darklorelei

I love BPAL, but I've always been really disappointed in their gingers. I love a really fresh sort of ginger scent, and that's pretty hard to come by in the BPAL line. Baobhan Sith is probably the only one that's not super heavy (to me), but ginger is definitely not at all the dominant note in that scent.

In the imp: Cotton candy. A subtle muskiness-oh no?!

Wet: More cotton candy with a really sharp rose pointing through. Almost white-floral like. I gotta say, I don't know if it's just my nose, but I am having a really hard time smelling it unless I put my nose right on top of it.

Drying: The rose finally comes out, but it's still very sweet and cotton candy, and no throw at all. I'll stick to more robust roses like 257 and Rose Red.

I'm so happy to get a chance to try this! It's basically all my favorite notes, so I've been really anticipating it.

In the imp: holy HELL is this hideous. Super sharp florals.

Wet: Soapy white floral, but almost dies completely on my skin. Not really getting bergamot or geranium at all, which is sad. Oddly, for once I wish this had more of a base, which is bizarre as basenotes tend to be my nemesis.

Drying: Still fairly faint (at least to my sinus-y nose), but the geranium is finally starting to come through. Yay! Over a bit of soft sweetness. I want to say that's the gardenia, but I have really weird scent associations, so it could well be the tobacco flower.

Overall: I like this. It's way more floral and girly than I usually go for (despite my love for these notes). Not sure it's a bottle yet, but definitely hanging onto the imp for now.

Strangely, I get almost no magnolia from this; or at least not the magnolia that is outside my window. It reminds me of nothing so much as a craft shop - that kind of generic holiday/candle shop spice.

The cranberries smell like cranberries! If anything, this smells like plain ol' cranberry cocktail. There's definitely musk in the background, though, and, as always, my bizarre chemistry gives the scent the bizarre background of bubblegum.

For me, the lily of the valley is definitely the most dominant note. Floral, slightly soapy, but not in a bad way unless you get too close. The vanilla also comes out; to me, the overall impression is that of pears or gardenias, though those notes aren't pleasant in the blend. Pretty, but not extraordinary.

In imp: very herbal fruit. Sage? Not really a fan.

On skin: almost completely disappears. Reminds me of nothing so much as berry chewing gum. This was honestly a big disappointment for me. I was hoping for more orris and fewer berries.

I have fairly sensitive skin but no allergies (that I know of) but the other day I applied Tokyo Stomp about 10 minutes after a bath & it burnt the crook of my elbow . My wrists, neck, clevage etc were fine but just the crook of my elbow went all sore & burny & red. I'm guessing it was the mint in it but I've never had that kind of reaction to any perfume.

You probably applied it too soon after your bath. Your pores are all open and your skin is more sensitive.

Eve and Psyche are really soothing to me.

It really depends on what you're getting. Patchouli gets a lot better as it ages, but things like citrus should be used sooner.

Envy.

I think some TKO might be in order.

Nemesis really isn't too patchouli-y, at least to me. I really don't like patchouli very much, and I feel I would have noticed. But the drydown is really nice and figgy. It's still a great scent, and maybe you'll get more patch than I did.

MINT. Minty mint. Mint mint.

Straight up mint, like peppermint flavoring or EO or altoids. While the mint never goes away, the violet comes up more again, initially like sweetness. At drydown, it reminds me a lot of mint tea; there is a strong tea/herbal smell.

Rubbery sweet. Almost all amber. Absolutely no rose after the initial application. I also smell blood, and I don't know what's up with that.

Salty daffodils!

Seriously. It reminds me intensely of freshly cut spring flowers. Daffodils, crocus...I don't know.

There's also this weird salty/chlorine-y thing. Like a swimming pool, but good.

Underneath it all is this really yummy scent that reminds me like the smell of a My Little Pony.

When you first put in on, there's this huge rush of cherry to the degree of cough-syrupyness. But after the initial rush of cherry, it definitely melts into the background, though on intense sniffing, it can still be percieved.

While it's still wet, the scent of the woods is really interesting; I've never smellt anything so *wood*. It smelled like a naked furniture store!

Weirdly, the combo together strongly reminds me of chocolate...woody chocolate.

This is suuuper watery. But in the floral-watery way, rather than in an aquatic way.

Reminds me strongly of melon, as well as the other girls in the Illyria line: Ophelia, particularly.

Fades away quickly, and is very close to the skin. It reminds me a lot of commercial bath products. It's not offensive, and is quite nice if watery florals are your bag.

some great recs here, but where is oblivion?

Sin and Salvation.

Ok:

Stargazer is in Grandmother of Ghosts, Peitho, Sheol, Juliet, Ophelia, Virahotkantita, Kindly Moon, Bearded Lady, Berenice, Isle of the Dead, Melancholia, and Lyonesse. A few of these are LEs.

Without smelling them, I'd say Lyonesse would be your best GC bet for pulling out the lily, as it's the only floral in the blend.

Berenice looks like the best LE, but it looks to be much more floral.

I've actually tried Ophelia, and I think it's really nice for a floral (and I usually don't go for them), but it's very much a floral/aquatic, so I think if you're really looking to distinguish the note, it wouldn't be good.

Stargazer lily looks to usually be paired with other very strong notes, so if you try multiple blends and are able to single it out, more power to you.

In the imp: Hot damn, that's green! It must be the cypress. It smells like crushed leaves. Tree leaves, not herbal.

On, all I can smell is patchouli, I think. I can't smell much; it's such a thick oil.

There's a bit of ginger-ness coming through, but I have to be basically huffing it; I get no throw.

Later: Ok, I guess my skin just doesn't throw at all. But anyways! The fig really pops after 15 minutes or so.

In imp: very sharp, slightly cologne-y, but in a warm non-offensive way. My little brother might like this. The musk comes off a bit like leather.

On skin: Dude...weird. BAM! It's gone. A tiny bit of the sharpness remains (but not particularly rosey, to me, more soapy). It's completely not there. Kind of surreal.

eta:

On full drydown, some true rose scent does begin to show a little, but it's still barely noticable.

Persephone is really fruity.

I'm...thirding the 2/5/7 rec. I think Rose Red is greener, but you will never, never find it, so 2/5/7 is definitely the lightest, greenest rose.

Ever since I got a Tea and Honey candle I've been dying to find a fragrance - BPAL or other - that matches it. It's a very strong earl grey tea with lots of lemon and a hint of honey underneath.

Have you tried Severin? Totally Earl Grey. Don't let the leather scare you off. I should add that I've never smellt the candle.