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Tokyo Stomp, Milk Moon

Yesterday I tested Monster Bait: Tokyo Stomp. It smells like butterscotch in the vial, but on my skin it's a warm minty vanilla, like a pipe shop minus the tobacco. I kept sniffing for the tobacco. This one probably won't be a fave -- too sweet for everyday -- but it's funky and fun. And I just tried out the other LE I got from that order: Milk Moon. It's really grape-y at first, almost like fruit candy. But then it calms down and gets more figgy. Mm, I love me some fig. And just a hint of pomegranate. I can detect the honey, but the milk never makes an appearance on my skin. I like Milk Moon, but I don't like it as much as Eden (which also has fig and honey). Which is a relief, because I can get more Eden whenever I want, but Milk Moon is kind of a one-shot deal. So out of the three scents I ordered from the Milk Moon Update, my favorite is the last-minute impulse addition (Minotaur), not the two whose descriptions I drooled over most. Interesting....

June 14, 2007

minilux's Blog

wishlist

SEVERIN!

minilux

June 13, 2007

Tried #5

Excolo AIZEN-MYOO- no AL-SHAIRAN- ok ANUBIS-no BARON SAMEDI- NO BASTET- wanted to love her more but ok CENTZON TOTOCHTIN- no COYOTE- no CZERNOBOG- no ELEGBA- no EOS- no ERIS-no EVE- no GAUEKO- no GRANDMOTHER OF GHOSTS-no HADES- no HECATE- ok KALI- ok KURUKULLA- ok LILITH- ok LOVIATAR- no NEMESIS- ok I think NUIT- no NYX- no I think OBATALA- no ODIN- sadly no OGUN- no OLD SCRATCH- ok PANNYCHIS-no PEITHO- no PELE- Really, Really like why don't I have a bottle ????? SACRED WHORE of BABYLON- ok SHANGO-no TEZCATLIPOCA- NO! THANATOS-no XIUHTECUHTLI- NO YEMAYA-no CALLIOPE-no CLIO-no MELPOMENE- no POLYHYMNIA- I think no TERPSICHORE-no I think THALEIA- good and I have actually been debating a bottle of this one EUPHROSYNE-no THALIA- #1 summer scent I LOVE THIS SCENT I have approx. 1/8 of a bottle left but a 10ml all full and waiting YUMMY! AGLAEA-no THE NORNS- I don't think so but I would like too re-try them because I have no memory ALECTO- NO MEGAERA [reformulated 5/1/2005]- ok I think UTRENNYAYA-no VECHERNYAYA-no ZORYA- no THE STATIONS OF THE SUN- I have tried some but off hand can't remember what and what I thought Next my favorite most untested section Voodoo Blends AUNT CAROLINE'S JOY MOJO- REALLY WANT A BOTTLE this stuff rocks! BLACK CAT- good BLOCK BUSTER- would like more CHUPAROSA- no FIRE of LOVE- ok FRENCH LOVE- ok HAS NO HANNA- have an imp I need to work with HIGH JOHN the CONQUEROR- I love this stuff (not for scent) it works great I need a bottle LOVE ME- ok RED DEVIL- good VAN VAN- have an imp but need to pull it out WATER of NOTRE DAME- no I tried a lot of Tarot oils and I only liked the Sun but felt odd using them so my imps still sit mostly untouched. I might need to re-pull out The Sun though. Same with the Sephiroth but am curious about GAMALIEL due to the Lilith connection. The Chakras I have sniffed here and there but haven't been able to afford the entire imp scent to work with them to see if I want bottles, my Libra balance hates the idea of working only with one chakra. Panacea ELIXIR V: MOXIE- yes would like more ELIXIR VI: DETOX- LOVE! I have my 10ml down to 3/4 full ELIXIR VII: SAFARI- liked my imp would like to use it for what it is for I would love to try more of these though for what they are for. Sonium Somnus- LOVE Would like to try more Carnaval Diabolque- I have tried most all of them but only liked Mme. Moriarty, Misfortune Teller MELISANDE, THE PUPPET MISTRESS- Own a bottle Faith and Hope- split with friend but still need my Hope like both Slightly interested in Privilidge, sadly no Pruno though, and that one seemed so funny hahaha! I Hope this helps!!! If you want a list of favorites of LE's I can definetly expand my list hahaha! But most of my most favorites are listed and sadly many have become expensive over time Curse you beautiful Poppet, Strawberry and Pink Moons and Midwinters Eve!!!!!!!!! But how can I completely complain since I no longer have to sell my soul for Shub! That is the end of the current scents YIPPEE!!!

June 13, 2007

Tried #4

Ars Draconis DRAGON'S BLOOD- yes DRAGON'S BONE- no DRAGON'S CLAW- no DRAGON'S EYE- no DRAGON'S HEART- no DRAGON'S HIDE- no DRAGON'S MILK- ok DRAGON'S MUSK- no DRAGON'S TEARS- ok own a bottle LADON- no Rappaccini's Garden ASPHODEL- ok BANEBERRY- no I think BELLADONNA- no BLACK HELLEBORE- no BLACK LILY- no BLACK LOTUS- no BLACK ROSE- ok BLOOD LOTUS- ok BLOOD ROSE- LOVE! sadly close to a 1/4 of a bottle left in mine COBRA LILY- no DEATH CAP- no DESTROYING ANGEL- no DEVIL'S CLAW- no MANDRAKE- no MOON ROSE- ok SHADOW WITCH ORCHID- no SLOBBERING PINE- no SQUIRTING CUCUMBER- no! STRANGLER FIG- no SUNDEW- no WOLFSBANE- no YEW-TREES- no I have tried some Salon's but I don't remember which off hand so I am skipping that list for now. Picnic in Arkham AL AZIF- ok ARKHAM- no AZATHOTH- no CTHULHU- the only aquatic I like, DH has a bottle THE DEEP ONES- no THE HIGH PRIEST NOT TO BE DESCRIBED- no MISKATONIC UNIVERSITY- NO! THE MUSIC OF ERICH ZAHN- no NIGHT-GAUNT- ok, need to re-try NYARLATHOTEP- no R'LYEH- ok I think SHOGGOTH- no SHUB-NIGGURATH- HELL YEAH!!! One of my top scents, I still have my first series bottles but can always bathe in more HERBERT WEST- no Y'HA-NTHLEI- no

June 13, 2007

My want to try list

This is going to be short to start but I will be adding them as I think of them COCKAIGNE- yerevan Hamptons 51 TANIN'IVER GAMALIEL OYA Persephone Mania HORN OF PLENTY BITCH Baku Temple of Dreams Nanshe

June 13, 2007

Tried #3

Diabolus AKUMA- ok BAOBHAN SITH- no I think BLACK ANNIS- like so many others NO BLACK PHOENIX- ok BLOOD COUNTESS- no BLOODLUST- ok BLUEBEARD- no CATHERINE- no I think DJINN-no DRACUL- no FENRIS WOLF- no HELL'S BELLE- ok HELLCAT- like have a bottle IMP- like KITSUNE-TSUKI- like have a bottle KUMIHO- ok LOUP GAROU- no MALICE- ok MEDEA- ok i think NEPHILIM- ok PAIN- no PHANTOM- no PHANTOM QUEEN- no RAGE- no SERPENT'S KISS- ok SZEPASSZONY- no VILLAIN- no WICKED- no Carousol BILQUIS- no MAD SWEENEY- no MAMA-JI- sadly no MR. IBIS- no MR. JACQUEL- would like to own MR. NANCY- sadly no SPIDER- ok I think Mad Tea Party ALICE- Yes THE CATERPILLAR- no CHESHIRE CAT- ok THE DODO- no THE DORMOUSE- no DRINK ME- no EAT ME- sadly no, I so wanted to like this and layer it with Beaver moon FRUMIOUS BANDERSNATCH- Like have a bottle I need to use more JABBERWOCKY- no THE LION- ok MAD HATTER- no MARCH HARE- Love sadly I have less then a 1/4 left in my bottle THE MOCK TURTLE'S LESSONS- no MOUSE'S LONG AND SAD TALE- no THE QUEEN OF HEARTS- no THE RED QUEEN- no TWEEDLEDEE: no TWEEDLEDUM: no TWO, FIVE & SEVEN- like WHITE RABBIT- No, No, No, No this is one of the four scents that does AWFUL things on my skin, its ugly. Illyria THE APOTHECARY- no DESDEMONA- ok GONERIL- no HELENA- no IAGO- no JESTER- ok LADY MACBETH- yes have a bottle LEAR- no OBERON- no OPHELIA- no OTHELLO- ok QUEEN GERTRUDE- no ROBIN GOODFELLOW- no ROSALIND- no TAMORA- ok TITANIA- ok TITUS ANDRONICUS- no VIOLA- no Wanderlust AMSTERDAM-no ATHENS- no BAGHDAD- like BAYOU- no BENGAL- ok CAIRO- no CROSSROADS- no DANUBE- no DELPHI- no DUBLIN- no thank goodness better this then Glasgow EDEN- no GLASGOW- Like and would like to get more then an imp GOMORRAH- no THE HAMPTONS- liked I think I need to re-try this one THE HANGING GARDENS- Like have a bottle HOLLYWOOD BABYLON- yes KYOTO- ok LONDON- no MACHU PICCHU- no MADRID- ok MAG MELL-no MOROCCO- ok MOSCOW- no NEO-TOKYO- no (thank goodness) NIFLHEIM- ok PARIS- ok PORT-AU-PRINCE- no PORT ROYAL- no PRAGUE- no R'LYEH- no ROME- no SANTA EULÀRIA DES RIU- no SANTO DOMINGO- no SHANGHAI- no SILK ROAD- nice SRI LANKA- nice TENOCHTITLAN- no TINTAGEL- no TOMBSTONE- no VENICE- no VERSAILLES- no VINLAND- no WHITECHAPEL- no JEZIRAT AL TENNYN- no LYONESSE- no COCKAIGNE- how did I miss this one I really need to try it! yerevan

June 13, 2007

Tried Take 2!

THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS ENVY- no GLUTTONY- yes have bottle GREED- YES have bottle that hubby stole LUST- ok from memory PRIDE- no SLOTH- no WRATH- ok from memory COME AND SEE THE BOW & CROWN OF CONQUEST- no THE GREAT SWORD OF WAR- ok THE SCALES OF DEPRIVATION- no DEATH ON A PALE HORSE- ok ANATHEMA- no BLACK DAHLIA- no CATHEDRAL- no DE SADE-no DIRTY- no DORIAN-no FAUSTUS- ok from memory HELLFIRE- no HYMN- no JAILBAIT- Love it and FINALLY bought the bottle LAUDANUM- no LES INFORTUNES DE LA VERTU- no MAGDALENE- no MALEDICTION- ok from memory NERO- no PENITENCE- no ROADHOUSE- NO ROSE CROSS- no SEA OF GLASS- no SERAPHIM- no SIN- Ok TZADIKIM NISTARIM- NO VICE- no Love Potions AVE MARIA GRATIA PLENA- no BATHSHEBA- no BORDELLO- yes have a bottle BRISINGAMEN- no CARNAL- ok CASANOVA- no DEBAUCHERY- no DELIGHT- ok DEPRAVED- Good DESIRE- ok FORBIDDEN FRUIT- no I think HARLOT- ok HETAIRAE- ok HUNGER- ok JEZEBEL- good have a bottle KABUKI- ok LA BELLE AU BOIS DORMANT- ok LA PETITE MORT- no THE LADY OF SHALOTT- no LE SERPENT QUI DANSE- ok LUCY'S KISS- ok MUSE- ok NEFERTITI- nice O- O as in NO! PERVERSION- yes PSYCHE- no QUEEN OF SHEBA- ok RAPTURE ok RAVENOUS- I wish this didn't smell like bandaids on me SALOMÉ- no SATURNALIA- no SED NON SATIATA- no SERAGLIO- ok SEVERIN- no SNAKE OIL- sadly no I sent mine off into the world SUCCUBUS- no VICOMTE de VALMONT- no VIXEN- ok WANDA- no WHIP- no

June 13, 2007

Here's to a new beginning!

This should be interesting another Blog I can have good intentions to use and then neglect for long periods of time!!! I am shocked how many people already started these things,wow! I realised I have nothing to say. Ugh what a crappy why to start.

June 13, 2007

What Scents I have tried and Opinions

My opinions on tried Scents, these are to the best of my memory and tried to include if I only have a bottle, not if I own an imp. If it isn't on the list I either totally can't remember it or haven't tried it. Bewitching Blends ABSINTHE- Ok AEVAL- I think only ok ANNE BONNY- NO AntIQUE LACE- NO ARCANA- OK BELLE ÉPOQUE- OK BEWITCHED- no BLACK FOREST- NOOOOOOO BLACK OPAL- Ok BLACK PEARL- smells like suntan lotion so sadly no THE BLACK TOWER- same no as BF BLISS- no BLOOD- YES own bottle BLOOD PEARL- same as BP BON VIVANT- Uber love and I have less then half a bottle BRIMSTONE- no CATHODE- no CALICO JACK- no CHIMERA- I think this was good I need to re-check it out THE COILED SERPENT- wanted to but no DEE- no DELIRIUM- this scent stalked me and I still dont like it ECLIPSE- yes own a bottle EPHEMERA- I don't think so FAE- ok GRAND GUIGNOL- I like this one GROG- no HAMADRYAD- no THE HESPERIDES- apple is a no HYMN TO PROSERPINE- I don't think so, I need to re-check this one out INCANTATION- no INTRIGUE- no JACK- I tried to love it but no JOLLY ROGER- No pirates life for me JUKE JOINT- no LA BELLA DONNA DELLA MIA MENTE- sadly most of the La's and Le's didn't work for me I know I found one ok but I have it in Imps LA BELLE DAME SANS MERCI- " LAMPADES- Yes, I believe I have a bottle LEANAN SIDHE- no LIGHTNING- NO MAGUS- no MASQUERADE- no MATA HARI- sadly no MORGAUSE- I tried it and was on the fence but I think I liked it ok, need to re-try NAMASTE- ok PENNY DREADFUL- with the name I wanted to but no POISONED APPLE- no apple RAKSHASA- ok SAINT-GERMAIN- no SCARECROW- NO SCHEREZADE- ok SHATTERED- sadly no SUDHA SEGARA- yes SWANK- OH YEAH! Another halfed filled bottle of yum! TWENTY-ONE- no ULALUME- no ULTRAVIOLET- no UMBRA- ok VEIL- I think ok VELVET- no chocolate VOODOO- ok WILDE- love it on hubby not me YGGDRASIL- ok Funeral Oils DANCE OF DEATH- No DANSE MACABRE- No EMBALMING FLUID- No HAUNTED- Ok HOUSE OF NIGHT- no JAZZ FUNERAL- no LES FLEURS du MAL- no MIDNIGHT- no NOCTURNE- no SHROUD- no THANATOPSIS- no TWILIGHT- no WINGS of AZRAEL- no ZOMBI-no Elements BURIAL- no HURRICANE- no INFERNO- yes UNDERTOW- no

June 13, 2007

Minotaur, Hesperides, Crow Moon, Coyote, TKO...

I tested out Minotaur last night. It's a different kind of scent than I've tried before, heavy on the resins, which gives it an edged, dark, weighty kind of odor. On me it's very sweet, though most reviews don't seem to reflect this. I really like it. This morning all that's left of it is a hint of black musk, which I have just about sniffed right off of my arm. Other scents I've tried, but not mentioned, in the last few crazy weeks: Hesperides reminds me of sweet, dark apple cider. Definitely a winner. Yew Trees and Yggdrasil, both tree-themed scents, have not made a great impression on me. I wore them both on days when I didn't have a lot of time to pay attention to them, so I haven't given up on them yet, but I remember both as underwhelming and not entirely pleasant. Crow Moon - I admit I was hooked by the name; I really like crows, when they're not waking me at five in the morning. The description is very accurate: "This is the final Full Moon of winter. The call of the crow signals the end of the frost, and their scent, of vervain, black violet, white musk, and Chinese cedar, is brushed by the last cold wind of winter on their wings, and the scent of evergreen boughs touched by the season's final flowers and the first blossoms of spring...." So, okay, it starts out smelling like frost, light musk, and cedar, kind of a bracing scent, and then as it dries down, all of a sudden -- spring flowers. That's pretty freakin' amazing. I don't actually like the floral part very well, but I'm still totally impressed. Coyote is a sweet, light muskiness on me, not dark and heavy like the Minotaur, but the warm golden brown of a smaller, swifter critter. It's a lot like what I hoped The Lion would be. This makes two amber scents I really love (the other one's Aglaea), so I may have to retract my verdict that amber doesn't work for me. Yum. TKO is a profoundly comforting scent; it's sweet and warm and reassures me that everything's okay. It doesn't magically put me to sleep, or keep me asleep; instead, it soothes and calms me so that I can allow myself the sleep I need. I definitely wouldn't wear this in the daytime, as it kinda makes my brain shut down -- which is exactly what you want when you can't sleep. I adore it.

June 12, 2007

Enabling, Black Forest, Coyote

While visiting C, I gave her some of my unloved imps: Mag Mell, Frumious Bandersnatch, Kumiho. They all smell a little funky on me, but behaved themselves on her. I was going to give her Florence, too, but we dropped it on the floor of a public restroom (really, we both did; it was a botched hand-off) and even though it didn't all spill, I made her throw it away because, yuck, public restroom floor. But she liked that one as well. I'm going to order her a few secondhand imps as a thank-you for her hospitality, and Florence will be among them if possible. She gave back the Black Forest imp I gave her last year -- said she liked the concept but not the oil. Not much left in it, but I'm really glad to have it again. I only tried it once, and my impression of it was a darker, dirtier evergreen than Jabberwocky, with a lingering musk note (musk always lasts forever on me). I was unsure about the musk at the time. But I recently tried Coyote and decided that maybe I really like musk. Because I sure do like Coyote.

June 11, 2007

captain diana's log

quikslvr #3

trying to get back on track here... Elegba wet: sweet, milky caramel & coconut dry: still sweet, reminds me a lot of spooky minus the mint. for some reason i swapped away my bottle. i guess this goes back on the wishlist. Cairo wet: soft spices, a little sweet dry: turned mostly floral with a touch of a resin. almost like a rose incense, but a little too heavy on the rose. Arachne this just got discontinued, and it's one that i've always wondered about... wet: wet, dewy florals, a little ozoney dry: dry woodsy notes, fresh airy notes. it's very lovely! too bad it's discontinued. it's one of the few vaguely-ozone scents that have ever appealed to me. Death on a Pale Horse wet: pale indeed. it's fairly faint, but there's a bit of a citrus note that i can detect, and just a hint of vetiver dry: this is so incredibly amazing. it's clean, fresh, slightly manly. but absolutely no throw. I'd be all over a 5mL if I could smell it apart from when my nose is pressed up against it. Desire wet: powdery neroli dry: dry, nondescript floral; slightly woodsy, a bit of musk. it's nice but a little too soft for my tastes. Polyhymnia wet: lemon candy dry: the citrusy note is completely gone, but there's a herbal/woodsy note left behind. not too much punch, but pretty all the same. High John the Conqueror wet: oddly sweet. since this is presumably made with high john the conqueror root, it thought it would smell more herbal or earthy. dry: still very sweet. it almost has a suntan lotion kind of aroma to it, oddly enough. i have a high john the conqueror root--it doesn't smell at all like this. it's not a bad scent, but this is one that would probably get relegated to perfume, and not be used for its magical qualities. it doesn't remind me enough of the real root for my brain to make the connection.

Diana

June 10, 2007

Venus in Retrograde

Pruno and Privilege

I love the message behind the Pruno and Privilege update, but I also understand where people are coming from who think it's cruel to stomp on someone when they're down, no matter who they are. Paris - for all her privilege, beauty and relatively middling wealth - has had been treated horribly by the public. First, a con artist stole all the data from her ubiquitous cell phone, posted it on the internet, and then crowed about how he pulled it off. Then her ex-boyfriend sold one of their sex tapes. Then salvagers bought the contents of her storage locker and posted everything they found - from her Social Security card to deeply personal medical records - online. People won't let her get away with being famous-just-for-being-famous. Whether she likes it or not people are determined to make her entertain them - however cruelly - in exhange for her fame. But then there's Paris herself. When the sex tape came out, she tried to smother it by telling Page Six that Rick Solomon had raped her. And her drunk driving charge and suspended license arrest afterwards is truly the height of arrogance - from the way she tarted up her courtroom outfits for the benefit of the cameras outside to the fact that she more than almost anyone on the planet can arrange alternate means of transportation. She just chose to drive like it's the role of everyone else on the street to jump out of her way. And she never seems to let anyone forget that she is a bigot.

noumenon

June 7, 2007

Whiskers and Whispers

Bastille Day comes early!

I completely forgot that Paris was being banged up until I saw today's wonderfully unexpected update. I think it is fantastic, myself. I love the way that Beth is doing something new with fragrance...parody by perfume, satire by scent. I've always admired the way Beth can excel with both her serious and intellectual fragrances, and her light-hearted, sillier scents. I also love the way that Beth appears to be taking the piss out of the whole 'celebrity perfume' thing as well (among other things-most notably, the farce that is Paris herself). I've never been into celebrity scents and I just get fed up when every tabloid-hogger and reality TV star releases their own brand of cat piss perfume with a pretentious name and a stinky scent. I think Privilege is the closest I'll ever get to owning a 'celebrity scent'. It's got a pretty name too which I don't need to associate with that vacuous attention seeking airheaded twit when I wear it (despite this being the scent description). And it's got some winning notes-tiare, rose, lemon blossoms, armoise, linden and vanilla? I think it will smell perfumey, but in the best way possible. Pruno on the other hand...with a description of 'toilets', 'droppings' and 'ketchup', I honestly thought that wasn't a real scent for sale! But it is...and I'm getting a decant just to see how Beth turns that into a wearable scent! I'm wondering if it will be a joke scent with a foul fragrance or if it will be wearable...from Beth's comments it may be the latter. And of course, Beth's an alchemist, it seems she's highly able to turn any smell that should smell like crap into gold But I do have a viable skin-chem reason not to get it: scents that are much too dominant on the apple turn bizarre on me, and it sounds almost Punkie Night-ish, wasn't keen on PN. But major kudos for Beth updating with these hilarious scents and donating the money to a good cause. I had to order some Paris to go with it-I've been meaning to buy a bottle of Paris, now I have an excuse

PurringPulsar

June 5, 2007

Starfish & Coffee

I drank what?

And I'm finally having some of the bagged Assam that I picked up at the Portland Stash store. Either I kept the teabag in for too long or this is only one step above Lipton.

byrdie

June 5, 2007

Starfish & Coffee

More like Midlife-crisis Guard.

I attended the end of a local kinky group meeting that I hadn't been to in years. They've been hosting it in my neighborhood, a bit north-easterly of me as it turns out, so I finally and beleatedly decided to see if I could find the place in question. I did, the facilitator remembered me, and I even got the reinforcement of someone fanning themselves as I described some of the stuff that Daddy and I had been up to. heh. It was weird, to attend this sort of meeting again, but not really as a n00b. But I live in easy walking distance of the place, so I have no excuse.

byrdie

June 5, 2007

I smell glorious

I feel horrible

Couldn't sleep until 2AM last night, worrying and feeling crappy. Woke up at 6:30 instead of 5:30 because of it. Woke up feeling horrible. Worst weekend, aside from the weekend my Uncle Jim died, in my memory. I'm just clinging to the hope that somehow this will all be over soon.

myoubi

June 5, 2007

Crashing Convergence

Friday, May 25th was kind of a manic day to begin with. I was going to leave for the Folklife festival in Seattle that evening, and I wasn't packed yet, and I had a dozen things to do first, and I really should have spent more time at work that day. But I had doublechecked and the Convergence vendors' hall WAS open to the public, starting about noon on Friday, and by golly I was gonna go or my future self would never forgive me for missing the one time BPAL comes to visit my town. As I walked down to the hotel that was hosting the convention, I could tell I was getting close by the increasing number of goth-types on the street. It was in the Hilton, and the swanky lobby contained a number of people dressed in black, standing around talking quietly with luggage beside them. I played it cool, strolled on in as though I had any clue what was going on... found a staircase, wandered down, followed signs to a ballroom, and bingo: Vendors' Hall. I don't normally do this kind of thing, wander into someone else's party without even trying to blend in, so at this point I was buzzed on a blend of mad glee and mild terror. Not many customers in the Vendors' Hall yet, I noted (still trying to act casual), but it was lined with booths selling fancy black clothing, stripey socks, skull jewelry and other gothy paraphernalia. And then I saw it. The BPAL booth. (There are some photos of it near the end of this post.) I went straight over and gaped at the rows and rows of bottles. They were arranged in alphabetical order and I started getting dizzy just looking at them. So many to choose from! And I've never bought a bottle before. How can I pick just one or two based on a momentary sniff? Do I buy something I already know and love (and have an imp of), or go for something entirely new? I recall that there were some blends mixed up exclusively for this event. The last rack isn't alphabetical and seems to be made up of the more expensive, limited edition stuff, so I go over to that end to look for them. There's a guy standing in front of it, making small talk with the girl on the other side of the table. He's asking about the Convergence exclusive blends, and she points them out to him. So I sidle up to sniff them and then test them on my arms. Well, two of them. The third one is a white floral, which I'm not interested in. It's called Lydia and is named after a local ghost (I've never heard of her). The other two are Shanghai Tunnel and The Unheavenly City. So we've got a "Portland's Seedy History" theme going on here. Nice. Shanghai Tunnel is really bitter and murky, and Unheavenly City is complicated but definitely has some coffee in it, which is cool. (Later on it turned extremely jasmine, though, which is not cool.) So I'm sniffing and sniffing and deciding I don't really want either of these, despite their rarity and resale value, when the chatty guy leaves and the girl starts talking to me. She's wearing a red dress that matches the color of her dreadlocked hair, and she's really friendly and funny, and after we've talked for a couple minutes she sticks out her hand and says, "I'm Beth." And my head explodes. So that's how I got to have a conversation with the nose and creative genius behind BPAL. After her attention turned to some other customers and friends, I went back to scanning the labels and trying to decide what to buy. And sniffing. Lots of sniffing. I noticed that many of the oils seemed to share a sort of bitter edge to them that I didn't like. Hours later, I realized what I was smelling was the Shanghai Tunnel I had foolishly dabbed on my left wrist, just below my bottle-sniffing hand. Oh, duh. Seeing that it was taking me 5000 years to decide, Beth asked what my favorite scents were so she could recommend some to me. I told her I love Jabberwocky most, and Delphi second-most, and she looked puzzled: "Seriously? Nobody says that. I mean, I like Jabberwocky, but it's just not that popular." I was sort of stunned by this, and someone else demanded her attention just then, so I never got to find out what scents she would have recommmended based on those two, or why it seemed so strange that those were my favorites. Eventually I decided on Snake Oil, because it will age well, and given the amount I typically apply, a bottle of anything will last me the rest of my life. I also bought one of the aromatherapy (Panacea) blends called TKO that's supposed to help you sleep. I've had insomnia lately, but even as hyped up as I was right then, when I opened that bottle it was like a big Hand of Calm reached out of it and went "sshhhh." Panacea oils are pricey at $25 a bottle, but I figured if I got even 25 nights of sleep out of it, it would be a great investment. And that bottle contains a heck of a lot more than 25 doses. So I gave them my money and took my bag o'fumes and went off to run some other errands, leaving the bag in the car. I didn't look into it because it had a cute BPAL sticker sealing it shut, and also I was in a hurry and had a lot of other things on my mind. It did occur to me, as I was congratulating myself on getting BPAL products with no shipping charges, that one down side of not getting your oils through the mail was that you don't get the bonus imps, which is one of the funnest parts of buying BPAL. (The Lab people had notified us in advance that there would be no imps for sale at the booth because "they cause havoc on the plane.") Still, I was very happy with my purchase, and ecstatic about the whole experience. So I'm racing against the clock to get a bunch of things done, and I finally get home and bring my goodies inside. The bag has started to emit a pretty strong odor, and I'm afraid my bottle of TKO is leaking because that sure as heck doesn't smell like Snake Oil. But I'm distracted from this because the Tea Swap box has arrived and is sitting on my doorstep! If you haven't heard about the Tea Swap, the box arrives filled with different kinds of tea, and you take out as much as you like and put something different back in, and send it on to the next person. So here it is, just in time to take to Folklife with me and share with my host C. I'm really, really excited about the box of tea, but I set it aside to open once I get to C's. I finally look in the BPAL bag, and discover THERE ARE FOUR IMPS IN THERE WITH MY BOTTLES. (One of the imps had leaked a little, which accounted for the smell.) Then, and only then, did I start running around in circles going EEEEEEEE!!!