alterosen

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

On 6/13/2020 at 8:30 PM, clockworkcrypt said:

Apologies to necrobump this, but does anyone know of any vanillas that are similar in feel to Paper Phoenix, aside from the obvious AL and Dorian? I love the nature of Paper Phoenix, and would love to try more scents in a similar feeling

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. 

This is warm, woodsy & traditionally masculine. The bergamot brightens it up & the hay absolute invites leaning in to decipher that familiar but unusual note. The vetiver is quite subtle as vetiver goes & I'm not getting a lot of opoponax (which usually smells like cola to me) but those notes are probably what I'm interpreting as woodsy.

Very classy, a nice date night choice.

This isn't as citrusy as you might expect from the notes. Nor is it shouting "Cologne!". It's sweet, fuzzy & a little bit clean with some lavender & what I'm reading as a fennel note which is probably the lilac & lime mixing with some moss from the fougere.

It's one of my husband's favorite beard oils.

To me, this smells like mellow roses & moss. It reminds me of the Forsaken Rose Garden Atmosphere spray. I'm not getting the sandalwood or vanilla at all. I may try applying it with a lighter hand next time in case the roses are overwhelming the other notes & will report back if it makes a difference.

Sexy creamsicle! I love this - creamy orange-tinged vanilla. The amber, frankincense & champaca are just supporting characters for me but are probably what make it seem sensuous, rather than foody.  

I get some oudh here, too, but it's not quite as bad as I feared. More wet dog than manure pile. I also get strong, soapy florals, so the mental image is more about washing a dog who rolled in something a bit whiffy than facing creeping evil. The florals become bitter over time as the ivy makes its presence known.

Samhain #15 decant

Samhain base with a little maple syrup & some extra fruit - maybe pear as well as apple? Or is that rum? My nose has given up.    

Samhain #17 decant

This one has a bit of sugary purple fruit: grape or possibly plum. Also  a noticeable smokiness. Very intriguing.  

Samhain #19 decant

This reads as quite masculine to me. Not particularly sweet or fruity. It's boozy (whiskey?) with more pronounced woods & leaves than classic Samhain.

Has anyone come across a peach/apricot perfume that seems like it would belong in the Lace family? Probably would be LE.

I love the Laces' vanilla musk base & think it would pair well with peach/apricot. It's been a while since I've been on a fruit kick, so I know I've missed a bunch.

On 7/10/2017 at 6:54 PM, rawgirl75 said:

The coffee note disappeared almost instantly on me... and what's left is an incredible, slightly sweet ambrette musk and ancient soft dusty spice. Not at all what I was expecting, and yet probably one of the best scents I've ever smelled.

 

If this passes the slather test next for allergies/migraines, I'll have to start hoarding multiple bottles of this one.

My experience is similar to rawgirl75. I'm not much of a fan of coffee-scented things so I passed on Zorya Utrennyaya when it first came out. I wish I hadn't because the musky base of this is incredible! It works so well on me that I've been wearing as my default goes-with-anything scent when I don't know what to wear. I've never been particularly drawn to ambrette before so I suspect it's more the unnamed musk. Well worth trying.

I love this scent! There's something about it that's quintessentially BPAL to me - probably because at one time I tested everything with patchouli cause my DH is such a fan. Having said that, I didn't even realize the wood in here is patchouli - I thought it was sweet cedar, just like the Fig & White Sandalwood Hair Gloss reads as cedar to me. Something about the tanginess of the fig, I guess. The clove is only apparent if I search for it, same with the amber, but both are probably contributing to the warm feeling of this. Powerful but cozy - a great perfume to wear in cold weather.  Good throw & longevity on me. 

This starts out with a nice almond note with a hint of snow/ice but my skin then turns it into playdoh with a soapy finish. Regular Black Phoenix ended up being a very strong baby powder on me so this is a strange turn & not the way I was hoping the frost note would influence the base scent. That first bit of almond was so nice... 

I've been wearing this quite often despite not usually being drawn to smoky scents. It opens with some mellow cedarwood & bonfire smoke grounded by a woody musk with a little booze lurking in the back. I don't really get any leather, unless that's what I'm reading as the wood/booze. The dry down is warm musk & slightly spiced woods. This smells great on my husband, too, and layers really well with Dorian! 

Seconding Loved to Death!

This is quite spicy at first, offset with a sharp bite of lemon rind, but then a golden pumpkin emerges to anchor it all. Not noticing any white musk or chypre. Quite cozy but spicier than I expected from the description. I'll stick to my Pumpkin Spice Everything which, ironically, has less spice than this one.

Nice, fruity red musk with a bit of added spice. Not as incensey on me as regular Scherezade.  

The blackcurrant & lime combine to remind me of a bright, fresh plum note. Pretty but too bright for me. I like my fruit notes a bit deeper. 

I love this!  I'm enjoying the syrupy spiciness & will probably upgrade to a bottle. The fruit note in Sugar Skull, which always reads as pear to me, is holding its own against the spice/pumpkin & I find this version as comforting as the original.

#49 - Samhain with lots of honey. Unlike Mandragora above, I'm not noticing any rose

#71 - Samhain with sweet red fruit (cherry?) & maybe some honey. This one might have a bit of rose, as well, because there's a plastic-y incense phase that happens with some rose notes on me though it goes away after a while

Samhain #14 decant

Classic Samhain with extra apple and a glug of booze. But what kind? Not rum, nor wine, nor champagne, nor whiskey. I'm guessing cognac or brandy. The apples are sweet and red, and are enhanced by the booze. This is an excellent version!

Bottle #138

This has a somewhat savory aspect to it, bit of lime, maybe some coriander and possibly some mugwort. 

A couple more:

Number very faint: appears to be CDXCXV which is nonsense as Roman numerals but works to identify it.

Resins, some cedar, then frankincense galore. Dorian has been completely overwhelmed There's maybe a tiny bit of musky vanilla lurking way in the background if I really huff my wrist but it's mostly a resin-fest.  

(edited to add: tested again & once it's dry I get spiced vanilla)

Number mostly rubbed off but there's a V under "self" in the Recursive Self-Similarity V printed on the label.

Citrusy tea with tropical flowers. Not a sharp white floral but something creamy & glamorous. Don't think it's gardenia or tuberose because I tend not to like those. Doesn't seem like jasmine either but it could be one of the well-behaved varieties. Gets a bit fruitier as the vanilla warms up but I can't pin it down to a specific fruit. I quite like this blend even though I don't know what's going on  Languid warm weather vacation in a bottle!  

Dorian CD (400)

Not too sure what I'm smelling here but I'll try: starts out with a something evergreen-ish (not pine, cyprus maybe?) could also also have some tobacco, then some nice sweet tea with a bit of a masculine edge. The fougere seems to come out at the end rather than at the beginning like with regular Dorian & is slightly sharp. It's sweet but the vanilla is mostly hidden. Reminds me a bit of Theodosius on the drydown so perhaps there's some bergamot, too. 

Dorian CDLXXIV (474) 

Citrusy fougere & fruity vanilla at first, little bit tropical (I want say pineapple, could be a citrus mix), quite sweet, lightly musky, vanilla finish, very pleasant for warm weather  

eta: Tried it again today & there's also a bit of faint carnation midway through. Hard to believe I didn't notice it previously but it doesn't last long before the musky sugared vanilla covers it up.

 I notice the gunpowder quite a bit in this & I thought there was also some vetiver. It seems gritty & industrial at first, but then it smoothes out as the tobacco develops. My dh really likes this beard oil & it has helped with dry skin on his chin.