Limited editions equivalents in the general catalog?

[Corvus Corax]

I am in love with BPAL's plum note. Many of my fellow BPAL addicts suggested that I try to find a decant/imp of Queen of Spades. This seems to be almost impossible. I have also been told that Blood Countess is very similar to Queen of Spades... unfortunately Blood Countess is discontinued.

 

Please tell me there is hope and that there is a current GC that is similar to Queen of Spades.

[kbrighton]

I am wearing Joyful Moon today, and loving it. Can't believe I've nursed the bottle this long. But some day it will be gone--alas! Any recommendations for something GC to take it's place in my heart?

 

White musk, French vanilla, ambrette seed, frankgipani, angelica root, white rose, orris, and honeysuckle.

[theredkilt]

Can somebody confirm whether Autumn Fancies smells similar to Titus Andronicus?

[ClockworkMoM]

Does anyone know of a GC that is similar to Smoky Moon 2009 Tristesses de la Lune? I love the softness of this scent and something in it is extremely calming for me. Would love to find a similar GC!

[Batness]

My all time favorite scents seem to involve chocolate...

Any recommendations for: Dia De Los Reyes (any year), Gelt, Dark Chocolate, Whiskey, and Cognac Truffle, Dark Chocolate and Pepper-Smoked Caramel...?

[tinyvulture]

My all time favorite scents seem to involve chocolate...

Any recommendations for: Dia De Los Reyes (any year), Gelt, Dark Chocolate, Whiskey, and Cognac Truffle, Dark Chocolate and Pepper-Smoked Caramel...?

 

For DDLR, maybe Bliss layered with Chimera, for that sweet cinnamon aspect.

[Batness]

For DDLR, maybe Bliss layered with Chimera, for that sweet cinnamon aspect.

 

You know, I've never tried Chimera or Shub; may be time to try those layered with something! I LOVE Bliss, although it's a taaaad "scratch-n-sniff" on me after a couple hours. Maybe mixed it'll warm up differently?

[Cactus]

If you are looking for a GC similar to Luperci - Omen has a lot of the same notes and has the same "vibe".

 

It's a much-simplified version of Luperci, though. I've found that layering Omen with Lights of Men's Lives or No. 93 Engine gets me much closer - if I get the mix right it smells almost the same.

[JasminDreams2010]

I'm not sure is this is where to post because the scent I'm looking for a GC equivalent of is Callidora (bptp).

 

Basically, it's the best! I love it and I wonder if anyone can recommend a good catalogue blend for it?

(I think the notes are patchouli, blood musk, cacao,benzoin, myrrh).

[liquidtrance]

Similar scents to La Lugubre Gondola? I love the soft, well-worn dry woodsiness of Gondola.

[Monday]

Similar scents to La Lugubre Gondola? I love the soft, well-worn dry woodsiness of Gondola.

The Lion - The dry, glorious warmth of the Savannah. A golden, spiced amber, proud, regal and ferocious.

[liquidtrance]

Thanks, Monday! I think I might have an imp of that somewhere. I'll need to dig it out to re-test it! I remember it being a lovely amber, but I think it lacked the supporting wood-scent that I'm hoping for. Maybe I can find something else to layer with it.

[Allumina]

This is probably a long shot, but does anyone know anything similar to Luna Negra 2011 that's not totally impossible to find? I tested a sniffie recently and really liked it. The key for me here is whatever musk they used, which smelled divine. I don't need a berry explosion (the berries were pretty faint on me) and amber usually turns into powdery death on me...

 

(LUNA NEGRA: TED'S CREATION The solace of shadows: blackberry and blackcurrant with Nepalese amber, kewda attar, and a deep, rich, sweet dark musk.)

[apathygirl]

This is probably a long shot, but does anyone know anything similar to Luna Negra 2011 that's not totally impossible to find? I tested a sniffie recently and really liked it. The key for me here is whatever musk they used, which smelled divine. I don't need a berry explosion (the berries were pretty faint on me) and amber usually turns into powdery death on me...

 

(LUNA NEGRA: TED'S CREATION The solace of shadows: blackberry and blackcurrant with Nepalese amber, kewda attar, and a deep, rich, sweet dark musk.)

 

I don't know if this is helpful - it's not GC and the notes aren't identical - but the current version of Luna Negra is still available at the Trading Post.

[Allumina]

This is probably a long shot, but does anyone know anything similar to Luna Negra 2011 that's not totally impossible to find? I tested a sniffie recently and really liked it. The key for me here is whatever musk they used, which smelled divine. I don't need a berry explosion (the berries were pretty faint on me) and amber usually turns into powdery death on me...

 

(LUNA NEGRA: TED'S CREATION The solace of shadows: blackberry and blackcurrant with Nepalese amber, kewda attar, and a deep, rich, sweet dark musk.)

 

I don't know if this is helpful - it's not GC and the notes aren't identical - but the current version of Luna Negra is still available at the Trading Post.

 

Unfortunately for me, the current version seems to keep the berries and amber but ditches the musk, which is what I'm after. Thanks though!

[non_boingy]

Does anyone have an equivalent of my beloved Golden Wave (Tangerine, gin, passion fruit, guava, and tonic)?

[Anaire]

Similar scents to La Lugubre Gondola? I love the soft, well-worn dry woodsiness of Gondola.

 

I don't know if you found your substitute yet but I've found Aelopile (Glowing amber and citrus, labdanum, verbena, cedar, and oud.) to be a fairly good substitute for both La Lugubre Gondola and Hesiod Phoenix when I want something less special to wear daily. The verbena wears off quickly and I get the amber, labdanum, oudh scent for most of the day (La Lugubre is nicer, don't get me wrong, but this works for daily wear).

[keileya]

Help me, Obi-Wan Recommendation Forum, you're my only hope!

 

So, I fell hard for Miller vs California (Leather, cognac, fig, ripe berry, and cream, stuffed into a plain brown paper bag) a while back. I stocked up, so I still have plenty of it, but as it's aged, the "bottom" fell out of it -- both the cognac and the cream have aged out of the blend; one of them has left a slightly sour note behind (not unpleasant, but not what I want out of it) and the oil has lost all its staying power on me. (It used to be a twelve-hour oil on me; now it's a four-hour oil at maximum.)

 

GC recommendations for something similar? Or even LE, as long as it's a more recent LE that I'll have more time with before age changes it. I've tried Bensiabel, figuring the plum and leather might bring the same deep-pitched earthy/sexy sweetness, but it went entirely to wet mossy herbs on me in the finish, and not in a good way. I tried The Black Rider for the leather, and it was great on me (great enough for a full bottle!) but lacked the sweetness. For the fig, I tried Gomorrah (okay enough, but nothing like what I was looking for; my skin chemistry does bad things with patchouli, which would rule it out even if I didn't have a learned aversion to patchouli as a note, and there's definitely patchouli in there), The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil (thinking fig + fruit might do the trick, but the grape turned into sour spoiled Bubble Yum on me), and Eden (which turned to coconut macaroons and awful cheap amaretto on me). Dragon's Hide has a lot of the same leathery sexiness to it, and I smell great in it, but I amp dragon's blood to hell and gone and so it takes over the scent profile entirely. (Which is not a bad thing, I mean -- I smell great in dragon's blood -- but it's not an alternative for MvC.)

 

Other things with those notes I've tried and had varying success with: Whip (turns to Body Shop tea-rose and swallows the leather immediately), Dee both fresh and aged (still drastically confused by it and not sure if I love it or if it's old man's aftershave on me), Fighter (on me, brown leather shoes that somebody stepped in elephant poop with and cleaned off insufficiently), Iago (loved it, but it's much sharper and greener than MvC), and Dragon's Heart (loved it, but it too is the All Dragon's Blood All The Time channel).

 

General "my skin chemistry is weird" observations: The lab's honey note goes sour on me in half a minute, I have aforementioned learned aversion to patchouli, most florals go rotten on me in the drydown, I amp rose to hell and gone so any blend with it means rose tends to take over, and I generally don't like foodie scents (which is why I was so surprised to find MvC worked on me so damn well). I prefer more unisex scents to the more classically "feminine", but I'm generally openminded.

 

I'm working my way through various other imps that have similar notes -- I've got the rest of the Ars Draconis scents, Rogue, The White Rider, and The Red Rider all sitting here waiting to be tested -- but if there's a smell-alike (or even a smell-something-close) that I should be pushing higher up the list, let me know. Someone suggested Wanda, which I have on the list for the next order, but what else should I be trying?

[Balame]

Help me, Obi-Wan Recommendation Forum, you're my only hope!

I was going to say Wanda (Deep red merlot with a faint hint of leather, sexual musk and body heat over crushed roses, violets and myrtle) but since you amp rose it might not work out too well...

 

I know I'm going into LE territory but maybe give Australian Copperhead a shot (Snake Oil with acai berry, amber, cardamom, neroli, and smoked vanilla). It should give you a berry blast with a creamy smoothness from the vanilla/amber. I can't really think of anything that has berry + leather so you might want to layer. Maybe Berry Moon + Perversion or Captain Cully.

 

You could also try Boadicea (Amber, fig, vanilla flower, oak, patchouli, vetiver, dragon’s blood resin, leather, and neroli). It sounds darker based on the description but according to the reviews the patch/vetiver/dragon's blood don't seem too overwhelming.

[JasminDreams2010]

Ok, I've belatedly fallen in love with death adder. Since it was part of the carnavale diabolique, it has since fallen into the night before I ever got a chance to buy 57 more bottles.

Does anybody have any ideas in the GC? I tried blood kiss (like it) and obatala (turns plastic) and Eden, no dice.

 

Help! Before the rest of my little snake slithers away..

[AngelDragon]

I am a real sucker for Achluophobia and I was wondering if there are any regulars that smell (a bit / almost exactly) the same like this one.

[poofie]

I am a real sucker for Achluophobia and I was wondering if there are any regulars that smell (a bit / almost exactly) the same like this one.

 

No answer, I'm listening in because I have been very keen to try Achluophobia!

[Boingo4Life]

Greetings, all! I fell in love with this scent a few years back and would love to find something really similar. As it is, I've only got about half an imp left and will be incredibly sad when it's gone. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

[theseagrows]

i re-tried delight and consternation last night and boy did i love it. originally i steered clear because i am generally not a fan of super-foodies that contain cream or cocoa, but the addition of florals, citrus and skin musk is a perfect combination with my skin chemistry.

 

can anyone recommend more scents like this? or any scents that are slightly gourmand but not too much?

 

ETA: i love dorian, i never considered it really gourmand but i guess it is. i also sort of liked love's philosophy, which seems to be in the same vein(?) i do like sugary florals, vanilla and tea notes.

Edited August 8, 2014 by theseagrows

[Aviatrix]

I never tried Delight and Consternation, so I can't really comment on anything similar to that, but The Perilous Parlor is a nice lightly foody scent (it's basically vanilla with pear). It's lovely