greenranger

Red Rose on one hand, and White Rose on the other.

White Rose by itself is a lovely sweet, creamy scent. The rose is behaving so far and not amping. There's a bit of similarity to Katrina from the 2008 Sleepy Hollow scents, but, with less rose. No amping rose at all. If rose is iffy for you, you might give these a try.

I think I will be very happy that I gambled on these.

When I put both hands together and sniff both? The combination is spicier and a bit more rosy....with still, no amping. I completely see that they are meant to be together.

These are two halves of one lovely rose scent...that I can actually wear(There are a few. I am learning to not just reflexively avoid rose, now).

So, Red Rose on one hand, and White Rose on the other.

Red Rose by itself is a lovely spicy scent. The rose is behaving so far and not amping. At. All. If you like clove and cinnamon, you might like this one.

I think I may be very happy that I gambled on these.

When I put both hands together and sniff both? Much sweeter, smoother, and a bit more rosy....with still, no amping. I completely see that they are meant to be together.

You know, I'm not to sure what I'm looking for myself !

I do find that the smell of the shop can be overpowering, so I can't smell the perfume that I use. So it is not exactly the smell of the shop that I'm looking for, but a perfume that doesn't disappear in the overall smell.

 

Thanks for thinking with me !

Weeeellll.....

Lush stores always seem fairly heavy on the floral and fruity sweet top notes. There are other scents that people like to layer with scents like that to give them more base. I think I saw something just today. *goes hunting*

Not finding it. Ah well.

Anyhow, usually it is the darker scents that people are layering with the floral and fruit ones. Possibly something with Patchouli, woods or Vetiver...If your skin behaves well with those.

There's a recent Limited Edition that had Motor Oil in it...

Toad, from the Wind in the Willows set. "Dapper cologne, scorched waistcoat, a bit of pipe tobacco, and motor oil. " It's still up, but, I am unsure as to whether an order for it would go through or if the Swap forum is your best bet. Reviews vary as to whether the cologne or the motor oil are more dominant.

You might also look at:

Smokestack, from the Phoenix Steamworks and Research section. "Creosote, coal, and industrial waste."

Malediction, in Sin and Salvation, "red patchouli and vetivert."

Dragon's hide, in Ars Draconis, "Dragon’s blood, leather and a hint of smoke."

or possibly Devil's Claw, "A yellow-bright and smoky brown-black scent, horned, pronged and strange."

Another Limited Edition to try if you can locate some might be Mechanical Phoenix...Not the Metal Phoenix that is currently up, but, the one from last year(2008) that is no longer available except through swaps. "Copper gears, brass cogs, fused wiring, scorched iron, and motor oil."

What actually works may depend greatly upon skin chemistry. Vetiver is an amazing, dark scent, but, it doesn't work for everyone. Patchouli and dragon's blood also work on some, but, not on others.

On me, Crawdad is mostly blueberry, coriander, and vanilla. Unfortunately I don't think I know of anything that combines all those notes in one. You could try Tristran for the coriander and spice part(though it is a Stardust scent, and unimpable, at least it isn't LE) and layer that with something that has the berry and vanilla...

Something like Eat me(which is pretty much vanilla cake and rasberry filling) layered with Tristran might possibly aproach the sweet spicy berry scent, even if it isn't exactly "it."

I don't know of one that has all the notes you are looking for. However, "Visiting the Temple of Auspicious Fortune Alone on the Winter Solstice" (Yule 2008, and available till Jan 15th, or in the swaps section after) is reasonably close to the smell of rain in Southern California.

You could layer it with something that has the plant smells, perhaps?

You can do a search for the word "chypre" but, I suspect that will only pull up a very few candidates.

I looked up the word on Wikipedia to find out more:

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"Chypre is a name used to describe a family (or concept) of perfumes, usually with a top note of citrus and woody base notes derived from oak moss and ambergris...

(snippity snip snip)

...

Style

Modern chypre perfumes have various citrus, herbaceous, floral and animalic notes, but all tend to have a "warm" and "woody" theme, which consists of a base accord of:

Oak moss

"Amber" (ambergris and related synthetics)

Civet or another animalic note is usually added to this accord as a fixative and to give it fullness. The most common modifiers to this basic accord include patchouli, bergamot, rose and rock rose (Cistus ladaniferus).[3]

Sub-families of chypre

Floral chypre, such as Knowing by Estée Lauder

Fruity chypre, such as Rochas Femme by Rochas, Mitsouko by Guerlain, Citrus Bigarrade by Creed, or Liberté by Cacharel

Green chypre, such as Chanel No. 19 by Chanel or YSL Y by Yves Saint Laurent

Aromatic chypre, such as Sous le Vent by Guerlain or Aromatics Elixir by Clinique

Leathery chypre, such as Cuir de Russie by Chanel "

From Wikipedia as the definition stands at this moment in time, and edited down somewhat. This might help a little in finding things that are chypres or chypre-like.

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Also, you might help a bit by defining what you mean by it as well. A woody scent with a topnote of citrus? That could be "Aelopile", in the Steamworks section. It might also mean something like "Our Winter of Discontent" which also has citrus and woods in it, but a completely and totally different feel.

If, by chypre, you mean something with oakmoss, amber, and musk, then you get a different list. "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" comes close, as it is only missing the oakmoss, but, it's limited edition. " The Emathides" comes up, but, I have never tried it, and you'd have to swap for it as it is not a current limited edition. "Penumbra," "Sapphics"and "Lune Noir" come up as well, but, they have the same problem. =)

"Faiza, the Black Mamba" also shows up on a search. It's in the Carnivale, so, unimpable, and you'd need to catch it before the carnivale leaves town. "Two Monsters" is a Salon scent. You might be able to find a decant of either of those on the swaps pages.

Not very many general catalog scents are coming up with a bare search if I search for all three. If I narrow it down to two I'm sure I'd get more, but, I think a clarification about what "Chypre" is to you might result in more helpful suggestions than a bare list.

Does anyone know if there is a GC BPAL blend that smells sort of similar to L'Estate from the BPTP summer inquisition? i absolutely love that blend, but I only have one bottle...

 

So, is there a GC cousin of L'Estate? *hopes*

 

It's a little aquatic, but otherwise I thought Lyonesse (Golden vanilla and gilded musk, stargazer lily, white sandalwood, grey amber, elemi, orris root, ambergris and sea moss) had a similar feel to L'Estate (Nepalese amber, vanilla infused amber, golden musk, sandalwood, golden lily, sunflower, and honey myrtle). Lyonesse is one of the Wanderlust blends.

 

You could also try Inez (Golden amber, vanilla musk, myrrh, cedar, carnation, and red sandalwood) -- that's a Carnaval Diabolique and thus will be going away at some point in the not-too-distant future, but at least you still have time to stock up on it if it works for you.

L'Estate : Nepalese amber, vanilla infused amber, golden musk, sandalwood, golden lily, sunflower, and honey myrtle.

Sunflower (from the Salon) : Sunflower bouquet, black amber, creeping black moss, wilted greenery, and scorched, dry stems.

They aren't entirely the same, but, L'Estate was the scent that had me hunting for sunflower scents. You could layer Sunflower with something containing whatever it is missing from what L'Estate shows on your skin. Layering it with Lyonesse or Inez might be very very close, depending on skin chemistry.

I do love the beeswax. My list of beeswax scents include Hanerot Halalu, Ichabod Crane, Hand of Glory, and Luperci.

Ah, Luperci....

If my husband wasn't so scent sensitive, I'd put some of that or Hanerot Halalu on now before I go back to bed. Ah well.

The patchouli really comes forward at first. My husband thinks patchouli smells "sharp" and this starts off sharp enough to cut yourself on.

The other notes are coming out. This is a strong, no nonsense, shake you up scent at first. It might settle down later...heck it might age into a gorgeous smooth dark scent like Schwarzer Mond. In fact, if you go nuts over Schwarzer Mond, you should probably try this one if you can. Different notes, but, a similar feel, at least at first before the skin chemistry starts messing around with things.

It is settling down, slightly. The strange thing? Usually tea hides from me in blends. It usually is only barely apparent to me in things that other people swear smell just like tea. This one? I am getting whiffs of the tea about 5 minutes in. The patchouli is still dominant, but there was a clear whiff of almost pure tea that went by. Pure, black, brewed till it's bitter tea, but, tea.

I like this. I'll have to be careful who I wear it around because it is so assertive on me, but, I do like it.

I knew I wanted this. I adore spices, vanilla and wine both love me, and I have found a couple honey scents that made me want more. This made me think it might be like Athens, minus the myrrh, but adding spices.

Wine, mulled with lots of honey, spices and citrus rind. It is much spicier than Athens, and without the myrrh it smells very different on my skin. The honey, the wine, and the spices are all apparent on my skin in about equal strength. I'll need to wear this when I can handle the sweetness of the honey, as for me this is sweet. If I were making mulled wine to drink it would have more wine than this, and less honey.

As it dries, the wine is fading back and the honey is becoming even more dominant. This is becoming a spiced honey scent. Very tasty smelling, but, also very, very sweet.

~edit~

Compared to Delphi(the nearest GC equivalent, I think, despite the lack of red wine. Athens is only approximate as it lacks the spices and has myrrh and that changes it on me.), Gluhwein is much, much, more honey and less wine and leaves.

Rich, bitter, dark coffee, with whisky. This is so dark it is almost too dark, except for that little bit of sweetness that pulls it back from the edge. It has enough throw that the barista at the coffeehouse could smell it clearly enough across the counter to complement the scent.

The very first unsolicited complement I have gotten, and it was a coffee scent in a coffeehouse?

This really isn't a bit like Winter of Our Discontent in any note whatsoever, EXCEPT THAT it is the complex bitterness with just enough sweetness to be wearable that I really seem to love about both scents.

This also lasts all day long. It doesn't change much over the course of the day, except to lose a bit of throw and maybe possibly get a bit less complex smelling. Maybe the whisky ran out, but, the coffee is still very much there.

I have a friend that this would be perfect for. Unfortunately, I dont' think he's getting any of it.

I try about any incense scent I can get my hands on. THIS one is the one I have been looking for. This is The Incense Shop.

No. that isn't quite it...

This is shopping for incense and resins at an outdoor booth like at a Renn Faire or an SCA event.

I can't really say any more.

~edit~ Or maybe I can say more. If I can find a perfume with the same notes of just frankincense, myrrh, styrax, oakmoss and clove, I am buying gallons of it. This is my favorite incense smell. It lingers, and does not change. It is lovely.

Sweet and rich and complex.

This is how those bachelor apartments smell in Romance Novels...and definitely do not smell like in real life. Hee hee!

Orange pomanders. Yum!

I was a crafty kid. Mom used to keep me busy at Christmas time by having me decorate sugar cookies(which did involve work from her, as she had to bake the cookies, and clean up after) or making pomanders by stuffing about as many cloves as could fit into the skin of an orange. This was easier for mom, as it involved less work for her, and kept me nicely busy and oblivious to other things like presents being wrapped in other rooms...

So, this is happy Christmas time in a bottle. =) For me, it is a bit more Christmas past, but, that is a little quibble for such a lovely scent.

Champagne and roses smells very much like champagne and rose petals. The champagne is sparkly and not too dry or too sweet. The roses behaved fine on me, and my husband even likes it! Unfortunately, just like Bon Vivant, it is not lasting on me. However! I had ended up with a big drip of it on my skin when I applied, and had to wipe just a bit off with a tissue...and the tissue is holding the scent tremendously. So...for me this is a locket scent. It is just a bit too fun and flirty to part with. In addition, anything my husband will actually admit to liking....

In Champagne and Cigars, I can smell the tobacco along with the champagne right away. The tobacco doesn't smell smoky to me, but, more like the inside of a cigar shop. The champagne note stays fizzy and just the right amount of sweet for as long as it lasts. At first, they are very evenly balanced. The tobacco sticks around much longer on me than the champagne, though.

I almost missed out on the Champagne, Chocolate and Cheap Sex bottle, as I was sniffing scents and chatting almost a little too long. I like that champagne note. It is the first note apparent, but, the chocolate is definitely there as well. I think there is a slightly musky scent in the background as well that might be the cheap sex. =) I'll know more in a half hour when the champagne is gone. I'd like the alcohol to stick around longer, but, on my skin it isn't lasting. When the champagne runs out, the chocolate and a slight sweet musky scent remain. Nice.

Does anyone know of something that smells like I Should Coco soap from Lush? It has coconut, orange, coriander and vetivert. For some reason this just smells so good to/on me.

It isn't the same, but, you might try Snake Charmer ressurected before it vanishes. I love I Should Coco soap, myself, and though Snake charmer is not the same...it still has(to me) a similar feel, with the spicyness and the smoothness.

Even if it doesn't have coriander, which I am always looking for more of.

I do think a scent with coconut, orange(or even orange wood, which might last longer on my skin), coriander and vetiver would be wonderful.

NOTE: this is about Snake Charmer Resurrected, not the original.

So, I needed to see what all the hype was about...

And I love it! Spicy, smooth, sweet and spicy. Did I say spicy? Yes, I did.

Mmmmmmm.....

What was I saying again? Oh, yah, spicy!

It doesn't last on me as long as snake oil does, but, while it does last it is sweet and smooth and spicy love.

This starts off well blended, and I can't discern the individual notes.

It almost smells like there is cinnamon in this, barely, but there's no cinnamon listed. It's probably the kick from the pink pepper.

One of the flowers is amping a bit, or the cubeb berry is. I'm not so familiar with any of those three notes, but, the scent is becoming sweeter.

Sweet, spicy, firey and complex.

In the bottle, it was cherries and dirt.

On me, it starts off cherries and dirt, but, as it dries it blends a bit more. Cypress! Oppoponax(myrrh)! Musk! The other notes are in hiding(I might possibly be detecting the night blooming jasmine, but, that could be my imagination), but, the three that I was really hoping for do show up. The dirt is still very strong, though.

I'm not sure this is really me, but, it might grow on me. It is spicy and complex...I'm just not sure I'm a dirt person and this is very dirt.

In the bottle, I smelled rain and juniper.

On me, it only took a minute for the lavender to shove it's way forward. Since I don't mind lavender, that's ok for a start, but, I hope other notes start showing up soon.

Lavender, rain, frankincense, and juniper... by the sea. It is relatively strong, and it seems like a scent that might last well, even now in the winter when many scents just aren't.

Whip leather, coal dust and a whiff of something sweet.

So far, much better than I had thought it might be. The licorice is just a hint, beyond the faint scent of some sweet baked good. On me, the leather and the coal dust are the main notes.

Dusty, velvety, and very slightly spicy and sweet. On me this is subtle, without being faint.

I wasn't going to get this one.

Then I kept reading the reviews, and remembering how much woods like me, and how vetiver, while not reliable, sometimes makes a scent for me...

This does smell invigorating to me. It's complex and woody and spicy. It is definitely one where the vetiver is behaving well....or if not well, doing it's bad boy making the party interesting thing.