mooncityminx

Great Cry in Egypt is wonderful if the ambers are compatible with your skin chemistry. My new favorite sandalwood is Lyonesse. I don't know why I haven't stumbled onto it earlier. The whole time I've been wearing/trying bpals I was looking for something just like it. It's sort of a vanilla and sandalwood blend.

In the vial: pungent amber and incense Wet: sandalwood, musk, and amber, a beautiful perfumey perfume. Drydown: Sweet but classy, golden and warm, resinous but not powdery, Niiiiiice! Like what conventional perfumers would call an 'oriental' Hello, I think I love you Lyonesse! I need a bottle of this, stat! It reminds me of Glowing Vulva, but without the teak, and something is similar to Inez. OMG I am huffing my arm right now. YUM! This is reminding me of long ago when I used to wear Dior Addict, Samsara, or Givency Indecence. It's not like any of those exactly, but very much in the same mood. Can I really have found my GC signature scent? Maybe. Bottle!

Tulips, peony, fresh flowing water and crisp green grasses. In the vial: clean and green, astringent Wet: really nice smelling soap, grass, aquatics, a white floral. This is very clean. Drydown: This would make a great scent for a man who likes to smell clean. It is soapy, but again, in a nice way.

In the vial: chocolate? Wet: cherry, chocolate, mmmm. Drydown: Chocolate cherry and almonds? *waits* Marzipan. Maybe I'm just weird, but this is like marzipan candy to me. Tasty.

In the vial: Woah, dirt! Wet: Some kind of juicy soda pop spilled in the dirt. Tang mixed with mud. Hmm. Drydown: So much dirt. The blood orange note reminds me of vitamin C tablets. This was very strong at first and seems to be getting more subtle. I really don't get any sense of evil from this, which is a shame. What a great name. But it does make me think of my grandpas old shed that was full of antiques and decaying organic matter.

In the vial: fruit and roses. Mmmm! Wet: rose candy! Some kind of fruit syrup like pear? Maybe baked pear and roses. Yummy! Drydown: roses and candies, so so yummy! Light and girly, refreshing! Ooooo, this is the perfect summer and spring girly perfume. Beautiful

In the vial: cocoa absolute Wet: floral and cocoa Drydown: strong soapy floral, then cocoa, leather and incense. What an interesting combo. There's something earthy about this that reminds me of barnyard. I think it's the combination of leather and patchouli. It's very organic and dark. Kind of strong and masculine for me, but very evocative. ETA: A while later this becomes a sweet and more gentle leather smell. It smells a little like barnyard, but not in a harsh or overwhelming way. I almost think I detect just a little coconut. It's very nice now. Would be very nice on a man.

In the vial: lush citrus, like fresh oranges, grapefruits, and lemons torn open. Wet: Florals emerge from the citrus, something slightly powdery and resinous. This is reminding me strongly of walking into a Lush store. The citrus amps and amps on me. Drydown: The lily, the jasmine, and rose all blend harmoniously with the citrus. It's not soapy, it's complex and luscious, and I am ashamed to keep saying it, but it sincerely smells just like a Lush store. Walking up the street catching the heady mixture of roses and citrus on the breeze, walking inside only to be blasted with the intense citrus/floral/resinous fragrance, and the lingering wafts from the shopping bag on the bus rides home. This is heaven! Need! Moar!

In the vial: girly perfume! blossoms and fruits, very tropical and cheerful. Wet: Oh, soap :/ But I am still detecting blossoms and fruits. It's like my skin is drinking it up, but it hasn't even dried yet. Subtle and clean, but still girly. Drydown: This has lost the tropical fruitiness and is now merely subtle and clean. It's a very nice clean smell, and not harsh or soapy anymore. But I'm somewhat disappointed because in the vial it smelled like heaven. I'm putting some on an envelope right now to see if it's just my chemistry. *waits* It's so subtle, even on paper, that I honestly can't tell if the disapearing fruit is a chemistry thing or not. Maybe it's just my batch. Sometime I think I'll add an imps worth to some unscented lotion and see if that helps.

In the vial: lavendar and violet liquor. Wet: Strong violet, this smells strikingly similar to a toy I had in the 80's. I think it was from a brand called 'Charmkins.' It was a little plastic train consisting of a beehive and a flower and things like that, tiny. I'm pretty sure it was the first thing the tooth fairy ever gave me. This smells an awful lot like that toy. Drydown: I just can't pick out any other individual notes. The lavendar and violet combo is slightly medicinal but sort of ethereal and lady-like too. I'm picturing a ghost lady in some elaborate dress with a veil draped over her down to her toes and trailing behind. Very distinctive.

In the vial: Wow. Smokey leather? Wet: Soapy smoke, but it's not like woodsmoke or anything like that. *is overwhelmed* Drydown: I think this smells a little bit like leather, but I'm not sure. The association I'm getting is a cowboy. This is seriously seriously masculine. Maybe a little too masculine for my tastes, even on a man. And yet there is a slight floral there, but it comes across as more clean than anything else. It's not quite soap anymore. It's like meeting a cowboy, and at first impression you're thinking "There goes one manly man," but then he opens the door for you and calls you "ma'am" and it dawns on you that he is actually a gentleman too. This is that cowboy's cologne.

In the vial: something exotic and fruity Wet: Mmm sandalwood? Something lemony almost, but subtly like verbena or lemon geranium, herbs and spices. Drydown: Lemony herbs. Mmmm! Sweet and lemony but the background exotic spices keep it from being simple. This is complex. I keep coming back to the association with my lemon geranium plant. I dunno if it's just my chemistry amping that note, because I notice no one else's review that I read mentions lemon at all. But this reminds me of a more herbal and complex Vampire Tears. It's very fresh and exotic. I'm not getting any florals at all. I really like this a lot!

In the vial: Red juicy resin, like a soapy Hells Bell or Unheavenly City. Wet: soap, subtle ginger, magnolia, soap. Drydown: I think it's the Oleander that is making me think of soap, it is settling to a white floral. I still think this smells like Unheavenly City, but with spices. This isn't a blend I would have sought out based on the description, but it is appealing. The white floral is classy and feminine. For someone who wears white florals, this could be nice.

Has anyone tried J'Adore? Is there a bpal that resembles it? My mom wants to know.

Oh yeah, only the very first of Blockhead is bubblegum, then it goes very masculine. Heavy leather. Appropriate, but not a light fluffy scent. Oh yay, I'm expecting an imp of that soon. (Love your icon!) Thanks It was the first thing I thought of, when I first heard the name "Floating Brain."

Tweedledee is closer, IMO to bubblegum. You'd need a strawberry note, a currant note, and a powdered sugar note too. Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo may work too, though. I love ACJM in general

I just love this label! The font is so cute. In the bottle: buttery and fruity Wet: Mmmm, some kind of sweet citrus, I think it is grapefruit, butter, and strawberry. At least, I think that is strawberry. Maybe it's more of a pinkberry scent. Mmmm that other berry though, I think it is currant? What an interesting and lovely combination! So edible. But sort of light and bubblegummy too. Dry: This is almost like Teenage Cannibal's drydown, but not spicy. Plus pinkberry (like strawberry but not quite) and a powdered sugar note. Oooo! That's what this is reminding me of. It smells similar to Marshmallow Poof too. Like Marshmallow Poof and Teenage Cannibal baked some crumpets together and covered them in currant. On further drydown the sweet smell is almost all I can smell. It took at least 10-20 minutes to do that. I think I'll do like with Cannibal and put it in a scent locket most of the time so I can enjoy it longer. I LOVE it!

In the bottle: brownie batter Wet: very similar to Bliss, and the chocolate of Velvet. I would also compare it to Die Des Reyes from last year. Drydown: The amber is coming out now. Sometimes amber goes a little off on me, this is also doing that. Woo, I don't know what to say about that but it's a little funky. Uh, this is not going to work for me. But on someone else, I believe it would be lovely. I take it back. After about ten minutes the amber changed and now it is lovely on me. I need to learn to have more patience with ambers.

In the bottle: almonds rum and butter. Mmmmm Wet: nutty, not specifically almond though. Drydown: Smells like red hots! Really really hot ones. Reminds me of a similar note in Pinched with Four Aces. I'll have to see how this changes over time. I seem to get only the spice after about a minute, which is nice, but not what I was looking for. I like the smell in the bottle much better.

In the bottle: citrus and something herbal Wet: evergreens, aquatics, fruits. At this stage it reminds me strongly of the Snowstorm, but with citrus. Drydown: The citrus comes to the forefront with the florals. Not as sweet as I was expecting. Aquatics and citrus are an interesting combo.

In the vial: dry woods and something sweet. Wet: Woah dry dry woods, and I am strongly reminded of a new age store. Seriously. This could be a very cool room fragrance. Drydown: A little too much for me to wear on my body. Pungent!

In the vial: flowery candy, I think this is the plumeria Wet: Rose, but not soapy rose, graceful rose with the plumeria poking through. This is a great combo. Usually I can only wear tea rose scents or else they go soapy. I think the sweetness of the plumeria counteracts that effect. Drydown: The rose and plumeria are blending beautifully now. I've always sort of liked the smell of plumeria, but am usually turned off by the artificial twang that other brands have. This is so real. So classy! It's almost like Peacock Queen, only better and more complex. I'm very impressed.

Candy cane at first. This is peppermint with the bpal sugar note from Hope. Then the peppermint fades over several hours time to leave a sugared vanilla fragrance. To me this is nearly identical to Lick It Again, which is a favorite of mine. I like to use it for aromatherapy a lot. It is particularly nice in the summer when I really need the cooling effect of the mint. It's a must have. Yay!

This is all evergreens and snow at first, with a very subtle hint of fruit and flowers. Interesting Then the bergamot and plum come out more with the snow mixed in. This is a more aquatic snow, and not the cold note of Snow White. It has more in common with the Snowstorm.

Antikythera Mechanism is the closest thing in the GC to Indecence, at least after it has reacted with my chemistry. Glowing Vulva was sooo close! But it is gone You might also consider A Great Cry in Egypt for that type of scent. GCIE goes powdery on me But it is a spicy, ambery, oriental like Indecence. I just loved Indecence. Stupid perfumer's alcohol!