kajacana

(Used as after-shower moisturizer.)

This is all pumpkin spice on me at first -- emphasis on the spice. The pumpkin is buttery and sweet.
As it wears on, it mellows out a lot and the marshmallow shows up. It wasn't bad when I first put it on, but I definitely like this one a lot more after it's been on for several minutes and the in-your-face pumpkin spice has had time to calm down.

Light, sparkling, and snowy, with a touch of evergreen and a hint of cookie spices. The snow note is definitely reminiscent of the one in Skadi.

It's wintery and cozy -- like curling up to take a nap under the branches of a big Norway spruce, while snow flurries down and the scent of baking cookies floats out from the window of a nearby cottage.

Wet on skin: cherry! almond! cherry! almond! CHERRY!!! ALMOND!!!!!!!

As it dries down, it morphs completely into a floral -- mostly rose, I think? Soft, pink rose. Totally different from the wet stage, it's like two completely different scents.

Straight-up florals aren't my thing so this one will be finding a new home.

This oil is the prettiest olive green color -- never seen another BPAL like it!

It smells dark but not heavy. Masculine, but not cologne-y. Patchouli is definitely there, but BPAL's patchouli is like a different level of sophistication than your normal run-of-the-mill type.

As it dries down, it gets a little soapy, but... okay, I'm just gonna say it: like "clean man" kind of soapy. Like you'd expect a freshly showered dude to smell. And it's still musky and spicy and woodsy and I like it a lot, it's just not the sort of scent I would wear myself. But I'd love to smell it on someone else!

(2016 version.)

Wet on skin: EXACTLY like real egg nog. If I didn't know I'd just put perfume on, I would be convinced I'd spilled some actual egg nog on my arm. That's not an exaggeration, guys. IT SMELLS REAL AND I AM FREAKING OUT. It's creamy and nutmeggy, with just a hint of booze.

 

Dry on skin: This fades pretty fast, which is kind of a bummer. Pretty much zero throw. But when I sniff my arm up close, it's a really soft and pretty nutmeg-vanilla, a bit reminiscent of Christmas cookies. It's a lot lighter than you'd expect something called Egg Nog to be; honestly, after it dries down, there's nothing heavy or rich about it. It's actually almost... airy, if that makes sense? I really like it, I just wish I could smell it from further than two inches away.

Verdict: I'll be keeping this one; it's the perfect scent to slather before bed, comforting and not too strong.

This is a light, soft, creamy, powdery floral on me. Definitely reminiscent of baby powder, but not quite a dead ringer for it. Wears very close to the skin. I don't get any bourbon vanilla or fir at all, and it's very different from the other myrrh blends I've tried. This would be really nice on the right person but it just doesn't suit me.

In the bottle: Syrupy molasses gingerbread.

 

Wet on my skin: EVIL GINGERBREAD. I know Shub is also evil gingerbread, but this one is darker and even sexier.

 

Dry: The richest, spiciest, chewiest, smokiest evil gingerbread and I'm in love.

 

Totally concur!!

This is like Shub's older sister. Whereas Shub still has an edge of sweetness, this one is completely over to the dark side.

 

I was worried because the Lab's gingerbread note has a tendency to turn into cinnamon Red Hots on my skin. Thankfully, that didn't happen. All I get is gorgeous, rich gingerbread, spicy clove, and a little bit of smokiness from the vetiver. Exactly what it says on the bottle! I wouldn't say it's gourmand, but it dances on that line.

 

Very happy with this one.

I'm in love with this scent immediately, but I can see how it might read as "plasticky" on some people. For me, it's got a very slight... waxy?... quality, but it definitely isn't plastic. I'm getting a delicious, red-fruit jam with a hint of spiced pastry in the background (and as someone who normally amps cinnamon to high heaven, I can confidently say that while I'm getting a whiff of something slightly cinnamon-esque, this is NOT becoming the dreaded Red Hots on my skin). I say red fruit because while I'm getting raspberry now, there's a chance I might not have pegged it as raspberry if I didn't already know that's what it was. It's really mouthwatering and sweet, but in a baked goods way, not a candy way, if that makes sense. It's fruity without being high-pitched. Love it!

Super boozy in the bottle.

On my skin the spices go crazy for a few minutes (I was worried because I tend to amp cinnamon into irredeemable Red Hots territory), but after it dries down, it becomes absolutely perfect, with no one note outshining the others. As others have noted, it's very much like maple syrup. Reminds me of thick slices of French toast with plenty of brown sugar, lightly dusted with cinnamon, slathered with butter, and drenched in maple syrup. It's really delicious-smelling, like wearable sweet breakfast! So happy to have a bottle! If you like sweet foody blends, you NEED to try this one.

Thank you all -- great suggestions!

Depending on how many Weenies I end up with, I might try to grab a St. Clare in my next order.
And The Arabian Dance sounds awesome, I love hazelnut, and the Lab's leather tends to work well for me.

BPAL's honey note doesn't usually agree with me -- it has peskily turned so many beautiful blends into Baby Powder Single Note on my skin. But remarkably, O is different. This is literally the first time I've ever smelled honey from a blend on my skin. Sweet, golden honey, as though I'd just swiped the real thing on my arm. The vanilla comes through too, and those two components are really quite beautiful together. It's honey dominant for sure, but as it wears, it gets less sticky-sweet and more soft-sweet. After the ten-minute mark, it does take on a powdery quality, but I think that's just the amber doing its thing, because it's not the typical in-your-face baby powder deal that I usually get from honey blends, and I do usually like amber. It's sweet and nice, not necessarily what I'd call sexy, though. All in all, I'm pleasantly surprised, but don't think I need to acquire more beyond this frimp.

 

I love the tobacco note in antikythera mechanism, also can't stand the smell of cigarette smoke.

 

I don't find st Clare to be ciggie smokey at all. If you like antikythera, I'd be very surprised if you had issues with st Clare.

 

The dead leaves and tobacco from last year's weenies, the 2016 bonbon with tobacco, sloth, grievous swarm, eastern comma, eyes made strong and have with sleep all have that note. Visions of Autumn 7 and Incipient madness are also nice.

 

Interfector, conjunction of Saturn and mars, dracul and looming spectre all have it, might run more unisex than you're into?

 

Since my previous post, I have tried Mr prenderghast. He's the closest to ciggie smoke (there's an element of huffing the woollen coat of a smoker) but it doesn't bother me like actual ciggie smoke, which irl bothers me so much that being unscathed by the scent doppelganger is both relief and revelation. I adore Mr prenderghast actually. Such a cuddly comforting scent. BUT different tobacco note.

 

Mat night from pretty indulgent didn't work on my skin, but it has tobacco in it and many people give it high marks.

 

Paysage and le lethe feature tobacco and are beautifully feminine.

 

Given your enjoyment of perversion, elegba might work for you.

 

 

Thank you!!

Pretty sure I have an imp of Le Lethe in my "maybe" pile, I'll have to dig that up and try it again.

I didn't snag any of the Dead Leaves/Visions of Autumn the past few years, or any of the butterflies... those might have to be some of the next things I hunt down.

Elegba has been on my to-try list for awhile; this sudden tobacco curiosity has me even more excited to test it!

 

 

 

 

I think a lot of people confuse the scent of tobacco with the scent of cigarette smoke. Take it from an occasional smoker - the two are not remotely the same! To me, most of the Lab's different tobacco notes are similar to fresh, old school pipe tobacco, which is essentially just a dried plant - it doesn't have any of the nasty chemicals in it that cigarettes have. PLUS, it hasn't been burnt yet (after all, it's a tobacco note, not an ash note, lol) so it doesn't smell smoky. Took me forever to figure this out and realize that I too love the scent of the Lab's tobacco.

 

Anyway, now that I have rambled on, some of my favourite tobacco blends: (ones that are not really difficult to find)

 

Elegba - coconut, tobacco and sweet, sugared rum.

Question Mark - Blackened vanilla absolute with tobacco leaf, Ceylon cinnamon, orange-bark myrrh, and orange blossom.

Brown Thrasher - Sweet rum distillate with tobacco absolute, white sandalwood, and warm brown musk.

Sing The Wild Song - Red musk and threads of saffron with sweet wild tobacco, blackened clove, white sandalwood, cypress, and black pine pitch

La Femme de Satan - Red musk and cacao with clove, caramelized tobacco, aged patchouli, red currant, black leather, and vanilla-infused amber.

St. Clare - White sandalwood and tonka with sweet tobacco incense, vanilla-infused mahogany, rum absolute, and golden oudh.

 

 

Brown Thrasher sounds good, I do like the Lab's rum. La Femme de Satan sounds intense but just like the kind of scent that might surprise me. And more votes for Elegba and St. Clare, yay!

I'm really excited to have a new note to experiment with, but really surprised that it's this one. You're right, I totally assumed "tobacco" meant "ashy cigarettes/overpowering cigars." Happy to be wrong, it opens up a lot of possibilities!

 

 

Thanks very much guys! I love the collective forum brain of scent knowledge

Bump for more tobacco talk!

This note has always put me off in descriptions, because all I can imagine when I hear it is cigarette/cigar smoke, both of which I can't stand. Smoky scents and I do not get along.

 

But last night I was testing some frimps, and I realized that both The Antikythera Mechanism and Perversion smell REALLY good on me. Both contain tobacco, both smell different to my nose, and I can't detect anything smoky or that I would associate with tobacco in either one. Now I'm confused.

 

I went looking for other scents to compare to... Kali is lovely at first but the honey turns it powdery on me. And then looking at reviews, things like St. Clare or Hellfire (among others) all seem to have a smoky note that I feel would ruin the blend for me.

 

Since my chances of tracking down decants of single notes are slim, does anyone have any other suggestions for me that DON'T smell like smoke? And any scents where the particular tobacco note is similar to/the same as the one(s) in Perversion or Antikythera, to help my nose get a better grip on what I'm smelling?

 

 

I would love love love for BPAL to make an amber, vanilla bean, and cardamon scent Ambra del Nepal makes one, and it's bloody divine, but I'm sure Beth's would be more complex and

I would definitely need 5 bottles of this! Yum.

 

 

I have a mild skin allergy to cardamom, but amber/vanilla bean/cardamom would smell so amazing that I'd probably buy two bottles and wear it anyway.

 

This would be a blind bottle for me for sure. Maybe even two blind bottles. 3 of my very favorite notes!!

In the bottle, this smells very medicinal and cough-syrupy... but thankfully, within seconds of spraying, any medicinal quality completely disappears. This is a ripe, juicy, red strawberry scent, leaning more towards candy than actual fruit (probably because of the vanilla sugar), and with the lightest hint of something floral (hello, strawberry flower). It has great throw and lasting power. It's fruity, summery, and a really great scent for hair.

 

I only have an imp of Strawberry Moon 2012 to compare it to, which also has strawberry blossom honey as a listed note. Compared to the hair gloss, the 2012 oil is sweeter, the grass note is more noticeable, and it smells more "pink" whereas the hair gloss is definitely "red." They are similar, though, and I love them both.

Please excuse the not-so-great photo:



This is 3 coats, plus a clear top coat. 2 coats was perfectly okay, but it was still a little sheer for me so I added the third.
It's a pretty, creamy green that reminds me of spring. Makes me want to eat vegetables!
This is my very first time trying a BPTP claw polish, and I like the formula. It goes on smoothly with minimal streaking, and it's easy to apply multiple coats without it getting sticky or clumpy.

You might try layering two different scents.
My first thought for "piratey" is always Mary Read: salt air, ocean mist, aged patchouli, sarsaparilla, watered-down rum, leather-tinged musk, and a spray of gunpowder. It's an unexpectedly pretty scent with a definite pirate vibe, and based on what you said you're looking for, I'd definitely recommend it!

To get that gourmand factor, you could layer Mary Read with...

Bliss: pure milk chocolate
Snake Oil: exotic Indonesian oils sugared with vanilla
Eat Me: three white cakes, vanilla, red & black currants
Miskatonic University: Irish coffee, dusty tomes, and polished oakwood halls
El Dia de los Reyes (a recurring limited edition scent at Yule time, not too hard to track down) : hot cocoa with cinnamon, coffee, and brown sugar
Boomslang: Snake Oil with cocoa, teakwood, and rice milk
O: Amber and honey with a touch of vanilla

The Teapot, from this year's Lupers, is a beautifully fresh tea scent with a floral hint.

 

Speaking of this year's Lupers - Rendezvous at the Bath for fresh, clean, green tea!

Wow, it really does smell fizzy!
I'm getting way more champagne than grapefruit, but the grapefruit note softens the blend really nicely. This oil is sharp and strong in the bottle, but when I put it on, that initial aggressiveness gives way to something much lighter, a very pretty blend of slightly pink but mostly golden bubbles. It actually smells a lot like ginger ale to me.
Very glad to have a bottle!

I love all these ideas!

Though I will admit the Summer Survival Kt is catching my eye the most, because it's themey but can still be customized.

 

I've never run a swap before and would be nervous to go it alone, but would be willing to co-run if someone needs an accomplice.

Yes, I realize this is *waaaaay* out of season, but will there be any interest in a 13 Days of Halloween exchange again this year? It's cleaning day, and I'm finding quite a few things from various sources (like HorrorBlock) that I could hang onto for an exchange, but if it's not going to happen, I need to go ahead and rehome them. (Switch Witch kind of freaks me out due to how elaborately people get into it, so advent-style exchanges work better for me intimidation-wise.)

I'm trying to think ahead for that time of year, too.

I've never done 13 Days of Halloween, but would love to. Last year I did 12 Days of Christmas and it was really fun... and fall Switch Witch, which I also love. It will depend on my funds when that time of year rolls around, and I might have to choose one or the other, but as of now I'm trying to enable myself to participate in as much as possible.

 

That being said... that's a long time away and I'm itching for a swap! I chose to sit out of the spring SW, and I missed the virtual vacation swap sign ups by like two days because I hadn't checked the forum (huge bummer, I had really wanted to do that one). Has there ever been a summer swap in the style of 13 Nights/12 Days? Is there any interest in something like that to hold us over until the fall?

In the imp and wet on my skin, this smells exactly like Dr. Pepper. Weird!
As it dries down, though, it quickly turns into a dry, brown, fuzzy, woodsy musk. I'm getting just a hint of brown leather. The scent as a whole feels very comfortable, like a really broken in leather jacket that has taken on the scent of its wearer's perfume.
It's nice, I'm just not sure if it's really "me."

In the bottle, sandalwood and amber.

Wet on my skin, this is really amber-y. I like amber, but I was worried when I first applied it, because it was leaning very powdery.

Fortunately, after about 5 minutes the powder factor disappears and I'm left with a warm, golden vanilla. Getting just the faintest whispers of apricot and oak. The ginger is not asserting itself -- I can't really pick out a ginger note, but I do get a vague spiciness and a lot of warmth which I'm crediting to the ginger. Not getting the lily of the valley at all, which is fine by me. The scent is sticking very close to my skin, but then again I didn't apply very much (it does seem to lose throw as it dries down, though).

Verdict: once it dries down, this is a beautiful non-foody vanilla. It's bright, warm, smooth, and golden. Very glad to have a bottle!

Received as a frimp.
This is so well blended that it's hard to just smell one thing at a time. Every time I sniff my wrist, I get something different -- sometimes something vaguely smoky (but like, incense smoke, not campfire smoke), sometimes a citrusy hint of lime, sometimes a whiff of pine, sometimes a spicy kick of clove. The strongest note on me, I think, is the myrrh -- sweet and incensey. I don't know what vetiver is supposed to smell like, I just know that it's a pretty divisive note... I'm not getting anything that I've seen others complain about, though. This blend actually smells really good on my skin, which is kind of surprising since I didn't like it in the imp and the list of notes was a little scary. Will definitely be holding onto the imp.

Obatala if you like coconut.
Absinthe if you like herbs and anise.
Good (from the RPGs) is a very unassuming skin scent.
Morocco is on the lighter side, but still smells "warm."
51 is light and green.
And in colder months, I'm a big fan of the Lick Its -- refreshing, sugary mint that stays close to the skin and doesn't last terribly long.