forspecial_plate

I am starting to plan a Pumpkin King costume. Not like Nightmare Before Christmas, but a jackolantern mask and some kind of thrift store suit and tie. Who knows what for the scent, I only have half a ML decant of Pumpkin King, so probably not that. Maybe Pumpkin Cheesecake, or something not so obvious. I have yet to try Theme In Yellow, but it could be perfect....

Bolding mine. I always find it interesting how each of us comes to our decision-making about which scents to buy. I tend to order scents that are similar to those I know I love, so my LE box is filled with pumpkin-based scents. I will never have enough variations on Snake Oil, or anything that is heavy on the red musk either. Others like to spread their love around and try a little of this, a little of that. I am determined to wait for my decant order to arrive before I order bottles, so I can be sure about a couple of them. But I know I want a bottle of Hellgate of Ireland so I didn't order a decant of it. I just scored a backup bottle of last year's Witch Dance in a swap. I think I read a comment from someone that this year's Weenies *round 1* is lacking red musk scents. I hope that round 2 brings us something with red musk. Third Charm, Mircalla, Lucy Kissed- I'm longing to find something in that vein(pun intended ) in the 2013 batch. That's kind of how I feel about woods and spices. Moonarcana gave me a big wood box for bpal bottles, and I keep all woodsy/spicy scents in it! As for Snake Oil and variations.....I bought the Snake Pit when it first came out.....and I love those, but I don't wear them a whole lot. I'm not sure why! But speaking of the Snake Pit, I wonder if Snakes In The Pumpkin Patch smells anything like Anaconda (the free gift imp that came with the Snake Pit)? But yes, you are right....I like to try different things, and I also go through phases. I was even in a rose phase for a while! : ) But that didn't last long, although I still like some rosey scents. I'm with you on red musk, though.....scents with red musk usually work pretty well for me. I'm giving Morocco a test tonight, and I've decided I can live without Moroccan Pumpkin Patch.....which I already suspected. There's one I can cross off the list!

I'm baffled by the Pumpkin Patch...... Out of all those, Sin is the one I would want (I have enough Snake Oil and variations of it)...... But I think I'd rather just have plain ol' Sin without the pumpkin, to be honest! At least I have some time to think about it......

I think Day Of Skulls is one of those that varies wildly from person to person. If you read the reviews, some people get strong rose from it, and some don't. The impressions are all over the place (which I think is kind of neat). I personally don't get strong rose from it. If I didn't know I might not even know it had rose. It has a vaguely floral element, but nothing specific that I recognize. I asked a friend for his opinion and he said it smells like Black Love insence. I like smelling like incense so I took it as a compliment. However he specifically said he couldn't smell rose, so I know it's not just my perception (on MY skin, that is). And he works at the Chanel counter, so he does know a little about fragrances. So for anyone who is afraid of the rose, or flowers in general, I would say you probably have to try this one on to really know. edit: I can't pick out tobacco or any kind of cocoa eiter

Great topic! I am insanely curious about Theme In Yellow, first and foremost. I am dying to know, what kind of interpretation is it? Literally jack-o-lantern, or more of a portrait in scent? Either way I think I would like to find out, even more than the GC/pumpkin hybrids. I'm also curious about September Midnight, although I'm wondering if it might be TOO perfumey, if you know what I mean. I like powdery scents to a point. And even though I am not a huge fan of pomegranate, I am still very curious about this one. For the record, the Male Nude, Arms Upstretched oil from a couple years back has a red chypre component, but I mostly smell the musk in that one. I do like it quite a bit. I love Day of Skulls, I am wearing it today to celebrate the new update. Our weather finally cooled off here and it's the perfect day for it. I only have a smaller partial bottle of it, and a backup is not out of the question. I love Samhain, and I have bottles from '04 and '06, as well as a few decants from other years. Every year I consider another bottle, to me it's one of the essential bpal scents, and a full bottle this year is definitely a possibility. I haven't quite gotten around to the Phobos subset, I may be interested in 1 or 2 of those. And finally, I am also curious about A World Where There Are Octobers, and Autumn Fancies. These are lower on the list because they sound a little similar to some other oils I have (October, for example). But still, they both have my attention and I'll be watching reviews.....

Samhain has the earthy part, to some people

I haven't tried it but did a little research, apparently it's an aquatic fragrance with some fruit and floral aspects. From Fragrantica: "The composition opens with cold, green notes of leaves and apple. There is a tender dewy mimose in the heart, which is blended with watery note of lotus and an interesting accord of linen sail of a yacht. The composition is laid on a woody base, combined of cedar, moss, musk and amber". Some of the reviews on Basenotes mention hints of apple and melon. Bpal has tons of aquatic scents, and many of them have sweet, fruity, and/or floral aspects. These come to mind: Caliban, "salty seas, bittersweet wine, palm and tropical ferns". This is the first one I thought of. Cthulhu, "A creeping, wet, slithering scent, dripping with seaweed, oceanic plants and dark, unfathomable waters". This has a tart fruity aspect, maybe citrus. The Deep Ones, "Black algae, drooping seaweed, salty brine, and crushed coral". More dry and salty if I remember correctly. R'lyeh is one of the sweeter aquatic scents in my opinion, despite the description: "A hellishly dark aquatic scent, evocative of fathomless oceanic deeps, the mysteries of madness buried under crushing black waters, and the brooding eternal evil that lies beneath the waves". I really don't think it's as dark as all that suggests! Egle, "Ocean water, hyacinth petals, star jasmine, and fir". I'm a guy and I wear this to work sometimes. There are also The Sea Foams Blood and The Sea Foams Milk, I prefer the milk one between the two. And a couple of limited edition scents that would be harder to find: Thunder Moon, "Ozone deepened by liquid amber, and a spray of hot nighttime rain mingled with the scent of lightning-struck wood, water-soaked summer blooms, and sun-scorched grass". And my all-time favorite aquatic, Kingsport: "Salty ocean breezes touched by a numinous, incandescent mist". I'd love to see this brought back! If there's such a thing as "incense aquatic", this is it. It lasts all day on me. I know there are lots more, here's a whole topic: Aquatics

I have Noh Mask and Maple Leaves on the way. I threw in imps of Dracul and Santo Domingo. I tried Dracul ages ago, and ended up giving it away. Now I'm not sure why, it sounds kind of great. I never tried Santo Domingo, and I don't see it mentioned a lot. One of those things I've been meaning to try for a long time, finally getting around to it. Anyway.....I love the sweeter scents too, but I especially love woods and spices. Plunder and Port-Au-Prince are both fantastic.

I just found a really old imp of The Caterpillar (maybe from my first order??), and it smells a LOT like L'Heure Bleue to me. Not too much of a stretch, they do share some notes, bergamot, carnation, neroli and iris. Maybe more, depending on what's in the 'heavy incense' notes of The Caterpillar. I think I have an imp of I Died For Beauty, somewhere, I'll have to compare (even though the discussion is 3 or 4 yrs old). : )

I for one am happy to hear that comparison! I love old classic men's (and women's) scents. I've read about Clubman but never tried it. I do love Great Sword of War, though. : ) Speaking of men's scents, every time I wear Love And Pain, it reminds me of A*Men/Angel Men (which I've only smelled once or twice, but it was pretty memorable).

Helloooooo comfort scent! I can see how this would be a better room scent than a perfume, but I still like it. There are occasions when I want something just like this. At first it's spicy and gourmand, but after a few minutes I start to pick up on the pine and holly. It's lovely. It's like bringing Jolasveinar indoors to warm up by the hearth. I'm actually thinking of tracking down more than my decant.

Carnaval Diabolique is a great lemon scent, and sooner or later it will hopefully be back.

Okay, I'm not sure which note is doing what at first. I put this on and for about 45 minutes, it was a stunning, sophisticated fruity incense deluxe fragrance. I thought uh-oh, another Salon perfume that I have to track down! I love patchouli but there is a certain patchouli that turns sour for me. Apparently that would be Indonesian patchouli because it takes over and kind of ruins Madonna for me, unfortunately. It reminds me of the heavy, sour patchouli that I didn't like in Smiling Spider. : ( I guess it's okay, since I can't afford to get all the Salon scents that I want anyway!

I gambled too. I got really lucky and found 3 lovely forum members with partial bottles of the ones I wanted. Sailor's Den and Lantern Ghost of Oiwa are the 2 I haven't tried before, but they sound really interesting. Love And Pain is the 3rd, which I've tried and know that I like a lot, although I've gone back and forth a few times on it.

I thought that Philosopher In Meditation was a must-have for me, but with repeated testings I finally accepted that I just don't like it. As burning wood/incense scents go, there are a few others I'd rather wear. Philosopher smells fruity and candy-like to me, not in a good way, just in a weird way. Fox-Fires On New Year's Eve was also a disappointment. I thought the notes sounded so beautiful, and when I tried it, it just fell sort of flat on my skin. See, at least there are some I can cross off the list with confidence. Anything to make the decision-making process a little easier!

Our tastes are so alike, as usual. : ) Great idea for a topic, ivyandpeony. I am a little overwhelmed and can hardly gather my thoughts on this, so I have a lot of decision-making to do. This will help a lot! Right now Love And Pain is near the top of my list of last-minute bottle purchases. I've gone back and forth in the past, but I am wearing it now and I do like it a lot. It reminds me of Angel or A*Men (but better). My top 5 wants right now, off the top of my head, would be: Love And Pain Carceri D'Invenzione (how do I not have a bottle already??) And There Was A Great Cry In Egypt (thanks for the Vol de Nuit comment, parrot_suspect! I never made that connection) The Great He-Goat (another one I'm surprised I don't already have) Cup Of Death, Sailor's Den, or Smiling Spider? Can't decide! I haven't even tried the first 2 of those. My favorites are: Cloister Graveyard Sunrise With Sea-Monsters Mad Meg Satan And Death Silence

A few more ideas..... Carceri D'invenzione...."Redwood, red sandalwood, black pepper, blonde tobacco and frankincense" Lear....."White cedarwood, blue sage and bay leaf" Ochosi...."His ofrenda is the soft shea he shares with Obatala, forest herbs, and sprucewood arrow shafts" Aureus...."True, perfect golden light, refined into an incomparably glorious scent".....this might depend on whether you like patchouli.....it seems to be a golden amber/patchouli blend with wood, possibly cedar Magus......"galangal, high john essence, frankincense, cedar, and sandalwood" ....I feel like there must be more that I'm not thinking of. The Pit and The Pendulum is good, although it's an older LE and might be harder to find. And too bad Sri Lanka was discontinued....

I love this! Something told me I might, but I didn't really expect to be wowed like this. I get the fruity bubble-gum top notes, but later this is sultry fruits and spices. This is special. Something about it reminds me of Djinn, which sounds crazy, but it's undeniable. There's nothing burnt about Plum Puddin', so maybe it's the spices? I also think of Joulumuori, which makes a little more sense. Anyway I really like this, glad I took a chance.

I have a super-aged imp of Brimstone which I took for a test-drive the other day. I think it might be from my first imp order! Anyway I get a lot of myrrh in it. It really jumped out at me, never noticed myrrh in that scent before. Not sure if the aging brought it out. I love myrrh and now I feel like getting a bottle of Brimstone just to put away for a few years.

I got this for my mom because she always used to sing a song about yellow snow. I was disappointed that the name is almost impossible to read on the bottle. But the yellow snowflakes are pretty. And I just had to try it, of course. It starts out with a piney sort of snow note and a little fruit, reminding me of Ice Queen. It's zingy and zippy. I agree that it might be good in hot weather, as was mentioned above. Later when it dries down, the vanilla cream and lemon drops make it kind of a suntan lotion smell for me and the snow note kind of disappears. I still like it, and I still think it would be good in the summer. It's sweet and mellow and yellow, lol. Not much more to say. I like Carnaval Diabolique better as lemon scents go, because that one has a little incense/musk intrigue going on. But this is good and I didn't get it for me anyway. My mom thought it smelled like cedar or pine when she first put it on. I didn't get her thoughts later on because there were a million people there.

CXCVII..... I don't really like this one and I'm not sure how to describe it. I think there is vanilla but it's the kind that turns plasticky like a doll head on me. Maybe a little fruit or berry, and maybe a little tropical floral. It's not terrible but I wouldn't wear it.

MCCLI.... I think that Moonarcana gave me this one. It's a very soft spice scent. I can smell clove and possibly ginger. But it's so soft and light, and not really foody except for a little bit of 'bread' note in the very beginning. I want to say there is a very sheer musk, something light that makes it more perfumey as opposed to gourmand. Hard to pick apart but very pretty. It's like the female counterpart to Plunder. It's a winner and I should wear it more often!

I have a little decant of vintage VdN, and I just tried some on to reply here. I bet there is something in the bpal catalog but I can't think off the top of my head which one. At first I was thinking The Harp of Cnoc I'Chosgair but I don't think that's quite right. That might be closer to Samsara with its vanilla and sandalwood. Vol de Nuit is a light, spicy, powdery floral with amber and galbanum which is kind of a greenish resin note. I bet someone has an amber Chaos Theory that smells like it. But I'm still feeling like there's something GC that might work. I just don't know the powdery florals very well. Edit: You know what.....after a while I realized, it is reminding me of Silk Road, except I think Silk Road has more spices. I know that's discontinued, sorry.

Leather Phoenix reminds me of a classic floral-leather chypre, without the moss that most chypres have. There is a 'skanky' (in a good way) animalic undertone but I don't know what that is....maybe the cedar or oudh? I think this scent is soft and pretty, elegant, and when I wear it I can't stop sniffing my wrist because it's so interesting. It doesn't change much as it dries. If you think that leather scents are masculine by default, this one might surprise you. The leather is really balanced with the softer prettier notes, and overall I'd call it unisex. It also really fits with the other Phoenix scents that I've tried, if you consider them a 'family' of scents. There is a dark layer in my bottle that's really hard to mix with the rest of the oil. I don't shake any of my bottles but I rolled and rolled it, and tipped it back and forth, and some of it mixed in but there is still a little thin layer at the bottom. I wonder what that is? I'm thinking it must be the aged oudh.

I love Egoiste! And I'm sort of on the lookout for a bpal scent that is similar. Egoiste has notes of sweet orange, rose and rosewood, vanilla, spice (coriander I think), ambrette seed, and sandalwood. Very lovely orange/sandalwood/rose/vanilla scent, with some spices. Notes vary depending on where you look them up but the rose is not central to the scent....it is a supporting kind of rose. I have my eye on these, and they all happen to be Yules: Harlequin and Columbine (from last year)....."French vanilla, red currant, sage, balsam, rosewood, mandarin, lemon peel, pomegranate, and cedar" Thousands Of Lights....."Indian ambrette seed, beeswax, champaca flower, saffron, Italian bergamot, frankincense, oak bark, and vanilla orchid" In Brightness And In Joy....."Divine mercy: sweet winter berry, orange blossom, frankincense, golden sandalwood, angel's trumpet, and red rose" I am not too familiar with the lab's rose scents, just thought I'd put it out there and see what people thought. And I will report back on what I find, too. : )