Spacekitty

My grandma passed away just over a year ago. Upon her request, my husband and I bought her house when she died. So I think about her a lot. I'm typing this in the room I used to sleep in when my parents were away. I'm currently in the process of installing a shower in the bathroom because my grandma never took showers - only baths. And she would only use one bar of soap - Sweetheart soap. She scoured the earth to find those soft pink oval bars long after they'd been taken off the market. My first memory of her is of her giving me baths with Sweetheart Soap. The first gift I can remember her giving me was Sweetheart Soap. The first lecture she gave me was about how important it is to care for your skin and how Sweetheart Soap was so gentle. I don't know what the notes or components are in this blend. What I do know is that Dove's Heart is Sweetheart Soap. It is the scent of my grandma. I miss her very much. I think of her everyday in this house... but her scent is fading, being replaced by ours. Dove's Heart is much more than just a perfume oil to me. It's a million memories, it's comfort, it's a hug, it's a warm bath, it's part of my childhood. Thank you Beth.

Crap. CRAP! This one hurt. As soon as I read the description, I LOVED the idea of this one and one sniff from the cap made me think I was right to buy a bottle. But then I tried it on my skin. At first, flowers. The carnation was easy - it was the boldest. Then jasmine - sharp jasmine. Thankfully, I don't mind jasmine. I smelled something sweet - which I assumed to be the vanilla flower. I could sense, if not smell, the lavender. I'm not a huge fan, but it just kind of wisped through the rest. When the amber finally started to warm it was so lovely, they blended so nicely, so uniquely. Except... something in the background - something sharp and weird started coming on stronger and stronger... Pickles. PICKLES? And salty chips. Like salt and vinegar chips, but more sour. Yeahbutnobut nailed it when she said crisps and brine. After about 15 minutes all I get is Old Dutch Dill Pickle Chips. I really need to stop my habit of buying any scent with the word "crystalline" in the description. Most of them work, but the ones that don't are dreadful.

Oh gosh. My first review in AGES. After almost three years, I'm actually writing my second review!!! LOL! Here goes: I received CT III: CCCXC in a swap in exchange for CT III: II (which, to my nose was grass and chocolate). The other reviewers said it was similar to Dial soap. I totally get that. At first. I'd describe CCCXC as a warm, but fresh herbal musk. I believe there's a touch of citrus or tea but mainly something herbal or light floral - and possibly grass. Clean, sweet, soft, unisex. So basically, yeah: Dial soap. But then... after about 10 minutes a weak anise note comes out. It kind of sings above the herbal sweetness and makes it so much more unique than it starts. But it's so faint sometimes I think I'm imagining it. On me, this blend just isn't bold enough. And while I love the anisey/spicey note, my skin just barely registers it. On someone else - someone whose skin works with anise and spice - I bet this would be really lovely. Last reviewed by Reedsong.

This is totally helping me think of ways to pimp the BPAL! For some reason it's been hard to sell to people. Me: I know how much you love Jo Malone products. I think you'll LOVE this scent - it reminds me of her - and your - style. Victim: You want me to wear something called Embalming Fluid?! Me: Okay, how about Sudha Segara - it's ginger & milk. Simple. Elegant. Totally Jo. Victim: Why would I want to smell like a cigar? Also, I don't think I posted this yet, but a while back I was searching for a scent similar to Issey Miyake's L'eau d'Issey. I found it - House of Mirrors! (Sorry, tart. I know this isn't what you meant but I can't think of anything now.)

I have a spray sample of Flowerbomb and I can tell you - it's not floral. It's cotton candy. It's Aquolina Pink Sugar's slightly older sister. It's the ghost of the long-deceased Casmir. It's Angel without the patchouli (yes, even though it's in the list of notes - so are all those florals and you don't smell those, either!). Xiuhtecuhtli is a good call, parrot_suspect. To me it's very similar to Angel. Kitsune-Tsuki is also very much in that same vein, but fruitier. There's Snake Oil, of course, which is nothing like any commercial perfume I've ever smelled, but a MUST for a new BPALer. And Dorian - which made me want to swear off all others because it's PERFECT. And this may seem way outta left field, but Two, Five & Seven went super sweet rock candy on me. Another seemingly odd suggestion would be Zorya - but those two could both be my chemisty. I turn everything sweet. The Dragon's Blood blends have never been my thing, but you should definitely try at least one. Dragon's Blood fans can give you better imput than me as to on which. If you can find some Midway, Snake Charmer or Enraged Bunny Musk, I'm thinking those also might be candy-like. I have them all on the way so someone else will have to verify that. Darn, there was one more but now I can't remember. Oh well, I think I've probably said enough as it is. I'm excited to hear more responses and your opinions once you've tried a few! Oh, I just remembered the last one - Brisingamen!

Cheshire is my all-time favorite BPAL scent, but I'm not sure it's what you're looking for in a grapefruit. IMO, it has the foody/candy thing you're concerned about with Baobahn... or maybe that's just the way it is on my skin. The grapefruit's in there, but it's not as prominent as with other blends. R'lyeh is grapefruit, but it might be too dark for what you're looking for. I didn't get much real grapefruit essence from Phobos, but I suspect I got a compromised imp. What I was expecting of it, though, sounds like what you're looking for as well. OTOH, the reviews say it's awfully lemony... Shattered is SOOO... refreshing. It has just enough grapefruity-ness to tame down the mint. Combined, they really bring out the aquatics. It's very bright and quite sharp - at first. The lotus kind of tones the sharpness down as it warms. BTW, this is coming from someone who can't stand lotus. Like Cheshire, this uses grapefruit to it's fullest blending potential. It's more supporting cast than featured star. Baobahn is the most grapefruity, to me, but it's not that sweet. It's pretty tart, in fact. Very pithy. If you're looking for grapefruit grapefruit - I think this is probably your best option.

I ended up going with Voodoo and it was perfect. Except - I must not have put that cap on properly the last time I used it and it was nearly empty (how I didn't smell this, I'll never know). It was my first spill. I know it happens to almost everyone at some point. It was inevitable. I'm glad I wasn't there to see it... I would have gone ape. Finding out after the fact - I'm not as heartbroken about the loss. Especially with how fast the turnaround time is with new orders these days! I wonder what kind of damage it did to my vanity? Thanks for all the suggestions. I've added the ones I didn't have to my wish list. Anyone have any Smut they want to sell me?

Okie - now that I'm home and have sorted through what I've got, these are the ones I'm considering: Snake Oil Morocco Samhain Sugar Skull Satyr Three Witches The Caterpillar Carnal Sin Voodoo Imp Black Forest Sugar Cookie Masabakes and Muse ('cause I'm already wearing it and I haven't decided if I'm going to take a shower before the show.) Or Burberry Brit (although I'd really rather wear an oil tonight)

I was actually wondering if Bon Vivant would work but it this isn't exactly a Champagne sort of club. Superhopper isn't even a Champagne of Beers sort of band! They're more like a Hamm's or JagBomb sort.

Cool, I just ordered Bengal! But the show's tonight. Three Witches is a good idea, though! What do you guys think of something with Patchouli? Too cliche?

That link was my swaps list. I always forget to bump. Grr. Anyway, I've got quite a bit in my keeper box. I'm all over the map scent-wise. Don't have any incensy oils or too many heavy musks. I've got Sin. It's been a while since I've worn it, but that would totally work. I'll see what other musky/resiny scents I've got. Thanks for the help - I just needed a kick in the right direction.

Yes, smoking's still allowed in bars here and everytime I go out, I wonder why I've bothered to shower - not to mention waste the precious. Don't get me wrong, I don't want my scent to gag everyone (although, that might get me a better view of the stage), but I do want to stand out above the haze. Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions? If this has already been discussed, I apologize. Kindly point me in the right direction, if you would. Thanks!

Oh man - Machu Picchu and Manila sound incredible. I hate artificial banana anything, but I hardly think Elizabeth would create a Laffy Taffy-like banana scent. And Spooky sounds PERFECT. So what's your advice on getting ahold of a discontinued LE (or even a decant of one)? I rarely see them available and when I do, I always seem to PM someone just after they've swapped to someone else.

The moment I read this I immediately thought Tarot: The Star. On me it is a very tart lime and coconut. A little too tart for my tastes, but it really lends itself to your desired flavour/scents. At the other end of the spectrum, Pele is a gorgeously soft and mild tropical scent which is very pretty. I really think you should try The Star though, given your taste in cocktails! ETA: Joseybird beat me to it! <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Thanks so much for replying! The Star is on my "someday" wishlist. I can't really afford a big bottle right now. Anyone have a sample they want to sell or swap me?

I like to smell like what I'm drinking and right now it's a lot of old school cocktails and Tiki drinks. Lots of lime, cranberry, citrus, gin and coconut. I especially love the sharp and tart scents. I've been alternating SHATTERED, MUSE and LAMPADES, but I'm afraid of wearing them too much and getting sick of them. I'm also really curious about "aquatic" scents. Some of my fave Lush soaps (Sea Veg and EVO) have had the marine flavor. What's so weird is that I hate the beach and sand and sun and all of these things scream "tropics" to me. What do you suggest? I want to try and narrow down my list and maybe get a few new ideas from you guys. Thanks!

I get a very distinct vision of early childhood from this one. Kind of creepy 'cause this has never happened before. I'm in church, sitting on the floor at my mom's feet, playing with her purse. Her purse always smelled of Luden's Honey Licorice Cough Drops and a mish mash of perfumes and cosmetics...and leather. My mom's purse mixed with the church incense - that's Mystery. Holy crap.

I'd like to echo Mandarin with the hydration stuff. Dehydration can mess you up - in the weirdest ways and if that's the case I would seriously recommend you stay away from Sudafed or anything that will dry you up more. In fact (please let me know if I'm way out of line here), it could be that you don't have menstrual pain, but a UTI. They're really painful. I used to get them from dehydration. For the feet, I would suggest a nice soak and perhaps a look into a new pair of shoes. I would also recommend stretching. Even the people that remember to stretch forget to stretch their feet.