sqwook

First on: Yum! This is woodsy-cinnamony on me, kind of like a tea-house / spa version of the original cinnamony Hamadryad, or a lighter no-musk Oblivion.

Dry-down: The woodsy-cinnamony fades away, now skin-close light and soft-green.

Looking for recommendations similar to a few things:

 

1) my beloved but long-departed King of Clubs: deeper, darker earth notes with dark musk, tobacco leaf, oakmoss, amber, leather, sage and vetiver with fig and bitter almond. The almond is no big deal, but the rest... <3

 

2) Orpheus, which I never expected to work on me but did: Pale musk, green mandarin, neroli, benzoin, citrus peel, blue lavender, narcissus, stephanotis, crushed green stems, willow branch and cedar. It's the only floral that's ever worked on me, because it's mostly greens and cedar with a faint hint of white.

 

3) I've been stretching out my bottle of Oborot, but one day it's going to go! Any more easily-obtainable scents work as a dark, cool forest-and-incense stand-in? Balkan fir sap, dark mosses, Greek Mountain tea flower, black pine, salty ocean spray, deep black earth, and a moon-touched magickal incense of sandarac, frankincense, and ravensara.

 

Thanks in advance!

1-3) Haven't tried King of Clubs, or Oborot, but since you mention forest-incense, have you tried Druid yet?

2) Orpheus! I mean, it was really distinctive. The Salon scents were deliciously complex, so many amazing winners there. But, you might try Mag Mell, 51, Apothecary. And if you like mostly-greens then maybe Yggdrasil. None of these are "like" Orpheus but you may like them in their own right. Amsterdam is more watery and lighter and a bit more floral less green.

Any thoughts regarding a replacement for Nocnitsa? I love the smell of moss in a forest, at night?

Maybe Jersey Devil with a layered dirt note? The moss/foresty parts were like Jersey Devil to me, but Nocnitsa had those added dirt / soil / earth notes.

I just tried Druid and it could definitely be like a greenhouse, you should add it to your list-of-many-possibilities! I don't normally like the dirt scents, so I don't have a lot of recs in that regard, but wanted to rec Druid your way.

> how strong would you say the frankincense is in Robotic Scarab?

It's a really complicated, well-blended scent with lots going on, so definitely worth a try. Imps are available from the lab even, so you dont' have to go full-bottle just to try it. I love trying imps. Robotic Scarab is really gorgeous,and I think that since it has so much else going on it might work for you. From my notes: "At first, fairly cologny-resiny, & it fades fast to really smell like bronzy metal might smell! And then sweet & warm, outdoorsy, confident, refined." Uh this makes *me* want to get out my imp of it again, haha. They're just really neat scents.

I agree with annemathematics, I think the Steamworks line is also somewhere you should look -- they have such a perfect mix of nostalgia and modernity, plus so many of them feel like machinery or equipment, though not dust necessarily. My favorites from that line are Robotic Scarab, Phoenix Steamworks, and Aelopile. Also not in that line but similar in machineworks-feel is The Ninth Cage.

Have you ever tried Robin Goodfellow? After it dries down, it's a bit like warm honey in the sunshine, to me. I wonder also about possibly Litha, Little Bird, Sunflower, etc. Though I have not smelled the plant in question soooo.....

Oooh, I do not know, but I am now certainly intrigued!

rosedamaskk -

Hi! I saw your post but I don't have major opinions on those, other than Mme Moriarty. Is the 2015 release different than the original? Well anyway here are some things you may like if you like Mme Moriarty -- Lampades, Tintagel, Black Lotus, possibly Fenris Wolf for somethign more typically masculine, Phoenix at Midday, The Infernal Lover, Anactoria, Mircalla.

Psychocygnet -

If you like Centzon Totochtin - maybe Perversion, Tezcatlipoca, Oblivion

Dorian - I had the same problem you do, for the longest time! For years. I still don't reach for it, though I like the scent a ton, just not always on my skin, it goes too sweet a lot of the time. You might try other vanilla scents that have other things going on, like Lyonesse, or musk scents like Heroine, or tea/lemony like Embalming Fluid. Or Cairo, idk, lol, I rec Cairo all the time.

Hm, interesting!

Right, I totally get what you mean, even your favorite scents can be awful at the gym because it's such an environment with a lot going on, in a lot of different ways. I like things much lighter than normal, and they dont' really need any base notes (Snake Oil seems like all base notes, I wore it once too and even /I/ was annoyed with myself though I love it ordinarily).

Embalming Fluid and Mag Mell are things I've worn before & are light enough for me for that situation.

What you might want to do is think of GC scents that you liked but that you felt didn't have enough "oomph" for all day, of that seemed lighter than you prefer. If they're too light for your typical use, then they may be perfect for the gym.

I feel like there *is* a thread with more ideas somewhere.

Oh! I found it:

http://www.bpal.org/topic/299-best-bpal-for-gym-workout-sports-exercise/?hl=exercise

Ohhhh, can I play?

 

1) 13 (October '06 orange label)

2) Eve (Only Lovers Left Alive)

3) 13 (April '12)

4) Cheshire Cat

5) Snake Oil

 

(Bonus: Favorite Non-Bpal -- Le Labo Santal)

 

I'm *really* hoping for some GE scent recommendations because I keep falling in love with LEs that are increasingly more difficult to hunt down, and I'd love to find a signature in the general catalogue!

Snake Oil is great! And there's nothing like it, but it's GC so that's good.

Aren't the 13s usually chocolate based? You may want to check out other chocolate and cocoa recs, here's a giant and delicious thread of recs:

http://www.bpal.org/topic/8131-chocolate-and-cocoa-in-every-combination-possible/

Of Cheshire Cat, is it the citrus that you like? You may want to try some of the other citrus scents, like:

Aelopile

Embalming Fluid *super zingy and bright!

Phantasm

Xiuhtecuhtli

Manhattan *really a great scent!

Mag Mell *love this!

Cairo *This one is so great!

Shanghai

51

Baobhan Sith

Ooh, I've been looking for scent recommendations. I'm still a newbie to this whole thing, but I've tried enough scents to have five favorites.

 

1. Alan McMichael

2. Antony

3. Mad Hatter.

4. Loup Garou

5. Dorian and Jolly Roger are tied, lol

Haha, well the *good* news is that your Top 5 has some serious winners in it: Antony is fantastic,and Dorian & Jolly Roger are way up there too. Here are some others in that similar family-ish.

Phoenix Steamworks

Oblivion

Greed

Fascinum *Oooh I had forgotten about this one it's so good!

Golden Priapus

Faunalia

Galvanic Goggles

Dee

Death on a Pale Horse

The Robotic Scarab

Fenris Wolf

Crowley

Loup Garou is a pine, isn't it? There are toooonnnss of pine & forest & tree scents. My favorite tree scent is Yggdrasil, it's not really pine like Loup Garou is though. But. It's fantastic. i also liked Slobbering Pine.

 

This might be a long shot but does anyone know of a GC dupe for The Shadowy and the Sublime? It was a 2010 Gothic Fiction Halloweenie and I'm not sure it was hugely popular because I don't see it mentioned much. The notes are Moroccan amber, wisteria, ambergris accord, white rose, magnolia, white mint, angelica, bergamot, and myrrh.

My imp is all amber and ambergris with an initial whiff of creamy florals that mellows into a slightly sweet wood and resin blend with a wee bit of mint freshening things up. The only other thing I can liken it to is Possets Dangerous oil, but TSATS is much more powdery, floral, spicy and overall complex than that. I will probably cry when my imp is gone.

 

That's a tough one. I am not seeing a lot that looks even close on the old Speadsheet of Doom. Maybe try out Torture Queen when she comes back around with the Carnaval. White amber, vanilla musk, white tea, ambergris, gardenia, and chrome.

Actually The Maltese Cross of Sanctus Germanus from the Carnaval might be closer, but still no mint Golden amber, blood orange, ambergris, lilac, frankincense, and agarwood.

 

But did you see this? She's got a partial for sale.

 

@ lexyOZ -- That one was really beautiful, so I had taken a bunch of notes trying to figure out what it reminded me of. I tested it against Mme Moriarty & Hymn to Proserpine, and while they weren't "like each other" necessarily they may hold something you like in them. Interestingly, the thing that seemed the closest in feel to me was Tushnamatay -- so, again, not a dupe, but in a similar family, and a really great blend. I ended up not getting it but if it were today i probably *would* get a bottle. Do try Tushnamatay - it is not the same but you may really like it!

Lampades is really great! There's nothing exactly like it, but here are some that for me share some similarities or a feel --

(these are not all General Catalog, I'm taking them from my notes on similarities)

Mme Moriarty

Morgause

Witch Queen

Frumious Bandersnatch

Hymn to Proserpine

Tintagel

Fenris Wolf

Black Lotus

Fruits of Paradise

Anactoria

Pale pale real-white-rose (that works, I normally can't do rose at all), pale musk, and then soft vanilla as it all dries down. Really pretty and warm. I'm not really getting champagne, ambergris, or amber, other than possibly as what makes it feel warm and cozy along with the vanilla.

Edited to add: Oh I just realized, it reminds me of Joyful Moon! So if you liked that one, you may like this too.

Yes, this definitely has the aura of a super-popular-bpal-vanilla! This reminds me quite a bit of Morocco, so if you're fan then definitely check this out. Skin-close, warm, and lovely.

Ha, on me I'm one of the strongly-jasmine people, and not the other notes. What I most LOVE about this scent is that it really feels powerfully magical. I feel like I'm making a protective magic circle around me when I wear it.

Oops, the "dead leaves" note is not the note I thought it was -- I was going for dry leaves, and these are a bit musty in a way I don't prefer on my skin. BUT the myrrh, the myrrh! I think I need to look into more scents with myrrh, because by the time the leaves scent fades away, what's left is gorgeous.

This is a much more complex blend than I was thinking, and really nice! It starts out with a lot of the lemony cubeb scent, then rounds out over time. I do not get any rose at all. After a bunch of death-matching, the thing it most reminds me of is Cairo, interestingly! And also Sihaya Designs' 'Amas'. It has more skin-close staying power than Cairo though. Really nice blend.

I tend to end up in ruts where I wear the same thing all the time, so I could use some recommendations! And I just joined the forums so I figured I should post something

 

1. Dorian

2. Aizen Myoo

3. Elf

4. Morocco

5. Bard (although I have to be careful with this one, it can get overwhelming fast)

If you like the soft cozy spice of Morocco, you shoudl try Snake Oil eventually.

I'm still pretty new to BPAL, and I do tend to prefer different scents at different times of the year... but out of all the scents I currently own, these are my favourites. In no particular order:

 

- Sarah, the Mother Bear

- Shanghai

- Velvet

- Samhain

- Bewitched

hi!

If you like Shanghai, maybe try Embalming Fluid for something where the "zing" lasts a little longer.

If you think Velvet with spice might be good, maybe Tezcatlipoca or Oblivion.

For Samhain, if Samhain is the outdoorsy one, Hetairae might be the indoorsy one.

You might try Brisingamen, for another floral+amber combo. (not necessarily rose, but you may still like it.)

Hi, I had thought Belle Vinu would be too peachy, too, because I do not like smelling like fruits, but it does not! It is really great. Flora is too, though I don't know whether that's the osmanthus or not.