Desert scents, including Southwestern scents

[borealis]

I'm seeking scents that evoke the desert of the southwestern US. Coyote of course comes to mind: "The Native American Creator / Trickster God of Chaos and Change. The warmth of doeskin, dry plains grasses and soft, dusty woods warmed by amber and a downy, gentle coat of deep musk."

 

I'm a little afraid of the musk, though... ordinary commercial-perfume musk is very off-putting to me, but perhaps the Lab's musk would work better for me. I am sure it is nicer, at any rate. I intend to give it an imp's worth of a chance to prove itself to me...

 

Are there any others that have that southwest desert feeling... a sage/sweetgrass smudgy type of smell... without being floral? Some of the Mexican ones sound very close, but have florals in them, which I have tried to like... but so far have failed. The only flower that gets along with my chemistry is lavender.

Edited June 1, 2005 by borealis

[Capriquarius]

I first off have to recommend Coyote very highly! It's wonderful...strangely enough, The Lion smells like hot, dry grasslands to me (close?) and the Scarecrow is interesting, too. If you don't like florals, you could also try Lear, even though it's not "desert-themed". The Lab's description: White cedarwood, blue sage and bay leaf. Sounds like something you might like. Oh, and my personal fave "Old West" scent is Tombstone! Hope that helps a little...good luck!

[voodoobaby]

Coyote is very musky on me. However, like you guessed, BPAL's musk is 100 times better than commercial musk. It smells smooth and deep rather that biting and scary. Coyote's musk smells like red musk to me, which always struck me as a spicy, kind of fizzy vanilla scent.

 

If you're still wary about it, though, Scarecrow seems like a good choice. I personally have never tried it, but others have said it smells like slightly scorched grass and straw. Also, Shroud always struck me as pretty field-ish, though it has florals in it as well. The florals turned me off at first, but after trying it they were really subdued.

[tempete]

I recommend Tenochtitlan:

 

The greatest of all Aztec cities, and capital of their empire. Amber, hyssop, coriander, epazote, Mexican sage, prickly pear and Mexican tulip poppy.

 

On me, it's amber with the green tones of the herbs and prickly pear. I have no idea what Mexican tulip poppy smells like, but whatever it is, it doesn't make Tenochtitlan smell overly floral, if at all. (I think that most forumites who have reviewed Tenochtitlan would agree.)

Edited June 1, 2005 by tempete

[borealis]

Many thanks to all of you! *runs off to read reviews of all above-mentioned scents*

[brownbear]

another vote for coyote

[elphaba]

I'll put in another recommendation for Tenochtitlan. I'm wearing it right now and I can't overstate how very perfectly southwestern it smells.

[Red_Hot_Mama]

You might also try Lear & Anthony. I'm thinking of sage, without the florals.

 

I Tombstone myself!

[quikslvr]

I was going to suggest Tombstone, myself, but it's not so sage-y. More sandalwood-y. So, say, Texas, rather than Arizona, to me. But it's definitely not floral.

[borealis]

Tombstone sounds really interesting (having just read the reviews). Not quite what I had in mind, but I'm going to try an imp.

 

The reviews of Scarecrow started out sounded very attractive -- green, hay and straw, dry earth -- then in later reviews people are talking acetone nail polish remover. Scary indeed. I wonder if the formula changed. Or if the power of suggestion is at work here -- one person mentions nail polish and others begin to smell it. That happened to me with Velvet, when I read someone's Play-doh reaction to it... suddenly the sandalwoody chocolatey vanilla-y on my wrist turned to Play-doh in an instant. I was transported back to childhood and my mom telling me for the hundredth time not to eat the Play-doh.

 

The sense of smell is such an odd thing... the way it's tied in with memory, the way suggestion can morph a scent... The way I occasionally hallucinate a scent that by all rights should not be there at all. Now and then I smell my grandfather. I don't know exactly what the scent is --old man, the outdoors, the trees and plants he cared for (he ran a tree nursery), the smell of his breath. And on occasion I've smelt my friend Jolon, who passed away a few years ago. She always had the scent of tea roses hanging about her. I don't have any rose scented products in my home, but sometimes I catch a whiff of tea rose anyway. I wonder if she is there in spirit form, checking up on me.

 

This got sidetracked, didn't it? But it all sort of relates. The desert scent I'm trying to find is the memory-scent of sunrise, standing on the cliffs above Canyon de Chelly in Arizona. The wind comes up out of the canyon, bringing with it the freshness of the trees and little stream at the bottom. Closer at hand, the gnarled pinon trees and junipers cast out their dry scent, which mingles with the grasses, sage and the other herbs around me. The light is golden on the warm stone, shadows cast by the rocks are deep purple; as the sun rises in the sky, the shadows don't pale so much as simply sink into the ground. Crows caw in the distance. It feels deeply sacred, peaceful and yet very alive at the same time. It also feels, oddly, like I am home.

 

That's what I want, bottled... kind of silly, I guess. I'll keep looking. And I'm ordering Coyote for sure, and will use the power of suggestion to overcome my fear of musk.

Edited June 1, 2005 by borealis

[Rheliwen]

If you like the thought of coyote but are afraid of the musk, I'll second the Lion. It's the dry plains without the musk. I love it.

 

Tombstone is dry cedar and vanilla on me. I really like it. I want to wear it when I watch Deadwood

 

Also, if you like sage, Aeval was all sage on me. Corazon is a nice sage scent too. Tarot: Strength is also a nice pure sweetgrass smell.

Edited June 3, 2005 by Rheliwen

[phaedrine]

Living in the desert in the Southwest....

 

 

I'm gonna echo the rec for Coyote. It's a beautiful scent. The musk in it is soft and gentle, and makes me think of the furry skin-scent of curling up to sleep with a cat or dog. It also has the scent of hot, dry grasses and dust. Mm.

 

If you can get your hands on some Dia De Los Muertos, it's a scent that makes me think of home (New Mexico). It's perfect.

 

Seven African Powers, the Twilight Alchemy Lab oil, makes me think of the desert once it drys down. It reminds me of both the scrubby African desert I've been to, and the scrubby New Mexican desert that I live in.

 

Cathedral makes me think of Santa Fe at Christmastime.

 

Ra is another hot, dry desert scent that I love.

 

New Orleans actually makes me think of New Mexico in the early summer, because to me it smells like Honeysuckle and Spanish Broom when they're fresh in bloom, like they are right now.

[revenant]

I am a newbie and therefore the reading I've done about different BPAL scents is very wee compared to most here, so I come to you with a question!

 

I am wondering if any of the BPAL scents particularly capture the scent of the Southwest, or even more specifically, New Mexico. I have lots of childhood memories attached to that state, and a lot of family there, and am still coming to terms with the fact that my non-sentimental Grandmother just sold the cabin that she, my grandfather and their sons (as kids) built in the 50s up near Taos. I'd love to have a little piece of it with me.

 

I'd love something that was reminiscent of Southwestern forests and evenings... juniper, wet pine needles, smoky wood stoves. I probably wouldn't wear it, but would want it more for a room fragrance or to carry around with me.

 

Anyone have any recommendations?

[lohengrin]

Coyote?

 

Tombstone?

 

Neither has the wood stove note you're looking for, but both are southwestern-inspired.

[ivyandpeony]

Hi Revenant - welcome to the forum!

 

I found a previous thread titled "Southwest and Desert Scents" so I merged it with yours, so you can peruse some of the earlier suggestions about scents that evoke thoughts of this area.

 

I was going to suggest Nocnitsa - yes, it's named after a Polish witch, but it has a cool night feel with the smell of evergreens floating in the air. Black Forest is also a good candidate (pine with ambergris, black musk, juniper and cypress), and I find Thanatopsis (pine, juniper and musk) to be gorgeous on the skin and as a room scent.

[Avery]

having grown up in the Nevada desert (which is very similar to New Mexico--you got all our weather a little later) the ultimate 'homey' desert scent I have come across is corazon. Okay, so mango seems out there, but somehow when combined with the Sage it brings the orange warmth of so many glorious sunsets and late afternoon sun soaked into the rocks right back. Track some down if you can--there's an auction on ebay right now for a decent priced 5ml!

 

[faifai]

How about Dia de Los Muertos? The Halloween update just went live so you can order it or join a decant circle somewhere for it, it has floral notes but most people report the cactus/cocoa/desert-y aspect of it as standing out.

[revenant]

All of these suggestions are great, thank you! I think so far Black Forest sounds like a winner, but all the others sound like definite possibles as well. And I'm definitely ordering Dia de los Muertos when I place my Halloween order.

[Wisteria]

(I posted this earlier in the "dirt" recommendations thread, but upon consideration, I decided it doesn't really fit there since I'm looking for something that's not just earthy, but also aquatic and a little herby. I appologize for the double posting.)

 

I'd love to find a scent that's smells of the high Utah desert during a rainstorm. That's mostly the smell of parched desert earth drinking in a rare bit of much-needed rain. It's not a fertile, loamy soil; quite the opposite, and it has a large clay component. It's also the smell of sagebrush, rabbitbrush, pinion, and juniper. Mmmm....

 

Obviously, no scent is going to match that exactly. I'm wondering if anyone knows of a scent that's vaguely reminiscent of it. Coyote looks like the closest thing to a desert smell, but it's dry, whereas I'm looking for something wet.

Edited January 8, 2009 by Wisteria

[greenranger]

I don't know of one that has all the notes you are looking for. However, "Visiting the Temple of Auspicious Fortune Alone on the Winter Solstice" (Yule 2008, and available till Jan 15th, or in the swaps section after) is reasonably close to the smell of rain in Southern California.

 

You could layer it with something that has the plant smells, perhaps?

[Gwydion]

Maybe coyote layered with one of the wetter scents?

[Seismogenic]

I'll second the recommendation for Visiting the Temple of Auspicious Fortune Alone on the Winter Solstice. It's definitely evocative of SoCal rain to me.

 

Also, Moon of Small Spirits is a bit like a winter grassland, though it's more frosty than outright wet. Someone in the review thread even compared it to Coyote in winter.

[cuervosueno]

I live in the mountains in New Mexico, and I know exactly the scent you mean, and I WISH there were such a scent, BPAL or otherwise. I haven't found one though...I had high hopes for Possets ARizona, but for me it didn't turn out that way....

 

I really wish there were such a scent, though. I figure it would have juniper, white sage, pinon, and a hint of rain.

 

[Gwydion]

It really sounds lovely. Maybe you could cross post the description into the Wnderlust suggestions? I would so buy it if they made it.

[Seismogenic]

I really wish there were such a scent, though. I figure it would have juniper, white sage, pinon, and a hint of rain.

 

I would totally wear that.

Awh man, I do love the desert.