sqwook

My favorites that smell like wood (to me! ymmv) are - Danse Macabre - Really beautiful woods, dries down to a quiet sweetness. Really smooth and gentle, nothing macabre here. Nanny Ashtoreth - I smell the wood in this more than the other notes - totally not what I expected from the listed notes, and GREAT. The Antikythera Mechanism - Is it the wood that makes this so awesome? I have not idea, but I love it. Cathedral - Cedar, fresh-cut, bright, and peppery. Woodsy. Coiled Serpent - Woods (cedar?) and spice, warming. Really good. Intrigue - It's woodsy chocolate at first (which I thought I'd HATE but it was better than it sounds), then a calm quiet woods, soft, smooth, reminded me a bit of the softness/smoothness of Mandrake. Oblivion - Mmm, spicy peppery wood. Spicy and unexpectedly delicious. Like an import shop filled with awesome things made of wood. I'm just trying this now as I type, so I don't know yet how it wears, but it's great right now. ETA: I love Aureus, too - yet I swapped my imp because my SO always said it smelled too much like patchouli, which is really not his fave. I didn't get that so much, and one day I'll probably end up with another imp of it. ETA2: Edited to add newly tested scents.

*LOL* Yeah, I know what you mean - I feel that way a lot of the time when I read people's recs. And actually, of those listed, Aglaea & Has No Hanna don't really even work for me, either, scentwise; it's just that they seem pretty happy.

Here are mine for that. Ymmv. Though I defy you to try and be morose while wearing Persephone. It just doesn't compute. (Also, as an aside, you should actually try to physically smile even if you don't want to. It has been proven that this will improve your mood, and it's easy and free.) Aglaea - happy and sweet. Persephone - happy, smiling, without guile. Has No Hanna - happy, light. Mag Mell - joy, calm/peace. Sunflower - sunny, light, innocent, joy. And also possibly- Yggdrasil - though this is more radiance/confidence for me, not exactly just happiness per se. Death & Life Completed or Manhattan - confidence (esp in a work situation), not exactly just happiness.

Anyone and everyone still on the lookout for something smoky/campfire/bonfire/fireplace should DEFINITELY check out Rumpelstilzchen.

You might want to try The Little Sparrow. Somehow I'm getting a dusty/oil smell from it. (Troll, on the other hand, was a sweet evergreen / plants / almost-apple on me...)

Have you tried Coyote yet? (It's not clear from your comments.) I'd try it on its own, too, because I don't think it's particularly dry-smelling, and I have sometimes sensed a watery-ness. (Or I could just be weird. It's been known to happen.) It doesn't have sagebrush / real high-desert, but it's definitely nice.

Wet: amber straw gold dusty herbal Dry: Metallic rosebud, turning powdery rose. This is the first oil that has gone powdery on me in a not-really-good way - amber does *not* usually act this way for me, so I'll blame the rose. (I'm always ready to blame the rose anyway.) Reminds me of my grandmother, so I'm keeping the imp for now, but rose is my nemesis.

For those who are looking for something similar to Angel by Thierry Mugler, if Xiuhtecuhtli isn't doing it for you, you should try The Antikythera Mechanism. Yum! Hm, I might have to try layering the two...

Wet: peach and green herbs. Does that make any sense? Dry: After smelling and smelling, and retrying weeks later, I still somehow get a peach sweetness, so I guess I'll throw it out there even though no one else has gotten this. It's not a peach 'scent', like in other bpal peaches, it's like the actual peach. (Like how the color "peach" is pinkish-drab, but an actual fresh-cut ripe peach is golden yellow inside - that golden yellow is exactly like how this is.) The scent is much lighter and sweeter than I thought it would be from the description. A slight, slight tinge of bitter/sour, perhaps like cut plants. Sunny, light, innocent, open, joy. A summer's day. Really lovely. Potential bottle in my future. Comparisons to other scents: If you like this, then you might want to try The Apothecary or Death and Life Completed.

She puts any new items at the very bottom, so you can just copy those rows and paste them into yours. Because she is AWESOME AND A GENIUS.

Hackess, thank you SO MUCH for keeping this updated. I think I'm as addicted to maintaining my version of your spreadsheet as I am to the bpal itself...

Wet: Bright, "perfumey" but in a way that I somehow like. Dry: Over a long period of time (3-4 hours) the brightness slowly, slowly, fades back, leaving a wonderful carnation / amber / sandalwood spice. A HUGE change from when wet, that takes hours to fully develop. I agree w/clover's review - all the notes are blended so seamlessly, it's hard to describe, and hard to categorise as even floral, resiny, or sweet. As she mentioned, "golden, smooth and a bit bright". I sometimes need a scent for work that says, 'I am "professional" and can run with the suit-and-briefcase crowd, but I am still myself, and I'm awesome.' In the past, I turned to Manhattan for that, or possibly Mag Mell. Now I think it'll be "Death and life" all the way. Will need a bottle when my imp run out. Or maybe sooner.... I love this.

Wet: Yes, all the notes I know of the ones listed I can smell in this - amber, citrus, verbena, cedar. Dry: Sparkling verbena. I love verbena. Comparisons to other scents: Similar but more metallic than Embalming Fluid, which seems to last longer on me. Great for summer.

Wet: light garden rose - like a true rose scent when you're walking through a dew-covered english-style garden. Dry: This is a nice rose scent (I just can't imagine myself wearing this, I can't usually do rose.)

Frimp from the lab - thank you! Wet: green - cool - blue - water Dry: Green, over time turning to rose. Comparisons to other scents: Similar to Lucy's Kiss, which seems better to me scentwise, though both are a bit too floral for my tastes. Effect: Could be -- I was a little too calm today at work- couldn't get focused!

Wet: Spun sugar. Dry: Sugar and rich deep honey. Not enough oomph for me for daytime, but warm and comforting for evening. Comparisons to other scents: I had been hanging onto my imp of O, but I've since discovered Defututa, and Defututa's hint of flower petals mixed with the similar languorous honey and vanilla has totally won me over.

Peach deepened by a touch of warm chocolate.

Wet: Sandalwood/cedar Dry: ARRGGHHH - I had such hopes for this! Unfortunately, no. Somehow I get a hint of wintergreen and it is totally distracting to me. How strange is that?

A scent as heavy as thunder from the Vatican, with notes that inspire every sin and excess. Black opium, with vetivert and honeysuckle. Wet: Heavy dark floral, bitter. Dry: *laughing* Okay, the one word I wrote down was ... Undecided. What did I mean? Well, I ended up swapping it. I'm not that big on florals, and it's usually because they're too innocent and light for me - Anathema DEFINITELY does not have THAT problem! The opium seems strong here. This didn't seem like me, but it's definitely an interesting scent, and presumably great on the right person.

Wet: floral Dry: Nice light floral, happy. At least for me, I think Persephone is better for creating a feeling of lightness and happiness (though the scents themselves are nothing alike).

Wet: maraschino cherries Dry: Hm, rose more and more, and I can't pull off rose...

Wet: Bitter and rose Dry: A dark rose, and vetiver. Not bad but I'm not likely to wear this. (I generally do not like to wear rose, though there are the rare exceptions- thank goodness for frimps or I'd never have tried any at all!)

Wet: Sweet like candy Dry: Rose. Pretty but not me; I'm generally anti-rose. (Though Beth has managed some exceptions somehow!)

>modern, elegant, unfussy and a little carefree And this, to me, says Manhattan.

Wet: Woods/musk. Dry and earthy. Dry: Dusty, dry, and musky. This calms over time to a deep, dark amber. It's defnitely different! I like it, though I can see how many would hate it- it's heavy and completely not like a typical "perfume".