parrot_suspect

I'm probably not a typical TAL user. I'm not pagan, I don't dabble in any sort of magick or rituals, and I'm not sure whether or not I believe in astrology.

I do, however, believe that TAL blends can have an effect on the user, and I own several of them. I've had great success with Nocturne (this puts me to sleep faster than a shot of Thorazine), White Light, LaFlamme and Amor. I probably don't use them correctly, but I enjoy them just the same.

With that in mind, when I heard about Benevolent Triple Conjunction, and its supposed attributes of opening possibilities in my life, I figured, why not? My life is dull as dishwater and I could use some help in bringing new possibilities and positive changes. And if nothing else, I would enjoy wearing the oil as a perfume.

It arrived last week. I just now opened it to try. I put a dab on each wrist. The fragrance is fairly strong. I can tell there is rose in there, but this isn't a "rose-y" blend per se (if it were, I wouldn't like it, as I am not into rose at all). I can detect rose, a general soft floral/herbal scent, and what smells like a touch of patchouli as a base note. It blooms on the skin and wafts upward.

Overall, the effect is calming and relaxing. It reminds me a bit of BPAL Dove's Heart, which is a soothing mix of lavender and rose on me. BTC, however, seems more complex and introspective. I feel less stressed after wearing this for a half hour, but I can't discount the possibility of that being a placebo effect.

I like it, and I think I'll use it as an aid when I want to sit down and meditate or ponder what I want to do with my life.

Hello, dragon's blood lovers. I've been playing around with my Ars Draconis imps and wondering if anybody has any good layering suggestions for these oils. (Or any new favorites with dragon's blood as a note.)

I've just tried layering Dragon's Musk with Dragon's Tears - the resulting scent is quite lovely.

I've recently noticed Event Horizon is very similar to YSL Opium.

I just noticed this thread on "seduction" in the Beyond Perfume forum. It has many suggestions for blends that people have found sexy.

Somebody bought a bottle of Judith and Holofernes from me. While packing it up, I opened it for one last sniff, and put a tiny drop on my wrist. Wow, did that scent carry. For the next hour, all I could smell was very sweet honey with a touch of floral. If that's your thing, you won't be disappointed.

Scherezade is awesome, but I don't get floral from it -- on me it's all red musk and nag champa. A similar blend, which is more floral (to my nose, anyway) is Spellbound -- it is like rose-y incense without being too rosy.

Midnight on the Midway is a gorgeous dark floral incense blend, but as a discontinued LE it is somewhat hard to find. Ditto Chrysanthemum Moon and Gypsy Queen.

French Love is not terribly incense-y, but a beautiful bright floral musk with a dragon's blood note.

A few others worth investigating are Vixen, Kubla Khan, Xiuhtecutli, L'Ecole des Filles, Le Serpent Qui Danse, Lorelei, The Harlot's House, Masquerade, Horreur Sympathique, Sacred Whore of Babylon, Vechernyaya, Marguerite.

Yesterday I was going through some of my stash and found several bottles I'd hoarded of Neptune. Tried a dab on my wrist and was reminded of why I bought this oil -- it is UBER-SOAPY! (I like "soapy," when it's done well.)

Another one that I find very soapy is Come to Me. After it dries down, it smells almost exactly like Camay soap.

I'm looking for something similar to Britney Spears' scent Curious. It's been my staple perfume for years and I'm pretty much out of it now.

 

well the info on Curious says " a white floral scent. Its notes are Louisiana magnolia, golden Anjou pear, lotus flower, tuberose, star jasmine, pink cyclamen, vanilla-infused musk, sandalwood and blonde woods"

Another one I'd suggest is Hell's Belle. It's not *exactly* like Curious, but it has a heavy dose of magnolia, as Curious does, and a vanilla drydown.

NR is very heavy on the Egyptian musk, so you'd want to find a BPAL fragrance that has a lot of that.

Two that come to mind are Vechernyaya and Mr. Ibis.

Some of my favorite scents that I'd consider light are: Black Opal, Door, Dorian, La Petite Mort, and The Lights of Men's Lives.

 

I'm gonna recommend Mr. Ibis again (I seem to be telling everyone to get it lately!) it is a light musk that I can smell clearly while wearing it, but people only 3 feet away can't smell at all.

 

On me, O is actually quite light as well, although I know some people amp it.

 

Aureus is light and reminds me of a hope chest. Although a co-worker started sneezing whenever I would wear it...

 

Anubis is a light, somewhat sweet incense.

 

If you like melon, Twinkle Twinkle Little Bat is unobtrusive.

Wow...Aureus, to me, is one heavy duty patchouli wallop - I wouldn't call it light at all! Funny how different fragrances are on different people.

I'm sure these have been mentioned previously, but Alice, Zephyr and Mouse's Long and Sad Tale are light, to my nose, as is Coyote. Also, a good "light incense" scent is Kubla Khan, and lighter red musk blends include Bien Loin d'Ici and The Ifrit. You may also like Skuld, if honey doesn't turn you off. Dragon's Reverie is one of the "lighter" Ars Draconis blends. For a light amber, check out The Lion or snag a bottle of Jacob's Ladder (a Yule blend that's offered nearly every year) in swaps.

Good luck!

I'm a relative newbie to BPAL (just sent off my second order) but the first scent I fell in love with was Gluttony and I'm looking for something to replace it now that it's been discontinued.

I've always found Hollywood Babylon similar to Gluttony.

Things that smelled best on Hubby:

...

Judas, I just want to say it's nice to see you posting here again. You were gone for a long time!

And, so this post isn't completely off topic, I think Mechanical Phoenix smells great on my hubby.

I have three words for you: The Coiled Serpent.

It is straight-up, earthy patchouli and nothing else. Exactly what she's seeking.

If she would like to try something that has a strong patchouli note along with other notes, I'd recommend Vechernyaya, Urd, Anne Bonny or Aureus.

Good luck!

Anyone know of a BPAL similar to Armani Sensi? Notes (from Perfume Emporium) are: A sensitive, serene blend of clean elegant notes, Sensi opens with a burst of kaffir Lime softened with acacia farnese. Sensuous barley, Cape jasmine, palissander wood, benzoin and vanilla accents create subtle nuances of sensuality. It's kind of warm yet light, very much a skin scent--but very hard to describe! I'm hoping someone knows it and has found a BPAL with the same feel. TIA!

I used to have a bottle of Sensi, and I remember it as being a soft woodsy skin scent, on me.

My top suggestion would be Morocco; I find it very similar to Sensi.

You may also want to try Lucretia and And There Was a Great Cry in Egypt, from the Salon. Another one to try would be the new GC Paramatman.

I don't know what it is about warm weather, but it tends to make me put away the fragrances that are vanilla-based and break out the musks. I just polished off bottles of Dragon's Musk and Psychological Horror, two of my favorite musky blends, and I've nearly emptied Scherezade.

I like musks of almost any kind, so this is one of my favorite threads; I'm going to read it from the start to see if there are any good musky blends I've missed.

Just about the only type of musk that goes "off" on me is musk blended with honey. That can sometimes be too sweet and sort of plastic-y -- Lady Una, for example, didn't work on me. I *did* try a dab of Against Idleness and Mischief (which has honey) the other day, and that was nice. Kind of like Aeval without the sage and sweet pea. I'm sure there must be some musk in there somewhere.

Anyone out there a fan of Psychological Horror? I've found there are two versions of it - the original, gorgeous, musky-powdery version, and another one that's similar but has a strong, distinct coffee/caramel note that nearly overpowers the other notes. In my last DD order, for four bottles of Psych Horror, I received three of the good-smelling kind and one of the "coffee" variety. I also received a coffee-smelling one in a swap.

Am I going nuts, or has anyone else experienced this?

The Grindhouse has a strong magnolia note, although I wouldn't classify it as a floral blend. It's also heavy on musk and vanilla. It's a beautiful, sexy floriental.

I am not a floral lover myself, but here are a few floral threads you may want to check out.

Good luck, I hope you find your perfect summer garden scent!

Spring florals

The scent of a meadow

Sweet florals

Scents to wear while gardening

Fresh florals

Monster, have you tried Bruised Violet Compound?

Or how about The Raven? I haven't tried Faith, so can't compare that.

I haven't tried Wild Men, but I like Glowing Vulva and Snake Oil. Here are a few suggestions:

The Grindhouse: This has the same "richness" as Snake Oil, but is more floral-oriental (whereas Snake Oil is a spicy vanilla).

Temple Viper: Somewhat similar to Snake Oil but more woodsy/incensey.

Three Brides: a soft vanilla with a bit of fruit

Vixen: heady and rich like Snake Oil, but no vanilla

Lilith and the Giant Crab: this reminds me a bit of G.V.

Lust: Seems to be in the same family as Snake Oil, without vanilla

A variety of fragrances were popular in the 1980s, but most of them shared this in common -- they were loud, strong, in-your-face type of scents (think Obsession, Knowing, Anais Anais, Lauren, Opium, Poison, Ysatis, Giorgio, Eternity). So if you're looking for a BPAL scent with an '80s feel, choose something bold and fearless.

I would not go with Snake Oil, anything with vanilla as a predominant note, or anything overly foody/gourmand because that type of fragrance did not become popular until the mid-'90s. You also want to avoid anything "clean," aquatic or subtle, because the fragrances of that era were anything but subtle.

You need something floral, strongly Oriental or floriental if you want to evoke the '80s. Just off the top of my head, I'm thinking Vixen (one of the strongest BPAL fragrances ever!), Stardust, Scherezade, Sacred Whore of Babylon, Haunted, Bordello, Delight, Hell's Belle, Spellbound, Xiutecuthli (probably spelled that wrong), Depraved, Lust, Dragon's Blood, Blood Kiss, Lurid, The Hanging Gardens, Mania, Sin. Vechernyaya would also be awesome; it's strong and sharply musky.

I'm also thinking several of the fragrances from The District would be good choices; they are mainly heady florals. '

So slather on the fragrance, wear plenty of makeup, spray your hair as high as it will go and make sure your dress has shoulder pads (or ruffles, at the very least). You'll out-'80s everybody!

I really love the scent of iris. I have been using L'occitane Iris Eau de Parfum. Now i want to discover the bpal oils that contain iris as a main note.

I adore iris as well. Two of my favorites are Lucretia (from the Salon); it is bended with sandawood, musk and other notes and has a smooth, sophisticated, polished feel; and The Grindhouse, from Carnaval Diabolique, which to me is the perfect floral-oriental blend. Also from the Salon, you could try Silence, a floral blend.

Of the newer offerings, you may be interested in The Velvets from the Neil Gaiman Neverwhere line -- iris isn't the predominant note, but it gives the scent a beautifu duskiness. Blue Moon of any vintage is also a good option, if you can find it in swaps.

The new GC Paramatman is definitely heavy on the orange blossom -- while slightly softened by sandalwood. It's lovely.

Have you tried Le Serpent Qui Danse? Or Lucretia?

Dior's Hypnotic Poison and Bpal's The Girl remind me of each other - they are by no means identical but to my nose, HP smells like the warm, rich sibling of the cooler, crisper The Girl.

ITA. The Girl is a lot like Hypnotic Poison.