Apple

thanks apple-would the similar to bonfire night perhaps be tombstone? cause it would be great if it was cause i just ordered it?thanks for the suggestions.scurries off to lab again

On me, no. But I should perhaps qualify that I have horrible skin chemistry.

On my skin, Tombstone was a big ol' vanilla candle with a splash of root beer. Bonfire Night was smoky and leathery (reminiscent of De Sade) with a buttery, foody quality that reminded me of popcorn... or maybe caramel corn (which is how Cockaigne smelled on me).

dOes anybody know of a gc equivalent or relative to my beloved night bpal of

Bonfire Night?

I am getting rather desperate!

Along the same lines as paperrose's suggestions, I would try layering Cockaigne with De Sade. There was another BPAL that reminded me of Bonfire Night, but it is escaping me at the moment... I'll reply again if I think of it.

A friend of mine had gifted me the Black Swan. However, is it possible to make an international order. I think it is sold only local stores ???

Ah, I see. Yes, that is a retail-exclusive Salon scent and not sold on the Lab's website. But I bet if you put out a request in the Wanted forum, you could find a forumite who would be willing to purchase it locally and ship it to you in exchange for the cost of the bottle and shipping.

Hrm... hopefully someone with more familiarity with Black Swan will pipe up, but the first thing that came to mind was Ophelia:

Have you tried these?

Maybe layering two or three of these? I'm thinking (Ophelia) + (Olokun or Windward Passage) + (Bruised Violet Compound) might be similar.

Is there a reason you can't just get more Black Swan?

(let me know if I should remove some of these for... not actually smelling woody!)

WOO! Very nice... thanks, Cauda!

Any chance we could add a category for sandalwood? Or do people not find that "woody" enough? And maybe pine/fir?

I did a run down of as many of the wood containing oils as I could over the past few days -- arranged by note (teak, rosewood, etc, etc) -- would anyone be interested in benefiting from my OCD?

Do you even have to ask? Post it! Post it! Post it!

I scanned the thread and couldn't find what I was looking for- and I'm so sorry if it's already been answered - but what rec's do you have for white roses? I LOVE Katrina von Tassel and would love a close GC equivalent, or any other LE suggestions similar? My favorite are sweet, sugary or honey rose blends, and I do like Faith (or Hope? eh..). I unfortunately have also given up on getting ahold of BPTP's White Rose, sadly. Any suggestions for less rare LE's or GC's?

For white roses, have you tried these?

I also noticed the new limited edition scents:

For sweet roses, you might check out:

Oh, and I meant to add that you can find additional Lily of the Valley scents by searching for "muguet," which is another name for that flower. Also check out:

Lily of the Valley scents?

If you like the original Poison by Dior, you might like Horreur Sympathique.

According to this site, the fragrance notes for Poison are:

• Top Notes - Coriander, Plum, Pimento, Anise, Rosewood
• Heart Notes - Rose, Tuberose, Wildberries, Carnation, Honey, Cinnamon, Orange Blossom, Jasmine
• Base Notes - Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Vertiver, Heliotrope, Opopanax, Vanilla, Musk

My mother-in-law's signature scent is Poison, and she once described it as smelling kind of like "spicy grapes". When I received a a frimp of Horreur Sympathique from the Lab, I immediately thought of her description and sent her the imp. She liked it very much and indicated that it smelled a lot like Poison.

Just thought I'd resurrect this thread to say that I recently received a frimp of Horreur Sympathique from the Lab, which I forwarded on to my mother-in-law. Her signature scent is Poison by Dior, and she said that she thought Horreur Sympathique was very similar (and that she really liked it).

According to this site, the fragrance notes for Poison are:

• Top Notes - Coriander, Plum, Pimento, Anise, Rosewood
• Heart Notes - Rose, Tuberose, Wildberries, Carnation, Honey, Cinnamon, Orange Blossom, Jasmine
• Base Notes - Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Vertiver, Heliotrope, Opopanax, Vanilla, Musk

The Dior website describes Poison thusly:

Some perfumes are born a myth. Heady, mysterious and revolutionary since its creation, Poison is Dior’s ultimate weapon of seduction. Its exceptional, exotic alchemy is created by a rich blend of spicy, fruity and amber notes warmed by honey and musk - an unsettling, charismatic and unforgettable oriental.

 

FRAGRANCE DESCRIPTION

 

WORDS TO TELL ABOUT IT

Spicy, Fruity, Amber The original fragrance for a captivating and audacious seduction

 

TOP NOTE

CORIANDER: Produced in Russia and distilled in water vapour, coriander is regarded as a herb and mainly used in cooking. Containing linalool, coriander brings a fresh, zesty, peppery quality to fougere, citrus and chypre fragrances. It reveals its mysterious, bewitching power in the top notes of Poison.

 

HEART NOTE

TUBEROSE: Imported from India to Europe around 1600, the tuberose is a herbaceous plant bearing clusters of strongly scented white flowers. In the heart notes of Poison, tuberose has overtones of fruit and jasmine. In Miss Dior Chérie extract, Indian tuberose absolute is a very heady floral note with accents of honey and orange, lending a noble, luxurious intensity.

 

BASE NOTE

OPOPONAX: Opoponax is a myrrh or gum resin that oozes from the bark of a tree found in Africa and the Middle East. The velvety, balsamic scent of opoponax forms the bewitching, mysterious dry-down of Poison.

For comparison, the notes for Horreur Sympathique are: blood musk, golden honey, thick black wine, champagne grapes, tobacco flower, plum blossom, tonka bean, oakmoss, carnation, benzoin, opoponax, and sugar cane.

Have you tried searching for "baby powder"? I know it's not quite the same as talcum powder (and I confess that I don't know what French talc smells like), but it might give you a starting point. You could also check out these threads:

know any BPAL with the smell of babypowder? I am on the hunt for cleancut (white) fresh floral scents, Help me a little again if you like

Wood, amber, baby powder?, Help me find a BPAL blend for my mum!

The powderiest BPAL blends I've tried have been:

For powdery rose I'd suggest:

And this current limited edition scent - although unfortunately named - sounds promising:

For a white rose, maybe:

Others to consider:

This one was a huge surprise for me. I'd read reviews of Horreur Sympathique a couple of years ago while searching for some imps to enable my mother-in-law, whose signature scent is Dior's Poison. She described the scent of Poison as being akin to "spicy grapes," and I found the description of Horreur Sympathique after searching for BPAL blends containing grape notes and after browsing the "Looking for a BPAL that resembles a favorite perfume?", "The Most Commonly Discussed "Smell Alikes", a list of BPAL comparisons to favorite commercial perfumes", and "Something like Dior Poison?" threads.

Now, personally, I detest Poison and strongly dislike grape-scented and grape-flavored things (although I like real grapes just fine). I can't remember if I got an imp of Horreur Sympathique for her at that time, but if I did, I very much doubt I bothered to smell it. Since that time, every once in awhile I would run across the description of Horreur Sympathique when searching for something else, and I would always wrinkle my nose and think, "Grapes? No thanks. And isn't this the one that's supposed to smell a bit like Poison? Double no thanks." The case for Horreur Sympathique was not helped by the fact that I'd had my heart broken by BPAL's wine note on numerous occasions, I'm mildly allergic to benzoin, and oakmoss has been doing unpleasant deeds on my skin of late. I had pretty much relegated it to the "There Is No Way in Hell this Fragrance Will Ever Work on Me and I Feel No Need Whatsoever to Even Try It" category.

When the Lab included of a frimp of this with my most recent order, I sniffed the imp out of sheer curiosity, fully expecting to recoil from a blast of grapey '80s power perfume. But instead of recoiling, I found myself unable to stop sniffing... despite the fact that it was indeed quite grapey (thankfully, it didn't smell anything like the way I remembered Poison smelling). Intrigued but still tentative, I applied a tiny dot to my arm. Yes, that was definitely super grapey-grape... but there was also something mysterious and tantalizing lurking beneath the popsicle facade. It dried down to a pleasant honeyed sweetness (I like the Lab's honey notes a great deal, and the honey was very much in evidence here), and I thought, "Well, that wasn't so bad. It was even rather nice, but I think I'll still send the imp along to my mother-in-law." And so I left the imp on my desk at home, to be packaged up and mailed.

And every time I worked at my desk, I would catch little whiffs and wafts from the imp... that artificial grape scent on the surface masking something far more complex and delicious and interesting underneath... something richer and darker and sweeter and sexier and real. I'd find myself wondering what that fascinating fragrance was, only to realize that Horreur Sympathique had hooked me yet again. I couldn't resist; I had to try it again. Still grapey, still intriguing and elusive... and becoming a bit addictive. I was stunned to realize that I actually liked this scent, grapes and all. In fact, I think I might really like it.

I know this isn't much of a review ("It smells like grapes. And honey. And not like Poison."), but I hope it will serve as further testimony that the Lab makes magic with their blends, and that just when you think you know what notes work on you and what notes don't, you can be proven delightfully wrong.

Now, do I send the imp to my mother-in-law, or greedily hoard it?

ETA: I did end up sending the imp to my mother-in-law, and she really liked it. And for you Dior lovers out there, she said that it did indeed remind her of Poison.

Black velvet + red lipstick = one of my favorite combinations. (My other favorite being jeans + t-shirt, but never mind that for now.) I'd recommend:

Or, if you're feeling a little edgier and don't mind a more unisex fragrance:

I don't like these next two (I don't care for anise and can't wear jasmine), but they both definitely have a black/red thing going on:

And this one might be a bit too sweet, but it might be perfect (depending on whether you amp cherry or wood or neither):

Some others that I haven't tried personally but sound like they would fit the bill:

ETA: And some from the Carnaval:

Hi there! I'm totally new to BPAL but ohmigosh.. I have been ADDICTED to this site!!!! This could be a problem when ordering time comes across!! My taste tends to go towards more "clean" scents. I've browsed the forums and think I have decided on trying Embalming Fluid, and Dirty. Right now I wear Philosophy Amazing Grace and believe i read Veil smells similar? So I might have to give that one a go. I just don't like anything that smells like perfume. Nothing floral, foody, or fruity...

 

I would really like something to scent my laundry with. I love nothing better than to get the clothes out of the dryer and smell mmmmm downy. Are there any downyish scents that I could look at? I am also looking at something to make like a room freshner. I read Mad Hatter is good for this? Any other suggestions on how to make my house smell fantastic? My husband is a smoker (yes, in the house, but in his "mancave" but that smell just permeates the whole dang house) so something that would kill that nasty smell would be FABULOUS!!! For my husband I was thinking of trying Death Adder (he's a Burberry fan) and Vicomte de Valmont. (I like him to smell clean and manly... I would use his deodorant as cologne if that would work LOL)

Oh, one more thing (geez I know.. i'm a newbie and asking alot), I have 3 boys who sometimes fight sleep.. what would be a good scent to make into a linen spray for their pillows and sheets?

My husband is sooo tired of me telling him different scents already and i've only found this site 2 days ago. But I'm determined I WILL find something he ADORES and will beg me to get more... heehee

Any suggestions would be FANTASTIC as I'm compiling my ugh, it's getting long, list of imps to order.

I found Dirty to be too overwhelmingly floral, but that most of the scents that list "ozone" as a primary note and some of the marine/aquatic blends end up smelling like clean laundry on me. Here are the ones that smelled the most like laundry to me:

You might also like:

My favorite clean-yet-manly scent is Jolly Roger, soooo sexy:

These are all general catalogue scents that are available from the Lab in sample-sized "imps". I noticed that you're thinking of trying Wensleydale, and I just wanted to point out that you can't get that scent as an imp from the Lab (but you might find an imp of it available for purchase here on the forum or on eBay). Delousing Powder is a limited edition scent that is no longer available. If you want to try it, you'll have to hunt the forum and/or eBay.

For room sprays, you might want to check out the BPTP (Black Phoenix Trading Post) atmospheric sprays; they're very strong.

I have a tough question...I am rose up to high heaven in most things. I do like rose, but I don't want to wear single note rose. Can anyone suggest something that has a tiny hint of rose, like a teeny amount so that when my skin's done with it it will be a balance between rose and the other notes?

 

My mum and I both tried Haunted Palace...

on me: ROSE

on her: sweet orangey floral

 

Sadly, we both preferred it on the other more!

 

On a chemistry note, does anyone know what skin type amps up rose? Is there any reason behind it? I'm guessing it's not because it's my middle name but it is a funny coincidence

I have the same problem. I do like the scent of roses, but on my skin they just get out of control. I don't know what skin chemistry issue is at fault, but you might check out these threads for more info:

Rose is a rose?, an inquiry into all note variants

Blood Type & Favorite Scents/Notes

Your diet's effect on skin chemistry, How diet and food can affect skin chemistry and oils

I've had okay luck with a few rose blends, namely:

Nemesis

Titania

Alice

Croquet

Three Brides

Baghdad

Wanda

Kali

Les Infortunes de la Vertu

Zorya

Black Phoenix (no rose listed, but it's definitely in there)

The Blasphemare Reliquary

Maiden

Now, I didn't necessarily like all of these, but the rose component didn't end up screaming. I seem to extra-amp rose at different points in time, and I've noticed that Alice, Maiden, and Nemesis (all of which I like most of the time) are very susceptible to whatever hormone or dietary fluctutations are responsible for the amping... most of the time the rose is just a background player in these blends, but every now and then it's a bit too assertive.

It is a mystery.

You might try these:

I would put these all in the same "scent family" as Sea of Glass. Don't be put off by the descriptions of the "Picnic in Arkham" scents; they sound like they would be disgusting, but they're actually very fresh, clean scents.

You might also like:

These are also clean, aquatic scents.

This is a strange and very out of character request for help from an avowedly non-floral lover, but this week I've been toying with the idea of trying some rose scents. I've been using a small bottle of rosewater with glycerin as my toner and I actually like the smell and (so far) it's not making me sneeze. This makes me wonder if I shouldn't give bpal roses a try. I've avoided them thus far because most florals make me sneeze, and rose struck me as a bit of an old lady scent. But I'm re-evaluating that opinion.

 

I'm especially intrigued by rose blends without other florals and that look like they might be grounded in nice woods/resins or spices: the new Snooty Rose, Autumn (the retail only slaon blend), Harlot (rose w/ cinnamon), Jezebel, Seraglio, Whip, Rakshasa, Baghdad, London (?)... My initial thought is that I should stick to somewhat simple scents (none of those complex 13 note blends with mutliple flowers, etc).

 

The scents I tend to wear the most right now are Vixen, a cinnamon heavy snake oil Chaos theory, and Devilish by Arcana. I like woods, most patchouli, spices, vanilla, leather, and some smoke notes. To date, orange blossom has been the only floral I've really loved.

 

Any suggestions for roses for a girl who tends to dislike most floral blends?

I didn't find Baghdad very rose-y (and I tend to amp rose)... it sounds like Harlot might be a winner for you, and I would concur with Whip and Rakshasa. Since you like red musk, Spellbound might be right up your alley, too:

Maybe also try:

Of those, I'd opt for The Rose and Two, Five, & Seven for a natural, pure, fresh rose, and The Blasphemare Reliquary is a wonderful incense/resin blend (I've not tried Rose Cross, but I suspect it would be, too).

This is going to be strictly a scent review, because I don't think I'm going to be able to wear Van Van enough to test its Voodoo properties.

In the imp, the smoky vetiver is strongest. On my skin, the vetiver is still strongest, but it morphs quickly and underneath that campfire scent another note is struggling to rise up from the ashes... and in no time at all, the Baby Powder Phoenix spreads its wings and flies up my nose. This is exactly what happened with Hurricane and Iago, and I'm guessing black musk may be common to all three, since that is consistently a note of powdery doom on me.

I don't like the scent in this stage, but it's not terrible. However, after an hour or two, I start getting wafts of something foul... like... the rotten scent of vegetable matter fermenting between someone's teeth... someone who hasn't brushed their teeth in years and is standing too close to me in the elevator. Oh god... is that civet? I'm pretty sure it is.

It appears that both my skin chemistry and my nose chemistry are strongly opposed to this "venerable" blend. *sigh* And I could really use some spiritual purification and some positive personal power right about now. Ah well.

In sum: vetiver, black musk, and civet. If you like Hurricane or Iago (or are a member of the Civet Appreciation Society), you will probably enjoy this blend.

This is probably a long shot, but can anybody think of a GC (or even a less-rare LE) equivalent to Leipreachan? My brother sniffed and loved it this morning, and it smells great for him, but he'd rather not get entangled with something that rare, because it's only going to break his heart. I'm wondering if I can find something with a similar feel that's available in bottle size.

 

There are no notes available for it, but to me, Leipreachan smells like fresh green clover, warm leather and tangy, metallic gold, with a streak of something sweeter, almost like white amber, or maybe a white floral. Nothing equivalent comes to mind, but I'm hoping one of you all-knowing sorts will have better ideas than I do.

I love Leipreachan, too, and I haven't sniffed anything similar in the GC. The only thing I can think of is to layer De Sade with A Blade of Grass and something like Mechanical Phoenix or The Torture Queen. I'm not sure your brother is going to want to go to all that trouble, though.

Anyone know anything really close to Ichabod Crane? Anubis has a similar quality, but it's just not quite there.

Have you tried White Rabbit?

The opening stages are different on me (White Rabbit is sweeter initially, Ichabod is more floral/lily), but the dry-down is nearly identical. For a slightly different but still similar vibe, you might give The Sea Foams Milk a whirl:

It's less sweet and more clean than White Rabbit or Ichabod Crane, and it lacks their spiciness, but the milk note is a common thread that gives them a similar feel.

I'm looking for some citrus/ginger combos that aren't too orange-y.  My mom loves Arbonne's Citrus Ginger sugar scrub and I'm trying to replicate it for her.

 

I've never actually smelled it, which is obviously my first problem.  The ingredients include linalool and limonene and something that wikipedia tells me smells like a spicy lily of the valley.  Mom says it smells like ginger and lemons, but not floral.

 

Has anyone smelled this line and does it remind you of any particular (hopefully GC) BPAL???

I've not smelled the Arbonne fragrance, but she might like Sudha Segara. The ginger in it is very lemony to my nose; to me, it's a light, refreshing citrusy scent warmed by ginger:

Sudha Segara (Bewitching Brews) - Sweet milk and warm, healing ginger with a touch of golden honey and our blend of Ambrosia.

I'd like your tobacco recommendations, please! Nothing with coconut or leather though, and I'm also trying to avoid roses since these then do be notes of DOOM on me.

 

I'm hoping for something a little sweeter, but definitely smoky.

I would anti-suggest Perversion for you, in that case, even though that is my go-to tobacco scent. I've noticed substantial batch variations with that one, and although I never get leather (other folks do, though), there is sometimes a very prominent coconut note.

It sounds like The Antikythera Mechanism might be what you're looking for:

Ogun is an interesting honeyed/melon/tobacco scent:

I'd also recomend these, although the tobacco notes in them were not as prominent, more background players:

The Buggre Alle This Bible and Hastur both have strong tobacco notes, but I found them unpleasant, and neither was sweet. Still, you might like them, or for layering:

I am eagerly awaiting bottles of Velvet Bandito and Velvet Dogs Playing Poker; they sound promising. I'll report back once I've got them in my greedy paws and had a chance to test them:

Ginger ale!

In the imp and even more so on my skin, I get fizzy, sweet, ginger ale!

I'm trying to sniff out the other notes, but I'm not getting anything reminiscent of the dirt or leather or cloves that I'd hoped for. But that's okay, because I'm also not getting any cumin or dried blood, and amazingly, the cinnamon is not amping on me. The ginger is what is loud and clear, with an effervescent quality that tickles my nose delightfully.

The longer I leave it on, the more I can smell just a hint of a clean-yet-slightly-plasticky note lurking underneath that suggests juniper and that brings to mind Twenty-One and Visiting the Temple of Auspicious Fortune Alone on the Winter Solstice. Thankfully it doesn't turn to full-on plastic the way Twenty-One does; it just stays clean and sparkling like Visiting the Temple of Auspicious Fortune.

It's not what I expected, but I love it!

ETA: Several hours into the dry-down, the spices emerge. I can see why some reviewers have described a somewhat masculine, cologne-type scent, although it doesn't quite cross over into that category for me. It's much warmer now, but still clean and zingy. Great lasting power, too.

I was so excited to see a decant of this in an incredibly generous package sent to me by the lovely tartchef!

Cracking open the imp, my nose gets a big hit of black pepper, which is great! Upon deeper inhalation, I get a waft of something floral... and familiar... and not in a good way. Then I notice the color of the oil, which is orange-y and looks like it might contain one of my nemesis-notes, dragon's blood resin. I resist the temptation to look up the notes and instead forge ahead, applying a dainty drop to my hand.

I sniff, and...

... peppered lilacs.

Dragon's blood strikes again. Instead of a fierce, fiery scent, I get a fiercely overbearing grandmotherly scent. *sigh* Still, I am grateful to have had the opportunity to sample this one.