ivyandpeony

LadyLuckDoubt, I haven't smelled Chaos Magick, so I can't help you there, but I have a feeling this crowd will have some suggestions I'm very glad you bumped this thread, though! I had not realized the extensive list that MrsVeteran had compiled in the first post and my hat's off to her. Thanks, MrsVeteran!

I kinda stumped myself wondering where to post this - LE or discontinueds thread? Because it's an unreleased blend Anyway, if you've tried the gorgeous BPAL prototype called Decadence that made the rounds as a frimp a few years ago, you're probably in the majority that hopes it's going to make an appearance at Yule each year or better yet, leap into the GC at some point. It's a delicious spicy, baked-goods-that-non-foodies-can-enjoy kind of scent with a hint of fruit. I was sorting through bottles and dabbling with things this weekend and was struck once again by how similar the TAL Amor is to Decadence on my skin. Amor seems to lack the orange note of Decadence but after you've hung onto an imp of Decadence since early 2005 chances are the orange note has faded a good bit anyway. Decadence is also a wee bit similar to Fruitcake, yet another unreleased delight - less foodily intense. So if you're one of those Fruitcake fans, Amor could fill a niche for you too. Amor is one of the TALs that's intended for perfume use, so no worries unless you're trying to repel the advances of Pepe Le Pew.

If you like the honey-herbal combo, you seriously owe it to yourself to get a sniff of Honey Lumps (Retro ballistic) and Flying Saucers (Retro shower gel and bubble bath). These are my absolute favorite Lush products ever - I am beyond thrilled that Lush NA is selling them now. They remind me a lot of BPAL's Honey Moon from 2005, which to my nose was more herbal than Mead Moon and is probably my favorite BPAL honey scent mmmm... Mange Too, I haven't used one in a while, massage bars don't get pulled out much in the summer around here but now you have me craving one! Who cares if it makes me a little greasy for this time of year

Oh, surely he would wear Chiroptera and smell like a lemony unisex herb garden

that's good news to me! I think Godiva smells just like Flying Fox (and IIRC that was what Lush intended the scent to be - really strong jasmine). I saw some of the bad reviews for the emotibombs, but sometimes the opinions of the online Lush fanatics don't seem to mesh with the sales statistics, so I guess we'll just be watching and waiting to see what happens with this product.

Aw, we don't have those in North America yet (as far as I know)! I don't know if I love the shower-ballistic idea but I am always anxious to sniff every new thing that Lush cooks up. There's a cough-and-cold product that came out here a couple years ago, a fizzy eucalyptus-vapor tablet you put on the floor of the shower. My husband thinks they're great but I didn't think they gave off enough aroma to help my stuffiness. But I'm willing to see what Lush has done with the concept! Maybe some Europeans who've tried this one or at least had the chance to smell it will weigh in. I will be looking forward to this scent in particular since most of the Lush jasmines I've encountered so far (Flying Fox, Godiva, Youki Hi) have had me fleeing the bathroom in fear.

I think I'd blocked India Bouquet from my mind. On me, it dried down to straight-up curry powder! (for the newer BPALers, India Bouquet was a Voodoo blend that was discontinued in the first great catalog-slashing of October 2004 *crosses self* may the smellies rest in peace)

I haven't tried this one yet, but I am hearing that it's very strange and hard to describe! So if you're compiling a list of the un-impables to try one day, put this one on there. My personal all time weird one is also an LE so I didn't mention it earlier, but Shill is bizarre. Not scary or dark, unless you are phobic about hot buttered popcorn But it is so strange to smell this in a bottle and/or on your skin! And another one or two for that list - yes, Shadwell is like whoa. I didn't smell mildew but my friend did. And The Blockhead from the current CD series. I'm going to second the suggestion of Black Annis (my ultimate BPAL nemesis!) and throw Black Opal in there (at least, I don't think I've seen it yet). Black Opal smells like wet rocks with a hint of vanilla. =) So you can do vanilla dusted with a little crazy.

Definitely put Roadhouse on your list! On me it smelled like fresh dandelions then it dried down to beer.

I'm trying to work past my jealousy to come up with some recommendations I live in a very landlocked city! I'm very picky about aquatics - they can quickly go too strong and screaming-marine on my skin, I seem to amp the aquatic element to the exclusion of the other components. But there are some that I find very pretty and multi-dimensional, like Aeaea (as mentioned, an LE from last year, but it does seem to pop up on swaps pages fairly often), Thalassa (from the current CD lineup), Szepassony, & Banded Sea Snake. Some fresh and clean with a little wetness, but I wouldn't put them quite in the aquatic category - Jasmine Cottage, Garden Path With Chickens, Wensleydale. And in the "ultimately didn't work for me, but I think everyone who likes aquatics should try" aquatic category: Faeu Boulanger, Bayou, Danube, Moana.

I really love this one! Not being any sort of perfume genius myself, I certainly would have never thought of teaming these slightly-spicy green mosses with rich resinous benzoin and topping it with white florals - but wow, the combination's just amazing. On my skin, I'd say this is a dark and twisty cousin to New Orleans if I had to compare to another blend. I love the artwork and the story behind it, too, and I think they add something to the experience. This one's a keeper for me, definitely.

The description floored me, the reviews thus far really intrigued me, and I was dying to try Faeu Boulanger! Alas, for some reason my skin picked out something aquatic and amped it to the complete exclusion of everything else in the blend. I'm going to hang on to it and see what time will do to the perfume and hormonal ups-n-downs will do to my chemistry, though. I just refuse to believe that this is it! Can you hear Julie Andrews singing "Climb Every Mountain"?

The Blood Garden gives me a nostalgic, old-school BPAL feel although I'm not altogether sure why I am getting it. It does remind me a little bit of Masabakes, but it's much richer, deeper and more complex. For me, there's a lot of wine and deep spicy clove here, and I get a hint of the ivy note, which is a little spicyas well. I think the sweet fruits and the dry notes like the leather & oak are balancing each other, which for me is good. Blends that swing too far in either direction can end up in the swap pile very quickly. I definitely don't smell blood or anything I associate with it, I don't smell leather, and that makes me like this blend much more than I thought I would! I agree with the reviewers who get a grapey incense from this one, that's what I get in the drydown, although a very different grapey incense than I got with Urd - this one is a good balance of sweet, spicy, woody and resinous. This one was a really nice surprise for me.

Le Pink's website isn't much more than a billboard, but there is contact info there - you could call about hours and get other details. Jealous that you're visiting LA!

I don't smell almond in Dana O'Shee at all (not that my nose is the final arbiter of what is or isn't in a scent) - I think it could be a case of different noses interpreting a certain oatmeal or grain like note. You might find it amazing how many things people smell nuts in that you don't, and vice versa. Try this: go to the search form and type in Peanut Butter; limit your results to the Reviews subforum, search entire posts (not titles) and get results as posts. You should end up with about 7 pages of results with things that belong on there, like the Miskatonic Valley baseball scent, and things that cold make you go "Wha??" like Brimstone, Umbra, Love Me, Cathode, Saint-Germain... There's a thread in Chatter about note speculation - I think it it is also a good illustration because of a discussion of Snow White that took place early in the thread. People smelled almonds, vanilla, coconut, mint and such, and a couple people who had reactions e-mailed the Lab. Beth responded personally and said that almost everything in Snow White is unique to that blend and there is no almond in it, it's something called lily musk and coconut. Still, if you search the 19 page review thread for "almond" you'll get more than 3 pages of reviews that mention it. So that's a little bit of a hijack, I know - I guess what I'm getting at would be, don't panic if someone posts that they smell nuts in a blend if the Lab says they aren't there, but if you are worried, that's what Customer Service is there for and I'd let their word be the final say.

I'm not sure if it's cherry or almond in Black Phoenix - those are notes that can smell really similar to a lot of people depending on the variety used and the blend. My nose interpreted it as almond, like the almond in Queen of Sheba and Hecate (and a lot of reviewers say they smell almond), but I've never read a comment from Beth or another Labbie about what exactly is in it. In iceblink's case, Bloody Mary's definitely cherry - but Te Po has cherry and almond, so there's a possibility you're sensitive to both. For the folks upthread who have had reactions to Queen of Sheba, it could be the almond, but I would guess that the spices in that one would be more likely to make the average slightly-sensitive BPAL'er get itchy. (Note this is a guess only and I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on the internet )

I found Glowing Vulva to be unique (although it reminded me in a weird way of Bond No. 9's Chinatown it was in no way identical to it). Have you tried Agrat-Bat-Mahlaht yet? It does have amber, cream and teak notes - with a bunch of other sweet things in place of the lotus in GV. I can't vouch for a similarity but it's because of that caramel effect on my skin. Basically, when I tried Agrat, the caramel was so bossy that I just smelled like Rolos. Not a bad smell, but not the complex and sexy scent that I am sure Beth intended.

I'm drawing a blank on Gamaliel (tried it once in a long-ago decant circle but don't remember much about it) - but I have Nahemoth and like it a lot. I find it has a lot in common with Hellion, but that can be very hard to find too. Have you tried Blood Countess? It's got a lot of smoky plum that reminds me of Nahemoth a bit.

Hmm... I am thinking that Enraged Groundhog Musk could end up being better, and less like Sugar Skull, than Pumpkin 3 was for you, faeriedust - at least on me, the caramel doesn't dominate (which is really rare for me) and it's a nice, slightly spicy chocolate. I think that the Lab's white chocolate note is not as bold as the chocolate, cocoa and dark chocolate notes they use, so that could be a reason that the chocolate in Pumpkin 3 doesn't stand up as well to the caramel. (I think you'd probably be able to tell by now if you really amped caramel in a bad way, though I realized how bad it was when I tried stuff like Red Lantern, Mitzvah, Sugar Slathered Candy Apple, The Arrival At The Sabbath and basically getting caramel single note from them, with a whiff of burnt sugar. But I really can't complain, there are a million things I can wear, ya know?)

That makes a lot of sense to me. On me, Pumpkin 3 mostly smelled like caramel and ultimately got a little too strong and burnt-sugary for me. (My skin really amps caramel a lot and in some blends takes it over into burnt sugar territory. I remember that happened with La Befana too, even though that one didn't have caramel listed as a note but "candy charcoal." Which kind of sounds like burnt sugar when I think about it now But I know that's not what it smelled like on everyone!) With Sugar Skull, I get a hint of caramel when it's wet but somehow it does work on me. It wouldn't surprise me if some of the sugary notes that Beth uses in blends where she lists "candy" or "sugar" get used in her caramel blends as well.

I don't think anything else smells like The Shivering Boy It's unique to me - I get a grape/wine note, something woody and stemlike which reminds me of ivy, some evergreens, resins and a bit of ozone, but not so much that it dominates and gives me a headache (I am not a fan of scents with strong ozone notes). But there are lots of possibilities as far as layering. To me TSB wouldn't be what it is without that grapey note, so a blend with grape or wine would be a good place to start. Some possibilities are Bess, Urd, which also has some resins to add, The Blood Garden, which has that woody ivy note, Lady MacBeth, which has green woody thyme with the wine. Off the top of my head I can't think of any cold evergreen scents that aren't LEs, but The Black Forest, Slobbering Pine or The Jersey Devil could be good places to start; if the ozone is strong on you, you could try something like Tempest or Lightning to amp up that element. If you figure out which element is the strongest one on you and start there, find something that reminds you of it, then work on the next layer, you may end up with something you're happy with. It's kind of a hard one, it's so complex and unusual, but the dabbling can be fun, right?

oh, that's a really good call, ForspecialPlate. Red Moon 07 ultimately didn't work on me and I am sure it's because of the dragon's blood (anyone who's read a couple of my reviews or comments will eventually hear my bitching about how I love the smell of dragon's blood resin in the bottle but it turns into something sharp and unpleasant on my skin). And I was a little disappointed, it was my birthday moon and I was hoping for a birthday miracle. (Hey, I did get a rockin' t-shirt!) But I love The Maltese Cross of Sanctus Germanus. The amber, the orange and the florals must be what make them similar - maybe the lilac is what makes the Maltese Cross a little more "cologney" while the florals in Red Moon were more of the wildflower/herbal variety.

Welcome to the forum, Greensleeves! I'm old enough to remember when their ad campaign was "Manly, yes... but ladies like it too!" And this strapping Irish lad in a tweed cap and a fisherman's sweater would pull out his pocket knife and carve a slice off the soap to show you how the freshness-containing stripes went all the way through. I'm surprised that Whippoorwill is compared to Irish Spring - it's a favorite BPAL of mine and I wouldn't associate the two at all. It does have a prominent fresh, green bamboo note, so maybe that's the note that takes it into Irish Spring territory for those who do get it. (For the record I get lots of wood and cardamom, lightened up by the bamboo, but no soapiness.) It can be hard to find, so I'd say don't agonize over this one. If you get an opportunity get a bottle or decant at forum prices, yes, but don't go chasing it on eBay unless you've tried it already and can't live without it. I never tried Thunder Moon, but I'd guess that the ozone in it helps contribute to the fresh-soapy quality. It's also an unavailable LE, but I do see it in the swaps forum fairly often, so it could be easier to find. There was a recent LE called Boo Bam from the Tiki collection that might be worth trying if you happen to stumble upon a decant or bottle in swaps. Thalassa is still available although the Lab doesn't sell this one in imp form, you'd have to spring for a bottle or try to find a decant in swaps. I can see why people would compare it to Irish Spring but IMO there's just a faint hint of that with a lot of other elements too. From the GC - Tempest and Lightning are really good choices to try first, both have a very fresh feel and a combination of aquatic and ozone notes. R'lyeh and Cthulhu might be good choices too, they are very deep aquatic scents (no pun intended). Windward Passage had a very green soapy quality when I tried it a few months ago, so I'd add it to the list.

Aeronwen is such a whore! No, really, that's a compliment! It is a really good myrrh/amber blend, so far on me it's working out to show off the best of both those notes.

I love Black Lotus! I think Aeris is right about the combination effect of the lotus and the resins - I have a sniffie of Lotus single note from back in the day and I'd describe it as similar to that sweet pink bubblegum, not the kind that has a hint of mintiness but the kind that's just pure sweet. Lots of people compare lotus to fruity candy and I think that's valid too. Of all the resins, amber is my favorite with myrrh as a close second - frankincense doesn't always work on me. So take this with a grain of salt since this is as interpreted through my body chemistry I'd describe amber as the deepest and the spiciest of the three. BPAL's Egyptian amber note makes my eyes roll back in my head, it's so good. Myrrh I find lighter and sweeter. Frankincense is the lightest of the three, it's spicier than myrrh but not as sweet - the problem I have personally is that it can work or it can go anywhere from a little soapy to sharp to almost kerosene-y when it doesn't work. Josh's idea is a good one - even if you don't want to invest in a bunch of single note oils, just a sniffing expedition to a health food or new-agey store that carries a wide selection of aromatherapy oils can help educate your nose on some of those hard-to-distinguish notes.