other flowers. By "wet" floral, please note that I do not mean it is aquatic, because it's not. It just has a humid, lazy, "flower garden at night" feel to it. I'm guessing that must be the narcissus. Pulse Points is actually kind of nice, but florals aren't really my thing. I think I'll let it age for a while and see if the civet or musk notes come out more. If not, maybe I'll layer it with Debauchery, which is all civet on me.

Hillary, have you tried Scherezade, Spellbound or The Grindhouse? Those are all pretty long lasting on me. I agree, Snake Charmer doesn't have quite the lasting power I'd prefer. It's a gorgeous scent, though! Does it even have red musk? I have yet to try Mircalla, but I have a bottle on the way so I'll let you know if my experience is similar to yours.

I so wanted to love this...the notes sounded amazing. But it was just too mossy on me. If you're into dark, mossy scents you'll love this. It's lush and "wet" feeling, but not overly floral. Green and woodsy, with the florals balancing it out.

Anoint the soles of your feet, your temples, Third Eye, pulse points and your heart prior to retiring. It aids in bringing on natural sleep, and helps ensure that you are not plagued by nagging thoughts and nightmares. I've been an insomniac for years. It's rare that I don't have difficulty settling my mind down to sleep at night. I've tried several of the BPAL sleep blends. They are all helpful, in varying degrees. But nothing works so well as Nocturne. I follow the directions, applying dabs of it to the correct parts of my body, turn out the lights, and boom! I'm asleep within 15 minutes, and I don't wake up all night. In a way this surprises me, because this oil isn't something I'd wear just for the fragrance -- my skin amps the rose way beyond my personal preference. Even so, with the smell of roses (a scent I do not like) wafting all around me, I settle down to sleep so easily. It's amazing. If you have sleep troubles at all, you must get this.

Ozymandias is one of my favorite fragrances to wear to work. It smells great and is "businesslike."

Exactly! Mme. Moriarty was too sharp on me, but this is very wearable. It's gorgeous, in fact. I had been leery of The Grindhouse based on the floral notes -- I don't do rose well. Then an imp arrived in a swap, I sampled it and was intrigued, so I swapped for a bottle. And I'm so glad I did. The florals help keep the musk and vanilla from being too foody, soapy or strong. This is a stunning, sexy, musky floral-oriental. It smells a bit root beer-ish on initial application, then subtly changes as it dries down. My skin does eat this blend, so I'm going to have to buy backup bottles for slathering, but that's OK. I've been looking for a scent like this for quite some time, and I'm surprised it's not more popular/talked about. If you like Scherezade, Snake Charmer, Hell's Belle, or any blend with red musks, florals and spices, you should try The Grindhouse.

you might want to look for fragrances that list amber as one of the notes...that often lends a powdery, "vintage" feel to the drydown. Here are a few that, to me, smell like they could be from Guerlain, Chanel, Rochas, etc.: Haunted smells like Shalimar. Unseelie (discontinued) smells like L'Heure Bleue. Ozymandias, Diabolical Offspring and Psych Horror are a bit reminiscent of Chanel No. 5 and other classic, aldehydic fragrances. Baghdad smells like Caron Nuit de Noel. Several Salon fragrances have an elegant feel to them, including Lucretia, And There Was a Great Cry in Egypt (that one smells like Vol de Nuit to me), Death and Life Completed and Philosopher in Meditation.

TKO is wonderful, but you might also want to try Love and Pain from the Salon.

Interesting blend! Starts off smelling almost exactly like baby powder. I know the term "powdery" or "baby powder" gets tossed around a lot, but this one, seriously, does smell just like baby powder upon application. Then, within a half hour, the sublime drydown begins. It smells a *lot* like Chanel No. 5 during the drydown phase...then it's just a gorgeous, clean, baby-fresh skin scent. This is a beautiful scent if you like fragrances that are powdery or aldehydic. I'm going to hoard several bottles, along with my other new favorite powdery blends, Psych Horror and Stinky.