Dymphna

I'm really going to need a GC equivalent to Bakeneko. Please help.

 

(Even if you know something similar that's non-BPAL - PM me? Desperate here.)

When I first tried Bakeneko, I remarked that it was the love child of Bastet and Shub. (Yeah, I know they're both female. Bakeneko has two mommies. ) There's no tea in either of those scents, but the tea in Bakeneko isn't very strong on me. Or at least it wasn't; I haven't worn it in a while.

I originally ordered an imp of this because I'd read that it smelled like cotton candy to some people. When I opened the imp, though, it was pure orange-flavored bubblegum--fruity and sugary, with that powdery note from the dusting of sugar that they put on bubblegum (to keep it from sticking to the wrapper, I assume). I was disappointed, but I tried it anyway. On my skin, it turned to orange Pez, again with that powdery note. It was pleasant, but not something I really wanted to smell like, so it languished with the other imps of similar meh-ness.

Fast forward a few months. I tried it on the other night and...I won't say I fell in love. Some scents are true love, some are passionate crushes, some are naughty affairs. This one is more like when you meet someone at a party, then bump into her a few months later in the grocery store and start talking and realize that you could be really good friends.

Which is my weird way of saying that when I put on the Joy Mojo, I can't stop sniffing my wrist and smiling. It makes me feel like a kid in summertime, happy and free. And it still smells like candy, but maybe the sugary note deepened just a bit, because I really like it now. It's such a cheerful, orange-and-pink, sunshine-and-lollipops scent.

I realize this is probably very old news, but I was showering with Honey I Washed the Kids yesterday and I realized that it smelled exactly like the sugary vanilla in Dorian. It lacks Dorian's tea and musk, but it's really remarkably close. Which is good, because I used up my bar of Dorian soap ages ago and haven't ordered more yet.

Now if only I could find a BPAL blend that smells like Rock Star. I've resorted to layering, but it's never quite the same.

In the imp: Spicy, I can smell the clove, but it's mostly that clean, almost watery spiciness that I remember from Bengal. It's what kept me from really wearing Bengal, because it seemed so incongruous. I don't know how else to explain it other than to say that the spiciness was both hot and watery-cool. Sort of...thin? I'm hoping that once it's on I'll get an orange-clove scent. I normally can't stand the scent of clove, but I love it when combined with orange. Very happy memories.

Wet: Very much like Bengal, almost exactly, only this is much warmer once it's on my skin. The watery vibe is gone and it's got a nice hot spice, but the cinnamon isn't burning my skin (despite two swipes of the imp wand in the same spot). It smells like cinnamon, like Red Hots, but with something softly musky underneath, a kind of skin musk that's very sexy. I don't smell the orange at all, unfortunately.

Dry: Wow. Drying down, the musk intensifies and the patchouli and incense come out and this takes a turn for the unbelievably sexy. Something about this reminds me very strongly of Snake Oil. I think this may be what Snake Oil would have smelled like on me if it hadn't had that red (or Siberian or whatever) musk that makes me so queasy. This smells incredible. No orange or peach in sight (well, sniff), but the rest of the notes are doing a mating dance on my skin and I smell like a sex goddess. Amazing. After about a half hour or so, the orange and peach are faintly detectable, but they're very far in the background. After about an hour, it's still richly spicy but softer, still sexy but now also comforting. I can't believe I waited so long to try this (and it was a frimp, it wasn't even on my radar) because of the dreaded clove and scary cinnamon. I really love this scent!

My only regret is that I have no idea how old this imp is because it was a frimp that's been sitting in my imp box for a month or two and it wasn't new to begin with. I wonder if aging would make a difference with this scent, like maybe the orange and peach were more prominent and the spices sharper when it was Lab-fresh. But if I wear this as often as I think I will once the weather is cooler, it's going on my Big Bottle list and I'll just wait for it to age if I have to.

Got this as a frimp, but it was high up on my to-try list so I was thrilled. For a little while, anyway.

In the imp: A sort of woodsy vanilla overlaid with soft floral.

Wet: Fruity! Smells like my Orange Blossom doll. No idea where that's coming from, but it's sort of a cross between a powdery orange and a powdery apricot. Not awful, but not really pretty.

Dry: Same as wet, but with a strange kind of bitter funk developing. I think it's the jasmine. This scent does not like me. Too bad, as I'd been wanting to try it for a while.

I'm trying to get my huge backlog of reviews posted. This is from the end of April, so I guess I should pull this imp out again soon and give it another try.

In the imp: Woody, with a hint of creaminess that may be the vanilla I've heard people rave about.

Wet: Wood. Just wood. Lots of wood. Cedar, and something else that's dry and...woody.

Dry: A creamy almost-vanilla scent that reminds me of cream soda, totally overwhelmed by the smell of burnt wood. Weird. And somehow beachy. The almost-vanilla reminds me of coconut, and the burnt wood reminds me of the remains of driftwood fires. Together, they leave a definite beachy impression to my nose, which convinces me to keep this for a while and let it age. (A couple of hours later, this is a very light, creamy vanilla with just a hint of burnt wood in the background. Definitely going to let it age and see what happens.)

The deities to whom I'm devoted are (generally viewed as) Hellenic, so I had wanted to order this for some time. I sent an e-mail before ordering, just to make sure that there was nothing in the blend that would disagree with me, and wickedgoddess very kindly and patiently answered all my questions. She also told me that, in her opinion, it smelled very good. Boy, was she right!

Briefly: This is spicy and rich, with a background of astringent, dark green herbs and a base of velvety myrrh. I can't tell what the spice is. It's not cinnamon. It sort of reminds me of Shub, though it's not typically gingery. Maybe cardamom. *shrugs* Whatever it is, it's very strong, and wonderful once I got used to it. The idea of people using Temple oils as perfume makes me uncomfortable, but I have to say, this blend is just gorgeous. If it were a perfume, I would wear it as often as possible. As it is, I'm very happy with it as a ritual oil. I can tell just from the first use that it will have an immediate "signal" effect, letting me get into a ritual headspace more easily and quickly. The only problem I had with it is that, since this was my first time using it, I was a little distracted at first by how good it smelled!

Before using this in ritual last night, I had to make sure that it was acceptable to my Gods. It was. They were, in fact, very clear on that. I used my thumb to anoint the three candles and then my forehead, throat, and heart. The resinous spiciness just swirled around me. It was so rich and so...enveloping. It really contributed to the sense of being in sacred space, set apart from the ordinary world. So much so, in fact, that a temple environment spontaneously became a part of my meditation experience.

Once the oil dried and the spice relaxed a bit, I was able to identify the myrrh. It's so gorgeous and gives the oil such a sense of sacredness. After the ritual, I washed my hands (twice) and even rubbed at my thumb a bit with the soap, but the scent remained. Between that and what was on my forehead/throat/over my heart, I fell asleep completely surrounded by this rich scent. I slept for five and a half hours and woke up with it still there. The spice had more or less retreated by this point, but the myrrh was still going strong. And here I am, more than four hours later, and I haven't showered yet (yeah, I know, ew) and I still smell this wonderful scent wafting around me. It's sort of keeping me from getting on with my day because it makes me feel sort of...otherworldly. I smell holy, in a very pagan way, if that makes sense.

This was a generous frimp from the Labbies, and I had to try it despite the presence of rose because it just smells so good in the imp. I'm glad I did! (Also, I love the name. It's so much fun to say. Rakshasa. Rakshasa. Rak-SHA-saaaaaa. )

In the imp: I definitely smell the rose, but it smells spicy-sweet rather than just sweet or soapy or pickle-y. I can smell the patchouli, too, a bit, and I think the spiciness is coming from the sandalwood. It reminds me quite a bit of Seraglio.

Wet: Just a drop, since rose scares me. Soapy, but not in a horrible way, and spicy. It reminds me more of carnation, actually, just as Seraglio did.

Dry: This reminds me almost exactly of the Bee & Flower sandalwood soap that I used to use. I always bought extra to put in my linen closet and dresser drawers. The only difference is that this has a tiny hint of rose, which is actually a lot of rose, but it mostly smells like soap (but again, not in a bad way) and only a little like rose. It smells mostly like sandalwood when dry--finally, a rose blend in which the rose doesn't take over! Mmm, wow. I smell good. I smell like a health food shop, which is where I always bought the Bee & Flower.

I don't know if I'll wear this enough to warrant a bottle, but I'm definitely keeping the imp so time will tell. My only reservation is that this stuff has some serious throw, so I'll have to be careful. I only applied a tiny dab to one wrist and it's surrounding me like a cloud. It's quite a lovely cloud, though.

In the bottle: The first time I opened the bottle to sniff, I got the smell of woods and a bit of the sea spray. The second time, getting ready to try it, I got hit with something really sharp and astringent, which reminded me of my nemesis, orange blossom/neroli, or possibly of sweet pea (which smells similar to me). I put the cap back on for a few minutes. When I took it off again, there was still that sharpness, but I persevered and could detect other notes behind it, so I put some on my wrist.

Wet: Mmm, soft woods and a hint of sea spray. I'm glad I tried it. The soft woods have magically transformed (aha!) into soft fur. This is an almost fluffy scent. I can still smell that sharpness, but it's, well, blunted. Covered up a bit by all the soft fur. I have to laugh, because so far all the "ferocious beast" scents I've tried--Loup Garou, Bakeneko, this one, and I'm sure there have been others (oh, Coyote, which Oborot reminds me of!)--have been so soft and cuddly. In this case, if that sharp note would just go away, I'd be in love. I should note, though, that even now I have to get my nose up close to my wrist to smell it at all. Not just the sharp note, but all of it. It's a very soft scent. Then again, I only tapped my wrist against the lip of the bottle to test it.

Dry: Soft, soft, soft. There's something *almost* baby powder-ish about this scent, but not the yucky baby powder smell that's normally the kiss of doom for a scent. The sharpness is all gone and this is just a soft, cuddly scent. It reminds me of lying on the rug, cuddling with a dog that has very soft, very clean fur. Maybe a big, scary-looking marshmallow of a dog whose teeth bely his sweetness. I'm looking at the scary label on the bottle and laughing my head off. Aw, who's a big, scawy monstew? Who's a scawy widdoo boy? I'll definitely keep this bottle. It may be the perfect scent for days when I wish I had a large, protective dog that would go everywhere with me and protect me from the real monsters of the world.

ETA that, as others have mentioned, this puppy doesn't stick around for long. Just when it gets past the initial bitter stage and settles in, all comfy and fluffy, it goes poof. Bummer.

The first time I opened the bottle (which was about three seconds after my husband got home and gave me the package) I smelled smoky patchouli that reminded me of the patch in Samhain and a very sweet floral. It was almost too sweet in that it reminded me a bit of marijuana smoke--a smell I hate and would definitely not want to smell like.

Fortunately, once it hit my skin it was a gorgeous, sweet, rich-yet-delicate floral that reminded me happily of spring. I'm not terribly familiar with orchid, but I'm pretty sure that's what this note is. Now, after a couple of weeks, it seems to have settled so that the initial overly-sweet note has deepened to something immediately pleasant. After a bit, maybe a half hour, something comes out very faintly that I think is the coconut mixing with the tonka--at first, I thought it was "cocoa, but not as dry"--which adds depth. There's also something sort of green/earthy and mellow, which is probably the resins blending with the myrtle and/or osmanthus (I'm so bad at identifying some notes), and which serves to ground the sweet floral.

The throw is fairly strong, at least at first, and the wear time is impressive. After several hours, I can still smell it faintly, though by then it seems to morph into something oddly reminiscent of Loviatar. Yeah, I don't understand my skin chemistry, either. But I don't mind because I do love Loviatar, and I love Dark Delicacies, too! I'm not generally a sweet florals kind of girl--I'd like to be, but they don't seem to work with my skin--and in fact I'd ordered this for the coconut, which barely shows itself, but this just...works. It smells amazing on me. I can't stop sniffing my wrists when I wear it. Although it's a very dark, "night-time" scent to me, I still wear and enjoy it during the day, too. I wear it as much as possible, to be honest. I love it!

For those who are interested in the synaesthetic aspects of scents, this one is for me a deep burgundy red and black. It actually makes me visualize a spiky, dark red flower blooming darkly in the night, surrounded by a spill of creamy moonlight that can't quite seem to touch its velvety, black-bordered petals.

I don't notice any similarity to Black Moon, nor do I smell the fruit gums at all, but I do totally get the "tropical" aspect of this blend. That flower I described above? It blooms in a humid jungle, within earshot of the pounding waves.

Ooh, that is a good thread/post, Mianjo. Thanks for that! I should have realized there'd probably be lots of ideas in the Recommendations section (duh).

I know there's a thread about listing favorite scents by category scent family (not category, which refers to the categories on the site, the thread for which is located here) and I know that foody, sweet, fruity, etc. were included in that. I'm searching now to see if I can find it. I'll post the link if/when I do.

Here it is: favorite scents by scent family. Maybe a mod will merge this into that thread, since it seems to fit? Or not...I dunno, I just wander around clicking on things.

Yep, Queen of Sheba was viciously strong almonds on me.

Good luck with O, I hope it works for you this time. I had to try it a few times before it would behave so maybe if it doesn't smell good to you at first, you could try putting it away and trying it every month or two to see how/if it's changed.

Black Opal is a lovely scent, but it's rather cold and always makes me feel calm and a bit detached and solitary. Not lonely, but just a bit removed from the general fray, an observer.

I discovered La Petite Mort near the beginning of my BPAL days and I've loved it ever since and haven't gotten so much as a trace of baby powder from it. I think the baby powder some people get from O is coming from the amber, which can turn powdery on a lot of people.

On me, O is nearly pure honey, but a raw, musky honey that until recently (I'm still thinking it was the aging that did it) I couldn't stand. Now, it seems softer, though still musky, and still mostly honey until it dries down to a gorgeous honey amber that has only the slightest hint of powder from time to time.

I adore Honey Moon and recently bought a bottle of it ( ).

Alice was another early favorite, though I don't smell the honey in it except as a sweetness in the milk. (Also, it helps that the rose is drowned out by the carnation and bergamot, but that's neither here nor there.)

Dana O'Shee is like oatmeal with milk and honey and is one of my favorite bedtime scents.

Sudha Segara is my other favorite bedtime scent, but, as with Alice, I don't really smell the honey so much; it's more like sweet milk.

Tiger Lily smells like Love's Baby Soft to me. I don't know why, but it makes me sad.

The fig and patchouli in Hetairae take over so that I can't smell the honey and ylang ylang, which also makes me sad.

Blood Kiss smelled like spicy cocoa plus cigarette butts on my skin. Not sad, grossed out!

Oh, and Sed Non Satiata smells weirdly perfumey on me. It does resemble LPM, though, like a more mature version.

Bengal doesn't smell like honey to me at all. Is there honey in that?

I think the other scents mentioned all have deal breaker notes like jasmine or orange blossom or rose.

Sudha Segara was one of my first favorites. It smells like sweet milk and ginger ale--which would probably taste disgusting, but it smells wonderful! I've found that the sweet/creamy/milky/ginger scent remains true from the bottle to my skin, through the dry-down.

It's a very soothing, relaxing, cuddlesome scent. It's like a nap in a bottle for me: I put it on and I feel sleepy and content, like I'm cuddled under a soft blanket. In addition, the ginger can be calming when I'm not feeling well. When I'm feeling PMS-y or have a cold, not only does it help me feel better and less cranky, it's sometimes the only scent I can stand to wear! I've found that smelling the gentle ginger scent can even soothe a mildly upset stomach. More than just a top ten favorite, it's indispensable!

Having recently learned (again!) the importance of giving scents a second and even a third chance, I tried this one again. I'm so glad that I did! The first time I tried it, it was an imp from a swap so I have no idea how old it was. It was way too sweet for me so I swapped it away. Recently, I was looking for a new comfort scent and, since this one is such a favorite in that category, I decided to give it another try. Not only have I found a new favorite of my own, but my husband actually really, really liked it. Instead of just shrugging and saying it was nice, he kept burying his face in my neck and inhaling and kissing me. Score!

In the imp: Very creamy, the same creamy milk note as in Alice, except this has got almonds instead of flowers.

Wet: There's a bit of grains and a whole lot of cherry-almond scent. The cherry-ness winds down after a few minutes and it becomes just creamy and slightly powdery (the grains).

Dry: Creamy with a hint of sweet grains. It gets close to Play-Doh now and then, but it never actually crosses the line. It's mostly just a clean, comforting, comfortable scent that reminds me of the oatmeal-almond soap I use. This will be perfect for wearing to bed right after my shower.

Since trying it (and writing this review) a few weeks ago, this almost the only scent I've worn to bed. It's so warm and relaxing.

In the imp: Like spices and red musk, just as the description says, but with something clean-smelling that reminds me (pleasantly) of laundry detergent.

Wet: The same. Red musk usually smells oily and/or dirty to me, so the addition of something clean laundry-ish is welcome...and interesting!

Dry: Huh. Red musk and laundry detergent. If only it were white musk, I'd be more likely to wear it. This is just such a strange mixture of dirty and clean scents. When my wrist is a few feet away from my nose, I just get wafts of clean, fresh laundry soap, but any closer than that and it just smells dirty. So many people seem to find red musk sexy and sensual, but there's just something about it that, to my nose, smells...unwashed. (It's also really hard to wash off, as it seems to stick to my skin.) Ah, well, at least I gave it a try.

In the bottle: Rich, foody, spicy pumpkin pie scent, but the citrus cuts the creaminess just enough.

Wet: A bit more citrusy than in the bottle, still very nice and foody in a different, not so buttery way.

Dry: Mostly citrus-spice, which I do like. I wish the pumpkin came through more, though, as I like that creamy pumpkin scent, but it's still nice.

I wore this off and on in autumn, and made a point of wearing it on Thanksgiving, which worked out very well. It's not so foody or sweet that it detracts from what you're cooking and eating, just foody enough to be sort of...atmospheric. A good, womanly (in that it feels feminine without being the least bit floral or girly) scent, reserved yet regal.

Before I got a bottle of Samhain 2006, I'd only tried a decant of the 2004 version. I had a difficult time with it--at first it smelled like cinnamon nail polish on me, then several months later it was beautifully smoky/spicy autumn fruits but the patchouli was too strong. I'm glad to be able to start with a fresh bottle and see how it works on me. So this review is for Samhain 2006:

In the bottle: Smells the same, that strong smokiness with all the autumn-y stuff behind it.

Wet: VERY smoky, but with a good bit of pine needles. As it dries, there's also a hint of the autumnal fruits that others say they smell so clearly. (I rarely get more than a hint from the '04.)

Dry: This becomes sweeter and mellower once it's dry. The apple is actually coming out! And what an apple--sweet and tart and juicy, mellow to the point of being almost creamy rather than crisp and crunchy. Wow. I did like Samhain '04, it was the only smoky-smelling scent I could wear, but this is so much better. The sweetness really balances the blend, and I didn't get that in '04. But it's not like the apple stands out above the smoke or the pine needles--I only get a bit of the patchouli and spices; they stay in the background--they all blend together to make one distinctive scent. It reminds me of one of my favorite parts of my favorite season: going for a walk and smelling all the beautiful scents carried on the crisp air, from sweet apples to burning leaves. This is beautifully well-blended and so comforting to wear, like having a bit of autumn whenever I want.

Sniffing the decant, I get the expected snow note, plus the mint which often accompanies aquatics. It's very cool and clean. And then I get a big blast of white musk, which is also cool and clean to my nose. I can't detect any pine, which is just as well since I've got a couple of favorite pine blends already.

On my skin, at first it smells very snow/mint/white musk, same as in the vial. I was afraid that the mint would turn bitter on me, as many of the Lab's mint blends seem to do, but it stays nice and cool and light and sweet, and I can't help but think how nice it will be to wear this in the hot, sticky summer months.

Once it dries, the real magic happens. For a minute, things seem to be going south, as the sweetness turns powdery and the white musk pouts a bit and seems to flounce off. But it turns into a sweet, creamy mint. Gradually, the creaminess develops a light vanilla scent, and the mint never fades or turns bitter, so I've got a gorgeous vanilla-mint scent (like the way I've heard Lick It Again smells) that lasts for hours and hours. I've taken to wearing this to bed and it's still there when I wake up, and for a few hours more if I don't hop into the shower right away. At the very end, the mint has more or less departed, but the white musk is back, very faintly, so I'm left smelling like a light, creamy, pale musk with a hint of floral that is just amazingly delicious. And the throw is fantastic, even so many hours later!

Snow-Flakes is not at all what I was expecting. I'm so glad I snagged a decant in time to order a bottle...or two. I was honestly expecting to prefer The Snow Maiden, but this just blew me away.

(I should add that I've never smelled Snow White. I can only say that, if it smells anything like this, I understand all the fuss.)

Chaos Theory III: Strange Attractors (MCCXXXIX)

In the bottle: Eh, smells like the unbearably green, fresh note in Sleepy Moon that I think is bamboo. Yech.

Wet: I can almost taste the greenness in the back of my throat. It's like biting into a flower stalk. Juicy and almost, but not quite, bitter. A bit of lemon--verbena!--peeps out as it begins to dry.

Dry: The verbena becomes more pronounced once it's dry, but it fades quickly and the green bamboo comes back. If it weren't for that, I'd really like blend. Unfortunately, the verbena doesn't seem to be coming back, and now a sharply soapy scent is coming out. Woe.

This was my third and final CT, so I was hoping I'd love it, or at least like it. Alas. Well, I didn't like my first but I loved my second. One out of three isn't too bad, I guess.

In the imp: Flowers--jasmine is definitely one of them, but it's not the only one--and a bit of sugary candy.

Wet: Mostly floral, but a bit soapy. Not in a sharp way, but a bit like an expensive floral-scented shampoo or soap. It's pleasant, but more incidental, like a nicely scented toiletry item rather than a perfume. The candy scent is nowhere to be found.

Dry: Gag. Once fully dry, this becomes a *really* bitter, soapy floral. It's actually giving me a headache and making me sneeze. And I'm starting to wonder if this bitterness is from orange blossom. I don't think it was listed in the description, but I can't think of anything else that gives me this combination of headache and nausea.

In the imp: Very lemony, almost like cleaning fluid, but saved by...white musk, I think. But my husband thinks it smells like Fantastik.

Wet: Undeniably lemony, with that powdery white musk, and something sweet like cookies.

Dry: Something unpleasantly sharp and oily (light oily rather than the dark oily of red musk or patchouli) comes out and ruins the lemon scent. This ends up smelling like the lemon oil used on wood furniture.

This started out smelling rather odd, got better, and then went south quickly. Grumble, grumble....

In the imp: This is the one that, during my initial sniffing orgy when I got my CD package, my husband and I both thought smelled like lemon cookies. This time, at first sniff, it's citrusy and sweet, like an orange-flavored candy, but not as syrupy as an orange soda.

Wet: There's something dry in this that adds an almost powdery quality, and something creamy that grounds the sweetness. Smells very much like a hard candy.

Dry: Once fully dry, it smells just like a lemon cookie, almost exactly like Tarot: The Star, but without the occasional wisp of coconut I get from that blend. It's just a little softer, because it's lemon rather than lime. I love the smell of lemon cookies. Nice and sweet, but with a little zing.