jarvenpa

If I had such a trunk, and it didn't smell lovely now, I would first put a whole lot of baking soda in it (even scrub it down with a paste of baking soda) to refresh it. And then...on to whatever seemed nice. (I'd probably go for something heavy and wonderful like Lust, which I am wearing at the moment. But any of the sandalwoodish/resin scents would be good.)

I am an old lady in training, or a young crone, and I do seem to love the powdery and old fashioned classic scents (well, I'm kind of "i love it all!"). The other day I was at the market when a woman came over sniffing happily and asked "May I ask you...what is your perfume?" I had to think, because I vary my scents a lot, but in this case it was Mme Moriarty. So I did my spiel about the interesting Black Phoenix company (I really should carry cards or something) and told her the scent name. She said "it reminds me so of my dear grandma, who used to really kick ass".

You know, I would never have thought of violets in relationship to Antique Lace (and Antique Lace is one of my all time favorites, pure comfort and delight)--but I just put some on and--hey, you are kind of right. There is a sweet powdery scent that is kind of like the wafting of white violet perfume. Sybaris is by far the most violet I've encountered.

oh, ivy, I love it. I should probably take it on (notoriously strange)... Thursdae, if you associate Earl Grey Tea with daphne (which to my mind is odd, but okay)...then I wonder if bergamot scents might come close? Maybe something with bergamot and some strong waxy floral?

Well....I've found that what seems stuffy to one person is sex in a bottle to another. And when you say dark and mysterious but still clear...and so on...I think, okay, this one is going to need to experiment. But it's fun, don't despair. I noted in your introductory post that you like, besides roses, cinnamon, narcissus, and...one other..oh, smoke, that's right. And you hate patchouli and nagchampa, so probably you want to stay away from the incense-like blends for a moment (but sometime--do go ahead and try something you think you'd hate. It will probably end up to be your new favorite). I like roses too, but I love sweet scents (and I see you do not). Maybe Harlot, which has rose and cinnamon, will please you. I tried to search the notes for your Black Rose perfume, but couldn't find them. Do you know? Does it have...other flowers? smokey notes? I think narcissus is a very sweet smelling flower, btw (love it myself). I haven't tried Two, Five and Seven, but the descriptions are rose and rose and more rose piled on top of one and then squished with a bit of green (well, go read the reviews; that's what I get out of them) My favorite is the LE Rose Red, which is just pure, perfect, cold, beautiful roses filling the air. (it is nothing like cheap rose perfume or soap--I agree, nothing is worse than a rose scent done poorly). It may be too simple for your tastes. (and that would be good, because that will leave more on the planet for me). Whip works really, really well on my daughter's skin (oh my, that sounds like...no, I don't meant that) Rose and leather. You might like it (it doesn't do the beautiful smokey morph it does on her when I try it. sigh.) Good luck (and remember, try something you are sure you will hate. You'll be surprised!)

Daphne's official (Latin) name is...daphne odora. here's the wikipedia on it (I hope that link works). I don't think I've ever smelled a Daphne perfume (no, it isn't like laurel or mountain laurel) but the fragrance of the flowers is indeed stunning. Rich, to my nose kind of hyacinthy, but my nose is notoriously strange.

My imp came from dear Odette Odile (thank you). I now have confirmation that whatever is in a blend, if the blend includes vanilla I will be happy as a lark and sniffing my wrists and smiling. I obviously have simple tastes. Since Siren is reddish, I figured maybe some dragonblood therein. Since Sirens are, um, water critters, I kind of thought "maybe it will be aquatic or salty or something". There might be unlisted dragon goodness, but what I got immediately was warm vanilla with wafts of some other sweetness. To my nose the "other sweetness" didn't read out as jasmine, but my nose is notoriously foolish. The warmth, which I thought must be due to some sort of spice (and I figured cinnamon, because I guess these things wrong-)must be the ginger. It's kind of like...toasted vanilla, if that makes sense. It settles into a long lasting vanilla goodness, and is quite sexy (if you like vanilla goodness). Nice.

Aren't skin chemistries amazing? I was so glad to note that other people double checked their labels after applying Juke Joint. Cause, see, I have this very naive nose and am in absolute awe of everyone who is going "yep, little teensy flowers that grew on the south side of a vinyard in August" cause I am going just "flowers" or "not flowers". I got an imp of Juke Joint from the very very very generous OdetteOdile. I hadn't read the notes (it always feels like cheating; I want to try to have one of those south side noses). From the name I figured, oh, hey, some booze and jazziness. So I slathered on a bit and went and double checked the label and thought "but OO is so--organized, she wouldn't have put the wrong label on, and its an original label anyway" Because what I smelled was Haunted or something equally Shalimar. You know, sweet powder, amber. I like that sort of scent a bunch, so I was quite happy, though confused. And then I read all the pages and thought--hey, must make a list of those who had this experience, because their skin is like my own. It's very pretty, and a deadringer for Haunted. Lasts well on me too.

Gosh, do I have a clueless nose. So this is an aquatic, is it? Never would have guessed. Dearest oakmoss sent me an imp of The Deep Ones and it has been sitting at my elbow. Well, not precisely at my elbow. But close. Distracting. So I slashed the imp wand across my wrists, and then I smelled a bunch of grapefruits falling down all over the place. But wait...this is a Beth blend, and she's always got those tricks going on, so...the GRAPEFRUIT, which is pretty intense, suddenly transforms to a dark floral. Well, I thought it was a floral. Evening gown of the 30's floral. Not, mind you that I am old enough to recall the 30's, but you know what I mean. Something Anais Nin might wear while scribbling in her diaries. Softens down to a whisper of sweetness, kind of musky with a citrus overlay. I like this well enough to be considering getting a bottle of it, though I keep going "aquatic, really?"

Well, I love sweet, and amp it (I don't really like foody fragrances much though) and many of your horror-scents are ones I like a lot--but I was struck by your mentioning Velvet with approval. I like Velvet too; and it tends to a dry sandalwood on me. So maybe sandalwood is something you should look for? (yes, I realize you think you are seeking green fresh air or something like that, but--in the zillions of Bpal scents something that is perfect is awaiting you, and you wouldn't have ever thought it possible). So, in the lines of warm wood scents, try Aureus. To me hyacinths (which I adore) smell of cloves, so you might seek out some clove scents, or possibly carnation (yes, I know hyacinths and carnations do not smell alike). You might like the dirt scent in Bpal, odd though that sounds. I don't know if Jazz Funeral will be too heady for you (does have florals, which you hate, does have booze, which you hate...probably has oakmoss, which is one of my favorite scents ever...). I noted one of the forumites seems to be your scent opposite. This is always helpful to find indeed (good luck there). Early on I would have recommended Faustus, which is warm and lovely (but I think it contains all the spices you hate deeply). The Apothecary is good. You might look for other tea scents that do not also have honey (honey can amp tremendously, sometimes it even scares "nothing can be too sweet" me.) And...don't reject a scent immediately. Try it again in a couple weeks. You might be astonished. And don't automatically dismiss a scent even if it does list something you hate within it. Some of my favorites I would never ever have thought to try had I gone by the lab description. How are you with evergreen/pine scents? Some of those read "green and fresh" to my nose (but tend to go sweet on me too). If you liked Othello (I do too) you may actually like rose. If you can find some RoseRed (any year) you may like that a lot. It is freshcut roses (at least the 2007 version is, and the earlier versions I got drops of to test also were lovely). Wet freshcut roses. Beautiful. (hijack: ivy, I adore your puggish avi!)

oakmoss, may she be properly appreciated, sent me an imp of this. I splashed some on the back of my hand, because I was already wearing something else this morning, and sniffed. It smelled so lovely I waited till late in the day and liberally slathered. Again I realize my nose is not discerning, because what I smelled was vanilla, sweetness, and wafts of wood. I thought sandalwood, but what I see is listed in the notes is cedar, so...yeah, right. Don't get carnation, don't get lavender in the least. I never think of leather as a fragrance, so I always miss it...but after reading the notes and resuming sniffing: yes, soft leather. It's delicious. So called manly fragrances go sweet on me (I think I tend to amp up musk and vanilla a bunch--good thing I love these) and kind of nicely complex. Love it.

I've had this imp for a long time (and I don't remember where it came from, frimp from lab or gentle gift from some nice forumite); had to scan the reviews to see if I'd reviewed it, but it seems I didn't. Of course, since we are still in Mercury retro mode, I might have missed my own review (for which I beg indulgence of mods and all and sundry). True to my usual style I put this on without checking the notes or the reviews--I don't think I tried it when I first received it; somehow it was tucked away into one of my little boxes of "will try these tomorrow" and neglected. My first thought was "vanilla" but then my first thought is often "vanilla" or "vanilla?" because I like vanilla a bunch. My second thought was babypowder, but that isn't a bad thought--there was a creamy, white, nursery-sort of smell about it (having checked the notes? milk and honey, of course). And my third thought was "spice?" which is also a frequent thought of mine. My nose, you see, is pretty naive. My fourth thought was Ivory soap. Which is kind of the story here. That being said, Sudha Segara is a sweet and comfortable sort of fragrance. Doesn't have much throw, but would be nice for cuddles. And if this is ginger, I like ginger, which emboldens me to try more ginger scents. Even the soap phase is very pleasant--clean and shiny and kind of uncomplicated. It isn't the sort of fragrance I usually am drawn to--but it's nice and comforting.

Okay, I obviously have no refined sense of smell whatsoever. *bows head in humble shame* Peitho came to me as a frimp from the ever generous lab. Just poured some from the imp onto my wrists and inhaled with deep delight. And what did I think, without knowing what on earth I was smelling? What I thought was "beautiful delicious flowers. What could these be? Oh, must be roses". Because, you see, I happen to dearly love roses, or at least some of the best of Beth's roses (like Rose Red 2007, praise all compassionate goddesses...that was in the order that netted me the current frimp of Peitho. But I digress.). Roses=good. This is good, ergo it must be roses. And yeah, maybe incensey goodness, thought I. So then I came to see what on earth was really going on with this blend, and hey, you could have knocked me over with a jasmine blossom, you could have. *Looks at list and sniffs wrists yet again whilst typing* (be impressed, this is hard). This is jasmine? It doesn't smell like jasmine. But it smells heavenly. (stargazer lilies? actually usually I don't like lily in my perfumes..but, okay). Drifts of spice (clove? really? who would have thunk). So--this is a beautiful fragrance, and educational besides, because I guess I have discovered jasmine is my dear and delicious friend. *resumes gentle wrist inhaling, although the throw on this one is pretty good*

A frimp from the dear lab. As usual I didn't check out the notes before trying; hey, I like the risk. But after making my notes I can't believe there isn't some vanilla in here. (does copal smell like vanilla???) because--well, my first sniff, after slathering on wrists and inhaling, was lots of vanilla stirred into cocoa with a squeeze of orange and a bunch of highly scented flowers somewhere close; that is: deliciousness matched with high floralness (floraltude??). And something I can't quite identify (copal? plumeria? I'd think I could detect smoke of incense). This one is perplexing. I like the vanilla or the phantom vanilla and I am quite fond of flowers and the cocoa (which has vanished) was pretty nice too. There's also an edgy herbal thing that pops out every so often and then runs away, chased by the vanilla smoothness (um, that vanilla smoothness that may have nothing to do with actual vanilla). Interesting. I think I'm going to have to try this a few times to figure out what's happening and if I love it dearly or want to let it go.

I bought a bottle absolutely unsniffed, just because I love this poem, and because with all the BPAL I've tried only one scent wasn't lovely on my skin. Worth the risk. I love the blends that blossom in the warmth of my skin, the ones that start out going in one direction, all devious like and smiling over their shoulders, and then, whap! whole new thing going on...wait, what was that? So Kubla Khan starts out very sweet caramel-vanilla, very foodie. And though I'm not much of a foodie scent lover, I adore every variant of vanilla, so, the initial maybe 3 minutes are quite satisfactory. But I didn't think it would stop at cakes, and I was right. Suddenly, as if the smoke had swirled round my wrists--and out into the air, big throw at this point--there's what I think is opium. The reason I think it is opium is because the other blends that have this lovely bloom of sweet and incense seem to have opium as one of the ingredients (for instance, The Sleeper). And then--well, my senses are reeling. My nose is not good at "oh yes, a bit of rose and a tiny dried leaf of cranberry bush and three drops of lily essence". What I get for a while is a fragrance that is very teasing, because it reminds me of a classic perfume sniffed a long time ago. Nothing I myself wore. The memories--or the vagueness of not being able to remember--are kind of distracting. The whole feeling of this is so very Kubla Khan I have to smile. It is quite elegant. At the end (a few hours later) it has softened to a skin clinging scent that--for the first time in any BPAL on my skin--is actually the famous "soapy scent". But that's fine. It is delicious and truly worthy of the poem and I am not sure why everyone isn't hoarding this. So good.

Great thread. I also have this problem (vitamins do help, and full spectrum lights near my work space) and every winter have used pure lemon, grapefruit, and geranium oils in my lamp ring at the shop (here I thought I was just doing it for the atmosphere). But for BPAL scents--I really don't grab the ones that mimic sunshine in some way (though I agree that amber is for me a sunlit scent). I go for my tried and true comfort scent, which is Antique Lace. Everything in the world can be made better by enough of that. So--I think maybe if people have a scent that just makes them feel good, no matter what the notes, this might work. (the other thing that works for me is Rose Red. Must get some of this year's; I've been gifted with imps of past Rose Red and there is something about that pure light perfect rose scent that plunges me into the best of summer).

I no longer recall who tenderly sent me an imp of Les Infortunes, but this morning I came across it again and carelessly drenched my wrists, in my usual heedless bravado "let's see what this one is all about" and without checking the lab description. As usual, I am floored by my insane nose. (leather?? where???). But this is truly beautiful, starting with an herbal rush (I would have said there was a touch of lavender in the blend, and I'm probably wrong) and developing into a classic and classy perfume that seems to my nose to be something a lovely, oh, 1940's film star would have carried off with much aplomb. On my skin it is sweet/sharp with sultry overtones. Lasts a long, long while. When I reapplied after reading the description and sniffed I could smell, yes, the neroli (or orange blossom) which is a favorite note of mine, and maybe the leather (though I would never have said leather was a note when I first sniffed this). It is a haunting sort of blend, and makes me want to check out the other oakmoss blends, because I am suspecting oakmoss likes my skin a lot. To my nose very floral (and not masculine, but I seem to like the blends that everyone else finds manly; go figure.)

I love Oya, but that's not what I'm thinking. Will have to try Tempest and Lightning...

Okay, I'm bumping this, although the original idea seems to be "what would you wear on a rainy day" and my question (it being drought year time in Northnern california) is which BPAL fragrances have that "oh, thank god, the rain has started to fall" feeling? Maybe ones with ozone might--but I haven't quite figured out ozone scents. But you know the feeling and fragrance: the heat, then the splash, then the glorious sense of wetness and freshness. (I don't think what I mean is a green/herbal scent). Clarity? Water?? something.... editing to clarify: I don't think I'm looking for what would be described as a "clean" scent--this is something a bit different.

In my heart there is a secret love of the tacky and the trivial, which usually I manage to hide from the world (um, I think I do anyway) with my excellent taste and all that...but Privilege feeds that inner tacky debutante very well, and I do enjoy it. Remember when magazines first started putting those perfume strips in? (or..well, you are all such young things, maybe you do not). They were STRONG. The postoffice would kind of reek of generic supposedly expensive and powdery sweet perfume--even if you hadn't gently torn open the glued perfume sample page and rubbed your eager wrist along it (because hey, in my rural area you weren't likely to get a chance at any perfume beyond, say, Evening in Paris at the local all purpose drugstore, or patchouli oil at yon Health Foode Shoppe, which also sold wheatgerm and dry fake meat stuff.) This perfume has that powdery "I am a mix of every commercial expensive perfume in the world!! And I am glitzy, I am!!" feeling. And...you know, it's fun. And kind of pretty. Privilege tends to make me smile. It manages to convey the "I drenched myself in expensive perfume" and yet still remains light and a bit giddy. Sweet. Nice creation.

Someone (and forgive me, I don't know if it was the dear lab or a dear forumite) at some time in the past months sent on an imp of Urania, which I found I loved so much I ordered (and rec'd, yay) a 5 ml bottle of (and the label is beautiful, wow). Had I checked the fragrance notes I would never have thought to order this (though Urania is a dear personal guide). The scent is swirling, silver and deep blue. A floral, definitely, but a floral that has a crisp edge. I'm so bad at figuring out individual notes, and this is such a well blended perfume I am not aware of "oh, gee, here is this flower and here is that flower and whoopee, musky goodness" It is simply genius.With starry, starry nights.

You might try Zephyr.

Aureus is lovely and woody-smelling (cedar and spice). My aging Lab (upon whom I never put fragrances) tends to bark at me when I put certain fragrances on myself. Hates a few of them, apparently...though others don't even make him lift his head and sniff. The kitties are fascinated by some of the scents that are kind of green and herbal. Maybe I smell like catnip?

Aureus was a gift from the lovely Beazlebabe (thank you sweetheart). As is my impulsive wont, I immediately dabbed some on my wrists, without even considering what it might be, and with no memory of having read a description (though I probably had). My thought was "um, sandalwood, delicious warm dry sandalwood". Which, since I happen to love sandalwood a bunch, was great. And then there were a few drifts of something else, a sweetness (I didn't identify it as amber though it may have been). And possibly a sense of patchouli. When I came to read the reviews and found everyone mulling over cedar goodness (or badness) I thought...hmmm, could be cedar rather than sandalwood, I guess. Just put some more on a second ago to consider this. Okay, my verdict is "exotic woods". It is really nice, and I think it would also layer well if I felt creative. I foresee wearing this a lot and enjoying it tremendously. (no visions of cathedrals..but, um, old libraries? definitely!)

Cairo. Cairo is what you want. (at first it smells like Juicy Fruit gum, but only for about 5 seconds..on me, anyway). Then it is all sorts of sweet spice and fig and other delights. Lust is also along those lines. Maybe Gommorah, but it has been awhile, not sure how fruit/spice it is, but I do recall it was, to my mind, in the same area. Maybe a bit grittier in flavor.Check out the reviews of these, and see what people who actually know what they are smelling say. Yemaya is lovely, but in a much lighter way. (melon, yum.)