alterosen

I was a little worried this would be too similar to Gingerbread, Vaniila Sugar & Pink Pepper but once the sandalwood warms up, it is its own gorgeous self. The Gingerbread blast at the beginning fades & becomes a supporting player to the vanilla & sandalwood with a bit of marshmallow wafting in and out. I don't notice a butter note but I do get hint of fruit once in a while that reminds me of Sugar Skull. I blind-bottled this one & have no regrets!

Mmm! Rather than anything metallic, I smell petrichor/wet stone layered with some berries & maybe a hint of herbs or woods. Drydown is mostly berries with a witchy, dancing at a stone circle vibe. I really like this & plan to upgrade to a bottle. I was expecting something with a sharp red musk, so I'm very pleased to be wrong.

Lovely! To me, this feels like the offspring of Tattered Lace & Paper Phoenix. It has a bit more zingy citrus than Dorian but is very much in the same family with that smooth vanilla finish. I'm so happy that I blind-bottled this one! eta: I bet this will go really well with Platinum Wig Spray...

My son (16) likes The Bow & Crown of Conquest which is crisp, clean & intriguing. He also likes The Buggre Alle This Bible from Good Omens which is a nice sandalwood leather scent. Sherlock Holmes & John Watson would be worth trying, too, as well as The Scales of Deprivation & Death On a Pale Horse. Eta: I missed that you were possibly looking for something spicy - woody & spicy are my husband's favorites! He loves Wild Men of Jezirat al Tennyn, Port Royal, Dee & Orion. I like him in Gingerbread Villain & Samhain, too.

DXLIV (544, recent purchase from ETSY) First impression: a purpley pink fruity/floral. I'm guessing grape or plum with maybe a hint of gardenia. A bit of citrus, too. As it dries, the fruit changes to berries & a mild incense-y/smoky note develops. I'm starting to sense a little Dorian in the background - some fougere & vanilla overlaid by the smoky purple notes.

Snake Oil DCCXLI (recent purchase from ETSY) A bit citrusy in the bottle (blood orange maybe?) but that doesn't last long once on the skin. As it dries, I get a chocolatey note along with the Snake Oil & a smidge more vanilla, yet it's not totally foody. I tested it alongside Boomslang but they are quite different. This isn't nearly as dark a chocolate nor as sweet. I also get a tiny bit of red musk that isn't present in Boomslang & possibly a hint of wood.

For a sweet fruity floral, try Titania (A nocturnal bounty of fae dew-kissed petals and pale fruits: white grape, white peach, iced pear, musk rose, sweet pea, moonflower and snapdragon). Super strong & very pretty. Miskatonic University (The scent of Irish coffee, dusty tomes and polished oakwood halls) was purely caramel on me. 

Hi there! I actually have an ancient imp of Severin (Dry black teas, Earl Gray, and leather) but it is so faint that all I can smell is a tiny bit of bergamot, so that's not much help but I'll see what I can find. Here's a bunch of mostly LE or unimpable suggestions (sorry) but you should be able to find decants to try on the Sales & Swap pages. I would also post an ISO to see if you can rustle up some Severin - you never know! And a wishlist never hurts. The one usually suggested when people are looking for Earl Grey tea is Theodosius (Earl Grey tea leaves, a white fougere, jasmine leaf, pearlescent white musk, and vanilla bean). The jasmine went bad on my skin (bug spray!) but you might have better luck. Lady Death: Savage (White musk, grey amber, Calabrian bergamot, vanilla absolute, French labdanum, styrax, wormwood, caraway, and bois de jasmin) has a strong bergamot note & something in there reads as tea-like to me, anchored by white musk & light amber. L'Intention Fait Valoir les Bagatelles (Black tea, lavender buds, Italian bergamot, and Siamese benzoin) looks promising but it was mostly lavender on me. Many of the reviews mention Earl Grey tea, though. The Silver Dollar from American Gods (Gilded iris and Siamese benzoin, silvery-white musk, white tea leaf, and bergamot) has the tea & bergamot combo, too, but it might be more fresh & citrusy than you're looking for. Maybe layering it with something with leather would work? I bet it would be amazing with The White Rider (White leather and sandalwood). There's also Furo (Black tea, bergamot, red patchouli, peru balsam, and bourbon vanilla) - a long shot but some people don't notice the patchouli. If you get some of the leather from Severin, you might like Jareth (Ethereal lilac fougere and gleaming leather with ti leaf, tonka absolute, white musk, and oudh). I love the leather in The Bow and Crown of Conquest (sage, carnation and cedar with lavender, vanilla, white musk and leather) & I can see it as being in the same scent family.

The notes for Theodosius are: Earl Grey tea leaves, a white fougere, jasmine leaf, pearlescent white musk, and vanilla bean.Though Theo doesn't work on me personally, I do love these types of scents. I think Lady Death Savage would be worth trying since it has the jasmine, bergamot (Earl Grey), white musk & vanilla combo (White musk, grey amber, Calabrian bergamot, vanilla absolute, French labdanum, styrax, wormwood, caraway, and bois de jasmin). Perhaps Jareth? It has a bit of an edge to it (Ethereal lilac fougere and gleaming leather with ti leaf, tonka absolute, white musk, and oudh). Knight In Shiny Armor seems to be in the same family (dapper lavender fougere with white carnation, sweet oakmoss, clary sage, crisp leather, bourbon vanilla & a hint of armor polish) Also Silver Lace (bitter black vanilla husk, bourbon tobacco, white cognac, juniper berry, white musk, ti leaf, and Italian bergamot) though I think it's sweeter than Theo.

#76 - Samhain with a bit more dead leaves & a splash of booze.

I tried In A Whispering Gallery recently (Marbled white iris, white tobacco flower, Italian bergamot, white leather, and Mysore sandalwood ) and it reminded me quite a bit of Zorya P. There's no vanilla listed but it seems like there's some in there.

This does have a pink feel. Lotus, a bit of spicy lily, then a fruity rose & tiny breath of violet. A bright & confident floral.

I think this has geranium in it as well as rose - there's a certain herbal spiciness along with the floral. The rose is nice & bright without being too sharp. I'm finding it cheerful & fresh. (edited to add: there's sandalwood in the drydown, too - this is lovely!)

Unfortunately, it's been a long time since I tried Black Death & my notes only say it wasn't as dark as I expected, so I'm just guessing: Mr. Jacquel (Golden amber, hyssop, North African patchouli, and embalming spices) - a few reviews of Black Death mention this one as being similar. It might be a bit drier/dustier than you want, though. I find it takes a while for the amber to come out. Luperci (raw, down and dirty patchouli, Gurjam balsam, and essence of Sampson Root sweetened with the heightened sexuality of beeswax, virile juniper, oakmoss, ambrette seed over honey and East African musk)- this is a sweet golden patch scent & the juniper gives it a brightness that might stand in for the citrus in Black Death. The Wild Men of Jezirat Al Tennyn (red amber, Spanish moss, Indonesian patchouli, ambergris, sweet ambrette seed, red pepper, two cloves, and vanilla flower) - this is probably too spicy/clove-heavy but it does have amber, patchouli & clove (and I love it ) Aelopile (Glowing amber and citrus, labdanum, verbena, cedar, and oud) - this has the amber & citrus, but no patchouli, however, it is GC Santo Domingo (An exotic, sultry blend of tobacco leaf, bay rum and heady Caribbean blossoms) - this is a long shot but it does have the bay & tobacco Port Royal (Spiced rum and ship’s wood mixed with the body-warmed trace of a prostitute’s perfume and a hint of salty sea air on the dry-down) - this is a nice, unisex, spiced wood scent

I love Paper Phoenix! I would try Spinning On Graves, Silver Lace & Tattered Lace. They all have a vanilla musk base with some brighter notes. I find them cheerful & comforting.