VetchVesper

Lemon drops! That's what first springs to mind. Sweet, bright lemon. There's more complexity though as the fragrance blossoms. The honey musk is becoming more obvious on my skin. It's a sweet, light golden sort of honey and hot tea drinks come to mind, though there's no actual tea note. The muskiness is light and just keeps this from smelling like strait up lemon candy. The beeswax is extremely faint on me, and the maple leaves seem to be creating a subtle cologne vibe in the background. As it dries down, the lemon blossom is receding, and beeswax is starting to stand out. The cologne vibe is also fading. It's more of a soft, glowing candle vibe now, albeit a lemon candle. This is not my type of blend, but it's nice. A pretty, bright scent for those who like something lighter. Also, a nice variant of beeswax that I haven't smelled. Nice for summer.

In the bottle, this smells like a lot of the darker BPAL red musk scents - nice, but pretty standard. But once I put it on, I get a big ol' thrust of pepper right up the nostrils. Ok, I'm actually kind of digg'n it. The sandalwood starts to come out once the pepper calms the heck down and there's a smoky quality to the whole thing. Predominately though, this is a dark red musk blend with a pepper note that sticks around. I bet it will age well.

Musk is the first thing I pick up. It's not high pitched or soapy. "Furry" is a good descriptor. It's sheer and gently lived in, maybe akin to skin musk? I can smell either clove or carnation (since sometimes they smell similar) but it's very light. I was worried with both notes it would be overpoweringly "cloved," but the spiciness stays gentle. There's a bit of sweetness from the florals, and a very sheer vanilla. Diaphanous is a good word for this one. A demure, feminine skin scent that's not overly floral and only slightly vanillic. It's very pretty, and I'm curious to see if it will darken and intensify with age.

My first impressions from the bottle are of horchata. It's a creamy, watery smell with a very mellow cinnamon. On my skin, a tinge of watery floral starts to emerge. I can smell the frankincense. It's a nice combo with the cassia cinnamon, and the two notes smell dry and fuzzy together. I'm pretty much loving this. It's unusual and it's morphing quite a bit, but I'm enjoying all the stages. This somehow smells watery without being aquatic, incensey without being heavy. It smells tranquil and regal. I'm thinking of ancient pleasure boats on the NIle. 10 minutes in, I'm starting to get the barest hint of cardamom, but it's not making things too cologney like it can sometimes for me. Everything is just beautifully balanced and smooth. It's a little more obviously aquatic now and dipping one toe in soapy. I'm still liking it though, so it needs to just stop right there. Ok. It's behaving itself. Good. For me, this is bottle worth and would be fantastic in the summer. Light incense and spice notes over a watery, creamy back drop. Rather unusual.

It actually sounds like you've kind of got a scent profile down. I was about to recommend The Apothecary and Eat Me before I looked at what had worked for you, so that makes me think I'm on the right track. Our senses of smell differ, so your mileage may vary, but I would recommend trying - Green, sweet, fruity, mossy scents for daily wear Cheshire Cat, Envy, Machu Pichu, Mad Hatter (Mossy mint w/Black Musk), Maenad, Pele, Tenochtitlan, Titania, Verdandi These are a little different from what you listed, but you might also like - Alice's Evidence (if you like cinnamon), Arcana, Baba Yaga, Cairo, Nephilim, Queen Alice, The Isle of Demons, Tweedledum Something that smells like the California coast with a lot of greenery (sea air, sagebrush?) I love Santa Eularia Des Riu for this. It's not an aquatic smell, but for some reason, it really reminds me of the coast. It's out of stock right now. Hopefully, they will bring it back. Ranger and Rome are very nice foresty scents. Ogygia reminds some of the seaside. To me, it's a bit soapy, but not bad. I'd recommend 51 except for the white musk and amber. You might keep it in mind though. Gourmand - I want to smell like dessert without it being cloying Strait up baked goods and candy - Bliss, Blood (cherry candy), Cockaigne, Miskatonic University, Shango (Fruit smoothie or fruit candy), Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat (Sprite and Midori) These are not strait up dessert smells, but they have that quality to them. - Chimera (cinnamon bun incense), Eclipse (Almond/Amaretto), Eden (Warm creamy sandalwood and fig), Hollywood Babylon (red musk strawberry milkshake), How Doth the Little Crocodile (if you like cedar), Shub-Niggurath (gingerbread incense) A sidenote - "Musk" covers a LOT of territory. By looking at the list of things that didn't work for you, it seems like you don't like "white musk, and white musk tends to be one that can go soapy on people. Perfumeries use all sorts of different "musks" with secret house blends and all-what-not. Musk is sort of the "curry" of perfumes. Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab is not always great about telling you exactly which musk they're using. Sometimes they get inventive, (My favorite is "ornery hedgehog musk.") but you should definitely check out their "red" and "black" musks. These two are BPAL staples, and they smell completely different. Also, just because a note doesn't work for you once, or even twice, doesn't mean it never will. Notes can be created in different ways and/or come from different sources. Vanilla, for example, can be a dark, rich, heady smell, or it can be light, sweet and powdery. It depends on what type of vanilla is being used in the fragrance. You'll start to figure out which versions of things you like. Sometimes the lab will actually tell you "dark rich vanilla" and make it easy, but looking at people's reviews on the forum is very helpful when you aren't sure. Anywho, good luck and happy sniffing!

This smells exactly like it should. Banana pudd'n and chocolate. A fun gourmand given the rarity of banana perfume. I do smell all three notes, but the banana is the stand out here. It smells real to me, but leans far more into super ripe, squished with sugar banana vs. a fresh tropical banana. ETA: Alas, I would have kept my partial for novelties sake and my nostalgia towards banana pudding, but apparently my skin soaks it up like nothin'. Gone in half an hour for me. ? Swaps!

This is a gentle, comforting skin scent. The rice flower is actually what stands out to me the most and makes this unique. There's a starchiness to the fragrance, but it's less rich than what I get from the basmati blends. I keep thinking of taro root. The vanilla is light and creamy vs. rich and dark. Overall, this isn't nearly as gourmand as I was expecting. It's a bit tame for my tastes, but I can't see anyone really being offended by it, and I can see why others like it.

I really love this. I like foresty notes, but I need other stuff mixed in or I start to feel like a lumberjack. This is playful, complex and beautiful. I almost get a berry note from the florals. The evergreen notes are gentle and blend seamlessly with a hint of rich earth in the dry down EThere are no hard edges or sharpness. A properly fuzzy, sweet scent, and raccoons wrestling amorously in green, blossoming underbrush comes easily to mind. Raccoon Moon befits its concept delightfully, and I will enjoy having this in my collection.

So, when I was in high school, there was a magic shop that used to sell all sorts of pagan, Wiccan, and occult stuff. I used to love to go in, and they had a "Cancer" perfume oil that smelled aaaamaaaazing. I never knew what was in it, but it smelled a LOT like this does in the bottle. I guess it makes sense that the mysterious "Cancer" perfume had roses in it. This is more obviously rosy though. On my skin - oh dear. ? The lemon balm is very prominent on me at first, along with the jasmine. Lemon balm frequently goes wacky with my chemistry, so others' mileage may vary. The rose has taken a back seat. I guess with the butter, vanilla, and honey, I was expecting something a bit foodier, but this is all floral on me. I might be getting a hint of natural strawberry as this dries down, and the rose is reappearing. Ok -- it's circling back to something like what I smelled in the bottle. Nice. I do get a hint of powdery vanilla. It's not bad on me, but not something I'd wear often. Very floral and reminds me of the Conjure Bag blends, especially at first. I'm interested to see how this works on others since it has so many notes.

Beautiful. Delicate, fresh white floral. Without looking at the notes, I guessed lilac, gardenia, lily of the valley, something sweetly fruity, (I thought maybe tangerine) and something spicy. So... not too bad with my guessing. Lily of the valley tends to veer into nose-tickling soap territory for me, but the note behaves beautifully here. In the air, this is all sweet, lush floral, but sprayed on my blankets, the pepper becomes a lot more prominent, and I do get a little more of the nose tickle I associate with lily of the valley. Still, it's pleasant - fuzzy. I'm really liking the room sprays this year.

I really like this. The bamboo and fig give it a very fresh, green feel. The fig is sweet, falling somewhere between a floral sweetness and a vegetal one. It reminds me a little of snapped snow peas. Last year's Tales from the Brushwood Fence had a similar greeness, but that one smelled soapy to me. I think the other notes in Wooden Puppetry ground it and keep that from happening. After a bit, the vanilla, patchouli, and oak start to emerge and it develops a gentle woodiness under the sweet fig and bamboo. This feels bright and uplifting. Glad to keep a decant. As a side note, it's doing a very good job of covering up the stench my foul (but beloved) cat beast made in his litter box, so, I'm officially impressed.

Lilacs and green grass is what I get. I'm not really picking out any berry. It's a pretty, fresh, and floral scent, befitting of a butterfly.

I can sort of answer your question, but I'm also asking one of my own. It's really up to your preference. "Sandalwood" is a classification that covers a variety of different trees. Australian sandalwood (Santalum spicatum) comes from a different plant than Indian/Mysore sandalwood (Santalum album). I thought that red sandalwood was just harvested from older Indian sandalwood trees than white sandalwood, but it looks like they might actually be different species too. I'll have to do more research! Red sandalwood definitely takes more time to develop than white sandalwood though. Also, fun fact, all the varieties seem to improve with aging. To my nose, Australian sandalwood has almost a buttery, baby powder smell to it, while white Indian sandalwood smells drier, woodier, and sometimes almost medicinal. Red sandalwood smells huskier/earthier to me. I love white Indian sandalwood. I like red Indian sandalwood. Australian I can take or leave, depending on the notes its with. The White Rider is an excellent example of white sandalwood. On to my question - Has anyone tried the Ylang Ylang, Sandalwood, and Vanilla Absolute menage a trois? I'm waffling on whether to buy it and reviews are rather thin.

Sweet and complex is my first thought. My brain has to search for the notes, and I'm a bit stuffy atm, so take my review with a grain of salt... or maybe some allergy medicine. This has an effervescent quality at first. The musk is not one of the typical BPAL musks that I'm familiar with. If you're afraid of white musk or skin musk, fear not. I do get vanilla, but it's not a foody or dark vanilla. I get sort of syrupy, resinous smell early on, (the benzoin) that with the effervesce and vanilla, reminds me of sarsaparilla. I never get any soap, but the fragrance does go a bit powdery in the dry down. I get a vibe like Love's Baby Soft or China Rain. It's pretty, gentle, sweet, and feminine. Very unobtrusive.

I mostly get clove with maybe a bit of the woody mahogany. For a perfume with such punchy notes, it's tamer than I'd expect. This is from an older decant though, so maybe it's faded with time. I do get a soapy edge, which made me guess at nag champa initially, but maybe it's just the clove. I think I prefer Hunter though for my gender neutral clove scent.

Very bright, lush floral. A nice alternative to white florals. The orchid and daffodils are most prominent to me. I like this one, but it can be a bit cloying if not used sparingly. Very nice for spring though. I get the plumeria references, but am not familiar enough with the note to know if it's here for certain, or there's just a similar vibe.

This is a husky, non-foody coconut on me at first. Then the richness of the macadamia and cream come out, but the gentle, golden amber keeps the fragrance from turning full gourmand. It's beautiful in this phase, though Very much a skin scent on me. As it continues to dry down, the marshmallow note takes over, and this becomes less appealing to me. It's still a lovely, creamy blend though. Just too foody for my tastes. It reminds me of the white chocolate blends.

Cherry sours greet my nose at first sniff and make me smile. There's complexity to the candy smell though, spice from the carnation and muskiness that gives the fragrance depth. The cherry fades quickly and the musk becomes definitively red. This starts to remind me of Daruma Doll with cherry instead of rose. I also get the similarities to Kabuki, which I'm a big fan of. It's super sweet, and super red, and more thick and sticky smelling vs. juicy. This smells more like it should be Stage Blood to me than SN Stage Blood. Yummy and lickable. I want moar.

Warm, sweet, foody and only the slightest bit goaty. This smells like s'mores without the milk chocolate. It's unabashedly foody, but the muskiness of the goat's milk makes it wearable for me, whereas usually, these kind of blends remind me of candles. The white chocolate is rich and realistic, and I'd say, if you're a fan of that note, this fragrance is well worth hunting down. I enjoy wearing it to bed when I want something indulgent and snuggly.

This starts off very discordant with white musk and citrus yuzu being at the forefront. I get the soap references, but it's more dryer sheets to my nose, not aquatic soap. It dries down quickly to a misty lilac scent with a bit of darkness in the background. The yuzu vanishes within minutes. This is The Unicorn Rushing Against a Tree's kooky cousin. It's not bad, but mist notes rarely work on me, and I have other lilac scents I like more. Swaps!

This one is extremely musky on me and the musk clings and won't let go. I can detect all the mentioned notes, but they're all enfolded and enveloped in the heavy silk note. The effect is very sexy and a little bit dirty, but it can also be a little much for me. Like a rich dessert, this fragrance works best for me when used sparingly and savored.

Got a sniffie of this in a swap so I"m not sure how the oil has held up over time, but I get sort of a musky berry. It reminds me a little bit of Druid. I think I also get a hint of spicy tea. Something spicy, but very, very subdued and in the background. Overall, it's pleasant but doesn't wow me.

Blood Bath is so frick'n good. I get compliments regularly when I wear it. Red musk is the star in this one, but it's made deep and husky by the patchouli. The roses are present and sugared, but they're smoothed into the blend so they bolster and add complexity to the red musk rather than turning this into a floral blend. Gorgeously feminine and sexy. Sweet, but thick and earthy enough that it comes across as womanly vs. girlish. One of the few fragrances I bought a back up bottle for.

Bard is one of the few in the RPG line that I love enough to have a bottle of. Sweet, golden honeyed rum is what I get on my skin, but there's complexity and warmth from the other notes, and even the metallic hint of brass when I sniff deeply. If you like rum or honey, this is a winner. Since I have imps of most of the RPG line, and you're supposed to be able to layer them, I figured I'd start experimenting and sharing my findings. I will probably update this review now and then. So, Bard with - Dwarf - Ooo... He's earthy, musky, and a little bit salty. He seems to be eating peanuts at the bar. This smells kind of nutty and comforting, and the musk in Dwarf isn't turning into wet dog on me! Bonus. I rather like this fellow, and I'd be happy to drink and sing a round with him. As the night wears on, Dwarf-Bard hangs around. He stays nice and earthy, the metallic note deepens (aided by the Bardy brass) and I start to get almost an incensey vibe. I think I might be falling for Dwarf. This combo would smell great on a guy, but I like it for myself as well. Elf- This one surprised me because, while I like Elf, and I like Bard, the two together don't do much for me. I mostly get Elf with a bit of depth and sweetness added. Since Elf is plenty sweet already, and I rather enjoy its light springy quality, depth and sweetness aren't adding to my experience. She also seems to go a tad screechy. I'm hanging out with Dwarf-Bard, on the left, eating peanuts and having a good time. Meanwhile, Elf-Bard is trilling loudly from my right, determined to grab my attention, because of course she's the best. She's an elf! No thank you Miss Elf-Bard. You keep those berries. I'm enjoying my peanuts! Gnome - This combo's not so great on me either. At first, the root beer and the rum sort of cancel out each other's sweetness. The spiciness of Gnome starts irritating my sinuses in the way dry soap can. There's an odd, masculine woodiness that I find unpleasant and the notes are dischordant. Eventually, all the chaos settles, and I get a thin, honeyed root beer. Meh. I never liked bard being gnome's preferred class anyway. 1/2 Elf - I love this combination so much. The sandalwood in 1/2 Elf really cuts Bard's sweetness and adds to the warmth. The combo also makes the beeswax/metallic twang note stronger. 1/2 Elf's ok by itself, but fantastic with Bard. Good - Skin musk isn't great on me, and that's what I got when I mix these two - musky Bard. In some ways, it actually reminds me of the gift fragrance, In Omnibus Caritas and some of the vulva Lupers. Honey, sugar and skin musk. Actually, not quite as sweet as I expected, but still quite sweet. Probably very sexy on the right chemistry. (I'm tempted to add 1/2 Elf to get that sandalwood in there...) Evil - Hell. Yes. Evil by itself is kind of soapy boy-cologne on me, but it combines so well with the series. Here, I get all the sugary charm and warmth from Bard, with an intriguing hint of mystery. He's tinged with incense and complexity. He's also well-washed - but only so he can dirty you up in the best way possible. Very sexy and unisex. Neutral - Musk. MUSK. MUUUUUSK. Warm musk? Seriously - I no longer recognize Bard. He/she is too apathetic to play right now. Just hang'n out in the shadowy corner - musking. The combo is pleasant, comforting, and unobtrusive. It also works better for me than Neutral by itself. If you like snugly musk, check it out. Chaotic - Eww. Not for me. This becomes weirdly citrusy and cologne-like when I combine the two. It sort of settles down after a wait, but not my thing or right for my chemistry. It might work for guys though? Lawful - This is your bard who plays for the symphony, doesn't have gambling debts, and never tells bawdy jokes. Lawful amps up the wood notes and surprisingly, the beeswax. It also cuts the sweetness. This bard plays sweet violin music into the night rather than carousing, drunk, in the tavern. I must admit, I'm more partial to scallywags, but this is a very nice alternative. I'm not a fan of Lawful by itself.

The coffee in this blend is more subdued than most of the other Kaffeeklatsch blends. I do get a bit of oud manure, but not as much as I often do in blends, so if oud's not usually problematic for you, this should be fine. Everything is extremely well blended. There's something almost deeply fruity that I can smell, which is in unexpected. I almost get a dark chocolate covered fruit vibe. There's a slight harshness and earthiness from the vetiver, but I don't really get patchouli. I'm sure it's in there, adding depth and warmth, but everything kind of melds together for me. This will probably age beautifully and I suspect the oud will mellow.