aphrodite

I'm planning to dress as Lady Stoneheart this year for Halloween. I want to be pretty authentic to the book, but not gross -- e.g. my hair will be white and grey, but by means of a sleek, gradient-style wig, and I'll be pale and have the bloody scratch marks, but won't try to make my skin look grotesque and bloated. So, how should I smell? (BTW if you're a fan of A Song Of Ice And Fire / Game of Thrones and have not read the third book inf full, DO NOT GOOGLE LADY STONEHEART. I can't recall if she's mentioned by that name in book three, so if you've read the first three and the name doesn't ring a bell, you're safe to look it up.) I have tons of BPAL, both GC and LE (including GC discontinueds), so throw out any name that comes to mind.

If anyone is ever looking for a GC similar to Araña or Feed Me and Fill Me With Pleasure, try Antikythera Mechanism. AM used to be one of my beloved go-tos, but I find the other two variations a touch more "me". If I ever run out of both, though, I'll be able to turn to AM to fill my need for deep, sweet woodiness.

I didn't join the forum for about two years after getting into BPAL, so I'm realizing I never reviewed any of the classic scents that first made me an addict. Le Serpent Qui Danse was my first BPAL love, and while I neglect it sometimes during mega update seasons, I'm always so happy to rediscover it. I get soft vanilla and soft violet from this; they're equally present and take turns standing on their tip toes, while the gardenia makes it more complex than straight vanilla-violet but never asserts itself as dominant. It remains fairly close to the skin, but I get wafts of it for hours -- I'm not walking around in a yummy cloud the way I am with some scents, but I also don't have to keep my nose to my wrist to know it's there. I like lots of throw, but I also like my boyfriend to think I smell nice, and he doesn't like anything he perceives as strong. We both also love vanilla. This is one of his favorites on me, which is great because it's a simple blend of three notes I adore. Also, while gardenia is one of my favorite natural scents and one of the few notes I still enjoy in commercial perfumes, I haven't had much luck with BPAL gardenia blends. I don't think the note itself goes bad on me so much as I strike out with things it gets frequently blended with. I never notice the gardenia on its own in this scent, but it tempers the violet into a sort of mist-shrouded violet in the morning sun, the purple sweetness hidden behind something soft and white. I've never bought a 5 ml of this because I rarely do with GCs and I've been lucky enough to receive a few frimps over the years so I've never run out. But when I eventually start to build my GC 5 mL collection, this will be one of the very first I go for. I recommend if you love Time Does Not Bring Relief, The Governess, Bruised Violet Compound, or soft vanillas.

Ohh, hit me again, Wanda, you sexy bitch. I'm in love with this. I love the actual smell of leather, but every BPAL leather I'd smelled before this either 1. didn't work or 2. didn't show any leather on me. The ones that haven't worked have been dark, masculine leather. This is like you just bought a buttery soft leather coat in Venice. I amp violet and it's one of my favorite notes, so I do smell the florals in the throw, but specifically the violet. I think I smell the wine - there's a sort of dark, vaguely sweet background - but it works as such as seamless link between the violet and the leather that I really don't smell it as a distinct note. Mmmm it's nice. One of my absolute favorite BPALs is the Luper Time Does Not Bring Relief. The two have similar notes, but I don't think they smell very similar and I don't reach for them on the same day - TDNBR is sweeter, and the leather in Wanda is really prominent, though non-invasive. I think if you like TDNBR but want something in a vaguely similar vein to be worn in a totally different mood or scenario, you might give this a try. It's supremely sexy, but I don't feel like I can't wear it during the day, including at work.

Thanks for the pics, guys! Now I'm coveting things even harder!

Literally everything Gateau just said. Same exact experience I had. And the masculine part reminded me of my grandpa - I like some "masculine" smells on me, but the sexy kind. Not the grandpa kind, even though it specifically reminds me of when he was in maybe his 40s.

This was a nightmare. It smelled primarily like nail polish remover. Eventually it faded into a bunch of chemicals, and hours later there was a hint of vanilla. Never again.

That pumpkin note is the only thing that will keep me from eventually ordering Theme in Yellow, if it smells like raw pumpkin guts with a candle burning inside. I just don't care for that smell. I can't imagine ever wanting to smell like it, but if BPTP puts out a corresponding or similar atmo spray I'll probably be all over that.

I bought a 5 ml of this immediately after trying several Pickman decants. I wore it a few times, but I have so much BPAL that I never added it to my actual 5 ml cabinet - left it, along with a fresh 5 ml of my beloved Laurel Honey and a bunch of imps, in the box - and forgot it had ever happened. Yesterday I peeked into a box thinking it must just have a bunch of random old decants in, and discovered this forgotten order. So this morning I slathered on Love and immediately remembered why I bought it. I never liked rose scented things before BPAL, and even in my first year-ish of wearing BPAL. But certain scents have changed that - mostly anything that combines rose with fig - and by the time Love came around, I was ready. Dear gods, it's magical. The rose and strawberry are both noticeable for me, but they intertwine so seamlessly that it's neither too perfumey old lady nor too sweet. I have had the plastic vanilla experience before but have also had a lot of incredible vanilla experiences; this is more the incredible vanilla but it's not amping the way it does in some other favorites. It's just there to add an intriguing new element to this. And the creaminess, ahhh! I've yet to find a version of Boo that works for me - I think it's the cotton sheets that aren't my thing - but this is Boo cream without the cotton and it makes me so happy. It's a glorious scent, perfect for spring days, any day as a season is turning, and any cold winter day when you need a boost and a mental escape.

Bumping, cause still hoping for any help with these. I notice I didn't mention in my first post that wet phase Dorian on me was the closest I've ever found to Angel Innocent, and sometimes Mage echoes it as well.

This candle is exactly what I'd hoped for: a soft, vanillaic peppermint. I burn it in my bathroom, as it's both invigorating for sluggish mornings and soothing when taking a hot bath. I have one backup left and will be crushed to pieces if it isn't revived for Yule 2013.

I've been through three or four of this candle already. When they popped up on Etsy recently I bought two; that was just under a month ago and I've burned through one of them. It is the PERFECT kitchen smell, and I light it as soon as I walk into my home. I smell pure clove, with maybe a hint of background, but the background doesn't smell specifically like patch or anything else. This candle also goes amazingly well with several other Halloweenies. I'm still getting tiny uses out of the last of my beloved Pumpkin Tart candle, and I hoarded Dead Leaves and Desolation because OMGBESTSCENTEVER, and when I burn either of those at the same time as Black Clove, the combinations are incredible. BRB going light all of my 2012 'weenies.

(2013 version) This is one of my favorite scents. I amp parma violet, which is fortunate because I looove it. The copal and beeswax (and maybe something else) mix in a way that smells like beautiful vanilla on me. Everything else is sort of quietly humming in the background, so that at first sniff it's violet and unique vanilla, but you can still tell there's something more going on. The only problem I have with it is that depending on the day, I could put this on and eight hours later still feel like I smell too strong to be in public, and other days it almost immediately becomes close to the skin and within a few hours is barely there at all. I have a similar problem with The Governess, so I guess my skin chemistry is fickle about how to handle its love of violet smells - to devour or to disperse? ETA: Today I feel like the leather is more present than I'd noticed before. I think it blends into the magical vanilla combo in a way that makes it a bit rougher, which is really lovely. Gods, I adore this perfume.

The first time I ever applied this in the office (not wore it to work but actually applied it IN my cube), several coworkers flocked to sniff me. It's the only scent that ever caused that.

i've seen Angel pop up in this thread a lot, but what about Angel Innocent? I'm not a BPAL noob and I have an entire medicine cabinet filled with 5 mls and imps, but I've yet to find one that mimics Angel Innocent. please don't respond with scents that list similar notes - I find the notes listed in commercial perfumes smell entirely different than the same ones in BPAL. but if you've actually smelled a BPAL and though, Angel Innocent, please let me know! <3 I'd also love to find a match for Annick Goutal's L'eau d'Hadrien.

Woody: The Antikythera Mechanism Green: Strangler Fig

i think fae forest atmo spray is a dead ringer for Elf oil. which is awesome because i love them both.

I so desperately wanted this to work for me, not only because the notes sound like they should be exquisite, but also because I wanted to have the following convo often: “Wow, you smell great!” “oh, yep, that’s the Tears of Lilith.” I absolutely love Lilith mythology and this really did sound like it should smell so good. I guess I was unsure what a few of the notes were like, and I wish I knew which was the primary culprit so I can avoid it in the future, but something in this made me smell just disgustingly like the incense section of a hippie/head shop. I basically smelled like I stayed in the incense section of such a shop for six hours on a summer’s day and then left with a bag of something with a name like Strawberry Fields Forever. I tested it more than once and in different amounts, but same thing happened each time. Very sad about this one.

This is just extraordinarily lovely. I do absolutely love absinthe – I keep a bottle in my house and drink it straight up – but the Lab’s Absinthe oil smells like a nightmare on me, so I was a bit nervous. I like the other Laces I’ve tried and really wanted an absinthe scent I could wear, so I gave this a try, and wow. I just love it. I actually don’t think of absinthe per se when I smell this, although I have been craving my Pumpkin Tart candle more than usual this week (I’ve been wearing this all week) and the candle includes “an anise seed crust”, so I guess I am picking that up after all. For me this is rather minty smelling, and I even feel a cool mintiness that’s been keeping my eyes clear and open, if that makes sense. The lace note is its usual loveliness. Overall this is basically a My Little Pony that washes its hair in vanilla oil and has been chewing wintergreen mint leaves to try to disguise the face that it’s been tasting its parents’ absinthe. I have a decant from a forum member and it’ll probably last me a long time, but I ordered a bottle today because I never want to find myself without the option to wear this.

any GC suggestions for the dark, sensual vanilla in Sonnet D'Automne? I adore most vanillas but do not like french vanilla on my skin and have some awkward effects from a lot of vanilla creams. And a lot of the "masculine" vanillas are too intense on me - I'm diminutive, so while I love a lot of throw and don't mind smelling like a sexy man, I don't want to smell like a big foreboding man that gets in bar fights, even if he's very well dressed and has nice aftershave. I want the deep, sensual, almost boozy kind of vanilla that you get from really high quality vanilla extract, which I think is done really well in Sonnet. Any GCs with similar vanillas would be much appreciated. (Some notes: O and Snake Oil do nothing for me. I don't hate them, they're just, meh. I want my socks knocked off by this one.)

Butterscotch Balls and Black Beetles has extraordinary, frightening throw. My best friend tried it on at my house on Friday. On Saturday I picked it up off the coffee table to go put it in my perfume cabinet and I was walking around in a cloud of it for the entire day and evening, just from carrying the bottle which I guess had some residual on. Samhain and Witch Dance (which smell virtually identical on me) have tons of throw. Le Serpent Qui Danse, which was my very first true loooove BPAL, has considerable throw on me, BUT. The throw is primarily vanilla, whereas up close it's a lot more floral. I like scents that do this; it gives both an intimate secret feel and a lovely attention-worthy cloud. Le Serpent is one of the more memorable combos of this sort for me. Lady Amalthea has lots of throw for me as well. Sonnet D'Automne too, but it morphs to a much softer and different scent by the end of the day. This is fine, because I'm obsessed and have bottles all around my house plus in my desk at work, so I just keep slathering. I've only tried Bordello once, so I'm not ready to commit fully to this statement, but I found it had considerable throw but the staying power didn't match. It didn't fade right away, but the throw was all BAM HERE I AM so I didn't want to apply more than a drop or two, but then it didn't stick around the way other scents that I'm inclined to use sparingly do.

I get chocolate and a barrel of apples. But within the chocolate I smell something else, so it could very well be hazelnut. That would make sense. And a hint of bread or beer - I don't smell any alcohol, but there is a sort of wafting yeast smell that could be either hot loaves or beer. What I do know is I like it very much. It's not something I would wear but it's perfect for an atmo spray, and while it is rather foody, it's not the kind of foody where I go, "I want this in my mouth." Instead it's more like the foodiness of, well, walking into a food and hospitality establishment to set down my weapons, pay a few coins for a bed and have a warm beverage and a fresh piece of fruit or two.

so far this smells like samhain without the apple.there's something i amp in both of them, but i don't know what it is. maybe the smoke note, but bonfire night smells nothing like this on me. is there black patchouli in this one? the note i amp is deep and heady and i want to say it smells mahogany or dark purple.

Have I seriously never reviewed this scent? It's my all time favorite, hands down. I have 5 or 6 bottles and still snatch them up whenever I see someone is selling one. It smells like dark, natural vanilla spilling over dead and dying leaves while a cold white musk wafts through the air. As it dries down it becomes more white musk and the amber and cocoa show their heads a bit, but they maintain a hint of vanilla until almost the last gasp. If I wear it and just apply once and let it fade, by the end it's almost entirely shivering white musk. But I have bottles all around my house and in my desk at work, so that rarely happens. I tend to slather it on for two days straight and then switch after a shower. Idk what I’ll do when I eventually run out; I have several BPALs that I absolutely adore, but not one comes close to smelling similar to this, so it’s a void that won’t be easily filled. At least this year’s Dead Leaves and Desolation candle smells like Sonnet to me; I’ll be stockpiling so my house can smell like it all the time. <3 It’s funny that many people mention Lady Amalthea as a similar scent. I don’t see the similarities really at all, and I wear Lady Amalthea in such different moods and scenarios than Sonnet, but Lady A is possibly my second all-time favorite after Sonnet, so there is probably something there. If you haven’t tried Sonnet and you ever get a chance, do it! And then if it doesn’t work for you, PM me.

This was so close to being swoonworthy for me, but I think the French vanilla instead of a darker vanilla made all the difference in my decision to re-home it. I also didn't detect the lemon verbena at all, which could've helped. It reminded me of several Solstice Scents perfumes I've tried - I want to say Nightgown in particular, though I may be remembering that wrong. The vanilla is prominent at first, and then the blooms start to peek out. That all sounds divine to me, but again, it was the wrong vanilla to work with these particular florals for my tastes. It was a bit too pink and poppy (as in pop star, not poppy flowers) for me. I do think it could've grown on me if I'd aged it a bit, played with putting it on different pulse points in different amounts, layered it with something darker, etc. but I felt for such a limited blend it made more sense to pass it on to someone that would love it as is. But, dear Lab, if you ever want to remake this blend with a deeper vanilla and kick up the verbena a notch, I'll buy ten.