ivyandpeony

The one that comes to mind for me is Joyful Moon, from last summer - not a bit of fruit and a lovely crystalline, white floral feel to it. The notes are white musk, French vanilla, ambrette seed, frangipani, angelica root, white rose, orris, and honeysuckle. I remember it being very sought-after right as the reviews started pouring in, but it might be easier to acquire now. All the suggestions so far are really good, though.

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Cooking rice is right up there with fresh bread as far as comfort smells go. Mmmm.

that is so true! I love the smell of rice. Egg Moon reminds me of rice pudding - something I actually don't like to eat, but it smells yummy.

It's been a while since I tried How Doth... and Schrodinger's Cat - and they definitely don't have a ton of notes in common - but both are unusual chocolate-mint-when-you-least-expect-it scents.

So far in the last week I have recieved 2 oils off Lj that have arrived cloudy. Everything is all seperated and refuses to mix. The odd thing is I smell no difference in the bottles :/ How do you know when an oil's gone bad?

I think you are probably fine. There are some scents that are notorious for separating - seems like a lot of them have cocoa absolute or chocolate in them. And I remember hearing that Hellhound on my Trail separates very easily too (just can't remember the notes). I think as long as your BPAL smells like it's supposed to, you don't have a problem with it going bad. I've only had one bottle that truly "went bad" on me in 7 years or so. It was The Unicorn, which is a light scent to begin with. It seemed to get even lighter really quickly and I started to smell oil instead of perfume (sniff a neutral oil like vegeteble oil, grapeseed oil, etc, if you don't know what I mean - there's an odor that all oils seem to have in common if they don't have an overwhelming natural fragrance like extra virgin oilve oil). And when an oil is becoming rancid, you can definitely smell a staleness to it.

I didn't get that bottle directly from the Lab although I can't remember if I swapped for it or bought it from another forum member back in fall of 2004. So I don't know how it was cared for prior to its arrival; I also don't remember who got it from and for all I know (but didn't know then) it could have been diluted or something.

I'd contact the Lab - they can help you figure out if there's something they can do or if there's something CCNow or your bank needs to do.

The scent I've tried that is most reminiscent of Fresh Sugar is Lemon Scented Sticky Bat. From the descriptions/note lists alone, they may not seem similar but they are both sugary citrus on me.

I was curious about why you'd want to scent a product with perfume & apply it to your face. I wouldn't recommend that anyone do that whether it's BPAL or another perfume. There are essential oils that can be beneficial to the skin but using those isn't the same as using a product that is designed to be a scent, not a therapeutic product.

You might want to apply unscented butters or lotion to your pulse points, etc. then apply your BPAL oil of choice over it. Some sensitive folks have found that it helps to have that slight barrier & it serves to dilute the oil a wee bit. Also be sure not to apply immediately following a shower/bath or exercise when your pores are open.

I'm not giving up on Biwa just yet, but our first meeting wasn't as stellar as I'd hoped. I love all the notes in this scent individually, but black currant (really, currant of any type) doesn't always work on me. It can get an odd, bitter edge, then it may or may not morph into the dreaded cat-pee effect. And dammit if that's not what it did to me here. Or tried to do, at least. It wasn't the worst example of currant-gone-wrong I could give you (I think that would be Knave of Hearts), but it definitely marred the delicious honey and tangerine that were battling it.

When I have a disappointment, I always try the scent again at least once and I will definitely do that with Biwa. There are certain times from month to month that my chemistry seems to go a little sharp & that's what could have been happening here. If currant gives you caution, I'd recommend you skin test this one, but otherwise it has the potential to be beautiful.

So, different skins & different noses we all have - I don't smell cream or detect the cream note in this one at all. In the bottle and for about the first 45 min. or so, there's lots and lots of ginger. It's a fresh, bright ginger as opposed to a candied ginger (think Mother Ginger or Sudha Segara ginger vs. Gingerbread Poppet). I'm surprised there isn't pink pepper listed because in this stage, it's what it reminds me of - that spiciness in Hermia or Pepper or Lovestruck Teenage Cannibal. Maybe this is the combo of the ginger + clove that my nose is just reading as similar to pink pepper.

Anyway, I like the wet stage even though this spice is acting a little pushy on me, but the drydown? Oh, my, it is delicious. For once I am not amping clove & I get this beautiful spiced honey that's not like any other BPAL I have tried. In this stage it's almost like candied ginger, a sprinkling of clove and a honey that is creamy (as opposed to sharp or crystalline) but doesn't smell like cream. I agree with the chai latte & rice pudding comparisons.

A comparison to some scents I thought this might resemble before actually trying it - Bengal is much hotter in feel because of its cinnamon. And when cream is listed as a note, I expect that distinctly dairy cream note that's in Castitas bath oil, but here I don't get that at all. Seems like the cream is just there to kind of soften the edges and hold the other components together.

I didn't really know anything about tea olive or what it is - but I went to Wikipedia, and it is apparently an osmanthus species. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_Olive So osmanthus scents might be your key to finding something. Here are a few that have osmanthus as a note & are on the lighter end of the spectrum (since the clean quality of the flowers appeals to you):

LEs:

Festival Mask

Sanctus

Shirafuji Genta With a Kappa

Clytie

White Phoenix

GC:

Brusque Violet

Belle Vinu

Jasmine Cottage

Utrennyaya

The Ghost

Cordelia

Salon:

Sunrise with Sea-Monsters

Itasô Kansei Nenkan Jorô No Fûzoku

Comments in the reviews of Tzadikim Nistarim & House of Night also mention osmanthus although it isn't a listed note.

Are you in California, bluerose? I'm wondering if there's been some sort of CCNow software update that is adding the tax.

Either way, I can't imagine that the Lab would quietly change their policy for CA customers without some sort of announcement explaining it - that's not their style. I would definitely let customer service know so they can look into it.

medievalmaniac - there's an thread here about scenting lotion, body oils & such with your BPAL. Lots of comments & advice.

I tend to not only amp sage, but it turns to a weird, rubbery, old school Band-Aid scent on my skin. So I can at least tell you what blends were the sagiest on me, even if they weren't things that actually worked in the long run.

Morella was a blend that was DC'ed in 2004 but resurrected during one of the Poe series - it was definitely the sagiest thing I have ever tried. From the GC, Lear & Robin Goodfellow both had a hit (as opposed to a hint) of sage for me. Green Phoenix, Sagittarius & the original Mabon (I didn't try the 2010 version, but the notes are the same) and the GC Aeval also amped up the sage for me.

I agree with emzebel - Corazon has a really strong, true sage note too. It can be hard to find, but you never know when you're going to stumble on something.

There are blends I can wear with sage as a component, but I think it's because everything else dominates &/or there's just a tiny bit to give a dusty feel or to temper sweetness. So I'll skip those for the sake of this discussion.

When I think of creamy citrus, Cheshire Moon comes to mind, although the notes (lunar herbs and blossoms, with lemongrass, guava, pink grapefruit, banyan fruit, hibiscus, and cherry blossom) might not lead you to expect that. Vampire Tears also gives that effect on me, although you could say the same thing about its notes too (wisteria, white grapefruit, neroli, green tea, jasmine, white ginger, honeysuckle, iris, and tonka). Sorry I can't think of a good GC that might fit the bill, but I will definitely post if I do!

No problem, Captain Echhi - they really weren't dupes IMO since each person who'd started a topic was asking for a specific type of sage (white sage, clary sage, then your thread). But I figured one thread would work better since it's the same plant family, there aren't tons of scents (as opposed to notes like rose or vanilla), searches would be easier, that sort of thing.

I posted some search tips just a month or two in FAQ - here if you'd like to take a look at it & see if it's helpful. And I am always happy to help anyone who is having issues with the search engine or just wants a helping hand with a search.

Just a quick mod note - we had several very short threads about different types of sage. So I merged them to make searches a bit easier. Carry on, sage lovers

I love BPAL's tea scents - and I agree that The Unsteady Governess is fantastic! I have also been loving The Chinese Dance. I was initially a little wary because violet has turned on me after a long, congenial relationship, and I didn't know what to expect from the wormwood. But what I get is mostly tea, tea, tea - the wormwood seems to keep the other components from being too sweet, and the violet, blackcurrant and mandarin add this subtle sweetness that doesn't really read as any one of the individual notes. Kind of a purple background, if you will. I have a lot of light, crisp tea scents (like The Unsteady Governess) so I like that The Chinese Dance has this unique feel.

I had almost forgotten about Eggnog Latte, maybe because I just have an imp & it's so hard to find! It is really yummy & I would love to see it show up in the Yules one of these years. And Pumpkin Latte is great, although I don't get as much coffee as I do pumpkin & spice with it. But I think the coffee is tempers the pumpkin for me, because too much of that pumpkin note and I'm out of there (for example, Pumpkin Smash).

I have always wished that Misk U smelled great on me, but somehow I amp it into caramel/butterscotch/burnt sugar.

IMO there's nothing that's exactly like Gluttony but I think there are blends in the "if you like Gluttony, you'll like..." vein. I'd look for blends that have caramel, butterscotch, & hazelnut notes because that's how Gluttony worked on my skin (if you get something vastly different, let us know!) Some suggestions that are readily available : Agrat-Bat-Mahlat, Tiresias, Kill-Devil, Grog, Hellcat.

I can't recommend The Arabian Dance enough to anyone who loves coffee scents. It even reminds me of Pinched With Four Aces The coffee, tobacco & spices seem to be what they have in common and those are the notes that seem to dominate on my skin. I love both, but the possibility of finding more Pinched decreases with every passing day. So I've got to pick up another bottle of AD before the curtain falls on The Nutcracker.

I have had this happen, ducky, although none of my packages went as far as Hawaii. And it has happened to packages I personally mailed to someone as well as packages from the Lab.

I'd let the Lab know that your package was misrouted and might be on its way back to them - then give it a little while longer to show up. There's a point where it's considered lost & the Lab will work with you on finding it or replacing it, I just don't know how long they like to give it before it's a lost cause. Customer service can also check to be sure the package was addressed correctly and that sort of thing. I haven't had a misrouted package disappear for long so I hope that yours turns up soon - good luck!

Just ran across this thread and since I posted last, I acquired a bottle of Mother Ginger. The ginger in this is a very fresh-cut ginger root type of ginger on me, green and peppery. It dries down to something more on the creamy & vanilla side, but it seems like other bright ginger blends don't stay super-gingery and bright in drydown either - seems like the fresh ginger note acts kind of like a citrus note, softening and fading a little to let the other notes take over.

Also, on a mod note, I altered the title of the thread a little bit because I realized that we actually don't have a thread devoted to ginger. So feel free to continue the discussion on other types on ginger too.

Hi there earlgrey - and welcome to the forum!

Hopefully you will get some responses from other Ojon fans - but I thought you might find these threads helpful too:

Tobacco scents

Incense Scents

Sometimes it's hard to find a forum member who's not only tried a lot of BPALs but has also tried the hair product (or perfume, or candle, etc.) that you've posted about, but since you like tobacco and incense notes, you might find some recs for stuff to try in the meantime.

Although I've placed 2 orders (I haven't received the 2nd yet, from the 2nd Nutcracker update) I always wonder if I've made the right choices. I haven't been able to make it to one of the GA Will Calls yet to sniff everything like I have with so many of the big updates of the past. So, I was wondering if y'all would share your recs with me for the ones that you'd consider must-haves. I've got a couple questions I've been thinking about:

Which one embodies Christmas/Yule the most?

Best foody scent from this year's Yules?

Best snowy/wintery scent?

Best scent that you'll enjoy wearing in warmer weather?

What's this year's sleeper scent?

And do you have an overall favorite yet?

Of the scents I've tried so far, my choices would be:

Whoop as the most Christmasy, Yule-season blend.

GIngerbread Poppet as the best foody scent (it would probably win this for me every year it's been offered although I love Sugar Cookie too)

Waltz of the Snowflakes as the best snowy/wintery scent.

The First of The Three Spirits as the scent I'll most enjoy in warm weather although I love it now too.

And I don't really have a sleeper hit to recommend yet, so I am especially interested to hear what you think. I'm thinking of the way that a lot of us didn't notice or dismissed The Girl based on its description last Halloween until the "OMG!" reviews started pouring in from will calls and early orders, and now it's one of the most popular & sought-after LEs.

I'm also torn on a favorite - especially since I haven't tried that second round of Nutcracker scents yet. So far it might be Klara.

There aren't a ton of scents that specifically have Mysore sandalwood listed - of the ones that do, I think Heavenly Love and Earthly Love is probably my favorite. It isn't predominantly sandalwood but the woody note adds a lot to it.