clover Report post Posted January 31, 2005 (edited) BPAL for Beginners:Brand new to BPAL and don't know where to start: BPAL scents that remind us of favorite commercial perfumesThe Forum Top Ten list is a good resource (most recently compiled November 2008).Scents for men/gender neutral scents:Refer to this thread in the FAQ.Advanced BPAL:Everything you've always wanted to know about layeringGC Scents that are reminiscent of your favorite Limited EditionsGC Scent Staples for NewbiesSimilarities Between General Catalog ScentsBPAL-Lush SimilaritiesTranslating TALs to BPAL scents (for when you love the smell of a TAL oil but want to wear perfume without ritual)Scents to Wear for a Job InterviewBridal BPAL - scents for your weddingFond of particular notes? Look here to find recommendations for:Almond (includes Amaretto)AmberEgyptian amberAnise, Licorice and related scentsAppleBakery - baked goods scentsBananaBay RumBerriesRaspberryCarnationsChaiChocolateCinnamonCitrus, featuring Orange (see Lemon, Lime, Tangerine, Grapefruit threads as well)LemonLimeCivetClove and Clove CigarettesCoconutCoffeeDirt, Earth, SoilDragon's BloodEvergreen notes, including PineFigGingerGrapesGrass and HayHoneyHoneysuckleIncense and ResinsIrisIvyJasmineLavenderLeatherLilacLotusMagnoliaMilk and creamMimosaMintMoonflowerMusk - general discussion, see these separate threads for Red and White/light musks:Animalistic MusksRed MuskWhite Musk and lighter musksNag ChampaNutsOrange BlossomPatchouliPeach, Apricot and NectarinePlumPumpkinRoseSandalwoodSmoke and FireSpicy ScentsTeaTobaccoTuberoseVanillaVetiverVioletYlang-ylang**If a note doesn't appear on this list, it doesn't necessarily mean that there isn't a thread about it in Recommendations. Please do a search before starting a new thread and if you happen to see that a popular, widely discussed note hasn't been added here, feel free to PM the current Recs mod, ivyandpeony, to let her know. And of course you can PM her for search help, with suggestions and what have you.BPAL by the season:Spring:Springtime ScentsSummer: Scents to beat the heat, and Late Summer into FallFall: Autumnal ScentsWinter: Here, including the perfect winter forest, Scents for a cold, crisp night & Holiday scentsLooking for a category, a mood, help with a problem? Look here to find recommendations:AquaticBakery Scents[ Bonfires, campfires, burning leaves Calming, Relaxing, ComfortingCleanDark, Scary, Ghostly, Foreboding...Gourmand & FoodyGreen scents, including green florals and green grassLight, Gentle, Subtle, low throwLongest-lasting BPALsMetallicOld books, paper & librariesSexyStimulating - for waking up and staying awakeSweetGood for Bedtime, or Problems with SleepSweet BPAL scents, including candylike scents]TropicalWoodsyBPAL to fit the weather!Rain(Edited to remove broken links, etc. by ivyandpeony 8/10/06)(New links added 1/24/08 by ivyandpeony) (Broken link fixed by LiberAmoris 11/28/17) Edited November 29, 2017 by LiberAmoris correcting broken links Share this post Link to post
ivyandpeony Report post Posted September 5, 2006 I have added some new links to Clover's original post here and will continue to do so periodically - hopefully this guide will serve as a helpful index for the Recommendations section. Do keep in mind that this index is not comprehensive - so please don't assume that the absence of a link here indicates the absence of an existing topic! Continue to use the search engine to look for existing topics to build on before starting a new thread, and don't hesitate to PM me if you have any problems finding something or if you have any questions/suggestions for Recommendations. Thanks! Share this post Link to post
ivyandpeony Report post Posted November 9, 2006 Added a few new links and reorganized some things. Hope they are helpful! Share this post Link to post
ivyandpeony Report post Posted May 6, 2007 Just thought I'd mention, I have been adding new links and tidying the list. If you have any suggestions, feel free to PM me! Share this post Link to post
ivyandpeony Report post Posted September 1, 2008 (edited) What do I have for you here? I have compiled a list of LE equivalents/substitutes/similarities based on member posts after reading through the entire LE equivalents thread. Yep, all 4+ years of discussion condensed here. A couple of things to keep in mind. I only listed separate versions of an LE in the cases where the Lab has made clear that the later version is a reformulation. I didn't editorialize the comparisons as I made the list, so if something seems off the wall to you, remember the person who posted a suggestion may have a completely different body chemistry from you. Their post may have also included a caveat like "on drydown" or "not quite as much vanilla." I would not have had the stamina necessary to make a list that included that much detail - the same reason I did not include layering or mixing suggestions. But hopefully this will be helpful as a starting-off point, or you can think of it as "if you liked this blend, you should try these." You can still search the thread itself by opening the topic, putting your search term in the box at the bottom left and clicking "search topic," so if you want to explore exactly what was said, try that. I will be updating as regularly as possible, based on our continued discussions in that thread and around the entire Recs forum. If you happen to spot an older thread or post with some good material for this thread, feel free to bring it to my attention via PM. I am going to try to set aside some time to go through the GCs and discontinueds thread as soon as possible and add what I can find to this post. 13 (April 2007): Cleopatra Testing Poisons On Those Condemned To Death Ace of Hearts: Ophelia, London The Agony of Heartache: Bewitched Al-Aaraf: Tiger Lily All Souls: Brown Jenkins Anaconda: Trick or Treat Anactoria: Nanny Ashtoreth Angeronalia: Xiuhtecuhtli, Mad Kate Annabel Lee: Desdemona, Titania, Lady of Shallott, Danube, Amsterdam, Aeval, The Darkling Thrush Archangel Winter: Sea of Glass, Lightning, Tempest, Szepasszony Asp Viper: Uruk Baba Yaga (unreleased): Manila Bakeneko: Dracul Beaver Moon 2005: Hollywood Babylon, Sugar Cookie, Antique Lace, Eat Me, Dana O'Shee, Velvet Beaver Moon 2007: Hermia Beltane 2005: Tarot:Strength Berenice: Olokun Bezoar: Hay Moon, No. 9 Engine, Mag Mell Black Lace: Antique Lace, Euterpe (dc), Dorian, Haloes, Black Opal, Zephyr, Desire, Anactoria, The Sailors’ Den, The Antikythera Mechanism, Galvanic Goggles Black Moon: La Belle Au Bois Dormant Blue Moon 2004: Empyreal Mist (dc), Danube, Unseelie (dc), Dissipation (dc) Blood Moon 2005: Alone, Tezcatlipoca, Red Phoenix, Tanin'iver, Eclipse Brides of Dracula: Nosferatu Buck Moon: Yddgrasil, Coyote, Dorian, Juke Joint, Ochosi, Robin Goodfellow Budding Moon: Kitsune Tsuki, The Dormouse Butterflies and Plovers: Imp Cancer 2007: La Belle Au Bois Dormant, Queen Mab The Candy Butcher: Hellcat, Cockaigne, Bliss, Centzon Totochtin Carfax Abbey: Death Cap, Cathedral, Eshe The Castle: Wolf’s Heart, Fenris Wolf Cerberus: Hearth 2004, Gomorrah, Tezcatlipoca, Intrigue, The Great Sword of War The City In the Sea: Cthulu The Chapel: Djinn Chanukkiyah: Kill-Devil Chaste Moon: Dana O’Shee, Leanan Sidhe, Tarot:Temperance Cheshire Moon - The Unicorn Chintamani-Dhupa: Carceri D'Invenzione Chrysanthemum Moon: Mama-Ji, Faiza Clémence: Port Royal, Dracul, Voodoo The Clod and the Pebble: Seance Corazon: Tamora, Kuang Shi, Lampades Count Dracula: Port Royal, Dracul, The Smiling Spider, Calico Jack The Cracked Bell: Tarot:Judgement Crumpet Rebellion: The Knave of Hearts, Sugar Skull Crypt Queen: Mme.Moriarty The Darkling Thrush: Cloister in the Graveyard Snow Decadence (unreleased): TAL Amor, Fruitcake Devil’s Night: Smut, Jazz Funeral, Xiuhtecuhtli, Plunder Dia de los Muertos: Kali, Bruja (dc), Centzon Totochtin, Block Buster Diary of a Lovestruck Teenage Cannibal: Hermia, Jailbait, Pepper, Tweedledee Doc Buzzard: Fascinum Dr. John Seward: Blood Countess The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife: Nostrum Remedium Dragon Moon: Neo-Tokyo (dc) Dublin (dc): Mistletoe Dyan Moon: Juliet Earth Rat: Yemaya Ebisu Making Love: The Apothecary, Fae Egg Nog: SN Vanilla Bean (dc), Golden Priapus, Grog Et Lux Fuit: The Lion, Brisingamen, Black Phoenix Fée: Fae, Yemaya, Titania, Fire Pig, Ogun Flower Moon: Eos, Phantom Queen Formula 54: Perversion, Wanda, Santo Domingo, Dracul, Lilith Fortunato: Omen Freak Show: Intrigue, Carnal, Velvet Frost Moon: Cathode, Shattered, Neo-Tokyo (dc), Utrenyaya. Tarot:The Fool Fruit Moon: Aglaea Fruitcake: TAL Amor Gamaliel - Eden Gennivre: Queen Gertrude, The Unicorn, The Dormouse Geek: Two Monsters, Doc Constantine Gingerbread Poppet: Sudha Segara, Shub-Niggarath, Bengal, Port-au-Prince, Ra Glowing Vulva: The Antikythera Mechanism, Haloes Graveyard Dirt: The Premature Burial Green Phoenix: Mock Turtle's Lessons Gypsy Queen: Sybaris, Baghdad, Alice, The Masque, Desire, Sed Non Satiata, Magdalene, Mictecacihuatl Haloa: Hymn to Proserpine Harvest Moon 2004: Jack Harvest Moon 2005: Mabon, Block Buster Harvest Moon '06: Les Bijoux, Verdandi The Haunted Palace: Versailles, Moscow, Three Brides, Tamora, Brisingamen, Tarot:The Sun Havisham: Zombi Hay Moon: Bezoar, No. 93 Engine, Mag Mell Hearth 2004: Jack, Herr Drosselmeyer Hellhound on My Trail: Kathmandu, Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener, Baron Samedi, Pickled Imp, Shub-Niggurath Hellion: Khajuraho, Nahemoth, Malkuth, Chokmah, Blood Countess, Imp Herr Drosselmeyer: The Black Tower Hexennacht 2005: Hunter Moon 2004, Samhain, Black Forest, Nocnitsa, Thanatopsis, Greed, Samhain Hod: Morocco, Pink Moon 2007 Honey Moon: La Petit Mort, Sudha Segara Hony Mone: Love-Lies-Bleeding Hunger Moon: Scales of Deprivation, Death of The Grave Digger Hungry Ghost Moon: Fae, 51, Night Gaunt, Sudha Segara, Spirits of the Dead Hunter Moon 2004: Lampades, Lady MacBeth, Hexennacht 2005, Gomorrah, Siren, Grand Guignol, Fortunato, Bewitched Ice Queen: Blue Moon 2004, Frost Moon, Cathode, Lady of Shallott, Nuclear Winter, Talvikuu, Cloister Graveyard in the Snow The Illustrated Woman: O Inez: Lyonesse Jacob’s Ladder: Tarot:The Heirophant, The Lion, Brisingamen June Gloom: Nanshe, Arcana Khajuraho: Hanging Gardens, Hellion, Himerus Kindly Moon: Pele, 51 King of Clubs: Bastet, Viola King of Diamonds: Chypre (dc), Villain King of Spades: Yerevan Kingsport: The Apothecary, Olokun Kunstkammer: Tweedledee La Fee Verte: Zorya, Oblivion Lady Lilith: Kubla Khan, Hell's Belle, The Great Sword of War Lemongrass SN: Phobos Lenore: Serpent’s Kiss, Devil’s Claw Leo 2007: Bastet, Anubis Libra 2007: Persephone Litha: Cairo, Gennivre The Living Flame: Venom (dc), Tarot: The Lovers, Othello Love's Philosophy: Tombstone Love in the Asylum: Séance, Ouija Lump of Coal: Bliss, Gluttony, Bastet Lune Noire: Shadow Witch Orchid Luperci: Greed Mabon: Blood Countess, Verdandi Mme. Moriarty: Vixen, Eat Me, Bathsheba Marae: Euphrosyne Marianne: Scherezade Marshmallow Poof: Midway, Antique Lace The Masque: Brisingamen, Magdalene, Masquerade Mechanical Phoenix: Phoenix Steamworks, Robotic Scarab Medicine Show: The Apothecary Mi-Go Brain Canister: Jester, Shango, Tweedledee, Tweedledum, Xanthe The Weeping Clown, Croquet Midnight Kiss: Urd, Centzon Totochtin Midnight Mass: Penitence, Heavenly Love Midway: Grog, Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo, Cockaigne Midwinter’s Eve: Bordello, Aunt Caroline’s Joy Mojo, Lady Macbeth, Jester Milk Moon 2005: White Rabbit, Tarot:The Star, Obatala, Love’s Philosophy Milk Moon 2007: Strangler Fig, Obatala Minotaur: Heavenly Love and Earthly Love Misk. U. Spring Training 2008: Cockaigne Mistletoe: Loup Garou, Hemlock Mitzvah: Trick or Treat, Kill-Devil Moana: 51 MonsterBait:Bloody Mary: Vice MonsterBait: BiggerCritters: Euphrosyne MonsterBait: Closet: Eat Me, Bordello MonsterBait: Tokyo Stomp: The Mad Hatter MonsterBait: Underbed: Velvet, Black Pearl MonsterBait:Underpants: Love’s Philosophy, Grog, Tushnamatay, Drink Me, Bastet, Dorian, Cockaigne, Lyonesse, Hymn to Proserpine, Opuhi, Antique Lace MonsterBait: Ventriloquist Dummy: Tiresias the Androgyne, The Arrival at the Sabbath and Homage to the Devil Nahemoth – Hellion, Blood Countess, Red Phoenix Night's Pavilion: Utrenyaya The Oblation: Lady Una, Envy October: Samhainophobia Old Moon: The Jersey Devil One to Tie, Two to Win: Roadhouse, Garden Path With Chickens, Pontarlier The Passionate Shepherd to his Love – Envy, Garden Path with Chickens The Peacock Queen: Black Rose, Kali Penumbra: Arachnina, the Spider-Girl Peony Moon: Budding Moon, Amsterdam Pickled Imp: Chimera Pinched with Four Aces: El Dia Reyes, Cockaigne Pink Moon 2005: Sugar Skull, Arkham (f/k/a Revisited), Maenad, Pink Phoenix Pink Moon 2007: Hod, Alice, Hope, The Reaper and the Flowers, Morocco, Zarita the Doll Girl Pink Phoenix: Aunt Caroline’s Joy Mojo, Hollywood Babylon, Bon Vivant, Strawberry Moon Pirate Moon - Hellfire The Pit and The Pendulum: Cathedral, Midnight Mass, Ra (dc), Anne Bonny, Penitence Poisson d'Avril: Love-In-Idleness Priala: Laudanum, Masabakes Pruno: The Hamptons, Bon Vivant The Pumpkin Queen: Jack, Leo 2007 Punkie Night: Coral Snake, Poison Apple, Jack Purple Phoenix: Horreur Sympathique Queen of Clubs: Arachne (dc), Crossroads, Penny Dreadful Queen of Diamonds: Titania Queen of Spades: Lampades, Megeara, Black Phoenix, Blood Countess, Medea, Bewitched, The Hanging Gardens Quincy Morris: Dee, Death on a Pale Horse, Endymion Red Lantern: Gluttony, Perversion, Tezcatlipoca, The Black Tower, Hellfire, Elegba, Wanda, Incubus Red Moon 2004: Desire, Ra (dc), Dragon’s Tears, Blood Countess, Wildfire, French Love Red Moon 2007: The Maltese Cross of Sanctus Germanus, The Ifrit Red Phoenix: Blood Moon, Alone, Frumious Bandersnatch, Tanin'iver, Silk Road Rose Moon: London, Tarot:The Empress, Hope, Victoria Rose Red: The Apothecary, Persephone, Tarot:The Empress, Ophelia, Whip, Endymion, Eternal, Queen Mab, Two, Five & Seven, Roux-Ga-Roux: Bayou, Robin Goodfellow Sagittarius 2007: The Apothecary, Nemesis Samhain: Hellfire, Hexennacht 2005, House of Night, Tanin'iver Scorpio (Original 2004): La Petit Mort Schwarzer Mond: Scherezade, Sin, Dragons Bone, The Music of Erich Zahn, Minotaur, Carceri d'Invenzione Selkie: Titania, Y'ha-nthlei, Cancer 2007, Earth Rat Shanghai Tunnel: Singing Moon Singing Moon: Jezirat al Tennyn Skadi: Alecto, Dublin, Hemlock, Golden Priapus, Snow Moon, Snow Bunny, Black Forest Sleepy Moon: Juliet, Belle Epoque Smut: Sed Non Satiata, Devil’s Night, Scherezade, Spellbound, Eat Me, Imp, Vixen Snake Charmer: Snake Oil, Golden Priapus, Eat Me, Nahemoth, Mme. Moriarty, Boomslang, Temple Viper, Bathsheba Snow Angel: Phantasm Snow Bunny: Snow Moon Snow-Flakes: The Torture Queen Snow, Glass, Apples: Poisoned Apple, The Hesperides Snow Moon: Tintagel, Snow Bunny, Thanatopsis, Nocnitsa Snow White: Dana O’Shee, Szepassony, The Unicorn, Defututa Spanked: Loviatar Spirits of The Dead: Severin, Baobhan Sith, Sudha Segara, Embalming Fluid, Holiday Moon Spooky: Tarot:The Star Sol Invictus: Ra Storm Moon: Lightning Storyville: Smut, Spanked, Devil's Night, Wezwanie-Hold, Love Me Sturgeon Moon – Danube, Bayou, Tempest Sugar Cookie: Chimera, Mr. Nancy Sugar Skull: Gluttony, Mr. Nancy, Cockaigne, Kill-Devil Tarot: The Star: Eden, Shoggoth Tamamo-No-Mae: The Lantern Ghost of Oiwa, Zarita the Doll Girl Tiki King: Intrigue, Havana, Satan and Death with Sin Intervening Tiki Queen: Vasakasajja Thunder Moon: Slobbering Pine To Helen: Versailles Torture King: Voodoo, High John the Conqueror, Doc Constantine Treat #2: Carnal, Eden The Unheavenly City: Sacred Whore of Babylon Upa Upa: Sed Non Satiata Usher: Tarot:The Fool, Dorian, Ode on Melancholy Vampire Tears: Baobhan Sith, Severin, Whitechapel, Dorian Vasakasajja: Shadow Witch Orchid, Tiki Queen Voodoo Queen: Perversion Whippoorwill: Silk Road, Singing Moon White Phoenix: Yvaine Wildfire: Dragon’s Bone Winter of our Discontent: Golden Priapus Winter Stress Relief Elixir: Rome Wolf Moon 2007: Black Forest Yog-Sothoth: Niflheim Yuletide: Jabberwocky Xanthe, the Weeping Clown: Tweedledee Edited October 27, 2008 by ivyandpeony Told ya I'd update it ;-) Share this post Link to post
ivyandpeony Report post Posted December 13, 2009 This particular list is a work in progress and even though I am posting it in December 2009, in reality I am quoting a post of mine from sometime in 2008 that hasn't been updated for a while. But watch for that little "edited" line at the bottom, I will update it. This is a list of the most commonly noticed BPAL-to-commercial perfume "smell alikes." if you happen to notice something that seems oft-discussed that I've left off, feel free to drop me a line. If you enjoy discussing this sort of thing, have some comparisons to share or some questions to ask, this thread is the one for you. You'll find it very helpful to search for the perfume name and company within the Recs subforum - it may have its own thread. If it doesn't, and you want to start one, that is fine. You may also find this thread helpful - if you can provide a list of the notes that are in the commercial perfume, people can more easily help you match BPALs that contain those notes and share their experiences about which are dominant in those blends. I will periodically add links here to threads that have lots of discussion and suggestion - if there are only one or two replies to someone's request for a smell-alike or similar scent, I'm going to wait until it's a juicy enough topic to earn a link here. This first list is for specific scents that are very popular and will link you to threads about them if they exist - and when particular BPAL blends have been identified by members as similar, I've attempted to list them for your convenience. Alien by Thierry Mugler: GC 51, UFO related coincidences completely unintentional according to the Lab Angel by Thierry Mugler: GC Xiuhtecuhtli Body Shop White Musk (find and discuss other Body Shop fragrances here, too) Butterfly - Hanae Mori Chanel No. 5: GCs Ozymandias, Dance of Death Chanel No. 19 CK One: GC Vicomte de Valmont; LE House of Mirrors Flowerbomb by Viktor & Rolf: GC Xiuhtecuhtli Jo Malone Red Roses: LE The Peacock Queen Old Spice: GCs Dracul, Omen; LE Count Dracula, Mr. Jacquel (Yes, lots of us LOVE Old Spice! ) Opium by YSL People of The Labyrinths - Luctor et Emergo Poison by Dior: Venom (sadly discontinued), GCs Spellbound, Shadow Witch Orchid; LE Dark Delicacies Shalimar: GCs Vixen, Haunted, Snake Oil, Ravenous; LEs Jacob's Ladder 05, Stardust 05 YSL Yvresse (fka Champagne) - GC Bon Vivant There are a few companies that members seem to really like, and you can find links to threads discussing their scents here: BPAL blends that resemble Victoria's Secret fragrances BPAL blends that resemble Bath & Body Works scents BPAL blends that resemble Aveda scents Share this post Link to post
