torikitty

Ooh, what a fun idea! I think the previous lists are good and I'll copy a few. I think I would recommend things that the lab does a lot of, and things that either stretch people's perceptions of what works on them, or solidifies if they like something or not. Skin chemistry is so interesting and varied. I think the Imp Ears packs are a great reference for the different categories. Snake Oil (you either love it or hate it, but getting on the snake oil train is fun when 'weenies and yules come around) Dead Leaves & ____ (for the same reason as above) Dorian (i feel like this is a good way to test if fougere is your thing) Kabuki (Red musk and cherry) this will tell you if you like red musk and/or cherries/ and what your skin chemistry does with fruits or just cherries Cthulu (aquatic) again, love or hate, it's good to know what your skin chemistry does with these notes The Lion (amber) same as above I think the Booze, Citrus, Vanillas are so varied that I can't pick specific. This requires lots of playing. Florals: I'm the worst person to make any recommendations in this category Dirty: the perfect way to find out if you like the "Fresh" category. Alice (do you like rose?) Now that I'm reading your signature, I see that you're a gourmand/herbal/woody fan, which is kinda similar to me. That changes my list a bit. Snake Oil (big fan of Snake Oil) Booze: skin chemistry does interesting things with different spirits. Try rum, wine, whiskey, and cognac separately. Rum doesn't do much for me, and I hate the way cognac smells on me. Rum: Piratey things available from GC ( Port-Au-Prince ). Wine: Hands-down fave: Dark Chocolate with Merlot-Infused Black Cherries (hard to find, message me if you'd like to try a decant, but there's other wine ones out there that aren't L.E.) Blood Kiss, i think has wine, is GC. Whiskey: Mad Sweeney (GC) Kabuki: love it (GC) Leather: Perversion (GC) (never thought in a million years I would love this as much as I do, highly recommend) Standard Gourmand: Eat Me (GC) (there's a million imps of this floating around in people's sales pages) Bakery: Unsubtle euphemism (looks like it's a Luper that's still up there, it's wonderful, it's like fresh foccacia to me). Last year's Lilith: Loaf is a must try. Bakery, tarts: Knave of Hearts (GC) Chocolate: Vice (GC) Coconut: Blood Pearl (GC) Apple: The Poisoned Apple (GC) Strawberry: Any of the Strawberry Moons Spice Rack: I've yet to find anything that is heavy on Sage, Thyme, Rosemary, or Basil. They are usually paired with cucumber or tomato, and have a strong "green" quality that doesn't work for me. Or maybe heavy on the orris and are too dry or dark for me, or heavy on the dirt note or moss. I haven't done enough digging in the recommendation forum to look for these notes specifically. You can find lots of cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger. Star anise, nutmeg, and caraway are harder to come by. The holidays are great for new releases including these. Definitely try different things with clove. It's not the same in all the blends. And, pepper, figure out which you like. White pepper does amazing things on my skin (Xanthe, the Weeping Clown or White Chocolate, Strawberry, and White Pepper Truffle). Salt, surprising, smells nice as well. There is an LE (Aegir), which I love, but you can't find anymore. I haven't tried this, but I bet it's nice: Lavender, Sea Salt, and Rain (as long as the rain doesn't do the soapy thing), which is probably easier to come across decants. I have a hard time recommending woods because I'm very specific about which I like. I'm a rosewood fan, and I adore King of Hearts (GC). ETA: Sorry, this turned more into a recommendation post, than a Starter pack. I do believe in trying everything because you never know what will work with your skin, but I think that would turn this into a "starter box", and nobody wants to pay for that.

Is there anything similar to Lush’s Avocado co-wash? I’m guessing lime, rosemary, lavender, and nettle?

This is really pretty, but does lean on the laundry soap side of things. Staying power is impressive. Just not a white, clean floral that works for me.

Circling back around to trying to find something that was close to Mrs. Meyer's Iowa Pine scent...Nava's NAliday Tree is pretty close. It could do with a drop of clove to sweeten it up, but it's definitely hitting that pine note I was looking for. Hit me up with your imps if you didn't enjoy it, please. 😃

I agree with the small amount of spice. And perhaps some cream and sugar. Maybe just a hint of vanilla and sugar. It's sweeter than i expected, which I really enjoy. This is like being heads-down in a coffee shop, working on something you enjoy. I think it's a great smell, but I think my chemistry sucks up coffee really quickly, so I don't think I can really speak to the wear length.

I feel like there was a weenie in 2020 or 2019 that people commented leaned strongly on the Bulgarian Tobacco side. I could be way off, though. Maybe it was a yule? Perhaps search through reviews, but filter them by date? It was something somewhat recent, but maybe it was just recent to me since I just got around to reviewing it. I tried to look through my posts to see if anything stood out, but nothing did. I'm sorry I can't be of more use, but I think there's something out there. I got curious and did the search in the Weenies Reviews. https://www.bpal.org/search/?q=Bulgarian Tobacco&type=forums_topic&nodes=141&search_and_or=and TTP has a decant of Groan of Mortal Terror I'll see if I can dig out my imp later, and match with anything in my current stash.

Peppermint patty is the first thing that comes to mind. Gingerbread spices rise up as this dries down and mellow out the peppermint. I wouldn't think to put these 2 smells together. They surprisingly work after it's dry, but I think it's only if your chemistry allows for the peppermint to calm down.

Smoky cocoa with a hint of bitterness. Definitely not for me, but I can see chocolate lovers who also enjoy a hint of smokiness really like this.

I'm a huge fruitcake fan. My family makes it every year. I even made one for the first time this past year. I've never tried a chocolate version, though. My initial take when trying this out...this is Jólabókaflóðið! It's dry, dusty chocolate, with a hint of nuts! Smelling them together, one of each hand, so I have a better comparison. Chocolate fruitcake has an underlying hint of candied fruits, whereas Jola has more hearth smoke and candlewax. Chocolate fruitcake has a tiny pine aspect that hangs out around the edge, but maybe it's just clove. As they drydown, smelling them up close is very different. I guess there's something in waft from my neck, when there's a bit of distance and time, they end up smelling similar. I want to blame it mostly on my nose. At the end, the way my nose interprets the chocolate in the waft is the only way it's similar. At the end, Chocolate fruitcake doesn't pack as much of a boozy, fruity punch as I was expecting. It's still lovely and light, and wearable. If I want fruitcake, I'll reach for my beloved ICD-37.

Soapy ozone, definitely not for me.

Starts out as a really pretty, juicy peach. Similar to those peach gummies you can find in Asian grocery stores. The peach chills a bit, and the yuzu slowly bubbles up. I don't get overwhelming citrus or musk. This clearly stays in the peach realm for me. What a great option for Spring!

I keep forgetting that I don't enjoy this apple. It goes on like a red apple. I would expect to like everything else, but they add a darkness and depth that doesn't suit the red apple, in my opinion. It ends up feeling like a dirty, dusty red apple that I don't enjoy.

I don't think the apricots are easily recognizable. But I think my nose isn't picking up a bunch of nuance at this point. I wasn't impressed with this as much as I wanted, but I'll have to test it again later.

Zankoku_zen touched on it being "delicate", but that's really the first thing I would put forward about this. It's a very close-to-skin scent. Frankly, it's so light, that's why I'm not keeping it, even though I enjoy the scent. And Roseus mentioned "watermelon candy", and now I see the comparison, too. Drydown helps with moving away from watermelon candy, though. To me, this lives in a weird gray space between sugary, spicy, and a touch of white floral, maybe nicotiana. It's hard to pinpoint anything in particular. I would wear this if I was going to church and I didn't want to offend anyone or overwhelm them in a small space.

Why did I think there was leather in here? I was walking around, thinking this was an approachable leather that didn't come across as too strong. Reading the notes, I must have made my coworkers crazy smelling like patchouli, oudh, and musk. Trying this again, I get more incensey and wood. And it's not nearly as strong as I previously experienced. I think my nose is wonky. I will have to test this again because I really liked it a few years ago.