topazphoenix

Pouring Strains of Sacred Songs has quickly shot to my top 10, in fact most days it is in first place. I can't get enough of it. I get the "lemony" vibe at first, which I love, then the coconut deepens while the resin-y goodness of the frankincense and red benzoin comes out. I am not sure that I can distinguish between the honey myrtle and osmanthus blossom. All I know is that the florals in this blend really well with the rest of the notes and add a nice fresh touch without being too distinct. As was mentioned before, the one fault of this is that it is a skin scent. It is seriously a pity that it is so faint after a couple hours. That's the one thing that has stopped me from grabbing more bottles. I wish this was GC, and that I had tried it before it went down. I wish it was a hair gloss and an atmo spray. I am hoping that Startled Toad will be similar to this scent, but stronger.

I wanted to use this as a moisturizing base rather than a bath oil. It smells divine, and layers well with many scents. It layers *perfectly* with Hope and Fear Set Free. It seems to add a little "oomph" at first to whatever scent I wear over it, but my skin seems to eat it up. I thought it would be a stronger scent than the perfume oils, but I didn't get the sillage that I wanted. I think it would be perfect with the right chemistry.

TKO lovers (I am one), The First Love Fades Too is probably the closest you are going to get to a TKO atmo (unless the lab decides to release an actual TKO atmo). I bought the Erebos atmo as a dupe for TKO, but ultimately found the florals offputting. The First Love Fades Too does not disappoint though. It is mostly lavendar and vanilla, with the oudh and sandalwood in the background. The notes are blended perfectly. It is fresh, lovely, inviting, and appropriate for almost any occasion. Again, I think TKO lovers should get this, as I doubt another atmo is going to come so close.

I love lilies also. Tiger Lily is/was the most amazing lily scent ever, but it is so rare since it has been discontinued even imps are hard to find. I love The Lilies and Languors of Vice for lily - (Calla lilies and lily of the valley with white lilac, narcissus, osmanthus, asphodel, and Egyptian musk). - I know you said you don't like lily of the valley, but it might be worth a try.

CRISTINA (For the Blood is the Life by F. Marion Crawford) He was near the village now; it was half an hour since the sun had set, and the cracked church bell sent little discordant echoes across the rocks and ravines to tell all good people that the day was done. Angelo stood still a moment where the path forked, where it led toward the village on the left, and down to the gorge on the right, where a clump of chestnut trees overhung the narrow way. He stood still a minute, lifting his battered hat from his head and gazing at the fast-fading sea westward, and his lips moved as he silently repeated the familiar evening prayer. His lips moved, but the words that followed them in his brain lost their meaning and turned into others, and ended in a name that he spoke aloud -- Cristina! With the name, the tension of his will relaxed suddenly, reality went out and the dream took him again, and bore him on swiftly and surely like a man walking in his sleep, down, down, by the steep path in the gathering darkness. And as she glided beside him, Cristina whispered strange, sweet things in his ear, which somehow, if he had been awake, he knew that he could not quite have understood; but now they were the most wonderful words he had ever heard in his life. And she kissed him also, but not upon his mouth. He felt her sharp kisses upon his white throat, and he knew that her lips were red. So the wild dream sped on through twilight and darkness and moonrise, and all the glory of the summer's night. But in the chilly dawn he lay as one half dead upon the mound down there, recalling and not recalling, drained of his blood, yet strangely longing to give those red lips more. Then came the fear, the awful nameless panic, the mortal horror that guards the confines of the world we see not, neither know of as we know of other things, but which we feel when its icy chill freezes our bones and stirs our hair with the touch of a ghostly hand. Once more Angelo sprang from the mound and fled up the gorge in the breaking day, but his step was less sure this time, and he panted for breath as he ran; and when he came to the bright spring of water that rises half way up the hillside, he dropped upon his knees and hands and plunged his whole face in and drank as he had never drunk before -- for it was the thirst of the wounded man who has lain bleeding all night upon the battle-field. She had him fast now, and he could not escape her, but would come to her every evening at dusk until she had drained him of his last drop of blood. It was in vain that when the day was done he tried to take another turning and to go home by a path that did not lead near the gorge. It was in vain that he made promises to himself each morning at dawn when he climbed the lonely way up from the shore to the village. It was all in vain, for when the sun sank burning into the sea, and the coolness of the evening stole out as from a hiding-place to delight the weary world, his feet turned toward the old way, and she was waiting for him in the shadow under the chestnut trees; and then all happened as before, and she fell to kissing his white throat even as she flitted lightly down the way, winding one arm about him. Chestnut trees, juniper berries, violet leaf, labdanum, dazzling, moonlit white musk, and night-blooming summer flowers. Wow, I love this one! Smells like buttery chestnuts and sweet florals and yet there's a sophisticated loneliness in the sharpness of the musk....nom nom nom. I can see a big bottle of this in my future. Nom.

I don't think this is the scent are looking for, but Pele came to mind with your whole "Hawaiian" description: "muguet and Hawaiian white ginger enveloped by warm, damp tropical blooms." Maybe I've just been thinking about it lately

Shanghai, but you don't have to feel naked, as long as your soul feels naked.

I really enjoy Yvaine as a complex lavender, tho it's hard to find now. Also, for a straight up, one note lavender, I just got Safari and am in love. It's extremely relaxing and I almost like it better than TKO.

A fretfully clean scent: freshly-washed laundry, linden blossom, soap suds, and a sprinkle of vanilla. I was so certain Boober was perfect for me that I ordered a bottle unsniffed. It's quite pleasant but it does smell like straight up laundry detergent. I was hoping for more vanilla + distinct linden blossom. The overall vibe reminds me of Dirty, and I do like the "clean" genre of scents. This is better when I layer it with Molinard Vanille.

This is super pretty. It's sweet, floral, and sparkly. It would veer into "perfume-y" land without the chocolate and the oakmoss to keep it grounded, I think. It reminds me of Good - it's a bit greener than Good - I like Good, but this is better. I'm getting a bottle.

I really wanted this to work for me. The description sounds so wonderful. But I don't really get amber or honey..it's like vague powdery sweetness mixed with something floral which I'm assuming is the Linden..it smells like expired grandma soap to me :/ And on my skin, there's that odd note that's..pine. It totally smells like pine. It smells better after its dried down and settled a bit on my skin. Like it's a bit reminiscent of O, but I prefer O. I'll hold onto it though, because I feel like amber doesn't reach its true potential unless its aged..sadface.

I searched the thread and couldn't find any real mention of it, so here goes. Have any of you smelt a BPAL similar to Dolce and Gabbana's Light Blue?

Hm, Dorian, Comforting Plush Companion, and Werepuppy are my best hug scents imo.

This smells more pure grape jam to me in the bottle but once on my skin it settles down to this really good almost musky vanilla honey plum sweet pea smell. I liked that it got sharper on my skin, more nuanced and complex. I suppose it will be good with aging but I can't really see how it could be better than it is now. I love it.

I have the 09 version and just have to say I don't know what the fuss is all about. I like Black Lace better in the bottle because it kind of smells like a more vanilla-ish Lamb's Wool to me, but on my skin it goes to laundry and a bit of sharp cologne and a small whiff of vanilla. I could see how it could be pretty but it's not for my scent preference.

Werepuppy smells like Stinky + hot milk and cinnamon sticks. Wearing it makes me feel clean, innocent, and happy in that carefree baby way. I love this, I'm so glad I took a chance on it.

Haha aw, I was going in to this thread to recommend Crowley. As for your second request, perhaps you could try layering Jolly Roger with another vanilla/sugar oil?

In spite of all the notes in the description, I'm getting a pretty single minded lemon rind here. I'm keeping the imp around to see if it does any of the fabled "ever changing" stuff on my skin

I adore the concept for this scent, and was so excited to try it. That being said, this smelled quite pleasant in the imp, but on my skin it went Granny's antique rosewater meets mildew. I don't know another way to convey the after impression but it's definitely not for me.

At first this smelled like flower stems and cream, and then some sweet plum came out, but the cream left, replaced by flowers and a bit of spicy plum. The end result is quite sharp and more than a bit powdery, damn my skin chemistry.

I loved how this smelled in the vial, exactly like chocolate buttercream frosting. But my skin all but ate the chocolate, and now my wrist smells vaguely of coffee.

This is sooooo good omg Juicy and tart, I can smell the blueberries and currant...but then there's warm sweet red musk mixed with the vanilla...the tea adds a slight coolness...I love how this is fruity, yet still warm and inviting...mmm...love love love.

Although I don't get the hype, this might have been a okay scent, but it's completely tainted by association for me because it smells like an exact dupe of the expensive vanilla lotion some family acquaintances wore constantly, so my nose defaults to hate hate HATE. sigh.

This is very pretty, cool, and fresh. It reminds me a lot of The Temptation, but I think I like The Temptation better, because I keep getting little sharp after whiffs of jasmine from Peach Moon. And sometimes the musk seems a bit too sharp, white musk does that on my skin sometimes. Lovely overall, but just not my style.

This is love. There's dark powdered chocolate...made spicy by cinnamon, with a hint of coffee, and it's amazing but I can totally smell the brown sugar. In fact this doesn't exactly smell like a drink it smells like the powdered form of all the ingredients...the words "crystalline" and "grainy" come to mind. Like when you open a bag of brown sugar for the first time and you can literally smell the sugar crystals...that's what this smells like...or like the sugar is melting into a cup of cocoa....and the cinnamon makes it so deliciously spicy. I was worried at first because this was bitter right after application on skin...but it dried down and then everything got better and blended and lovely. I'm really glad I took a chance and bought a bottle of this unsniffed, it's a versatile cocoa scent that I will be wearing year round