chin

cool, thank you malanna oubliette, I have an imp of Neo-Tokyo - I should try it again to compare. Actually I should try Lolita Lempicka again - my memories of it are from my pre-BPAL days. My nose is a little more "eddicated" now and I'd probably think about it differently.

It's so cool the way different people's chemistry works - Ravenous was totally orange popsicle on me. I should try Kabuki - malanna, do you think the anise was what you were smelling re: the licorice? Was it pretty strong compared to the fruit?

Hi binky, Lolita Lempicka is one of my favourite non-BPAL fragrances (although I don't wear it a lot now because, well, BPAL kicks ass!). Unfortunately I'm not much use to you Although I've tried my fair share of imps, I haven't found anything that is similar. On me, LL is predominantly licorice-y and herbal, sweet but not cloying, not fruity at all. The vanilla isn't strong on me either. I haven't tried the single note of licorice - maybe start there? Other oils that have some of the same quality/mood for me are Morella (herbal-floral), Rosalind (herbal-fruity-floral), Alecto (dry-fruity-woody-herbal). I haven't tried Le Serpent Qui Danse, but it could be a possibility - violet, vanilla, and gardenia are the components. Good luck!

quinkel, when my breakup with my husband was still fresh and I had to see him to take care of business (getting his keys to the apartment, getting him to sign documents), I used to focus more on which oils made me feel strong and ass-kicking and invulnerable. I wore a lot of oils with Dragon's Blood resin! Anyway, maybe that's a different slant on the situation - I'm sure you will be sexy no matter what you do, because it's an innate quality, so maybe focus on giving yourself a "don't f*ck with me" vibe! Good luck, I hate those situations

That's a great tip - I was wondering how to get the heavier scents into my bath. thanks

Hey, BPAL bath salts are one of my very favourite things I find that the lighter top notes are the ones that come through the best -for example, citrusy scents like Yuki Onna, Phobos, Deimos, Old Shanghai - they all come through very well. Ditto for salts made with oils that are more floral. Seraphim and Veil are two that I've tried with really good results. Oils that are more resiny, ones that have more of a "bass" note as the prominent component, haven't worked as well for me - Black Lotus, for one. They seem to disappear, which is sad sad sad because I feel I've wasted the precious! I use about a cup (maybe a little more) of epsom salts to an imp, which makes the salts pretty strong - but then I only use abut a quarter-cup per bath. Hope you're feeling better soon!

Hey, I tried Namaste recently and it reminds me of one of my absolute favourites - Shadow. Eidolon also reminds me of Shadow, but it's more woody on me. Shadow is dry and lemony and cedary on me, and I find it very relaxing - I wear it before bed to get myself into relaxed even-keel sleep mode. I was surprised to see patchouli in the description, I don't notice it when I wear it. Eidolon - I haven't worn it a lot, but so far it seems a little more acrid/bitter on me compared to Shadow. A little more woody, with a little more "bass" if that makes sense. It's a little less light. Namaste ... I just have an imp, but I am thinking of a bigger bottle. Compared to Shadow, my impression was that it was more sharply lemony upfront, and then a rosy floral woody scent thereafter (more woody than floral on me). I wear this one before bed too Overall, my favourite is still Shadow - I love it. I'm not so much a floral person, maybe that's why. ETA, I forgot Shroud. It reminds me of Shadow - light without being lightweight, sandalwoody, a little herbal, without the lemony component. There is a light floral component that I love - might be wisteria or lilac (my nose is not so good when it comes to flowers!). It's another beautiful blend (aren't they all?).

At first, I was very surprised - initially, this smells citrusy to me, dry mellow orangey, but green grassy too - not too green, sort of like a dry field of long grasses in the summer. After about an hour, it's truly like a bunch of sweet grass used to "smudge" - that dry, spicy golden grassy sweet scent. Really wonderful. The staying power is good, even after four-five hours the true grassy scent is still going strong.

A celebration of one of the first commercially produced perfumes of America's Old West. A rugged, warm blend of vanilla, balsam and sassafras layered over Virginia cedar. This one is very woody! At first, it almost reminds me of old foundations or treated logs … that dry, dark, creosote-y smell. I wonder if that's the sassafrass? It's absolutely NOT creosote, but that's what my brain associates with the heavy woodiness. After a couple of hours the scent is drier, still woody but more cedary/balsamy. After a couple more hours, the vanilla starts to come out ... then this is DIVINE. Cedary, balsamy, vanilla-y - it's gorgeous. Actually it smells like my ex He says it smells like Yosemite and tobacco. I gave my imp to him, and ordered a big bottle for myself.

Ah, this is really fresh and cool summer-nightish. The grapefruit and mint are a great combo, and the champagne … it's fruity and sweet to me, not like actual champagne IMO, sort of candylike. It doesn't last long on me, would have to reapply, but I'm debating a big bottle because it's wonderful.

At first, this is green, like fresh-cut flowers and stems - like when you first walk in to a florist's shop. It's very light on me, and after the fresh greenness fades there's a very light floral, very slightly powdery scent. Then, surprise, about three hours after application, I smell amber! The slightly flowery powdery effect is still there too. After 4,5 hours - the floral component seems to be getting stronger and rounder and clearer, less powdery. A ful nine hours later - sweetly ambery with a tiny floralish component. Not super strong, but definitely still very much there. It's hard for me to verbalize, I am labelling what I smell as floralish, but it's not really that floral. It's not foodie in a vanilla/tonka way, it's sort of powdery sugary like a pink brit candy. I definitely want a big bottle of this!

The Fool is awesome! There's a minty overtone, and a fruity but not toooo fruity midzone. At first I thought the mintiness was spearmint, but maybe it's pennyroyal a la the Mad Hatter? The scent is cool, fresh and lively, and also has some of that mysterious round clearness that I associate with Cheshire Cat (lavender?). I'm really debating on whether I would like a big bottle. This blend makes me feel lightheated and clearheaded.

That would be great, MissA! Er, maybe I should look on the site before I ask this, but I need to know ... what is "properly"? I assume that dark and cool is good, but for instance, is the frige too cool? Indirect sunlight, is that too much? Anal retentive BPAL addicts need to know

So no one keeps their oils in a temperature/pressure/humidity controlled glove box?? Um... actually I do have a serious question about shelf life. I know I'm not even close to approaching some of your collections of big bottles, but it occured to me the other day that I may not use some of them up for a year or more. Do I have to worry about spoilage?

Hee! I actually have a degree in Chemistry, so yeah I should know better and I totally agree Also, the plastic syringes I use are not ideal because the oil can permeate the polymer ... CROSS-CONTAMINATION alert!! Thanks for the tip, madame!

*nods* I may have to start doing that, too. I've got a lot of bottles coming my way in the next month or so! Also, the imps are a touch more convenient to carry around for touchups. Good plan, Chin! Cheers Morrighana! I keep my touch-up imps in an Altoids tin in my purse

Wow I really like this one! It was grapefruity and sweet, and there was that round note that I think is due to the tea. It's a fresh, bright happy deep yellow round scent. Citrusy, but not sharp on me. Sweet and fresh. I had to look up the ingredients - in case anyone is in the same boat: Yuzu: the tangerine-size variety of citron, a species of citrus fruit with a thick, bumpy rind. Like lemon, it is valued for its rind, which has a pleasant tart and bitter flavor, as well as for its juice. Kaki: Japanese persimmon. Mikan: mandarin orange (note - general term for mandarin orange, doesn't translate as tangerine!)

I've been transferring oil from the big bottles back into the original imps with a plastic syringe, then washing the syringe thoroughly with soap and water. My logic is that if I contaminate the imp when I apply (with skin oils, body lotion, whatever), then it's just the imp ... but the big bottle remains pristine.

I would LOVE this, especially since I have started ordering via Paypal so the lab gets more money ... but like Astarte said, I know it could be a pain in the ass to actually do. I have always gotten timely responses to my e-mails, which is fabulous - but, and please take this as the most constructive of criticisms, because I think you are ALL wonderful - the responses to my questions about orders/shipping don't usually say *when* my order has shipped or will ship. I don't mind waiting, but I would love to have an idea of when I may reasonably expect to get my order. My thought is that if someone at the lab is taking the time to respond to me, then the more info they can give me the better - I won't have to e-mail again to clarify, you know? Anyway - ditto on what everyone has said, these oils are the bomb and I am really happy to have found the lab! I really appreciate that it's a small business with values and standards that I agree with and can rely on, not to mention Beth's enormous talent.

Hey summer, Q'spice wisely pointed out to me that the descriptions of the oils on the site may not disclose all of the components of an oil. Maybe you're allergic to something after all?

Hey Mandi, I'm in Canada and I've seen awareness progress massively throughout my life - when I was a kid, I used to have friends' mothers try to feed me peanut butter sandwiches and when I refused to eat, they would treat me like I was just being fussy; now a lot of daycares and pre-schools ask all parents not to give their kids nut products in their bag lunches. Restaurants are usually really understanding too - haven't had a problem for ages, touch wood. I think that the lovely folks at the lab are vegetarian - so I'm sure they will be very understanding about having a health-related reason to ask about the components of the oils!

I really like using Paypal because as far as I know, CCNow charges a higher percentage to BPAL for their services. Also, I think they only pay BPAL periodically, on a payment schedule, so the business doesn't get the cash in the door in a timely way. I think that makes a big difference to a small business - cash flow is really important! From a customer's point of view, I don't think it's as easy with Paypal in terms of checking on order status - but I trust the lab to get things done. I've only made one Paypal order that's already been received, that was about a month ago. I made another one today ... already anticipating!!

It's a fine balance, eh? Don't bug, but on the other hand, if a package is lost then no one will know unless you drop a line to verify the status. I wish I had let the BPAL lovelies know my January order was missing a lot sooner than I did (I think I waited until March, reship should go out this week per lovely Nella). My guideline for myself now is to wait for a month for the order, then send an e-mail.

Hi Mandi, I have a similar problem - allergic to nuts. I haven't had any reactions to the oils yet (knock wood!). I think paperdoll's advice is spot-on. I haven't mailed the lab about components yet, since I have not ordered any of the oils that explicitly say that they have a nut component (aside from almond, which I am not allergic to). I'm thinking I could be a little more cautious, though, since not all the components of an oil are always listed.

Hey carolsag, I know you said ignore but if it makes you feel better, I think that 3-4 days is still reasonable. Even when Nella was there full-time, that was a normal timeframe (for me, anyway!).