cranberry

VooDoo Queen is my al-time favorite as well and the one I've found in the GC that seems to come closest on my skin is Tombeur, from Vampires Don't Sleep Alone. It's like a lighter version of VDQ, so I wear it when I want the general feel but don't want to squander any of the precious stuff I'm holding onto. Hope this helps!

thank you! :wub2: I remember looking at that one! I've got a wee bit of VQ left and tried it on last night. All i could think was that I could not be without it (or the like) in my life!

Looking for the closest scent to Voodoo Queen. It is my Holy Grail, along with Snake Charmer. Old school I know but there you go. Grateful for input. I've been out of the BPAL world for quite a while, but still love my favorites and would love to find something comparable to VQ

what a pretty tart green apple scent! maybe with a bit of aloe and a sweet floral way in the background. as it wears spice comes out. love it!

at first the clove reminded me of ecstasy of passion but that passed quickly (in a mini-sec). now this smells very much like cologne and very masculine.

this reminds me of sugared aged patchouli. yum! maybe with a hint of tea.

so gorgeous!

first it's all about the leather - clean, smooth and then immediately a sweet fruitiness. the leather and vanilla orchid are most dominant on me at first, with hints of moss and sweet amber. the tonka adds sweetness. lovely. thank you so much Twilight Eyes for the chance to try this!

I don't want to get the drama going again, but I do want to add a couple points.

first, there is the title of this thread "are bpal blends made from 100% undiluted EOs." so I don't think it is unreasonable do expect discussion about what is in the oils - natural, synthetic, vegan, etc.

second, that was a great post by Beth.

third, I do not think that Jayne was or has been a troll. Beth answered some of her questions but not all of her questions. so yes, I agree, asking the lab direct would be the best way to go, however, in keeping with the topic at hand, it is not out of line to question it here. or to continue to question what the oils are composed of here. Beth, in her post, did not address the question of synthetics, molecules or not. vegan does not equal not synthetic. synthetic was addressed a while back but it clearly was not most recently. that raises what I think to be a legitimate question.

I think aine summed it up pretty well.

There have been some great responses in this thread, but my brain is too tired to think in long sentences so I'll keep my response to three general points -

 

* Not everything natural is good for you.

* Not everything synthetic is bad for you.

* Let's not kid ourselves that we have any right to expect that the presence of synthetics in BPAL oils is confirmed or denied by the Lab.

 

If you have serious health issues that you are concerned may be exacerbated by BPAL oils - don't wear the perfume.

eta quote

there's something here that reminds of the tricks - I'm thinking magnolia. this is a dark, sweet scent, not vanilla sweet by any means, but more softly subdued sweet, sensous and slinky. not overtly musky but I would believe it's a base note grounding it. I'm also getting a whiff of cherry. dragon's blood too I think. I like it.

first sniff, this smelled sour and somewhat fruity. sniffing deeply, that could be cognac or if not, most certainly some sort of wine scent. It's a very light blend, quiet and close to the skin with not a lot of throw. Now the sour wine smell is gone and there's an artifical smooth oily note along with a soft sweet scent, perhaps fake strawberry. now something vaguely floral emerges and blends with the fruity-oily scent.

now after it's been on about 20 minutes or so, this is a sweet, slightly floral, slightly fruity scent that really smells most like sweet powdered sugar candy. it's still a light scent that is unnoticeable unless my nose is pressed straight to my skin.

At first this smelled like artificial bananas. That quickly went away and now it smells like orris, something slightly astringent and bright – maybe gardenia? Tobacco for sure, maybe a spash of something green. Very interesting scent. Now the green is gone and it smells of tobacco, orris, light musk, and a faint juicy sweetness. It’s similar to the tobacco-orris-musk notes in Smoky Moon or Black Lace, without the dry sandalwood or rich velvety vanilla, respectively.

This is a very light in tone, fresh, clean type scent. Rather high pitched – this could have a white tea, ozone, linen…it is in the vein of Embalming Fluid and some of the other very clean, light fresh scents. I don’t wear this sort of scent so I can’t tell one note from another here, just that it’s that sort of scent.

Very sweet, fruity. This is sugar and fruit no doubt about it. Some of the sugar has turned to toffee. The toffee adds a depth and this is pretty yummy really.

Oh yum! Light frankincense and sandalwood – this is wonderful! This scent is not very strong but it smells really good. This is one of my very favorite incense blends – simply stunning!!!

Thank you TwilightEyes to try all these protos!!

Slightly aquatic with predominant thick heady flowers. Some resins too underneath and supporting. This blend brings to mind the color purple and lushness, richness.

Ah, now it’s becoming more clear, I smell petitgrain, maybe a bit of orange blossom….the aquatic note that I smelled in the beginning has disappeared, and this doesn’t smell purple to me any more. Though it does still retain the lush quality. It’s more a shimmer of color, rich jewel tones. This is a very pretty, sensual scent.

Now that it’s been on a while, the bitterness and brightness that characterizes petitgrain really comes out. The color has changed yet again, and instead of being rich jewel tones, this is lighter, more ethereal colors. Backbone of golden amber. I really like this scent.

Very bright, sweet fruity floral, smells candy sweet.

Very bright and lemony. Could be a blend of listea and lemon, there maybe a titch of patch too, but just enough to anchor the blend. Ah wait, maybe not lemon but orange. This is quite lovely. Fresh and bright. It fades quickly but it’s lovely while it lasts.

Oh this is quite lovely! This is a very green scent, with a slightly bitter edge. I would say there’s aloe, lily, green tea, crushed stems in here, now something sweeter and floral. Gorgeous! That’s rose for sure peeking out, and getting stronger. It’s playing nice though. This reminds me somewhat of Her Voice, and there’s another similar scent too that I can’t place right now. This is right in that vein of green, stem-cut flower scents. Beautiful.

Sweet florals, a blast of ozone/aquatic to give lift and brightness. After it’s dry, sniffing deeply I smell some sort of citrus – grapefruit maybe – sitting on top of the pretty florals. This is a very bright, sweet, cheery sort of blend.

Smells like sleet and snow – ozone and slushy snow. Something cooling and minty underneath the sleet and slush. That sharpness of the ozone-slush is dominant here. A bit of citrus too – maybe lemon with a drizzle of sugar – not sweet by any means but sweetened.

Wow, fruity – apples for sure. This is very bright, cheery, slightly floral….I like this better than how I remember the released version. The apple in here is lovely and fits so wells with the soft flowers. Maybe a titch of amber too to provide a base to the fruit and flowers. Gorgeous!

Wet – dry spice, there’s a heat here but it’s very dry. It reminds me of cumin or coriander. More coriander I think. Maybe a touch of pepper. As it dries, it’s clearly not cumin I’m smelling. There’s something a bit sour underneath the spice and heat. This is a very odd scent, not something to wear as perfume but more an exercise in expressing a concept or idea. Now that it’s completely dry and been on a while, there is very clearly spice – coriander or even caraway – I can’t say, but that the strongest to me. I get no clay or mineral smell.

Hmmmm – this smells like spicy muted rootbeer – so maybe sarsaparilla, clove, something to quiet the sarsaparilla….sniffing deeply this reminds me of Russian Tea (Tang & spices – nutmeg, cinnamon, etc.) but without most of the orange. So the spice….a hint of Tang…this is drying to a mostly spice blend, dry smelling too. The root beer vibe is now gone completely.

Wow – very strong fake cherry – almond type scent. Overpowering and eye watering. I don’t like this one.

This is for Putrefication v5 - wasn't sure if I should start a new topic or not....

Anyway, on to the review...

This is a very dark, thick oil. It sits on the skin and doesn’t soak in. At first I thought I smelled earth – I think that’s what I was expecting, but it’s not. It smells of anise, and some sort of dark cologne – like the darkness of Youth Dew if you will. I would not be surprised if patchouli were in here. There’s a slight sweetness and it almost reminds of a non-foody caramel-toffee note. It rounds off the anise and patch, but that’s about it. It doesn’t offer more than tempering and rounding if that makes sense. Maybe a hint of beeswax and some dark sort of absolute too - I'm thinking mimosa but I'm not sure about that....regardless it's not in large quantities. If it is mimosa that would account for the sweetness and honeyed type of note.

Gosh, I don’t even know how to describe this by individual notes. This is very well blended and smells of sweet florals – not heavy or cloying, not wildflowers…and something aquatic or ozone-ish. There’s a hint of bright amber underneath the ozone/aquatic smell alongside the florals. There’s a bit of a fruity vibe too but the sharpness of the ozone/aquatic notes is strongest alongside the florals. I actually like this though I’d never wear it. It reminds me of how I remember Thunder Moon, with flowers.