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BPAL Madness!

emily2531

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Everything posted by emily2531

  1. It's springtime, and all around my neighborhood I am smelling Daphne. I love the sweet floral piny lemony fragrance of Daphne blossoms. And unfortunately I have to wait another whole year before I can smell them again once these blossoms die. Is there a BPAL that includes this fantastic floral scent?
  2. emily2531

    I want a "soapy" scent

    I find that I actually tend to like the scents that others often describe as "soapy". I was thinking that I might actually like an oil that really smelled like soap. I don't like aquatics or ozone, and I don't really want it to smell too green or minty or piney. I was thinking a light soapy white floral with white musk and/or maybe a little sandalwood (like Ivory or Dove or Camay soap bars). So, Ladies and Gentlemen, what are your soapiest recommendations? Thank you!
  3. emily2531

    The Antikythera Mechanism

    At first this smelled like vanilla mixed with rubber or latex. After about 10minutes the weird rubbery smell faded, and I got the nice smooth vanilla with tabacco and wood. I think I've seen people compare this to Angel, and I guess it does remind me a little bit, but it's got none of the berries and caramel that make Angel smell like cotton candy. I think I smell some patchouli in here, so that may be where the similarity is coming from.
  4. emily2531

    Midnight

    I put one drop on my arm near my elbow this morning, and I could smell it all day long. The wool sweater I was wearing today positively reeks of Mightnight. Bear in mind, I was wearing Angel today, but I still kept catching whiffs of this ultra-strong piercing greenish floral coming through. And that was just from one drop! I don't understand all the reviews calling it "light". There is nothing ethereal about Midnight. This is powerful stuff!
  5. The Grindhouse!!! It is LOVE! And also elicits some wonderous responses! Yes! If you like Snake Oil and Mme Moriarty, you will probably love The Grindhouse. It's got that familiar sweaty red musk and yummy vanilla, but where Snake Oil and Moriarty have that raunchy earthy Patchouli, The Grindhouse has soft sweet fruity-florals, almost candy-like. My husband practically attacked me in the kitchen while I was making dinner. He said I smelled delicious and sexy. It may definitely be bottle-worthy.
  6. emily2531

    The Grindhouse

    I'd classify The Grindhouse as a light gourmand fragrance. It's a soft and sweet fruity-floral vanilla with a base of red musk. It's almost candy-like at first, but that dirty sweaty red musk keeps it from becoming cloying. I could fall in love with The Grindhouse.
  7. emily2531

    Rose Recommendations - which blend is for me?

    You should probably try Whip and Peacock Queen (while you still can!). Those will probably be the truest red roses. I haven't tried either of them yet because I've never liked the smell of leather in perfume and single note roses just don't work with my skin. The Rose has a lot of greenness to it, and it went quite sharp on me. Snooty Rose smelled more like rose-scented soap to me, but nice. And Blood Rose is blended with a lot of sweet juicy grape wine.
  8. emily2531

    Rose Recommendations - which blend is for me?

    I'm not sure what you mean by a "gothic" feeling, but these might fit your style: Wanton - sweet juicy rose with patchouli and sandalwood. Rakshasa - rose, sandalwood and patchouli. Lots of sandalwood makes this a dry woody incensy rose. Blood Rose - like sweet concord grape wine and roses. Juicy sticky rose. and Whip, which I've never tried because I don't like the leather note, but it's supposed to be a very red rose with a hint of leather. edited to say: Rakshasa is probably less rose than you're looking for. I just tried it again after writing the above post, and I realize that Rakshasa is much more incensy than rose, and even smells a bit "soapy". I think I smell some some orange when I first apply it. Anyway, the rose is definitely second fiddle in this scent, but it is pretty. I also thought of Zombi. I don't know if it's the red rose you're looking for, but it's a rosy blend with a damp earthy mossy quality. It's very understated and very pretty. Every time I get a hint of the rose, it's quickly replaced by the damp earthy mossy smell. Very melancholy.
  9. emily2531

    Looking for a BPAL that Resembles a Favorite Perfume

    My first thought was Tamora: 'Amber, heliotrope, golden sandalwood, peach blossom and vanilla bean' - no musk, but many other notes in common. I've never tried Burberry for comparison, however, so that could be well off! I don't know if this is the one, but one of the Burberry scents REALLY remind me of Morocco, but with all those notes like sandalwood, amber, and musk, I think your sister would enjoy Morocco anyway. Burberry by Burberry is one of my favorite commercial scents and Morocco is one of my favorite BPAL scents. Tamora does have some similar notes, but it's not really a similar fragrance overall. Tamora is very sweet and almost candy-like. I find Burberry to be soft, musky, slightly spicy, somewhere between fruity and floral. It's so well-blended that it's hard to pick out individual notes. Morocco has a similar "vibe" to it. Your sister will probably like it.
  10. emily2531

    The King of Hearts

    For the first few minutes, the King of Hearts is all cherry... cherry with a bitter edge. The cherry fades very quickly and then I really smell the lavender, but this too fades very quickly. After only 15 minutes, I'm left with just a hint of a vaguely sweet rosy smell. Interesting to smell it go through the stages, but ultimately it's not for me.
  11. emily2531

    The Dodo

    I find The Dodo to be a very interesting blend. The combination of cinnamon, sandalwood and agarwood with the red musk is what impressed me the most. It's warm, spicy, and resinous. It's got a little fruity sweetness at first, but not much, and the lemon is fleeting.
  12. emily2531

    Eclipse

    at first it smells just like Dr Pepper soda pop to me, but after it starts to mellow it becomes more almond and spices and vanilla. Doesn't last very long, maybe only an hour, but the lingering sweet ambery vanilla is very nice.
  13. emily2531

    Malice

    At first, all I'm getting is the pungent patchouli. After awhile, the patchouli fades and starts to become almost soapy. Eventually a lovely soft powdery smell comes through. I really don't like the strong patchouli stage, but the dry-down is quite nice. Malice isn't my favorite, but I wanted to give this another try to smell the distinction between the red and black patchouli.
  14. emily2531

    Scherezade

    I am really enjoying this. I think I'm going to have to give red musk another chance. Scherezade is sexy, softly spicy, deeply mysterious and exotic. I've seen comparisons to Morocco, and I'd agree that there is a similar quality, but Scherezade is much muskier and mysterious and not at all floral. Morocco is softer, spicier, slightly floral with a lighter musk.
  15. emily2531

    Dorian

    Inspired by and created for my beloved Tedwin: my eternal, beautiful, wicked Dorian Gray. Refined, elegant, and lovely, with a noble bearing and seemingly gentle air. This blend is an artful deception: a sweet gilded blossom lying over a twisted and corrupted core. A Victorian fougere with three pale musks and dark, sugared vanilla tea. I can't believe I haven't reviewed Dorian yet. It's probably my favorite BPAL. With Dorian, it was love at first sniff. Dorian is a fairly sweet vanilla, but tempered with musk, crisp tea and the dusky green notes of the fougère (moss, lavender, slightly minty, maybe some sandalwood). Dorian softens as I wear it and eventually an ambery slightly musky vanilla is all that's left. I'm going to make a couple of comments about the other two most frequently talked about vanilla-based scents: Snake Oil and Mouse's Long and Sad Tale. Snake Oil can give me a headache, and I really get a strong impression of urine (I think from the Red Musk) and a pungent mustiness (from the Patchouli). I also don't care for Mouse's Long and Sad Talep it was sickly sweet for me, cloying. Compared to the other vanilla scents, Dorian is so refreshing and actually makes me feel better if I have a headache.
  16. emily2531

    Eve

    Eve did not work for me at all. It's tart green apple and a soapy sharp floral scent. I'm not getting getting any honey at all. By the time the initial high sharp notes calm down, the scent has faded so much that I barely smell anything. It reminded me of an air freshener spray, and had a chemically artificial quality that I really didn't like.
  17. emily2531

    Carnaval Diabolique

    This starts out with a zesty lemon flower, but that soon fades and what is left is a sensual velvety oriental-like scent. It reminds me a bit of Shalimar, but without the patchouli (which to me can smell very pungent and earthy). So this has a lighter softer feeling, but it still has some depth from the opium smoke and musk.
  18. emily2531

    Snow Scents!

    You might like Black Opal. I think it's vanilla, white musk and a touch of what I believe is wintergreen. It's not minty, it's more evergreen, herbal, piney. Anyway, there's just a touch of it that I feel gives the perfume an overall cool feeling even though the vanilla warms it up quite a bit.
  19. emily2531

    I want a "soapy" scent

    Thank you for all your suggestions. I really appreciate it.
  20. emily2531

    Vice

    Vanilla with chocolate and cherry. I loved this for awhile, but now I feel like it's a little too foody for me.
  21. emily2531

    I want a "soapy" scent

    Thanks for the suggestions. For those who have tried Wensleydale and Dirty, can you describe the differences? The Lab's descriptions are so similar, and I read through the reviews but I'm still not sure what the difference is. Wensleydale: An immaculately clean scent: well-scrubbed soapy skin and fresh cotton. Dirty: A fresh, crisp white linen scent: perfectly clean, perfectly breezy. Is Dirty more of a laundry soap or dryer sheet smell and Wensleydale more of a soapy skin scent? So many of the reviews say they smell similar but Dirty was sometimes described as "sharp" and Wensleydale seemed to have references to flowers. But Dirty was also often described as a scented soap smell. And Wensleydale was often described as being sweeter than Dirty.
  22. emily2531

    Milk and Cream Notes

    The milk moons smell more fruity than just creamy/milky to me. Reminds me of a creamsickle, but more pineapple than orange. Or is my olfactory sense just wonky?
  23. emily2531

    Looking for a BPAL that Resembles a Favorite Perfume

    I recommend that you try Jezebel. I don't know what Gio smells like, but it sounds like you're looking for a soft fruity-floral with a slightly gourmand base. Jezebel has some very similar notes: honey, roses, orange blossom, sandalwood. in addition to Jezebel, maybe: Les Bijoux: Skin musk and honey, blood-red rose, orange blossom, white peach, red apple, frankincense and myrrh. Belle Epoque: Sweet opium, Lily of the Valley, vanilla, mandarin and red sandalwood. Fae: white musk, bergamot, heliotrope, peach and oakmoss. Maybe more sweet and fruity than you're looking for, but the musk and moss give it a nice base.
  24. emily2531

    Gennivre, L’Artiste du Diable

    Gennivre is sweet grassy tea. Dorian is one of my favorite oils (sweet vanilla with musky mossy undertones), and I thought Gennivre sounded similar enough yet different enough for me to buy a bottle unsniffed. Alas, Gennivre was too shrill for me. I thought the high notes were a little too strident and there wasn't enough of a base to anchor this fragrance.
  25. emily2531

    Aeronwen

    Aeronwen is very woody, resinous, smokey and spicy. There's some sweetness from the fig and orange, but overall it's very dark and mysterious. It's just not me.
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