sunqist

 

Any suggestions for a hair gloss to go with Haloes? I'm not much of a fan of Bio or Antikythera Mechanism (to the point where I no longer have either), and Black Vanilla and Cardamom should work but cardamom tends to lend everything a deodorant note, sadly. Haloes is one of these that's so perfect on its own that I'm scared to add the wrong thing and spoil it.

 

My two favourite "go with everything" glosses are Departing Like Smoke, and Kill-Devil (I use this with sweeter scents). I would actually think Departing Like Smoke would go nicely, and still let Haloes shine, if you happen to have some of that.

I do, and I don't wear it often enough, so I will give that a shot and report back!

Any suggestions for a hair gloss to go with Haloes? I'm not much of a fan of Bio or Antikythera Mechanism (to the point where I no longer have either), and Black Vanilla and Cardamom should work but cardamom tends to lend everything a deodorant note, sadly. Haloes is one of these that's so perfect on its own that I'm scared to add the wrong thing and spoil it.

Wow, lots of different experiences for this one. I like beeswax, I like strawberries, and hard candy is questionable (sugary notes in general can go really wrong on me). This smells like the hottest strawberry acid I can imagine. I love it. I get none of the smooth mellowness of beeswax, although it probably is doing something in the background. I think the hard candy is doing an interesting "sugar burn" thing. It's not as sweet or foody as I imagined when I ordered it. On me, it's like Hollywood Babylon, but with the red musk replaced by pure aggression.

In most of these, the dead leaves start off really green smelling, like they aren't DEAD leaves until the drydown. With this blend they go on much dryer to begin with, much less acrid. That said, on me they tend to disappear into the frank for the drydown. I really only get copal if I huff my wrist super hard. It's there, and I'm sure it's modifying the blend, but mostly I get the frank. I'm enjoying it, but I don't think it's going to be my One True Love dead leaves blend.

Well, maybe I can wear Vanilla Fields as a perfume and then SC as a hair gloss. That's probably my best option anyway. I'm really not looking forward to anything involving jasmine or geranium, so hopefully the synthetics in a drugstore perfume will lay flat and just let the other notes take over.

Sigh...

Vanilla Fields

I see this has been asked on here before, but never really answered (except for Celeste from the Post, which is described as a more grown up version. Oh, and Antique Lace, which is to laugh). My gentleman friend has requested that I wear it for him, and although I was a teenager in the 90s, I don't remember that one specifically. I'm sure I could just go down to Walgreens and pick up a bottle for five bucks, but there has got to be a better option. Also, I've seen some chatter on line about how they've reformulated it, so I don't even know how much it would smell like what he remembers. Worse comes to worst I guess I can pick up a vintage bottle somewhere, but I have a little time so it's worth asking.

#38 - I don't know what the heck is in this, but it's pretty fantastic. I'm not at all familiar with the fougere family of scents, so I don't know what's the base and what's the chaotic overlay, but this certainly smells like a designed perfume. Actually, it's entirely possible that the chaotic notes are too faint to smell, and I'm just getting the fougere base, but that's fine. It lasts a long time, it doesn't morph very much, and the throw is reasonable. I don't know why I'm bothering to review it, because I'm keeping it forever!

Random question... has anyone else got the BPTP RR goods in the tall skinny bottles? Maybe it's just my eyes, but all the pics of them look like they are in the traditional squat 'boston-round'?

 

And very awesome arrangement/design with the bottle porn pics, nathanielherbert! What a nice treat

From five bottles of RR hair gloss, I got three that were tall and skinny, and two that were Boston round. The labels were clearly designed for the taller bottles, though.

Chicago has some of the worst weather in the country, some of the worst violence in the country, and some of the worst politicians in the country. And yet some us love it so. To me, one of the reasons its so magical, despite all the problems, is that if the wind is just right, and it's well after dark, and you're walking around certain parts of downtown or the gold coast with friends on a rare beautiful summer evening, the streets smell like chocolate.

This is not that scent. I was hoping it would be, even though it's not presenting itself as such. Just the thought of a Chicago themed chocolate atmosphere gave me hope, though. I'd say Bittersweet Chocolate bath oil is much closer. This is nice, but it is very much milk chocolate, with maybe just a hint of almond at the end. It's rich and beautiful milk chocolate, and I'll most likely use up my decant, but I won't be hoarding it on Etsy or anything. I can just walk around downtown.

This doesn't smell exactly like Drambuie, but it smells very similar. Not in a way where it smells like booze, but just in that smokey, sweet, rich way where Drambuie smells like the nectar of the gods. I love this. It's my imaginary boyfriend smell, where I've been spraying it in my hoodies to pretend a boy just finished wearing them. This is the first atmo I've really liked, and I'm considering buying a backup so I can have imaginary boyfriend smell forever.

My co-worker who is a nerd and who I nerd out about BPAL to, even though he could not care in the slightest, just confessed to me that he likes Donald Trump's cologne. I immediately found the notes:

The fresh mix of basil, citrus, cucumber, green notes and vetiver give this scent an airy coolness that is never overpowering. The smooth aroma of wood adds masculinity, and a touch of mint gives this cologne a crisp and energetic feel.

And promised him I'd find a BPAL corollary. Ten seconds of searching has not come up with anything yet. I'm obviously going to keep trying, but if this looks familiar to anyone, let me know! I'm not much for the fresh or minty scents, so even if I started to read a note list like this, my eyes would glaze over before I got to the end.

Really? Birch tar is a thing I'm loving now? Something about this is magical, and I'm guessing that since I've seen plenty of musks and plenty of patchouli, birch tar must be that magic ingredient. It smells like I'm wearing a boy's sweater, you know, like a new boyfriend or a crush. I love it on me, but I'm going to have to buy a bottle in case I get a boyfriend, because I would make him wear it all the time. Not the most compelling review, but I have always had a problem with other non-resin wood saps and tars going badly on me, I'm just so excited for this to be as amazing as it is.

I don't think Masabakes was anybody else's favorite discountinued GC, but I recently tried Septemer Midnight and found it not dissimilar. It's not quite as heady and it didn't last as long on me, but it's a very similar myrrh note, and the fruits give it a similar vibe.

Welp, I just pulled an envelope of decants out of the mailbox. Five decants and imps of various origins, four were totally normal, one was completely frozen through. Depending on then the mail came, it was probably outside for 2-4 hours, and temperatures were in the teens. The vial did not burst, and it took maybe thirty seconds to melt when I held it in my hand. Totally weird.

Mmm. This is exactly what I wanted Eastern Comma to be. I found that to be a bit dusty and overwhelmed by the hay, but this is straight up smouldering dark orange. The patchouli really makes the difference for me. I didn't get a ton of amber or musk, but they're definitely there, making themselves known. I do find that the orange disipates after a few hours, leaving a slightly powdery patchouli, with just the barest hint of citrus if you really snuffle it. I think my best course of action would be to get a bottle and and slather it, reapplying throughout the day. That way I can probably use it up before the citrus notes age out. Yes, that is exactly what I will do.

I'm getting a decant of Haigophobia, too! And like half the phoenixes, which I forgot to mention. It looks like it'll be a good crop no matter what.

Okay, I'll keep an eye out for the things that seem doable (which is to say, I think Herodotus' Phoenix seems like a pipe dream). It's definitely All Souls I'm thinking of, but I could be very wrong about it having rose. I can't tell if it actually smells like rose or if it just reminds me of rose, if that makes any sense. Little Pythia sounds like something I could find and that would be pretty great, and I've got some Eldritch Dark hair gloss coming, so I'll see how that goes. Thanks for the info!

Oh man. Oh no. This smells exactly like the perfume/lotion/candle aisle of the dollar store in my neighborhood. I'm sorry, Beth. I don't have a lot of experience with dragon's blood, but I suspect that its the magic ingredient that, combined with musks and aggressive fruit, is turning this into the signature scent for the young ladies in my neighborhood who don't dress appropriately for winter weather.

That said, if I didn't have the negative connotation, its quite lovely. Its warm without being spicy, and I would probably wear it quite a bit if it didn't make me feel like I was in a crazy eyebrow drawing contest with teenagers. Maybe I can start wearing it when I move.

I remember folks talking about the variations in Gnome a while back - an older, lighter, fizzy-ginger oil and a newer, darker, woody oil. I just wanted to say that I got a frimp of Gnome in with an order yesterday and it's just how I remember my old imp of Gnome from a year, year and a half ago - a light, almost clear oil that's most definitely fizzy ginger (I've not run across any of the darker, woody version). Maybe now's the time to buy a bottle? ETA or a handful of imps, anyway!

I had the same thing happen, but in the review thread it looks like people who have been ordering imps are getting the new formulation, so I suspect they've tossed all the leftover old formula imps into the frimp bin. I would absolutely buy this if I got the version I was frimped, but I'm not gonna take the chance. I'm just going to cherish the one I have and hope it happens again!

So I am freaking out about incense all of the sudden. All Souls was shockingly good, except for the cake which disappears immediately anyway, so I've been looking for more like that. Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but I swear All Souls has rose in it, which is very exciting because normally rose is soap hell for me. Also, in my research, it looks like most things described as "incense" have sandalwood. Sandalwood often just smells like plywood on me, though. So I'm wondering what the secret ingredient is, or at least what's worked for other people, especially if there's a rose component that also works. The only thing mentioned on this thread that I've tried that really smells like incense to me is is Seraphim, and that's got too much of a white floral to really be of use in my daily life.

Things previously mentioned in this thread I've tried that have not worked:

The Caterpillar

Anne Bonny

The Lion

Antikythera Mechanism

Blood Kiss

Hymn

Penitance

Tezcatlipoca

Things previously mentioned in this thread I've tried that I like but don't smell like incense to me:

Scherezade

Snake Oil

Hollywood Babylon

Things coming in my next order, or waiting on decants:

Midnight Mass

Practical Occultism

Cathedral

Morocco (which I've tried before and I don't especially recall liking)

Uruk

What else should I be looking at? I'm trying to buy a bottle of Khajuraho right now, in hopes that sandalwood + rose = happiness, but I'd love to get some additional recommendations.

Hellcat and Chimera, oldies but goodies for me. And the welts from Chimera go away after a few minutes.

Aw, man! I just got a frimp straight from the lab of what has to be the old gnome, and I was totally about to put it on my buy list until I saw this. Since this was a frimp, I'm not sure an ordered imp would be the same. This is like getting frimpped something that's been discontinued.

ETA: It occurs to me that this is not a review. Wet, this is the most gingery thing I have ever smelled. Like handling freshly sliced raw ginger. It's fantastic, and instantly makes me search for other scents with ginger notes. I own several of them, and this one blows them all out of the water. It stays that way for a good couple of hours, then I can smell that industrial scent in the background. I choose to ignore it. I get more shoe polish than dish soap, but I can see it going either way. I would absolutely wear this on a date if I already knew I wasn't spending the night with the guy.

I'm really conflicted about this! It goes to soap, but its like a really nice, French triple milled soap. This feels like one I'm gonna haul out every couple of months to see if I like it yet. But. It goes to soap. That's not really something that changes. Beautiful for people for whom rose does not go soapy!

Got this as a frimp. Like many other people, I got a big hit of the butterscotch at first, and then it fades out within half an hour. Rather than being left with dirt, though, I get straight up Chapstick. If I really huff my wrists, it's a complex and interesting Chapstick, but it's still not a plus. I hope whoever I pass it on to likes it!

I have a love/hate relationship with Kabuki, and this is exactly what I keep hoping Kabuki will smell like every time I wear it. Where Kabuki is sharp, Hideous Heart is smooth and almost creamy. Doesn't last long at all, sadly, but I'm more than happy to reapply. Time to buy the big bottle.