Similarities Between BPAL Scents - GC and general discussion

[Xiabelle]

Blood Countess is one of my absolute favorites. What do you like about it? For me, I like the fruity, juicy plum with a hint of floral.

 

You like some of my favorites, though... Although I hate O, but that's because my skin amps honey to sickening proportions.

 

Another almost impossible to find: Snake Charmer. Mmmmm.

 

GCs:

Snake Oil is sexy as hell and lasts forever.

Antique Lace: gorgeous vanilla

Bathsheba

Bordello (which I also dislike, but my skin turns any wine note into grape koolaid... I so wanted to like it.)

 

LEs:

Antonino is lovely

[Morrighana]

Blood Countess is one of my all-time favourite BPAL oils too. I'd recommend you try Yerevan and Suspiro from the GC, and Midwinter's Eve if you can get your hands on it. (It'll be easier to find than Red Moon, at least!)

 

Additionally, I organize my BPAL box by scent similarity, and the scents I've got neighboring Blood Countess and some of your other "likes" are Blood, Rage, Le Petit Mort, Sed Non Satia, Tanin'iver, Hymn to Proserpine, and Black Opal. You might want to check those out!

[cvelis]

Thank you! My list is growing!!! What I like about Blood Countess ... the slight spicyness, fruity and yummy purpleness, and for me it's fresh like Spring! Midwinter's Eve sounds gorgeous...must locate!

[evilbee]

Hey, I'm wearing Blood Countess right now!!! You reminded me to refresh her... there, that's better.

 

I absolutely agree with the Bordello recommendation. I JUST got that one and love love love it. Give it a shot for sure.

[TheIceMaiden]

Frumious Bandersnatch reminds me a bit of Blood Countess since it starts out spicy (due to the carnation) plum. Its very nice although I prefer Blood Countess.

 

Nothing lasts more than a few hours either on me so I have a scent locket, which helps.

[mooncityminx]

I agree with the Bordello rec, and I want to add that Bathseba also smells similar to me. Aglaea is somewhat similar as well. At least to me.

[Mia M]

... do Follow Me Boy and Mata Hari smell EXACTLY alike?!?

 

I recently bought these imps from a member of this forum and to my surprise, Mata Hari and Follow Me Boy smell (I'm pretty sure) almost EXACTLY alike, both in the imps and on my skin! In addition to that, I don't smell any coffee in Mata Hari, so I asked the person I bought from if there could have been some sort of mix up somewhere and she said she got them straight from the lab a few months ago, so now I'm thinking i'm semi-insane here. Do these two scents smell realllllly similar to one another or is it time to call the nice men with the white jackets? *confused!*

[hackess]

'spose it would make sense, Follow Me Boy being the scent of the exotic dancer, and Mata Hari being an exotic dancer.

[Brianne]

To me, they smell similar but not the same. Which is probably due to the jasmine which tends to smell godawful on my skin. The difference for me is that Follow me Boy was all jasmine for me and Mata Hari was jasmine and rose!

[glass_cat]

Blood Countess is also one of my very favorites, but I also really like Bordello as well for the same reasons I like the Countess, so count me in for another Bordello vote.

 

Also, since you mentioned liking Black Dahlia, try Penny Dreadful. It had a similar "vintage" feeling to it, but had a hint or two of spice as well.

Edited May 4, 2007 by glass_cat

[eatingthesea]

how similar is embalming fluid to envy? envy is one of my favorites ever, and it seems like it may be sisterly to embalming fluid. they both seem light and green and spring-y. i love nearly all the funereal oils, anyway, so i'm sure i'll love it...

[Morrighana]

I find that they're very similar in feel (light/green/spring-y) but not really at all in scent. EF is predominantly a sweet green tea on me, while Envy is predominantly lavender and mint.

[halcyon_flight]

I'm looking for blends similar to Dragon's Reverie, which I have joyously just discovered.

[Ahania]

Check out Lampades. It's got a similar feel to Blood Countess, for me. Also check out Scherezade, for something close to Morocco.

I second the suggestion of a scent locket, too. I have no hope of anything lasting, otherwise, and I get more throw, too.

[evilbee]

I just remembered Horreur Sympathique too. That has a similar rich red fruity sweet feel to it for me.

[euterpe414]

Frumious Bandersnatch reminds me a bit of Blood Countess since it starts out spicy (due to the carnation) plum. Its very nice although I prefer Blood Countess.

 

I second this. FB is extremely similar to Blood Countess on my skin, too. I also think that you might really enjoy Alice and Bathsheba.

[cvelis]

Just a little update on my quest to find similar Blood Countess scents...I got my hands on a 5ml of Midwinter's Eve 2005. I was sooo excited but then, yes, you know...I HATE IT. It's too sugary on me and makes me want to throw it across the room or cook with it.

 

The quest continues...

[Trish]

I love Blood Countess too. I've tried a number of plum scents but it's my favourite of all. I would also suggest Bathsheba which I find a tad "brighter" and not quite as floral as BC, and also second Frumious Bandersnatch. Kitsune-tsuki is also in the same family on me (my skin adores plum and tends to amp it a bit), but is a bit softer and more floral than the others. Oya is another softly spicy plum one.

 

And yes, Bordello is devine.

[VelvetSky]

Hi everyone. Can anyone recommend an oil that closely resembles Anne Bonny? I luv her, and I'd like to try other similar blends. Thanx

 

[naeelah]

I really love Morgause, but it's a wee bit more heavily floral than what I'm looking for.

 

Is there anything in the GC that smells about the same, just with fewer florals? I don't want it to be floral free, necessarily, just not quite as predominately floral. I want a dark, mysterious blend that's not predominately fruity, not predominately floral, not predominately incensey, just a nice even blend of the three. This one is *almost* perfect, but not quite.

 

If you think I could achieve that by layering, feel free to make those suggestions as well.

[mooncityminx]

I'm trying to figure out more scents that are similar in feel to 51 because I love it. I don't even know how to categorize it except that it reminds me of something that a department store might sell except way better. Is it a fruity floral? A lot of florals go soapy on me but not this one. I can't figure it out.

 

Luminescent, glowing, and otherworldly: green mandarin, neroli, honeydew, white amber, guava, freesia, white and green musks hovering over desert scrub, smashed wood, and the dry, biting scent of night air over the Groom Lake salt flats.

 

Is it the freesia? Ambers usually go all powdery on me but not white amber apparently. Maybe it's the guava and the mandarin?

[ivyandpeony]

Hi everyone. Can anyone recommend an oil that closely resembles Anne Bonny? I luv her, and I'd like to try other similar blends. Thanx

 

 

VelvetSky, Anne Bonny just hates me - but I will give this one some thought, and I figured I would bump your post and see if it gets any responses from the AB mutual admiration society I do love the way it smells in the vial - I would love an AB soap or candle. BTW, it sure is nice to see you around here!

 

I'm trying to figure out more scents that are similar in feel to 51 because I love it. I don't even know how to categorize it except that it reminds me of something that a department store might sell except way better. Is it a fruity floral? A lot of florals go soapy on me but not this one. I can't figure it out.

 

Luminescent, glowing, and otherworldly: green mandarin, neroli, honeydew, white amber, guava, freesia, white and green musks hovering over desert scrub, smashed wood, and the dry, biting scent of night air over the Groom Lake salt flats.

 

Is it the freesia? Ambers usually go all powdery on me but not white amber apparently. Maybe it's the guava and the mandarin?

 

Hi Tempest I love the 51 icon you made, and I love 51 too. I ordered a bottle of it the day that the order with my imp of it arrived - I could not wait

 

51 is one of those blends where I think the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Usually guava and honeydew are disgusting on me and neroli has to be blunted with something creamy. I think I would describe it as a fruity-floral light musk (light modifying the noun musk, not the entire description, you know?) Its complexity also reminds me of the complexity of all the Salon blends.

 

Now, our chemistries could be really different (as far as the other notes go, I adore ambers of all types, I can wear lighter woods but not heavy ones like cedar, light musks are awesome and I love mandarin too. Oh, and I absolutely worship Beth's freesia.) Some blends you might want to try:

 

First, some LEs... Ace of Hearts (Purest white lotus, white rose, rain orchid, rose gardenia, freesia, and Bulgarian rose, but I swear there are some other magical things in it too ), Budding Moon (Plum blossom, peony, lotus root, Chinese musk and a hint of white ginger), Stardust (champagne, hyacinth, tuberose, ylang ylang and flashing white musk with jonquil, tobacco flower, white sandalwood and a pale poppy)

 

A few Salons: Bat-Woman (ratkirani, calla lily, moonflower, honeysuckle, night-blooming jasmine, French lavender, verbena, grey amber and nighttime air), Schlafende Bagneuse (skin musk, white cream, honeycomb, yellow rose, King mandarin, chrysanthemum, golden amber, honeysuckle, and wide-throated yellow monkey-flower accord), Spirit of the Komachi Cherry Tree (cherry blossom, blue lilac, lavender monofloral honey, white sandalwood, and Asian pear).

 

And from the good ole GC, Kitsune-Tsuki (Asian plum, orchid, daffodil, jasmine and white musk), Cordelia (lilac, lemon, green tea, wisteria, osmanthus, white cedar, and Chinese musk), Endymion (d'Anjou pear, Lily of the Valley, bois du rose and white musk).

[Ina Garten Davita]

I really love Morgause, but it's a wee bit more heavily floral than what I'm looking for.

 

Is there anything in the GC that smells about the same, just with fewer florals? I don't want it to be floral free, necessarily, just not quite as predominately floral. I want a dark, mysterious blend that's not predominately fruity, not predominately floral, not predominately incensey, just a nice even blend of the three. This one is *almost* perfect, but not quite.

 

If you think I could achieve that by layering, feel free to make those suggestions as well.

 

Maybe try Moriarty (deep, dark, incensey) layered with Bordello (very fruity) to achieve what you're going for.

[mooncityminx]

I'm trying to figure out more scents that are similar in feel to 51 because I love it. I don't even know how to categorize it except that it reminds me of something that a department store might sell except way better. Is it a fruity floral? A lot of florals go soapy on me but not this one. I can't figure it out.

 

Luminescent, glowing, and otherworldly: green mandarin, neroli, honeydew, white amber, guava, freesia, white and green musks hovering over desert scrub, smashed wood, and the dry, biting scent of night air over the Groom Lake salt flats.

 

Is it the freesia? Ambers usually go all powdery on me but not white amber apparently. Maybe it's the guava and the mandarin?

 

Hi Tempest I love the 51 icon you made, and I love 51 too. I ordered a bottle of it the day that the order with my imp of it arrived - I could not wait

 

51 is one of those blends where I think the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Usually guava and honeydew are disgusting on me and neroli has to be blunted with something creamy. I think I would describe it as a fruity-floral light musk (light modifying the noun musk, not the entire description, you know?) Its complexity also reminds me of the complexity of all the Salon blends.

 

Now, our chemistries could be really different (as far as the other notes go, I adore ambers of all types, I can wear lighter woods but not heavy ones like cedar, light musks are awesome and I love mandarin too. Oh, and I absolutely worship Beth's freesia.) Some blends you might want to try:

 

First, some LEs... Ace of Hearts (Purest white lotus, white rose, rain orchid, rose gardenia, freesia, and Bulgarian rose, but I swear there are some other magical things in it too ), Budding Moon (Plum blossom, peony, lotus root, Chinese musk and a hint of white ginger), Stardust (champagne, hyacinth, tuberose, ylang ylang and flashing white musk with jonquil, tobacco flower, white sandalwood and a pale poppy)

 

A few Salons: Bat-Woman (ratkirani, calla lily, moonflower, honeysuckle, night-blooming jasmine, French lavender, verbena, grey amber and nighttime air), Schlafende Bagneuse (skin musk, white cream, honeycomb, yellow rose, King mandarin, chrysanthemum, golden amber, honeysuckle, and wide-throated yellow monkey-flower accord), Spirit of the Komachi Cherry Tree (cherry blossom, blue lilac, lavender monofloral honey, white sandalwood, and Asian pear).

 

And from the good ole GC, Kitsune-Tsuki (Asian plum, orchid, daffodil, jasmine and white musk), Cordelia (lilac, lemon, green tea, wisteria, osmanthus, white cedar, and Chinese musk), Endymion (d'Anjou pear, Lily of the Valley, bois du rose and white musk).

 

*takes notes* I think I have a few of those GC imps in my vast collection. I shall try them today. Oh thank you Ivyandpeony!

[forspecial_plate]

Speaking of 51, I found Incantation and 51 to be in the same scent family. Incantation is like the handsome brooding older brother and 51 is like the young pretty sister. To me the wood element is very similar in these scents.