Recs for those who can't do sweet perfumes?

[Fishwomon]

I received my first order on Wednesday. I'm sooooo excited; total bliss. The lab was extremely generous in their freebies; thank you so much, lab!!!

 

Here's my issue. I'm finding that a lot of the oils are very sweet to my nose and on my skin. And sweet isn't agreeing with me. The oils I've tried which seems too sweet are: Samhain ( want to love Samhain), Jack, Ravenous, Hemlock, Bewitched, Black Pearl, Lady of Shalott.

 

Does anyone else have this problem? What do you recommend?

[Fulltiltredhead]

I received my first order on Wednesday. I'm sooooo excited; total bliss. The lab was extremely generous in their freebies; thank you so much, lab!!!

 

Here's my issue. I'm finding that a lot of the oils are very sweet to my nose and on my skin. And sweet isn't agreeing with me. The oils I've tried which seems too sweet are: Samhain (   want to love Samhain), Jack, Ravenous, Hemlock, Bewitched, Black Pearl, Lady of Shalott.

 

Does anyone else have this problem? What do you recommend?

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Those are all pretty sweet, yeah.

 

What non-BPAL scents do you like? It would probably be easier to recommend based on notes or scent families you know you like.

[silverangel]

I can do sweetness up to a point, and then I'm done. Jailbait, Sugar Skull, Bon Vivant and I believe Hollywood babylon all crossed my threshold of tolerance.

[Fishwomon]

I tend not to like anything that smells like perfume.

 

I do like The Body Shop's white musk and Origins Ginger line. Also, Aveda used to have a perfume oil called "Love" (maybe they still do?), and I loooooved that.

 

I also like essential oils: lavender, vetiver, bergamot, sandalwood and rose geranium are my favorites.

 

I'm really enjoying BPAL's Incantation, which I'm wearing right now.

[diabolique]

i have a very short list of non-sweet BPAL oils as i tend to gravitate toward fruity and sweet scents. jack wasn't sweet on me at all, though, it was actually pretty rancid. i hesitate to tell you which ones weren't sweet because of my god awful skin chemistry, buuuut:

 

arcana

hamadryad

lampades (this may be too sweet for you, but i've got a sweet tooth and barely notice things like that )

the raven

scherezade

voodoo

 

baron samedi

embalming fluid

zombi

 

lust

cathedral

 

ave maria gratia plena

carnal

debauchery

harlot

la petite mort

queen of sheba

seraglio

 

three witches

 

morocco (this would probably depend a lot on skin chemistry. it isn't foody or sweet on me at all)

danube

sybaris

tintagel

 

tarot: the world

 

edit: reading over this list, i've noticed that i only really like 7 of the oils i listed. hahahaha. like i said, i love sweet scents. also edited to say that i've only tried about 85 BPAL scents thus far, and these are the ones i haven't found sweet at all.

Edited November 13, 2004 by diabolique

[rainbow]

I tend to gravitate towards sweet scents too, but thing that I have used that are not sweet are:

 

- Loviatar- smoky, slightly spicy leather

- Spellbound- like Loviatar with a bit of added rose and amber. It's not sweet, not at all.

- Kumiho- crisp and fresh- green tea and citrus

- Glasgow- I'd be a bit more careful with this one, I don't think it's sweet, but it has berries, which might have the potential to go sweet. It's berries and lavender/heather. I think it's more fresh and herbal.

[Miggins]

For me, it's not a case of not doing sweet blends, they just don't do me.

 

Just thinking of my tiny collecction, you might like:

 

Djinn - smells very much like old-fashioned ginger beer (which isn't at all sweet). My inadequate nose thinks vetiver, sassafras, ginger and possibly lemon.

 

Aizen-Myoo - Japanese citrus fruits, tempered with black tea

 

Morocco - spicy carnation, sandalwood, musk

 

Harlot - roses (but not at all sweet) with a hint of cinnamon

 

Maiden - rose (but not too much), spicy carnation (again!), tempered with white tea

 

Belladonna - floral in a green way (which probably makes no sense!)

 

You might also like to try Malediction which is red patchouli and vetiver. It was like a less "fizzy" and lemony version of Djinn for me.

 

BTW, I wouldn't say any of these are particularly "perfumey".

Edited November 13, 2004 by Miggins

[Stephanie]

Sweet scents are among my favorites, but I thought I just had to mention--

 

Seance

 

it's on the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of sweet. It's rather dry and "nostalgic" and very wistful.

[Fishwomon]

Thanks for the recs, everyone. I'm taking note.

 

So far I adore Hellfire, Incantation, and Fae. Total love. Body chemistry is everything, yes?

[Eldritch]

Non-sweets on me:

 

Severin--earl grey and lemons

The Apothecary

Wolfsbane

The Hermit

Laudnum--though this may be because it was WAY too strong/musky for me so I didn't keep it on long enough to smell much of anything. ;D

 

I tend to disagree with Diabolique--Zombi and the Raven are very sweet/floral on me. It depends a lot on your chemistry.

[Penance]

I'm in the same boat you're in.

 

I, personally, prefer woodsy or resiny scents like:

Anne Bonny

Cathedral

Damnation

Loup Garou

Black Forest

Malediction

 

But then that's because I love woodsy and resin scents, which aren't for everyone to be sure.

 

I do have to disagree with the Laudanum suggestion. On me it's very sweet, it smells like root beer as a matter of fact.

[Fishwomon]

Good to know, Penance. Now I'll pay special attention to your suggestions and reviews.

 

I think I also like woodsy and resiny scents, and I seem to favor gender-neutral oils. So far, Incantation, Hellfire, and Fae have won my heart, and I'm leaning more and more toward Snake Oil...is it too vanilla-y? I can't decide.

 

How is Snake Oil for you, Penance?

[diabolique]

i disagree with miggins' suggestion of aizen-myoo, it was way sweet on me. however, the raven and zombi weren't sweet on me at all, they were actually pretty acrid. ;x skin chemistry's a funny thing, indeed.

[Suntrails]

Fishwoman, I'm in the same boat you are. I just received my first BPAL, Tempest. I tried it on and after the first blast of grape fruit, it immediately went sweet on me. Waaaaaaay too sweet. So I'm paying attention to this thread!

 

I'll let you know if anything works for me in my next order.

 

I also love the Origins Ginger line, so if you find anything at BPAL that's similar, let me know!

[tart]

Suntrails, be sure to try Tempest (and all of your BPAL) again in a week or so. Scents, or your perception of them, can change greatly if you just give them another try.

[couscous]

Fishwomon, I also like wood/resins and hate sweet/foody. Incantation has also been my fave so far. I can take fruit if it's citrus, and in fact like a good citrusy-tea note every so often to cut the "church" smell I usually favor, but no strawberry, cherry, or tropicals of any kind or I get sick.

 

Before I tried BPAL i wore Opium day to day and Bulgari green tea once in a blue moon.

 

Having said that, I'd go through the traditionally masculine scents first. That's what I'm doing. So far Fenris Wolf has been a fantastic choice- there's a slight sweet tinge, but the sweetness comes from wood, and is as far away from syrupy as you can imagine. It's gorgeous and light , but warm and comforting.

 

You could also try Antony. I have it coming up in an order, and it seems very dry and woody from its description.

 

Finally, try and stay away from cinnamon. I found it to be sweet rather than spicy, so don't be fooled!

[wolfie13]

I also have this problem - many of the most universally beloved oils have gone way too sweet or fruity on me.

 

Some that have worked for me - as well as others folks that have posted, it seems - that you may want to try:

 

EARTHY/WOODSY -

 

Aureus

Dracul

Burial

 

FLORAL-ISH (but not heavy floral which also does not work for me)

 

Harlot

Darkness

[couscous]

I also have this problem - many of the most universally beloved oils have gone way too sweet or fruity on me.

 

Some that have worked for me - as well as others folks that have posted, it seems - that you may want to try:

 

EARTHY/WOODSY -

 

Aureus

Dracul

Burial

 

Ah, yes. Burial, too. Wolfie is right

[Fishwomon]

Thanks for the recs!! There are so many oils; some of these I hadn't even heard of yet, like Fenris Wolf. Couscous, it sounds like you and I have very similar taste. Let's keep each other posted.

 

Have you tried Embalming Fluid?

[Morrighana]

Embalming fluid is fairly sweet, but (on me anyway) it's a dry, cool kind of sweet---not sticky-sweet at ALL---so you might be able to get away with it.

[Penance]

Sorry it took me so long to get back to you on this, I've been busy and forgot.

 

Snake Oil on me is lovely. I don't think it's terribly sweet. On me it's vanilla beans and spice, sort of rich and heavy instead of that artificial vanilla sweetness you normally get in perfume.

 

I think Snake Oil is probably one of those love it or hate it kind of scents, but I, personally, adore it.

 

And I agree with you on Hellfire, it is lovely, isn't it? I love the smell of pipe tobacco.

[stardust]

I tend not to like anything that smells like perfume. 

 

Oh, I thought I was the only one here who feels that way! I'm still not sure what makes a scent smell perfume-y to me, other than most florals, but that's part of the fun of BPAL: trying stuff out and figuring out what I like.

 

So far, florals and most fruits have turned my stomach.

 

The ones I've found that I love:

1. Wolfsbane

2. Dublin

3. Hamadryad

4. Snake Oil

 

(Dublin and Hamadryad are supposed to have floral elements, but my chemistry ignores them).

 

I've only tried...24 scents so far, and most of those selections were shots in the dark. I'll be more helpful in the near future!

[LaLisa]

I also like wood/resins and hate sweet/foody. Incantation has also been my fave so far. I can take fruit if it's citrus, and in fact like a good citrusy-tea note every so often to cut the "church" smell I usually favor, but no strawberry, cherry, or tropicals of any kind or I get sick.

 

 

I have sweet issues as well, prefering teas and citrus or spice.

 

I currently wear Amariege or Te from Barney's and sometimes Chanel #5, Poison Hypnotique, or Kashmir which is a powdery sweet lotus with a spicy undertone. Oddly one of my most fave scents ever is the super sweet discontinued Monah Li created by the Los Angeles dress designer of the same name.

 

I used to wear Joop for Men (weird I know but it's really sexy).

 

Opium produces a nasty "plastic" taste in my mouth, as does (sadly) Gaultier. I love Opium on other people and the retro-80s concept of it.

 

I get weird tastes (metally/plastic)from some oils as well--I know I have from at least one BPAL, though I tested a bunch, so I can't recall which one(s).

 

 

I sent off Blood Amber for being too sweet and just got an imp of Old Paris which is waaaay to sweet and will give to a gal pal, while Old Bayou seems to be sweet but okay so far.

 

Aren't bodies amazing with all their fabulous chemical reactions?

[Penance]

Just a minor point, but Bayou's just Bayou and always has been.

 

I didn't find Bayou to be sweet, but it might be me. To me, it was aquatic notes and some hothouse florals, but skin chemistry is a many faceted thing.

[LaLisa]

I just got an imp of Bayou and felt it wa ssomething I couuld wear, or at least try, despite the florals--there is indeed a tang of water, both salt and fresh, plus for, which cuts the (to me) cloyingness of sweet flowers.

 

Just a minor point, but Bayou's just Bayou and always has been.

 

I didn't find Bayou to be sweet, but it might be me.  To me, it was aquatic notes and some hothouse florals, but skin chemistry is a many faceted thing.

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