Anaire

Unfortunately Mars Ultor is one of the most unique scents I've smelled from BPAL, so I've been having to ration as well. The closest blends I can think of are also LEs for the most part, but they still might be more readily available. Red Lantern is sort of similar, so is Eyes Made Strong and Grave with Sleep. Both of them are heavier, though. Nothing I can think of really has that unusual smoky airiness that Ultor does. If I had to come up with some GCs, maybe Antikythera Mechanism and Hellfire. In fact, Hellfire would probably be your best bet. It's got the sweet smoky musk, tobacco and incense. Still going to be heavier overall, but it's not incredibly far off. I remember Red Lantern turning really sweet on me. I'll check the others out, though! I'm way overdue for trying Antikythera and Hellfire... You know what I thought actually smelled really similar? The Black Vanilla & Cardamom HG. Too bad it's not a perfume. Black Vanilla and Cardamom HG should be a perfume IMO. I love that one. It hits extraordinary IMO.

Bought bottle #1 off of destash. I think it's Black Narcissus while wet with a hint of, I’m guessing, clove. Wet phase, on me, is rather ugly but it only lasts about 15 minutes. It dries down to a gorgeous floral sweet spice. I can get whiffs of vanilla in there and it lasts a good few hours before I end up with an eminently huffable vanilla incense scent that reminds me of “A Stroll through the Quarter”. I could be wrong but I think there might be some oleander in there as well. Keeper!

I purchased, on destash, bottle #87. I get a floral incense scent, with a hint of the amber in it. I can't place the floral, it's rather sharp and heavy on initial application. Ultimate drydown is a warm ambery incense with a hint of floral. I also tried this on DH and it ended up going heavier to what he described as a "forest meadow with flowers" (hinting at pine?). So it's a total morpher. I love it enough to wear it often the last couple of weeks.

Jacobs ladder and la lugubre gondola aren't dupes, but are in the same family. Llg is a rare, but jl is a yule that repeats every now and again and is currently on the lab's etsy. Sorry did you mean Ebay?

To be honest, I've never been one for florals and I tend to dislike orange (even though I like citruses in general). I got this as a frimp in an order and since I was new to BPAL I thought "Hey, I'll give it a try..." I mean I'd never have picked this one on my own but it never hurts to broaden your horizons a bit, right? Hell's Belle lives up to her name. She's that combo of grace, beguiling charm and devilish intelligence that reminds me of Scarlet O'Hara in Gone with the Wind. Wet: Mandarin dominates with a hint of spice, cinnamon I think. (for me it took a few months of aging before I could smell the spice. The mandarin was very dominant) Drydown: Oleander and magnolia come into the forefront. I smell mostly the oleander but I definitely get a mix of mandarin and spice in there as well (plus I don't know what magnolia smells like). Reaction from SO: Well, if he smells it he likes to bury his nose into my neck to get a better sniff of it... Ultimately this has become one of my top 5 scents. It's a sexy, spicy floral that gorgeous with my chemistry. ETA: That said I've found it's best for me in Spring and Summer, it doesn't smell quite the same when it's colder than 80 degrees outside. Not sure why.

I hope you like it. My DH tells me it's a evening scent (being somewhat heavier on the woods on me) but it incredibly gorgeous and I cherish my bottle of it. Now I just have to get my paws on RR perfume and Tombstone.... Because one must have a variety of vanillas to choose from, right? If I think of any other woodsy/spicy Vanillas I'll chime in.

It's hard to beat Hesiod's Phoenix. It's simply one of the best I've smelled (and one of my first bottles I blind bottled). That said, I'm looking for the same as you and am hoping to see what others suggest!. ETA: Have you tried Arana (Vanilla-infused agarwood, oak bark, and Laotian benzoin.)? It's a LE but you might be able to pick it up...

Have you tried Golden Priapus, Hesiod's Phoenix and Mars Ultor? ETA: I want to say Antikythera Mechanism (Teakwood, oak, black vanilla, and tobacco.) but that one went straight up teak on me and the imp I've had for over a year is just starting to settle into other notes. But maybe you'll have better luck?

Dorian and Morocco would also be my first thoughts. But maybe also try something like the Red Queen (for a dark fruit and wood combo), Dana O'Shee, or Chimera (a bit spicy). It just depends on what you personally like.

Disclaimer: I had the same problem here as I do with Diamond Star (Ambergris accord, guiac wood, white benzoin, immortelle, and Somalian myrrh.), it's gorgeous for about 15 minutes then it disappears entirely from my skin. Wet: It's dominated by Vanilla cream with a hint of the of a floral in it (I'm guessing the Immortelle?). Drydown: I get a bit of the patchouli and immortelle before it disappears almost entirely and becomes just barely a skin scent. I supect this is gorgeous on the right person, but unfortunately that's not me!

Since you like Dorian: Jareth, Venustas, possibly Theodosius (I haven't tried it yet - going off the reviews). Maybe Tattered Lace. Oooh Jareth! Yes I'l put that one on my list. I hadn't even heard of Theodosius, and I'll take a look at Tattered Lace. Thank you! I did try Venustas but it didn't work out (not bad, just not particularly good) Thank you!

Current top 5 in no particular order: Sin Hell's Belle Dorian Hesiod Phoenix TKO honorable mentions: Lust, Aelopile and Imp.

This pretty much went to skin scent on me. After drydown it went to a nice powdery scent. Pleasant, but not bottle worthy.

Does anyone have a recommendation for Schlaflos! Frage und Antwort (Black pine pitch, oakmoss, Spanish moss, myrrh, and violet leaf.). Silly me got a decant but didn't think to get a bottle and this one hits the very sexy scent pile after it aged for a little bit (moss toned down and the myrrh and violet leaf came out to play a lot). Suggestions?

I don't know if you found your substitute yet but I've found Aelopile (Glowing amber and citrus, labdanum, verbena, cedar, and oud.) to be a fairly good substitute for both La Lugubre Gondola and Hesiod Phoenix when I want something less special to wear daily. The verbena wears off quickly and I get the amber, labdanum, oudh scent for most of the day (La Lugubre is nicer, don't get me wrong, but this works for daily wear).

In the bottle: Heavy on the leather with a bit of juniper in there. Wet: Mostly a heavy leather. Dry: Leather with a hint of juniper and sweetness. Eventually the leather wears off to get a wonderful spicy green wood scent with a hint of sweetness. Love the decant I got but I don't think I'll go for the bottle.

Ok, this is my first Amber scent I've tried so I can't really tell the notes as I smell them. In bottle: Sharp resin smell Wet: I get the sharp resin smell for a little while Drydown: It takes a while to settle into my skin when it does at first it disappears for while to reappear a bit later with a sweet smelling spicy wood. At this point it's a heady experience for me. Someone else mentioned Breath of God and I have to agree. This is bottle worthy in my book, I might break down and get 2 bottles since I have to slather it on to get the notes I want.

Bought the decant with hubby in mind, but decided to try it on also. On him it was ok, but definitely not what he wanted. On me- In Bottle: Deep pine scent with a hint of myrrh Wet: PINE SOL alert! I get nothing but that for at least 10 minutes Drydown: As someone else mentioned I get a powdery myrrh with a hint of floral. As it continues I get more sweetness in it. Overall: Like it. Not bottle worthy but I can see me being in the mood for using my decant in December and January. ETA: 1 year later and I regret not getting that bottle. WAAAAAA!

I can't believe there aren't more reviews for this one. It's my 2nd bottle of BPAL perfume and I took a real chance it would work for me since it seems so many don't. I've tried this a few times and overall results are... In the bottle: Cheesecake with a hint of sharp thyme in it. Somewhat overwhelmingly sweet, almost cloying. Wet: As someone else above put it I get a sharp tangy thyme/lemon zest that overrides everything else at first. Dry: I get a hint of the thyme/lemon with a hint of the creamy cheesecake. The longer I have it on the more the thyme lemon fades into a creamy sweetness (depending on my chemistry with a bit of bite to it). Not overwhelming and definitely enjoyable. I need to make this bottle last a long, long, long time (or find another bottle of it!). And maybe rethink my general disdain of foodie scents.

This was my first BPAL order. First Impression of it in the bottle was that it was pure Buttery Pumpkin with a hint of spice. It was incredibly overwhelming to have on so I tried it for one day, then put it away for a couple of days to try my Imps. Tried it again a few days later but put a few drops in coconut oil to dilute (and prevent a headache) and got pure buttery pumpkin with a hint of spice and just incredible. I spent most of the day sniffing myself. Third time, I used undiluted oil on my skin and have gotten mostly a spicey scent with a hint of buttery pumpkin. Hubby says he smells both in equal measure and thinks its delicious. Anyways, it's a total keeper for me, probably will buy a second bottle before it's discontinued.

Got a Imp of this to try out BPAL perfumes. In the bottle: Almond and vanilla. Wet: Mostly almond with a hint of vanilla and spice. I smell like Marzipan! Full Dry Down: Almond gone I get a hint of spice but that's about it. Love but just wished it stayed around a bit longer. I get a almond scent for around an hour before it disappears entirely and I get a basic spice smell.