naeelah

I can't think of anything in the GC that would smell like the 13s. In the most recent one, there's the chocolate note, an herbal quality, and the tropical fruit quality. So I think you'd need to layer at least 2 scents to achieve a similar smell, but I think you'll have a hard time getting a close match. The only way to tell will be to collect imps and play around. The chocolate in 13 isn't so dark and bittersweet, so maybe Bliss would be a good starting point. Candy Butcher has the cream note, though, which might be good. The reviews mention March Hare a lot, so I think that's a good candidate for layering. It'll give you the sweet fruit and spice quality. On my skin, I get a strong floral/bark/herbal quality amongst the cocoa and fruit, and I'm not sure what to recommend for that. I know orchid is one of the notes in 13. Perhaps Phantom Queen or Regan?

You might want to check out the "similarities to non-bpal perfumes" thread, as I know the question has come up before. However, I seem to remember that the answer was, "Nothing is able to capture the essence of Chanel no. 5", so I don't think you'll run into any trouble in bpal. Aldehydes are a naturally occurring chemical component of many essential oils. However, I'm sure that oils containing aldehydes smell nothing like synthetic, isolated aldehydes. BPAL uses no synthetic ingredients, I am sure you'll be able to avoid that quality that you hate about Chanel no. 5. Vetiver has sort of a grassy and earthy quality. To my nose, it has two parts -- a very sharp, biting, somewhat alcohol-like note, rooted in a dark, almost burnt earthy grass scent.

You'll definitely want to try Asp Viper. It's Snake Oil with myrrh, almond, and mandarin. Just search the bpal catalog for myrrh and see if anything looks appealing. I'm not sure what to recommend, without knowing if you like sultry, or floral, or dry, etc.... If you want rich, sexy myrrh blends, Bilquis might be a good idea, as would La Petit Mort, Sed Non Satiata, Athens... Penitence is just myrrh with frankincense, so it's probably a good one to try.

On me, no. Hope turned horribly musty soapy on me, but Rose Moon is like a rose bouquet (containing many flowers) on a nearby table. I thought it was quite nice, although a little bit light and gentle for my tastes. I like the more in your face rose blends.

I know it's an LE, but have you tried Rose Moon? Rose is the main note, but it's very soft. There are some similar GC recs in the GC equivalents of LEs thread.

Eep. I've been using CC now *AND* paypal. I'd always seen the notice on the front page, and it confused me, because the shopping cart gives you the link to complete payment via paypal. I always assumed that I was doing the correct thing, because I didn't use the credit card processor (i.e. never put in credit card info with CC now), I just proceeded from the shopping cart to paypal and sent payment to the given address. It really was not obvious to me that simply using the cart = using the credit card processor. Perhaps it would be helpful if an additional notice were placed on the "view cart" screen stating, "please do not finalize your order in the shopping cart. Please copy it to paypal." I was looking over the notice again and it occurred to me that I might be doing it wrong, and I came to the forums to confirm. Customers who never read the forums might continue to make the same mistake. I guess I just hadn't put much thought into it, because the cart seemed to lead to the right place, and because I generally trust most websites to have things set up the way they want. I was confused the first time I ordered, and when that went through without trouble, I kept doing the same thing.

I was afraid this might be masculine, but instead if turned out just like I hoped it would! It's rich, dark, gleaming purple black, without being stiflingly heavy and dark. I'd say it's gender neutral. It starts out sharply herbal, which frightened me for a moment. Then I remember that it contains lavender, which always starts out sharp but dries to be soft. The amber and musk soon emerge. For a moment I thought it was black musk, but it lacked the masculine/cologne-like quality that black musk usually has on me. The amber is thick and sweet, but not foody or overbearing. The musk is similar to black musk but not so heavy. It's hard to single it out, but I think I like it. It's dark but has a light edge, if that makes sense. It's not as dry as I initially thought it was. It's actually very smooth and oily. So, black amber + blue musk = black musk, in effect, only way better. The black currant adds sweetness and a touch of fruitiness, but it doesn't take over the whole blend. It blends well with the amber. The florals and cedar blend in the background as a soft herbal quality. They're all very subdued and no single note stands out. As I expected, they primarily balance out the thick and sweet notes. The overall effect is deep, smooth, and silky, neither syrupy nor sharp, neither fruity nor herbal. Just a nice, even blend. Throw is good, noticeable but not too strong. The wear life is average to better than average, as far as being all there and being noticeable goes. After 4-5 hours it's a lightly herbal with musk. But holy moly, does it linger! The last time I put it on was around dinner time, I think, yesterday. Around 18 hours ago. And I am still catching whiffs of blue musk on myself. ETA: 2/21/08 - Now that the scent is aged a little, it has changed slightly. Some of the dryness of the musk has gone away, and once dry, I feel like the amber is MUCH stronger. I think some of the non-amber components are rubbing off on my shirt cuffs, so I'll need to try again on a day I'm not wearing long sleeves, but as it is, I end up with a shirt that smells like lavender and wrists that smell like sweet, syrupy black amber. Still one of my favorite scents, but I actually liked the muskier stage a little better.

At first I get a strong wave of rose, but that's quickly taken over by gardenia. There may be jasmine here, or some other florals, but I'm sure of the rose and gardenia, which seem to be the top notes. (There might be a tiny hint of magnolia; magnolia tends to make me sick, but here it doesn't bother me at all.) On the dry down, a smoky incense note quickly emerges on the bottom. I agree there seems to be amber here. It's a glowing, rich amber, and it hasn't gone powdery. There's something slightly creamy and vanilla-y here. As it continues to dry, the smoke becomes richer and more prominent, helping balance out the gardenia and sweetness better. The incensey note has a familiar huskiness that I now recognize as red musk. It starts out pretty moderate in throw, but as it wears, the red musk gets stronger and stronger. Now the throw is quite good, and the spicy qualities are almost stronger than the floral ones, but they're still hovering in a balance. This reminds me a lot of Mata Hari, actually, with red musk in place of coffee. It's quite nice. I'm not sure yet if it stands out enough from the rest of my 5ml collection to merit a purchase, but it's a definite candidate. Definitely give this one a try if you like voluptuous fragrances. ETA: Aged, the red musk is smoother and not so in your face, and the vanilla quality is a little stronger. The overall feel is much more like Unheavenly City now, in that it's smoother and creamier. I feel like I don't smell as much rose now; the gardenia definitely seems to be one of the strongest notes. (If you're looking for a GC substitute to Unheavenly City, this is absolutely your best bet, especially once it's aged.) to sum up, I get these notes: rose, gardenia, jasmine, amber, red musk, vanilla or tonka, incense smoke?

A glorious parasite! Once the seeds of the Strangler Fig find root in the bark of a tree, snakelike roots erupt and reach graspingly at the sky. The Strangler Fig then sprouts numerous epiphytic vines that strangles and surrounds its unwilling host, and finally snuffs the life from it. Rooty, woody, with deep green tones. I'm not really a fan of heavy earthy scents, but this one was just heavenly. I tried it a while back, so I can't give detailed notes, but this was my impression of it. Wet it has a strong green component, which I'll say is fig leaf, because that would fit. There's also a liberal dose of fig fruit, but it's not overly sweet. There's a woody element and also a deep, cool earthy note. The mental image is of fig growing in the earth, as if it were a root vegetable. On the whole, this is a very deep, cool, earthy scent, balanced out by green leaves and sweet fig. The throw is good.

Woah, this is every bit as heavy and sugary as you've heard. You get a good whiff of chocolate starting off, but all of the other notes quickly come out to play. It smells like you've just finished making a very, very decadent cake. Mostly I get sugar notes -- caramel, toffee, and from a distance I can catch the hazelnut praline. There's a creaminess that makes it all very smooth, but the overall quality is just SWEET AND SUGARY! If you live for foody dessert fragrances, don't miss this. This is as foody as it gets. If you're not all that keen on foody or sugary scents, this will almost certainly be overbearing. I'm not much into overly foody perfumes myself, because the sugar becomes nauseating, but I love foody products. I would love to have this in a body lotion or shower goods. Throw is good. Not sure yet about wear life.

I think it's more to do with grouping un-impable scents. The Gaiman scents are indeed GC, so order to your heart's content!

My review will sound much like the others here. In the bottle, this stuff is opaque. You can see the sludge of the cocoa encrusted around the neck of the bottle. This is bound to be chocolatey. And it is, when it's wet. It's rich, dark, chocolatey goodness, with a rich base of snake oil. The chocolate power fades a little quickly. After maybe 20 minutes, it's basically Snake Oil with a touch of cocoa. And that's ok, because I like it better than regular snake oil. It makes it a little bit deeper and darker. You can still detect the chocolate, it's just not quite as rich and strong. I like to wear this in my locket at the same time I wear it on my skin, so I get the rich snake oil combined with the unfaded chocolate. Throw and wear life are about the same as snake oil, which is to say, very good.

Poor Isaac gets no love. This is yet another CD scent that people seem to avoid based on the notes, but is actually quite nice in person. He's very light and aquatic, actually. I didn't have him on for long, because I was getting a headache from trying other stuff on. Wet, I get a lot of bourbon and bay rum, which makes a light but rich boozy scent. There's something almost like tobacco smoke, but maybe that's the aftershave talking. The booze isn't heavy and syrupy, but perhaps that's just the balancing effect of the bone and cologne notes. As it dries, a bit of the "sleazy cologne" note comes out. It's cologney, alright, but it's very light and inoffensive. There's also a neutral, dry note. The first thing that came to mind really was bone, so well done there! In the end, this is a light and almost aquatic cologne with a light boozey undertone. Luckily, the scent isn't as lecherous and overbearing is Isaac himself. It's not as masculine as I expected it to be, so I'd say it's very gender neutral. I'd recommend it to anyone who liked booze notes or light, fresh, aquatic scents. Throw is kind of light and wear length is shorter than average.

This one is pleasantly surprising! I was expecting more of a floral, so I was quite surprised to dab it on and get blasted with rich, foody sugar. Wet, it's very sugary with a thick cream base. The florals are there as a weird sharp note, but they're mostly overpowered by the sugar until it dries. Dry, the sugar is much calmer, more like powdered sugar with thick cream. I can definitely smell the orange blossom, carnation, and iris. The orange blossom and carnation are light and sweet, while the iris is a little more traditionally floral. They are the top notes, with a thick, sweet cream at the base. It's a very cute and innocent scent. The throw is surprisingly strong. Not Snake Oil strong, but way better than you'd expect from light florals. The sugar carries especially far. Not sure yet about wear life. Give this one a try if you like sweet florals, or if you like sugar/lightly foody scents. Hope and Faith turned horrible on my skin, but thanks to Zarita, I can get my sugary floral fix!

Earlier in the thread, I asked if anyone knows of a scent that's similar to Morgause but has less predominant white floral notes. I'll answer my own question. The Witch Queen, from the Stardust collection. It isn't the same note for note, but it is very, very similar in character. Florals with purple fruit and smoky incense. Only the three qualities are very well balanced, on my skin, and basically exactly what I'd hoped Morgause would be. Yay!

Ooh, this is lovely. I was so excited to see this one in the update, and I am not disappointed. It's everything that I'd hoped Morgause would be. Morgause was great, but was just a little bit too predominately floral for what I had in mind. This is a very similar scent, in that it's a mixture of florals, purple fruit, and incense, only the three qualities are in slightly more equal balance. It starts out very floral, and goes through a bit of a sharp phase that scared me. The lily is definitely on top, with a touch of sweet plum in the background and a light undercurrent of smoky incense. As it dries, a sharper and sparkling floral note comes out, which is perhaps the ylang ylang. The sparkliness is nice, but the sharpness was not. Luckily, the sharpness of the florals quickly recedes and they blend beautifully with the purple fruit, which seems to get a little stronger (although I do tend to amp sweetness, I think). I was afraid the incense might lay timidly in the background, but luckily, it too becomes a bit richer. It's very smoky and not so resinous or woodsy. The red musk doesn't seem to stand out, so I think it just serves to add depth. The end result is a rich, well-balanced regal, dark, mysterious purple scent that is certainly well suited to the Witch Queen. As I mentioned, it's very similar to Morgause, but with fewer white florals. It has good throw, but I don't know about the wear life yet. It has morphed a lot in the first hour, which doesn't always bode well for wear life. This is one that I thought I should just buy 5ml of starting out, and it turns out I was right. I will definitely be picking this one up!

Infernal musk, red patchouli, lilac cologne, mahogany, lemon rind, oakmoss, leather, and vanilla husk. It starts out a little sharp, all musk and red patchouli, which is a little lighter and sharper than regular patchouli. Not quite the same deep earthy quality. As it dries, the musk deepens and it's enriched by the other notes. I can smell a hint of leather, some light herbal notes, and just the faintest trace of vanilla. Little by little, it gets richer and creamier. The patchouli drops out from being the top note and all of the notes blend harmoniously. I tend to amp patchouli out of control, so I'm really glad it's tamed by the rest of the blend. It gets richer and creamier for the entire first hour, and in the second hour it seems to almost completely lose the patchouli, which is a great big for me. It's light but rich, masculine but not too masculine to be appreciated by girls. It's creamy with light touches of leather, lilac cologne, and balancing cool lemon rind and oakmoss. The musk combined with the vanilla reminds me a bit of Dorian in character, although the scent is quite different. Like Crowley, it's cool and suave with a bit of a soft side. The throw is moderate and then becomes light moderate. The wear life is pretty good, I think better than average. After two hours it hadn't gotten any softer, but I don't expect it would last all day. I really disliked this one at first, so if it initially turns you off, stick with it for at least 30 minutes. It really changes for the better. I initially didn't think I'd keep the imp, but this turns into such a lovely, unexpectedly vanilla-y scent after an hour that I think I might wear it after all.

There doesn't seem to be a lot of morphing in this one, except the usual rounding of sharp edges as it dries. Shadwell isn't quite everything I hoped he would be and more, but I love the way the scent realizes the character. Shadwell is surprisingly light and aquatic. The top note is a slightly musky watery note (must be the raincoat). It's followed by a combination of very light milky black tea and a touch of tobacco. The tea is sweet, but it's only the slightest hint of sweetness. This is not a sugary scent. The milky quality is smooth and light, much like the scent of fresh milk itself. It's not a heavy cream note. I would call this an aquatic that's rounded out by a light, rich sweetness. It's a little bit masculine at first, but the sharpness recedes after a little while, and now it's just soft and smooth. Quite light, actually. ETA: I tested it again today (Dec 11), and has become a little bit more substantial and creamier with age. However, it still has a masculine, light cologne-like quality that's vaguely aquatic. I think it is definitely nicer now, but it's still not for me. Throw starts off moderate but is light once dry. Staying power seems to be about average. It has been a couple of hours and it's no lighter, but I expect it would need reapplication after about 4 hours.

I thought that I would love this one, but apparently I'm in the minority for not liking dry, earthy scents. Wet, this almost chokes me with a very strong, dry, almost musty earthy element. I assume that's the frankincense and/or coppal. On the drydown, the orris comes out, adding powderiness and smoothing the whole thing out. Here, the scent is quite nice. Dry, the orris and frankincense/copal strike a better balance. It's smooth, but still very dry and earthy. I can just smell a hint of the snake oil in the background. The throw is decent. Not quite as strong as snake oil is by itself, it seems. Wear life was comparable to plain snake oil. -- I tried this again after aging it for about 6 months. It's still has a slightly musty resinous quality, but now, it's much smoother. The resins are blending with the Snake Oil much better, and are no longer oppressively strong. It gets a little bit sharper and drier as it dries, with a slight bitter quality that's balanced out by the Snake Oil. The throw seems a little weaker. I like it much, much better now, but for resin Snake Oil blends, I still prefer Temple Viper. Definitely give this a try if you're a big frankincense fan, though.

Well this one is interesting. It's quite strong. It has a definite Snake Oil base with a liberal dose of rich coconut. I'm not usually a big coconut fan, but I thought it would be nice with snake oil, and it's lovely. It's sweet and rich without being cloying. Wet, the vetiver is very, very sharp, and is in stark contrast to the coconut. It dries to something that smells a bit like burnt grass. I really don't care for that, but after about an hour, the burnt quality recedes, and it's a faint, grassy undertone to the Snake Oil and coconut. After a couple more hours, the sharpness of the vetiver came back slightly, but remained in the background. Throw is good, life is quite long.

By the description, I was hoping this might be the next answer to Snake Charmer. As a fresh bottle, that doesn't seem to be the case, but I suspect this will age beautifully. Wet this is a very bright, fresh, green berry scent. I can get a touch of the cardamom and smoke from the vanilla, but not much of the vanilla itself. There are slight hints of the neroli and amber in the background. Like everyone else says, not getting the snake oil, which is quite a surprise. Really, it's just not there. I guess that's something that will change in aging. As it is, it's quite nice, and on my skin it's actually one of the lightest of the snakes. Lovely for summer. The life seems slightly shorter than some of the other snakes, which probably goes along with the lighter throw. (Although I should note, I only put on a wee bit from the rim of the bottle.) ETA: 5/22/08: It has taken almost a year, but this scent is finally awesome. Yes, it has finally turned into Snake Charmer mark 2.0. Side by side, they definitely aren't identical, but for me they have a very similar character. Copperhead is like a brighter, happier SC -- it never goes to the dark, dry, smoky stage, it just stays at the lush, creamy, fruity stage. After about 3-4 months, it hadn't gotten much richer, but now 9 months later, the vanilla and snake oil are much stronger now. The berries are richer and less ripe. Basically, all of the green-ness is gone. The amber still gives it a rich, clear, resiny quality, but as a whole, I think this is much better rounded out now. It felt very flat to my nose before. The throw and wear life have also improved. I didn't want a bottle of this before, but now, I think one will be essential! It's a great summertime Snake Oil blend. I should note that I only have a decant, so as a whole 5ml, I think this will be very slow to change.

Snake Oil with ho wood, teak, black musk, and bamboo. In the bottle, this is surprisingly sweet. Wet, it has a strong watery sweet note, which I suppose is the bamboo. Unfortunately, this fades really quickly on me, so before long, I'm left with pure snake oil. The wood notes really comes out on the drydown. After a while (30 min or more), the black musk begins to come out of its shell, which is typical for my skin chemistry. After a couple of hours, I primarily smell Snake Oil enriched with black musk. I think I can detect some very faint woody notes, but the overall effect is of straight Snake Oil. I'll hang onto the imp to see how it ages. I love the dry down, but since the bamboo note goes away quickly, I'm not sure if this will be a success for me. ETA: 3 months later My imp is beginning to age nicely! I'm very pleased with how this scent is growing. I like it much, much better now and may need a bottle. It is still very sweet and watery when wet, but in a richer way. The bamboo sweetness seems to linger a lot longer, and mingles beautifully when the wood notes emerge, which is early in the dry down. The black musk is very smooth and rich, and never takes over. It just provides a nice backdrop throughout the scent's life. This time, I never get the sense that all of the 'extras' evaporate and leave plain old snake oil. It's been a couple of hours, and the scent is very woody snake oil enriched with soft black musk. There might be a hint of bamboo, if I look for it. I definitely recommend this snake to anyone who loves wood notes (if you like Snake Oil, of course). My skin doesn't always do well with wood notes, but teak seems to be one that works. If you're looking for a more masculine Snake Oil, give it a try. If you're a lady who likes dark musk, give it a try. (This is very much unisex.) If you try this one fresh but aren't quite sure what you think of it, AGE IT! This one definitely improves with age.

This basically smells like Snake Oil with a liberal addition of brown sugar. It's a rich, warm, caramelized sugar, and very sweet. It smells a lot like the sugar note in Crumpet Rebellion, I think. It's really lovely with snake oil. And that's it! Pretty straightforward. I don't know what the actual notes are, but on me, it's pure brown sugar. I just put a tiny dot on the back of my hand, and even that had great throw, so like all Snake Oil, apply with caution! Your imp should last you a long time. I put it on around 11:30. It's almost 4:30 now, and while it has definitely faded, it's definitely nowhere near gone.

final decisions for Bellatrix: Bloody Sword layered with Nahemoth!

I wish they were having a potions class at my local event! Potions is my favorite subject, and I'd really love to get into aromatherapy and the types of things that the lab does, because it's all basically potions. I still haven't settled on a scent for Bellatrix. I'm thinking Incantation, because I think it suits her, but I don't personally care for sharper scents as much, so I don't know if I can stand to wear it all night. I don't hate it, but it's hard for me to wear scents that aren't, well, me. But I'm not sure that anything in my personal stash is appropriate for her. I feel like she needs something cold and violent, but she could also work something a little sexy. Maybe Nahemoth. I love it, it does represent "The evil woman", and it's definitely nothing too sweet, light, or innocent. I'm looking over my spreadsheet, and here are some other things that stand out to me: The Bloody Sword The tell-tale heart Khandita Argh, decisions, decisions... I'll just have to try everything on tomorrow afternoon and see what stands out. Hmm, what would Voldemort wear? The Bow and Crown of Conquest? Faustus?