When your favorite GC blends are discontinued

[Incendiare]

Speaking of orchid, I am still kicking myself for never getting a bottle of Regan and always pushing it back onto the next order. I never dare use my imp. I wish there was something out there very similar.

[ivyandpeony]

Not that either is identical to Regan, but there are two vanilla+orchid scents are at least cousins to me - Echo and Marae. I honestly don't know how hard either one is to find on the secondary market.

 

If you are missing Gluttony, get an imp of Cockaigne. It's been a while since I sniffed it, but it is very sweet, buttery and caramel-y. I should probably warn you that I didn't like Gluttony and I didn't like Cockaigne either, but I figured I'd throw it out there.

 

And I happened to pick up my neglected bottle of Mania this weekend and was pretty amazed at how similar it is to Venom on me. I am sure this bottle is at least 4 or 5 years old and it didn't really strike me as that similar to Venom when it was fresh and young, so I think aging has something to do with it. I have the tiniest bit of Venom left so I even compared the two head-to-head.

[ivyandpeony]

Sad to see this one go... does anyone have any suggestions on something similar? I've got no ideas. Help! LOL

 

 

The closest thing I can think of, as far as scents that I've personally tried, is Hell's Belle (Oleander with wet, sweet mandarin, lush magnolia, a rush of deep musk and a touch of spice). Black Dahlia's description is "Voluptuous magnolias strewn over orchid, star jasmine, black amber and smoky rose" - of those notes, I think magnolia is probably the Lab's least commonly used one, but it's similar to jasmine to my nose. So maybe take a peek at some other jasmine-rose florals.

[scarletlibris]

Is there anything similar to Yvaine? Nothing from the GC has jumped out at me so far.

[ivyandpeony]

Here are some scents that other members have found similar to Yvaine -

 

The East

Under the Harvest Moon

Misericordia

Quicksilver Phoenix

TKO

Moonshine and Mist

Psyche (d/c GC)

[Breathe]

I only just realized that my beloved Ile de la Tortue is discontinued. It's my favorite, hands down by a mile, and I'm almost out. (I'm heartbroken!) Can anyone recommend something as similar as possible?

[lilium]

I only just realized that my beloved Ile de la Tortue is discontinued. It's my favorite, hands down by a mile, and I'm almost out. (I'm heartbroken!) Can anyone recommend something as similar as possible?

 

The Lab still has 25 Ile de la Tortue bottles on Etsy click here

[Viridian]

What's the closest still readily available thing to Black Opal? I fell absolutely desperately in love with the imp that was included in my Weenie order, and now it's discontinued. I'm so very sad.

[Lucius]

I got an imp of Serpents with Glittering Eyes and Forky Tongues when I was still a newbie to the world of BPAL and thought it to be nothing special. Now I highly regret not getting it... After many other orders, I have not found one I could call close to it and it's quirky and unique to me. I'm also desperately in love with The Hesperides and want something close to it so very badly. Can anyone recommend me something similar to either of these? Also, something close to La Belle Dame Sans Merci and Utrennyaya would be great too.

[angelamaria]

I loved Serpents as well, but I gave up on finding a bottle of it It's just not as popular and so there's little of it floating around, I think. Other green scents that aren't replacements for Serpents but I also liked--and maybe you will too--are Envy and Sea of Glass. They're both green scents, which I'm discovering I'm just not as in love with as I thought I was.

 

For Hesperides, have you tried any of the apple scents currently available from the Halloweenies? I'm afraid Hesperides didn't work out on my skin but you might find a good apple replacement in one of the LEs.

 

 

Viridian, I mentioned this elsewhere but for the rest, Tree of Life reminded me of Black Opal when I tried it. Black Opal is tonka to me, and Tree of Life had the same kind of tonka--to my untrained nose, anyway Also, I think someone also gave a few suggestions in another thread very shortly after the announcement--I'm not sure which at the moment.

[parrot_suspect]

For those of you mourning the loss of Black Opal -- have you ever tried Black Lace (the non-apple version)? I know, it's not exactly easy to find, but to me it's similar to Black Opal. It lacks that "mineral-y" note of Black Opal, but it has the same dark, soft vanilla.

[calivianya]

I love how different everyone's perceptions of scents are. I would love to find something else similar to Black Opal, but there is absolutely nothing similar about Black Opal and Tree of Life on my skin, and Black Lace is heavy and dark while Black Opal is light and cold. They're not even remotely close. I guess there's nothing for it. I'm glad I have a bottle of Black Opal and I'm just going to have to treasure it.

[ivyandpeony]

The closest Black Opal smell-alike I have tried is Staged Moon Landing. I get some vanilla and a mineral-y, slightly dusty vibe from it. Of course, it's an LE and may be as hard to find as Black Opal - i have no idea how popular or unpopular it may have been while that series was being offered.

 

The apple note in The Glittering Apple of The Stars reminds me very much of The Hesperides. On my skin, The Hesperides was pretty much a single note apple scent - I love the accompanying notes in Glittering Apple but your mileage may vary (for the record: Heirloom Malus, ylang ylang, white and blue musks, crystallized vanilla, tiare, frangipani, and bergamot).

[84trillion]

Lucius, I also would like to get some swap ideas for La Belle Dame Sans Merci! I feel like Loralei is similar, but it's not the same - and I have in my notes for Utrennyaya, "might be a good substitute for LBDSM. edit: dc'd ", haha.

[CiaoBonefish]

Rosalind? My dear sweet beautiful Rosalind? Any ideas?

[calivianya]

I just got to try Antique Lace for the first time, and I am in love.

 

Okay, here's the thing. I think that the perfumey/floral part of Antique Lace smells a lot like Lady Death: Savage. I just attempted layering Lady Death: Savage and Black Opal to get something close, but Black Opal's vanilla is too cold and Antique Lace's vanilla is warm and creamy. However, I have a sneaky suspicion that maybe Boo and Lady Death: Savaged layered together at at 2:1 ratio would smell a lot more like Antique Lace. Has anyone tried out this combination?

[KittyHawk]

Rosalind? My dear sweet beautiful Rosalind? Any ideas?

 

Bumping this because I need some Rosalind in my life too. Anyone know of any Rosalind dupes? I got a frimp in my last TP order (damn you, Puddin!) and promptly fell in love.

[Lorna Brigid]

Chiming in on the Black Opal discussion>>>>

I am finding Moonshine & Mist to be incredibly similar to Black Opal. I would say it is almost an exact dupe on me, except that there is a cold vanillic edge missing, but other than that it's pretty much the same scent on me.

[sarielswish]

The Unicorn. i have enabled my baby girl (4 year old daughter) and she adores the Unicorn and Cheshire Cat. and, of course, the imp of the Unicorn she falls in love with is discontinued. so, any similar suggestions for a not so refined nose?

[Viridian]

I found that Leanan Sidhe dries down to the same floral base as The Unicorn after a little while on me.

[mmcfa2]

<!--quoteo(post=1536824:date=Aug 20 2009, 03:37 PM:name=CaudaPavonis)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(CaudaPavonis @ Aug 20 2009, 03:37 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1536824"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Its been awhile since I tried it, but I remember Dublin being a pale green feeling? Ides of March maybe? but for the sweetness you mention.... Did you try/like Leanan Sidhe or the Unicorn? Those seem to be the first rec people give.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

 

Thank you, I'll try those with my next order.

I believe that Dublin was oakmoss (not sure though) en white roses.

And yes, pale green feeling sounds like Dublin to me.

 

I still have a wee bit of Dublin, it is heavy on the oakmoss but does not have the foguere quality that most oakmosses have. I've never found anything close, which is sad because to me it smells like my grandparents house, a really magical place

[orata]

Could someone recommend something similar to Shadow Witch Orchid? Bottles of it don't seem to pop up in the sales threads that often (at least *I* haven't seen it) and I absolutely ADORE it. Thanks! :3

I just realized I find it kind of similar to Muse of the Night from last Halloween--heavy white florals + a fruity dark note. You might give that a shot if you can (seems like LE bottles are easier to hunt down than discontinued GCs)...

[Vega]

For those who miss Dublin, or want to try a dupe... The Darkling Thrush (Yule) and Moon of Small Spirits (Lunacy) are quite similar. Not entirely the same -- Dublin has a leafier quality that those two can't quite match -- but they all are green, fresh, cold forests and not excessively evergreen.

[seraphiminia]

Any recommendations for scents similar to Queen Mab? I just checked in to order a bottle to replace my dwindling one and am so heartbroken that it's been discontinued.

[angelamaria]

One of these days I need to do a deathmatch or ALLLL~ my "snowy" blends.

 

Anyway, I'm testing The Darkling Thrush right now, and it's super lovely, but I feel like I've smelled this before recently! I've gone through my blends with snow notes in them and I can't seem to find out what this is, exactly. Anyone have any ideas? (And I haven't tried Dublin or Moon of Small Spirits, which is what Vega said above [and which is what made me look up this decant anyway].)

 

I think snow notes along with vanilla is my doom.