Cactus

If you are looking for GCs to try - Cathode is a mint scent with ambergris and moss, which mellow and warm the mint up.

Obatala (coconut, shea, milk) does go well with cocoa butter (at least on me). I think that Velvet or Centzon Totochtin would also go very well. If you like wine notes (and are ok with chocolate), I might suggest trying Centzon Totochtin first.

Morocco: At first this is sweet spices. Saffron is definitely at the forefront. But underneath that there's a hint of baklava. Honey, nuts, almond extract, rosewater. Beautifully realistic. There's also a warm edge to it, like sun warmed skin, and a bit of a creaminess. I don't get any sandalwood at all in this stage. After few hours - the baklava disappears (mostly) but there's still a hint of the nuttiness and honey. Still spices with the warm creamy musk. Sandalwood *is* showing up now, but it's definitely in the background. The scent doesn't change much after that, just fades away, but lasts quite a few more hours.

Did you already try it? I'd reccomend Squirting Cucmber: Very green and grassy with fresh cucmber and a bit of fresh water underneath. Especially if you like Amsterdam but are not too fond of the floral part. Squirting Cucumber is very similar to Amsterdam minus the florals. The Apothecary is green tea and herb goodness (with just a hint of ginger to make it seem sparkly) No. 93 Engine is powerfully green, but it is mixed with metal and resins/incense - it's kind of like a Steampunk Green scent - or an ancient factory with vines and trees growing through it. Very distinctive. Strangler Fig has never seemed that green on me. Mostly a rich fig (close to a fig single-note) with green fig leaves and some earth and roots in the background. A very dark, sensual scent. But everyone's skin chemistry is different. LE: Mercurian Phoenix is very green on me, but is very intensely Lemongrass. So if freshly cut lemongrass sounds lovely to you, that's the scent I'd recommend. (If lemongrass isn't your thing then not so much.)

@ Urbantravels - I suggest looking for blends that contain a "sagebrush" note, the ones that come to mind are Coyote and Pumpkin IV (2007) - but neither one has the chapparral. I suggest checking out this thread, though - it seems to have lots of good discussion: http://www.bpal.org/topic/72074-sage-scents-white-clary-and-others/

Anything smoky I'm super-allergic to, and this includes vevetier and many incense blends (basically if it smells at all like the incense is being burned) Hello lungs filling up. (The ones that have had this effect on me most strongly are Cathedral and Kathmandu in case anyone else is sensitive to smoke.) Also Apple scents, but since I'm allergic to apples this makes sense. Also Robin Goodfellow, nose started running from the ragweed, which is too bad, since I <3 <3 <3 the way Robin Goodfellow smells. Moss + Musk = <3 (the smoke thing is why I'm considering making a non-smoke tobacco and incense recommendation thread, because I do like tobacco leaves/flowers and myrrh and frankincense, and I know non smoky blends are out there)

A quick summary of how this smells to me: Like taking the scent of spiced pumpkin pie and adding incense, resins, and woods to it until it becomes a beautiful cologne.

One technique I've found to deal with my allergy issues: If I'm testing a new oil for the first time - and I'm not 100% sure that it won't give me a reaction - I test it on the back or side of my hand. So if it goes bad I can wash it off right away and then keep washing it off as I wash my hands during the rest of the day. The oil gets removed pretty quickly.

In The Bottle: A swirl of notes. Green, herbal, floral, sharp. Wet: A bit aquatic. Strong Lettuce and Parsley in the foreground. Sharply greenly resinous - the Galbanum is really in the forefront right now. And in the background of all this are sweet aquatic florals. This is a personal memory thing, but this smells a little like occult or new age oil mixes. Drying Down: The Galbanum dissipates and the lettuce and parsley settle down. This turns into a seriously sweet, yet complex aquatic floral. I can pick out the lotus, jasmine, and passionflower, but the other florals are so melded together that I can't separate them. This smells Deep. And tugs on my heartstrings. I think I'm keeping this.

Wet - On my skin this starts out as a rich, foody, fig with just a hint of cinnamon around the edges. This is the scent of a fig so ripe it's about to fall off the tree. And the cinnamon (or whatever it is) makes this seem dessert-like. Drying Down - As it dries down the cinnamon goes away and the fig settles down a little. The main note is still ripe, rich fig. But there are many other scents hovering around the edges making the scent more complicated. There's the scent of roots and rich, black rainforest soil. There's even a hint of mushroom around the edges. There's wood (the fresh, damp variety, not a dry wood). And there's all manner of leaves and greenery. Closest I've seen to a fig SN note so far, too.

This smells like a coniferous forest - wood and bark and resin (and a hint of needle). Not just pine trees either, a mix of evergreens - it smells like the forests you get high on the tops of mountains with huge spruce and cedar trees. The sarsparilla is there but barely detectable. Winding it's way through the forest is a waft of spices - the clove and nutmeg are clear and recognizable. The green tea is underneath grounding them a little and providing some sweetness. But overall this is a very dry blend.

This hasn't been a morpher on me - so I'm just going to describe it in one paragraph. Light of Men's Lives is mostly lovely Beeswax. But I am getting a definite edge of Hazelnut as well. I also think I can smell the milk note that's in Milk Moon and Candles Moon. And perhaps a touch of honey. Not that this scent ends up food-y - beeswax is still the dominant note, but it has a creamy, hazelnut-y edge to it. Reminds me of a good beeswax and hazelnut lip balm instead of candles. Edit: About 6 hours after putting it on it turns into pure beeswax with a hint of honey. Edit 2: Maybe it's the aging process, or maybe my nose has been in a different mood lately - but now there's maybe some coconut in the wet stage, and less hazelnut?

This is a very complex aquatic. There's obviously some sea-water in the mix. But there's also the scent of rain and of those puddles you get after a rainstorm that have leaves and twigs and such at the bottom of them and you can smell the leaves and bark. There's also some sweet, clear notes. Almost sweetly resinous. And something almost effervescent. As time goes by, the clean, rainy, effervescent water becomes more and more pronounced. It's the same aquatic that is in Lightning. But in this case, blended with something darker. Much more rich and subtle. Really love this.

In the Bottle: Sweet Honey beer... almost smells like mead. And a bit of rich pumpkin as well. Wet: Can smell the lab's pumpkin note in this which means rich, buttery pumpkin with a hint of graham cracker when it first hits your skin. It should settle down soon. About 15 minutes later: Yep, the pumpkin has settled, and now I get the honey/mead scent mixed with beer, something root-y, the realistic mushroom note (like from Grave Pig), and a little hint of ginger. It's like a sweet, grainy honeyed beer mixed with earthy mushrooms. A couple of hours later: Now the roots and mushrooms are the main notes. The honeyed beer is just providing a backdrop. It stays this way until it completely wears off.

If you are enjoying the Earth-y scent in potter's Field, I might suggest checking out other earth based blends. For example Burial, Grave Pig, or Death Cap. Also, you might want to look for things with Patchouli in them because it has a very "earth-y" scent to it. (It also can smell slightly incense-y but not like church incense like frankincense or myrrh do. It smells a little countercultural or hippie if anything. Mostly it just smells like soil to me.)

I'm getting over a cold, and my nose isn't at 100% so I'll post another review when I'm all clear headed. Anyway, Onward!... In bottle: Lemongrass! Green, freshly-cut lemongrass. Very fresh and almost sparkly. Lavender is a secondary note. The resins are acting as backup. Wet: Very much the same as in the bottle, but dries down relatively quickly. Dry-down: Lemongrass is still there, but very much mellower and "blended into the rest of the scent". This lets the lavender and resins/sandalwood shine. I am definitely getting the sandalwood and the gum arabic. (The gum arabic is not at all sweet - but it's the sort of earthy or grainy/floury flavor in the back of a lot of confectionery) All the woods and resins are the softest, gentlest, earthiest kind. They're not distinct and brassy like pine or juniper. It's just sort of a soft cloud of wood and sap. Almost smells like a light skin musk is in there. This whole scent reminds me somewhat of Michael Casts Out All the Fallen Angels in that it is a sharp green-ness mixed with soft wood/resin. The individual details are different, though. This is very full of Lemongrass. Edit: Having worn this again while clear-headed it's pretty much as I described above, except there is some anise that peeks out on the drydown.

If you like both cedar and sandalwood - then I second the cathedral recommendation. Sandalwood and cedar are dominant notes in it (to me) and it just smells so woody and incense-y and gorgeous (in a very "clean" way).

One spice that doesn't smell particularly "foody" is Saffron - it's in No. 93 Engine (Edit - and in Scherezade, too). Other GC scents it's in include Oblivion and Kathmandu. Oblivion in particular has a spicy scent, but it's wood/incense-y rather than food-y. Hope you find some other scents you like.

In the bottle: Earth-y patchouli, a bit of mushroom, a bit of fig. Wet on the skin: Oh holy night... Mushroom! Can smell the cap and the spores on the gills and everything. Like sniffing on the forest floor or cutting into a fresh, white mushroom. That's it. Drydown: After about an hour it stops smelling like a Mushroom single note. I get the smell of rich, loamy earth. Very realistic - like good black soil. And in the background is the mushroom, and the moss and fig. This is totally not what I expected, but I'm kind of liking it. What I expected was a very figgy blend - and it is not that. It is mostly an Earth and mushroom (and Moss) blend with fig in the background sweetening things up just a little.

I got this as a free imp from a fellow board member. (Thank you) Wow... In the imp: This scent is Strong. It smells very forest-y and musky. And maybe a little like old books. On the Skin (Wet): Wow, this is a very powerful animalistic musk. Like ice-age giant elk musk. I can tell right away that this isn't going to be everyone's cup of tea, but I'm enjoying it. Underneath the musk are firs and spruces and rich herbs - and underneath that is the golden seed-ness of the Amaranth. Drying down: The musk mellows out on the dry-down but is still the main note. I can smell a lot of tree-bark now, very soft smelling. And also fir needles and a mix of herbs I can't identify. This is a scent I enjoyed - but it definitely has it's own personality and is not one of those scents that would work on anybody. I wouldn't wear this everyday, but I'm glad I got it.

In the bottle: A very "wet smelling" Aquatic/Herbal Green-ness with maybe a touch of fig in the background. Smells almost cucumber-y. On the Skin: The "juicyness" or "wetness" settles down a little And something warm comes out of the background. I get more the smell of dried herbs (like in a drying shed) and tea. But still some of that fresh, wet greenery. It really catches both the scent of the dried medicinal herbs, ready to be used. And at the same time those plants fresh in the garden. After a while the moss becomes very obvious and so do the fig and tea. The ginger also comes out... which (to me at least) makes it more sophisticated. The spice helps "ground" the scent. I just realized I have been wearing this for months now - and it's becoming one of my favorite scents. And I hadn't written a review.

Got this as a free imp - and whoever chose it made a very good choice! In the imp: Patchouli? - and incense-y wood and spices. On the Skin: Wet: I smell much less patchouli now. It's a mix of very dry woods, spices, and something sharp-green and herbal (like sage or rue maybe). I can smell a lot of the saffron - it's really lovely (then again I really like saffron, your tastes might be different). It has a very dry, warm scent. On the Drydown: It doesn't really change much - the herb scent seems to come and go a little but that's it. This smells like a combination of the fire of some great magical working and the hearth fire of a kitchen. Surrounded by a (not unfriendly) darkness. This isn't just kitchen witchery - this is kitchen magecraft of a high order. P.S. ...And the oil really is an interesting color. Edit: With aging, whatever bits of patchouli were there have really toned themselves down. Interesting.

Smells like really fresh, juicy cucumber mixed about 50/50 with a fresh green grass, and maybe the tiniest hint of gardenia. The cucumber is super wet and juicy, smells like the moment just after you cut into one. Over time, the grass starts to predominate a little more, but the other scents stick around in the background.

Rose petals (or something similar)- and under that, moss/greenery and a hint of damp soil. Sweet and earthy at the same time. EDIT: I took this out a few months later - and it seems to have changed by aging. The sweet/rosey smell seems less drastic and more well-integrated into the scent. There's also a bit more moss/greenery and a hint of an aquatic note. Still a little sweet but not as sweet.

Another Arizona person here! This might be a little late... But Juniper Hairstreak smells like the juniper/grassland you get in the Arizona foothills. Not a Desert scent, but a very familiar, southwestern one to me. Juniper, and grass, herbs, sage and dry-ish soil. Now, mixed in with that is a hint of cucumber and some musk - but it's a sun-warmed-skin musk, not a harsh, chemically musk. Juniper Hairstreak is an LE, and I don't know if it's on sale anymore. But if you could snag some, you might like it. EDIT: @A Ghost of a Rose - that Creosote/Rain smell is lovely! <3 <3 <3