ivyandpeony

I am sorry you are having such a bad time with PMS! I hope you find some good suggestions here for some soothing BPALs. My doctor advised me to be sure to get as much calcium as possible and to take omega-3 supplements and those seem to have made a difference for me. If it continues to be this bad, consider seeing your doctor to be sure you don't have an underlying condition like a thyroid imbalance or PCOS that could be making your PMS even worse. As for effective searching, my usual suggestions are to limit your search to a single subforum by highlighting it in the drop down box at the bottom left of the search form, and try searching just for topics in your first go (there are radio buttons on the bottom left of the form). I did a search for "PMS" limited to Recommendations, searching titles and showing results as topics only, and found this thread right away. If you continue to have problems searching, you might want to check the Forum Questions section to see if other people are experiencing similar glitches, post questions there, or contact either a mod for the section where you're searching or an administrator. Good luck!

I'm sure you haven't done anything that's harmed your baby - it's just that everything that goes on your skin does get absorbed to some degree, so The Lab has advised people who have e-mailed them about the subject to abstain from wearing perfume at all. I suspect that this is not because it is terribly dangerous, but because after consulting with their lawyers and analyzing the number of scents they sell, the number of people wearing them, the number of components going into those scents, the batch variations that can occur with natural oils, not to mention the varying amounts different people use and the zillion factors other outside their control, there is no way that they can guarantee safety to each and every person - therefore they must advise pregnant women not to wear it at all. Those threads do contain information people have compiled about essential oils that should definitely be avoided, reports from several mommies who used BPAL, creative tips on using scent without applying it to your skin, and other helpful info.

Congratulations on your pregnancy and welcome back to the forum There are a couple threads on pregnancy and BPAL, one in FAQs and one in recs that may have some tips for you - in particular, I believe that the lab doesn't recommend using perfumes during pregnancy at all. A scent locket or an oil burner to scent your room may give you the fix you need while making sure that you minimize the possibility of absorbing anything you & your baby don't need through your skin. (Of course, ultimately your doctor is the best source of information on what you should avoid and what is safe.) Blood Phoenix has a very grape-like quality on me, especially when it's wet and in the first hour or so.

Wow, that's some sleuthing... I have had so many products I have loved the smell of over the years, and had no idea how to figure out what their fragrance was! Sometimes you pick up an imp and try it and think to yourself, "this smells just like ____________!" although when you look at the notes, they don't seem to have any in common. So on the chance that someone thinks of a resemblance but doesn't make the Asian pear-papaya connection, it's good that you have the specific product name. And because of that phenomenon (a BPAL scent smelling like something you've smelled before, even though they don't seem to have any notes in common), I'd definitely work my way through the recommendations in tropical scents and fruity BPAL blends. (I was sure that we also had a thread on pear blends, but I cannot find it!) Apple is similar to Asian pear in many ways, at least when I am comparing the two fruits to one another in the produce department, so that may be another category you want to explore. Given your apparent like of fruity scents so far, I think you will enjoy the research. Have fun!

Oh wow I didn't even see that and I did a search and everything. Thanks! Lemme know if you're going to merge threads. Oh, no merge necessary (unless you want me to move the discussion there) You have a lot of wiggle room in this section - usually when there's a thread where someone's looking for recs for gifts and they've got some specifics, it just stays on its own, then I archive it after no one's posted in it for 30 days or so, to give the OP time to dabble, order, comment, etc. (For those who are curious about how I sort it all out, you can read this post - and if anyone's having trouble searching or finding their way around Recs, of course, drop me a line and I'll be glad to help.) I get weird results myself at times using multiple search terms and I am not sure that wildcard searches work the way that they did before the last forum update, so it is possible that search gremlins kept you from finding that thread. Hope you find some things that your sister likes! Although I like green scents in general, they're not my favorite category - but 51 is one of my top ten and I am really loving Pollution these days. Elsewhere in my collection, The Mock Turtle's Lessons, Pontarlier, Rosalind, and Tweedledum were all bottle worthy. All have a green element but they're all very different from one another, which is fun. And although I can't really wear Shoggoth, one sniff of it just screams bright green to me.

Have you had a chance to look through the thread about scents that resemble chai? If not, I feel sure you'll find a suggestion or two there. You can also dabble with some layering, like Kumiho with something spicy, say Bengal, to spice up a normally light and fresh tea scent.

You may want to skim the Recs thread on green scents for some general ideas, too.

Just popping in with a couple of search suggestions for those who are looking for a BPAL twin or cousin to another perfume: You can search to see if there's a thread about it by clicking on "search" at the top of the forum. (You'll want to try a search for the name of the perfume and the name of the company - some companies have their own thread, like Chanel and Dior...) When you get the search page, put your term in the box, highlight "Recommendations" at the bottom left, and click the radio buttons for "search titles only" and "show results as topics." This will show you if whether or not there's already a topic for the particular perfume company &/or fragrance you are interested in. If you don't find an existing topic, you may start a thread to ask for recommendations - posting here is fine too. If you would like to search within this thread to see if any comparisons have been made to your favorite, scroll down to the bottom of the page and at the bottom left you will see a box under the last post that says "Enter Keywords." Pop your search term in there and hit search, and it will find all the posts in this thread that contain the term. (It's one of the handiest search tools in the whole forum, IMO). PS: saosis, I wore Laura Ashley No. 1 for years... such a pretty scent!

I haven't tried Fruitcake yet... But given the number of desperate ISO posts I am seeing, I figured that there would be a lot of interest in figuring out the best way to make yourself smell like it when your imp runs dry. I'll be watching with curiousity (and tearing into my next package with Fruitcake lust!) I may eventually merge this into one of those big pinned threads if the fervor wanes - I also need to figure out which one we've focused the discussion of unreleased scents in, or if we've done that in both, move posts over to one or the other. One of those new-years-resolution kind of things.

Hermia has pink pepper which, combined with the amber, makes a really delicious spicy blend. And I love the spicy floral Le Mort Qui Danse. The pepper with the delicate white florals is such a unique combination.

I got a really bad stomach virus about 10 days before Christmas with queasiness that hung on for days and days. The only smell that I seemed to be able to tolerate was evergreen-based BPAL (seriously! Food - blech! Christmasy candles - barf! and so on) and I think the piney, evergreen forest notes soothed my stomach. Mistletoe and Dublin were my best friends for those dismal days, although I'd say listen to your stomach and if there's a note just seems wrong to you, steer clear. I guess that advice goes for any aromatherapy though.

One of the prettiest pine scents I have ever tried - and I don't associate the adjective "pretty" with pine. Although it's assertive when it's wet, as pine will be, the pine backs off and Capricorn develops into a gorgeous, cold-forest scent. Despite my assessment of Capricorn as "pretty," it's not girly. I'm sure men can wear it and that it will flatter them infinitely. I am just especially excited because so many scents with mostly masculine elements will become very dry and manly on me, much drier and manlier than I want to smell. I think the ambrette may be the secret ingredient here that is giving Capricorn enough sweetness to balance the manly woods, evergreens and tobacco. Beautiful!

This is a very heady floral when wet, but it dries down to a lovely, yet hard to describe scent. Sweet-fruity from the lotus, spicy from the amber and sandalwood, and something that makes it sexy and sultry - maybe the passionflower? That would fit the description, wouldn't it? I am with the reviewers who find something sparkling and crystalline about Sea of Tranquility; I also agree with the assessments that it's quite the elegant lady's scent. I'm thrilled that I had a chance to try it.

Oh my, I am so painfully smitten with this blend it isn't funny. In the bottle, I get a jasminey-foody smell, but this dries down to something very reminiscent of the legendary Honey Moon on me. If you are familiar with it, I would describe Hony Mone as Honey Moon with more jasmine, a noticeable touch of honeysuckle and with a fruity note singing backup instead of the thyme that seems to anchor Honey Moon for me. The most important thing for me is I smell no apricot standing alone, it's blending so perfectly with the honeys, the fruit and the jasmine. An apricot note has ruined a few BPAL experiences for me (Katharina, Siren, March Hare... ) and I feared it was going to happen here. I tend to find that jasmine backs off a bit as a bottle ages for a few months, so maybe I'll detect a bit more fig, tonka, almond or apricot when this one's older - but for now, the honey, the honeysuckle and the jasmine are pretty much the triumvirate. If you don't like sweet, you won't like this one, then again, if you don't like sweet, what are you doing buying this after reading the list of notes? This is feminine and gorgeous, although it's so heady that it may be a bit much for the close quarters and warm rooms this time of year - I'm picturing wearing this when the days begin to warm up and throughout the summer.

In more than three years of wearing BPAL and hanging out around in this forum, talking about BPAL at length, I have never heard of a scent having the effect that you're trying to achieve. Maybe once the dog has calmed down, you would be his least favorite in the room if you chose correctly, but I can't imagine any BPAL or commercial perfume working to literally repel a dog unless it was used in huge amounts or sprayed in the dog's face (which I would never, never advocate). If such a simple dog-repelling scent existed, postal employees would start dousing themselves in it and Beth could retire to the Riviera for having come up with such a brilliant, peaceful solution to dog attacks. The scents that you find strong or slightly offensive - like Saturnalia - may in fact be loaded with musk &/or civet bouquet which my dog would probably love even more, stinky animal smells. Although in my experience, I find my dog's pretty indifferent to my BPAL one way or the other - he's curious if he sees me actually opening a bottle, but he doesn't try to sniff and lick my wrists, neck, etc. any more than other body parts. But other dog owners may have had different experiences and if so, perhaps they'll post about them here. I'm sorry your aunt is so inconsiderate, but I think zenvodunista's advice might be the best - maybe even enlist your whole family to dress down and kindly say to your aunt, "Excuse the blue jeans for such a nice occasion, but I didn't want Rowdy to mess up my clothes like he has every other time I've visited."

I may fantasize for the rest of my life that Ice Prince will one day return *dreamy, Tiger Beat-worthy sigh* I would order bottles. And if Beth ever decided to bring back either of the winter bath oils as perfumes, my gibbering and drooling would be shameful. The Ice Prince is just such a gorgeous winter scent. I smell a lot of pine at first, when I sniff the bottle it's all I smell - but when I dabbed this on the back of my hand and later when I poured a bit into warm water, the pine immediately began to back off. It becomes this gorgeous, sweet white musk with a bit of pine in the background. The plum and lily and bergamot don't stand out as individual notes, but I think they are contributing to that bit of sweetness. I just want to slather it all over myself. The Winter Maiden is pretty girly to me, but I think either sex could enjoy smelling like The Ice Prince. I can't compare The Ice Prince to anything in my memory - Skadi and Ice Queen didn't suit me when I owned them several years ago, so I don't have a strong memory of them and in general I haven't worn too many of the scents with pine. Slobbering Pine is all pine on me and this is very different. If you were one of the lucky people who ordered it before it sold out, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do - if not and you get a chance to grab some, I would say "Go for it!" (I reviewed the bath oil experience - the amount I used, moisturization, scent throw, etc. - in more detail over in this thread for those who are interested.)

If either of the winter bath oil scents returned as a straight up perfume one day, I would be all over them. They're both absolutely beautiful enough to be standalone scents. The Winter Maiden has a sweet berry quality, but the white rose makes it girly and the very light evergreen notes are what seems to make it snowy, as opposed to the snowy notes that you find in a blend like Snow Moon or Snow Bunny (I haven't tried the 2007 "snowy" Yule scents yet so I can't compare to those). This could be a cousin to Dublin, like Dublin with icy blackberry, but not the swarthy version of blackberry that can have a sharp herbaceous edge. Now that it's been on my skin for hours, I do smell soft amber as the blackberry, rose and snowy notes have faded a bit. Two capfuls in my bath this evening gave me fantastic scent throw and great moisturization. I don't feel greasy at all but when I went to wash my hands several hours after bathing, the water beaded up on the back of my hands. I really like the oil formula - it seems to be an ideal combination of oils, not too heavy nor too light, and it disperses very well in the bathwater instead of making an oil slick that you feel around you. (I reviewed the bath oil experience - amount used, moisturization, scent throw, etc. - in more detail over in this thread for those who are interested.)

Have you ever tried Lady MacBeth? It has red currant and thyme notes. I find it more fruity than herbal and I don't get a lot of wine from it, although many people mention that as a prominent component. I'm not familiar with the B&BW scent you loved so, but I'd think she would definitely merit a try.

Good luck with your detox - I think even your 12 hour stretches have had to have a positive effect. I don't know if anything can make your cravings disappear completely, but I have read that the smell of peppermint can help decrease your appetite. GRR from the Panacea series, Lick It in any of its incarnations, Pain, Cathode, Nuclear Winter, Tulzcha all are really pepperminty to me. I think Tokyo Stomp and Snowblind could make you hungry, although YMMV - there's lots of peppermint but also all kinds of creamy vanilla goodness in both of them. Shattered might be the one-two punch you need, grapefruit and mint!

Bumping this one up for the benefit of the Hocus Pocus candle fans

I'm bumping this for self-serving mod reasons, pay no attention to the goofy lady behind the curtain. But of all the spicy BPALs I love Chimera and Snake Oil the most. (I just started typing "Snake Road", I must have Silk Road on the brain!). I am really looking forward to seeing how War ages - I think it could become Chimera driving a monster truck.

I think the most readily available scent with the truest pineapple note that I have tried is Drink Me. It's a very pineappley-bakery scent to my nose (a little too rich, buttery and caramely for me even) but it has a charm all its own. There are a number of blends that have a tropical fruit feel and it seems to depend on the nose sometimes as to whether people pick up pineapple, banana, or something else... but trying lots of things is fun, isn't it? The only blends with pineapple included in the note list seem to be Mi-Go Brain Canister (an LE from spring of 2005) and Shango, a GC blend. If you click on this link you should get the results of a search of the Reviews for the word "pineapple" - you can take a look and see all of the scents people have detected this elusive note in. If it doesn't work for some reason, you can duplicate it like this: search for "pineapple" highlighting the Reviews subforum only, specifying that post text and titles should be searched and results displayed as posts (as opposed to topics).

I think that's very true! No matter how many times I hear how good geranium and rose geranium are for SAD and PMS, if they are dominant notes in a blend, I feel like I am trying to swallow some kind of thick, nasty medicine. But amber and vanilla? May or may not have any proven therapeutic qualities, but they definitely me feel all better. Also, I thought I'd post links to some related threads that may be interesting or helpful - BPAL recommendations to help with depression as well as using TALs to improve mental health. As the mod for this section, I don't mind if TAL talk spills over here - so I can definitely second those recs for White Light, which is a real mood lifter for me, as is Lionheart. They smell very different, but both have a warm and comforting feel to me. A few years ago my usual November-onset SAD was accompanied by a significant loss and a huge health scare for my husband, and Lionheart was a life saver.

I had only sniffed this in the bottle, and I thought I wanted to try it, but not necessarily desperately... Now you throw that at me. Good thing I haven't placed my Sea of Tranquility order yet! Currently I have been wearing Bakeneko lately for that warm spicy tea scent, just perfect for the chilly days we have been having. I noticed that Cordelia doesn't get mentioned a lot in the tea scent discussion - I don't get the green tea as the dominant note in it (it's hard for anything to dominate lilac, wisteria, osmanthus &/or cedar on my skin!) but it has the same feel that I get from Shanghai, Embalming Fluid, even F5, like a sophisticated and more complex cousin to those scents. If you like those and haven't tried Cordelia (and aren't completely opposed to florals), definitely slap that baby onto your next imp order! I love the lab's white tea note too, I find it a little more delicate and floral and less "juicy" than the green tea note. It's lovely in The Fox Woman Kuzunoha Leaving Her Child and of course in Kumiho (another fox woman! Coincidence? ) It rocks in Maiden and the original formulation of 13 too.

Hi Christine Daee - I just found this on the Body Shop's site (I don't know that they have been so forthcoming with their perfume descriptions in the past!) so it should be pretty accurate: White Musk: Top notes: velvety musk, floral lily and sensual ylang ylang with hints of fresh galbanum and basil. Middle notes: velvety musk, oriental jasmine, floral lily and rose. Base notes: velvety musk, oriental jasmine, floral lily and iris, rose, sweet vanilla, fresh amber, patchouli, oakmoss and vetiver with hints of fruity peach. I would say to my nose, I get a vanilla-y, light musk, although I can see where there definitely must be light amber/patchouli and other earthy basenotes now that I have been told they are there Those florals are very well blended and/or added with a very light hand, I think! Dorian, Victoria and Zephyr come to mind immediately, but I will definitely put some more thought into it.