BlueSakura

I love la belle au bois dormant. You could also try perilous parlor or Endymion, for pear. Or possibly, tenochtitlan for an ambery pear

 

tziporra, I second the rec for Perilous Parlor. On me, it was overwhelmingly syrupy sweet pear and sugar, almost sweet to the point of having to wash it off. Since you're looking for "pear cough syrup", this one might be more up your alley!

I purchased two bottles in hopes that this would be my perfect vanilla scent. Not gonna lie, I wasn't a fan when I first opened the bottle. Lab-fresh, the vanilla was drowned out by something almost vaguely medicinal (I assume that's the rum, but full disclosure: I have no experience with the Lab's rum notes).

 

Fast forward to today, and already this blend has seemed to mellow out. The medicinal note is still there, but the sweet vanilla is starting to emerge. To my nose, this is definitely not an "edible" sugary vanilla~ it's a smoky vanilla with a hefty dose of booze, spice and something else going on in the base. I like the way it seems to be aging, so I will be hanging onto my bottles to test again in a year!

Very long shot, but does anybody know of a GC smell-alike to Beatrice? My bottle of Beatrice met its tragic end today when I accidentally emptied it all over my sweater. Beatrice has been my signature scent and I've been carefully hoarding it for years, but it looks like time for me to move on...

Perhaps Dawn: Mother? "Red roses, saffron, honey, and frankincense." On me smells like a lightly sweetened, golden rose with a bit of frankincense to ground it in the background.

(In response to BlueSakura)

 

It sounds like your hobbies and television tastes are creative, so how about Muse to keep you inspired?

 

Muse - Tuberose, lotus and jasmine with a hint of lime

 

Or Darkness to represent your closet?

 

Darkness - Blackest opium and narcissus deepened by myrrh

 

Or Intrigue to represent the mystery novels you are fond of -

 

Intrigue - Black palm, with cocoa, fig and shadowy wooded notes

 

Or Masquerade to represent your passion for makeup -

 

Masquerade - Patchouli, ambergris, carnation and orange blossom

 

As an English major, one of the Illyria scents would be fitting. So how about one that smells deep and red, like Lady MacBeth?

 

Lady MacBeth - sweet Bordeaux wine, blood red currant, thyme and wild berries

 

Or Lawful, for your study of the law -

 

Lawful - Rigid oak, blue chamomile, rhubarb, and fig leaf

 

And just because I have a hunch, Tavern of Hell -

 

Tavern of Hell - White gardenia, ambergris bouquet, lavender fougere, orange blossom, melissa, tobacco flower, coriander, ebony wood, ylang ylang, absinthe and aged whiskey

 

BoneBone, so sorry for the delayed response! I haven't checked this thread for ages. These are some really fabulous recommendations~ Muse, Lady Macbeth, and Tavern of Hell sound like they're right up my alley (your hunches are great!). Thank you so much for the recs, I'll be popping imps of these into my next lab order!

I'm getting back into BPAL after a long hiatus, and I'm still fairly inexperienced, so I'd definitely appreciate any recs that you can throw at me! I fully intend to try them all.

 

I'm 26 years old, 5'3", on the slender side but curvy. I have a fair/light skin tone and dark brown eyes. My hair is dark brown/black, naturally straight but permed into long, loose waves/curls. I double majored in psychology and English, and I just graduated from law school (and am awaiting bar results... Fingers crossed!). I worked at the DA's office while I was in school, which I really loved. I'm usually very agreeable, and I get along with most people I meet (with a few exceptions of course).

 

My personal style tends to be on the dressy side. My "uniform" is a pair of heels and a flowy knee-length or shorter skirt, accessorized with dangly earrings - usually vintage-y, with pearls or a filigree. I'm a bit of a makeup fiend, and I enjoy spending time on doing my makeup when the mood strikes (shadow, liner, mascara, blush, lipstick, the works). I like going bare-faced too, though - I view makeup as more of an art form, not a necessity.

 

Hobby-wise, I enjoy knitting and sewing. I also enjoy cooking, although my results are either hit or miss (never in between - I'm still on a lifelong quest to bake the perfect chocolate chip cookie). I spend way too much time browsing makeup blogs, and I consider collecting makeup to be a hobby (although it's getting dangerously close to an addiction for me ). I love singing and will take any chance I can get to sing embarrasingly cheesy pop anthems at a karaoke bar.

 

I'm very visual movie-wise, and I will happily watch a plotless movie if it's visually appealing (I loved the visuals of Marie Antoinette and a lot of Tim Burton's movies - Alice in Wonderland, Corpse Bride, and Sweeney Todd). TV wise, I like The Tudors (although the historical inaccuracies drove me nuts), Glee, and Project Runway. I love reading historical fiction and mystery novels; my favorite author is Agatha Christie.

 

Hm, what else? My favorite color is burgundy/wine red, with dark purple a close second. My wardrobe is mostly black with burgundy and white here and there (I love wearing black clothes with red or purple shoes). That's me in a nutshell! Thanks for reading.

I really think whether a scent smells masculine or feminine depends a LOT on skin chemistry. I am very much into florals, and I usually buy scents that are labelled "feminine" in the reviews. When the imps arrive, I always test all of them on my boyfriend, no matter how girly they might seem at first. (I'm trying to find a nice scent for him to wear every day~ although making him try on my flowery blends probably isn't the best way to go about it. ) Surprisingly, I've found that Moscow (a blend that's described in the review section as "feminine" and "womanly" in every other post) smells very masculine and spicy on him. He loves it, too! My best advice is to try out as many blends as you can~ you might be surprised at what your skin chemistry can do!

My goodness~ so many people have suggestions! Thank you, everyone, you all have been so helpful~! I'm saving all of your recs in a list of florals for me to try.

 

Torrilin: I still need practice at picking out individual notes, but I think lavender seems green on me as well. Grass and herbs (I can't name any specific ones) are extremely green on me, too. Tea notes aren't green on me, though.

 

Styro: That's a brilliant idea! I'll go check out that thread right away. Thank you~!

 

Thank you so much again, everybody, for all your help! You guys are all kinds of awesome!

I'm still relatively new to BPAL, so I'm looking to all of you experts for help.

 

I love love LOVE florals~ if it smells like somebody shoved me headfirst into huge mound of a billion different kinds of flowers, and then dumped a truckload of flowers more on me for good measure, I love it. But my problem is this: a lot of BPAL florals have green notes in them. I dislike green notes, but unfortunately my skin amps them up like crazy (Beltane, for example~ everybody in the reviews said that it was extremely floral, but on me, all I could smell was green with a tiny hint of flowers hiding in the back ).

 

So, does anyone have any suggestions for super-floral scents without green notes? I already have big bottles of Bearded Lady and Beatrice and I absolutely love them, but I'd like to be able to find a GC scent to replace them when they run out (LE scent recs are welcome, though!). I am ok with vanilla as long as it's not too strong (Antique Lace is a bit overwhelming on me, for example). Thank you so much!

I love extremely feminine, floral scents, so I knew before I put this on that this wasn't going to work on me... and I was right. I smell like a leather couch. Hopefully this will work better on my boyfriend than on me.

First on: Wow~ I'm immediately hit with an herbal blast.

 

After a few minutes: The intense herbalness has faded, and I'm getting a greenish, cool floral~ it reminds me a bit of Vinland, but the florals are stronger in this one. It's also not as headache-inducing on me as Vinland was~ always a plus.

 

Verdict: A nice scent, but as I'm not a fan of green notes, this one's going to the swaps.

Hmm~~ this one seems to change on me.

 

The first time I put this on, the leather overwhelmed the rose~ the smell of the leather was way too strong for me, so I washed it off.

 

Today I decided to give it another go, though, and this time the leather seems to be much more subdued. The rose is definitely not innocent, nor is it old lady-ish~ it's definitely a womanly, sexy rose. The leather is still there, but lurking more in the background, and gives the rose an extra bite.

 

Verdict: The changing intensity of the leather is a bit strange. As I'm not a leather fan, I think I like it enough to keep the imp, but I definitely won't be getting more.

First on: Wow, all I smell is green~ I was expecting this to be a floral, so as I'm not fond of green notes, this was an unpleasant surprise. I have a feeling that my skin chemistry may tend to amp up green notes.

 

Later: Thank goodness, the green has faded away. Now the florals are coming forward. It's a nice blend; the rose is there but not overpowering, and there are several other flowers which I can't identify. I think I can smell the lavender.

 

Verdict: The initial greenness of this scent put me off of it. It's nice, but not for me.

At first this was quite medicinal smelling. I got hit with that herbal medicine smell on first sniff from the bottle, and it was still there when I put it on~ not a smell that I'm fond of at all. After a while, the medicinal smell went away; on me, the berry seems to come out very strongly. It's quite sweet, almost to the point of being cloyingly so. I can smell a sort of aquatic smell, which lends a feeling of coolness and freshness that was in the description for the oil.

 

Conclusion: It's a nice blend, and it captures the description well, but it's not for me.

From the bottle: Definitely sweet and foody smelling~ that must be the honey.

 

On: Still sweet, but there’s a strong spicy note coming out that’s covering it~ the bergamot, I suspect. I’m not too fond of the spiciness. I can smell rose as well.

 

Later: The spiciness has almost completely faded away, and I’m left with a gorgeous scent that smells like roses dipped in honey. Sweet, but not overwhelmingly so.

 

Verdict: That spicy note bugs me, but as it fades away over time, I think I’ll be keeping this one. I’ll just have to put it on earlier in the day so that I’ll smell like roses and honey for more of the day.

Chaos Theory II: CCCLXXIX (379)

In the bottle: Wow~ the first thing that hits me is a strong boozy scent, with florals coming up right after it. Totally different from what I expected based on the description from the auction I got this from. I'm a little concerned.

Dry: The boozy scent has toned down, and the florals are coming out more now. It's starting to smell a little like soap~ the expensive kind you get from places like Crabtree and Evelyn.

10 minutes: Now it definitely smells like a very nice, expensive soap~ floral and clean. The boozy smell is pretty much gone.

30 minutes: Uh oh~ now I can smell a slight sour note in addition to the nice floral soap smell. It's not enough to overwhelm the floral, though.

Verdict: I love this! The only thing that concerns me is the sourness at the end, but the floral notes seem to cover it up well enough. This one is a keeper.

First on: The first whiff I took on my skin was… pollen?? But upon closer inspection, maybe that’s the herbal smell that everyone’s talking about. I smell herbs, with very faint floral undertones~ the herbs take over this one. I’m a bit disappointed that my skin chemistry worked out that way, since I love florals and Beltane sounded so promising. I’m not smelling any fruit at all.

 

After a while: The pollen/herbal smell has died down, and I can smell the flowers a little more… still no fruit though. It’s a blend of herbs and flowers, neither one overpowering the other.

 

Verdict: Quite nice, but the herbs aren’t my taste. This one will be frimped away.

Belle Epoque is way heavy on the sandalwood, nothing like J'Adore or any commercial perfume, but if you layer it with Kitsune-Tsuki, Flower Moon, or something else strongly floral, you might get a similar effect.

Ah~ I'll definitely try that out, then. I'm planning to order Belle Epoque and Kitsune-Tsuki anyways, and it didn't occur to me to layer those two scents together. There's also a bottle of Beatrice on eBay that I have my eye on, so if I win it I'll try layering with that too. Thanks for the advice!

You could always try layering one of those with something else from the general catalogue (a straight-up floral/fruity floral?).

 

I get a lot of mandarin, myself. How about Belle Epoque, folks? I've never tried it myself, but it sounds like it'd be a good start.

Ooohh~~ layering different BPAL scents sounds like a good idea. Hmm~ speaking of such, layering J'adore with BPAL? A brilliant idea, or a recipe for disaster?

 

I seem to get much more floral from J'adore than anything else~ I didn't even know there was mandarin in it until i found the description of the notes. Perhaps Belle Epoque would have the same effect on my skin~ it's one of the BPAL scents I've been curious about anyways. Thank you for your suggestions!

I've had a bottle of J'Adore sitting around for years, so I just went and tried some on. Hate to tell you this, but the absolute closest thing I've smelled is Mabon -- which has blackberries and hops and is just about impossible to get these days. It also reminded me a bit of Harvest Moon '05, which is a little easier to find. Mabon might come out again this year, since Beth just put out Beltane, but I wouldn't count on it.

 

I wouldn't go looking for blackberry scents, though; the ones I've tried, like Bewitched and Glasgow, smell nothing like this. ::sniffs wrist some more:: Maybe try some of the orchid scents in Rappaccinni's Garden? Baneberry isn't too far off either...but I haven't had commercial perfume on in years, and I'd forgotten about the very high, chemical topnotes. All of Beth's oils are more rich and fruity, so it's true, you won't find anything else with that particular scent.

 

Hope that rambling helped!

Noooo~ no Mabon? It sounded perfect~ I've seen Harvest Moon about on eBay, so I guess I'll keep an eye out an see if it pops up sometime soon. I'll also keep a watch out for Mabon~~ *crosses fingers* I'll go check out Rappaccinni's Garden too, thanks for the suggestion! (It probably smells nothing like J'adore, but I want to try Beatrice, just based on the story. ) Thanks for your help!

This goes in Recommendations, not Suggestions... so it might get moved.

 

One way to go about finding a similar oil is to do a search on the forums on J'adore Dior and see if that brings up anything similar. Doing a search, I found reviews that liken it to Kitsune-Tsuki (which contains Asian plum, orchid, daffodil, jasmine and white musk) and Shattered (with white champagne notes, grapefruit, lotus, slivered mint and crystalline aquatic blooms.)

 

Another way is to do a search on the engine on the blackphoenixalchemylab site for one, two, or more of those notes and see what you get. I know Champaca flower is not used very often, and is usually reserved for Limited Edition oils, but jasmine, orchids, violet, plum, and rose are very common ingredients, and there are a lot to choose from! Once you've done that, you can order a few imps ears and see if any of them work for you.

 

I should note that Beth doesn't know of a lot of commercial perfumes (why would she bother!), so most BPAL scents are realllllly unlike anything you'd find at a department store.

 

Hope that helps!

Oops~ I knew I put this in the wrong section. *slaps forehead* I reported the thread to the mods, thanks for letting me know~

 

I'm still trying to figure out how to work the forum's search engine works, so thanks for those recommendations! I'm definitely going to get those in my next order of imps. And I'll go hunt around on the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab site as well~ it didn't even occur to me to do that, thanks for the suggestion. It's fine by me if BPAL scents don't smell like the department store ones~ department store stuff is all starting to smell the same to me, so I want something different anyways. Thank you so much!

I hope I'm doing this right, please feel free to move the thread if this is in the wrong place. ^^ *is newbie*

 

I've just discovered BPAL recently, and I'm on the prowl for a new signature scent. My current scent is Dior's j'adore, but I'm starting to get a bit tired of it. I'm not very scent-savvy, so I'll try to describe it as best as I can~ it's a light floral, apparently a tiny bit spicy and citrus-y as well. The top notes are Champaca flower, mandarin, and ivy leaves; middle notes are jasmine, orchids, violet, Damascus plum, and rose; base notes are Amaranth wood and blackberry musk. Can some kind soul recommend a similar BPAL scent that I can try? Thank you!