Dymphna

In the imp: I can smell the cognac and it smells goooood! I can also smell the woods, dark and sweet and not too dry. This is lovely. I had no idea from looking at the notes that it would smell this good. It reminds me a bit of Perversion, which is worrying since that one was way too sweet on me, but I'm hoping this won't turn so powdery-fruity-sweet on my skin. I'm not sure where that connection is coming from, since Perversion has rum and chardonnay rather than cognac, but it definitely smells similar, like a somewhat sweet alcoholic beverage. Wet: The cognac is frighteningly sweet for about a minute, and it reminds me of why Perversion didn't work on me. But then it settles down and the rich, warm woods come out and ohmygoodnessYUM! It's so rich, like really old, well cared for wood furniture. Dry: This is AMAZING! It's exactly how I imagine it would be to sit in an ancient, darkly paneled library, curled up in an old leather armchair, sipping cognac and reading a timeworn book. I mean, no, it doesn't have leather or "old book" notes, but it's evocative of that kind of experience nevertheless. Although maybe I'll try layering it with something leatheriffic and/or book-y at some point to see how it smells. But I love it--I absolutely LOVE it!--just as it is. Wow, this is such a surprise. This is my favorite of the Haunted House blends so far, and I never would have guessed that it would be. I love surprises like this! It's one of the reasons I love BPAL.

In the bottle: This is a really beautiful pumpkin scent, more creamy than spicy. Fortunately, there's no hint of heavy cheesecake, which is what I was fearing. Wet: GORGEOUS pumpkin. Not too spicy, not too buttery. It reminds me of a cross between Pumpkin Queen and Jack, my two favorite pumpkin blends. Dry: Once it's dried down, this turn into fresh pumpkin. No sugar, no spices, and thank Bob, still no cheesecake. Just pure pumpkin. So yummy! It reminds me of opening a can of pumpkin, or cutting into a pumpkin. Every time I sniff my wrist, my mouth waters. I was kind of worried when I saw that I'd gotten this one, since the original Beaver Moon taught me that I really do not like smelling like cheesecake, and Enraged Groundhog Musk proved that cheesecake can sometimes turn to plastic on me. But this is like pumpkin heaven. Pumpkin in its pure, natural, perfect state. Naked pumpkin! And this stuff lasts and lasts. I had delicious naked pumpkin for three or four hours. Now, more than six hours later, I've got sweet, soft marshmallow with a hint of pumpkin. Granted, there's no throw now, but still, yummy yum YUM!

That cracked me up. But yeah, this question comes up every so often and the answer is always the same--bouquets made from other essential oils that, combined, smell like lily of the valley or cake or musk/ civet/ ambergris (because our Beth wouldn't contribute to or encourage animal cruelty, 'cause she's cool like that).

In the bottle: It's kind of confusing, because it changes with every sniff. First it was strawberry vanilla ice cream, then it was strawberries and cherries with cream, then tart, almost peppery cherries. I have no idea how this will turn out on my skin. Wet: It smells like Eden. Not the mythical garden, the BPAL perfume. Now, I used to adore Eden, it was my first BPAL love, but the wet stage was never my favorite, and this smells like the wet stage of Eden--slightly sour coconut milk. Buh? Dry: Once it dries, I can smell cherries. My husband says he can smell the strawberry, but I don't get so much as a whisper of strawberry on my skin. There is a hint of cheesecakeyness to this, but fortunately it fades. I am NOT a fan of smelling like cheesecake, which is why I didn't like the original Beaver Moon. The longer I wear it, the more it smells like sweet cherries, almost exactly like Bloody Mary. Which is nice, but I already have a bottle of Bloody Mary. Damn, and I ordered two bottles of Beaver Moon because it sounded so good. Well, that was a waste of money. :/ Sigh. Maybe not, I'll try again in a week when my hormones are more normal.

Awesome, thanks!

I think, sadly, that you've kind of pinpointed the problem. When I was listing the blends I'd tried yesterday, I kept noticing that even in those that smelled very almondy initially, the almond scent didn't last long. In others, it never even shows up (case in point: Hellcat--I forgot that one even had almond). I will have to try Port-Au-Prince, though, thank you. I forgot about that one, too. I did actually look up "almond" with the search engine, but my problem isn't so much what has almond as what has almond with staying power. I've been meaning to try Black Phoenix, too. That one is supposed to be very cherry-almond-licious. And I'll definitely grab some Snow White if it comes back this year, just to see what all the fuss is about if nothing else.

Have you tried Bon Vivant? Smells like Rock Star without Vanilla to me and I equally hate both because both turn to a vomit-like sour smell on me. But that would still need a rather plain vanilla note to layer with it. Don't know how I missed this post! Let's see, I have tried layering Bon Vivant with...I think it was Underpants, but it's not quite the same. Bon Vivant's fizzy champagne note is very apparent to me. I have found more recently that this year's Hunter Moon smells very much like Rock Star in the early wet stage. It's also fizzy, but not at all champagne-y, more like a fizzy candy or soda, so that's a perfect match for Rock Star. Of course, it doesn't keep smelling like that, but I enjoy it while it lasts, and the later stages are delicious in other ways.

I've been staying away from the Snake Pit because the whole Snake Oil family of scents tends to scare me (see above, re: red musk), but I'll have to at least track down a decant of Asp Viper because I do know those cookies you're talking about and OMGYUM! As long as the myrrh doesn't go powdery and swamp the almonds the way it did in Hecate. Thanks!

Okay, I'm getting a little desperate, so any help is appreciated. I've been desperate for a good, strong almond scent and nothing is hitting the spot. I've tried the following: Eden (not very almondy on me) Thalassa (no almond whatsoever) Seraglio (the rose takes over) The Organ Grinder () Eclipse (cinnamon burn) Bastet (love it, but the almond fades quickly) Hecate (powdery, no almonds) Queen of Sheba (super-powdery) ...and Dana O'Shee, which doesn't list almond as a note, but I'm among the many people who detect a cherry/almond note in it. Unfortunately, that's only in the early wet stage. I amp rose like nobody's bidniz, even when I don't turn it to soap, and I can't tolerate red musk or orange blossom/neroli. Pleeeease, someone tell me if there's a nice, sweet almond blend that doesn't get swamped by other notes. I know that skin chem varies, but I need almond, dang it!

I put off posting my review of this for ages because, to be honest, it was so heartbreaking that I didn't want to think about it. I know that sounds melodramatic, but I was so happy about this scent when it was first released. I actually squeed. It made me so happy, and I couldn't wait to try it, which made the disappointment that much worse when I finally got it and it smelled so damn bad on me. In the bottle: Men's cologne. Nice men's cologne. Expensive men's cologne. But still, men's cologne. Wet: Men's cologne and...sweat? At first, it reminded me of warm skin after some pleasant activity, putting on your man's shirt...that kind of flushed, heated skin, clean sweat, and leftover cologne. But then the sweat starts to win. Like a man who put on a nice cologne in the morning and probably smelled very good all day long, but now it's the end of a very long day and he smells a bit sweaty. Not awful BO, just...sweat. And cologne. To be fair, there is something in here that smells a bit like dry leaves warming in the sun, but it's so swamped by the cologne that I can barely detect it. Dry: CK One. There, I reviewed it. And now I don't want to think about it ever again.

Yvaine really does make me think of a starry night. It's absolutely perfect. And I agree with the rec for Night's Pavilion, it's got that same pale, crystalline, distant beauty.

In the imp: I actually smiled when I first sniffed this. It's so...charming. On second sniff (a few hours later), it smells kind of strongly citrus-y and reminds me of a cleaning product. But I've read the reviews and I know this is a morpher, so I'm not going to worry, I'm going to try it. Hell, it's morphing from grapefruit to lime in the few seconds that I'm sniffing it. Wet: Citrus candy--reminds me of Hungry Ghost Moon. Dry: A sort of thin, empty grapefruit. I keep waiting for it to change, but it doesn't. I'll try it again another time. I hope it'll be better on my skin another day.

My friend and I call it Aeaeaeaeaeaeaea, because it's fun to make lost of vowel sounds in quick succesion. I also call Schlafende Baigneuse "Schnafelapagus". Hope that helps! It was the "Hope that helps!" part that got me. I *think* Aeaea is supposed to be pronounced ay-ay-ah, but in my head it's eye-ee-ah. And as far as I know, Emathides = e-math-i-dees, as Alicia said. And dang it, I was just thinking yesterday about digging up this thread because there's something I've been wondering how to pronounce, but now I can't remember what it is.

I put off posting this for as long as I could, since the first time I tried Tiger Lily was over a year ago. While it smells better on me now than it did then, I don't think it's ever going to be a favorite because... In the imp: Hmm, sweet lily, honey, and...Love's Baby Soft? Wet: Love's Baby Soft Dry: Love's Baby Soft As I said, it's a bit better now. Now, I get a whisper of honeyed lilies on my skin now and then, but mostly it's all swallowed up in that sweet, powdery baby oil smell that I used to love when I was a teenager but now find horribly cloying. I will wear Tiger Lily very occasionally, but even when it goes on honeyed lily-ish, it always ends up Baby Soft-ish. I do have to point out that I've only tried this one imp. I got another and immediately handed it off to a friend and when she opened it, it didn't smell at all like Love's Baby Soft. So maybe if I get another imp someday, it'll be different. For now, though, the only honeyed lily scent that actually smells right on me is the lovely Al-Araaf.

Yes, I've found that the late drydown of Red Lantern is A LOT like Aromatics Elixir, which just made me love RL that much more!

Thanks for this thread, ivyandpeony. It's good to have all these recommendations in one spot. I once posted a request for something similar to Philosophy's Pure Grace perfume, since it was one of the few my best friend liked (I love it, too) and I wanted to enable her. The Pool of Tears was released not long after that and it's very, very close. A bit less soft and without that white musk-like base, but it really hits the clean, "freshly showered" spot. I now own a bottle and it's one of my favorite warm weather scents. Meanwhile, my friend ended up falling in love with White Rabbit, whereas I really don't like it--but I guess it's got a similar "clean" feeling to it. Also, I cannot stand orange blossom, but I keep my imp of Les Infortunes de la Vertu because it smells almost exactly like Avon's Sweet Honesty, which reminds me of my grandmother. I definitely agree! Spellbound does smell like Poison on me, not in the bottle. And Venom does smell like Poison, but on my skin I actually think Dark Delicacies is closer. I happen to be wearing Dark Delicacies today. Reading this made me sniff my wrist and yep, it smells like Poison. No wonder I like it so much! It's a bit brighter than Poison to me, though--not that DD is a bright scent because it's actually pretty dark, but I think the combination of fruit gums and orchid make it more of a burgundy than a black scent. To me, Poison is a burgundy that's so dark it's almost black. ETA: I just posted this in another thread, but I might as well add it here, as well. Late drydown of Red Lantern = Clinique Aromatics Elixir.

I didn't see it mentioned, so I have to add this one: Tombstone. I really don't love the weird vanilla-esque scent in this one, but there's something in the background that reminds me very specifically of driftwood fires on the beach. Or rather, of the remains of those fires, that dry, charred, yet somehow salty, beachy scent. I love that part, and I wish I could get rid of whatever is making it smell like fake vanilla so I could wear it! Also, in terms of more traditionally smoky scents, Samhain is Queen. It smells like thick, grey smoke to me, very fitting.

Mmmm, Rainbath smells so good! I don't have any on hand, so I can't do a sniff test, but I did sniff it in the store recently. It's always smelled kind of rich and earthy to me. Speaking of Neutrogena...I would LOVE to find something that smells similar to Neutrogena clarifying shampoo. Not any of the new Neutrogena shampoos, I like the clear one in the short, square bottle. It smells kind of sandalwoody to me, but I'm not sure. Anyone know what I'm talking about? I have yet to try a BPAL that smells anything like it.

Lick It Again, at least in the early stages, is definitely a sinus-clearing scent. And it's not minty or eucalptusy, but Sudha Segara is usually the only scent I can stand to wear when I'm sick. I've always found it very soothing and gentle, but when I'm sick it's even better. That and Dana O'Shee are my favorite "nap in a bottle" scents. Very snuggly. Feel better! (You, too, lilirose!)

In the imp: This imp is spitting all over the place, so I figured I might as well try it. In the imp, it smells like ROSE. A bit of sweetness from the lily of the valley, but mostly ROSE. Not a good sign. Wet: ROSE. It's not immediately turning to soap on me, though, which is encouraging. My skin chemistry has been changing so much since going off the Pill that I feel like I need to try everything all over again. Even stuff with rose in it. Dry: Ah, there's the soap. Okay, noted. Rose is still a no-go. It seems the recent changes in my skin chemistry have done me a bit of a favor, though, as the soapiness is neither as intense nor as long-lasting as rose usually is on me. Pretty soon, I'm back to that sweet pink rose and nothing else. And that definitely is long-lasting. Unfortunately for me, soapy or flowery, I seem to amp rose to high heaven and this is just too intensely sweet.

In the bottle: This smells amazing. Soft, sexy musk and a sort of sweet, fizzy berry candy. If the wine doesn't go sour on me, this could be really good. Wet: Definitely smells like candy. A creamy-berry candy. It reminds me a lot of Lush Rock Star soap (and associated products). I've been wanting a BPAL scent that smells similar to Rock Star for such a long time. I'm so happy! Wow, this is amazing. Dry: This goes a bit powdery, in a sugary way, like Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo. Actually, it smells a lot like Auntie C, only with a light, sexy musk backing it up. I LOVE this stuff! Hmm...goes a bit plasticky on me after a while, but I think that's only if I sniff up close. And the plastic fades after a few minutes and I'm left with this soft, warm, vanilla musk. This is some seriously good stuff. Now that it's dried down, it keeps reminding me of another BPAL scent and I can't remember which one. I keep wanting to say Antique Lace but I know that's not it because I don't like AL and I like this. But it's some sort of non-foody vanilla. I know! Black Opal. Whatever is smelling like vanilla in this is the same sort of vanilla that's in Black Opal. And I love Black Opal! If you like the idea of a sweet, creamy, fizzy-fruity candy scent that dries down to a non-foody vanilla and a smooth, sexy, cashmere-like musk, YOU MUST GET THIS! I didn't get any hint of wine, sour or otherwise, and none of the heavier, more animalistic musks, just sweet, clean, smooth softness. It's fantastic! ETA: I just wanted to add a bit here. I've seen people saying that the musk in this smells to them like black musk, and others have said red musk. I've got to say that I don't think it's either because red musk smells sickening on me and black musk smells like powdery old lady perfume once it hits my skin. However, I just swapped for a decant of Buck Moon and the musk in that smells exactly like the musk in this! I would say that Hunter Moon '07 smells like a combination of Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo (in the wet stage) and Black Opal + Buck Moon (once it dries). It doesn't seem to have the sweet, grassy note I get from Buck Moon, but its got the same musk, plus the powdery vanilla/cool rain scent of Black Opal. This is a seriously WOW! blend.

Black Opal! It's a beautiful, non-foody vanilla that somehow also smells like a rainy beach--without going either air freshener (like aquatics generally do on me) or cologne-y (like most ozones do). Have you tried The Jersey Devil? It's got pine, true, but it's also got other stuff that makes it smell like so much more than just one of those little tree-shaped car air fresheners. (bolding added) Have you tried Snow-Flakes? It's completely non-pine-y, just the cool snowy, minty, creamy deliciousness. It's mostly a vanilla-mint-white musk for me. I haven't tried either Penitence or Cathedral, but you might want to start there. Or, if you can get your hands on any, Midnight Mass (haven't tried that one, either) or The Pit and the Pendulum (I love it--golden, churchy incense!). Misk U has that dusty parchment/paper note, though it doesn't come out as clearly on everyone. Some people tend to amp the Irish coffee and/or the oak more. Edited to fix a typo I just noticed. Oops.

Funny to see this thread pop up because I'm trying Seraglio again today after receiving another frimp of it from the Lab. Thanks, Lab! Seraglio remains the only rose blend thus far that actually works on me, by which I mean that it doesn't turn to soap. (I also really like Rakshasa, but that's because it smells like sandalwood soap, which I love. ) In the imp, Seraglio is rose and almonds, delicious. On my skin, at first, it's this beautiful, sensual, feminine blend of silky rose, sweet almonds, gentle spices, and luscious orange. I love the orange. I need to find more orange scents. Anyway, it's lovely, so soft and sexy. Makes me think of bathing in water scented with exotic oils and strewn with deep pink rose petals while being fed slices of sweet orange. Oh, yum! Eventually, sadly, my two favorite notes in this blend, the orange and almond, pack it in and go home. I'm left with a nice, spicy rose scent that reminds me a lot of Alice. I guess rose + clove = carnation to my nose. But even the spice fades after a while and then it's just rose. Sweet, somewhat powdery, very persistent rose. I once described it as HI, I'M ROSE AND I'LL BE YOUR PERFUME TODAY! It's not bad, but I guess I'm just not a straight-up rose person, even when it (miraculously!) behaves on me. I think I may try this one in my scent locket and see if I can hang onto the almond and orange and spice that way.

I'm pretty much going to copy and paste my original notes from when I first tried this, because that was also the last time I tried it and no way am I going to try it again. Let me just qualify this entire review by saying that I have never been able to tolerate pina coladas, either. They smell like vomit to me. So for those of you who do like the smell of pina coladas, this is probably a good blend for you. Anyway, here are my notes. In the bottle: I sniffed this a couple of times before I could bring myself to try it on. It smells like milk and fruit juice, which is a somewhat sour combination. The first time I opened the bottle and sniffed, I actually felt queasy. Still, I knew when I ordered it that this was a gamble, so I finally just decided to get it over with. Wet: Grape juice and now I can smell the pomegranate. Maybe I can just pretend that this is a fruit blend and forget about the milk? After all, the pomegranate and the honey were what convinced me to try this in the first place. But no, the milk is there. Sour, buttery, and somehow powdery. I feel queasy again. Dry: My wrist smells...foul. Spoilt milk, or rancid butter or something. I envy those whose skin (and nose) make this a sweet, creamy delight. For me, it's a definite NO.

In the bottle: It does remind me of Dorian, as others have mentioned. That makes me happy, since that's the main reason I went looking for a bottle. It's different from Dorian in that there's a light mint and a sort of delicate, almost floral note, but I do definitely smell the similarity. The light musk sparkles beautifully in both, and the tea leaf that I love in Dorian is distinctly present. They're definitely brothers, Dorian being the younger and more effusive (and lusty) one, and Usher being the reserved, intellectual elder brother. Wet: That same sweet, light, almost-floral scent. I'm going to guess that's the fougere. There's also something coming out that I didn't really detect in the bottle, something a bit more masculine. It's almost woodsy, almost spicy, but too light and faint to be either. It doesn't actually scream "men's cologne!" or anything, but it's got a sort of dryness to it that seems masculine to my nose. It's not masculine to the point that I can't wear it, though, for which I'm glad because this smells really nice. It's a very cool, reserved, aloof scent. Dry: I think that not-quite-woodsy/not-quite-spicy scent is actually the blackcurrant. It's not juicy at all, but rather adds just a hint of a tangy bite. I think the mandarin is helping out in that respect, and if I sniff really closely I can catch a suggestion of it, but it's very faint. Once dry, this is mostly a salty aquatic and pale musk with a lingering waft of fougere. The mint is more a feeling of coolness by this point than an actual scent. Note to locket wearers: The fruits are much more evident in my locket. On my skin, this is a cool, distant scent that reminds me of looking out the window on a rainy day. It fades quickly, though, leaving only a light hint of cool, pale musk--if that. In the locket, it's more aggressive, richer, and longer-lasting. I prefer the way it smells on my skin, though. I really like this scent a lot. I find that the cool, aloof feeling it evokes really helps me to block out distractions when I'm writing. I also appreciate the fact that it's one of the few aquatic (well, it's partly aquatic) blends that I can wear. It smells more like saltwater than some of the actual saltwater blends, which all go depressingly "fresh!" on me. In Usher, the saltiness adds a tangy note that deepens the aquatic so that it actually smells like water on me instead of air freshener. Love it!