whitemyrrh

Yeah, that whole rolling/shaking thing, I was never sure what to make of that. Boomslang separates, so it needs to be mixed; I was told shaking it would mess up the oils, but rolling was actually beneficial. Which... I defaulted to gentle rolling because it seemed like a more controlled way to blend it. I'm pretty clumsy, so the chances of shaking myself into nasty Boomslang fling* seemed high**!

*sounds dirty, don't it.

**to the credit of the legend, losing your grip on the bottle you're shaking & having it bust on the hardwood flooring does seem like it would be detrimental to the longevity of the oils. Also, the flooring, if we're talking Boomslang. That stuff's darker than coffee.

*natural oils change a LOT when they're first blended. If your bottle is super fresh, then it really might change day by day, until the components settle in. So sure, you can say there's a settling period, it just has nothing to do with shipping (other than shipping introducing your oil in extreme temperatures).

Yes, this has always seemed more logical to me than something needing to settle after shipping. Lab-fresh stuff does seem to change over the course of the first, I don't know, week? Sometimes dramatically. I just got a bottle of "The Illustrated Woman" today and the first time I applied it, it was very aquatic in quality; six hours later, it smells a lot more like I was expecting. I think the blend is still combining. Changes like this just don't happen when I get something from a swap. Even straight out of the shipping package, the blend will smell the same days later.

I got a roller bottle of rose oil a few years ago the day after a snowstorm. It had solidified in the bottle. THAT needed some time to "settle" after shipping... also, liquefy.

Yay! Thank you for supporting my "poppycock" alert!

Personally, I have stopped putting my BPALs on my wrists/arms - the oil seems to disappear too quickly.. apparently the inside of my forearms gets a lot of action during the day (who knew!). I've started doing the vertical swipe down from behind my ear to the bottom of my neck, right at the pulse points on each side. I don't "smoosh" the oil when I do this, I just kinda wipe it over my skin.. and it's still there *hours* later.

I'll have to try this, particularly with lighter fragrances. I definitely place a little behind my ears, though... lately, I've been fatiguing on some fragrances after a couple hours, especially sweeter ones, and having the scent so close to my face seems to push along that process. Maybe my tastes have changed. Wish they'd tell me to what!

Maybe next time you apply your oil, find a really quiet room.. do the smooshing thing, then hold a wrist up close to your ear. If you hear HELPPPP MEEEEE I'M DYYYYYYYYYYYINNNNNNGGGGG then you are guilty of molecular destruction and should be arrested for crimes against nature. If, however, no screams of terror or cries of pain can be heard, then you have happy little fragrance molecules and there's no need to worry.

Only problem is that with BPAL, your fragrance molecules are enjoying quite the orgy. And they're so very tiny, it's kind of hard to tell the difference between cries of pain and cries of pleasure...

Oh, Dr. Nerdy McMolecularperson!

So a few weeks ago I saw these disclaimer from another perfume retailer:

"Never crush or grind the fragrance molecules which will potentially ruin your delicate fragrance combination," and "Do not crush the delicate fragrance by rubbing wrists together."

...And was immediately overwhelmed with guilt. Because, dude, I am a rubber, a crusher, AND a wrist smasher. I daub a fragrance on one wrist and start a boy scout campfire to distribute it to the other. I put a dash of a scent behind my ear and rub it in with my index finger. I mash a line of the stuff right down my cleavage. I mean, I don't do all of these things at one time because I like to keep my perfume subtle, but these and variations of them have been my perfume application process since I started wearing oils at 18. So I dug around in the BPAL forums because if anyone has heard of this, it's you guys (moment of panic: WHAT IF THIS IS SOMETHING EVERYONE INTO PERFUME ALREADY KNOWS AND I'VE BEEN AN UNKNOWING BLASPHEMER FOR 16 YEARS?!) but (thankfully?) I couldn't find anything like this. So I started a thread.

For the record, I experimented: I took a very delicate fragrance and daubed it to one wrist, leaving it to dry untouched. On my other wrist, I daubed it and then SCRUBBED IT INTO MY SKIN. Way more intensely than I've ever rubbed a perfume before. Two minutes later, they smelled slightly different: the untouched wrist smelled a little more "wet." Ten minutes later, they smelled pretty much the same. Fifteen minutes later, they smelled the same. After an hour, the fragrance had vanished from both wrists, but that's my typical relationship with very delicate fragrances. So, I mean, I'm thinking there probably ISN'T something to this, at least not something big enough to be noticeable, but what my nose just isn't refined enough to catch it?

I know there is a sleep rec thread here already, and I apologize if that really should have been addressed there--but this is a specific problem, for me and I suspect a few others.

So I'm concerned about long term health problems and am, gradually, trying to rehab some of my worse sleep habits--and I've been trying to use aromatherapy to help. I have problems "letting go" at night. I get tense. I worry. I fixate on anything there is to fixate, will realize I've been missing a CD for three months and start digging around the house to find it, will convince myself I need to write an entry in my journal, update my Livejournal, answer comments in Livejournal, finish reading a book, start reading another book, try to figure out where that one passage I remember was, clean the bathroom, reorganize the BPAL box and smell everything in there too, obsess about someone from the irrevocable past, maybe I could make a graphic novel? Oh, by the way? It's 3 o'clock in the morning and... what am I doing?

The problem is that I haven't been able to find anything that clears my head and helps me sleep... without giving me a hangover.

From the Somnium collection, I have tried Temple of Dreams, Oneiroi, and Somnus. Temple of Dreams and Oneiroi... put me into a coma. I wake up and my vision is hazy. My head hurts, I'm SO woozy, it's like I've been drinking. I think Temple of Dreams was the one where I woke up and walked into a door frame and didn't notice the bruise on my forehead for a half hour. This is fine for if it is the dead of winter and I have declared it my annual "Day of Sleep" holiday, but if I have commitments the next day, for instance, work? It's too much. I won't have safely returned to our earthly plane before I have to drive. I'm wondering if these blends share a danger ingredient (for me, at least) that I should generally avoid unless I want to do deep, deep trance work once in a great while. Mugwort, maybe? Hops?

Somnus is better, but it has caused me to sleep through the alarm on occasion. I am much more rested-feeling after a few uncomfortably muddled minutes, and don't have the headache. Until I look at the clock! But that's a different kind of headache. I do intend to keep using Somnus, but I'm wondering if anyone has a sense of how much sleep she wants. If I should only use it if I can get it on and sleep, safely, for seven to eight hours. Right now, I don't feel comfortable using Somnus when I really need her--to help me "shut down" & sleep on the nights when I have to wake up in the morning and get to work safely in time to open the store.

With all three, the release seems to be more physical than mental, too. The body slows and I sleep because I am in the body... but the mind is still chugging away, blasting 99 Luff Balloons and dancing the Time Warp. This aspect will probably need to addressed with a meditation practice, of some sort. But if someone has had a successful experience with "stilling" from a BPAL blend... inquiring minds want to know, once the mental iPod's batteries give out, at least.

I haven't tried Nanshe, Baku, Succor, Quietude, TKO or any of the TALs.

Basically, I want a sleep blend that will help clear my head (emphasis on clear my head!!! No more 4AM crazed CD hunts, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, PLEASE!), help me let go, lull me to sleep, but not knock me out through the alarm. I'm... apparently very physically sensitive to sleep-aids ("Calm Tabs" from Puritan's Pride need to be used with caution, so does "Bach's Rescue Remedy") I'm such a freaking lightweight! Any recommendations?

Both Antique Lace and Devil's Night are on my (admittedly, huge) wish list, but I'll have to add Dorian. But... one question... what is fougere? In a lot of oil descriptions, it says "lavender fougere", but in Dorian, just "fougere". Does fougere always smell like lavender?

Apparently fougère is traditional style of cologne.

My quote is towards the bottom of this section in the Wikipedia entry on "Perfume,"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfume#Describing_a_perfume

"Fougère: Meaning Fern in French, built on a base of lavender, coumarin and oakmoss. Houbigant's Fougère Royale pioneered the use of this base. Many men's fragrances belong to this family of fragrances, which is characterized by its sharp herbaceous and woody scent."

And lavender is apparently one of the notes used to create fougère. I'd imagine there could be lavender-dominant interpretations and that's why Beth would note it as "lavender fougère" in particular blends.

I can't distinctly catch lavender in Dorian, which leaves me smelling like lemon lollipops well into the dry-down I am afraid, but in that heavenly way-way-way later snuff of it I'll catch on my wrist--a teeny bit of lavender in there wouldn't be impossible to imagine. Lavender blends with white musk extremely well.

Cats! Just for prosperity's sake, if anyone else ever wonders: the Snake Pit's "Habu" is Snake Oil layered with my understanding of Sunshine's "Omar" and oh, mama, is it ever good!

This was a selection in my first imp pack last February. And it was a run-and-scrub, the first time I tried it.

The sharp sniff i got from the bottle inspired cautious placement--I figured the insole of my right foot would a safe distance. I'd just showered so it'd be a clean pallet. Even from three feet back, that evergreen note shot up at me like smelling salts and my sinuses started to throb.

See, years ago I had something akin to a redefining moment in the Black Hills and there was a particular fragrance, that day, that I've been wanting to find even a solid emulation of; I've been dying to find something that would make me smell like old-growth pine forest.

For a couple seconds, there, I worried I was going to die because of something that could make me smell like old growth forest.

I put it in the drawer and let it mellow for a couple months. It wasn't, um, an intentional mellowing period. I was just that scared, keepin' my axe right at the foot of my bed and sleepin' with one eye open. I mean, dude, on my foot.

Now, where would I be without masochism? I was wearing green in early May and decided I needed a resonant fragrance. I swiped some Nocnitsa in the nook of my elbow (masochism!) and took off for the day. and... I liked it. As the day wore on, I liked it more and more. The headache from that first time would only hint if I buried my nose into my elbow (well, I mean, you'd actually be surprised how many BPAL days are spent with my nose in my elbow. Or, you wouldn't. Look who I'm talking to...)

Eventually the pine slides into amber and i'm left with this barely pine, barely amber marriage that makes me feel... well... warm and green. I go back and forth on it, it may be a 5ml investment eventually, but it's on the b-list, yet. I'm suspecting it's best for me in summer or late spring; I can't help feeling my winter chemistry is what made that top note lethal.

I purchased a partial of this from the lovely cuervosueno.

Wow, I've never met a BPAL blend that confused my sensors as much as Chintamani-Dhupa, and, dude, I've been Whitechapeled.

First sniff from the open bottle, I can hardly smell anything. A curious distant aquatic smell, as though this were emptied of most of its oil and then refilled with water without rinsing. What I can smell is enigmatic; it isn't sweet, it isn't dry, I can't pin down any one note for sure but it reminds me of something that reminds me of... something.

Whooooooo this sucker's gonna make me real articulate-like, huh.

Wet, it disappears for a minute or two and re-emerges as--GLORY BE! Karnataka Mysore Sandalwood Soap, that scent it puts into the air around the bathtub edge on which it is set. Or maybe it is--is this specific? Specifically unburned sandalwood incense of a particular variety that I am appreciative of, if not enamored. At least it is not the kind of Indian sandalwood incense that, specifically unburned, smells like urine. What it becomes over the course of a half hour is pure buttery sandalwood powder, and it is glorious. For that half hour I am dancing for joy, smelling of pure buttery sandalwood powder.

Then the sandalwood vanishes. Kinda. And this other smell emerges... kinda. It drops back, very close to the skin, and it isn't... anything I can get my nose around. I think the blend doesn't have any of my chemistry's footholds (amber, musk, vanilla) so it never really takes off, it's indistinct and incoherent. It's all over the place, but it doesn't go anywhere. There's little throw, there's no... hook. Strike one? It's the empty perfume bottle smell, except it is on my skin. It doesn't smell like chlorine (at all!), but something in the way the top note delivers reminds me of that pungent inside-elbow "went to the pool today" drydown you'd catch when you were watching TV later in the evening.

Then: it's gone.

I don't like it, but I find it very appealing.

My cat is licking my arm with an intense fevour that means he either really likes it and wants to eat it or really hates it and is trying to make it go away.

I'm wondering what a few months of age will do for Chintamani-Dhupa.

---

ETA: 10/02 What will a few months of age will do for Chintamani-Dhupa? Give it a foothold, and even a little bit of throw. There is a honey sweetness to that dry sandalwood that was not there before. An indescribably fruity quality I can't remember from my first attempts, either. I'm still not getting a lick of pine, but I could see wearing this a bit more regularly, now. A refined incense smell--just lovely.

The rose in Spellbound is true to me, but not as a rose-in-bloom. This is a whiff of a freshly opened bottle of rosewater. It curls over a dark musk already in possession of a strong Indian edge; they compliment each other divinely if given the right amount of heat. A good Indian perfume needs a bit of humidity to blossom; without a little sweat, even the best of them can go soapy. This one certainly can! Absolutely this is a summer blend for me, though probably not for work days--far too heady. Let' stick with late nights of reclaimed sari silk skirts and ankletts woven with bells for Spellbound.

My chemistry tends to create an amber note with dark musk after a few hours, and my amber is the only amber I'm getting here. I suspect the blend's amber works more as a liason between the rose and the musk. It's not real apparent at all, in the bottle or wet on the skin. (Black Rose emphasizes the amber. Though the observation has surely been made before, It's amazing how different two blends that list a majority of same notes can smell.)

The first couple times I wore it, especially in the wet stages, it reminded me a bit of Auroshikha's "Indian Flower" (from back in my pre-BPAL days.) Not so much that I couldn't wear it comfortably, though (didn't wear Indian Flower during the happiest time of my life.) The drydown of Spellbound is far more distinctive to my nose, a little more rosey. I never realized the "Indian Flower" was a rose, back when, so thank you to Beth for solving that mystery. Since I think Auroshikha discontinued their perfume line, this would be a fine Black Phoenix alternative for anyone who was a fan. And the BPAL bottles are of a much better quality, lemme tell ya. No thin white plastic cap that cracks up the side if you try to close it tight enough to keep it from leaking!

I accidentally applied a bit of Snake Oil over the wrist I'd been testing Spellbound on the night before and almost died from bliss at the way the notes married. I've never been one to layer, but this may change my mind...

Ooooh, excellent! Exactly why I asked, to see if anyone had a recommendation I missed.

I did order a bottle of Boomslang, but since we've got a bit more time with the Snake Pit, I may well try Western Diamondback next. I seem to jive well with Beth's Western scents. However, I am unsure about tonka. It tends to disappear or go strange in my chemistry (but the blends I've tried it in have all had other contraversial notes in them, whereas WD doesn't seem to, so it could be fine.)

I haven't been able to try them all yet, although I've sniffed quite a few.

 

Boomslang I have tried and I adore - it's very rich and spicy, even at this "fresh from the lab" stage. I think I would love Saw-Scaled Viper, but I am afraid to apply it to my skin after reading Andrabell's review - the girl claims she's made of asbestos and she got spice-burn from it. I love the Lab's red ginger note as well as all things spicy, but I'm sorta like the tender underbelly of a toad and I can only imagine what might happen if I slather this one. I might try diluting it (which worked for me with Bengal and Al Sharain).

 

I haven't sniffed Temple Viper yet - but to my nose, Death Adder is hard-core vetiver in the bottle! Then again, my nose is very sensitive to vetiver (and doesn't care for it) and my skin amps it.

 

My rec, if you are going to splurge for a bottle unsniffed, would definitely be Boomslang. It's the most like Snake Oil of the four you are considering, at least to my nose!

Yeah, me too with vetiver. I can love it in incense and on others, but on me it must get bored and resentful. Death on a Pale Horse is quite nice, but I've never smelled the note with that quality elsewhere.

Andrabell's post is pretty scary, though I'm pretty good as far as sensitivity goes. Sometimes Magus and rarely Tombstone will cause a little pinkening (perhaps it is the cedar?); otherwise I haven't run into any problems. I haven't tried a lot of cinnamon-heavy fragrances, though, because I amp them up into drugstore candy, pretty much. Thus my caution about Saw-Scale, though all the reviews did promise me no red hot candies.

I DO hear Boomslang is extremely dark and prone to staining the skin. My complexion is pretty pale, i'm just barely not in the "Maris jokes" range. Am I going to have to figure out alternate application points?

I would recommend Boomslang... but I might have a slight bias, because that is my current favorite (I'm rather fanatical about it, actually, lol). Even though it is the chocolate blend, it's not really a sweet blend to me. The vanilla is more pronounced in that Snake than any of the others that I've tried yet, and it has the teakwood in it. If you already like Snake Oil, Boomslang to me was Snake Oil with a more pronounced vanilla, rolled in cocoa powder. Sooo good.

That's what I've heard. Excellent, I think I have my first choice. Thank you so much!

Sadly, according to my current budget realities, There Can Be Only One. Later, I'll be able to try some of the others, but for the time being, I'd like to see which of my not-very-narrow narrowing down the folks who've tried them would direct me to if they could only direct me to one.

So about me: I'm generally a resin and woods kind of girl. I love vanilla when it is thick and not particularly sweet. I adore amber, the vanilla crusted amber Snake Oil dries to on me is one of my favorite aspects of that blend. I don't generally work well with fruits, especially not citrus; nor very sweet, nor aquatic. My favorites lately have been Snake Oil, Tombstone, Urd, and Alice. I've also been a big fan of Hecate, Magus, and Black Rose.

So far, I'm leaning towards:

Boomslang

Death Adder

Saw-Scaled Viper

Temple Viper

'Course, I'd probably be open to most of the other snakes in the pit. Unfortunately.

In my chemistry, the frankincense notes (I'm fairly sure frankincense is the culprit) in Cathedral, Anne Bonny, and to a slightly lesser extent, Midnight Mass, get a real sharp salty twinge that moves to the front of the blend and has, so far, made all three of them smell very similar--this gives me some reservations about Temple Viper, because that salty twinge gives me an awful headache. Death Adder has vetiver, which could go either way--just like Temple Viper, though, other than that one potential problem, the other notes sound heavenly. Boomslang and Saw-Scaled Viper might be my most likely contenders, but.. but... ahhhhgh! I can't decide!! Help!!

Is there a scent that has the fresh grape scent (gah NOT the faky bubblegum smell) that ISN'T a boozy wine?

Tempest, I have a 'grape soda' issue with "Blood Rose," "Wanda," and a number of the other fragrances with wine at certain points of the month. Trust me, "grape soda" is not a personality mesh.

However, Urd, which has a lead note of muscadine grounded by a base of patchouli really smells fantastic. The patchouli offers it a earthy "from the vineyard" feel, and the champa keeps the grape note on top of the patchouli.

It is truly a fresh grape to my nose, not sweet, exactly, but with that fresh grape tang. It's also one of the few fruity blends that regularly works for me. I'd recommend swapping for an imp of Urd even if you are cautious about patchouli (though probably not if you really hate it, as it is definitely a presence in the blend.)

In the bottle, this was a bit brighter than I anticipated. Not sharp or intense, just more of a floral kick. I was thinking it'd be a little more muted, perhaps a bit like Alice, because of the cream accord and rose. It really is the orchid that takes the lead, at first, and my feelings on orchid are a bit mixed. Apparently, wow, I amp them orchids good.

As it ages in my chemistry, I discover that the rose is actually a component of what I was describing to myself as orchid--the two blend together almost seamlessly, it's quite lovely. The rose has a bright, almost citrus quality to it, as AliBabble described. I love rose and so wish it had a little more prominence in the blend--though I suspect it would on someone who has more reliable chemistry as far as roses are concerned.

There is a powdery component to the fragrance that flirts with being soapy, but morphs out of it just in time. A half hour into application, I do find a musky rasp at the bottom of the orchids that builds more and more into the drydown.

Kashmir musk, what I can pick out, has a similar texture to white musk--but it is a little more 'ladylike,' if that makes any sense. There's definitely an expensive, 'big ticket' feel to this musk, perhaps why it's only turning up in Salon and Limited blends.

As it stands, this is a lovely fragrance, full of spring and blossoming-time associations. "Youthful, innocent passion," yes; profoundly feminine, and maybe a little niave. I reckon this will be finding its way onto my wrist for the equinox and maybe Beltane. Beyond that, as every note of this blend is said to deepen and mellow with time, I am very eager to see how Abhisarika will grow into her own.

Bump. I sure find some old topics, huh.

I found & adored this fragrance in the mid-nineties and, as is my habit, used it sparingly so I wouldn't run out (the natural foods store of origin dropped the line and then closed.) Result being, I still have more than half .25 oz. bottle. The company is also still in business--I can buy a replacement right now from any of a dozen online vendors, though I've aged this quite nicely--but man, I want to know what the notes are in this, because I've never smelled anything exactly like it before or since, though it's always been oddly familiar at the same time.

I'm not the best with notes, but I can usually call a citrus for a citrus. It does smell.... lemonesque, wet. But not like lemons. No citrus zap at all. I wonder if it is myrtle, or maybe verbana, or possibly lemongrass? There's also a tonka bean/vanilla in there, but just a little. Maybe some skin musk? Maybe patchouli, way, way, way, way back? There could be a wood of some sort, but it's low. It's clean, but not sterile. Sunshiney, but sunshine in a dusty room. It's not "perfumey" at all, but it is obviously perfume. It's a morpher, but not.. .really. Heh. I've never been able to pin it down, to be honest, maybe that's part of the appeal.

Of andrabell's list, I've tried Cathedral and Aureus. Both of those are lovely, but too woodsy and heavy. Chupachup (Hi!!) mentions Haunted... really? Black musk and amber? I don't pick up any amber in this at all (I tend to amp amber significantly, this one is nice because it doesn't amberize on me at all--so I don't know that there are resin notes in it.)

Also, I wonder why they call it Omar?

Anyone else familiar with Sunshine Spa's "Omar?"

And possibly "The Same Deep Water As You".

I almost want to recommend "Sea of Glass" for that one.

While I love love LOVE rose, I also have a problem with it going soapy on me in some blends.

 

My solution is to choose a rose with some musk or resin note to balance out the sharpness. Black Rose is a very true rose on me and I think it's because the amber and musk tone down any sharpness, leaving the rose note much more full and round. I do not know what the sekrit ingredient is in Peacock Queen but it rounds out the rose, de-soaping it and leaving it a true and pure rose. Rose Cross - also a very true rose on me with the frankincense as ballast.

 

Spellbound, All Saints - same with the prominent musk and resin notes. Less of a pure rose in this case, but no soap, thankfully!

 

Finally, Euphrosyne is one of my very very favorite scents but I get much more of a gardenia from it and not rose - but in any event, it's not soapy.

 

If you like rose but find that it goes to soap, seeking out roses with the secondary ingredients of musk, amber, resins, or a VERY sweet rich floral like gardenia or frangipani (which is in Delight) can help, IME.

Chrystantza, these are wonderful insights! I've already worked with Black Rose and Spellbound, and like them quite a bit. The jury is still out on Euphrosyne.

Sometimes I do want something more purely rose. I tend to amp resins, especially amber, so after an hour or two that's what I get with Black Rose--and Spellbound.... it shoots off this rosewater lead that almost seems separate from the body of the perfume? It's lovely, but not always what I exactly want. I'd love to find a rose with that... fleshy depth, velvety petalled... roseness that lives in my most viseral understanding of roses--the darkness between the petals? "Heart rose" is how I describe the scent to myself. Rose Red is so lovely, but it's very much fresh cut--more of a greenhouse rose than what I'm thinking of, and it vanishes on me very quickly.

I'm wondering if what I want is Peacock Queen. I'm also wondering if I'll ever get to try Peacock Queen. Angst! Angst! What I want but can not have!!

Blood Pearl and Black Pearl both go plastic on my skin. The culprit: coconut.

 

However, I want to wear coconut scents so badly! I've ordered Tarot: The Star and Obatala in the vain hopes that, like roses, Beth uses different coconut scent blends and--and-- perhaps one that I can wear?!

 

So I would love to enlist your help: is there anyone else here whose skin coconut hates to be on? Who also found a coconut they could wear?

I love Obatala and recommend him highly, though you might have to watch out for the first ten minutes 'cos he can be a little sweet at first.

I haven't tried any coconut notes other than that and Eden--Eden kind of works? Of the two, Obatala's coconut note is more prominant and true, at least in my chemistry. Eden doesn't seem plasticy to me, though I haven't tried Blood Pearl or Black Pearl, so I don't know if I'd have your problem specifically.

There isn't any type of musk in Obatala, either, I wonder if the real culprit were the musks combining with coconut? As much as I love musks, they can do some weird things to otherwise reliable notes.

Good luck!!

Though I'm wondering, right now, what would happen if I layered Snake Oil with Black Rose...

Surprise! I get... Snake Oil. A slightly floral variation. Very slightly. Maybe if I just put a tiny little bit with a LOT of Black Rose... or maybe if I layered Black Rose with O instead.....

jarvenpa, I did a search and the only GC fragrances I could pin down to contain both rose and vanilla are Euphrosyne (tea rose, though, and it also has jasmine... I like it, but pretty much I smell sort of a gardenia-touched jasmine when I try it) and Desire (which seems to have a LOT of other stuff going on besides, some of it being stuff that doesn't generally agree with me--who knows, though? I'll put it on my list.)

When I expand my search to include limited/discontinued, I get a few others:

Khajuraho, which I've been told has roses and vanilla from the get, but which I've only ever sort of smelled vanilla in (and it's more a vanilla-like creaminess behind everything else)

Bearded Lady, which might have "attack of the jasmine" syndrome, and

The Haunted Place, a fragrance which I cry out to the heavens, infrequently, for JUST discovering BPAL when the run on it ended--I was still too afraid of LEs to try it! Except but the blood orange, it might have ruinned it on me anyway. *sniff* (Hey--sour grapes, anyone?!)

So far, that intruder Moonshadow might still be in the lead. Though I'm wondering, right now, what would happen if I layered Snake Oil with Black Rose...

Reading this thread today I found myself thinking...I wonder if there is a scent that combines roses and vanilla?? (yeah, I can go searching, but I'm feeling lazy).

 

Sorry Antique Lace didn't work for you, whitemyrrh. Trying to think of my other vanilla faves (I like vanilla in just about anything, it would seem) but most are probably too heavy for what you seem to be seeking...Golden Priapus (vanilla and pine?), Black Opal (vanilla and who knows what else, but gee it is lovely)...

Antique Lace might be one more for the summer, actually--so far the bpal vanilla smells entirely different on me from one season to the next! Dorian I love, I also got that from you, but for the vanilla touched white musk that emerges at the end rather than the fresh/wet version. And Tombstone is on order for a big bottle as of today. Everyone compliments me when I wear it!

I do want to try Golden Priapus as well.

And heck yeah, bring on the rose/vanilla! Kamala has a scent called "Moon Shadow" that combines them, but it's a very Indian rose combined with that almost invisible Kamala vanilla. I'd LOVE to see what Beth could do with those notes together.

I was going to suggest Antique Lace

 

Seconded!

Dang it.... I amped the linen/indistinct florals in Antique Lace and boy, did I get a headache. I'm going to try it at other points in my monthly chemistry cycle, but so far it doesn't seem to be working out. From my other explorations, I have a growing suspicion about the Lab's linen note--on me it's so cold I get an ice-cream headache.

I did try Tombstone, and that vanilla note is of the WOW. It's very distinctive, as well-- unsweet, but still warm. I think it is the vanilla I seek, as long as that sassafras stays very low in the mix. For prosterity's sake, though, I gotta ask, has anyone caught the the Tombstone vanilla elsewhere?

I *love* gardenias, and there's been a couple of really beautiful gardenia scents introduced since this thread was first started!

Exactly!! I got a little woozey noticing the last time this thread had been updated was over two years ago!!

My first suggestion would be Euphrosyne. I think it's the truest gardenia scent in the BPAL catalog, and the gardenia is softened by vanilla. And it's a traditional floral perfume. It's gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!

Thank you so much for recommending Euphrosyne, it makes me feel better about my instincts. My eye went right to it and I almost started hunting the sale area for a sample, but I wanted to check with someone who might have had some experience with it first.

Sounds like Mom and I may end up fighting over that one, hmmmm....

Also, Tavern of Hell starts out a little scary, but after a couple of minutes dries down to a lovely creamy gardenia scent. However, Tavern of Hell may be no better of a name than Sacred Whore....

Yeah, see, I was freaking out a couple weeks ago because a frimp of Bordello was making me smell like "Very Berry" Koolaide... she overheard me being overly theatrical on the telphone, saying "I CAN'T BELIEVE I'VE MADE A BORDELLO SMELL LIKE CHILDREN'S PRESWEETENED FRUIT PUNCH" and she asked, with a great deal of concern, if there was perhaps some kind of self-esteem issue behind why was wearing something called "Bordello" in the first place.... I come at her with hell and whores and I might be getting a specially consecrated chastity belt this Yule...

Also - although the notes aren't listed, so this is just my speculation - I think Swadhisthana from the Chakras (the sacral chakra) has a strong gardenia scent. It's gorgeous, too - one of my very, very favorites.

Oooh, thank you, that was another reason I asked--because I know a few of the blends don't reveal their notes in the description. I will look for a decant of that one, as well.

Magnolia is definitely similar to gardenia...I also think tuberose is close as well, and plumeria & jasmine to an extent. Although jasmine can go several ways.

Usually the way jasmine goes on me is "THERE IS NO DANA. ONLY JASMINE." I've been wondering if we'll demonstrate similar tendancies in our chemistry, because anything with even a little jasmine acts like it is actually demonically possessed by the jasmine of doom one it touches my skin. I suspect she'll be good with that, though, because she told me in general she likes florals better than spice or musk--and she always complemented me when I'm wearing jasmine, even if I'm feeling slightly embarassed by the blasting excess of it.

I would have to strongly second clover's rec of Euphrosyne- it is creamy and lovely, and Euphrosyne is the Gratiae/Charity of mirth, I think!

 

Le Serpent Qui Danse is another good gardenia, but unless she hates roses and loves violets, I'd really lean towards Euphrosyne... then again, I love Euphrosyne.

Thank you for the second, Cordia! I'm a little wary of Le Serpent because of my personal experiences with violets, but maybe it would work out better for her. I adore roses! And she says she loves them too, she just tends to observe I smell like a funeral home or bug spray when I wear them. Still, Euphrosyne is first in the running. Whoohoo!!

Mom needs more mirth in her life, I'd say.

EDITED because something went all wonky...

going to give this a *bump* because today my mom informed me about a long standing secret dream for a good gardenia perfume, and i would like to help her with that dream. if not in time for yule, certainly in time for her bday in march.

i can not in good conscience have the first bpal i give my good catholic mother have word "whore" on it. so the sacred whore of babylon is out, at least until she understands about bpal a little more. aside from that, most of the standing recommendations here are for the single note, to which i just pound my head on the table and wish i knew about bpal and my mom's gardenia wish back when those were readily available.

i did a note search but only a few things came up and it's hard to say where the gardenia will be most prominant. my mother says she likes florals, mostly, but as long as a full and fleshy gardenia is a lead note, we can probably play around with some wood, cream, or spices.

are magnolia and gardenia very similar? my only real reference are yankee harbor candles, i'm afraid.