stardust

Initially, this smells a lot like Sugar Skull on me, with the addition of bananas. The bananas go away, leaving a very Sugar Skull-y scent. While I don't normally like foody scents (I got it for the associations), I do like this.

2011 version:

Beautiful dead leaves crunching underfoot, with nary a trace of cologne (thank goodness). This smells a lot like my beloved Death of Autumn.

I wear Block Buster for my anxiety-inducing events. I always wear it for job interviews, and I always get the job offer, too.

Good luck! I'm pretty shy myself.

I wore O, due to the non-jinxing properties of the name (Snake Oil? Grandmother of Ghosts? Certainly not). Surprisingly, the last time I tried O, it was sickly sweet. Several years of aging have transformed it into an incredible scent.

Has anyone compared Jacob's Ladder '05 to this year's yet? The '05 is definitely one of my very favorite scents--possibly my favorite--and I've been savoring it slowly. I'm sure I'll break down and get a bottle of '08; I was just curious.

*taking notes...*

Death of Autumn is my holy grail, autumn-in-a-bottle scent.

Sin, Dee, Scherezade, Fenris Wolf...

Mmm, I'm hoping someone can answer this question for me, too. Based on my reading of the Halloweenie reviews, it seems to be, in order of least smoky to smokiest: Samhainophobia -- October -- The Death of Autumn? I'm holding out for an answer before I place my order, since I'm now a poor grad student (versus being a poor undergrad when I first found BPAL 3 years ago!)

This is the most amazing, luminous amber I've ever smelled. Gorgeous is really the only word for it. It's strong, but seems to stick close to my skin. Sweet, well-rounded, with a tiny bit of darkness in the dry-down.

I have tons of amber scents, and when I first read reviews of this one, I thought, well, I can trade this one since I already have so many amber scents. But this one is better than all of them, and this may be my first two-bottle purchase.

I've never smelled Forest Moss, either, but I love mossy scents, and my favorite is Cathode. It is minty at first, but the mint fades quickly and I'm left with moss and ambregris. It's lovely.

For other light, woodsy, manly scents, I'd agree with Yggdrasil (leafy and woodsy).

Thank you both! GypsyRoseRed, I have Jacob's Ladder and LOVE it, but hadn't thought of using it. It would make a gorgeous amber backdrop.

I'll check out Vixen--that's one I wouldn't have thought of.

Yeah, Haunted has black musk. I LOVE all musks except black musk--it can be weirdly powdery on me. It's definitely the strongest, and something that people seem to generally either really like or dislike.

My favorites are red musk (Fenris Wolf, Scherezade) and golden musk (Coyote, Bengal). Mmmmm...

I smelled Prada for Women in the new Vogue issue, and I just about died of happiness. Then I realized that it's quite a bit like Xiuhtecuhtli plus patchouli and maybe a touch of golden musk.

So I'm wondering what might be a strong patchouli (not black patchouli, though!)scent, with possibly a hint of musk and/or amber, to layer and try to recreate this gorgeous but very expensive scent. Aureus, maybe? Any input?

Thanks!

edited to add notes:

Bergamot Oil Italian, Orange Oil, Bitter Orange Oil, Mandarin Flower, Mimosa India, Rose Absolute ABS, Schinus Molle ABS LMR, Peru Balsam, Patchouli Oil LMR, Raspberry Flower, Labdanum Resinoide LMR, Tonka Bean , Musk, Sandalwood Oil

Does anyone else think that Dia de los Muertos smells like Block Buster? Because on me, they're almost identical. To the point where I'm almost wondering if there was some freak mix-up.

Frimp from the Lab!

I had actually tried this one before, and passed it along. I decided to give it another whirl, and I'm so glad I did.

This smells sharply of bergamot at first, with the astringency of tea. The leather is faint at first, and warms the blend. While the leather became stronger upon wearing, it still remained in the background. It is kind of a library-ish scent; tea and leather chairs. This makes it the perfect scent for a nerd like me.

I smell like a really hot guy, and I kind of want to jump myself. I must test this on my husband, soon.

The only bad thing is that this does fade quickly, but I have a bottle headed my way, nevertheless.

First, "Hemogoblin" is a great name.

Now. I also frequently can't stomach sweet scents (although I do love amber, which is a bit sweet). I love woodsy, mossy, and musky scents the most, so what I often reach for is:

* Cathode- mossy goodness! There's mint, which scares some, but I find it refreshing. The mint also fades pretty quickly.

* The Apothecary- another great moss scent. Has fig, which does sweeten it a tad.

* Embalming Fluid- clean and fresh.

* Yggdrasil- fresh woods, herbs, and mosses.

* Coyote- this one does have amber, but it is nicely tempered by grasses and a nice golden musk

* Absinthe- slightly woodsy, with lemon and anise. I love it myself, but I do have some unusual favorites.

* Xihutechutli (I will never learn how to spell this properly)- this one has a floral component, but I don't really detect it. I normally hate florals. Orange, citrus, and humid forest floor, to my nose.

* Wolfsbane- has rose. But it's mostly piney, woodsy, mossy wonderfulness.

* Ulalume- has lily, which is usually wretched on me. Smells like camping during springtime in Washington state (without the campfire).

* Scherezade- spicy musky sexiness.

Good luck! I'll probably think of more...

Embalming Fluid for me, too (also works for hungover days, sick days, and days when I can't handle sweet scents).

Second pick would be The Apothecary or Cathode, because mossy scents always cheer me up. Yep, I'm odd.

I love 'em both! If you love black musk and amber, then you'll love Haunted, methinks, since those are the only two notes I get from it.

And they're not very much alike at all--the musk is pretty strong in Haunted. O is very sweet and honeyed on me, whereas Haunted is more masculine and strong.

My newest love, Xiuhtecuhtli, reminds me of a jungle floor. It's not exclusively dirt--there's incense and orange mingled in there--but it's predominantly moist soil, with some incense. It smells very humid on me.

Zombi and Burial both went soapy on me, but Nosferatu is richer (though I wouldn't say "green").

This is amazing.

Wet, I smell oranges and incense. The scent of leaves and dirt quickly appear in the background, along with exotic flowers that I couldn't identify. It smells a bit humid, like being in a tropical jungle.

The patchouli note remains, mingling with orange and light, creamy florals (I don't think that anyone's mentioned patchouli, but if there's the tiniest hint of it in something, my skin will amp it up). This is wonderful--kind of along the same lines as Maccu Pichu, but whereas that one was lighter, airier, and ultimately headache-inducing on me, Xiuhtecuhtli is earthier, smokier, and...just better.

I'm so glad I tried this; I was a bit afraid of the floral components. This might be a good one to try if, like me, you don't normally go for floral scents.

Going on the big-bottle list.

Oh my god, this is perfect! I've been looking for a wonderful grassy scent for a little while, and this is it.

For the first few hours, it's a pretty even blend of dry grasses, light musk, and amber to sweeten things a bit.

The grass note recedes, and I'm left with a slightly musky, ambery scent that lasts all day (scents tend to dissipate very quickly on me).

I agree that the musk is very wearable--light, golden, and not too pungent.

I haven't tried a masculine scent yet that I didn't love, so take this with a grain of salt, but I don't think that this is too masculine for the average woman to wear. Unisex, definitely.

I lived in the desert in New Mexico for a little while, and this is making me want to go back! I can picture the sunlight, the dry earth, the red rocks...amazing.

I am definitely getting a big bottle of this.

This one is wonderful and simple: apricot and cloves. It reminds me of Christmas, of those oranges with cloves stuck in them. The apricot is not too sticky sweet for me, tempered by the cloves.

I love it.

For the first ten seconds after application, White Rabbit smells like warm milk, pepper, and freshly grated ginger. That might not sound appealing, but it's so warm and comforting, like a fuzzy blanket on a cold day.

And then...

The linen note dominates everything else. It smells like a dryer sheet. The honey also is prominent, and I get a hint of melon. I spend the next few hours smelling like a dryer sheet dipped in honey.

I would love this if the scent remained as it was in the first few seconds. As it is, I don't love it, but I can't seem to part with it, either. I'll keep trying, because something is keeping me from swapping this one.

Initially, Wolf Moon is a cool, piney, slightly aquatic, mossy scent that I love. Then something a bit fruity--melons?--comes out. Wierd, I know. Then the flowers, mixed with a stronger ozone/aquatic component, come out. I'm not a floral person, so I can't identify them, but they push their way to the forefront. Heavy, heady, and completely headache-inducing for me. Possibly including my arch-nemesis, the lily.

Had to swap this one.

Gift from lab.

Well, if burning red skin is condusive to sex, then I'm all set!

Cinnamon does this on my skin, usually. I smell like nothing but that note. Genereally it doesn't actually burn and turn my skin red, however.

Needless to say, I had to wash this one off.

Off to a happier home...

Gift from the lab!

From start to finish, this smells like slightly honeyed tea with lemon and the tiniest hint of cinnamon--usually cinnamon drowns out all other notes on my skin, but fortunately, this is not the case here.

I love this one! It's a brilliant match with the intended results; I envision someone quietly sipping on tea in the corner of a coffee or tea shop, concentrating on writing his or her novel.

Definitely getting a big bottle of this.