Recs for those who can't do sweet perfumes?

[Rheliwen]

hahaha and so that is a cat on her avatar! for some reason, it kept looking like a seal to my eyes. I think it's because the whiskers are so long and with the cat's head bent and out of sight, the neck looks like a muzzle!

 

I think it's a seal/sea lion (I can never remember which is which). If it's a cat, it isn't a domestic one

[hemogoblin]

I hadn't realized that search function existed! Thanks for pointing it out.

 

After doing the research, I ordered Sea of Glass as well as Ultraviolet and Neo-Tokyo.

 

Happy Friday!

 

So you'd probably like 'Ozone/Marine/Fresh'' scents... you can look for those in the search engine by that scent family listing.

 

You might like 'Embalming Fluid'. Or how about 'Sea of Glass'.

 

Or 'Danube' which isn't floral AT ALL for me, but mostly fresh and watery.

 

Namaste,

Leslie

[hemogoblin]

Thanks so much to everyone for the great insights and recs. I just ordered a few and will probably try to swap for some more soon. This is all great stuff that hadn't occurred to me before.

 

This is all so fascinating. A lot of people I've told about BPAL have remarked that it's very strange and not so logical to buy perfume online. And of course it's not. What makes the whole thing work is the creative descriptions for each scent and even more so the burgeoning, creative and incredibly helpful community that's grown up around it.

 

You guys are neat!

 

I'm looking forward to smelling my way to the perfect (few) scent(s).

 

Have a great weekend and thanks again!

[hemogoblin]

Stardust - Thanks! Hemogoblin is a very small Terry Pratchett reference. I'm a big fan.

[Miss Lynx]

*blinks* Hey, I didn't realize I was under discussion in here! Wow, I'm famous!

 

And it is, in fact, a seal in my icon, not a cat. A harbour seal named Lucy at the Niagara Falls Aquarium. They have a "seal encounter" program where you can be taken right into the seal enclosure to meet a seal, feed it, play with it, etc. and one of my partners got me that as a surprise present last time we went there. More pics here if anyone wants to see'em.

 

But on the topic of the original post, yes, scents do often sweeten up a lot on my skin. But not so much in a candy-like way. It's mainly florals that my skin amps really strongly, so any scent with a little bit of floral smells a lot more floral on me, and any scent with a lot of floral becomes unbearable.

 

There are a few other notes that do it too -- dragon's blood in certain combinations ends up smelling like cloyingly sweet, cheap drugstore perfume on me, but that one's tricky, because it doesn't do it all the time. Serpent's Kiss, Tintagel and Blood were all fine on me, but Dragon's Heart and Dragon's Musk were awful. Red musk sometimes does it too, I think. And something in Snake Oil, but I don't know what.

 

And yes, like someone said, I've had pretty good luck with the gender-neutral and/or masculine ones. Not everything I like falls into those categories, but a lot does. And the masculine ones often smell completely different on me than they would on a guy. Black Forest, Fenris Wolf and Titus Andronicus, for example, don't smell at all masculine on me. I've also found that when it comes to sweet notes in a scent, fruits don't go nearly as strong on me as florals do, so they're often a safer bet.

 

What you need to do is find out which notes, or categories of notes, are the ones that your skin does amp up -- is it all sweet scents, or just certain kinds? Once you know, you can avoid them. And definitely have a look through the gender-neutral and masculine scents. There's a list pinned in this forum, I think. Gender should never be a barrier when it comes to smelling good.

[zenvodunista]

*blinks* Hey, I didn't realize I was under discussion in here! Wow, I'm famous!

 

And it is, in fact, a seal in my icon, not a cat.

 

ah, the travails of a fading mind! (my mind, that is )

 

n.

[Vampy]

Okay, so most bpals are very sweet on me. This isn't actually a bad thing - I don't have a problem with sweet scents, I like them just fine. But lately I've been kind of tiring of everything smelling so sweet. I want some things that are only mildly sweet, or not sweet at all. Currently the only thing I think I have that fits the not-sweet-at-all bill is Burial, which I like, but isn't one of my faves. (Even Brimstone is a little sweet on me - yeah, it's pure gritty smoke, but it's a sweet gritty smoke.)

 

Any recommendations?

[Mrs.Black]

Okay, so most bpals are very sweet on me. This isn't actually a bad thing - I don't have a problem with sweet scents, I like them just fine. But lately I've been kind of tiring of everything smelling so sweet. I want some things that are only mildly sweet, or not sweet at all. Currently the only thing I think I have that fits the not-sweet-at-all bill is Burial, which I like, but isn't one of my faves. (Even Brimstone is a little sweet on me - yeah, it's pure gritty smoke, but it's a sweet gritty smoke.)

 

Any recommendations?

 

The driest BPAL scents that I remember are Penitence, Oblivion, Cathedral and Wolfsbane.

 

Edited to add that Ouija seemed very dry to me as well, in a polished wood way.

Edited September 18, 2007 by Mrs.Black

[Antaria]

I have the same problem ... everything turns sweet - I like sweet, but sometimes I'd like something not sweet.

 

I haven't found any not-sweet BPAL yet.

 

From Mrs.Black suggestions I only tried Cathedral - which is sweet on me I think Villain did not turn very sweet on me - but I'm still searching for something absolutely not sweet ...

[waternight]

Give Aureus a try. It's very patchouli/cedar on me, and fabulous.

[Antaria]

Give Aureus a try. It's very patchouli/cedar on me, and fabulous.

Have to spoil it - Aureus turns sweet on me - perhaps this is becauce I eat too much chocolate + sweet stuff

[Vampy]

Actually I love Aureus! It's one of the few that isn't very sweet on me, but the resins still give it a light drizzled sweetness. Cathedral is the same way, and a similar scent.

[Pottersville]

Okay, so most bpals are very sweet on me. This isn't actually a bad thing - I don't have a problem with sweet scents, I like them just fine. But lately I've been kind of tiring of everything smelling so sweet. I want some things that are only mildly sweet, or not sweet at all. Currently the only thing I think I have that fits the not-sweet-at-all bill is Burial, which I like, but isn't one of my faves. (Even Brimstone is a little sweet on me - yeah, it's pure gritty smoke, but it's a sweet gritty smoke.)

 

Any recommendations?

 

 

Hello, Sister Sweetness! <LOL> I actually gave up on BPAL for awhile because nearly every single imp out of my first two imp packs turned hella sweet on me. We're talking toothache-inducing sweet! Persistence has paid off, though, and I've found more than a few lovelies that wear well with my oh-so-peculiar skin chemistry. White Rabbit is a lovely soft scent - I really "get" the tea and milk in it. The Caterpillar is all incense-y goodness with a bit of green moss tossed in for balance. CD III: Priala and Good Omens: War are both warm, yummy, and spicy. War has a bit more floral in it (to my nose) while Priala has more spice/incense. CD III: Tiresias is my idea of a great nearly foody chocolately scent with lots of warm woods and spices to boot. I think folks have already mentioned Malediction and Cathedral ... definitely NOT sweet scents! If you're looking at LE scents, The Emathides is a lovely rich scent with florals "toned modified" a bit (in terms of sweetness) by black amber, blue musk, and cedar.

 

Now here's a bit of skin chemistry weirdness I've discovered too ... for some reason, some of the scents that are supposed to be sweet/somewhat sweet (MB: Tokyo Stomp, Juke Joint, Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo) work really well on me. I'm guessing that's because they're blended to smell that way and the notes work well with one another .... vs. when my skin picks out a note in some other scents (O, I'm looking at YOU) and amps it up to a point where they overpower everything else.

[minilux]

Hmmm...if there's even the tiniest bit of sweetness in something, it will come raging to the forefront when I wear it, so for non-sweet I would have to say:

 

Severin - I guess it could be lemony sweet on someone with even more powerful sweetness amping capabilities, but for the most part I just find it to be perfectly clean

 

Thanatos - Mossy, incensey with a touch of rose, I don't recall there being anything sweet about it

 

Amsterdam and/or Danube - Fresh and clean, I don't remember getting any sweetness

 

Belladonna - Bitter and green, I wanted to like it, but it was ultimately too bitter for me, but it's definitely not sweet

 

Incantation - Another one that's definitely not sweet

 

The Coiled Serpent - I'm a patchouli freak and unfortunately most of BPAL's patchouli has other notes that make the whole thing too sweet on me, but Coiled Serpent is awesome, almost peppery, patchouli

 

ETA: some of the more masculine blends like Tristran and Vicomte de Valmont are definitely not sweet, but could be too masculine for some people

Edited September 18, 2007 by minilux

[JennyGardener]

I do not like sweet scents at all. They amp on me and make me feel ill. So, I go for dark musky resinous smells. Some of my favorites so far are;Fallen (hot, dry, woody, resinous), and Glasya (LE, sultry resins and musks, hot). You might try scents with notes like sandalwood, patchouli, musk, aquatic (saltwater), woodsy (pine family), leather, amber, and vetivert. Civet is a very feral, yet soft musk that I am partial to. Try your luck with some of these. Stay away from vanilla, honey, florals, and "foody" scents if you don't like that cloying sweetness. I have found dark berries, plum, and wine to be okay on me, but nothing else that smells like fruit or things to eat. I haven't tried pumpkin yet, so I can't say what that is like. Good luck finding your perfect blend! BPAL has so much to offer that I'm sure you'll discover something you like.

[Antaria]

Funny that I discover one non-sweet-scent today ... aged Tempest. New it turned - yes! - sweet on me, but now, after a few month it is a fresh and earthy scent and I don't get any sweet from it. Guess this is going to be my first non-sweet imp!

[ImperatrixMundi]

The driest BPAL scents that I remember are Penitence, Oblivion, Cathedral and Wolfsbane.

 

Oblivion becomes way too sweet on me. A sort of heavy and medicinal sweetness.

 

Scents with Black/Dark Musk often go sweet on my skin too.

 

Blends that did not do it:

 

Lightning - very fresh, it's mostly citrus with a sharp ozone note to me and not sweet at all.

Arcana - lemon verbena and incense.

Highwayman - if you can get away with rose and jasmine.

Catherine - rosmary and rose

Bess - more rose, but lemony, not sweet

Sloth - Myrrh

Tum - smells like fruit tea to me

 

Whow... The rest of the ~60 Blends I tried are sweet in one or the other way.

[angelslurry]

At some point, I will learn that some notes I should just avoid on principle, but I give most of them many chances to work in different blends. Foody and floral notes are the least agreeable for me (particularly JASMINE ARRGH) and while vanilla and rose are repeat offenders, they do show up in two of my top scents: Voodoo and Nemesis. Some quick comparisons:

 

Vanilla behaved in: Voodoo, Desire, Crowley

Vanilla overpowered: Dorian, Tamora, Eclipse

Rose behaved in: Nemesis, Desire, Rapture

Rose overpowered: Zombi, Ouija, Black Dahlia, Wicked

Jasmine behaved in: The Caterpillar, Wilde, Rapture*

Jasmine overpowered: Salome, Black Dahlia, Wicked

 

Based on past experience, I really like grasses and resins, I used to like almond a lot (provided it wasn't bitter) but find ginger increasingly appealing. Woods and aquatics usually work, and spices are hit and miss. With all that in mind, I am trying to predict what future purchases will not go totally cloying on me, even if I give any of the notorious trio another shot. So feedback is appreciated on the following:

 

Is vanilla overly foody or cloying in: White Rabbit? Snake Oil (which naturally I feel immense peer pressure to try, and I'm willing to let it age to its alleged best)? And for that matter, Australian Copperhead? Death Adder?

Is rose overwhelming in: Wanda? Thanatos? Les Infortunes De La Vertu?

Is jasmine absolutely unforgiveable in: Faiza The Black Mamba? Highwayman?

 

Other scents I've been eyeing but I suspect may amp too sweet include Bastet, Blood, I Died For Beauty, Lady of Shalott, Nephilim, and Sed Non Satiata, so if anyone can weigh in on the sweetness meter for those, t'would be most appreciated.

 

*My pet theory being that night-blooming jasmine is more mild-mannered than say star jasmine and/or pairing with bergamot seems to tamp down the powdery-pee fade-out.

[ivyandpeony]

Angel Slurry, I may not have had quite enough caffeine to articulate what I am thinking here - but I think I am seeing a little pattern. It seems like perfumes that have some dry notes like woods or vetiver to balance the sweetness or give it some depth seem to be working out for you. I have a friend whose chemistry amps sweetness a lot too and although she can't wear vetiver, I have seen a blend that smells like a pile of sawdust on me blossom into something lovely on her. So this can be a good thing.

 

Anyway, reading over the list of things that you are interested in trying, I would first try Death Adder (vetiver!), Thanatos (has some nice dry woody tones), Highwayman (vetiver again, to help wrassle the jasmine into submission) and Les Infortunes De Vertu (the leather notes made it very dry to my nose).

 

I think you should try the others as well, you don't want to miss out on something that could be fantastic on you, and as you know, you really can't predict exactly what your chemistry is going to do. White Rabbit could work if the pepper and linen notes offset the sweetness enough (it's a scent that seems to smell vastly different to, and on, different people) - pepper is usually a "drier" spice to my nose rather than a sweet one. Snake Oil is a favorite of mine and although it's intense vanilla, I don't find it foody or overly sweet - but I found the berryish note in Australian Copperhead was too much for me. And the rose note in Wanda is one that I can't wear, but the leather could balance it nicely for you.

 

One of my great disappointments that smelled beautiful on my sweet-amping friend was Grandmother of Ghosts (laurel, stargazer lily, splintered woods, peony, mandarin and white musk, pale pepper) - on me, overwhelming cedar, on her a gorgeous musky floral, no single note dominating, with nice spiciness added by the woods & pepper. If you're looking for a wild card for your next imp pack, that would be my suggestion.

[angelslurry]

Thanks, ivyandpeony! Looking over my purchase history you're right, vetiver's been a pretty reliable base note in everything I've tried, and leather as well, although I noticed as spring changed to summer, Iago started smelling a bit like fudge brownies on me (!). Then it spilled inside my leather purse, and whaddaya know, that's where it smelled best.

[minilux]

So feedback is appreciated on the following:

Is vanilla overly foody or cloying in: White Rabbit? Snake Oil (which naturally I feel immense peer pressure to try, and I'm willing to let it age to its alleged best)? And for that matter, Australian Copperhead? Death Adder?

Is rose overwhelming in: Wanda? Thanatos? Les Infortunes De La Vertu?

 

I totally amp vanilla and rose, so I know what you're going through. If you amped vanilla in Dorian, I would not have high hopes for White Rabbit and I would probably stay far, far away from Snake Oil (and if you do give in and try it, try just the teeniest, tiniest drop for starters). As for the rose, I think you have a good chance of doing okay with Thanatos and Wanda, because I actually don't get overpowering rose from those. And you might want to try Seance if you haven't already, because oddly enough I don't get any rose at all from it and other people are always saying how rosey it smells, so I don't know what's up with that, but Seance is one of my favorites.

[ivyandpeony]

I am fairly new to BPAL and have only a handful of scents. I've noticed that they all seem to end up "sweet" after wearing for a while and think this is just my chemistry. The one imp I really like is Blood Lotus as it stays true to it's original scent on me.

Can anyone give me a rec for something that isn't necessarily sweet to begin with? I'm a little overwhelmed with the wealth of info on the site!

 

I have :

 

Hellfire

Jezebel

Vampire Tears

Calliope

Blood Lotus

 

Welcome to the forum & the BPAL world, Janet I thought this thread might be helpful to you, so I figured I'd cross post your request in it.

 

If Blood Lotus is staying true and not getting sweeter on you, that can mean a lot of good things - it may mean that you just don't have a taste for overly sweet scents but that your chemistry doesn't really make things overly sweet. Lotus can be a very sweet note - some people liken it to bubble gum. Although the scent description doesn't include notes, most of the "Blood" scents contain some dragon's blood resin (and from my experience with Blood Lotus I think it does), which also has a lot of sweet qualities.

 

Jezebel may be too sweet for you because it has a very dominant honey note - Hellfire contains tobacco, which can be sweet on the skin (my chemistry does not do this, but I know people on whom it does have this effect). In Calliope, almond could be a culprit, and Vampire Tears has a couple of "sweet" florals, honeysuckle, wisteria and white ginger, as well as green tea, which I find to be a sweet note.

 

This doesn't mean that you will have to avoid entirely every BPAL scent that contains honey, tobacco, almond, sweet floral notes, fruit, cream or vanilla (those are the most common sources of sweetness I can think of) - but you will probably need to look for blends that also contain some dry, spicy, earthy or woody notes to balance the sweetness. You probably will have to try a lot of stuff, just to get to know your own chemistry and to get your nose acclimated to your likes and dislikes, but that can be fun, and it's not like you have a deadline or this is a contest or anything.

 

Do expect things to morph a good bit from the wet stage to dry, it's in the nature of the beast for BPAL - but hopefully as you go along and narrow down your choices, you will end up liking the long term results just as much as that first swipe on your arm.

[forspecial_plate]

The driest BPAL scents that I remember are Penitence, Oblivion, Cathedral and Wolfsbane.

 

Oblivion becomes way too sweet on me. A sort of heavy and medicinal sweetness.

 

Scents with Black/Dark Musk often go sweet on my skin too.

 

Blends that did not do it:

 

Lightning - very fresh, it's mostly citrus with a sharp ozone note to me and not sweet at all.

Arcana - lemon verbena and incense.

Highwayman - if you can get away with rose and jasmine.

Catherine - rosmary and rose

Bess - more rose, but lemony, not sweet

Sloth - Myrrh

Tum - smells like fruit tea to me

 

Whow... The rest of the ~60 Blends I tried are sweet in one or the other way.

 

Oblivion turns sweet on me too. It ends up smelling almost like Midway. There's something in there that smells like cotton candy to me!

 

Sloth has a heavy, powdery sweetness on my skin. Myrrh does that for me sometimes, like in Penitence and Omen.

 

It could be that what I'm calling "sweet" doesn't seem sweet to other people. Like we're smelling the same thing but describing it differently. A lot of people seem to think myrrh is bitter and I don't get that at all.

[breezefaerie]

ivyandpeony, thanks so much for directing me to this thread!

 

The recs here are wonderful and I've gathered some (more) imps that I want to try now, ones that I hadn't originally thought of.

[empi girl]

It's funny about skin chemistry, because I've tried Silk Road at least twice, and all I get is a light (barely there!) hint of tea and dust before it dissapears.

 

As for your recs:

 

I'd say that Othello will be a no. Very rosey from what I remember. Scherezade and Morocco have a similar feel to me. I think of heavy sweeter incense and musk.

 

I'd recommend the Lion (dry amber, if a lion's purr had a scent, this would be it), Mama-ji (spicy, dry, not sweet), War (musk and ginger and spicy hot, but she's not sweet). I think best bet will be Mama-ji.

 

Snake Oil has a 'burnt spice' smell to me when fresh, but aged it is lovely, a deep rich and golden scent. I get hints of sweetness, but not cloying, or over the top.

 

There are loads, so I'm sure you'll find something. Good luck!