Recommendations for a woodsy minty tea factory for a sensitive nose.

[erysette]

Hi guys. This is my first post, so hopefully Im doing it right! Ive been intrigued by BPAL forever. Im ready to dive in and buy my first bottle. Hoooowever, I have a super sensitive nose and Ive been nervous about investing in something that may trigger an insta-headache.

 

So, here are my loves. Anything woodsy, usually. Cedar types in particular. Really anything thats reminiscent of dirt, freshly wet.

 

I love mints. All mints. Every mint.

 

I love all things that call tea to the mind. Oh, and lemony lemons.

 

Im not a big fan of anything too heavy. Powdery is also a huge, HUGE turn off for me.

 

Please guide me! I really want my first bottle to be a winner and start a love affair.

Edited October 4, 2017 by erysette

[Numanoid]

So, what might help you, if you go to the BPAL website they have a directory with a list of like every note ever! You can click on a note (like mint) and it will pull up a list of scents that have that note in it... some scents might be discontinued ones. Then, if you see a scent that intrigues you, I would then look up that scent on the review pages here and read up on how that scent is for those that have tried it.

 

I read a lot of reviews when I first got into BPAL and they helped me to decide what I might want to try... or pass up! Hope that helps a bit.

[Teamama]

Welcome! I found that Imps were the best way for me to find the blends that work best for my skin chemistry. The wood notes that are magical for me might be the ones that trigger a headache for you, so I'm going to chicken out on recommending anything except The Cat. It's something cedar lovers should definitely sample <3 <3 <3.

 

Imp packs from the Lab are a good investment. The Lab also throws in additional imp's ear samples ("frimps,") with each order. My first order from the Lab was 3 Imp Packs: Patchouli, Spice & Woody. My first bottle order was for two blends from the Patchouli set & one that was a frimp in my first order.

The "Sales" section of the forum is another good way to dive in and find out whether a blend whose description intrigues you is bottle material. Some forum sellers with a large stock of imps offer great discounts.

 

Have fun!

Edited October 5, 2017 by Teamama

[SadariEvenstar]

As far as mint, I really love Anesthesia from the Gaiman section, A scent that slips through the cracks: peppermint, lavender, bergamot, and mandrake. It's gentle and minty and really calming.

[cinnabar]

When you said "reminiscent of dirt, freshly wet" my mind jumped instantly to Dee. That's literally in my comments for it: it smelled like dirt ("but NICE dirt") when wet, and then dry was the most lovely, sniffable woodsy cologne. I also think it's quite broadly popular, so if you don't like it you won't have trouble rehoming it. And it's a common imp to find on sales/swap pages too, if you want to try it for low cost first. So that would be my recommendation.

Edited October 7, 2017 by cinnabar

[aniemel]

The first scent that comes to my mind is Green Tree Viper(Snake Oil with four mints, bergamot, and green tea.). My concern would be that Snake Oil turns to powder on many.

 

I second Anesthesia for a mellow herbal mint and the Lick It scents are nice for sweet vanilla mint.

 

There are so many awesome tea scents! Dorian is amazing but out of stock at the moment. Tea and music is a nice tea and wood scent. I quite like A Little More Tea.

 

That's all I can think of right now!

[sprout]

I think Geneviere L'Artiste du Diable would be right in your wheelhouse but if she proves too elusive, Iulia, L'Artiste du Diable or Serving Tea after Coitus. Another to consider is Bewildered in a Dream.

 

From the General Catalog, I'd try The Apothecary...

 

I agree with the Green Tree Viper but I recommend to get an aged sample as the Snake Oil component may be reminiscent of plastic Doll's head on some folks...

Edited October 7, 2017 by sprout

[dramedy65]

Yggdrasil came up as minty cedar on me and the hubs?

[LizziesLuck]

I will try to keep my recs from the GC - not sure if you're ready to go down the rabbit hole of LE yet? Lol.

 

Dirt: Zombi (wet earth especially), Death Cap, Yorrick and Penny Dreadful, if you can handle a bit of vanilla?

 

Mint: Envy! Mint and herbs, so so good. Also Anesthesia, it's really strong mint with hints of herbal lavender, awesome for bedtime in the hot months!

 

Tea: Famine and Theodosius are my (currently available) faves, but they are "darker" tea scents to me, and both include some fougere-type elements. Embalming Fluid has tea and lemon. Kumiho is white tea and ginger. The Apothecary might be up your alley? Tea leaf with three mosses, green grass, a medley of herbal notes, and a drop of ginger and fig. White Rabbit is also a tea scent. Manhattan is mostly tea and lemon on me. Same with Iulia.

 

Woods: All of these scents smelled like "tree" to me - Danse Macabre, Thanatopsis, Black Forest, The Jersey Devil, Lear, Druid, Ranger

 

Happy Sniffing!

[hushmesilent]

I would recommend How Doth the Little Crocodile.. it's a woodsy mint that mellows out. I also have tried Impenetrable Snowdrift and it's pretty amazing, although limited edition! Twinkle, Twinkle Little Bat is very tea-heavy but no mint notes. White Rabbit smells like black tea!

[BoneBone24]

Oh boy, there are so many great ones for these notes. I'll try to stick to ones that stay solidly in that woodsy-minty-earthy-tea world. Let's see...

 

For mint, Mad Hatter (A gentlemen’s lavender-citron cologne unhinged by the feral pungence of black musk and a paroxysm of pennyroyal) immediately sprung to mind. If you don't mind dark and smoky, Dracul (Black musk, tobacco, fir, balsam of peru, cumin, bitter clove, crushed mint, and orange blossom.) is a great one too.

 

For cedar, Azathoth (tangerine, saffron, vetiver, black amber and cedarwood) is a good one, and Tombstone (vanilla, balsam and sassafras layered over Virginia cedar) as well if you don't mind a little vanilla and sassafras thrown in.

 

For wood in general, Dee (English leather, rosewood and tonka with a hint of incense, parchment and soft woods) is a crowd favorite.

 

For woods, Black Forest (Thick, viscous pine with ambergris, black musk, juniper and cypress) and Ranger (Terebinth pine, Russian birch, black ironwood, elder bark, hay, armoise, juniper, patchouli, galangal root, Spanish moss, and cabreuva) are about as straight-up forest as it gets.

 

For earthy, Penny Dreadful (Soft perfume evocative of noir heroines over rich red grave loam) is my favorite.

 

For tea, Dorian (A Victorian fougere with three pale musks and dark, sugared vanilla tea.) is most people's favorite, but I much more prefer Theodosius (Earl Grey tea leaves, a white fougere, jasmine leaf, pearlescent white musk, and vanilla bean).

 

And while they don't have any of your listed notes, I think both Highwayman (Vetiver with gardenia, blood red rose, night-blooming jasmine, a dash of cinnamon and a faint hint of leather) and Arcana (Frankincense, rosemary, lavender, neroli, and verbena) might be pleasing to your nose.

 

If you get a chance, I'd definitely recommend trying out a bay rum blend. It behaves differently on different people, but for me it's very much in that woodsy-minty realm.

Edited November 8, 2017 by BoneBone24