PrinceofcatS

38 minutes ago, Amoraexcena said:

Thank you so much for your detailed recommendations!!! I liked Edith Cushing and love Lyonesse, though unfortunately something in Lyonesse irritates my skin. Lyonesse is the only one that I've tested that does this in the 100s of BPALs I've tried. I should really wear it in a scent locket. I also own The Bride (love!), MLST, and Tamora - excellent recommendations, I feel like you've read me like a book! I'll have to try Victoria, The Torture Queen, and Illustrated Woman! And I"ll try to find The Silver Scimitar and The Haunted Beach. Thanks again!

Little Silver Scimitar is actually one of the Weenies from this past year - it's still up for the time being. I hope you find some more things you love!

17 minutes ago, ShadowEtienne said:

 

Ooh interesting! The Sea Foams Blood is one that I've never tried, but I may have to look into. Tweedledee and Baobhan Sith are lovely and I have imps of, Tweedledee may at some point get upgraded to a bottle. Snooty Rose is also lovely but more my sister's scent than mine. Leanan Sidhe, I expected to like, but on my skin it smells almost exactly like how cilantro tastes to me, and it is baffling.

 

The Froth of the Serpents of Pleasure is currently on its way to me, and I'm very hopeful for it! I'll have to keep an eye out for Right Atrium though because that does sound lovely! (And you are on the nose with me loving all the citrus three notes.)

 

Sea Foams Blood is definitely one for me to aim to get a chance to try though. I think I've been antsy about it in the past because I wasnt sure what the blood note was going to be like. 

I haven't actually tried that one myself, as I am not one for aquatics, but the reviews page for it here on the forum confirms it is dragon's blood!

9 hours ago, Amoraexcena said:

I need to cheat a little, because I have a "light" top 5 and "dark" top 5. Light are my ethereal tobacco flowers, light vanillas, brittle ambers. Dark are my sugary incenses, deep resins, dark patchoulis, oudh. 

 

Light 

1. Antique Lace (OG)

2. Zorya P

3. To a Wreath of Snow

4. Crinoline and Lace

5. Pediophobia

 

Dark

1. Sugared Lace

2. Banshee Beat

3. Shadow Lace

4. La Lugubre Gondola

5. Implacable Beautiful Tyrant (aged, after which it gets deeper and loses a bit of the ginger-brightness)

The first thing that came to my mind is Edith Cushing (Pearlescent vanilla musk with white sandalwood, grey amber, white patchouli, ambrette seed, and oudh), but I think getting it is probably hard these days. However, it's not too dissimilar to Lyonesse (Golden vanilla and gilded musk, stargazer lily, white sandalwood, grey amber, elemi, orris root, ambergris and sea moss) in the general catalogue. If you haven't tried Tomie (A seductive and deceptively delicate blend of rose-tinted white sandalwood, ethereal white amber, voluptuous almond blossom, coeur de jasmin, and a gasp of bourbon vanilla), you absolutely must.

The 2019 White Gardenia and Vanilla Cream duet might appeal to you, as might The Bride from 2016 (Vanilla chiffon, honey musk, and pale magnolia) if you can find it. If you like florals, you might go even more floral-y with Victoria from the Stardust collection (Graceful vanilla musk, tea rose, and stargazer lily), which has a really beautiful vanilla musk, and The Torture Queen from the Carnaval Diabolique sees up your alley (White amber, vanilla musk, white tea, ambergris, gardenia, and chrome). Additionally if you haven't tried them, A Mouse's Long and Sad Tale (Vanilla, two ambers, sweet pea and white sandalwood), Good (Shimmering celestial musk with vanilla, white honey, acacia, and sugar cane) and Tamora (Amber, heliotrope, golden sandalwood, peach blossom and vanilla bean) in the GC are just lovely ethereal vanillas.

I haven't tried it but I've seen other Zorya P lovers enthuse about The Little Silver Scimitar (Foamy orris and ambergris accord pierced by a sliver of white fir needle, moonflower, and cypress), and I used to adore The Haunted Beach before my skin chemistry changed (Pale, moonlit musk, sea salt, and ambergris), though that's also from 2016.

For your darker side, I have fewer suggestions, but The Antikythera Mechanism (Teakwood, oak, black vanilla, and tobacco) seems appropriate, as do Tombeur (Deadly and seductive: vanilla-infused sandalwood, blood musk, antique patchouli, vetiver, lavender, bitter almond, amber, and a trickle of Snake Oil) and The Illustrated Woman (Skin musk, smoky vanilla, pine pitch, patchouli, Indian resins, golden honey, and tobacco). And it's nothing new but Haunted of course (Soft golden amber darkened with a touch of murky black musk) is a classic.

12 hours ago, ShadowEtienne said:

I'm intrigued enough to try this. I feel like I'm pretty good at figuring out what I will like, but maybe someone will point out something to me that I wouldn't have thought of:

 

1. Lunar New Year Scents (Water Snake is probably my most favorite, only partially because Snake is my year)

2. Cthulhu (both in perfume oil and beard oil form)

3. Night-Gaunt

4. Aizen-Myoo

5. The Hound and the Milk White Doe

 

Trying to make a list of five is hard! I kept adding things and replacing them and feeling like I was leaving things out. (I have a whole list of hard-no notes, either due to allergies or just strongly disliking a note, but I figure I will leave them off for now and see what happens)

I did peek at your wishlist to see if you had mentioned the notes you can't wear because I didn't want to make a huge list of things you can't wear. I might not have gotten it right, but maybe consider:

Snooty Rose (Red rose, oud, plum, bergamot, and red sandalwood)

Tweedledee (Kumquat, white pepper, white tea and orange blossom)
Baobhan Sith (Grapefruit, white tea, apple blossom and ginger)

Leanan Sidhe (A crush of Irish herbs and flowers, Gaelic mists, and nighttime dew) - I am pretty certain the floral in this is a lily, which I saw is one of your favorite notes (mine too)

The Sea Foams Blood (Blood rising through an ocean wave)

Of current LE scents, The Froth of the Serpents of Pleasure caught my eye (Sweet red wine, oakmoss, ambergris accord, ylang ylang, and Spanish mandarin) - it would depend on how you feel about wine scents and it sounds like the oakmoss is iffy for you but perhaps you could try a decant. You might also look up Right Atrium from Lupercalia 2019 (Luminous amber and white tea, cherry blossom and cashmere wood). 

Also the current but probably soon to come down Ménage à Trois scent Pomelo, Mandarin and Pink Grapefruit seems like a lovely scent for you! 

All the other ones I thought of definitely have musk notes, sorry! 

On 1/22/2023 at 1:18 PM, amoray said:

I'm newish. I don't have a ton of BPAL and I'm still waiting on my next order when I'm sure a lot of these will change. But so far my top 5:

 

1. Constellation...the amber and clove are DIVINE

2. Pandemic Vanitas

3. Mallow Flower, Honeysuckle, and Vanilla Bean

4. The Little Owl

5. Snake Oil 

There are a lot of variants on Snake Oil that might appeal to you- Tombeur from the vampire lineup (Deadly and seductive: vanilla-infused sandalwood, blood musk, antique patchouli, vetiver, lavender, bitter almond, amber, and a trickle of Snake Oil), and from the current Lupers, Womb Furie (Snake Oil and three types of honey) and The Serpent in the Carnations (Snake Oil-soaked carnation petals, spiked with a dash of clove and allspice) seem as though they might agree with you.

I'm not sure how much longer it'll be up but Gossip, Slang, and Cuss-Words (Here’s to a kinder, gentler year: lavender and mallow with orris root, angelica, frosted vanilla bean, and osmanthus) seems similar to your ménage à trois scent.

The Poinsettia Gown from this year's Yules is very sweet and creamy and you might enjoy it if you can do florals (Rose cream, jasmine cream, mallow, vanilla foam, and sweet amber) and The White Cat from the cat lineup might appeal to you too (A portrait of feline dignity painted in bourbon vanilla cream, mallow flower, golden musk, with eyes of lemon amber).

My personal experience with Dee (leather, rosewood and tonka with a hint of incense, parchment and soft woods) was heavy on the tonka though that's not a universal one.  

Also you should try A Mouse's Long and Sad Tail (Vanilla, two ambers, sweet pea and white sandalwood) and Hellcat (hazelnut, buttercream, honey mead, rum and sweet almond). War from the Good Omens line might appeal to you too (Red ginger, black spices, patchouli, honeysuckle, and three blood-soaked red musks).

Lastly if you can do ambergris Zorya Polunochnaya (Pale amber and ambergris, gossamer vanilla, moonflower, and white tobacco petals) is one of the most beautiful vanilla blends on the site, and you might also enjoy The Small Brown Cat (Warm brown fur, cardamom-infused bourbon vanilla, and a touch of cedarwood). 

Thank you!! These are all very helpful ❤️

I looked at this thread and this one but neither of them is what i'm looking for (the former is more dark academia/bookish, the latter very broad). I want something to evoke a Victorian gentleman, one who is a little bit seedy - not rigidly masculine by contemporary standards (florals are a hell yes), but dark/deep, with notes like oakmoss, ferns, tobacco, woods, etc. 

My taste leans conventionally feminine (ie light florals, nothing dark/deep at all) but I'm trying, self-indulgently, to find just the right scent to evoke a character I am trying to write, and my cluelessness is making it hard!

I've tried Dorian (A Victorian fougere with three pale musks and dark, sugared vanilla tea), Dee (English leather, rosewood and tonka with a hint of incense, parchment and soft woods), and Wilde (A sophisticated traditional gentleman’s cologne, with just the slightest taint of patchouli’s passion, tonka bean’s decadence, the philanthropy of bergamot, moss’ cynicism, the sharp wit of lavender, and the hopeless romantic longing of jasmine and thyme) in the distant past; I think the former two are very sweet/have a lot of vanilla, and Wilde I remember only being patchouli-dominant.  Recently I tried Whitechapel (White musk, lime, lilac and citron), which was all lime on me, like a lime jell-o cup. Of mainstream perfumes, I tried Arquiste Misfit recently, which does indeed have a bit of a Victorian bohemian poet vibe, but is pretty much all patchouli.

Of current LEs I'm contemplating The Decadents (Lilac cologne and luscious blackcurrant, blonde tobacco, laburnum petals, and sugared absinthe) and Poets' Hearts Break So (The shuddering beat of a poet’s heart ― filigree-fair, diaphanous: bourbon vanilla fougere, violet leaf, iris root, Italian bergamot, porcelain accord, and a trickle of red musk), though since they haven't had many reviews yet I'm apprehensive about blind-bottling them.

There are lots of options of course, when you look up cologne, fougere, etc on the site or the board - I am looking for some expert opinions to help me narrow it down.

On 1/27/2023 at 12:38 PM, AbbyNormal said:

My wallet is begging me not to post here, but it’s not the boss of me. So, in no particular order:

 

Snekhellden

Port Royal

Dee

PSL: Pumpkin Snake Latte 

Alice’s Evidence 

 

Also Snake Oil,  Snow Snake, and Western Diamondback but I didn’t want to make a virtually all Snake list

The recurring themes I see here are spice and incense notes, so may I recommend Morocco (Arabian spices wind through a blend of warm musk, carnation, red sandalwood and cassia), Penny Dreadful (Soft perfume evocative of noir heroines over rich red grave loam - but there's a ginger note in here for sure), White Rabbit (Strong black tea and milk with white pepper, ginger, honey and vanilla, spilled over the crisp scent of clean linen), Fenris Wolf (Rosewood, amber, red musk and a dribble of red sandalwood), and Bastet (Luxuriant amber, warm Egyptian musk, fierce saffron and soft myrrh, almond, cardamom and golden lotus)?  Also Mary Read, which is more in the Port Royal wheelhouse (Salt air, ocean mist, aged patchouli, sarsaparilla, watered-down rum, leather-tinged musk, and a spray of gunpowder), and Lyonesse (Golden vanilla and gilded musk, stargazer lily, white sandalwood, grey amber, elemi, orris root, ambergris and sea moss), which is a bit of a stretch but which I think goes with Dee and Port Royal.

Sugary pink rose petals - I got only the barest oatmeal note, i wouldn't even recognize it.  My mom, who loves gourmands but hates roses, loved this, and didn't know what was in it. Which i think expresses how much sugar versus the other notes there is in this. It reminded me heavily of an old Lupercalia scent i don't remember the name of, but was tea rose and shortbread.  (Cinq)

Going on there's almost a gourmand edge to the mushroom note - it reminded me of a dish of buttered mushrooms. That sounds really gross, but it wasn't at all! This settles into a slightly upscale, rich rose scent (like a Bulgarian rose) with a plush, very mossy moss note. The mushrooms are still there and not at all savory. This is a scent that defies easy categorization but if you consider yourself into idk, dark cottagecore or fairy core, or swamp-witch-core, or mori girl, or what have you, I think this would be an easy pick. 

This is one of the lilac fragrances of all time, pretty much a soliflore with the supporting notes bringing out the fleshiness of the lilac. This is a lilac bush on a bright blue sky day, when you put your face directly into the blossoms and huff. Not rainy or faint. Not especially sweet.

A little late to review this but O Well! I got this because I loved The Fairy Lovers so extremely and peony is one of my favorite flower fragrances, but this is more sweet than magical on me; I don't find it especially misty and it seems only a little floral. I think "magical vanilla cookies" sums it up. This is quite sugary and creamy with a touch of pale floral incense. It seems like it would suit a Selkie Collection ad campaign, but it doesn't remind me of my other faerie-themed fragrances very much.

This is one of those BPALs that has a "mainstream perfume" quality, which is not at all meant as an insult here since I would say my tastes run that direction more than indie these days. I also thought of Ava (another such scent) when I put it on, but this is softer and much more delicate. White amber is the dominant note on me, but I get a touch of floral too, nothing that stands out as a particular note (although there's tuberose in Ava so I think the jasmine is what's drawing my attention here). It has a very particular vibe that seems a little icy and almost wintery (almond blossom is in some of their snow notes so that's probably also why) and seems perfect for the eerie, seductive Tomie. I'm a Tomie casual but this suits her so well! 

I think this is one of the most elegant, delicate, beautiful, and sophisticated BPALs I've tried in a hot minute and I suspect I'll be wearing it frequently. 

This starts out more grass than evergreen, with an understated lemon amber and some well-blended floral and laundry scents. I do think the floral note is lily; it reminds me a lot of Leanan Sidhe, which is lily among herbs, grass, and mists. The clean laundry note reminds me of Dirty, if that works for you; there's a tiny hint of their vanilla lace note, but Dirty is strong. It also reminds me of The Dead Hour of the Night, from a Halloween collection several years ago, which was pine, moonflower, and opium, but without the opium.  Conceptually it reminds me of Queen Mab's Lace, one of my favorites, but they're not all that similar in execution.

I read people mentioning vetiver as part of the cozy wool note but I didn't think it would bother me.  I don't hate vetiver but sometimes it's a lot.  In this blend, it's a lot.  There was an undercurrent of this scent that made me a little nauseous, honestly.  It also has a bit of the clean cotton note from Dirty and I think those things with the milky note are what sent my stomach rolling.  Also it had the strongest throw and staying power of any BPAL i got in my last order! Unfortunately I don't know if i love the scent.  Woe is me, I wanted to be cozy so bad.

I don't know if it's a result of the change in my skin chemistry or if it's that this scent has finally changed with age, but i no longer get soap out of the fizziness of the champagne note in this (never reviewed it before because it was really just all soap), and after an effervescent, albeit frustratingly singular top note of that, I start to get hints of well-blended florals and incense.  I used to hope I'd get white rose and lavender from this, and even now I think it's more white musk + fizz, but if it changes, I'll edit the review.

I agree with the earlier review that compared this to a non-soapy lily-of-the-valley.  I 'm also baffled to find no powder in this from orris!  There is however a gentle hint of a fresh, green spiciness.  Very early-spring.  This smells like when you survey the grass in March and see little snowdrops cropping up everywhere.  I'm incredibly glad I sprung for this.  It's very complex and beautiful and truly like nothing else i have from the Lab.

In the bottle, this is unexpectedly restrained and stately - i think of gardenia as the loudest white floral BPAL makes and vanilla cream as one of the thicker, richer sweet notes.  There's a faintly buttery note, like a buttercream specifically, in the bottle, but it dissipated when I put it on.  On my skin, the gardenia smells really filmy and almost silvery, and the vanilla does bear a mild resemblance to Antique Lace and Queen Mab's Lace.  

I worried this would be really sweet, but it's surprisingly elegant. It reminds me of a greatly pared down version of my favorite white floral from BPAL, Swan Maiden.  I'm really glad I got this! 

I'm not sure I get cheesecake out of this.  This smells like creamy hazelnut mocha espresso to me.  I got it for my mom because she loves coffee and I thought she'd love coffee-cheesecake, but even without cheesecake specifically I think she'll like this.  There's something rich and addictive about it, even though I don't ordinarily like foodie scents.  This has kind of a fancy vibe.  Like you're eating chocolate liqueurs dusted in gold flakes or something.

Soft crumbly snow note, vanilla with only the tiniest mint note and a touch of that almond-y note other people have described.  I used to get more rose out of this specifically but it's not a particularly heady one.  

My skin chemistry took a big turn in the last year, but even so i was anxious about the sugar in this amping. On me, however, it's not particularly sugary!  The lavender is the strongest note by far, with the slightly sweetened tuberose coming in underneath it.  White musk and mosses ground this and make it feel especially moonlit.  I haven't tried them side by side, but it is very similar to Lullaby from the Crimson Peak line.  That's one of my all-time favorites, so I'm loving it.  Like that one, I love to put this on at night.

This is my favorite atmo of ALL TIME, usurping the throne from Young Edith's Bedroom by virtue of reminding me very much of that one + Edith Awakes in the sense of being white floral lace + beautiful beeswaxy honey notes, but also possessing a distinctive rose note.  I don't think I pick up on bloodstains either in this or Edith Awakes, unless it's in a faintly coppery tang I only get if i spray it on clothes and press it to my face, but i can get "pale cologne" if I'm looking for it.

Overall a beautiful, beautiful gothic room scent that I want my bed to smell like always.  

To anyone opposed to it, there is a "clean" note to this when you first spray it that I suspect is the lily, but it doesn't linger.

The only note I don't care for... and that's all I get. Red musk babey.  Hint of mint in the bottle, none on my skin.

At first spray I got a heavy honey note and dreaded, but it instantly cleared into fresh, dewy, authentic-smelling honeysuckle.  So bright and springy.  I am so very glad I got this since my room sprays are all heavy gothic and/or winter smells.

Unfortunately this was much sweeter on me than I anticipated - initial spray is peach and cherry and vanilla, and while the cherry blossom and a bit of the peony come out, the soft milkshake vibe of this never leaves.  This reminds me of a cherry blossom drink I got at a Shake Shack in NYC in late March. It is nice and it is springy, but it smells sweet to me, not fresh, and a little candied.  As I described it to a friend, it reminds me of a Sweet Lolita dress where the print isn't foody or dessert-themed.  It's not food and it doesn't remind you of food, but it still reminds you of cupcakes and sweetness all the same.  A little bit of a letdown for me.

Directly on, this reminds me of Leanan Sidhe, one of my first ever bottles from BPAL and a favorite scent to this day - but it has a sultry vibe to it and something reminding me of the color blue.  Leanan Sidhe is "Irish herbs and flowers" and mist and dew, but a lot of reviewers pinpoint it as a lily scent, and I've always gotten a bit of a grass note among the general atmospheric vibe of it - Queen Mab's Lace has so many well-blended notes that it's difficult to pick any point, but it's a heady floral over a veil of vanilla lace (that grows more prominent with time), a general sense of twilight blue-tones and coolness.  When I analyse the notes list I can pick out some of the specifics - I think poppy gives it some of its haze, honeysuckle its headiness, and especially as the scent wears I think I get lilac in particular; the grass I do notice, but I think the evergreen gives it its depth and forest-specific feel, and idk what indigo musk is but maybe that's why this does remind me of that blue color at that time of the evening - but it's mostly a scent that smells layered than a scent in which I can pick anything out.

Over time, the vanilla lace note grows stronger and gains a golden tone from what I assume is the bee balm - it reminds me of a much gentler beeswax (a note that still amps on me, though not as much as honey) - while the scent gains more shadow-tones, and over much more time, the vanilla lace, with just a breath of florals, is the only note left.

I love this scent.  I think it perfectly evokes the scent description.  It reminds me a whole lot of a Bella Kotak photograph, with that sense of being outside amongst the woods and grass with colored mist or smoke hanging in the way, wearing a huge gauzy dress and a halo of blossoms.  This is already on my shortlist for favorite perfumes of 2019, and reminding me I should be quicker to take chances on lace scents!

I got this in the same order as Overlooking the Garden and I was a little concerned they would turn out to be the same scent.  They're close, but not the same.

Iris tends to amp on me but not as badly as other powdery florals (violet, namely; orris, which is iris root but smells like violet to me), therefore this scent has a reasonably well-behaved iris, but though the other florals give this a springy vibe, I can't pick them out individually.  So iris, a misty springtime floral impression, and golden amber predominate.  Eventually, after hours of weartime, the iris softens enough that I think I get a bit of a tulip/daffodil impression same as I get out of Overlooking the Garden, over a veil of golden amber.  But the whole scent is softer overall.

This is very nice, though I do think I prefer Overlooking the Garden.  I'd like this more if there was a white floral note alongside the iris to make it a little filmier. But it's not this perfume's fault iris amps on me.