parrot_suspect

All the suggestions so far have been great, but I'd like to add Utrennyaya. I just tried it for the first time the other day and was struck with how much it smelled like a cold, starry night.

My reply to you got eaten by the cybervillains as well. Like you, I'm a musk lover, though I've never smelled Mostly Musk. It sounds wonderful. I think Fenris Wolf and Coyote are probably your two best bets as far as BPAL is concerned. You could also try Scherezade and Dragon's Musk -- but they're not woodsy. They're a bit incensey. If you are willing to venture beyond BPAL, I'd strongly suggest Gap OM (woodsy, incensey musk) or Vinci-Rakos Earth (woodsy musk). Another possibility is Kiehl's Musk -- it's animalic, soft and sexy. Good luck in your search!

Now that this blend has been re-introduced as part of the Maelstrom series, I've noticed many people saying, "It sounds nice, but I hate civet." I want to encourage everyone to give this blend a try, because the civet most definitely does not overwhelm this blend -- you can barely detect it at all. On me, Morella is a gorgeous, soft, sweet, baby-clean type of scent. Have you ever tried Philosophy's Baby Grace? Morella is a lot like that, but it has more depth and character. It's innocent, yet sexy; and has a clean, fresh, just-showered sort of feel. I only have an imp of this (I've ordered a bottle), but whenever I dab it on, I can't stop sniffing my wrist. It has great lasting power and is a delight. I'm so glad this has been brought back.

Aromatics Elixir is a serious, heavy-duty, love-it-or-hate-it chypre. I'll be honest and say I have not found anything in BPAL remotely like it. Beth does not seem to dabble much in chypres. Sure, she has some scents with oakmoss (a note that is almost always found in a classic chypre fragrance), but they don't have that telltale chypre "twang" that's present in fragrances like EL Knowing, Aromatics Elixir, Miss Dior, Coriandre, etc.

How about something contemplative and thoughtful? Something quiet and not playful. I'm thinking woods, incense. Aureus comes to mind, as do Cathedral, Kathmandu and Morocco. If you like patchouli, Urd would be a good choice as well.

From what I recall of Onyx, it's a dark sort of scent with a bit of a coconut note. The closest BPAL that comes to mind is Black Pearl.

I'm sorry to say that Smut and I will have to go our separate ways. I thought I'd love it -- the notes sounded great, and I adore musk in almost any form. But on my skin, this smelled like a watered-down version of Scherezade or Sed Non Satiata with an unpleasant boozy top note. Sed Non Satiata doesn't work on me (though Scherezade does), so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised Smut isn't for me. I think it's that boozy top note that smells funky on me, because the drydown (of Smut) is lovely -- and there's definitely red musk in here, which I like. But I can't see myself wearing a scent that smells icky on me for several hours, just to get to the lovely drydown.

For a "sleep" blend Somnus smells surprisingly strong in the vial. The jasmine and lavender make their presence known in no uncertain terms. And even on the skin, it's pretty tenacious. If you're not fond of lavender or jasmine, I strongly suggest sampling this before purchasing. I don't know if this is helping me to sleep or not. You know how some blends you're just not sure about, but you don't necessarily want to get rid of them either? I was considering swapping Somnus, but then I kind of got used to dabbing a bit on before bedtime. I have Oneiroi as well, and I slightly prefer Oneiroi as it's a softer and gentler blend. I think I'll try using both and seeing if that helps me sleep even better.

Wonderful blend! Very almond-y, but not in a Dana O'Shee way, and not in a sweet cherry-ish way. It's just a warm, round, slightly spicy, almost-but-not-quite foody scent. Rather complex -- not just almonds, but there's something else in there, and it's all well-blended. Comforting and warm. It's sweet but not overpoweringly so. If you're looking for a different sort of almond scent, give this a try. I'm so glad I bought a bottle. (For those of you who are into commercial pefumes -- this reminds me of a smoother, more elegant version of Caron Farnesiana).

This starts out as a lightly spicy blend (think Red Phoenix or Blood Moon), but it quickly becomes apparent there's lots of wood in here as well. I'm thinking spices and sandalwood? Definitely patchouli in the drydown. Not a bad blend, but if you're looking for spices and woods, there are others that are better (Sin, for instance).

Midnight Mass wasn't quite what I expected. I was hoping for something somber and smoky, like CdG Avignon. There's incense in Midnight Mass, sure, but it seems buried under a pine forest (or is it cedar? some type of boreal forest) note. I really get more pine/cedar from this than I do incense. It's a nice scent but not really "incensey" enough for this lapsed Catholic.

Remember a fragrance from the 1980s by Coty, called Patchouli Musk? Vechernyaya smells remarkably similar. It's an interesting blend of musk, light florals and patchouli. The patchouli gives it a bit of a "bite," and the musk adds a sexy vibe. It's not a smooth or mellow scent -- it's kind of high pitched and "perfumey," but in the best sense of the word. Sparkling, sophisticated, and a little bit aggressive. Feminine and vampy. This is a scent to wear with a little black dress and high heels for a night on the town.

Don't worry about Jacob's Ladder. Of all BPAL scents, it is the most amber-y. It's practically pure amber. I'm guessing you'll love it (as I do!).

You know, I think just about any oil you *really* like is good for a scent locket -- especially oils that tend to disappear quickly on your skin. The thing about scent lockets is they keep the scent right under your nose and wafting about you all day. If you don't absolutely adore a scent, a scent locket can turn you off from that scent pretty quickly. Or, if the scent you like is really strong, putting it in a scent locket AND applying it to yourself might be overkill. This happened to me with Vixen. It's one of my top 5 scents, and I adore it to no end, but it is strong. I made the mistake of applying it liberally, wearing it in a scent locket, then taking a train downtown to go to an art gallery. Big mistake. The double-whammy of the scent locket and wearing it on my skin was too much. I got nauseated on the train, and all the while I was at the (crowded) art exhibit, I was paranoid that my scent was knocking other people out. The experience put me off Vixen for a while. Now I've learned my lesson -- Vixen does NOT belong in a scent locket! Snake Oil and Alice are two I often wear in my scent lockets. Snake Oil is another strong scent, so I don't use too much of it in the scent locket, but the locket I have is of a design that seems so perfect for Snake Oil. (click on link below -- that's my "snake oil locket"). http://cgi.ebay.com/Silver-Filigree-Marcas...1QQcmdZViewItem

No recs, since it seems everyone else has pointed you in the right direction, but I just wanted to say I love your sense of humor, Lobster!

I second the previous recs (particularly for Snake Oil and Sin) and would add Anne Bonny (a dark blend of incense and woods) and Vixen. These scents are all quite long-lived on me.

I don't know of any BPALs that smell like burnt paper, specifically, but Djinn smells like a wood fire. Chimera has cinnamon and vanilla. For some reason I'm also thinking Perversion -- it has vanilla, tonka, and a slightly "burnt" or ashy note. I know this is the BPAL forum, but I'm wondering if you'd be better off looking in the mainstream fragrance world for something similar to Now or Never. Maybe Fendi Theorema, or Le Feu d'Issey Light? Good luck!

An interesting blend. I get dragon's blood, tuberose (which smells a lot like gardenia) and a faint musk from this. Usually I can't do tuberose or any type of heavy floral, but somehow this is almost wearable for me. There's a certain soapy quality to this oil and it does feel exuberant and sexual. I think I'm going to try layering it with Dragon's Musk and seeing how that works.

It's easy to see why this is one of the most popular BPAL blends. Anyone who likes foody or sweet scents should try this. On me it's all sweet honey -- I don't get a lot of amber or vanilla. It reminds me quite a bit of Ginestet Botrytis.

If you like Black Cashmere, I'd suggest going for blends that have incense or woods as the predominant notes. Anne Bonny would probably be right up your alley, and I second the previous recs of Sin and Aureus. Cathedral is another you might like to try, and Depraved, Lust and Vixen are worth checking out as well.

Greetings from a fellow Red Moon lover I found French Love to be quite similar.

Depraved, definitely! It's loaded with the opium note. Dark and sexy.

Sugar Cookie, perhaps? Or Hollywood Babylon. Both are very foody/vanillic.

Inkheart, BPAL's Haunted is a dead ringer for Shalimar. VERY much in the Guerlain vein. Yes, if you like foody/seasonal blends you'll definitely like Gingerbread Poppet, and probably Hearth as well.

This smells just like Terra Nova Rain (or China Rain). Clean, a bit sharp, soapy -- an Egyptian musk/lily of the valley type scent. Since I already have the Terra Nova blend, I don't see myself buying Dirty. It's nice, and certainly "clean" smelling, but there are plenty of other scents like this on the market.