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BPAL Madness!
Post-Update: Forum Issues
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About this blog

Notes to myself and anyone else

Entries in this blog

 

bitch, bitch, bitch.....

I usually keep this about scent but I have to rant and rave for a minute.   I am so annoyed by people who write useless reviews on this forum! I realize their review might be useful to someone else. But it makes me feel like I wasted time clicking on the post to read it. I'm talking about when someone floods the reviews forum with very short reviews which basically reiterate the description of the scent (the Lab's description), and nothing more. And the very worst are when the person says "Oh, I couldn't even try this on my skin!". In my opinion, if you haven't tested it on your skin, you shouldn't review it!   If you're reading this and you have written this type of review, don't take it personally. I am just in a ranting mood and it's a small pet peeve I have. I totally understand the value of writing a review as a form of 'note to self', which is actually one of the reasons I write reviews. Otherwise I can forget that I've already tried a scent and don't need to try it again. So in other words, don't change your writing habits just because of me! : )   /rant
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Stressing about money

I hate this, but I don't see any way around it. I'm absolutely stressed out about money. I don't know how I'm going to make it through the next month or two, and there is lots of stuff going on that I want to take part in. My friends are going to a big drag show in Dayton, which is about a 45 minute drive. They want to get hotel rooms so we can all drink. I don't even know if I can afford to drink at a bar, much less do that and get a hotel room.   Then our gay pride weekend is the following weekend, and I'll be going out again, and spending money again. I guess I just need to sit down and write it all down, and figure out a budget because my funds are definitely limited. : (
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Another one of "those" moods

I'm at work....I'm bored, anxious, and nervous all at the same time. I want to write things but it's all random and unconnected.   I have 2 final exams Saturday.....well, another one online that is due by Saturday, so 3 all together. I'm freaking out because I think my grades are right on the C/D edge, and I need to do really well on my exams. I can't get any D's, I just can't. If I do, my tuition won't get paid by my employer, and I will most likely have to wait another year to move forward in this program. So yeah, I'm freaking out.   Speaking of work, I am in need of some nights off. I am off this weekend, but Saturday's final exams kind of ruin the weekend. Sure I'm off Saturday night, but then I go back Sunday night, which doesn't leave me much time to do anything. What do I want to do? Well, I've been wanting to visit my friend Kevin in Columbus (Ohio), and to really relax I want more than one night off to do this. Then, next week is my spring break, except I work almost every night. I'm off Wednesday night but that's it. Long story short, I am getting burned out and I need a break.   And these people that I deal with at work are driving me crazy! In fact I have to cut this short because we're getting busy again and I have to actually work instead of typing in a blog.
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More video game stuff

Played through Bioshock 2 twice, rushed through the first time and then went more slowly the second time (got 2 of the different endings). I do really like it, the story is not as good but game play is a little more fun, more options of what to do with the little sisters, more plasmid upgrades, etc....etc....now I want to go back and play the first Bioshock again! However.....   I want to get some use out of my SNES and I keep feeling this attraction to older games. I ordered Zelda Link To The Past, and also Megaman X, so I can play those, as well as Super Metroid which I really didn't get into, but would like to start it back up again. I also have Earthworm Jim which is really fun but I didn't get very far into it (I played it on the old Sega Genesis, and was never really good at it, although I watched my room-mate at the time beat the game).   So, anyway......oh I also would like to finish Final Fantasy IV, which I started when I was waiting to play Bioshock 2.   (.....and I'm trying to be a student at the same time, LOL)
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non-bpal review/Vetiver Guerlain

Vetiver Guerlain   "fresh and outdoorsy, a blend of vetiver, wood, tobacco and spice." (description from Fragrancenet.com   I love vetiver and having read lots of rave reviews, I really wanted to try this. Wet on the skin, for the first 10 or 15 minutes, this is a glorious, almost dizzying swirl of fresh, bright citrus notes, with some green grassiness peeking in and out. I loved it! After a while, all the top notes fade and what's left is simply vetiver single note. It's a light, fresh vetiver, almost reminiscent of sweet hay. Not a bad thing, but I'd love to smell that first stage longer.
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10ml madness

I posted an ISO for 10ml bottles, and already I've got 3 coming to me! Well, 2 partials and one empty, but that's okay.....I can decant into the empty one (Morocco), if I get some imps or even a bottle (if I like it a lot, which I can barely remember what it smells like.......but I remember I liked it). The other 2 are Bloodlust which I've never tried, but looks promising, and Urd, which I do like, and have never really had an imp of my own....now I'll have plenty. So, that was more of a response than I was expecting! : )
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Egg Nog (2007 I think)

I tried this today, after the decant sat for a long time untouched. I was a little dismayed because it was barely there, and I thought it had aged badly or something. Then I read other reviews and I guess I'm not the only one! There is a little bit of throw, just a faint, sweet vanilla type of scent, with no spices or rum or anything like that. It's a cakey sort of scent, and I can barely pick up what might be some spices, only when I sniff up close.
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Ranting and raving....

First of all.....if you're reading this, and I complain about something that you do, please don't take it personally. Just a minor pet peeve of mine.   I've noticed a trend lately with reviews. People are writing their reviews based only on sniffing the scent in the vial, not putting it on the skin. This drives me crazy. Basically, it's like judging a book by it's cover. In my experience, most scents smell totally different, or they go through changes, after they touch a person's skin. I admit, when I go to a meet 'n sniff, I don't try on every scent that I come across. I smell some of them in the bottle and make a judgment based solely on that impression. But that is different from writing a review for other people to read.   When I read a review of a scent, and the person didn't actually try it on, I write it off as completely useless to me.
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this that and the other

I went camping this weekend (well, I was in a cabin at a camp-site), and didn't bring any scent at all! I just figured, what's the point. I did bring my pillow and blanket. So I was pleasantly surprised when I walked into my cabin after a few hours and smelled......Snake Oil! Just the remnants that rubbed off my skin were enough to scent the whole cabin, not really strongly but enough that I knew it was from Snake Oil or the variations that I wear. Cool!   As for the inquisition, I think I got the one I wanted most. I may swap a decant or two to try some of the other ones. I'm mostly interested in Egg'd Mailbox and maybe Pumpkin Smash. We'll see.   I am so antsy to get my hands on my Halloween decants! Gimme! The CnS came yesterday. Now I'm worrying that Bonfire Night is going to be too sweet, based on the reviews so far. And still am up in the air about Sugar Skull. I really don't wear it that much, even though I love how it smells. Do I really need a whole bottle?   And finally, the Possets Halloween update is enormous, even bigger than I thought it would be. There is one scent that I feel like came from a suggestion I made in the Possets forum, so obviously I need to get that one. And of course 7 or 8 others that sound tantalizing. I like how Fabienne doesn't list the notes for us. For me that makes it more fun when the scents are actually in my hands, and there's more anticipation, wondering what the hell is this going to smell like (Infernal Bar-B-Que, anyone??). So, I think I'll make a smallish order first, then read reviews, and make one more larger order in a couple weeks. I could wait and order everything at once, and get free shipping, but I really don't think I can wait that long. I really want to know what Bat Fur Cloak smells like, among others.
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more Chaos squeeing

I want these!!   Dorian with......   Sunflower accord (like the Salon blend) Clove and autumn leaves     Snake Oil with.....   red wine
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Oh, and also.....

Continuing my previous posts.....how could I overlook the Snake Pit? I bought the whole thing when it first came out, swapped out a couple of those bottles (Asp Viper, Banded Sea Snake, Green Tree Viper, Australian Copperhead....okay, more than a couple), and I still want to get rid of Saw-Scaled Viper, eventually. But with the ones that I've kept, I doubt that I will need any kind of Snake Oil-related scent again, ever.......especially since I have 2 bottles of Snake Oil itself 'cellared' (and it's hard to believe one of them will be 2 years old in November!). Oh and I swapped that imp of Anaconda for Doc Buzzard, a worthy trade in my opinion.   So unless Snake Charmer is re-released, I am good on Snakey scents for a long, long time. At the rate I wear oils, I may never use them up completely.
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Damn.

So now I'm kicking myself, because I just tried Brom Bones, and holy-mother-of-pearl......this is beyond sexy. I'm definitely going to need a whole bottle of this, rather than a puny decant. I already loved Quincey Morris, and this is close but even better. Just incredible. This should have been my bottle choice, rather than Chant D'Autumne (which I like, but nothing like B. Bones......).
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non-bpal review/Pascal Morabito Or Black

Pascal Morabito Or Black   I sought this after reading Luca Turin's perfume blog, he seemed to really like it. This review is from one test on the skin (I'll probably wear it again, so I may add to this entry later).   top Note : bergamote, pepper, leather Note de cœur : benzoin, ciste, cyprus Note de fond : vetiver, ylang-ylang, amber, Tonkin Musk, oak moss.   Didn't refresh my memory on the notes first, so I thought it was primarily an incense scent. Wet on the skin, it was exactly that. Slightly reminiscent of Midnight Mass, but murkier, more 'black'. After a few minutes, very shortly, I realized there was a strong note of leather. It reminded me of something from my past, maybe Drakkar Noir. It seems to be a formal, almost stern scent. Heavy and dark. Not for everyday wear, but probably good for special occasions. The leather comes out strong and lasts for a long time.
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wishy wishy!

Bold type just means I have a particular interest, or higher priority for that scent. Colored text indicates added after first post. I try to update this pretty often....   possible bottles Baron Samedi Dragon's Blood Fearful Pleasure Great Sword Of War The Mad Hatter Satan and Death With Sin Intervening Three Gorgons   On the Fence, at the Carnaval!! (not sure if I want whole bottles of these or not) Carnaval Diabolique Isaac, the Living Skeleton Priala, the Human Phoenix The Chapel Theodosius, the Legerdemain Wulric, the Wolfman   GC imps that I want Aelopile Baghdad Bathsheba Black Hellebore Brisingamen Bruised Violet Compound The Caterpillar Danube Death Cap Deep In Earth The Dormouse Dragon's Reverie Eclipse Fascinum Frumious Bandersnatch Hamadryad Hanging Gardens Hecate Hymn To Proserpine Imp Inferno Intrigue Jersey Devil Kill-Devil Kubla Khan Kumari Kandam Lampades Libertine Love's Torments Lyonesse Mad Hatter Mandrake Mary Read Medea Mouse's Long and Sad Tale Nero Niflheim No. 93 Engine Nostrum Remedium Othello Penthus The Phantom Wooer Phoenix Steamworks Plunder Port Royal Queen of Sheba Rome Salome Santo Domingo Scales Of Deprivation Schrodinger's Cat Shanghai Shango Strangler Fig Sundew Sybaris To A Woman Tombstone Tushnamatay Unicorn Verdandi Voodoo   'Set Only' imps/unimpables I would like (imps or decants) And There Was A Great Cry In Egypt The Ecstacy of St. Theresa Famine Fox Fires on New Year's Eve at the Garment Nettle Tree at Oji Haloes The House Judith Victorious La Vague Lucretia Madonna Mama-Ji Parsifal Rozpustnica Silence Three Brides   Decant Me (partial decants? half decants? droplets? all are acceptable, I just want to try these) The Bloody Sword Boo Bam Cagliostro The Chapel The Contract Of Theophilus Of Adana The Cracked Bell Damnation Dia De Los Muertos Fire Eater Isaac, the Living Skeleton Ivanushka Knucklebones Long Night Moon Moana Opuhi Pumpkin Patch III (2007) Shill Tiki Queen Tupapau Upa Upa Yule   Single Notes dream list (decants) Ambergris, Black Cherry, Black Musk, Black Poppy, Cherry, Licorice Bark, Light Myrrh, Oakmoss, Red Musk, Red Mysore Sandalwood, Redwood, Siberian Musk, Tonka Bean, White Sandalwood   The following are basically for my own reference....it helps me to keep this all in one place, and the update onslaught is just about killing me! But I do love trying all the new stuff.   Czech and Speake Cuba Frankincense and Myrrh   Possets Aiden Crickets Eve Nigel Rhode Island Vermont   CB I Hate Perfume Wild Hunt
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decant or bottle......

......the inner debate continues.   I want Old Moon. I really do. All of this 'pining' I've been doing for a wintery/pine/fir scent (sorry, could not resist the pun).....and now people are saying this is the perfect one. On the one hand, I already have decants of Yuletide, Ice Queen, Death Of The Grave Digger, Jolasveinar, The Snow Storm, Mistletoe......Shivering Boy......Cloister Graveyard......in other words, many many wintery blends that I really like. More than I could use up in quite a long time. On the other hand.......that addition of 'lunar herbs and flowers' sounds soooo promising....makes me really lustful for Old Moon.......so I just don't know. I can't imagine that decants are going to be hard to find once people start getting this. But I haven't had a pending lab order in so long!   Bottom line.....I have way too many bills right now. I just better sit this one out. : (
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random boredom post

Wow, I guess it's my turn in the barrel for forum problems tonight. I've had hour-long stretches where I couldn't get anywhere, because the page just kept loading and loading.....eeeeever so slowly. Apparently it has been going around lately.   In other news, fingers are crossed because my requests are in for the last 4 Lupercalia decants that I wanted to try. Still waiting to hear if they're available or not. I had thought about risking a bottle unsniffed again this time, but the choice is just too hard. I want to try them first. As usual, excited as heck about pending decants!   More later if I am still this bored.....
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testing at the laundromat

More scent blogging because I'm boooored......   The one good thing about doing laundry is, it's a good place to test scents. It's good because it takes a couple hours, my mind kind of wanders, and with the movement of my hands there is plenty of wafting so I get a good idea of 'throw'. So as my mind is wandering, I might forget what scent I put on, until it wafts up at me again. And the whole process has a little bit of zen that I enjoy.   Other than that......I hate doing laundry. : )
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video games

So here I am, blogging about video games on a perfume discussion forum. Ten years ago I would have had no idea what that even meant. But I already have the last post in the video game discussion thread, and I don't want to double post.   I'm still playing Dragon Quest VIII, but I got Final Fantasy IX this past weekend, and I may be switching over to that for a while.   In DQVIII, I got all the way up to the big God Bird, but haven't been able to beat it. So I'm back-tracking, trying to alchemize better weapons, level up, and also buy better equipment. I will beat that damn bird!   Switching over to FFIX was a little jarring. The graphics are so different, and the battle system is a little different since it's Active. I like being able to sit and think about my next move, and you can't really do that here. But I'm determined to find another RPG that I love, so on I go.   The great news is, after my class tomorrow, I'll have no real obligations for the rest of the day, and all the next day. So I can play to my heart's content. : )
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draft for ISO post

Decants/imps would be perfect, even if they're not completely full.   And There Was A Great Cry In Egypt The Chapel Isaac, The Living Skeleton Knucklebones Three Gorgons
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fun, fun, fun

High drama in the ED tonight, but nothing new. We get homeless and/or destitute people who come in with a minor complaint, then after they are discharged they want to stay here in the waiting room for the rest of the night. It's cold outside and they either don't have anywhere to go, or don't have a way to get there. We do have cab vouchers for people, but the charge nurse is usually particular about giving them. I understand their point of view, because once you start giving them out, people want them all the time, every time they come here. So sometimes, people are told no, you cannot have a cab voucher. But then they want to stay in our waiting area, which they can't do. So security gets involved, and they will give a cab voucher to anyone, going anywhere. Another issue is they are only supposed to go to the address listed in their account (their home address). And some of them don't have a home address. So it becomes like a big puzzle. And I am kind of stuck in the middle of it, getting complained at by all sides. I am okay with whatever they decide, but it's not really up to me, so I just sit here looking kind of dumb.
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Not about perfume

I've only been here at work for an hour and a half, and I've already had my fill of these people. I know that supposedly there's no scientific evidence that the full moon affects people's behavior, but I'm here to tell you that it does happen. This current full moon (which was actually last night, I think) has brought out a lot of aggression and anger in many people that I've interacted with. It continues tonight, and I'm just about over it. Scratch that.....I am over it.
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The Custom Scent

DSH Perfumes makes custom scents and ooooooh, how I'd love to get one. However, it's almost like getting a tattoo......it's kind of a big commitment and I would want to be sure I was getting the best one for me.   [this is all hypothetical since right now I don't have 4 or 5 hundred bucks to throw around]   My favorite scent is Djinn, but I wouldn't want another Djinn. The obvious choices would be resins, woods, musk.....smokey and incense.....perhaps opium. But really, do I want something obvious? Maybe I'd want a cleaner, fresh or spicey element in there. Ah dunno.....   I even pulled up the questionnaire from DSH that she uses to get a handle on your scent personality. I like it because she asks some more abstract questions like what's your favorite color, what time of day/night do you like best. The questionnaire alone made me insanely curious as to what she would come up with for my scent. Then they send you 3 samples and go from there, I assume fine-tuning and whatnot.   I know CB does the same thing, but after trying just a few samples from DSH I think I might like her style better. Nothing against CB but his scents are so light! I like them at times but as for a signature scent, something my very own, I think I'd want something stronger, more emphatic. Someday.....maybe........
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this is where I bitch

I've been meaning to complain about this for a while but was never sure where to do it. Let me just get it out of my system so I can move on.   I get so irritated when I see someone post: "Oh, just buy the bottle! Even if you don't like it, you can always swap it later!" Um, I disagree that it's totally easy to just swap stuff away.   I have had lots of good swaps, and even successful sales, so don't get me wrong. Also....I do not bump my swaps/sales posts a whole lot, not even once a week. Usually I'll give it a bump just to keep it from being sent to the post cemetery. So it could possibly be said that I don't try hard enough.   BUT.......   I couldn't even swap away rares like Vanilla Bean SN, Corazon, Ice Queen, Snow Angel......things I wanted to swap for stuff on my wish-list, which IMO is a pretty long one and not too narrow. And I don't think I was being too picky about what I would swap for. A single note for a single note......well, that's what most everyone else does, isn't it? A whole bottle of Samhain sat on my swaps/sales pages for weeks, until I finally decided I would rather just keep it. In fact, I took pretty much everything off my posts and even retired my swaps post.   Actually I'm not completely bitter. Part of it is indecision on my part. I hate to get rid of something unless I'm absolutely sure it's not going to work for me (Pruno, Selkie, ahem....). I'm glad I didn't get rid of Samhainophobia because it turns out I really do like it. Also....I don't regret my purchases. I have found a new hobby and I feel more enriched because of it. : )
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too many decisions!

I'm resisting the urge to order another Trick Or Treat Inquisition scent. I keep telling myself, just wait....because I don't even know which scent I'll get with my first order, because Possets' fall update is at the end of the week, because bpal may or may not have an update coming soon....not to mention the other bpal Halloween scents that I want, that I still haven't ordered yet.....all very good reasons, but I want another Trick Or Treat order pending, dammit!
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(previous entry continued.....)

Inez and Aeronwen are both bottle worthy. And Wild Men of Jezirat Al Tennyn. Have to re-try all of those, and again, make some decisions. Carnaval Diabolique is totally worth a bottle, so I have that one to consider as well. And I haven't even tried Isaac yet!! : /   On the plus side, I have a nice, completely full, well-aged bottle of Mme. Moriarty that I love. Ditto Midnight On The Midway and Antonino.   The big problem is Chaos Theory. I've been wanting a new round of CT for a long, long time......and I really want at least 6 or 7 bottles, possibly more. There is no way I can get all of this stuff, I just can't swing it. I think I'm actually pushing aside CD in favor of CT. CD will be around longer (and we still have more acts), and CT will only be around for a few weeks. And Chaos Theory is just so.......special! It's like my own little bottle of uniqueness, and a complete surprise, and just fun, fun, fun.   So there ya go, I guess my decision is made. Buckle your seatbelts, it's going to be a Chaotic ride!!
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