Apple

You can find this in the Short Guide to Common Recommendations...

 

What do I have for you here?

 

I have compiled a list of LE equivalents/substitutes/similarities based on member posts after reading through the entire LE equivalents thread. Yep, all 4+ years of discussion condensed here.

This... is... amazing. Thank you, ivyandpeony!

To make this easier to keep up to date in the future, should we put new comparisons/similarities in new posts, or is editing an old post okay? (I ask because I typically just edit my initial post and put new finds there.)

I'm curious about something . Since we have Graveyard Dirt back again , how would folks say it compares to GC's like Burial or Deep in Earth ?

This is something of a cross-post from the "I want to smell like dirt!" thread, but I find Graveyard Dirt smells like mushrooms, moss, and dirt with no floral or sweet elements... it's that mossy, earthy scent that other blends containing the "grave loam" note share. For me, it's easiest to describe via subtraction; i.e., "It's like X, but without the fruit/flowers/rose, etc." Of course, this is a somewhat misleading way to describe Graveyard Dirt, because it makes it sound like it's lacking something, when it's perfect just the way it is. So, in comparison to other scents that are supposed to contain a dirt note, I would say:

Burial - Unfortunately, I can't remember this one too well. Either the pine element or the flowers amped and smothered anything earthy.

Crossroads - This was all jasmine on me; if you don't amp jasmine you might get a whiff of the loamy note.

Death Cap - Nothing like Graveyard Dirt; all I got was coconut baby powder.

Deep in Earth - This is like Graveyard Dirt + roses and is very similar to Zombi.

Destroying Angel - Very floral on me, not at all like Graveyard Dirt.

Jazz Funeral - This has that same moss/dirt note as Graveyard Dirt, Zombi, and Penny Dreadful, plus a hit of bay rum aftershave.

Nocnitsa - This was all bayberry candle on me, no dirt.

Nosferatu - A fresh green scent with a spicy berry spike, it has the same dirt/moss note as Graveyard Dirt, Zombi, Penny Dreadful, and Jazz Funeral.

Penny Dreadful - Like Graveyard Dirt + ginger cookies.

The Premature Burial - This one smells the closest to Graveyard Dirt to me and is currently available from Dark Delicacies. It does have a light floral element, but it's mostly moss/dirt.

Zombi - I amp rose, so this was super-strong ammonia-y roses on me... with a hint of Graveyard Dirt cowering beneath.

I have rather tempermental skin chemistry, so I'm sure others will chime in with different interpretations and comparisons!

This... is... so odd.

With the exception of vanilla musk, all of the notes in Inez thrill me. Vanilla has a tendency to amp on my skin, and musky vanillas either smell like very generic teen body sprays or they go horribly, horribly wrong on me and end up smelling like wintergreen (which I detest). I had my fingers crossed that the spicy carnation and glorious resins would counteract this tendency, and, in fact, Inez does not smell like Pepto-Bismol or a teen girl... nope, instead she smells exactly like my grandmother.

I have no idea what note or combination of notes is giving this effect, but it is so striking that I feel like I borrowed a sweater from my Nana (who is now deceased) that still had the remnants of her perfume clinging to it. Does anyone know what commercial fragrance smells similar to Inez?

At any rate, here's what I smell:

In the imp, Inez is both powdery and foody... not a good sign. On the skin, the powdery-foodiness fades and something sharp and chemically pokes through. I keep thinking I smell dryer sheets, but not dryer sheets... something to do with laundry/clothes... my grandmother's clothes...

WAIT! That's it! It smells like Magic Sizing! You know, that spray starch you can use for ironing? My grandmother ironed everything, and everything got a liberal application of Magic Sizing. Inez smells like freshly laundered clothes misted with Magic Sizing and crisply ironed. With some added vanilla.

As you can imagine, while not an unpleasant scent memory (or even an unpleasant scent), this is not what I was expecting or hoping for with Inez. And since the vanilla continued to escalate and morph into platiscky nastiness, this one is off to swaps. Sigh.

Sudha Segara! The ginger is citrusy and refreshing, and the milk is comforting. It's a very light, non-intrusive scent and is perfect when you want something calming and centering but not heavy. Great for yoga and at bedtime, too.

One recommendation I would expect to see here is Intrigue. Did most of you find it too normal perhaps? I found it murky and heady, a very interesting scent that's not perfumey at all. It always gets interesting reactions from people.

Intrigue is pretty much straight-up fig on me; it smells nice but is rather unremarkable. I'm so jealous of people who get a more nuanced effect, and very curious... I wish I could sniff you!

Actually, I feel that way about a lot of blends. There are many notes that my skin amps to the exclusion of all others (e.g., rose, vetiver, cinnamon, citrus, jasmine) resulting in so many scents becoming loud single notes on me. I would love to be able to smell them on others so that I could experience them the way they were meant to be experienced.

Some of the weirder BPALs I've sniffed:

Graveyard Dirt: dirt, mushrooms, and moss

Agnes Nutter: after the initial blast of vetiver settles down, that gunpowder note is phenomenal

Scarecrow: kerosene?

The Forbidding Foyer: an interesting basement-esque note - definitely dank

Roadhouse: beer + flowers

Penny Dreadful: imagine a gingerbread house covered in moss

Seance: smells exactly like my aunt's basement

Strangler Fig: fig leaf is such an odd scent

I imagine several of the new Halloweenie scents will get some love in this thread, too!

I also think the Cathouse linen spray would be a nice try. Any thoughts?

 

NO!

My husband hated Cathouse.. he said it was an old lady smell.. the jasmine is sooooo strong in it.

I gotta agree. Cathouse was not at all appealing to my or my partner's nose. It's very traditionally "perfume-y" and quite heavy/strong.

I prefer Dungeon.

I usually just have to smell whatever it is my husband's wearing to get me frisky.

I was going to suggest this as well, particularly if you've already got a good scent association with a particular blend. The other day my partner had put on some Jolly Roger right before leaving for work, and when I molested hugged him goodbye, some rubbed off on me... and was I ever lonely after he left, with that sexilicous scent haunting me and taunting me!

For myself, Bastet makes me feel sultry and sensual, and The Black Tower is what I turn to when I want a darker, edgier sexy scent.

You might also try wearing or scenting the room with something you associate with sex. For example, if you like to play with leather restraints/whips/paddles, maybe try some De Sade. Likewise, if you like to feed each other grapes... or drink wine... or smoke clove cigarettes... or use scented massage oils... or burn a particular kind of incense... find a BPAL that echoes that scent and makes you think of getting your groove on.

Good luck!

I haven't tried Rhiannon's Dream, and I'm not entirely sure what synthetic civet smells like, but I can definitely recommend some delicious earthy, musky, resiny blends.

For Egyptian musk, I must heartily second the recommendation for Bastet (Excolo; luxuriant amber, warm Egyptian musk, fierce saffron and soft myrrh, almond, cardamom and golden lotus). It's one of my favorites, a warm, sensual, spicy-sweet-skin scent. Just make sure you let it dry completely; when it first goes on it's very fruity, almost juicy smelling (I suspect the lotus is the culprit), but when it dries it's musk and amber and sex.

If you find Bastet too sweet but would like to try some similar scents, you might like Anubis (Excolo; holy myrrh, storax, balsam, and embalming herbs) and The Lion (Mad Tea Party; a golden, spiced amber, proud, regal and ferocious).

For awesome resins + patchouli, definitely try:

Anne Bonny (Bewitching Brews): Indonesian red patchouli, red sandalwood, and frankincense.

Sri Lanka (Wanderlust): Indian sandalwood and cedar, and the dry incense smoke of olibanum, gum mastic, patchouli and myrrh.

Luperci (a limited edition Lupercalia blend): raw, down and dirty patchouli, Gurjam balsam, and essence of Sampson Root sweetened with the heightened sexuality of beeswax, virile juniper, oakmoss, ambrette seed over honey and East African musk.

If you find you like BPAL's "red musk" note (I personally do not care for it), you might enjoy:

Scherezade (Bewitching Brews): Saffron and Middle Eastern spices swirled through sensual red musk.

Fenris Wolf (Diabolus): Rosewood, amber, red musk and a dribble of red sandalwood.

Snake Oil (Ars Amatoria): A blend of exotic Indonesian oils sugared with vanilla.

Other resiny/spicy/earthy/musky blends you might like:

Aureus (Bewitching Brews): True, perfect golden light, refined into an incomparably glorious scent.

Baghdad (Wanderlust): Amber, saffron and bergamot with mandarin, nutmeg, Bulgar rose, musk and sandalwood.

Bengal (Wanderlust): Skin musk with honey, peppers, clove, cinnamon bark and ginger.

Clemence (Carnaval Diabolique, Act IV, The Ladies of the Grindhouse): Patchouli, Kashmiri tea, cardamom, black pepper, carnation, and clove.

The Coiled Serpent (Bewitching Brews): A potent yogic oil that stimulates the kundalini, provokes spiritual awakening, and releases the energy seated in your root chakra.

Fascinum (Ars Amatoria): Golden amber, golden musk, litsea cubeba, cedar, and saffron.

Haunted (Ars Moriendi): Soft golden amber darkened with a touch of murky black musk.

Kathmandu (Wanderlust): Saffron, blessed sandalwood, Himalayan cedar and the miraculous lotus of the Buddha with chiuri bark and Nepalese spices.

Omen (Bewitching Brews): Oakmoss, juniper berry, myrrh and patchouli.

Morocco (Wanderlust): Arabian spices wind through a blend of warm musk, carnation, red sandalwood and cassia.

Voodoo (Bewitching Brews): A deep, powerful, resonant blend of myrrh, patchouli, vetiver, lime, vanilla, pine, almond and clove.

This is going to sound completely off the wall, but try Bewitched from the Bewitching Brews category. The first time I tried it, I jotted down that it seemed effervescent and reminded me of ginger ale. I was quite surprised to find that the notes are blackberry, sage, green tea, wild berries and dark musk... ginger isn't even mentioned.

A more straight-forward suggestion would be Sudha Segara, also from the Bewitching Brews category: "sweet milk and warm, healing ginger with a touch of golden honey and our blend of Ambrosia". It's not fizzy, but it is gingery.

I'd be curious to hear other people's recommendations and the results of your quest. I wouldn't mind smelling like ginger ale myself.

Finally... a perfect chai tea scent! Er, sort of. I've combed the BPAL catalogue looking for something reminiscent of chai, but I never found sweet, spicy, milky tea... only disappointment. Bengal, Plunder, Bakeneko, even Clemence... all broke my chai-loving heart. But Bezoar was a delightful chai-surprise. Sniffing the imp, I could positively drink this stuff. The cardamom is this is so dominant that I smell like a freshly brewed cup of chai while it's wet. If it stayed in this phase, I would run off into the sunset with Bezoar after buying a million bottles before the Carnaval leaves town. But there's something holding me back, something giving me cold feet about giving my heart to Bezoar completely. There's a plasticky note when it dries, the same one I get from Miskatonic University (Irish coffee, dusty tomes, polished wood) and Twenty-One (a martini scent that is mostly gin/juniper). And then... it's gone, leaving only a breathy whisper of scent behind.

I'm definitely going to keep my little sample for awhile longer to see if that plastic note fades or if Bezoar gets stronger/longer lasting before making a commitment. He comes on wonderfully strong, but I'm not sure he's got what it takes for the long haul.

Ooo... I wonder if wearing Bezoar in my hair or in a locket would help. Maybe there's hope for us yet...

The jury is still out on Clémence, if only because I wanted so much to love her. Of all the new Carnaval scents released during the last update, none caught my eye more than Clémence. I very rarely order bottles unsniffed, but I could not resist her charms and took the plunge.

First whiff from the bottle and I'm not impressed. I'm not too concerned, either... I'm curious to see how she'll bloom on my skin. First dab on the skin and I'm still not impressed. Very spicy, and cola-ish. It smells familiar... and masculine... but sweet. It's like someone took a can of Coca-Cola and blended it with a bottle of Old Spice aftershave. Not at all what I was expecting. As it dries, the scent becomes even more aftershave-y, and there's a salty tang that makes my mouth water. This part of the dry-down reminds me very much of Port Royal.

I don't smell the tea (not surprising because my skin eats tea notes, but I am ever hopeful), clove (again unsurprising because my skin also mutes clove, but again I cling to hope), or nutmeg... damn, damn, damn! These were the notes I was most hoping for. The first time I tried this, I didn't get any patchouli, either, which was fine. I like it as a grounding note, but I don't like for it to stand out. On a second wearing the patch was more noticeable, but not overwhelming. I'm not exactly sure what carnation smells like, but I like other blends that are supposed to be heavy on the carnation (Alice, Zarita, Euterpe). Clémence doesn't smell like any of those, though. I think the black pepper is contributing a savory quality, and I definitely smell the cardamom the most, at least initially.

So, on me Clémence is a spicy masculine aftershave blended with Coke and salt. I sure hope she improves with age.

Have you tried The Passionate Shepherd to His Love? It was a Lupercalia LE from this year. You might also like Garden Path with Chickens from the Salon. Both of these were more floral than grassy on me (but I do tend to amp florals), and neither had a strong jasmine component. I'd also like to second the recommendations for Rosalind and Amsterdam. If you like dandelion, you might want to check out Roadhouse and One to Tie, Two to Win, too.

The thing that's funny is I think he was being a smart-ass. And now I have him sniffing, too. If only there was a scent of kerosene, I'd hook him for sure!

Try Scarecrow. There's a definite kerosene/gasoline/flammable liquid note in there. (Aeval had a similar note on my skin, but I think that might have been a skin chemistry thing.)

For a cave scent, I'd second the recommendations of Shanghai Tunnel and The Chilling Cellar for the stone/cellar/clay note, and I'll throw Graveyard Dirt, Jazz Funeral, and Jezirat al Tennyn into the hat for the moss note and humidity.

He might also like Burial, Nosferatu, Penny Dreadful, Zombi, or The Premature Burial.

Mmmm, I've got a couple...

 

For warmer weather, Sudha Segara & The Lion. Both fade to a glorious faintly sweet & spicy skin scent. For something a bit more special, I wear Judith & Holofernes. Tzadikim Nistarim is wonderful, too, but just a bit more botanical. Once the weather cools down, anything with frankincense - Temple Viper, the original Aries, especially.

 

Honorable mentions to White Rabbit, Kumiho, Bastet...

Tartchef and I are not quite scent twins, but I suspect our skin chemistries are similar and we're definitely in the same extended scent family. I'll second her recommendations of Sudha Segara and Bastet as lovely skin scents. White Rabbit also gets an honorable mention from me, along with Alice. For about half the month those two meld with my skin in a me-but-better way, while for the other half I amp the hell out of the vanilla in both and they become sharp, powdery, and overwhelming. Bastet and Sudha Segara seem to stay wonderful all month.

I'm sorry you are having such bad luck, Apple!

 

If you get a chance to try Formula 54 without having to sell plasma, go for it - after reading about your experiences, though, my advice would be not to break your neck to get it. If you amped florals in Block Buster and The Clod and The Pebble my feeling is that you will amp the florals in F54 too. The clove in it is definitely a back-up player and not a dominant note, IMO, it's all about the rose and the musk.

Oh, not to worry... I am enjoying the journey. It's hardly a tragedy that I've had to try so many BPALs in my quest. And thank you for the heads-up on Formula 54. I'm a rose amper to the extreme (and apparently a clove muter), so I will avoid selling precious body parts, plasma, etc. to obtain it.

I managed to snag decants of Mad Meg and The Smiling Spider in a swap with a lovely forumite, and I've now tested them both a couple times. The good news is that the black musk in The Smiling Spider behaved itself and didn't turn the whole blend into baby powder upon contact with my skin, and the cinnamon and vetiver in Mad Meg were similarly well-behaved. The bad news is that I didn't get much in the way of clove or tobacco out of either one. I'm clearly in the minority in this regard, and I thought perhaps my nose was wonky, so I had my partner (who also loves clove cigarettes) give me a sniff when I had Mad Meg on one wrist and The Smiling Spider on the other. He declared The Smiling Spider "okay" and Mad Meg "candle-y". When I asked if he thought either one smelled like clove cigarettes, he shook his head and said decisively, "No. Not at all."

Sigh. It looks like I will have to chalk this up to a skin chemistry failing. My skin apparently loves cloves as much as I do, and it devours them before I even get a chance to catch a stray waft!

I'm still holding out hope for Three Witches and Count Dracula and dreaming of Formula 54...

Bastet is my favorite sexy scent: it's a warm, sensual, spicy-sweet-skin scent that both my partner and I love. I mostly wear this one for evenings in, but it's also nice for a romantic dinner out.

When I want something darker and edgier, The Black Tower makes me feel sultry and powerful (and is also a hit with the man). This one has good throw, and I like to wear it as an evening out scent. The wine and leather make it seem appropriate for bars, clubs, and dancing.

Nemesis, Perversion, C. Auguste Dupin, De Sade, The Premature Burial, Penny Dreadful, and Ra have all engendered favorable responses of the sniff-and-pounce variety, though none as strongly as Anne Bonny. The first time I tried it, I didn't think it was all that special and I almost swapped her away. For whatever reason, I decided to give her a second try later in that evening. At some point I was snuggling up to my partner when he asked if I was wearing new perfume. I said yes, but that I didn't think it was that great, and I offered him my hand to sniff. He went crazy, huffing my hand and telling me how delicious I smelled, followed by attempts at ravishing and the admonishment to not wear Anne Bonny to bed if I actually wanted to sleep. Needless to say, Anne Bonny has become one of my favored stay-at-home sexy scents!

On him, I go wild for Jolly Roger. I love the way it smells all on its own (it was the first scent that made me understand the concept of "sex in a bottle"), but the way it mixes with his skin is just so...

Nosferatu has started to have a similar effect on me, although that's more a result of conditioning than a direct hit to my innate olfactory hot spot.

How about Hades?

 

Based on the reviews, it seems to vary widely on different people, but on me there's a definite gunpowder-y edge to it (even though it's not a listed note) especially before dry-down. It's my 1930s Gangster scent.

 

Jen

Thank you - good to know! I will have to look that one up...

I really want a BPAL that has the lovely loamy smell that Zombie and Penny Dreadful start out with, without the soft florals they turn in to.

 

Basically I want dirt. No extras, but dirt..

 

Any ideas?

Me too. I've looked high and low and have yet to find it in the BPAL repertoire, but Graveyard Dirt is the closest: mushrooms, moss, and dirt with no floral or sweet elements. The other scents that are supposed to contain a dirt note that I've tried are:

Burial - I can't remember if it was the pine element or the flowers that killed this one for me, but it wasn't good

Crossroads - this was all jasmine on me; I'd stay far away if you're trying to avoid florals

Death Cap - coconut baby powder

Deep in Earth - the rose geranium in this amped way up and turned into the same rosey ammonia I get from true rose blends

Destroying Angel - also very floral on me

Jazz Funeral - has that same moss/dirt note as Zombi and Penny Dreadful, plus a hit of bay rum aftershave

Nocnitsa - this was all bayberry candle on me, no dirt

Nosferatu - a fresh green scent with a spicy berry spike, it has the same dirt/moss note as Zombi, Penny Dreadful, and Jazz Funeral

Penny Dreadful - ginger cookies plus moss/dirt

The Premature Burial - this one smells the closest to Graveyard Dirt to me and is currently available from Dark Delicacies. It does have a light floral element, but it's mostly moss/dirt

Zombi - I amp rose, so this was super-strong ammonia-y roses on me

Demeter's "Dirt" is probably your best bet, but you might still want to give these others a shot.

Good luck!

I didn't have any Sudha Segara on hand and wound up using Lurid because I find the lavender/berry combo soothing and grounding as well. It worked--I walked away with an A. I'm going to take most of the credit, but I would certainly say that smelling fabulous helped that along.

Yay! Congratulations!

Accidental discovery of the day: Al-Shairan + Tavern of Hell = A pretty decent olfactory rendition of an unlit clove cigarette. Of course, accounting for skin shemistry differences, YMMV.

Ooo... good to know! I haven't tried either of those yet. Thanks!

I have an oral defense of a paper tomorrow and am now spiralling into a panic about it--so I've somehow determined that my scent tomorrow will make or break me. I was going to wear Schrodinger's Cat as the paper is on the Schrodinger equation, but I find the oil too bouncy and cutesy for the situation. I make my own High John the Conqueror, but the store I purchase the root from moved locations and I have run out in the mean time. I was thinking Magus because it has a certain gravitas and has High John in it, but it smells very... ritualistic on me.

 

Any suggestions?

Good luck! (You have my utmost sympathy; I hate oral defenses.) Have you tried Sudha Segara? I find it very grounding and calming.

Valentine of Rome is going very clove-like, at least on my skin... clove cigarettes, Lapsang Souchong & Turkish Delight.

Oh, how I wish! No, on me Valentine of Rome was the scent of the incense and candle section of a sunlit New Age shop... nice enough, but unremarkable as a personal scent.

I've tried two more blends recommended in this thread: Blockbuster and Dracul. Unfortunately, neither smelled like cloves or tobacco on my skin. Blockbuster was an utter disaster, an unexpectedly gross jasmine-like floral. Dracul was pleasant enough, but also surprising. I was expecting something uber-masculine, but it was very light and sweet. It smelled like lime cola at first, then as it dried it started to remind me of Voodoo. When finally dry, it was powdery with a hint of plastic.

And so the search continues!

The Clod and The Pebble from the Valentine's Day poems LE's is completely clove for me. Maybe you could find a bit of that floating about, to try?

Although lovely and woody in the bottle, The Clod and the Pebble was pure rose after a few moments on my skin... no cloves for me. But perhaps it would work for other clove cigarette seekers.

Finally reporting back on The Smiling Spider. Sadly, this did not turn out good on me. It was really sharp and bitter. I have tried it twice now and something in it just will not work with my skin chemistry.

I am thinking it may be a combo of the bitter clove and patchouli. I don't usually like patch, but there are a few blends that have it that really work for me.

I did not get the clove cig scent from this. I am thinking if it had sweet clove it may have been a different story.

 

I am going to add that after a long wait, it does end up being less bitter and more spicy on me, but, the smell I get while waiting for that is just too strong and headache inducing to wait.

Thanks for the report from the front lines! That is discouraging, but I will still be seeking a decant to try. Maybe layering with a drop of (diluted) clove essential oil would improve it?

Anyway, thanks again!