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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

 

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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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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sigh of relief

I got A's in both of my classes. Medical Terminology was a breeze but Excel had was much more of a challenge for me. And it stayed challenging, not just for a week or two, but for most of the quarter. But I did well, and got A's on both of my final exams. So, I'm off school for a week and just feeling like relaxing and celebrating. Not sure what I'll do specifically, but I might go to Columbus to visit my friend Kevin. I'm meeting my dad for lunch Tuesday and after that I'm free until Thursday night. Woo Hoo!   Next quarter will be strange......both of my classes are online, except one of them does meet in person for a total of three times. Other than that, it's all online. I have Medical Terminology II which, obviously, will be harder than Med Term I was. The other class is an Intro class for Health Information Management, which shouldn't be too hard, I don't think.
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2018 Yule breakdown

for my own benefit, so I know what decants and/or bottles to hunt for!  I'm leaving out the ones I'm definitely not interested in.  I think I'm going back to my old rating system, rating these on a scale of 1-5 to measure my interest level.   Blueberry Sufganiyot, "Blueberry-filled sufganiyot, blooping blue with jelly" Maybe a decant just for fun, not a top priority.  I know a friend who says she's getting this, maybe I can just try hers : )  2/5   Hearthflame and Incense, "Crackling almond wood and the deep sweet smoke of burgundy pitch, Austrian amber resin, black copal, and frankincense" This has potential, but I sometimes don't like copal (not sure about black).  3/5   Jacob's Ladder, "golden amber, galbanum, benzoin, ambrette, rockrose, costus and tonka" I haven't tried this since '06 or '07.  It really is my kind of thing and I'm surprised I haven't worn it since then.  Possible decant.  3/5   Maison en Pain D'Epices, gingerbread house I've been wanting to try this since I first saw it, but never have tried it.  Possible decant.  3/5   Mincemeat Pie, "Figs, dried cherries, and suet accord steeped in dark brown sugar, crystallized ginger, lemon and orange zest, nutmeg, allspice, and clove, embraced by an apple cider cornmeal crust" If this isn't the foody scent to end all foody scents, I don't know what is!  Seriously, this is on my radar because it just sounds great.  I occasionally do wear gourmand scents and this sounds like a really good one which I might enjoy.  4/5   Shattered Silence, "black cedar, yew berries, juniper and frost-crusted moss, crushed beneath a shaggy spectral black musk" This has some potential, I'm vaguely interested, will watch reviews first but possible decant.  2/5   Song of the Otherworld, "Sleet and champaca, fir needle and opoponax, blue musk and cypress, balsam and snow" Same as above, possible decant or watch reviews.  2/5   The Cross of Snow, "Cypress, Spanish moss, and clove bud with labdanum, Italian bergamot, and white tobacco flower" This has potential, not top priority but I love bergamot and labdanum, I'm just not sure about the tobacco flower.  I'll watch reviews.  3/5   The Season of Ghosts, "bergamot, frankincense, rose geranium, ginger, lemongrass, and blood orange" I've had my eye on this for a long time, and never tried it.  Possible decant.  3/5   Cadences and Shakes, "rosewood and rose geranium prickled with pink peppercorn, cardamom, white sandalwood, and frankincense" I am always saying that I love rosewood, and here it is.  I should try this but somehow I'm not as excited as some of the other scents.  Possible decant.  3/5   Mr. Morse's Seances, "polished teakwood, pipe smoke, sugar-clouded absinthe, vetiver, and rum musk" Well, these notes sound nice, this does have some potential.  It could be too loudly sweet.  Possible decant.  3/5   The Ghost of a Ghost's Ghost, "pallid oakmoss and earthy patchouli tumbling into a void of misty lavender, cistus, and white agarwood" All of these notes sound perfectly acceptable and nice.  It could be good, it could be great, I'm just not sure.  It's not screaming out at me but I may possibly try it.  3/5   The Mysterious Rappings Polka, "Rose musk with pink and black peper, a splash of bay rum, tobacco absolute, and toffee" This one is speaking to me.  I don't know, just one of those strange mix of notes that could be really great.  I am contemplating a full bottle.  4/5   Thought Photography, "Mercury-limned lavender, palo santo, and ambrette seed" Strong possibility, I'm definitely eyeing this one.  3 or 4/5   Gingerbread Oudh I'm interested, because I think it could be a nice semi-gourmand blend of notes.  3 or 4/5   The Lashes, in order : ) Second Lash, "Birch tar, tobacco, bergamot, ochre musk, and petitgrain" Possible decant.  3/5 Fourth Lash, "Black rose, Baltic amber, leather, white sandalwood, black pepper, and vetiver" Possible decant, 3/5 Tenth Lash, "Bitter almond, cacao, black cherry, patchouli, and labdanum" Strong possibility for a decant, I love 2 of the notes (patchouli and labdanum) and have known to like the rest of them.  3 or 4/5 Eleventh Lash, "Snow and black leather" This is intriguing me for some reason.  I may even go straight to a bottle.  4/5 Twelfth Lash, "Blackened patchouli, sweet vetiver, labdanum, and honey" Possible decant, because of the patchouli and labdanum.  3 or 4/5   Schonperchten, "snow-spattered lavender, bourbon vanilla, white mint, and white amber" This could be my minty snow scent I was hoping for.  Bottle or decant?  4/5  
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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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Lily!

Over the weekend I tested a number of scents including Kostnice and Sepulcher. Both of them turned horribly soapy on me. I guess lily is the note that they have in common, that caused so much trouble.   They both developed a soapiness that got stronger and stronger until it was unbearable, and I had to wash them off. Not only that......both scents seemed to 'ruin' my nose for a good hour or two after I had washed them off. In other words, I tried putting on other scents that I really like, just to 'chase away' the horrid soapiness/memory of it, and nothing smelled right to me. It was kind of like trying to drink orange juice after brushing your teeth......everything smelled off in the aftermath of the soapy lilies!   I don't think all lily notes have this effect. I swear I've tried other scents with lily that didn't cause such a violent reaction. But from now on I'll be eyeing that note warily. Already I'm afeared for 2 of the Yule scents (Noche Buena, and the one with candy-charcoal). Now, the candy charcoal one, I was already not real hopeful about because of the violets and lily. But I really want to like Noche Buena. We shall see!! I've already ordered decants of both.
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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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random thoughts

Yesterday I was seriously considering making a resolution for 2008......decants only. Like, no bottles whatsoever.     When I think about it, it makes sense. I've never used up a whole decant. My first bpal bottle, over a year old, would still pass for new if you just glanced at it. I'm really just a dabber. It's pretty ridiculous for me to buy a whole bottle of, for example, Beaver Moon. That was a total impulse scent buy and I really should have just searched out a decant instead of a whole bottle. There's no way I'll wear all that!! I like how it smells, but I know I won't wear it much. So, decants only for a year would make sense for me.   Then I think about it. A whole year. That includes next year's Halloween blends and Yule scents. Decants are plentiful, but really.......could I really do that?? I don't think I could. I mean, what if some incredible forum-only scent came out? Or that one elusive scent that was made "Just for me!!"?   Well, even though I won't do it for a whole year, I will definitely be curbing my bottle habits, lol. And also I need to seriously do some de-stashing (like everyone else it seems). I'm gradually working on that......testing imps, writing reviews on my laptop, and wrapping plumber's tape around the ones I know I'll be swapping. I'm keeping them in a small cigar box, and when it's full, I'll be posting them for sale/swap.   Speaking of swaps......when I look at my wish list, I think to myself 'do I really need to try all those?'. So little by little I'm whittling that down, too.
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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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Antsy

Ugh......here I am at work, stuck to a desk, and feeling antsy as all hell. Why don't I ever feel like this at home, where I could actually get up and do something? I could actually organize my perfumes and put up a sales/swaps page if I felt like this at home! Or any number of other things that I need to get done. : /
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bottle wants, update

Three Gorgons (I no longer think I want a whole bottle of this.....Satan And Death is a better citrus-y scent) Dia Flowering Chrysanthemums Lovers In A Ricefield Glukuprikos Silence Carnaval Diabolique Satan And Death With Sin Intervening Obatala
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for Bonnie (my stepmom)

Okay, I found the gardenia thread. I'm adding Euphrosyne to the list, and maybe Pele. I absolutely cannot imagine giving my stepmom something called The Sacred Whore of Babylon, though. Maybe a decant with just 'Babylon' on the label. I wonder....if she ended up liking it, and I told her what it's called, would she still wear it?
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Oh, the indecision!

As we all know, the Carnaval is leaving town very soon. I have a pretty decent selection of CD scents that I like, even a few bottles. Now is the time to get off the fence and decide on a couple that I've been waffling over.   I had a decant of Wulric the Wolfman, and I did like it a lot. For some reason I swapped it or gave it away, I can't remember....probably because I thought I would end up getting a bottle. Well, I still haven't, and time is running out.   I have a bottle of Doc Constantine, but it's only half full, and I'm wondering if I should get more or just leave it at that.   .......actually now it's getting busy here at work, more later.
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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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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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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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The Salon

Since it has so many of my favorite scents, I think the Salon is my favorite of all the scent categories in the Lab's general catalogue. In light of that, I went back over the reviews and picked out a few that I want to try again. Some of them I even gave unfavorable reviews.....but still, I dare say that my nose is a little more seasoned now, and I may actually like them more now. And there were a couple that I traded or gave away and now I'm kicking myself....especially since they were the nice Lab labels from the imp packs.   I even considered getting more imp packs!   But I think what I'll do is continue going through my current (huge) stash of imps/decants, pick out the ones I don't want, and try another swapping post. This one will focus on the un-impables on my wish list. I figure since they are slightly harder to come by, it will be more of a challenging hunt.   I also still think I would do well to just get decants from now on, and only get a bottle if something is just screaming at me to love it. With the sheer number of decants I already have, it's absolutely silly to buy more bottles since it would take forever even put a dent in them. For example, I traded for a bottle of Midnight On The Midway, which I hardly ever wear, even though I do love it. It's a scent for very particular moods.....when I'm feeling somewhat confident, sexy maybe, but also classy and refined. I could never wear it to work, it's just too emphatic.   At work I've been wearing F5, Usher (bpal's Usher, not the commercial cologne), and sometimes CB I Hate Perfume scents......although now I can't remember which ones. Accords, I think....Snow and maybe Lava Rock. Tonight I didn't wear any kind of scent to work. I don't want to offend anyone so when I do wear something, it's very lightly applied.
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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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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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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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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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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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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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(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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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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