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Notes to myself and anyone else

Entries in this blog

 

Decisions, decisions.....

I have to narrow these down at least a little bit! Unless I decide to just go crazy and have a huge order, which is not out of the question. Maybe if I get my thoughts down, it would help me decide.   Lambs-Wool.....this is a really nice scent, and wears kind of light, so a bottle might be a good thing. I already have one apple scent, Fearful Pleasure, but to me that is a much different kind of scent. FP is more musky and smokey, whereas Lambs-Wool is bright and springy. It's complex and unusual. If I get a bottle, I almost certainly wouldn't need any more apple scents!   Sarah.....I loved this at first, and I want to make sure it's not a false alarm, that I really do love it, before getting a bottle. At first I thought I hadn't smelled anything like it before, but now it is starting to remind me of things like On Darkness, Ghulheim, and one other dark scent that I can't put a name to right now. I still like Sarah, though. I'm just not sure if I need a whole bottle or not.   Julia Stone.....I love this one! When I first discovered Bpal, Dirty was one of the first scents I tried, and in the end, I just didn't like the linen note. So from then on, I thought linen wasn't for me. Well guess what. Julia Stone is a linen-y scent that I actually can wear! I'll have to try it a couple more times to be sure, and as long as it doesn't turn powdery, I would love a bottle. It's really fun to discover that I can wear linen after all!   Feeding The Dead.......I love this one too (damn it)!! The one drawback to this one is there is a limit on where I would wear it. For example, I don't think I'd wear it to work, not just because of the beer, but because I usually avoid the more incense-y blends at work (I just don't think it's real appropriate for my job). But....I really enjoy smelling this, even just wearing it at home, as a comfort scent. I've discovered that I like cake scents to wear around the house, but I'm even more drawn to the ones that have some interesting twist, which this definitely has.   Knock A Dolly......This sounds sensational, and I have a feeling I must have it. I already have a million kinds of incense and tarts that I haven't been using, but this would be my first BPTP room spray. I do have a couple of little samples of their room sprays, and I do like them. So, I may end up kicking myself later if I let this one pass by.   A couple of the late summer scents are calling to me too, but so many of them have rose, which could turn soapy or powdery, so I may pass those up (even though I might regret it). I just have to accept that I can't get everything, and I think the Halloween scents are more important to me.   So......that didn't really help. All I did was come closer to buying all of them instead of narrowing down my choices!
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Divine L'homme Sage

Notes: saffron, mandarin, cardamom, lychee, aromatic woods, immortelle (or everlasting flower), patchouli, oak moss, amber, incense   This smells good, but it's kind of a hyper-dude-fume to me. I admit that it softens somewhat after it's been on the skin for a little while. I love this kind of scent, but this particular one is just not for me. It smells good but it's way too butch for my liking. It's warm and woodsy, a little spicy, just a little powdery amber, and something almost like leather which might be saffron playing tricks on my nose.   Frank Los Angeles 2 is my go-to scent for woods and spices, and luckily I have a full bottle of that, so I don't need more of this.   Edit: This does sweeten up considerably after a few hours, and I think what I'm smelling now is mostly the immortelle and incense. It's much nicer now but takes a long time to get there.
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Chaos Theory V!

I squeed my pants when I saw this:   "For this series, we decided to try a different type of chaotic experimentation. Each CT:5 scent has a base of one of the following scents, in wildly varying proportions:   Dorian O Penitence Snake Oil"   ....I totally was not expecting a new round of Chaos Theory!! All my bottle purchasing plans just went out the window in favor of CT. I love it so much, because each one is on-of-a-kind. My tentative plans for purchasing this round:   Snake Oil.....will 2 be enough? I dunno, I already bought the whole Snake Pit, how many Snake Oil variants can one person hoard?? I did trade away a few of my Snake Pit scents, though. I'll say 2 of these, for now.   Dorian......at least 2, maybe 3......not because I'm crazy about the scent, really, but I think this one has the most exciting potential to be something great with other notes added (did that make sense? I know I'm rambling now).   Penitence.....at least one, maybe 2.....Penitence itself goes just a bit powdery on me, but I like it enough that I want to try one or two variations, just for the hell of it!   O.....no thank you! I am glad there is one that I can safely skip. I never have tried it, and honey usually is not my thing.   So, screw it, I should just get 1 of each (of the first 3) now, then another one of each (maybe 2 more of Snake Oil) before they go away. Sounds like a plan! I'm already impatient!
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Moody Myrtle

I have quit smoking again. I worked myself up to it, picked a date, and took the plunge. Please excuse any moody outbursts, I apologize in advance.   I also quit drinking, since that usually leads to smoking (music leads to dancing, and dancing leads to touching).   Anyway, this shouldn't be hard for me, I have already quit both for over 7 years in the past, and I was pretty dumb to start again.
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Pending....

Well I'll be damned......how did I end up with all this stuff pending??   Decants.....   Carlin, Feeding The Dead, Hell-Gate Of Ireland, Lambs-Wool, Trick Or Treat, and Devil's Night   Countess Dolingen Of Gratz, Sarah, and Julia Stone   A Fit Of Artistic Enthusiasm, and Hideous Heart   Trevor Bruttenhelm, and Abe Sapien   (a total of lucky 13!)   Lab order.......   Falling Leaf Moon, Kroenen, and 2 bottles for Moonarcana.   Woo Hoo! This always happens at the beginning of fall.
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Custom scent

Not that I'll likely ever get a custom scent, but I've been thinking about one in the last few days. It's kind of like a song I can't get out of my head.   It would be like a more masculine version of Snow White. I'm imagining a pure white mixture of rice cream (is there such a thing?) and coconut milk, infused with ginger, with a dash of nutmeg and cardamom on top, possibly a hint of clove. It's in a wooden bowl with a scattering of pine boughs around it. All of this is outside on a blustery, snowy day. Snow, rice cream, coconut, almond, ginger, spices, turbinado sugar, balsam fir. Maybe some woodsmoke, or frankincense, just a hint of something to give it a bit of a rugged edge. Ooh, maybe some cherry too? Just a little bit, not enough to stand out a whole lot. It's possible some kind of floral would be good, but I don't know florals well enough to say which one.   It would be something between Snow White, Jolasveinar, and Cloister Graveyard In The Snow.
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wish list 2009/Jan

[i will periodically copy and past my wish-list, because I edit it pretty often and sometimes like to look at old versions]   Bold type just means I have a particular interest, or higher priority for that scent. I try to update this pretty often....   5ml interests...or partials, I love partials! : ) A Blade Of Grass Baron Samedi Carceri d'Invenzione Carnaval Diabolique Cloister Graveyard In The Snow Great Sword Of War Obatala Satan and Death With Sin Intervening Scales Of Deprivation Theodosius Three Gorgons Wood Phoenix   GC imps that I want (imps/decants would be delightful) Aelopile Baghdad Bensiabel Black Hellebore Brisingamen Bruised Violet Compound The Caterpillar Deep In Earth Frumious Bandersnatch Hanging Gardens Hecate Imp Inferno Intrigue Jersey Devil Kill-Devil Lampades Libertine Love's Torments Lyonesse Mary Read Nero Niflheim No. 93 Engine Nostrum Remedium The Phantom Wooer Port Royal Queen of Sheba Rome Santo Domingo The Sea Foams Blood Serpents With Glittering Eyes And Forky Tongues Strangler Fig Sundew Sybaris Thorns To A Woman Tushnamatay Verdandi The Witch's Garden   'Set Only' imps/unimpables I would like (imps or decants) The Ecstacy of St. Theresa Famine Haloes The House The Ifrit La Vague Lucretia Madonna Parsifal Silence Three Brides Three Gorgons   LE/Trading Post/etc Decants ISO any testable amount 413 U.S. 15/Miller Vs. California The Blood Garden The Bloody Sword Cagliostro The Chapel The Contract Of Theophilus Of Adana The Cracked Bell Damnation Humbug Knucklebones Long Night Moon Moana Pumpkin Patch III (2007) Scattered Gloom Shill Tupapau Uncertain Horror Upa Upa Virgo 2007 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
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Halloweenie breakdown

Here are my thoughts. I need to write get it on paper (or on computer screen, as it were) so I can figure out what decants I want. And what bottles. Here we go....   edit: decant desires bolded   BLACK BUTTERFLY MOON Soft, deep, and luminous: Lady of the Night orchid, benzoin, opopponax, currant, black chypre, white gardenia, ambergris, damp, wooded mosses, and black lily. The notes sound nice, except for black lily. I don't feel the need to try this, though. Probably somewhat feminine and perfumey.   THE LAST ROSE OF SUMMER A quiet, solitary scent: white rose, frankincense, Arabian sandalwood, neroli, orris root, and patchouli. With 'Rose' in the name, I can safely pass on this one. Not that I hate rose, but I don't really like orris and the combination here would probably be soapy and/or powdery.   SHADOWLESS LIKE SILENCE Dry leaves and white sandalwood, rock moss, cypress, and dry, lifeless roses. Dry, lifeless roses sounds powdery or soapy to me. Another I can pass up. Edit: preliminary reviews are saying the rose is faint.....maybe a decant after all.   SUMMER'S LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT Doomed summer, supported on the shoulders of winter and autumn: citrus-infused Baltic amber, red valerian, marigold, blood orange, and sunflower subdued by somber myrrh and dry geranium alongside the leaves of autumn and a breath of winter wind. Sounds nice enough, except it does sound like at least one other blend that I already have a whole bottle of (Red Moon, the newer one). Worth a decant.   UNDER THE HARVEST MOON Blue and white musk, summer roses, wild crimson leaves, grey amber, carnation, lavender bud, and vanilla bean. Sounds very perfumey which I know is a lame adjective but it describes the kind of scent that I'm trying to avoid lately. It's just the word I use for a particular quality that I don't know how else to describe.   BITE ME Croquembouche with almond silk and a drizzle of caramel. Nah, not so much.....I'd sniff it given the chance but not going out of my way to obtain some.   BOO Eerie billows of spun sugar, fluttering white cotton, and sheets of cream. Definitely not. I'm not into cotton/linen notes, or cream for that matter. Worth a sniff, though.   CARLIN Black sage, ivy-twined rowan, thistle, snapdragon, heather, gorse, fumitory, and anise. Just not sure about this one.......worth a decant just to find out. I like herbal scents from time to time.   CREEPY 2009 A return of 2006's Ridiculous Scent! As creepy as Spooky was spooky, this is the scent of butterscotch-kissed, caramel-smothered red apples spiked with a blast of coconut rum. I swapped my bottle from '06, no need to try it again. It's nice enough but a little too rich for me.   DEVIL'S NIGHT 2009 This is the scent of autumn night, fires in the distance, with a touch of boozy swoon, playful sugar and thuggish musk. One of my favorites, but I already have enough to last me a long time. I may get a decant if the reviews indicate it's different from the past ones.   DIA DE LOS MUERTOS 2009 dry, crackling leaves, the incense smoke of altars honoring Death and the Dead, funeral bouquets, the candies, chocolates, foods and tobacco of the ofrenda, amaranth, sweet cactus blossom and desert cereus. Never have tried this, I may end up with a decant eventually. I just don't like chocolate in perfume (usually).   FEEDING THE DEAD A barrel of beer, a pyramid of cakes, and three sticks of incense. I am interested, enough for a decant.   THE HELL-GATE OF IRELAND Smoldering brimstone, bitter labdanum, clove, black musk, and copper-colored feathers. This is one of the more interesting prospects. The only worry is that sometimes black musk is powdery. But not always. Decant.   LAMBS-WOOL A popular holy day beverage in 18th century Ireland: roasted apples mashed into warmed milk and ale, with nutmeg, sugar, ginger, and clove. Warmed milk is the only thing holding me back from a decant. I will watch reviews.   POMONA Azaroles, nuts, and apple blossoms with red apple pulp, mulberry, blackberry, and pomegranate juice. Nahh, too fruity for me. I'll stick with Possets' Pomona.   SAMHAIN 2009 Truly the scent of autumn itself -- damp woods, fir needle, and black patchouli with the gentlest touches of warm pumpkin, clove, nutmeg, allspice, sweet red apple and mullein. I am so stocked up on Samhain in its past incarnations, that I really don't need more at this point. Especially since I don't even wear it that much.   SUCK IT Sexy and suckable: black cherry brandy. This sounds like it could be nice, just not sure. Possibly a decant?   TRICK OR TREAT 2009 The sticky sweet scent of candy corn! Even cornier for 2009! - cuz corny is how we roll at BPAL. I might like a decant, to compare with my older decant. I do like the sweet comforting scents every now and then, and the older one has a nice touch of spice.   Pumpkin Patch I Pumpkin, almond, brown musk, and honey. Brown musk and honey make this a no-go.   Pumpkin Patch II Pumpkin, rosewood, red sandalwood, and tea rose. Nah, not so much. Worth a sniff some time, maybe, but not priority right now.   Pumpkin Patch III Pumpkin, fir needle, pitch, rosemary, and tomato. I would like a decant. I love pine and fir scents.   Pumpkin Patch IV Pumpkin, black musk, tobacco, myrrh, and clove. Possibly worth a decant, we'll see how much I have to spend.   Pumpkin Patch V Pumpkin, chocolate, coffee bean, vanilla bean, and hazelnut. There's that chocolate again.......again, worth a sniff, but probably not a priority right now.   TATTIE BOGLE Hay, gunpowder, patchouli, autumn herbs, and sun-baked wood. Could be nice, if I ever ran across a sniffie.   ARIADNE BRUNNELL Poppy flowers, peat, sphagnum moss, gardenia, and white water lily. Sounds good except for the lily. It's not one of my more successful notes.   CLARIMONDE Pallid skin musk, white roses, and a languorous vapor of Oriental perfume. Again, perfumey. This will be very perfumey. Also I think skin musk reminds me of honey, which is a note I really don't like very often.   CRISTINA Chestnut trees, juniper berries, violet leaf, labdanum, dazzling, moonlit white musk, and night-blooming summer flowers. Hmmm, could be worth a decant, just not sure on this one. As far as autumn scents, this is probably lower in my priorities, but it could be a nice scent.   COUNTESS DOLINGEN OF GRATZ Hailstone-pounded cypress boughs, olibanum, and an ozone blast of lightning. Definitely want to try a decant of this.   THE GIRL A seductive, serpentine white scent, elusive, crystalline, and spellbinding: white amber, silver birch, immortelle, davana, pale musk, star jasmine, and ylang ylang. Worth a sniff, but not so much calling to me.   MIRCALLA, COUNTESS KARNSTEIN Languid, melancholy fire: red musk, purple orchid, frankincense, smoky vanilla, Styrian herbs, peru balsam, tonka, Zanzibar clove, and patchouli. This should appeal to me....but I think I have a few scents like this already. I will watch reviews.   LORD RUTHVEN The father of all dandy aristocrat vampires: Aqua Admirabilis with polished boot leather and blood. I could be into this one......possibly a decant.   SARAH Unholy mist congealing into soft, white flesh, with black marble, remnants of liturgical incense, wolf's fur, and black flecks of froth. Wolf's fur is the only thing I am wary of, because I don't like muzzy furry notes all that much. But this is just so odd, I have to try a decant.   JULIA STONE Rotting once-white fabric, spotted with mold. I don't usually like linen notes, but I have a thing for the underdog. In most of the other breakdowns, everyone pretty much dismissed this one......which of course makes me want to try a decant! We'll see how the reviews go.   PERLE VON MAUREN Heliotrope, grave soil, and blood. Soil is a gamble of a note for me, I think I'll let this one pass me by, unless the reviews shout otherwise.   So, overall, no immediate bottle purchases. I have this nagging feeling about Lambs-Wool.....I think it's going to be a big hit, and I am pretty sure I want to try it. I might just get a surprise, even with the warm milk note! Other than that, I want to try the obvious masculine ones for the most part, and a couple others.
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Cerberus

This scent is warm, fuzzy, fruity, and musky, all at the same time. The juniper berry doesn't stand out like it normally would in my nose, but it might be adding to the fruity aspect of the scent. I think I can smell almost all of the notes, actually. I've never really decided if I like this, and I've had my decant for quite a while. I think it's just a strange combination of notes. If I was going to enjoy this, it would be as a comfort scent, on a chilly fall day. Maybe something to wear to the zoo! : )
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Rice Field

I wore Lovers In A Rice Field again today, and I like it more and more. The plum blossom was much more apparent, and overall it smells like some kind of fabulous plum/cream dessert, but still not totally foody. It's rather on the femme side for a bearded guy like me but that doesn't hasn't stopped me from wearing it, and in some situations it would be just great. Possible bottle? Or maybe just another decant would suffice. Still have to test my other decants which are still pending, and there may be another favorite among those.
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blecch

I feel yucky and anxious, nervous even. No damn good reason at all. And also feeling burnt out on my routine, both at work and at school. I keep telling myself it's my usual anxiety and it will pass. Soon. I know exercise would help.   On the plus side, I feel a little better about my apartment, and tentatively decided to stay for another year. Yeah, the neighbors and the neighborhood suck, but it's so close to school. And it's a lot of space for a little money. Now I just have to do more fun stuff with it. Furniture, rugs, curtains, etc.....which I have put off for what, eight months now?? :love!: Anyway, the thought of moving again in 2 or 3 months is rather exhausting. : /
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More zoo stuff

I went to the zoo again last week, and had a nice relaxing visit. The weather was really great, a little chilly but sunny and windy.   I enjoy watching the serval in the cat house.....so graceful and.....willowy? I also love the feathertailed gliders in the nocturnal house. They are incredibly cute. It's funny because the nocturnal house is, of course, dark inside. At first when I looked in on the feathertailed gliders, I didn't see anything moving. So after standing still and watching for a couple minutes, I started to notice little darting movements here and there. They are like small mice, with weird tails that look kind of flattened out, which they use for gliding. I didn't see any of them jump or glide, but they were darting around and moving all over. They are so cute!   I watched the Sumatran rhinos eat for a while. I love their eyes. They open their eyes so wide you can see the white parts. The zoo built these really cool sun-shades over the rhino habitat, to protect them from the sun.   The insect house has a whole section that you walk into, and it looks like a greenhouse, and it's full of butterflies. There are a few different kinds of birds, too, including hummingbirds, my favorite. For a while I didn't see any hummingbirds but I was determined so I stayed in there for a few minutes, and finally spotted one. It was great.
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Temporary wish list

Okay, I can't handle being w/out a wishlist, it's driving me crazy. I'm going to start a temporary one and then I will integrate when we get our old ones back.   5ml bottles......   The Great He-Goat Helios Mad Meg   GC Imps.....   Paramatman Old Demons Of The First Class The Old Goblin Rocking-Horse-Fly   Unimpable....   The Curator The Floating Market Hunter Lamia The Marquis de Carabas Night's Bridge The Velvets Witchblade   LE to try.....   Interfector Panther Moon Tombeur The Traveller
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Chene, revisited

You just never know, sometimes I end up loving the ones I didn't like at first. I'm talking about Serge Lutens Chene. I wore it a few more times and pretty quickly fell in love, and now I have a full bottle on the way. Way to splurge! No more big perfume purchases for me for a while! (yeah, right....)
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Wow

I am all moved in now at my new apartment. I like it a lot more than the old one! I'm still unpacking and arranging, which will probably take me a while, but I have 5 closets, which is wonderful. I'm looking forward to a couple of relaxing days just getting settled in.
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Alien comics

I bought a book of the Alien comics (comic books compiled into a softcover book, 'Omnibus'). The story starts up after Aliens, but the characters' names are changed, and Ripley isn't in it. Actually only Newt and Hicks are in them. Anyway, good story, alternate sequel material, and I haven't read a comic in ages, so it's kind of fun. The last comic books I got into were Eightball but that's been a few years.   There are a couple more volumes of the Alien Omnibus, I might keep following the story, we'll see.   Oh and I tried Melainis again today.....just doesn't work for me, due to the black musk I think. Just too blecch papery powdery and reminds me of Haunted. Another one for my swaps if they ever get off the ground.
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sniffie overlooooaad............

I got so many decants today yesterday! Add that to the Lab order I got this week, and a couple other forum swaps this week also......I have a whole big bunch of new sniffies to try. I'm so glad tomorrow is Saturday, even though it's my weekend to work. I'll have time tomorrow to relax and try out all my new stuff. Well, I doubt I'll get to everything but I'll try a bunch.   I already tried A Countenance Forboding Evil, and didn't like it much. : ( I usually like patchouli but it disagreed with me in this blend, for some reason. Maybe the ylang-ylang contributed some weirdness, because honestly I couldn't smell that note, but there was something there that just wasn't sitting right for me. I will, of course, try it again......maybe in a few days, maybe sooner.   I also tried Monsterbait: Underpants and honestly......I wondered all day if I got a mis-labelled decant. It smells exactly like Morocco to me. I did some searching and found that some other people smelled the similarity, but really....I thought it really was Morocco and not Underpants. I told moonarcana I think she'll help me figure it out, she has a decant of Underpants.   I tried both Christmas Rose and Buena Noche, and I liked B.N. much better. It did remind me a little of Chrysanthemum Moon (which I was hoping for), and later some soapiness came out (from the lily, probably). Christmas Rose was sharper than I was expecting, and almost aquatic with the snow note. Not sure that one is going to work for me but I'll be trying it again.   Out of all the Yule LE blends this year, I know I want a bottle of Jolasveinar. Beyond that I don't know yet, I've got a lot of testing to do. I probably don't need a whole bottle of Buena Noche, but I might want one. I can't wait to compare Rose Red and Peacock Queen.
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Alien prequel

I'm excited, of course. The first one is pretty much my all time favorite movie, and I liked all the sequels, even the ones that most other people said were crap. I liked the third one, and even liked that 4th one somewhat. Never cared much about the Alien Vs Predator spin-offs, though.   I have been hoping for a prequel for years. I always wanted to know more about the Space Jockey in the first film. So, of course I can hardly wait for this. I don't expect to be blown away, but I also don't think it will completely suck. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high. I think with the current technology, the special effects could be really great. The Space Jockey was a lot bigger than the humans in the first movie, so maybe the Aliens will be a lot bigger too. They seem to take on the physical stature of the host, somewhat (like the "dog-alien" in the third movie).   As for the story, who knows. It could go pretty much anywhere, really. I like the idea of the movie ending on a down note, because of what we already know about the story in the first Alien movie. But I guess it's pretty useless to speculate at this early stage.   But really, it would be so great if the series was redeemed in the eyes of.....well, everyone since pretty much everyone hated the last one.
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Serge Lutens Chene

Notes: cedar crystals, wood sap, black thyme, oak, immortelle, beeswax, silver birch, rum absolute and tonka bean   I'm getting mostly sharp woods, verging on sour like patchouli sometimes does to me. I can sense thyme, just a little. I like woody scents but lately I've been more in the mood for something a little sweet and spicy. Maybe because it's almost fall? I like Chene but won't be hunting down more. I'll keep my sample in case my scent moods change again back to more intense woods.
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my first post!

I'm starting this because I have 2 livejournal accounts, but I really don't participate in the bpal communities on lj. I used to be a member of a couple of them, but decided that my lj is not the place for my bpal trading. I still write about bpal stuff but I get the feeling that many people on my friends list probably don't care about bpal. So here I am.   Friday I had dinner with my dad and stepmom, and told them a little bit about my perfume obsession. Actually, I told them about Fabienne and Possets. They both expressed interest, and they might go to a Final Friday where Fabienne opens her studio to the public (along with many other artists at the Pendleton Art Center). My point, and I do have one, is that I would like to make lists of imp packs for my dad and stepmom, sort of a bpal introductory selection of scents. My stepmom says she likes gardenia, so I did a search on the lab's site and came up with a few possibilities. The one that stuck out most was Le Serpent Qui Danse. I think she might like Antique Lace, although I myself have never tried it. She works for Clinique and would probably like the more traditional-smelling bpal perfumes, at least to start out. Other than that I have no idea what her tastes might be, so I'd like to come up with a range of styles for her to try.   As for my dad, I would go for more masculine blends, obviously. The first one I thought of was Casanova. Maybe Whitechapel, Calico Jack, possibly Dracul. For both of them I'm going to stay away from limited edition scents, so in case they end up loving a particular scent we can definitely get more. That said, I would probably let them try some of my LE's, particularly from Carnaval Diabolique. Bonnie (my stepmom) might possibly like Midnight On The Midway, and heck, my dad could like it too (I love it, and I'm a guy).   So for the next couple months I'll be keeping my eyes open for possibilities, and I think there are at least a couple recommendation discussions I'm going to peruse also.
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aged Snake Oil

Today I broke out my first bottle of Snake Oil, since it's officially a year old now. What I noticed most is an increased sweetness. Also it smelled different on one forearm than on the other, like I didn't roll the bottle enough or something. It reminded me a lot of frankincense, which I don't think I've ever noticed about Snake Oil. But basically.....it just smelled really good!
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bottle wants

In order, roughly......   Three Gorgons Dia Flowering Chrysanthemums Lovers In A Ricefield Glukuprikos Silence (pending) Carnaval Diabolique Satan And Death With Sin Intervening Obatala
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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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breakdown, Joyful update

JOYFUL MOON White musk, French vanilla, ambrette seed, frankgipani, angelica root, white rose, orris, and honeysuckle. No white rose for me, especially with orris. Powdery soapy city.   LIBERTY Liberty was created for the CBLDF, inspired by Eugène Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People: frankincense, beeswax, olive blossom, chamomile, sampaguita, magnolia, apple blossom, gunpowder, and smoke. Nope.....not really in a floral mood, and beeswax might be honeyish.   Rappaccini's Apiary:   No honey for me! Thanks anyway!   MOONSHINE AND MIST Ethereal, otherworldly, delicate: ambergris, white musk, water violet, ylang ylang, magnolia, and white sandalwood. Ehh.....somewhat on the floral, papery/powdery side? I mean, I like white musk sometimes, it's not my favorite, but I can wear it. But white sandalwood is usually papery to me, and all these things together.....just don't call out to me.   OLD DEMONS OF THE FIRST CLASS Siberian musk, black clove, opoponax, tonka, black pepper, and neroli. Definitely want to try this! I have often coveted the Siberian Musk single note, never got to try it, and besides that the rest of those notes sound great too. Sometimes black pepper turns on me.....well, so does clove, sometimes, for that matter......but this is very much worth a try.   THE DEATH-HORSE Lily of the Valley and opopponax. I generally stay away from most lilies, because they turn into sharp soap of the apocolypse. I don't know, though, the simplicity appeals to me, and I think I do like opopponax. Could be worth a sniff but I'm not going far out of my way to find it.   THE GRAVE-PIG Fig, oakmoss, mushroom caps, and patchouli. This doesn't call out to me, despite being potentially dude-fume, which I usually do seek out. But I'm not a fan of mushrooms in any form (scent or taste), and oakmoss can be overwhelming at times. Could be worth a try.   BEER FROM THE MARSH WOMAN'S BREWERY A beer flavored with marsh arrow grass, yew berries, purple foxglove, and giant hogweed. Hmph. Another scent that is not calling to me, but who knows....it could be worth a try. Herbs and beer? Wow. Just can't picture it.   THE NIGHT-RAVEN Indigo musk, wild plum, rose geranium, benzoin, night-blooming jasmine, and patchouli. Even though I'm intrigued by indigo musk, I'm probably going to let this one pass by. I just don't like rose geranium. I do already have a dark purple-y Chaos Theory that I really like, so I'll just stick with that.   THE OLD GOBLIN A crown of hardened ice and polished fir-cones. Pine in any form gets my attention, so I really do want to try this. Snowball Fracas had some kind of sharp ammonia-like note, so that would be the only potential problem here, if this scent has it too.   CAT ALLINGHAM Distilled shadows, a bleak desert landscape at midnight: Myroswelia balsam, gaïac wood, obsidian musk, green cumin, patchouli, myrrh, Siamese benzoin, frankincense, champaca, and sand. Oh, crud. This one, sadly, does call out to me, and I'm unlikely to get to try it. It sounds good....kind of like a fancy schmancy relative of Oblivion.
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That Feeling again

I guess basically it's insecurity that I'm feeling. NYE was fun, but ever since then I've been worrying that I made an ass of myself....said the wrong things.....acted like a dumbass......etc. I hung out with 3 of my friends, 2 of them are a couple I know, both very good looking, good friends, always gracious to me and I know I worry needlessly. They were nothing but nice and let me crash on their couch, invited me to a great dinner, went out of their way to make fun drinks I hadn't tried before (caiphirina? I don't know how to spell it), but I can't seem to just let go of my worries and just have fond memories of the whole night. I envy them because I am single and when I let myself think about it, not really happy about it, so I usually just try to focus on school and work. Anyway.....just feeling totally unworthy and trying to write about it to get it all out. Really nothing new in my world.
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