Cactus

I can't remember if I posted this yet or not, but Undertow reminds me of a less complex version of Lunar Phoenix! Same aquatic and lotus base!

Kneel Down, Fair Love, and Fill Thyself with Tears is a slightly musky Magnolia scent - it's one of the purest Magnolia scents I've found. Ghosts in Love has Magnolia in it, but it also has other scents in it, some other white flowers, some woods. It's gorgeous, imho!

Seconding Pottaskefill (Yule 2015): Salt licorice, birch tar, black pepper, and leather. Also, the whole Mars Series from 2015 lupers were incredible, but especially Mars Rigonemetis - Dark musk entwined with ivy, black pine, birch tar, cypress, black cedar, and black pepper. and Mars Loucetius - A white tea chypre with rockrose, white sandalwood, and champaca flower Also, not my cup of tea, but a lot of people seem to be swooning over Mars Ultor.

Love Dorian! Tried Morocco, and I remember that it didn't work for me. Maybe it was the dry down. A little too woodsy without anything to balance (on my skin at least). Baruch's Phoenix sounds excellent, I'll add it to my wishlist <3 If Morocco was too woody for you - you might have a little of the same issue with Baruch's Phoenix. On the other hand, the orange is so fresh and good in it.

Based on your notes, have you tried Dorian, Morocco, and Baruch's Phoenix? Edit: And here's my list of overlapping notes in favorites. No spreadsheet, just did it this moment. Moss (of various kinds) - 6 Tea - 3 grasses - 3 woods (not specified in the notes, just "woods") - 3 sandalwood - 3 dark/deep musk - 3 labdanum - 3 water/rain - 3 saffron - 2 beeswax - 2 frankincense - 2 sage - 2 rose - 2

Two more that aren't already on the list (I think) Le Serpent Qui Danse - Violets with sweet vanilla! Grand Guignol - Apricot brandy - very boozy in a warm, fruity way. Also, O sounds like it might be right up your alley, so *seconds that*.

I don't really see Oblivion as a "night scent" at all, despite it's name. It's always struck me as being very warm, even hot or solar in nature. The scent of wood and skin and spices in the noon sun. But YMMV. The scents that I see as fitting your character the most are: Blacker Than the Raven Wings of Midnight - Black tea leaf fougere with black sandalwood, opalescent vanilla, osmanthus, 18-year aged Indonesian patchouli, and the suggestion of ancient incense smoke. Dragon's Eye - A piercing, radiant perfume: dragon’s blood resin, lily of the valley, lilac and galbanum. (Galbanum is sharp and almost metallic, and combined with dragon's blood it strikes me as blood-and-metal and reminds me of being proficient with weapons. Lily of the valley and lilac are "white florals" and so smell similar to night blooming flowers.) 51 - Luminescent, glowing, and otherworldly: 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. (Smells like night blooming flowers and wild plants with something otherworldly and powerful hovering over it. Possibly the white musk + the air over the salt flats?) Other scents that might work: Crossroads - A chill twilit garden of blooms over dry earth and mosses, heavily laden with incense and offertory herbs. Quintessence of Dust - Beeswax and smoke, yellowed paper and well-worn leather books, droplets of spilled ink, faded incense, blood-tinged salty tears, and the metal of the knife. Hope you find something that works for you and your character!

Nothing new to add, but I'd like to second the recommendations for Kumiho, Pele, and Mag Mell! All of them are very light scents with some amount of ginger (which you seem to like based on the scents you listed). Kumiho is the lightest, IMO, but is also dry and not sweet (which may or may not be up your alley). It is pretty much pure, leafy tea with a little ginger. Pele is a lovely, slightly warm, aquatic with a definite sweet floral note alongside the ginger. Mag Mell is sweet, grassy, and amber-y and not quite as light as the others, but still lovely and not heavy.

Ooooh, John Barleycorn! I would describe it as "medium" on the beer. It has a definite rich beer smell, but that shades nicely into the grain and dried grasses. It also has just a tiny "edge" of the harder stuff. To me, it invokes more the wheat berries and maybe a fermenting keg than "omg a big glass of beer". I don't know if it's been mentioned yet, but Grand Guignol - sweet apricot brandy. Lovely apricot scent, but not overly sweet. Instead, it's definitely boozy and almost skin musk like. Definitely sensual. From the 2015 Lupers, Seated Couple Leaning on Hips - Sake, skin musk, and ambrette seed. Very pure sake scent. But also had a little bit of a floral edge on me, which made it not quite my cup of tea... but maybe someone else's.

Jupiterian Phoenix hasn't been mentioned yet, it is one of the most accurate pine/cedar forest blends I've smelled. sarsaparilla, juniper berries, Himalayan cedar, Terebinth pine, sweet clove, green tea, nutmeg, and hyssop Also, from the GC you might want to try Ranger - buckskin accord with Terebinth pine, Russian birch, black ironwood, elder bark, hay, armoise, juniper, patchouli, galangal root, Spanish moss, and cabreuva.

It's not pure blue, but mostly blue... and definitely electric - Phobos - Chilling white musk, lemon verbena, white grapefruit and lemongrass

This starts out as a mix of sake and a sweet-pea like floral. A slight bit of ambrette seed, but very subdued - I have to almost press my nose to the oil to smell it. After about 4 hours it's dried down to a purer sake scent. Sake is now definitely the main note, with "sweet pea" and something woody and musky in the background.

Oakmoss and a thousand shades of foresty green! Smells like all the plants in a coniferous forest from the trees, to the little plants on the river banks, to the moss on the tree bark. Pretty sure there's also a touch of musk in there too. The mint is super juicy and sparkly which provides a great contrast! The mint kind of fades in and out too, so there's sort of a pleasant shifting of the smell as it dries down.

This starts out with a strong medicinal green scent. Like breaking a stem, but on a Srs Bzness medicinal plant. Fortunately, that overwhelming stage is over in less than 10 minutes. After that it changes and becomes a fresh grass scent with hints of honey and green musk. Very nice and fresh. One hour later it has become pure green musk on me. Almost a green musk single note! Basically, if you like green musk, this is a great scent for that, but it is also very simple (and if you are into complicated scents it is probably not for you).

Mars Rigonemetis has that good intense warm-skin dark musk thing (that's also found in Oblivion.) It's all musk & woods as soon as it hits skin. There's little hints of very green, sappy ivy that show through here and there, but they're not that big. Which is surprising because in the bottle it was *all* ivy. *shrugs* The ivy starts to come back a bit as it dries down, though. It's never in the forefront, but it gets more noticeable. There's also a hint of something like a beeswax candle here? (Which is not in the notes... but it works very well here!)

No suggestions that haven't already been made... But this is making me think we really should have a "scents we've worn for Drag" conversation in BPAL Chatter.

OK! I got Mars Rigonemetis! And I did a little bit of a mini-test! Haven't got through the whole dry-down cycle yet, but I can give you some idea of what it smells like though. It definitely has similarities to Oblivion. It has that same amazing musk & woods thing going on as soon as it hits skin. There's little hints of very green, sappy ivy that show through here and there, but they're not that big. which is surprising because in the bottle it was *all* ivy. I think the ivy is starting to come back a bit as it dries down, though. There's also a hint of something like a beeswax candle here? Which wasn't in Oblivion. And this isn't as spicy as Oblivion. Re: Antony - Amergris usually does really funky things on my skin, so usually I notice it. But I didn't really notice any in Antony. The one thing that maybe puts me off of it is it's pretty "OMG! Leather!" - really raw and strong. But if you are into that, you might find that to be a plus.

Oblivion was also a complete surprise for me - I got it as a free imp from the lab. And it does that wonderful thing as soon as it hits skin! I'm pretty sure it's the dark musk that does that. The GC scent I find most similar is Sed Non Satiata. It is Oblivion's sweeter, more sensual sibling. Basically imagine Oblivion but lighter on the spice and a bit honeyed and resinous. The other scent that is close (but not quite as close as Sed Non Satiata) is Magus. It's a little drier and woodier. I'm getting a tester of Mars Rigonemetis from this year's Lupers - it has dark musk in it, and I'm hoping it will be similar. I'll let you know how it smells as soon as I test it. Other scents which have less in common but you might like anyway: Coyote - this one was discontinued last time I looked, but It might be available on the forums. It has Golden Musk with sage and sweetgrass and has always smelled like lying in sunlight to me. Mary Shelley - If you like the green-ness of Ogygia and the spice/musk if Oblivion, this has a little of both. Here's the lab's description: "the scent of absinthe, lightning, stormclouds, and laudanum crashing through a veil of soft Victorian oriental perfume" . Antony - Green somewhat like Ogygia, but also super musky and leathery. I think the leather in this and the leather in Dragon's Hide might be similar. "The embodiment of Classic masculinity. A warrior's scent: the green hills and grasses of the battlefields, the resinous incense from the prayers to his Gods, and a touch of the musky leather of his armor. Ambergris and frankincense with sage, and basil."

Maija, BPAL oils are *very* concentrated - and the intensity of them can make them cause issues for people who are sensitive. Maybe there is something (or more than one thing) in particular that your friend is allergic to. But in the mean time, while you are puzzling that out... Maybe she could dilute some of her BPAL oil with a carrier oil and try wearing that and see how that works? Some carrier oils that I've heard people say good things about are grapeseed oil and jojoba oil. But on the other hand, the notes listed in the descriptions aren't *everything that's in the scent* and looking through the reviews, several people are saying they get a spicy or cinnamon-y smell off of Blood Countess, so maybe there is some cinnamon in the mix somewhere? Also "smoky" notes can cause some people issues. As for Velvet... maybe the sandalwood? *shrug*

Also, you might want to check the Swaps & Sales parts of this forum - someone might have a bottle listed.

Day of Skulls (Halloween LE) has cactus blossoms as well! On my skin at least, it tends to smell very strongly of them. If you want the smell of the green part of the cactus... I haven't seen any of that on BPAL, but aloe is a pretty close scent. Enbalming Fluid is the strongest aloe scent I know of on this site.

This is totally different from other suggestions, but for the first character - No. 93 Engine? It smells like a cross between an apothecary's/pharmacist's lab and holy incense. And there's something sweet/kind about it... maybe the honey in the beeswax. Also, perhaps Blood Lotus? Or if you like rose better than lotus - Blood Rose? Both have that "blood" smell blended with a sweet floral and something resinous/incensy.

If you are into Scherezade and spices/woods and are willing to experiment with things that are slightly foody, you might want to try Morocco! It has lovely sandalwood and spices and just smells warm and wonderful, but also has a nice spicy carnation and something that smells a little like baklava in the background. If you are interested in a very intense, slightly sweet ginger, you might want to try Fire of Love. (Ginger Skulls is also *very* good - it's one of my favorite gingers. It smells to me like fresh ginger, candied ginger, and ripe pears. It's a little harder to find, though, because it's limited edition.)

"Florals for people who usually don't like florals!" I think it also depends on what you do like. If you are usually into green or woody scents - you might want to try Ghosts in Love. It has a wild, woody edge to it. Clean and outdoors-y. It has rose in it, but it's mostly white florals. Smells more of magnolia and muguet than rose.

Black musk and skin musk smell very different - so they must have different ingredients. And when it comes to allergies, even little differences can be very important.