The most natural or lifelike scents?

[Aloiis]

I've been desperately searching for the scent you can smell just before a storm, when the sky goes cloudy and dark, and when the atmoshpere is tense, not wet yet, and kinda earthy/dusty. Any idea/suggestion?

Edited April 18, 2006 by Aloiis

[GypsyRoseRed]

Seriously, try the 2006 Beltane. If you're after a natural, non-perfumey scent, it would be PERFECT. It doesn't have any dirt notes in there, but it's very... dew-kissed grass, herbs and a couple of wildflowers thrown in for good measure. Lovely.

[TroubleDoll]

Mmmm... Lightning, definitely.

[GypsyRoseRed]

For the pre-storm scent, I'd second Lightning.

[luxuria]

Dublin is the scent that's most accurately evoked the outdoors for me. Mists, crisp trees, and a faint breath of outdoor flowers.

[abberlaine]

If you're up to tracking a bottle down (on the swap forums, LiveJournal, or eBay), I bet that Luperci'll be right up your alley.

[Avery]

although it doesn't stay this way on me for a LONG time, I have fallen in love with Clio because it smells like a field replete with trees and wild flowers and grasses that has just been rained on. Wow!! It's the first 'natural' smelling perfume I have ever put on that actually smells natural, and I love it. The fresh rain smell lasts for a couple of hours at least before changing into something I like a little less, but it's so worth reapplying. that's why ya gotta have the imp love.

 

eta: necessary changes for clarity

Edited June 5, 2006 by Avery

[simona]

Umbra smells like a deep , dark forest after rain, wet soil , sweet decaying leaves...

[juniperus]

Mmmm... Lightning, definitely.

 

Absolutely - loved the smell in the bottle - on me it turns something foul...but in the bottle...tremendous!

[ivyandpeony]

Death Cap smells extremely mushroomy and earthy to me. And Tarot: Temperance has a very green-outdoorsy field scent, like the dandelion note in Roadhouse if you have tried that.

[oatmealneko]

Machu Picchu was every bit of a rainforest - humid climate, bountiful florals, greenery.

 

Storm Moon (past LE) reminded me a tropical rain storm, Lightning is similar, though sharper.

 

Nosferatu was dirt, but there is a wine note in it you may want to be aware of.

[ajcj213499]

I think Asphodel is a very realistic floral, and Dirty smells just like clean laundry.

[medvssa]

deciduous forest / trees (living trees rather than cut wood): Yggdrasil, this stuff is alive.

 

For a nedle forest I would say Black Forest, but it does seem to add some of the forest inhabitants too, not just the trees.

 

Leanan Shide gets a bit more flowery on dry down, but in the earlier stages it reminds me very much of sweet grass and gentle breezes.

 

I second Rose Red as a very true rose.

 

I get very vivid images of mediterranean cypress (especially a mountain next to were I grew) from Melpomene.

[femmefatale]

I know this is an old thread, but instead of starting a new one I thought I would just add to this.

 

 

I was wondering what the least perfumey, most "real" scents are.

[Wisteria]

I'm just bumping this thread. Does anyone have anything new to add to it?

[femmefatale]

Banana Peel in a Graveyard is a very realistic scent. Not perfumey in the least. Smells like a true banana peel at first, then morphs into a realistic dirt, stone, slightly green scent. Smells like...well....a graveyard.

[Apple]

There are a couple of other threads that relate to this one:

 

I want to smell like dirt! Dirt, Earth, Soil recommendations

Forest and Woods Scents (with & without evergreens)

Quirkiest, most bizarre oils

Evocative scents that don't smell like perfume

 

My votes for most natural/lifelike go to:

 

A Blade of Grass (Halloweenie LE) - grass

Agnes Nutter - gunpowder/sparklers

Aureus - the lumber section at Home Depot

Badger (Yule LE) - cedar and dirt/moss

Bliss - brownies

Brom Bones (Halloweenie LE) - LEATHER

Centzon Totochtin - chocolate-covered cherry flavored coffee

Graveyard Dirt (Halloweenie LE) - the scent of moss and mushrooms

Miskatonic University - Irish cream flavored coffee

Perversion - coconut flavored pipe tobacco

Severin - Earl Grey tea (i.e., bergamot)

Twenty-One - gin/juniper

[Wisteria]

 

 

Thanks for those links!

Edited January 21, 2009 by Wisteria

[lunaticana]

for me the most nature like BPAL scents are:

 

Coyote, because this really is how it must be smelling on the prairie

Leanan Sidhe, because of the true mists and dew smell that reminds me of rain and the herbs & flowers

Edited January 21, 2009 by lunaticana

[donnatron]

There's something in the drydown of Ultraviolet that smells like fresh running water. Not an aquatic scent or an approximation of water but just like turning on the tap and smelling fresh, clear water or the scent of a clear stream without the additional grassy/floral/dirt scent.

[Gwydion]

I second Coyote.

 

Worm Moon smells exactly like the earth after a spring rain.

[a_bear]

Idk if there's a newer version of this topic, but I would add

 

Theoi Nomioi - rocky, pine/fir forest

The Rose - rather than a perfumey rose, it smells like a rose that's either freshly cut or still on the bush