Warrior Unicorn Florals

[JasminDreams2010]

Help me! I always want to wear the sweet, wispy florals like Titania or Juliet, or The Unicorn.

Gorgeous scents but they're not really "me". They're gorgeous on my mom but on me they smell like I beat up a 6 year old and stole her Barbie perfume.

 

The scents I can pull off these days are the warm ones with resins and vanilla and vetiver, smoke and incense and grit- blood kiss, callidora, death adder, dragons heart, snake oil. I can wear honey, so womb furie for lite days.

 

So I love the dewy, sweet light foresty florals on others, but I'm looking for one that I can wear.

So- the unicorn. But like a dragon warrior vampire tattooed unicorn.

 

Anything fit this weird bill?

[Nepenthe]

Maybe Deadly Nightshade Honey. It has a lovely, but sort of darkened floral note mixed with honey.

 

I don't know if it's quite the right mood, but I love Titania, and I love Deadly Nightshade Honey when I want something with a bit of an edge to it.

[Balame]

I don't know how much I can nail "foresty floral" for you since that's not my particular bag, but there are a few understated floral blends along with fruity/floral hybrids I could recommend that you might enjoy.

 

Water Dragon - Peony, China’s national flower, with bamboo for flexibility, Buddha’s Hand for introspective spiritual growth, plum blossom for perseverance, courage, and hope, coconut for camaraderie, chrysanthemum for a life free of grief and struggle, tangerine and orchid for wealth, orange for happiness, lychee for household peace, pine resin for constancy, golden kumquat, pussy willow, and quince for prosperity, sesame for sweetness, narcissus and King mandarin for good fortune, and peach blossom for longevity, with a splash of blazing red of dragon’s blood... to help you scare away the rampaging Nian.

 

This is a bright and playful scent that falls under the "fruity floral" category, while still having a few deeper notes like dragon's blood to ground everything and make it more mature.

 

A Thought From Propertius - Sweet honey, white apricot, and a touch of cayenne pepper.

 

Sadly there aren't any actual florals here, but it's a rich yet bright blend that has a youthful allure.

 

Avenger - Plush vanilla bourbon and rum accord with pink pepper, patchouli, clove, pikaki, golden amber, caraway, tuberose, and jacarandá-da-bahia.

 

This one seems to divide people. They either love it or hate it. The consensus is that it starts out really strong and a little freaky, and after that it's up to your skin chemistry. For me it dries down into a feminine (but still fierce) spicy/floral/fruity mixture.

 

Tamamo-no-Mae - Soft skin musk, brushed by white tea leaf, rice flower, black locust flower, white sandalwood kodo soke, dry ginger, benzoin gum, and Amacha.

 

I think several of the Asian-inspired blends could actually be great for you, like the recent Plovers Above the Waves or Reflected Vulva. In my experience Asian florals are very much "sweet/innocent but strong" and some of the few I can actually tolerate. Tamamo has a gorgeous creamy floral component with an almost candy-ish background, but it isn't overwhelming. This got too astringent on me but that was due to my skin chemistry, not the perfume.

 

Go to Sleep, Darlings - Kiss-soft clouds of spun-sugar snow.

 

This and Snow White (which I actually haven't tried but I hear is very similar) are probably the ultimate innocent but non-childish blends. I don't think I've even put up my review for GtSD yet but... it's just perfection. It's like blown kisses and soft fluffy clouds and cuddly blankets. Which I guess translates into the softest mint in the world, a touch of white floral, along with something almost coconutty? Love it.

 

Vasilissa - Creamy skin musk and blushing pink musk with soft sandalwood, white amber, dutiful myrrh, and star jasmine.

 

Vasi was one of my first "cute" GC picks that didn't make me feel like a little girl. It's really kind of alluring but has such a gentle mix of delicate musks and lightly sweet amber/jasmine that it's dreamy like its inspiration. Takes me back to earlier years, but not in a goofy way.

 

Morocco - The intoxicating perfume of exotic incenses wafting on warm desert breezes. Arabian spices wind through a blend of warm musk, carnation, red sandalwood and cassia.

 

My other "soft but womanly" GC fave. The carnation in this is killer with the spices, making it very warm but smooth thanks to the beautiful sandalwood.

 

Tristran - Dust on your trousers, mud on your boots, and stars in your eyes: redwood, tonka bean, white sandalwood, lemon peel, patchouli, rosewood, coriander, and crushed mint.

 

I was initially going to put down The East here since it's drawn comparisons to The Unicorn, but I also think it's similarly bright. Tristran is gorgeous and ethereal yet there's also something a little rough and tumble about it thanks to a lovely brown leather note (sticks to the background but it's noticeable). Could be a great fit.

 

I'd also check out the recently released Pretty Deadly blends! They seem kind of perfect for what you're describing... there's quite a few florals listed but they're either backed with woodsiness, resins or tobacco. I'd probably go with Alice, Beauty or Lily.

[JasminDreams2010]

I might have to give Titania another try. I may have an imp of deadly nightshade honey somewhere too :-)

The main problem with Titania is that it seems to disappear. But I'll try again

[JasminDreams2010]

I don't know how much I can nail "foresty floral" for you since that's not my particular bag, but there are a few understated floral blends along with fruity/floral hybrids I could recommend that you might enjoy.

 

Water Dragon - Peony, China’s national flower, with bamboo for flexibility, Buddha’s Hand for introspective spiritual growth, plum blossom for perseverance, courage, and hope, coconut for camaraderie, chrysanthemum for a life free of grief and struggle, tangerine and orchid for wealth, orange for happiness, lychee for household peace, pine resin for constancy, golden kumquat, pussy willow, and quince for prosperity, sesame for sweetness, narcissus and King mandarin for good fortune, and peach blossom for longevity, with a splash of blazing red of dragon’s blood... to help you scare away the rampaging Nian.

 

This is a bright and playful scent that falls under the "fruity floral" category, while still having a few deeper notes like dragon's blood to ground everything and make it more mature.

 

A Thought From Propertius - Sweet honey, white apricot, and a touch of cayenne pepper.

 

Sadly there aren't any actual florals here, but it's a rich yet bright blend that has a youthful allure.

 

Avenger - Plush vanilla bourbon and rum accord with pink pepper, patchouli, clove, pikaki, golden amber, caraway, tuberose, and jacarandá-da-bahia.

 

This one seems to divide people. They either love it or hate it. The consensus is that it starts out really strong and a little freaky, and after that it's up to your skin chemistry. For me it dries down into a feminine (but still fierce) spicy/floral/fruity mixture.

 

Tamamo-no-Mae - Soft skin musk, brushed by white tea leaf, rice flower, black locust flower, white sandalwood kodo soke, dry ginger, benzoin gum, and Amacha.

 

I think several of the Asian-inspired blends could actually be great for you, like the recent Plovers Above the Waves or Reflected Vulva. In my experience Asian florals are very much "sweet/innocent but strong" and some of the few I can actually tolerate. Tamamo has a gorgeous creamy floral component with an almost candy-ish background, but it isn't overwhelming. This got too astringent on me but that was due to my skin chemistry, not the perfume.

 

Go to Sleep, Darlings - Kiss-soft clouds of spun-sugar snow.

 

This and Snow White (which I actually haven't tried but I hear is very similar) are probably the ultimate innocent but non-childish blends. I don't think I've even put up my review for GtSD yet but... it's just perfection. It's like blown kisses and soft fluffy clouds and cuddly blankets. Which I guess translates into the softest mint in the world, a touch of white floral, along with something almost coconutty? Love it.

 

Vasilissa - Creamy skin musk and blushing pink musk with soft sandalwood, white amber, dutiful myrrh, and star jasmine.

 

Vasi was one of my first "cute" GC picks that didn't make me feel like a little girl. It's really kind of alluring but has such a gentle mix of delicate musks and lightly sweet amber/jasmine that it's dreamy like its inspiration. Takes me back to earlier years, but not in a goofy way.

 

Morocco - The intoxicating perfume of exotic incenses wafting on warm desert breezes. Arabian spices wind through a blend of warm musk, carnation, red sandalwood and cassia.

 

My other "soft but womanly" GC fave. The carnation in this is killer with the spices, making it very warm but smooth thanks to the beautiful sandalwood.

 

Tristran - Dust on your trousers, mud on your boots, and stars in your eyes: redwood, tonka bean, white sandalwood, lemon peel, patchouli, rosewood, coriander, and crushed mint.

 

I was initially going to put down The East here since it's drawn comparisons to The Unicorn, but I also think it's similarly bright. Tristran is gorgeous and ethereal yet there's also something a little rough and tumble about it thanks to a lovely brown leather note (sticks to the background but it's noticeable). Could be a great fit.

 

I'd also check out the recently released Pretty Deadly blends! They seem kind of perfect for what you're describing... there's quite a few florals listed but they're either backed with woodsiness, resins or tobacco. I'd probably go with Alice, Beauty or Lily.

Balame, thanks for the thoughtful suggestions

Thought from Propertius is pretty on me but just straight up apricot jam so not as much of a perfume as a room scent. Morocco and the east are pretty but like Titania my skin tends to eat them.

 

I can't do reflected vulva at all, my skin makes it a plastic mess. Some of the other Asian- themed florals could be up my alley. I might have to locate some Decants. Vasalissa i would also like to try again, I remember I tried it once, liked it but thought it might be too tame.

 

I'm really curious about water dragon, and avenger (I can do all the notes except the clove can be iffy).

Tristan sounds like he could be what the doctor ordered!

[keileya]

So, context: I am not a florals person at all. Like, at ALL. They don't mesh with my gender presentation in the least and they tend to go "rotting pile of vegetation" on me in a heartbeat. But I do love resins, woods, etc, and a lot of the notes you mention as really working for you also really work for me. So I'm thinking that some of what I think is "way too much floral" might be "not enough floral" for you! But, with that in mind, some GCs that might suit:

 

Dragon's Tears: salty aquatic notes bursting with dragon's blood. This wound up entirely the floral end of dragon's blood on me, and not very aquatic at all -- it came out as a resiny white floral. Much of the Ars Draconis line lept immediately to mind when you said "warrior unicorn florals", really; it depends on whether you get the floral notes out of the Lab's dragon's blood or not.

 

Dirty: A fresh, crisp white linen scent: perfectly clean, perfectly breezy. Not as kickass as you want, but on me this was entirely white musk and plumeria, and managed to stay juuuuust the right side of "Bounty dryer sheet accord". The plumeria is very flowery without being overwhelmingly floral, and very nicely "morning dew just after rain".

 

Venice: lemon, red currant, wisteria, red rose petals, heady jasmine, Florentine orris root, waterlily, red sandalwood, violet plum, and violet leaf. I expected to hate this as being way too floral for me, especially with the jasmine, which is the biggest culprit in the "let's smell like rotting heaps of vegetation" game. To my utter surprise, it really worked for me. It's a very spicy floral, and very sophisticated. If you've ever read Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Dart series: the minute I put this on, I immediately said, this is what the Court of Night-Blooming Flowers smells like.

 

Paris: Lavender, softly underscored by lotus and spice. On my wife it went all nutmeg and cinnamon and bakeryish, but on me it was a lovely spicy-candied floral. Not too sweet, not too spicy, not too overwhelming.

 

And finally, the first scent that lept to mind when I read this:

 

Seraglio: Sweet almond and Mysor sandalwood enveloped by a heady veil of Bulgarian Rose, neroli, nutmeg, clove and orange peel. On me this was very rose at first instead of the spice, but the spice was enough to keep me from noping the hell on out of there, and I'm glad: after about an hour, this turned into heavy, woodsy rose-cane that hasn't been pruned back in years, right next to the kitchen spice garden. The image it brought to mind was Sleeping Beauty's tower, ninety years into her hundred-year sleep: not Disney-princess Sleeping Beauty, the original Sleeping Beauty of the older darker fairy tales. It's a beautiful, complex scent that I'm really sad is entirely too femme for me to wear regularly, but I can't bear to get rid of my imp because it's so incredibly evocative. If you're more floral-tolerant than I am, this might really work for you.

[Balame]

Balame, thanks for the thoughtful suggestions

Sure thing! I hope you enjoy some of them. It seems like the lighter scents need some sort of heavier note amid them to work for you, if only so they don't disappear as quickly.

 

I totally forgot to add another one I enjoy, Lady Death: Savage (White musk, grey amber, Calabrian bergamot, vanilla absolute, French labdanum, styrax, wormwood, caraway, and bois de jasmin). It's very "rawr" but feminine and unusual. It might be better than Vasi for you since it's heavier/more edgy due to the white musk and resins, but still has pretty vanilla/amber/jasmine.

[JasminDreams2010]

Balame, thanks for the thoughtful suggestions

Sure thing! I hope you enjoy some of them. It seems like the lighter scents need some sort of heavier note amid them to work for you, if only so they don't disappear as quickly.

 

I totally forgot to add another one I enjoy, Lady Death: Savage (White musk, grey amber, Calabrian bergamot, vanilla absolute, French labdanum, styrax, wormwood, caraway, and bois de jasmin). It's very "rawr" but feminine and unusual. It might be better than Vasi for you since it's heavier/more edgy due to the white musk and resins, but still has pretty vanilla/amber/jasmine.

 

That's funny, balame, totally am waiting on an unsniffed bottle of lady death!

I was really curious!

[JasminDreams2010]

So, context: I am not a florals person at all. Like, at ALL. They don't mesh with my gender presentation in the least and they tend to go "rotting pile of vegetation" on me in a heartbeat. But I do love resins, woods, etc, and a lot of the notes you mention as really working for you also really work for me. So I'm thinking that some of what I think is "way too much floral" might be "not enough floral" for you! But, with that in mind, some GCs that might suit:

 

Dragon's Tears: salty aquatic notes bursting with dragon's blood. This wound up entirely the floral end of dragon's blood on me, and not very aquatic at all -- it came out as a resiny white floral. Much of the Ars Draconis line lept immediately to mind when you said "warrior unicorn florals", really; it depends on whether you get the floral notes out of the Lab's dragon's blood or not.

 

Dirty: A fresh, crisp white linen scent: perfectly clean, perfectly breezy. Not as kickass as you want, but on me this was entirely white musk and plumeria, and managed to stay juuuuust the right side of "Bounty dryer sheet accord". The plumeria is very flowery without being overwhelmingly floral, and very nicely "morning dew just after rain".

 

Venice: lemon, red currant, wisteria, red rose petals, heady jasmine, Florentine orris root, waterlily, red sandalwood, violet plum, and violet leaf. I expected to hate this as being way too floral for me, especially with the jasmine, which is the biggest culprit in the "let's smell like rotting heaps of vegetation" game. To my utter surprise, it really worked for me. It's a very spicy floral, and very sophisticated. If you've ever read Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel's Dart series: the minute I put this on, I immediately said, this is what the Court of Night-Blooming Flowers smells like.

 

Paris: Lavender, softly underscored by lotus and spice. On my wife it went all nutmeg and cinnamon and bakeryish, but on me it was a lovely spicy-candied floral. Not too sweet, not too spicy, not too overwhelming.

 

And finally, the first scent that lept to mind when I read this:

 

Seraglio: Sweet almond and Mysor sandalwood enveloped by a heady veil of Bulgarian Rose, neroli, nutmeg, clove and orange peel. On me this was very rose at first instead of the spice, but the spice was enough to keep me from noping the hell on out of there, and I'm glad: after about an hour, this turned into heavy, woodsy rose-cane that hasn't been pruned back in years, right next to the kitchen spice garden. The image it brought to mind was Sleeping Beauty's tower, ninety years into her hundred-year sleep: not Disney-princess Sleeping Beauty, the original Sleeping Beauty of the older darker fairy tales. It's a beautiful, complex scent that I'm really sad is entirely too femme for me to wear regularly, but I can't bear to get rid of my imp because it's so incredibly evocative. If you're more floral-tolerant than I am, this might really work for you.

 

Thank you! I've tried some of these but would definitely like to give seraglio and dragons tears a second look! Uh... Sniff

[Helas]

I like the darker and more androgynous florals as well. Some suggestions:

 

Liz: A light, feminine vanilla floral perfume and a swirl of smoke and leather. This one fits the "warrior unicorn" bill best, in my opinion.

Highwayman: Vetiver with gardenia, blood red rose, night-blooming jasmine, a dash of cinnamon and a faint hint of leather. The masculine leather and vetiver are dominant with just a touch of floral.

Morgause: A bouquet of five night-blooming flowers deepened by dusky violet, purple fruits and the barest breath of medieval incenses. This is mainly a smoky jasmine to me.

Event Horizon: Black opium, labdanum, opoponax, black orchid, and benzoin. Same as Morgause, with orchid instead of jasmine.

Faeu Boulanger (came with the Carnaval, currently unavailable): Mushroom gases, swamp mist, green mint, and bog violet. This is a light and ethereal scent with a touch of strangeness from the "mushroom gases." It's like a weirder and more androgynous take on The Last Unicorn perfume.

[JasminDreams2010]

I like the darker and more androgynous florals as well. Some suggestions:

 

Liz: A light, feminine vanilla floral perfume and a swirl of smoke and leather. This one fits the "warrior unicorn" bill best, in my opinion.

Highwayman: Vetiver with gardenia, blood red rose, night-blooming jasmine, a dash of cinnamon and a faint hint of leather. The masculine leather and vetiver are dominant with just a touch of floral.

Morgause: A bouquet of five night-blooming flowers deepened by dusky violet, purple fruits and the barest breath of medieval incenses. This is mainly a smoky jasmine to me.

Event Horizon: Black opium, labdanum, opoponax, black orchid, and benzoin. Same as Morgause, with orchid instead of jasmine.

Faeu Boulanger (came with the Carnaval, currently unavailable): Mushroom gases, swamp mist, green mint, and bog violet. This is a light and ethereal scent with a touch of strangeness from the "mushroom gases." It's like a weirder and more androgynous take on The Last Unicorn perfume.

 

Thanks! I can't even begin to imagine what mushroom gases might smell like. There's a little town called kaolin pa, where they harvest mushrooms. Smells like poo!! I'm curious

 

I also want to retry elf. The first time I tried it, it smelled like the bpal snow note which hates me but I don't think snow is actually in there so I ordered another imp. Also fae. The oakmoss might keep it from juvenile territory.

[annemathematics]

I also love wearing the resins/ vanilla/ etc. everything Hellas suggested that I've tried I like a lot. highwayman is very floral on me, faeu b. was gentle aquatic violet. event horizon is delicious. Liz is on my wishlist...

 

some of my favorite bpals that might be what you are looking for are

skektet the scientist:

Metal and stone and beams of dark light: hyssop, black currant, black viola, passionflower, and myrrh.

 

butterflies flowers and jewels attending:

white patchouli with provence rose, delicate freesia, pink tuberose, jasmine sambac, orange blossom, butterfly musk, vanilla orchid, and delicate spices

 

and lady cecily sasquets:

Rose-washed fur and a spray of bleeding hearts, China asters, and peony.

[blu°]

I think my skin chemistry is similar to yours, I can't wear that type of floral (or aquatic type scents) neither, but do very well with incense-type scents.

 

Maybe some of these would work for you, too:

 

Aeval - A raven-haired Fairy Queen of Ireland. One of her eternal duties dictates that she must hold a midnight court every season and hear the pleas of married Irishwomen. The court serves only to determine whether or not husbands are adequately serving their wife's sexual needs. A judicious yet powerfully sensual blend, a mingling of justice and sexuality: sage, sweet pea, bold pale musk and warm tonka.

 

The sweet pea is very pretty but supported by the other notes to create an incense-type feeling. This blend makes me think of the pollen-sprinkled meadow at the beginning of the movie "Legend". It's not so much green-foresty maybe, has a golden morning sun feel to me.

 

Prague - Crocus with snowdrop and three lilies.

 

I usually can't wear and don't like lilies, but Prague is nice, lightly fruity, luminous, spring-like.

 

Belladonna - The devil's herb, which he cultivates with skill and pleasure. According to lore, the spirit of this plant may take the form of a breathtaking, achingly beautiful woman, deadly to behold. This scent is a tribute to such a dark and magnificent plant: a rich green and floral blend, earthy and haunting.

 

This is dark blueish green to me, with no earth (=brown) notes at all.

Edited May 17, 2014 by blu°

[Amber Tears]

Maybe try Hell's Belle?: Oleander with wet, sweet mandarin, lush magnolia, a rush of deep musk and a touch of spice.

 

The magnolia in Hell's Belle is feminine, but never juvenile. It's one of my favorite florals. The musk just blends in so well. While it might not be as directly kickass as Lady Savage, it is definitely the scent of an alluring siren waiting for her next victim.

 

A little less courageous then you might want, but:

Lily, The Prostitute: Heady blossoms of jasmine, white gardenia, and magnolia sharpened by neroli, given a voluptuous depth by red patchouli, oakmoss, and cedar.

 

Molly, Reaper of Justice: White lime with lily of the valley, oudh, Himalayan cedar, nagarmotha, and tobacco for the sheen of raven feathers, and saffron, white honey, and amber for her fierceness, strength, and courage.

 

I haven't tried it, it's new. I'm actually really curious to see how the lime interacts with the Lily of the Valley.

 

Marquise de Merteuil?: Stately, bold, aristocratic and cruel. Opulent galbanum and amber, glistening peach, and a bouquet of French florals, with a merciless undertone of jonquil and heartless vetiver.

 

I was about to recommend Josie, then I remembered you were the person who recommended it to me a while back.

 

Edited for grammer

Edited May 17, 2014 by Amber Tears

[TheFrenchWaffle]

My two cents, Pepper-Wild English roses, French gardenia, vanilla, honey, golden ginger, blood orange, pine resin, pink pepper, crushed berries, tuberose, bergamot, and geranium.

 

I really love this one because it is floral, but it also packs a punch with the pepper and ginger.

[Cactus]

Ghosts in Love - White sandalwood, tobacco flower, lily of the valley, white carnation, and magnolia blossom with tea rose, labdanum, and oudh.

It's a white floral but has sort of a wild, untamed edge because of the white sandalwood and tobacco.

 

Also, Galbanum, Juniper and White Musk tend to be sharp, but the kind of sharp that goes well with floral. I don't have any reccomendations off the top of my head, but you might try looking for those notes.

(Maybe Endymion or Oberon or Undertow?)

 

Faeu Boulanger is pretty cool. It does have a bit of violet, but also water, wet leaves, and that smell of cutting into a mushroom. Not sure if it's what you are looking for, but if you want a aquatic/floral that's *weird* but still smells good...

 

Lastly, It's not quite what you described in your notes, but something in my gut keeps bringing it up: Have you tried any of the Absinthe scents? (Absinthe, Pontarlier, Mary Shelley) Absinthe scents have a blend of sweetness and intensity, and I think Pontarlier might be especially up your alley because of the Lilac.

[non_boingy]

Try Sudha Segara! Again, not explicitly "floral" but very feminine. The honey note is especially prominent and it feels confident but sensual. I think other blends along those lines include Scherezade, Morocco, and Queen of Sheba. You might also like Arise, Lift Up Thine Eyes and See from the most recent round of Lupers, which has champaca flower (the flower used in nag champa incense) so it's definitely a floral that has an incensey kick! Also, if you can find it, Great Vampire Bat is great!