Mountaingrrl00

I was excited to try a decant of this from a generous forumite. The descriptions of dirt and rooty smells appealed to me big-time (I love Graveyard Dirt!) and I did get a hint of the earthiness when I sniffed it in the vial. But on my skin, it's mostly cedar and doesn't change until it fades away. Plus there's that weird viscous texture that others have described, making this oil unappealing for personal wear. What it is lovely for is scenting my wardrobe and storage cabinets.

This is autumn in a bottle - burnt sugar, pumpkin pie spice, leaf piles, golden light. I don't recognize musk, but I do find a hint of something piney which adds an herbal dimension to the sweetness. My nose has barely left my wrist since I put it on. I'll bet this is a fabulous seduction scent, too.

In the bottle, and on, this is a lemony fresh floral with a waft of the same spices (cloves? allspice?) that are in Brass Balls. It's an outgoing scent, and I found myself wanting to slather it, but restrained myself, since I just have the one imp from kiio's Unreleased TALs decant circle. Fortunately, it has good staying power - surprising for a citrusy scent. This oil is for use in drawing influential people to one, and that did indeed happen when I wore it. Edited to add: I've had this decant for two years, and have used little dabs ritually from time to time. Always effective!

In addition to the good suggestions others have made, I'll add a recommendation to try imps of the five Somnium oils. The one I find most calming is Temple of Dreams.

This was one that distinguished itself among the oodles of bottles I encountered at a Meet & Sniff recently. It's just so richly woody at first sniff. It reminds me of a cool, dark forest. Others are undoubtedly right that the predominant notes are patchouli and vetiver, but it has a different feel from the patchouli-and-vetiver of Malediction. There is balsam or something like it in here - a soft, not sharp, evergreen scent. And some kind of resin is here, contributing to the richness. Grounding, comforting, earthy, natural, deep ... I like this very much!

XXVIII I got a decant of this from a fellow meet 'n' sniffer who thought it smelled like banana. I don't smell any banana, but I think I know where she got that association. To me, this smells like a tropical drink - something with a couple kinds of booze (and I swear one of them is Curacao) and mixed fruit juices. I think I can even smell the maraschino cherry and a dash of grenadine. I really like this! It's fun, light and summery, and I predict I will be wearing it to some parties.

I like TAL Lionheart for both the intent and the scent. Take a look at the reviews - I think it might suit you.

Phantasm smells lemony at first, a nice clean herbal lemon. When the lemon mutes, the fragrance turns to luxury guest soap - soft, powdery, expensive Spring florals with an exotic green-tea twist. It doesn't have great throw, but it's strong up close. A little dab'll do ya. I think this would be a good scent for feeling clean on sweltering summer days.

I enjoy this fragrance a lot. It starts out with some floral notes - rose, and maybe tuberose? A hint of violet? It's soft, feminine, elegant. Something else in here reminds me of Lionheart, and that could be amber. It's light and a little bit almond-like. Maybe there's heliotrope too. Whatever it is, it brings a warm, lightly earthy base to the airy flowers. I can't report yet on how this affects others, but I felt good wearing it - a mellow, content kind of good - and I was sniffing my wrist a lot for a couple hours.

Some great recs here - I'll be following this thread myself! You might want to try using the BPAL search engine to look for saffron, too. That spicy note turns up in several of the dark and musky blends, including one of my favorites, Oblivion.

Ditto what GypsyRoseRed said - and I'd suggest trying Morocco, Baghdad and Tenochtitlan for autumn scents.

Since you like Manila and get a headshop vibe from that, I'll recommend Intrigue, which has a similar woody/incense note - the narra, I think. Sri Lanka smells the most like headshop nag champa to me.

Mmm, this is nice. Sultry cinnamon with hints of smoky wood and something animalic and the barest whisper of yellow flowers. It's warm and inviting. It smells grown-up, worldly. I don't know yet if it increases my sexual magnetism and potency, but I'm hopeful. The spiciness certainly is stimulating and uplifting to me. I'll wear it as perfume for my own pleasure as well as more devious uses. :-)

I'd suggest sending him to the site and getting him interested in the literary descriptions of the scents. That might be a good approach with your cousins, too -- even if they like smellies, the descriptions will give them something to anchor their sense impressions once they sniff what you bring.

I'd try layering Sri Lanka with Djinn for a Lapsang Souchang effect.

I put this on today and realized I hadn't reviewed it yet. Quite an omission, as this is one of my favorites! It's not a strong or showy scent, but it's so beautiful in its subtle way. I put this on when I want to be cheered up by its sweetness and elegance. The amber here is warm but not super-thick. I like the way it blends with the benzoin to make something familiar, but a little different. The effect is resinous without being at all heavy - just a lovely, golden glow of a scent. I've found that Jacob's Ladder is a wonderful scent for layering, as well as standing nicely on its own.

I smelled this at a meet & sniff back when it was a discontinued scent and fell tragically in love. I'm a sucker for grapefruit topnotes. When it was resurrected I bought an imp. It may not be everything I imagined from that love-at-first-sniff experience some months ago, but it's definitely an enjoyable, refreshing scent. Cheshire Cat is sparkly at first, like a grapefruit soda with a twist of currant. The chamomile and delphinium give it a soft sweetness that's just slightly powdery. I think the lavender adds to the coolness and tartness, but its astringency is tempered by the other notes. The soft-sweet element of CS sticks around the longest, and reminds me quite a bit of TAL Lionheart. (Does delphinium smell like heliotrope?) Overall, this is a light, summery, fun oil that's sweet and comforting without being at all cloying.

Try Greed! The listing of notes (copal, oakmoss, patchouli, heliotrope) wouldn't lead you to think it would be an edible scent, but I find it yummy, smoky and spicy in a decidedly non-sweet, non-cinnamon way.

This is at once dry and refreshing. It's got a dry heat, like a wooden attic, but there's also a breath of flowers and herbs that makes me feel cool. There's a bit of green sharpness - thyme may be it. The sandalwood and cajeput are the most readily identifiable notes. The other notes blend well and give me an overall grassy-herbal impression. I really enjoyed wearing this on a hot, humid day. It's light, not too sweet, different and somehow just right.

Quietude and Severin are two of my favorite fresh scents. I second the recommendation on Aizen-Myoo. You might also like Cheshire Cat (grapefruit, chamomile), House of Night (smells to me like ivy, pine and night-blooming flowers) and Peony Moon, which is an LE you might find an imp of on swaps. Of the Somnium blends, I'd most recommend Temple of Dreams for a clean lavender. Oh, and definitely try Whitechapel for the lilac of Sea of Glass plus a fresh taste of citrus.

CCCXLI - 341 This could be a Panacea blend like Quietude, or a sleep blend like Nanshe. It definitely says "relaxing" and "herbal". The lemony-lavender topnote is beautiful - refreshing as well as relaxing. There's something else floral-herbal and a little deeper - geranium maybe? Something also reminds me of Val Sans Retour when the oil is dry on my skin - there's a green, almost evergreen freshness. After awhile, there's a lovely green-wood smell, like willow branches, mixed with an older-wood smell, like teak. I'm really impressed with this blend in every phase. I'll be experimenting with its aromatherapy applications. I think I'll be keeping most of this bottle, though I might swap a decant for something really special. ETA: On a second application, I think I can pick out bergamot, maychang (a lemony evergreen), linden and teakwood.

In the vial, Alice smells to me like milky Earl Grey with a lot of honey in it, along with a rather strong almond note. Once I apply it, my skin quickly eats the foody elements, leaving me with a soft Rose Milk lotion-smelling drydown. That evaporates pretty fast too. Maybe it's the weather, but Alice vanished on me faster than any other BPAL I've tried.

I received Blood Kiss as a frimp in my latest order. I'm glad I did. I would not have ordered this based on the description, as I generally don't like wine fragrances. Cherry jumps out at first, along with a delicious honey smell. On me, the other elements blend to give a spicy depth to the honey. It actually reminds me a lot of Bengal, which makes sense since they share honey, skin musk and spice notes. I don't get a lot of vetiver from this blend, and I can't detect the wine at all. You know, I don't get the opium either - just a general smokiness that's probably a mix of the darker elements in this scent. It has excellent throw and pretty good staying power. I only wish that the frimp I received had not come with a cracked cap, because now I'll feel the need to slather when a little dab'd do me. Guess I'll have to order one myself!

I thought I'd get some recs from you guys by now, but maybe I didn't give you enough info .... Anyway, I decided to go with Lionheart, Road Opener and Snow Bunny.

Lionheart smells pleasantly sweet and not particularly herbal - more like a BPAL perfume oil than a TAL oil, initially. There's the vanilla note that's in Snake Oil, the amber and heliotrope of Hollywood Babylon, something that reminds me of Coyote, and a little something almond-like. It's creamy and sweet and comforting. I want to carry this around with me just to smell! That said, I can already tell it's helping with my courage. Since receiving Lionheart this afternoon, I've been able to accomplish some tasks I was avoiding, and my outlook on my circumstances has improved. I have a feeling I'll be back to edit this with more positive experiences.