ClareN

I'm a huge Bakeneko fan, and I don't think Dorian with Shub-Niggurath smells anything like it (although that is a lovely combination anyway). I find that all these scents have a similar note that Bakeneko has (I think it's the amber): Jacob's Ladder Chrysanthemum Moon The Cracked Bell Famine Unfortunately those are all LEs, except Famine which is from Good Omens. Jacob's Ladder is the most similar to Bakeneko, so if you can track down a bottle, you need to layer it with something orangey, light spices and tea to recreate Bakeneko. Good luck...

I like this idea! I would suggest Greed, which is appropriate if you're going to be storing valuables in there, but also has a lovely warm woodsy scent with oakmoss and copal. Pulcinella and Teresina would be good for a darker wood scent, it's one of my favorites. Intrigue has an antique-wooden-box smell, to my nose (in a good way).

OK, here's a challenge: Can we recreate any of the Snake Pit using Snake Oil layered with something else? I will need this information once the Carnaval leaves! I just tried Snake Oil + Dorian + Pirate Moon, which is very much like Banded Sea Snake. I think Pirate Moon has one of the exact same moss notes that's in Banded Sea Snake. This combination is close, but not quite there - BSS is a bit deeper and smoother. I may try adding some Robin Goodfellow for the oakmoss note. ETA: A couple hours later, this smells nearly identical to Banded Sea Snake on my skin (I have the layering combination on one wrist and BSS on the other). Success! Any other ideas? Are there any GCs that smell like one of the Snake Pits without the Snake Oil? In other Carnaval news, aged Masabakes is a good Priala equivalent in the GC.

Sugar Skull, obviously; The Emathides (strong caramel note with florals and musk), La Befana (caramel and violets), Incubus (caramel and mint), and have you tried Kill-Devil? I haven't, but the reviews say it's very caramel-y.

I like lilac too, and haven't found a perfect lilac in BPAL yet. What I've tried of the ones you mentioned: Himerus: I got no lilac, just fruity-powdery-generic-floral. Purple Phoenix: This might have had some lilac in it but the jasmine drowned it out, for me. Villain: Kind of cologney and lots of lavender, but definite lilac on drydown. Crowley: I got very little lilac, mostly leather and red musk. Famine: No lilac and epic fail with my skin chemistry. His Station and Four Aces: By far the most lilac-heavy BPAL I've tried. Oakmoss and leather are there in supporting roles, but I don't think it's terribly masculine. This is likely your best bet, but also one of the hardest to find. Someone tell Beth we are due for a good strong lilac scent!

A sweet fresh floral with a hint of pine (I think that's BPAL's snow note, probably intended to evoke snowdrops). I can pick up something darker, soft and almost musky on the drydown. Like many fresh floral scents, it reminds me a little too much of shampoo or air freshener, especially in the early stages, so while it's pleasant, I can't see myself wearing it. It has no jasmine or rose that I can detect, so people looking for a lighter fresh floral scent might enjoy this.

On me, this is: Pine pine pine pine pine pine pine musk pine pine pine. This is my experience with most of BPAL's pine or snow scents. I'm not saying they all smell the same, because I've sniffed various pine scents side by side and they do smell different, but my nose just refuses to discern the other notes. I'm jealous of the reviewers who are getting juniper, musk and ambergris, because I think I'd like this if the notes were a bit more balanced. If you're like me and you want a pine scent where the musk and juniper are stronger, you must try the very underrated Thanatopsis, which is everything I wanted Black Forest to be.

I think Nahemoth from the Sephiroth category is similar. Unfortunately it's discontinued, but it should be a little easier to find than Hellion.

This is one of the more "natural" smelling BPALs, in that it smells like it could be recreated with essential oils from your local hippie store. I realize that all BPAL is all-natural, but this just has that...essential oil/aromatherapy smell. If that sounds dismissive, it's not supposed to be, because I actually love Rakshasa. I agree with everyone else who said that there's orange in this. The scent is predominantly orange, patchouli and perhaps some other sort of dark wood or resin - I almost want to say myrrh? When I compare Rakshasa to the closest-to-hand myrrh scent, Masabakes, I do think there is a little myrrh in Rakshasa. On me, the rose is present but fairly subtle and blends well into the other ingredients. If you're looking for a rose scent where the rose doesn't overtake the whole blend, this might be a good choice. I see that many people's experience has been quite the opposite, so maybe it's a batch difference thing? I tried it out on my boyfriend and it smells roughly the same on him as it does on me, and neither of us smell a lot of rose.

This doesn't smell like the notes listed in the description to me. I'm a spice junkie, but the spices here aren't familiar ones like cinnamon or cardamom - it's just a general fresh-herbal-spiciness. I get very little rose, but mostly a clean-spicy, slightly musky, herbal scent. Very clean. It reminds me of some kind of expensive all-natural shampoo, maybe. Not bad, but not something I'd want to wear. ETA: I must agree with a few other reviewers that this would make a very nice scent for laundry detergent.

I love everything in this scent and was so sure it would be a holy grail that I almost got a bottle unsniffed, but I'm very glad I didn't. The lilac and white musk combination in Whitechapel is a favorite of mine, so I thought this would be a darker cousin to Whitechapel with tea/tobacco/incense instead of citrus. All of these notes work on my chemistry, and I still love the idea of that scent and I almost want to beg the Lab for a reformulation. So I don't know quite what went wrong here, but Famine smells absolutely foul on me. It smells almost good when I sniff it in the imp but immediately turns horrible when I put it on my skin - this weird metallic/deodorant/vomit scent that I cannot tolerate. I see that a couple other reviews have mentioned vomit, so at least I'm not crazy. To make matters worse, it also smells like a wrong, corrupted version of my all-time favorite BPAL, Bakeneko. I suspect it's because both have black tea and amber, although amber isn't a listed note for Famine. I will also add that I have two decants of Famine from different sources, and have tried each decant two or three times since I so wanted to like it, and it was still FAIL every time. So sad.

This is a light, pretty floral-herbal scent when freshly applied - the moonflower and lily, I guess, along with a lemony-herbal note that must be honey myrtle or buttonweed, a little moss, and a definite dust note. This is not an overly floral scent, nor is it herbal in a harsh or unpleasant way; it's in the category of fresh scents like Embalming Fluid, but the lemon is quite subtle here (I think it's a lemony herb, not any sort of actual citrus). As it dries, the florals get fainter and the soft herbal-lemon note and the moss are the most prominent. This is nice, but it doesn't grab me.

I would also like an answer on the nut content of oils - in particular, does BPAL use almond carrier oil at all? I have a boyfriend with an almond allergy and I'd like to know which ones I can and can't try on his skin (other than those with almond actually listed in the notes).

I agree with several other reviewers that there is vetiver in this. In fact, I have noticed that when a BPAL description mentions rum, there's usually some vetiver in it. I didn't pick it up on the first try, but it's definitely there. (This is not a bad thing! Do not fear the vetiver!) It's one of the sweet, light, grassy vetivers, not a heavy smoky variety. Cocoa doesn't always work on me, but it's behaving well here, only occasionally turning a bit "off". The cocoa combines with the vetiver to make a sweet, rich scent that works surprisingly well. Those are the two standout notes for me; there's a little wine in the background, but it's not nearly as strong and grapey as BPAL's wine note sometimes is. I may or may not keep the imp of Centzon Totochtin; I love the concept, but I do have other vetiver scents I prefer, like Baron Samedi.

Whenever I smell this in the bottle (I tested a friend's bottle) it reminds me of Love's Philosophy, although when I smell them side by side they're not the same; Glowing Vulva is more woodsy, almost spicy. I am sure that at least the cream note is the same, though. Love's Philosophy is a favorite of mine. But there is something in Glowing Vulva that keeps me from falling in love with it. It's giving me scent-flashbacks to an e-tailer order I made where some roll-on perfume oils leaked all over the package and although they smelled pretty, it was a little overwhelming. Apart from that bad association, I think I'd like Glowing Vulva. It's sort of a thinner, paler vanilla/cream scent instead of a strong vanilla like Love's Philosophy, but I might buy it if it were GC; at $27.50 a bottle, though, it's outside my price range, and I'm glad I haven't fallen in love with it.

I second this. Tombstone has more of a woodsy note, and lacks the wintergreen that some Love's Philosophy bottles have, but it does seem to be the same vanilla. Edited to add: I really like Love's Philosophy, but Tombstone is one of my all-time favorites.

I had really low expectations for Love's Philosophy after reading all these "wintergreen/buttercream/vanilla candle" reviews. I don't like wintergreen, don't like overly foody scents, and I am picky about vanilla. Yet I actually love this scent. Shocking, I know! In the bottle, this smells like the scented markers I had as a kid, in a pleasant, nostalgic way. It smells like the mixture of smells you got if you colored in a whole picture with all the different scented markers. On my skin, the wintergreen jumps out at me right away, but it is not as off-putting as I'd expected. It is cooling and refreshing, and with the vanilla rounding it out in the background it reminds me of Tokyo Stomp, which I like a lot. The wintergreen scent backs off after ten or fifteen minutes, and I'm left with a cool, simple, almost spicy vanilla scent - more gourmand than foody. I expected this to smell like sickly-sweet icing and I'm very pleasantly surprised with how non-foody it is. It smells like a more vanilla version of Snake Oil without the musk, spices or patchouli. I am surprised that there aren't many other Snake Oil comparisons in these reviews, since they have a very similar vanilla-cola feel to me. The lasting power is amazing - I'm still getting whiffs in the air around me after 8 hours and more. I think Love's Philosophy will be perfect for layering and I suspect it will also age beautifully. I am glad I ordered two bottles and am even contemplating a third!

I love the note listing and really wanted to like The Apothecary. In fact, when I was new to BPAL, it was one that I knew I'd love. Turns out I don't care for it - BPAL is full of surprises like that. I find it to be a somewhat soapy lemon scent when first applied; as it dries, I can pick up the tea note from Dorian, but it's drowned out by the lemon and herbs. Later in the drydown, it becomes more of a salty/fresh/herbal lemon, with a moss note standing out. I think it's the same "sea moss" note I know and love in Banded Sea Snake. Unfortunately, it still lacks the richness of Banded Sea Snake or Dorian. It feels too thin and high-pitched, like it needs something darker to ground it. I never picked up ginger or fig at all. I almost wish Beth would revisit these notes and make the scent I pictured this would be! But there's plenty of other BPAL out there.

Not a fan of this one; it's all lavender when freshly applied, and after it dries I smell a kind of "off" lemon-lavender scent. I think the combination of citrus with thyme could be what's making Calliope smell...wrong, although I'm not a fan of lavender or lemon as a primary note in the first place. This is one discontinued scent that I won't miss, I'm glad to say. (Unlike Asphodel. I'm still in denial about that one.)

I posted a few pages back that Kuang-Shi (mandarin orange, white musk, mango, and white sandalwood) reminds me of The Olive Branch. I think that's your best bet. The scent of Olive Branch seems to be mostly bergamot and white musk, so maybe Oberon would be another one to try? The Lab description for that one is Orchid, white musk, and bergamot wafting over juniper berries, with a gentle touch of soft, earthy patchouli. I haven't sniffed it though, so I don't know if it's actually similar.

This is a good one for violet lovers. The violet is the most prominent note at first, and it's deep, strong and sweet, occasionally becoming almost a candied violet, but mostly remaining a sophisticated floral. The lilac is there in the background, but gets stronger as it dries down. I recognize it as the lilac note I love in Whitechapel; the two scents seem like cousins, Whitechapel being much more citrusy of course. Tuberose makes a faint appearance, and I don't really like tuberose (it smells like a creamy, buttery jasmine), but it's not strong enough in this to bother me. I usually prefer my violet scents without competing floral notes, but this is very pretty.

What edenssixthday said above bears repeating: scents with vetiver can smell harsh when freshly applied, but they usually dry down to something gorgeous. I love a nicely done vetiver scent, I've tried lots of them, and A Countenance Foreboding Evil is a standout. It has a sweet, nutty vetiver stage at the start; a little later orange comes out, and there's a gorgeous smoky note; by the drydown it's all earthy, dark, sexy patchouli and vetiver. At this stage it's similar to another favorite of mine, Umbra, which also contains patchouli and vetiver. Like others, I didn't notice any ylang ylang. I think anyone who likes the darker, resinous scents will adore this.

Fruit and candy isn't really my thing, but I wanted to try this since it seems to be one of BPAL's more popular scents. Unfortunately I didn't bother to read the reviews before I ordered it, so I had no warning about the dreaded...cinnamon! Freshly applied, this really is the exact smell of cherry and orange bubblegum. Very cute. Within a minute or so it turns to more of a cinnamon/mint (wintergreen?) chewing gum scent. I could do without the mintiness but it still smells cute and bubbly and schoolgirl-ish. I'm really quite impressed with the authentic candy scent at this stage. But then my wrist starts turning red and burning and itching. That's what happens to me with oils that contain cinnamon or cassia, and I've decided not to persevere with scents that cause this reaction even though I often like the scent itself. I can ignore the mild burning, but it's not worth the damage it might be causing to my skin, especially since I need that skin for wearing perfume. If Jailbait disappoints you for whatever reason, I recommend Bordello for another BPAL in the same girly/fruity/candy scent family. I think it smells better than Jailbait...and it doesn't burn (at least not on my skin).

I was just thinking that the other day, and ended up amusing myself by making a mental family tree around Dorian, with Usher as his eccentric, reclusive older brother (I've always thought that), Black Lace as his reserved but beautiful younger sister, and Snake Oil as their once-a-sexpot, always-a-sexpot mother. MB: Underpants is the beautiful, sophisticated aunt and Antique Lace is the sweet, shy spinster aunt. But who's the daddy? I don't know. I've already put way more thought into this than is healthy. Theodosius, of course! (It's probably every bit as unhealthy that that was what immediately sprang to mind upon reading your post!) And Banded Sea Snake is the rugged outdoorsman uncle with moss in his beard.

I've found that the scents with an "opium" or "poppy" note listed share a certain similarity with YSL Opium. Debauchery, Euterpe and Bitter Moon, for example.