Your Best-Bet "Must Try" Enabling Scents

[sarahmarie]

I'd say...

 

All purpose (for someone who doesn't know his or her taste, a sort of sampler of different types):

 

Perversion

Envy

Silk Road

Antique Lace

Villain

Intrigue

Wrath

Swank

Gluttony or Jack (buttery food scents)

Bliss (because chocolate, dude!)

Cheshire Cat

Harlot

LE: Midway or Snow White

 

This list is based on my early experiences with BPAL, and my few enabling experiences.

[moonarcana]

These are the scents that my friends and family tend to ooh and ahh over the most...

 

(in no particular order)

 

GC's

Alice

Swank

O

Lady of Shalott

Dana O'Shee

Siren

Opium Poppy (but I'm a bit of a pusher on this scent )

Venice

Hollywood Babylon

Shadow Witch Orchid

Sherezade

Juliet

 

LE's

Snake Charmer

Luna

Peony Moon

Snow White

Smut

[Little Bird]

Everyone that I've ever tried to enable has absolutely adored Snow White. So that would be my one pick LE, if I had to pick one.

 

For the General Catalogue... Antique Lace, Dorian, Snake Oil, and Alice always seem to be really popular. Velvet is another one that a lot of newbies seem attracted to.

 

If I had to pick twelve for a newbie friend (female), I'd pick:

*Aglaea

*Alice

*Antique Lace

*Dorian

*Dragon's Milk

*Embalming Fluid

*O

*Phantom Queen

*Sacred Whore of Babylon

*Snake Oil

*Velvet

*Voodoo

...Which would be a safe pick for me because those are all pretty popular scents and there is a good variety among them.

 

And I actually just sent my male cousin a couple imp packs, and included:

*Bow & Crown of Conquest

*Cathedral

*Golden Priapus

*Jabberwocky

*Mad Hatter

*Magus

*Perversion

*Satyr

*Tweedledum

*Villain

*Whitechapel

*Wilde

 

For LEs I sent him Usher and Torture King...

Edited August 12, 2006 by Blood onmy hands

[ayelienne]

I love enabling guys; here are my men's picks:

 

Dee

Dorian

Jolly Roger

Voodoo

Luperci

Golden Priapus

Jabberwocky

Nero

Thanatopsis

Van Van

Saint Germain

Othello

 

LEs: Freak Show, Luperci, Geek

 

With women, I just keep tossing stuff at them until I find something they like

[styro]

Thanks, everyone for your suggestions--I'll definitely be checking them out! (And now I find myself very curious about Shub--oh dear, that's not going to be good for my sanity, is it?)

 

Everyone that I've ever tried to enable has absolutely adored Snow White. So that would be my one pick LE, if I had to pick one.

 

For the General Catalogue... Antique Lace, Dorian, Snake Oil, and Alice always seem to be really popular. Velvet is another one that a lot of newbies seem attracted to.

 

See, these are more of those "BPAL stars" with which I've had surprisingly disappointing results: I've tried Snow White on six very different people and it's worked on none of them. The same goes for Alice (everyone who's tried it has found it too sweet) and Velvet (reactions ranged from "meh" to "poopy"). Dorian's the exception: I've enabled two people (besides myself!) with it so far.

 

I'm beginning to think my friends and I must have very odd skin chemistry.

 

With women, I just keep tossing stuff at them until I find something they like

 

Hee! I suppose that's the BPAL equivalent of men's and women's different shopping styles--you have to grab most guys within the first few scents, or else they'll lose interest and wander away? Whereas women are more willing to browse...and browse, and browse? :-)

[oakmoss]

If your friends find Alice too sweet, perhaps their tastes tend to run to what are often called "perfumey" blends? Something like Zorya, for instance.

[smallvoice]

I've enabled probably the most with Dorian, which you've said hasn't worked out so well for you, so let me list a few less traditional ones that seem to appeal to a lot of people.

 

1. Jailbait-- I usually have to put it on me and let them sniff it on me to really catch them. I think it's the novelty of the way the scent develops. I've had a few people turn out to really love it.

 

2. Haunted-- It smells enough like a traditional perfume that it processes well enough with people, I think- then it has the bpal hook of delight.

 

3. Danse Macabre-- It's not one I like on me, but it's gotten some positive attention and it's a lovely scent.

 

4. Dirty-- Something about it just seems to appeal. It's light and fresh and unusual.

 

5. Katharina-- My favourite! It's a good fruity scent to have people try, plus it's really fresh and lightly floral.

 

6. Manila-- It gets a lot of attention from people who are annoyed that I don't have many florals. It's floral without being perfumey.

 

7. Black Opal-- This one hasn't failed for me yet.

 

13. (LE) Hungry Ghost Moon-- I've let a few people test this one, and it is so complex and reacts differently on everyone, and they've loved that.

 

That's where I run out of experiences off the top of my head. Here are some that I think would work as more universal scents.

 

8. La Petit Mort

9. Megaera

10. Euphrosyne (It's so unexpectedly beautiful! I just don't have my own imp with which to enable yet.)

11. Silk Road

12. Eclipse

 

I may change my list as further enabling ensues. Good luck!

[TroubleDoll]

I have had success with light and sweet scents for enabling (with a few exceptions for deeper, complex scents) I like using gC scents because they are readily available.

 

Dana O'Shee

Pele

Alice

Eat Me

Snake Oil

Ravenous

O

Antique Lace

Shanghai

Szepasszony

Midnight

Two, five and Seven

[yellowrose]

Oddly enough, the two enabling scents that launched interest among a group of local women were Dana O'Shee and Satyr. I am not making this up. Those two IMHO show the contrast or extremes of BPAL. One of my friends ordered immediately after that -- and neither of those scents either, which says a lot.

 

Faustus and Bengal got ooohs and ahhhhs on a recent night.

 

A good rule of thumb, I'd say have a couple of light scents, a couple of spicy scents, a couple of dark scents, a couple of florals (rose and jasmine), a fruity, one with dragon's blood, and a foody. There will be overlap. I would also have what I consider the Lab's signature scents at hand -- Black Phoenix, O, Snake Oil, Dana O'Shee. YMMV.

 

What you DO NOT want to do is be wearing something you're on the fence about and have your friend tell you it smells like granny's lingerie drawer. Have more than one scent at the ready.

 

Oh, and LE? I'd have to say Snake Charmer. Hands down.

[theseagrows]

dorian seems to be the hands-down winner from my minimal enabling experience. but i'd also add:

 

xiuhtecuhtli

snake charmer

alice

nosferatu

dia de los muertos

Edited August 14, 2006 by theseagrows

[styro]

If your friends find Alice too sweet, perhaps their tastes tend to run to what are often called "perfumey" blends? Something like Zorya, for instance.

 

I only think of one of us as being able to wear the more traditionally "perfumey" blends...but I've learned never to say "never" with BPAL, so I'll investigate that, thanks!

 

Just to clarify, the three friends with whom I've been having BPAL parties for the past year have all been well and truly enabled--I've heard the "one out of three" rule cited as a reasonable expectation of success when just starting out with BPAL, and in practice, all but a few misfit scents have worked for at least one out of the four of us; I've just often been surprised, in the process, by which oils succeed with more than one of us and which ones strike out completely...so I'm trying to learn from that so as to better enable other friends in future. :-)

 

I've enabled probably the most with Dorian, which you've said hasn't worked out so well for you, so let me list a few less traditional ones that seem to appeal to a lot of people.

 

1. Jailbait-- I usually have to put it on me and let them sniff it on me to really catch them. I think it's the novelty of the way the scent develops. I've had a few people turn out to really love it.

 

Actually, Dorian's done pretty well, so far--I've enabled a couple of folks outside my regular group with that one.

 

Your point about Jailbait is excellent--there should definitely be at least one "morpher" in the enabling kit! Thanks!

 

Oddly enough, the two enabling scents that launched interest among a group of local women were Dana O'Shee and Satyr. I am not making this up. Those two IMHO show the contrast or extremes of BPAL. One of my friends ordered immediately after that -- and neither of those scents either, which says a lot.

 

A good rule of thumb, I'd say have a couple of light scents, a couple of spicy scents, a couple of dark scents, a couple of florals (rose and jasmine), a fruity, one with dragon's blood, and a foody. There will be overlap. I would also have what I consider the Lab's signature scents at hand -- Black Phoenix, O, Snake Oil, Dana O'Shee. YMMV. [...]

 

Oh, and LE? I'd have to say Snake Charmer. Hands down.

 

Satyr? Oh, my! I see what you mean about demonstrating the extremes, though, and I do think having a variety is necessary; I've just been wondering *how* to divvy everything up--I'll think about what I would slot into those suggested categories.

 

It's interesting to see so many recommendations for Snake Charmer as an LE--I may have a chance to sniff that one tomorrow and now I'm really looking forward to it!

Edited August 16, 2006 by styro

[sarada]

Most of my friends around here share my tastes and hate foody scents and are not wild about perfumey florals so I generally do well with my own favorites when I'm enabling, which include stuff like Urd, Anne Bonny, Cathedral and all that.

 

Of course most of my friends locally are male, and they think EVERYTHING smells like Play-doh. I've converted one heavily into some of the smokier and woody scents (Devil's Night, Sri Lanka, and all of the resiny scents) though.

 

So I don't know if I am any good at enabling any people who don't have the exact same tastes as me!

[this machine]

Heh, i'm with sarada. At least 95% of the most popular scents here, including at least that much of those listed here, are either uninteresting to me or, more often, completely disliked. They're just not my bag. I'd be terrible at enabling the average person because i could never hand them alice or antique lace or O or snake charmer or any of the dozens of others they may be likely to enjoy. D'oh! Despite my tastes, i have enabled at least one person though.

 

So that said, here would be mine. These are not all my favorites, just some of the more "accessible" or interesting-to-me ones out of my collection (some of which i know others have listed as well):

 

intrigue

the caterpillar

dee

coyote

black phoenix

nephilim

orpheus

resurrection of the flesh

severin

blood pearl

masquerade

blood moon or alone maybe for an LE

[Laurazee]

The ones I show off to people from my humble sample collection are:

• Dorian
  
• The Apothecary
  
• Shanghai
  
• Embalming Fluid ("Just let it sit a sec")
  
• Val sans retour
  
• Biobhan Sith
  
• Dirty
  
• Dormouse
  
• Lightening/Zephyr/Phantasm ozoney blends
  
• Envy ("Give it a bit")
  

and, oddly enough... Wolfsbane, sometimes. Occasionally, I pull out STFU & White Light, but depends on the audience. I stay away from Snake Oil/O/Dragon's variations, because they tend to scare 'em.

 

Overall, though, I think Dorian's my favorite show-off scent.

[styro]

I just wanted to pop back into this thread briefly to thank everyone again for their suggestions: along with the better-known scents recced here, there were definitely some I hadn't considered before (most notably, Morgause among the women's scents and Jabberwocky among the men's).

 

I've been reading back into previous enabling suggestions now that this thread has been merged (thanks, mods!): I see Queen Mab comes up a lot, and from my own experience so far, I suspect that's going to be another scent with good crossover appeal.

 

I'll just add that my friends and I recently tried the fabled Snake Charmer, and it was nice on two out of four of us...but the real hit of the evening? Frumious Bandersnatch, which smelled fabulous on everyone.

 

Go figure. :-)

[puredeadthingy]

Snake Charmer and Et Lux Fuit have been a big hit today . Four enabled.

 

I sound like I'm in a cult...

[Duck Mountain]

I'll probably be one of the few without Snake Oil on my list. (Dunno, it doesn't do anything for me--might need to let imp age more. But I digress.)

 

Dorian: It's unusual and it's refreshing, and very unisex.

Kumiho: Another light(er) scent, but with a different concept. Also useful for hooking the Japanophiles.

Midway/Gingerbread Poppet: They don't need to know it's an LE...okay, they'll find out soon enough, but all it takes is a couple sniffs, right?

Imp: Sweet but dark, unique, and it's got serious staying power.

Wilde: I guess it's masculine, but I wear it all the time. Reminds me of some commercial perfumes, so a good one to ease into, I suppose.

Aglaea: Muted and smooth enough not to be immature in its sweetness, but with strength in its clarity. In my mind, this is almost a perfect fruit scent--I'd love to see how it fares with a bigger variety of fruits, though.

 

Hmmm, most of the people I've enabled so far seem to prefer the sweet and foody scents...birds of a feather?

[harmonyfb]

Miskatonic University is my sure-fire, nearly everyone goes insane over it scent.

 

Others that have garnered good reactions:

 

1. White Rabbit

2. Mercury

3. Smut

[olympia301]

If I were putting together an imp pack to show off BPAL in all its classic glory (that is the ones I consider the most alluring/well done/facinating/risky) here is what I would choose. The rule is that I limit myself to a dozen, and the choices do not have to smell good on me, they have to be classic "pinnicle of the art" BPALS. They can be LE's, lunacies, GC's...anything. I am imagining that I could send this off to someone who really knew perfume (like Joe Guerlain) or who I really liked respected and wanted to introduce to BPAL. My picks are below, what would yours be? Here are mine:

1. Snake OIl
   
2. Dorian
   
3. Alice
   
4. Saturnalia
   
5. Hungry Ghost Moon
   
6. Severin
   
7. Aglaea
   
8. Whitechapel
   
9. Velvet
   
10. Embalming Fluid
    
11. Eat Me
    
12. Asphodel
    

By the way, I reserve the right to change this list on a whim. You can do the same. I just was thinking about the really creative use of scent, and the really good all around use and familiarity with the ingredients. Also, taking risk and nailing it. I think each of those does that very well. By the way, 33% of these don't get along with my skin chemistry! However, they are so well done that I simply have to consider that a misfortune but recommend them to other people who would get on with them.

[clover]

Oooh, this is such an interesting question. I'm going to put together a list, but I have to say...it would be interesting to know why people would pick the scents they would pick, too. (Hint, hint olympia!)

[maijasu]

1. Snake Oil

2. Dirty

3. Aglaea

4. Midway

5. Dorian

6. O

7. Scherezade

8. Fae

9. Candy Butcher

10. Embalming Fluid (although this one doesn't work on me)

11. Alice (ditto)

12. Aizen-Myoo

 

I'm sure I'm missing some, but I think those all qualify as well-done scents which are really creative and unique, with widespread appeal.

[abejita]

1. Snake Oil - Beth wears this one every day. So it's a must.

2. Dorian - Classic.

3. Alice - The Mad Tea Party Theme is a lot of fun, and this is the perfect interpretation of the character.

4. Black Moon - Outstandingly creative interpretation on the theme.

5. Chrysanthemum Moon - Another one I'm picking for the theme, plus that opium note is to die for.

6. Beltane 06 - This is the most evocative floral to me, and this pack needs a good floral.

7. Shango - The fruitiest of the fruity, but dark, too.

8. Rose Red - Simple, but perfect.

9. Underpants - Have to have one of the silly blends in here to show off the lab's sense of humor.

10. Morocco - One of the favorite Wanderlust blends, shows off that rich musk and spice.

11. Embalming Fluid - Not a favorite of mine, but shows one end of the BPAL spectrum.

12. Cthulhu - Both for the theme and to get an aquatic in here.

[olympia301]

Oh, you will be sorry you said that, Clover! Ha ha ha! I will try to be concise (uncharacteristicly).

1. Snake Oil-The Classic heavy oriental. Nobody has done better with the resin and root perfume. I even detected a whiff of civet in Snake Oil. I would send it with a note saying,"This may not seem so special to you when you first try it, but persist...soon you will start to get to know it and want to explore its many vaults and chambers." I find something new in it every time I wear it.
   
2. Dorian-So well loved by so many. I just don't get it but thousands of BPALers can't be wrong. I must be anosmic or my chemistry might destroy it, as it does Wilde (which is similar in some ways to my nose).
   
3. Alice-Classic beauty of carnation for women. Feminine without the simper, creamy notes blended in so well that you only see their great combination with the carnation.
   
4. Saturnalia-My favorite from that era of vetiver. Hard, black and shiny, Saturnalia has that violet lash in it which is so unusual nowadays. Not for the tremulous, a true Warrier Woman scent. This one tied with Lex Taleonis in my mind, but the violet pushed it out front.
   
5. Hungry Ghost Moon-A radical departure from most of the lunacies I have smelled. Cool, cooling, ultra sophisticated, HGM takes me to the next place after all the tea scents have become old hat. Real innovative and thoroughly suitable for any age or circumstance.
   
6. Severin-Deceptively simple and utterly elegant. I think of it as lemon, leather and tea. But not the "oh, it's tea...how boring" treatment. It's tea done right, and lemon that doesn't say "floor cleaner!!!".
   
7. Aglaea-So innovative. A heavy herb going along with and apricot or peachy ingredient. It starts off very boozy to me and then gets sweet and then gets pleasantly astringent. A real winner and a serious departure from most perfumes. I don't know why it isn't spoken about more, it deserves to be.
   
8. Whitechapel-Sex, sex, sex and sex. You have to have some nerve to put out a perfume which veers so wildly around: perfect lilac, fish/latex, musk, irresistible sticky sweet flowers. Did I mention there was sex in here? Much sex. For some wonderful reason this one never cloys or turns you off, but sex smells don't either. The most extreme I have ever smelled. I. Love. This. One. It makes me blush putting it on!
   
9. Velvet-Chocolate, myrrh, and sandalwood? Who has the crust to put all that together? It worked and I feel as if it changed the minds of a great many people with its brilliant recognition of compatibility among foody and resinous scents. Velvet broke down the barriers of what was "allowed" and "not allowed" in perfume. A perennial classic.
   
10. Embalming Fluid-This one detests my chemistry but despite that, it is the coldest of all the BPALs I have ever tried. Even Ultraviolet is warm compared to the lemony musk of Embalming Fluid. It smells like...embalming fluid. I always recommend this one to anyone who is suffering from summer swelter.
    
11. Eat Me-Oooo, another beauty from the Snake Oil "heavy oriental" family. I love the foodiness of this. Pure sensuality and like to overwhelming (so thoroughly fitting in this case). You don't know whether to attempt to eat it or let your nose have the orgasm for you. I have to always remind myself not to put too much on at once, it will overpower. In the proper "dosage" it is incomparable.
    
12. Asphodel-Flowers from Hell. I am not the most floral loving soul but this one is so fresh fresh and spring-like. Very Eastery, renewing and reviving when you need it. I am looking forward to wearing Asphodel in the dead of winter as it is spring in a bottle.
    

[clover]

1) Snake Oil - because it's by far their most popular scent! The ultimate oriental: the best there is.

 

2) Dragon's Milk - because it's deceptively simple, but so unlike anything else out there.

 

3) Fae - The opposite of Dragon's Milk, an example of Beth's mastery of the traditional, complex perfume.

 

4) Samhain - Because it's such a perfect representation of its concept, and also the general feeling of BPAL.

 

5) Come to Me - It's a voodoo oil! No, it's a perfume! No, it's a voodoo oil! No, it's a perfume!

 

6) Kali - an example of BPAL as storytellers. Putting a myth in a bottle.

 

7) Blue Moon - The perfect lunar blend.

 

8) TKO - Damn, they're good at aromatherapy, too!

 

9) Iago - A little something for the men out there. I admit, I just chose my favorite. You could substitute Dorian.

 

10) O

11) Alice

12) Morocco

 

And the last three are just three BPAL scents that everyone should try. Classics.

 

ETA: Of course I'm not sorry Olympia! This is my favorite kind of category...I could talk about perfume all day.

[shelldoo]

1. snake oil...duh if beth wants to let us have a shot at *her* scent we should all try it.

 

2. o it is so "bpal"

 

3. samhain just exactly what clover said.

 

4. morrocco i think imho this is a perfect example of beth's twist on a classy "perfume" simple swoon worthy

 

5 tko showcasing how beth can make an aromatherapy blend that is stunning and i want to wear it even when i am not in bed , but i don't cause i have too much to do when i am out of bed.

 

6. batwoman an amazing floral even i love, and i am not too much of a soft floral kind of girl. it is an amazing blend

 

7. al azif the perfect resinous blend

 

8. velvet cause we need foody recognition and other then underpants it is the best foody....

 

9. scherezade because it has that great mideastern feel

 

10. one of the ars draconis, but i have a hard time picking which one, mostly i say this because brian needs his creative genious represented, but i can't decide which one because they are all so stunning

 

i am trying to use non le's w/ the exception of samhain which simply must be included