northatlantic

Sniff from the bottle: sharp, grassy fig and berry. Promising!

 

Wet: GAH VINEGAR. GAH GAH GAH. How can the lab's whiskey note be so delicious on me and the cognac so, so wrong? Maybe it's the combo of the cognac and the leather, or the cognac and the fruit? But wow, it is very sour and unpleasant. NOT happy. I can smell red berries beneath this, but it's far below and faintly cough-syrupy. No cream or paper in evidence; it's buried beneath the Attack of the Killer Cognac.

 

Drydown: Okay, it took almost a half hour, but now I get green fig over a base of berries and cream with a little bit of the spicy-cola note that Beth's leather usually turns into on me. THIS is great, a really interesting combination of tart, sweet and earthy. But that first half hour is NOT pretty with my chemistry. Another one that I think needs some time to mellow before it achieves its potential.

 

Verdict: Promise that may take some time to fully realize.

Sniff from the bottle: sweet musk veeeery much forward with generic floral undertone; smells ominously like nail polish remover. Please, don't let me amp that musk...

Wet: The nail-polishy scent warms into a more pleasant white floral; I have never smelled a peach blossom, but I get the fruity undertone of peach blended with a bright springlike floral. The musk drifts above it definitely Up Front and Here To Be Counted. I can't tell if it's the amber swamping the almond, or the almond blurring the amber, but it has kind of a generically non-foody-but-sweet quality on me. There's nothing offensive here, but it's kind of a jangle to my nose.

Drydown: Better. As the musk burns off, the light floral is still present over a golden creaminess. I think I might cellar this one for a while in the hopes of mellowing out that sweet musk, see if it plays more nicely with its friends. I think on someone who doesn't amp musk, it would be a lovely soft skin scent, but with the amber AND the almond AND the musk, on me it doesn't reach its full potential.

Verdict: more pros than cons. Age and test again.

First sniff of bottle: Sweet Tarts on steroids. Have I made a terrible mistake? I don't care for candy scents.

 

Wet on skin: Opens with heady champaca and ambergris; as it warms, the sweetness of the sugar cane comes out more, gentling and blending the scent over a base of the beachy kind of coconut that grounds Black Pearl. It clings fairly close to the skin and it's beautifully balanced; the aquatic quality of the ambergris cuts through the sugar cane to keep it from going cloying, and the coconut gives the champaca a roundness, a fullness that keeps it from going strident and sharp on me the way white florals sometimes do.

 

Drydown: soft and unexpectedly clean for a scent so lush when wet; there's some powderiness from the coconut and probably ambrette but it's a light and sweet baby-powder, not an eau-d'old lady powdery.

 

Love. Keeper. If I could wear frag during the week (I work in healthcare so perfume's verboten) I would get a backup bottle.

I was hoping to get a recommendation--I'm planning to cosplay Casimira, from the book Palimpsest. She's a dream-city's matriarch and the mother of swarms of mechanical bees, crickets, mice, and all kinds of other assorted urban what-not that know everything that goes on, everywhere. She's full of love and her will is law. And she wears a bustle!

 

There's actually a scent named for her already, but that citrus-heavy interpretation doesn't move me. I'd love to hear any other thoughts on what Casimira might smell like. Preferably GC?

 

What came immediately to mind from the GC were Robotic Scarab or Obsidian Widow from Steamworks (for the clever little creatures), Marquise de Mertueil from Diabolus (pride and hauteur, powerfully female), and Black Opal from Bewitching Brews (dark and sensual but unreal all at once.)

I second Dee, and hedge Aziraphale, though I have never tried him myself and he is unimpable (though GC).

 

Have Aziraphale, and raise your hedge to a "yes."

Mag Mell is a bright and active happy, and Bastet is a curled-up-warm and cozy happy.

EXTREMELY sharp and soapy at first, it dries down pale and luminous and warm, the white amber definitely dominating for me, but by the time it gets to that stage (about a half hour) it's almost undetectable. I like it, but it's far too fleeting for a bottle.

The almond and amber are at the forefront of Miss Lupescu for me and it starts out similar to Bastet, but then the musk comes out and it's the same one that ruined Bakeneko and Ivanushka it goes all plastic. I'll stick to Bastet for my sweet warm golden furry scent.

 

Elliott, however, LOVES Miss Lupescu. He was trying to drink it out of the imp. So animalic it must be

I don't know if it's white sage specifically, but Mag Mell isn't floral, it's amber and aquatics, as opposed to 93 Engine's amber and resins. It's very fresh and grassy.

My favorite berry scents are both herbal, Glasgow and Bewitched, although the musk in Bewitched softens it considerably. You might also consider Lampades, although that's cranberry and not blackberry, I remember thinking it had a similar feeling to Bordello.

Danube. You want Danube.

Scents with "skin musk" are usually winners for me; my favorites are LE (Vasakasajja and Tamamo-No-Mae) but there's a lot of popular faves in the GC with it including Eos, Les Bijoux, La Petite Mort and Bien Loin D'ici. Something about that scent of clean warm skin does it for me.

ALCYONE is a drow cleric. Like most drow, she doesn't beleive in freindships, love, or anything of that sort. However, she also shys away from alliances, thinking that she is best alone. This may have root in her basic personality: she truly functions best when she is alone. In most ways, she is like an icicle: cold, solitary, and deadly.

 

Hmm; from the GC, maybe Ultraviolet, Niflheim, or Black Forest, and if you can get your hands on them the LEs Black Ice and Numb.

 

And one from D&D...WILLOW is a free-spirited half-elven Druid. She tends to be off in her own little world (read: communing with nature) and thus is a little socially awkward. She dreams of a peaceful world, but realizes that that is impossible. Knowing this, she will fight to protect the people she loves.

 

Hmm. Bewitched, Phantom Queen, Mag Mell and Rosalind from the GC are all quiet and freshly green/herbal, something a quiet and nature-loving person might enjoy. The Rappacini's Garden scents in general might be a good category to explore too. None of these are dirt scents, though, if that's something you feel would be a component; that might have to come from another recc'er

 

No recs on the cosplay one, sorry!

 

Ahah! Precisely the thread I need!I'm playing in a Changeling LARP, and I need to get my hands on a scent that has a very strong apple flavour, with a hint of fermentation underneath. It has to be noticeable, but not overwhelming- I was thinking of rinsing my hair in apple juice after shampooing to get a similar effect.Any recs? It doesn't exclusively have to be BPAL, but i'd prefer it if it was!

 

Hmmm. Strong apples and fermentation; The Mock Turtle's Lessons. But on me, it was more than a "hint" of fermentation, it would probably get me a breathalyzer if I got pulled over! but someone whose chemistry didn't amp alcohol notes would probably have better luck. Verdandi might be worth trying out too, I get a kind of hard-cider vibe from that, crisp but not QUITE boozy.

I cannae speak directly to morning sickness, having never had, but during a bout of stomach flu a TEENSY bit of Bezoar was comforting (I feel like I am pimping this scent EVERYWHERE, but it really did work...) Ginger and cardamom are supposed to be good for queasiness along with citrus and mint, so spice blends might be OK in really limited quantities not to overwhelm?

In the vial: WHOAclove.

 

Wet on skin: WHOAclove. And dirt! Thin, stony soil. The smell of a clove cigarette being ground out on a graveyard drive.

 

Drydown: Continues to be dirt and clove. No tea, no cardamom, no warmth, no subtlety. Undead craft store. Apparently, even the most rich and subtle of patchouli hates me, and without something to soften and mellow it, the clove curb-stomps all the other notes.

 

Miss Clemence, I'm afraid you and I aren't fated to be. As described, you're a woman of cruel pleasures--too cruel for me.

Seconded Havana. It's not terribly complex, but it's rich and sensual.

In the bottle: I get wood, I get hay, I get...cardamom?? Is that you? I've hoped and been burned before...

 

Wet: Come to mama, cardamom single note! I've looked for you so long, darling, heard rumors of you in so many places but until now, we've never been face to face...

 

Drydown: The balsam has always been present, a slightly piney, slightly vanillic grounding note beneath the deliciousness of cardamom--far, far below, in the background, mmmnice, don't care. As Bezoar dries, however, the hay and woods come out more; wet it all feels like part of that same coolly spicy kick, but I can detect more of the components now. Instead of the waft of fresh cardamom, it becomes a softer, scorched-fields sort of scent, late summer and that dry spicy warmth of dried grass and leaves beginning to yellow. Fades fast; within two hours, it's pretty well gone. That's OK. For you, baby, I'll buy backups and slather.

 

Add me to the devotees of the Wunderkammer, this is some good stuff right here.

I was so looking forward to Inez, and she smelled beautifully ambery and cedary in the bottle.

 

Wet: WHOAcarnation Standing and yelling through the microphone on a red sandalwood podium. O...kay.

 

5 minutes later: Still shrieking carnation...and Keri lotion?

 

10 minutes later: Keri lotion.

 

Yeah, no. Inez, how could you do this to me?

Dammit.

 

DAMMIT.

 

I totally didn't think I'd like this one. I didn't order or search out a decant. The notes were a cavalcade of NO - moss? Oakmoss? Star jasmine? Yeah, sounds like death soap from hell to me

 

And then a friend got frimped it in a swap and brought it in to the office.

 

Even though I know nothing good comes of morbid curiosity, I tried it. Because the label art was pretty.

 

I should have known there was nothing benzoin couldn't make wearable. It softens the edges of the notes that would otherwise screech on me, letting honeysuckle float delicately to the top. It feels like the artwork for her, the light delicacy of her hair flowing up, pale musk and orris shimmering softly in the green depths.

 

Crap. Now I have to find room in the budget for another bottle.

Inez had a lot of carnation on me, but that could be because carnation is one of my AMP NOTES O'DOOM so YMMV.

Hello!

My sister is getting married this August in a fan-tabulous Rajistani themed wedding (in other words, a big fat Indian wedding). Can anyone reccommend an appropriate fragrance? Something exotic, spicy, yet regal and elegant at the same time? After a shameful hiatus, it feels sooooo good to get back into the bpal way of life! I am enabling another friend as I speak.

 

Any and all suggestions will be much appreciated! Cheers.

 

My first thought was, would any of the Faces of the Heroine suit her? But in GC, my first thoughts were Silk Road, Kubla Khan, or Scheherazade.

Hi Sherrysher,

 

I haven't smelled Allure myself; can you tell which part of the scent is most dominant on you? Do you get more heady white florals, or citrus, or vanilla? Some possible suggestions:

 

Desire (Ars Amatoria)

Kubla Khan (Bewitching Brews)

Zephyr (Bewitching Brews)

Euphrosyne (Excolo)

Pepper (Good Omens)

Victoria (Stardust)

 

The first four you can easily order in imps from the Lab; the Good Omens and Stardust scents you would probably have to track down decants here on the forum.

I've been looking for a scent that says, "I've just rolled down a warm, grassy hill covered with wildflowers," with the emphasis on the flowers. In other words, a mixed-floral bouquet, with grass that is noticeable yet not predominant. I'd prefer that it have no more than a whiff of herbal, fruity, powdery, or aquatic notes. Also, any jasmine notes shouldn't be too strong/heady.

 

Jasmine Cottage sounds perfect, based on the reviews here. However, it's not available as an imp, and I'm leery of making an un-sniffed purchase. Sundew might be a contender, but it sounds too soft and a bit too clean. I checked out all of the seemingly relevant past threads, but unfortunately they were too focused on pure grass or herbal/fruity/powdery/aquatic notes.

 

I know that all sounds really picky, but as long as the florals-with-grass specification is met, I'm open to suggestions!

 

Phantom Queen. You want Phantom Queen. ~nodnod~

If you had a trunk, what would you scent it with? Also, any advice about how long to leave in a cottonball with oil on it to achieve lasting scent wold be greatly appreciated. I've never scented anything but my own body so I'm afraid I'm a bit of a n00blet when it comes to that. How much oil should I use? A full imp? Who would've thought that scenting something would be so confusing!

 

Hmmm. There isn't a specific thread for this, but I'm betting the Laundry and the Fresheners for your car threads have some interesting thoughts as far as the technical aspects of smellyfying a small space like that. I'd be tempted to throw together a little cheesecloth bag of baking soda and salt and scent that, like you were making bath salts, then the baking soda will also help draw the fusty smell out.

 

On the choice of scent, I'm a woods girl so I'd lean that way: Cathedral, Aureus, Tombstone, Sri Lanka something cedar or sandalwood-y (and I think Aziraphale sounds delish, although I feel your "but--I don't want to use it up!" pain). Another traditional kind of keeping-things-fresh sort of scent is lavender, I myself do not like it so I'll have to leave those recs to other forumites

 

Papyrus: Spirits of the Dead if you can get it, or Mr. Ibis, although that doesn't address the fact that you'd rather have a GC scent that's not quite so expensive.

 

Good luck, sounds like a yummy idea!

I wanted to like this; I LOVE amber of all kinds and generally speaking, fruit plays well on me, especially darker, more tart scents.

 

Sniff in the imp: VERY strongly cherryishly fruity, makes me think of the wine blends although this has no wine listed. Apparently, grapes and/or cherries are dark fruit. I was hoping for Swank's pomegranate note, but I can't pick it up.

 

On the skin: waugh, this is a HOT MESS. Where is my ambery goodness? White amber, golden amber, and black amber all love me, but whatever "deepening" amber goes to powder--rancid powder at that. And the fruit note is overripe, like something left out on the counter that's gotten too warm and turned.

 

Gave it ten minutes to dry down and settle a little: Same, except all that's left is the powdery funk, the overripe fruit has faded away. Cat is frantically trying to wash my hand. Sadly, I think he's right.

 

I'll give it another try in a week or two just to see if it was an OMGBADSKINCHEMISTRY day, but how disappointing