Middle Eastern/Indian edible scent

[Teggy]

Okay, I've put it off long enough. Teggy needs help. I've been trying to find a middle eastern/indian scent that smells like a curry restaurant. I've tried Morroco and Scherezade and both are just far too sweet. I won't want sweet. Smoky is fine, and so is a little wood, but I want zero florals or fruits.

 

My problem is that I really have no idea what notes to look for. Please help? /grovel

[Silvertree]

I think the spiciest scent I've tried is Bengal (A sultry and unruly blend that emulates the ambient scent of the markets in ancient Bengal: skin musk with honey, peppers, clove, cinnamon bark and ginger). None of the oils in the catalog really emulate a curry restaurant, at least to my nose, but maybe try searching for saffron, ginger, or cardamom. Also, try sandalwood (the chairs and the tables), or various spices and resins.

 

How about Kathmandu (the scent of sacred incense swirling up the steep slopes to Swayambhunath Stupa. Saffron, blessed sandalwood, Himalayan cedar and the miraculous lotus of the Buddha with chiuri bark and Nepalese spices) or Sri Lanka (Indian sandalwood and cedar, and the dry incense smoke of olibanum, gum mastic, patchouli and myrrh)? Sri Lanka is all woods and resins on me, not much foodiness, but perhaps you could layer it with a foody scent for the whole shebang.

[oakmoss]

Not exactly curry, but maybe some that you will like:

 

Aureus

Baghdad (don't be scared off by the rose)

Bengal

The Lion

Ozymandias

Sin

Sri Lanka

Sudha Segara (a bit sweeter than the others, but not TOO sweet)

[Teggy]

Thanks! I am planning to try several of those you reccomended. But I should have added that I don't care for cinnamon or cassia either.

[Melantha]

Melis has a wonderful Chai scent....

[Torrilin]

Indian cuisine uses curry leaves, galangal, fresh tumeric, star anise, pepper, chiles peppers, long pepper, cumin, and a host of other spices. You're probably not going to find a BPAL that smells like a curry restaurant, but Loup Garou, Magus and Tzadikim Nistarim have galangal. Dracul has cumin. Most of the other spices involved aren't used in BPAL scents. One of the Orishas has chile pepper, but I can't remember which one, and chiles differ so much in how they smell once you get past the heat that it might not be the right scent.

 

I agree a curry scent would be lovely .

 

Kalli

[ChupaChup]

India Bouquet smells exactly like an Indian restaurant. It smells like curry at first, especially the coriander aspect and then it dries down to something more like the seeds in the little bowl by the door, with a sweet anise-y flavor. It was a very short-lived voodoo oil so I'm sure it will be difficult to find. I loved it and still have half an imp that I am hording but most of the reviews were negative so I suspect that's why it was discontinued. Seems us curry-loving folks are in the minority .

Edited August 1, 2006 by ChupaChup

[luna65]

Heh, it's too bad Underpants didn't work on you like it did on me, because you'd probably enjoy it (i.e. saffron)! I mean, I like it too, I just didn't expect it. But I second the recommendation of Bengal. it's delicious, and the cinnamon isn't as prevalent in that blend as the cinnamon/cassia note in other BPALs, in my experience.

 

Spanked has a great cardamom note. Even though Bastet has lotus, it's not flowery at all to my nose. I think it's worth a try in that the other notes are likely ones you'll enjoy.

[Mountaingrrl00]

Try Greed! The listing of notes (copal, oakmoss, patchouli, heliotrope) wouldn't lead you to think it would be an edible scent, but I find it yummy, smoky and spicy in a decidedly non-sweet, non-cinnamon way.

[Galen]

I was going to say Scheherezade because of the saffron, but I see you've already tried that...

 

Salome?

SALOMÉ

A scent that is both coquettish and sinister. Exotic and lush, brimming with grace and viciousness: almond with star jasmine, oakmoss, red sandalwood and Egyptian musk.

 

Queen of Sheba?

QUEEN OF SHEBA

Her scent is a bounty of golden honeyed almonds and a whisper of African and Middle Eastern spices.

 

possibly Bastet

 

Luxuriant amber, warm Egyptian musk, fierce saffron and soft myrrh, almond, cardamom and golden lotus.

 

or Baghdad

Amber, saffron and bergamot with mandarin, nutmeg, Bulgar rose, musk and sandalwood.

[ivyandpeony]

Just adding my support for Queen of Sheba - it's so spicy on me, I love it - and Baghdad - the rose is a background player if I even pick it up at all. And Al Sharain is super spicy clove on me, very edible but not overly sweet.

[Teggy]

Urk...I can't wear Jasmine. Makes me sick, so Solome is out. Queen of Sheba and Bastet, maybe...almonds tend to be rather sweet on me and I already own some almondy scents (Hecate & Eclipse to be precise). Baghdad is on my list of scents to try.

 

Greed? I never would have guessed, but I can give it a try.

 

India Bouquet sounds right, but now impossible to find.

 

Where did this whole, "Too bad Underpants didn't work on you" come from? Cause I looooooove Underpants after it sits on me for a while. It's a great scent, but not my target "Indian food" scent. By the way, when I say "foody," I don't mean like a bakery in this case.

 

What about The Lion? I've been considering that one.

Edited August 4, 2006 by Teggy

[portalkat]

Where did this whole, "Too bad Underpants didn't work on you" come from? Cause I looooooove Underpants after it sits on me for a while. It's a great scent, but not my target "Indian food" scent. By the way, when I say "foody," I don't mean like a bakery in this case.

 

I think that this might refer to luna65's review on "Underpants" in which she posts that the blend is mainly saffron and sandalwood on her. I think that she meant that "too bad that the Underpants scent didn't develop on you the way that it did on her." Of course, I could be wrong in my understanding in which case, I'll just be quiet and go back to my corner.....................................

Edited August 4, 2006 by portalkat

[luna65]

Where did this whole, "Too bad Underpants didn't work on you" come from? Cause I looooooove Underpants after it sits on me for a while. It's a great scent, but not my target "Indian food" scent. By the way, when I say "foody," I don't mean like a bakery in this case.

What I meant was "too bad it didn't work on you like it did on me" in the sense that it's all saffron on me. I remember reading your review and how you liked it, so I didn't mean to imply that it was a bad scent for you, sorry.

 

*edit*

Thanks portalkat.

Edited August 4, 2006 by luna65

[Teggy]

Ah, I see.

 

*sigh* I don't think I'm gonna find what I'm looking for. Maybe I'lljust go home and make some curry for dinner as a consolation.

 

How about a scent like Lapsang Suchong tea?

[Mountaingrrl00]

I'd try layering Sri Lanka with Djinn for a Lapsang Souchang effect.

[Teggy]

Really? I was thinking about trying those two out next. Thanks!

[eleventhousand]

Aureus smells like curry on me. Warm and savory.

[Eldritch]

Silk Road is full of food spicey goodness and isn't sweet on me at all, even when most scents go sweet with my chemistry.

[Galen]

*sigh* I don't think I'm gonna find what I'm looking for.

you'll just have to learn to act like the rest of us - cluster around every new update in the hope that THIS time, your one true scent that is everything you've ever dreamed of is finally hallucinated, created and released by the lab...

[Orodemniades]

Anne Bonny smells like curry on me!

 

Oro

[Rheliwen]

If you want spices I'd try Silk Road for sure.

[faifai]

you'll just have to learn to act like the rest of us - cluster around every new update in the hope that THIS time, your one true scent that is everything you've ever dreamed of is finally hallucinated, created and released by the lab...

 

Hey, that finally happened for me this time with Candy Butcher! Woohoo! Woohoo!

 

Now let's hope it doesn't go to plastic on me. I would cry.

[loveandprozak]

Okay, I've put it off long enough. Teggy needs help. I've been trying to find a middle eastern/indian scent that smells like a curry restaurant. I've tried Morroco and Scherezade and both are just far too sweet. I won't want sweet. Smoky is fine, and so is a little wood, but I want zero florals or fruits.

 

My problem is that I really have no idea what notes to look for. Please help? /grovel

 

If you were willing to look at something non-BPAL, there's several options. I don't know if you're married to the idea that it has to be a BPAL oil or not.

 

I'd say your best option based on your wants, in my opinion is Oriental Lumpur by Les Nereides. You can purchase it at a few places on the web. One place I consider that is reputable that has it is:

 

http://www.luckyscent.com/shop/detail.asp?...04&section=

 

A couple others that sound like they MAY plese you is Padparadascha by Satellite and Dinner by Bobo. Really, the Oriental Lumpur seems spot on, though. You can get samples of it most places as well.

[luna65]

Oh that's right, I've read so many reviews of Dinner where the person bitches about the cumin note, although that's a bit of a gamble, since it's supposed to evolve to at least three different states before the final drydown.