Ahania

I knew this Halloween update sounded like you! (Though I hadn't thought that so much about these two until now.) John Barleycorn- Barley, beer, blood, and whiskey, barley instead of corn, but as long as its not too bloody it might be just the thing Gunpowder- Carrot peelings, hay, chaff, molasses, maple oats, red apples, stable wood, and musk I think carrots smell like silage so unless I'm crazy on that (perfectly possible) this might be fabulous for him

An awesome one!

It's definitely there, but the red currant is much more dominant on me than the blueberry is.

I loooove Sed Non Satiata, which has honey and musk. Even if you're leery of patchouli give it a shot, I'm not a big patch fan myself.

I ordered a whole bunch because I love surprises. It turned out I was right to do so, as I'm deeply in love with all but one. LXXXVII (87)- in the bottle, it smells like pure, fresh melon. On, The melon stays nice and strong, but just enough cherry comes out to make it more complex. As it dries, I start to get some white musk and a faint touch of white florals. Previously reviewed by savage_rose. CCCXCVI (396)- In the bottle- imagine if you had so much Lump of Coal and Fruitcake sitting around that you dumped some together to see what would happen. On, it smells exactly like the bottle. Dang, I'm jealous of myself over this one! CCCXCVIII (398)- In the bottle - I simply haven't the foggiest clue beyond it being sort of aquatic. I'd hoped that putting it on, I'd be able to pick out notes, but I can't. There's something sort of peppery in there, but I can't with any confidence call it pepper, either. Whatever it is, I'm not crazy about it. Swap bag. CDVIII (408)- in the bottle, it smells very similar to Shub. On, it keeps a dominant ginger note, but it sweetens up, almost like ginger cotton candy. CDXLVIII (448)- in the bottle, hooray! I got a popcorn scent! On, I get lotus! When I was in elementary school, we used to do fundraisers where we sold bags of flavored candied popcorn, and the best was bubblegum, and here it is on my wrists! There's also some resin popping out to ground it. CDLIII (453)- In the bottle - really similar to Mr. Nancy, ie a sweet lime that doesn't smell like floor cleaner. On, that lime note stays there, but I'm starting to get some pine, as well. Normally I hate pine but this is so subdued that it just serves to give a hint of sharpness unless I really bury my nose in my wrist. CDLIV (454)- In the bottle, woo hoo! Another melon scent! I love BPAL's melon and there just isn't enough of it around. On, I'm also getting... rose? And spices? Yes, it smells a lot like Lucy's Kiss plus melon. Which sounds freakish, and, well, it is, but it's also really, really good. CDLX (460)- In the bottle, this is sort of a resiny aquatic. On, it stays pretty similar, but gets a bit sweeter. Is that sweetness fruity pebbles? It might be. Yes, I'm going to have to go with calling this one an aquatic fruity pebble scent. Woo hoo, my second round arrived! DCCXXIX (729)- In the bottle, sharp cough syrup. On, wet, it smells dark and green and resinous, very sinister and unsettling! As it dries, it's going grassy. I'll have to try it in a locket and see if it keeps that dark creepy smell, otherwise it's off to swaps. ETA: I had lunch with Wildbriar yesterday and had her try it since she likes grassy scents, and it got really rosey on her! No rose on me whatsoever. DCCXXX (730)- In the bottle, some sort of citrus- pink grapefruit or tangerine, I think. On, that's definitely pink grapefruit! After a few minutes that mellows out a little and something else starts to come out... some sort of tropical white flower. Pikaki? DCCXXXI (731)- In the bottle, I'm noticing some ginger but I can't tell what else is in there. On, hot damn, this is ginger popcorn! The popcorn is much more subdued and subtle than it is in CDXLVIII, really letting the ginger be front and center. ETA: After I wear it for about an hour, the ginger and popcorn fade out, and it gets smoky, but not smoky like burning leaves, smoky like bacon. (Not meaty, but definitely an edible sort of smoke.) DCCXXXIII (733)- In the bottle, its sharp and resiny. On, it immediately gets very mild and subtle, and starts to get piney. Maybe pine and lemon, sometimes my nose blurs them together. Besides the pine, it kind of reminds me of Destroying Angel. Not a pine fan, though.

Vanilla Lime smells a lot like Mr. Nancy to me.

This starts out sweet, with the cherry giving it a warm almondy glow without being overwhelming. Instead, it blends harmoniously with the lavender and rose and makes a really lovely scent. Until about 15 minutes of wear, when it turns into roses and flea collar. The rose note washed off but the flea collar note would not go away. I can still smell it faintly, 12 hours later.

Xiuhtecuhtli is a fantastic jungly scent. Copal, plumeria and sweet orange and the smoke of South American incense and crushed jungle blooms.

Ooo! What do you think of Centzon Totochtin? I hope you love it!

In the bottle: very faint sunflowers On me: if I press my nose into my arm and inhale really deeply, I can get a tiny whiff of floral. I can't even smell it enough to say what kind of flower.

Dark and strange? Run, don't walk, and get some Centzon Totochtin! Bittersweet Mexican cocoa with rum, red wine, and a scent redolent of sacrificial blood.

Wow. I've never tried that, but now I'm going to have to hunt it down. If I have any suggestions after trying it I'll be sure to let you know! In the meantime, maybe this from their website might help others think of recs? "Neither peach nor pear, lychee nor citrus, the sublime taste of St-Germain hints at each of these and yet none of them exactly. It is a flavor as subtle and delicate as it is captivating."

Szepassonzy is really nice.

That's one of my absolute favorites, too, but I get lots of blood and no booze!

You might also get some Crypt lotion from GothRosary. It smells just like wet rocks- definitely not the full cave scent that you're looking for, but it might be useful as one of the layers with some of the scents others have suggested. [i'm reporting this to ivyandpeony in case it falls outside the rules for this subforum.]

That note list makes me think of the Salon. Here's a couple that stand out to me for you, but you may want to read through the reviews, too: And There Was A Great Cry in Egypt- Dark myrrh, white sandalwood, amber, hyssop, frankincense, honey, cypress, red musk, cardamom and saffron. Orpheus- Pale musk, green mandarin, neroli, benzoin, citrus peel, blue lavender, narcissus, stephanotis, crushed green stems, willow branch and cedar.

curlykitty, have you tried Eden? It's more coconutty, but overall I think it's pretty similar.

Depending on the kind of dreaminess you're going for, I'd suggest Mouse's Long and Sad Tale. It's more "Just Like Heaven" than Disintegration, if that helps.

Centzon Totochtin! Bittersweet Mexican cocoa with rum, red wine, and a scent redolent of sacrificial blood. I don't really smell the chocolate in Gluttony, and while Candy Butcher is a good dark chocolate, I love this one more.

In the vial, this smells like a light floral, but when it hits my skin it turns into a wonderful fruity scent. It reminds me of orange gummi bears, with just enough floral to make it sort of effervescent and keep it from just turning into candy. It's sexy, but a very playful, lighthearted sort. This is lazy summer afternoon sex with someone who makes you laugh.

I like Kubla Khan and Katharina when I want something a bit lighter without going airy.

I'm not so up on florals in general but Twilight does come to mind. Jasmine, lavender, and honeysuckle.

I have a mix that's pretty dang close. In a rollerball, I mixed 15 drops of year-old Aizen-myoo (it's much mellower than new), 40 drops of Bloody Mary, 30 drops of Hellcat, and one drop of Port-au-Prince. The cherry is a little less bright than in Fruitcake, but I'm pretty happy with it all the same. Why yes, I did just spend my morning hunched over a test tube rack.

How long ago did you try it? That was my reaction when I first got it, but after aging awhile it lost that plasticky smell for me.

From first to last, an artistic triumph. In the vial/wet on the skin- mmm, frangelico! Mainly hazelnut with with that lovely complexity that promises there's other notes in there just waiting their turn. Dry- yup, the hazelnut calms down and the lush vanilla and sandalwood come out- at this point it kind of reminds me of Morocco. Slightly sweet but not too sweet. Drydown- softer but dryer as the vanilla fades out and the myrrh and amber linger, melancholy, like the memory of a kiss.