Ahania

I just got my new Gaiman decants, and I can happily tell you that Shadwell rocks that condensed milk/tobacco blend.

Wow, this is sexy! It starts out warm, rich tobacco and sweet sweet milk. After a few minutes those tone down and the tea comes out- this is the first BPAL with tea where I actually do smell the tea, instead of just having to believe that it's in there. The aquatic note comes in too, but the tobacco keeps it in check. I wish my mildewed raincoat smelled like this. Some BPAL tobacco sets off my allergies (oh, Elegba, how I miss you!) but this doesn't seem to at all. The milk is a lot like the one in Milk Moon 07- imagine MM with tobacco instead of fruit, and that's mostly how this smells to me. ETA: The next morning, my wrists still have a little scent left, and they smell exactly like MM.

Thanks ivyandpeony- I stuck that in there as a reminder not to cross all the results off a list before checking, but didn't really make it clear.

Luperci and Kindly Moon list beeswax. Also, the lab search pulls up exactly what you put in, so the 'honey' search won't give you the things with honeycomb. You can search 'honey*' and get everything with honey, honeyed, honeycomb, honeysuckle, etc. The search doesn't come up with discontinued GC scents, so working on a complete list you'll need to check the scent descriptions in the 'discontinued' reviews, too. ETA: Here's a complete Excel doc, which will do one handy search! Basically, it's that the bees make the honey and wax for themselves, and so it belongs to them instead of to us. Most, but not all, people who consider themselves vegans avoid honey. Yep, Wool is also an issue. For me, it's mostly because to keep large amounts of sheep results in inhumane treatment, and wool is generally not from wool-sheep, but from mutton-sheep, and so buying wool indirectly contributes to the meat industry, by subsidizing the costs of keeping them. I do buy alpaca from one particular supplier, because I have been to the farm and seen that they are well-treated (and they are not meat animals). Word on the musks.

The Cup of Death! Delicate peach and lavender, not sweet at all, quite somber and lovely.

I don't get any fruit from this at all- just butter, sugar, and holy-moly cardamom. It reminds of when I made shortbread and the shaker cap fell off my cardamom jar, and I dumped in about a tablespoon into a single batch of cookies- that tasted just how this smells. In the jar I smell some hazelnut, but once it's on me that goes away and it's pure cookie. It's a very strong scent and very long lasting. I like it, but boy is it intense.

In the bottle, I thought this was pretty horrid. It smelled like chocolate mixed with rancid milk (white chocolate?), plus mint. Determined, I went for it anyway. The first half hour I had it on I smelled awful. After that, the rancid and minty notes faded off, and the prettiness came out. I don't get much fruitiness- definitely no peach, but I don't get much peach from any BPAL, so that's no surprise. There's some bite from the spices, but subtle enough that without the lab description I wouldn't know what particular spices. The orchid and starfruit do stand out, though not strongly. Overall it didn't seem to last that long, but when I woke up in the morning I still smelled like honey. I like it once it dries down, but I'll have to try it a couple more times and see if it's worth the smell when it's wet.

I got this because of the name, confident that I wouldn't like it, as juniper and cypress and absolute deal-breakers for me. I adore it. It is soft, dusky, and lovely. The myrrh is the only note that really stands out to me, the others are pretty subtle though definitely there (but not enough to identify as particular flowers). When I need something peaceful and gentle, this is what I'll be going for. It's headed for the big bottle wishlist.

Kumari Kundam- "Thick incense, clay, stone, and hothouse blooms with a spike of frost, a hint of decay, and heavy, dolorous aquatic notes," maybe layered with GothRosary's Crypt lotion. Mmmm.

Tweedledee makes me go "Barou?" I think Tonks would like that.

I've had this imp sitting around for a while, and hadn't tried it because every time I sniffed I went "eehhh" and put on something else. The past couple days I've seen it mentioned a lot, though, so I went for it. O.M.G. This has vanilla creamy sweetness, delicate spiciness, and the musk and sandalwood are just right. Wet, I wasn't taken by it, but as soon as it dried, it blossomed into this heady, lush scent that was distractingly sexy- enough that I don't think it will make it into my regular rotation unless I get used to it. It's too hard to do research when all I can think about is getting it on. I'm definitely getting a big bottle, though, for when I don't want to think about anything else.

I don't have any good ideas, but as soon as I saw your topic, I thought, "HOMG, Beth should do a Brighton Pavilion scent!"

This is light, cool, fresh and delicate. A hint of cucumber, but not that much, a whisper of white flowers... This is how I imagine moon gardens smelling. It's like a mix of Blue Moon and Squirting Cucumber on me.

Mmmm! I've got 51 sitting right in front of me, I don't know why I didn't think of it. Tamamo-no-mae sounds great- why didn't I buy it? *headdesk* Off to swaps! Thanks!

My mother and sister both wear Miracle exclusively. I'm glad they have something they like, but I think BPAL is nicer, plus I'd really like to get them onto a company that doesn't do animal testing. I'll be visiting them next month, so I want to make them imp packs of good possibilities. Here's a couple descriptions of the notes: "Delicious, dewy, this bright and modern oriental exquisitely blends a fruity lychee top note, a flowery middle accord shot through with ginger and pepper, and a rich musk-and-amber end note, into a delicate yet zesty fragrance" "Top Notes Lychee, Freesia Middle Notes Magnolia, Ginger, Pepper Base Notes Musky and Amber Notes, Jasmine" So far my best guesses are Kiyohime Changes From a Serpent, since it's got lychee, musk, and a flower, and Dolce Stil Nuovo, with flowers, musk, and amber. Your ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Asp Viper is really similar to Uruk on me. The almond lasts longer, but that's the main difference.

I second Szepasszony!

This is a gorgeous, elegant scent. I'm really picky about rose, but LLB is a win. It goes on almost pure rose, but almost immediately morphs into a sort of caramelly-rose. I don't know what it is exactly- it's like caramel but not sweet, slightly burnt but pleasantly so, not harsh at all. Over time, this starts to fade down and the plum comes out. The rose is the dominant note the whole time, but never overwhelmingly so, and (except for when it's wet) doesn't drown out the other notes. I am so glad I got this, it's simply lovely.

Actually SO doesn't work on me, but I like Boomslang (the only two of the snake pit I love are the ones said to be closest to SO- go figure). I like Gluttony and Misk U more, though. Since you like Cockaigne (milk and honey, sweet cakes and wine), you might check out Dana O'Shee (Offerings of milk, honey and sweet grains).

The different musks that Beth uses are very different from each other. If they weren't labelled as such, I'd never guess that the white, red, and black musks are all 'musk.' So if you try one that's too grandma, don't let it scare you from the others!

This scent manages to be both delicate and pushy at the same time. There's a strong green note to it that really demands your attention, while the florals kind of hang back and wait to waft gently towards you. I don't get any vanilla in here at all, nothing to ground the scent as a whole. It's beautiful but hollow. It also smells very expensive, and kind of bitchy. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep the bottle, even though I like it, because it doesn't seem like something I'd wear much. I may have to keep a decant if I swap, though, for those special occasions where I need a boost of snottiness to balance out my shyness!

Exactly! It smells exactly like sweetarts on me. Not really fruit, but fruit flavor, where orange doesn't actually taste anything like an orange, but you know the color code, so you think 'orange' anyway. I don't get any tomato leaf scent at all, or toilets.

"sparkling fruity floral" sounds like Katharina to me! You might also try Belle Epoque or Pannychis for this. I tend to avoid mint and cedar, so I'm no help on Tommy Girl. Damn, you're making White Diamonds sound good! Isn't that the one Liz Taylor used to peddle? It hurts my brain.

The only thing I can think of is to mix something tropical (I love Xiuhtecuhtli!- it's very green and jungly, but with a nice fruity note) with a tiny bit of Misk U, but that sounds pretty disgusting. Maybe put them at different points- Xiuhtechutli on your wrists, and Misk U behind your knees, so you just get little whiffs?

Medea? I can completely see Bellatrix killing her own children out of revenge.