vultureguy

Brom Bones is my kind of guy! I'd read the comparisons to De Sade and thought please no! because De Sade turned into old nasty plastic leather on me.

Brom didn't disappoint. In the bottle is a soft, gorgeous leather note. It's a new leather smell, a bit of a sharpness that must be the musk. Wonderful! I would compare it to Western Diamondback but without the sweetness of the Snake Oil.

On application: He never took off his leather jacket, staying sexy and leathery for a couple hours. Whoa baby I need more than one of him around because I think he's going to age into something rugged and handsome and will give my Western Diamondback a run for it's money. I will still use Western Diamondback, it's my comfort scent, but I can see myself hanging around Brom Bones quite a bit.

I need to address Mr Crane. I had high hopes for the man but sadly they have not been full filled. When I received my bottle it smelled like he had spilled his tea (with cream) on his rough wool jacket and left it to sour. Not one to judge by first-sniff I dabbed a bit on. He transforms from some ugly dirty smelling brute into a refined dandy. The sourness and rough wool go away to be replaced by a sweet floral in a respectible marino sweater.

I can see this man aging well. If you are a floral person I'd say give him a few months before swapping and don't be put off by his initial crude impressions.

Sadly, florals aren't my thing so I am going to head over to the slave market swap list.

I'm of two minds for this one:

1) Something from the Wanderlust section. I'm not sure what you have so won't narrow it down any more than that, just a thought and would be a point in your favour if the interviewer asks what scent you are wearing.

2) It's hot there now right? (assuming you are in the northern hemisphere) What about something citrusy, one of the Tikis or Phobos or Embalming Fluid? They would be a 'cool' scent and help you stand out from the other women who might be going more floraly (traditional) scents?

Good luck!

eeek, my turn! yesterday i had a phone interview that is now leading to a face-to-face campus tour + teaching demo + second interview on tuesday the 1st. i teach college level foreign languages, so not your typical office thing. have decided that this interview, i'm going to be a little more ME than last time (8 years ago) and not wear my old Interview Suit, but something like a little tailored black dress + classy scarf + heels etc. so i'm going for very professional and elegant, old-world-lady-ish, but not stuffy. (figuratively or literally - it will probably be 90F or so on tuesday here.)

 

no scent at all is out - i want a little something - part of the aura, as mentioned above. gender neutral is out because i am uber girly looking (and in a profesion where it's certainly no problem to be a woman). i'm 37, so not going for too young or too mature. with all this in mind, does anyone say no to sparing application of brisingamen?

 

(unrelated to my own question - high five to those of you who use different scents to get into character for acting. life has moved me on from theater in the last 15 years or so, but i still adore it and hope to go back to it when my kids are bigger... anyway, i always used to pick a scent for each character i played. so fun, and effective too!)

Good luck to you Ross, I hope it went/goes well, then you'll be on your way up here? We have another BPALer in Hamilton, she might be eventually shifting this way too and she comes up regularly. Glad to hear you went with Coyote, hope it kept you warm and focused! Let us know if you hear anything.

Hey, Alex. I'm in Christchurch. The job is in AKL but being interviewed down here. Hotel industry and the job is Executive Assistant Manager.Ross\

I know it's my standard cry in this thread, but Coyote! It's a nice, warm scent that is natural enough that it could potentially just be how nice you smell. Otherwise, I kind of get a kick out of you wearing a scent called Perversian to a job interview. Also: I did not know that it snowed in New Zealand. I don't quite know why I thought it didn't but I am intellectually richer for this thread. The more you know...

Kia Ora Galahad! I'm a Dorian fan, maybe Coyote for the thoughts of warm fur and hot summer plains? I haven't smelled Perversion & can't remember No. 93 Engine (didn't like it for me, think it's hidden in my wife's Box o' Imps). What kind of general industry is your interview/chat in?

Coyote might thaw some of the snow. Are you in the SI? We're in Auckland.

Good luck!

Alex

Hi all

 

Have an "interview" tomorrow for a position which could see me doubling my salary (+) I have put interview in quotes as it appears it's going to be very casual (GM wants a chat over coffee and they are already making plans to fly me up to see the property)

 

I am a guy being interviewed by a male so I have been agonising over what to wear (and yes, I would prefer not to be scent-naked). Don't want to do anything floral or too heavy or foody and have pretty much settled on Shrunken Heads which is fresh and doesn't turn bitter on me.

 

Was considering going with Perversion, No. 93 Engine, Coyote, Wilde or Dorian.

 

It's freezing here at the moment with some snow so have considered that something warmer than Shrunken Heads might be better.

 

Hmm...

Yep, it happened yesterday. I wore Western Diamondback. I figured it is subtle enough and it's my comfort scent so it helped me to not completely stress through the day as it wafted up at me. The interview went ok. I flubbed some of the questions out of nervousness (even though I had prepared in advance). I don't think I totally bombed it but didn't completely win it either. I'll find out next week.

I double-dog dare you to wear Caliph's Beloved

 

I wore Brass Balls when I was meeting potential landlords. To me, it smells like some sort of ethnic food, but I can't figure out what. It helped me very much...I am painfully shy and terrified of landlords. I was able to ask questions, both positive and negative, as well as make small-talk without babbling like a nervous idiot. It also helped me say no to places that were not exactly what I wanted.

 

I wore it where more well-endowed ladies would have cleavage.

 

From your list, non-TAL, I would go with Men Ringing Bells with Penises. To me, it is very clean (ha!) and indiscreet. You can also have fun making up a name to tell your interviewer should he or she ask what you are wearing!

 

And I just realized that your interview already happened

 

What did you wear and how did it go?

I have an interview on Monday, my first Post-BPAL interview. I would really like to get this job, it's in a different area and a bit less stressful than the one I'm in. The area is also not impacted by the offshoring of work.

I've read the whole thread and don't see a lot of guy nor bank recommendations so help a guy out?? *I have read the suggestions to not wear any scents but I put BPAL on every day and can't go without for a day. The interview is at 2 and I was planning on 'topping up' around lunch time, 1pm at the latest. The interview is in the building I work in so no travel time to worry about.

The details (to help others perusing the thread later for their interviews):

--Need guy-appropriate scents

--Back office banking industry job; not directly customer facing but not managment level either. It's a bit more casual than the area I currently work in and is technically a bit of a step 'back'/'sideways' (not an advance).

I'm leaning towards something like Western Diamondback (my comfort scent) or Banded Sea Snake or Dorian as they do tend to be more subtle. I'm also possibly considering something like Krampus, Wolf Heart, Dragon Claw, Troll or Bed of Nails. I think Mechanical Phoenix would be a bit too strong for this interview. I do have a Lab Ebay package that's probably at the PO for Blood Moon but I haven't tried it yet, & a Lab package for some bottles I've got imps of below (so possibly more imps to add to the list of options?).

Thoughts? I'm steering away from the TAL blends I have as they smell a bit too 'floral' for the interview. Now, to really throw you off & to come out of the proverbial closet here, I'm a female to male transexual and have transitioned at work. HR will most likely be one of the interviewers. They will probably have read over my personel file so may know my previous female past. Which is a very strong reason to avoid female-identified scents and give as male/masculine an impression as I can. I've already pulled my 6gauge snake earings out and put some silver flesh tunnel type things in for the 'professional' look. I wear a tie to work daily already so no worries there (except which one).

My ummm.... "small" full BPAL list is here if you want to see what I've got to choose besides the ones I've narrowed down:

imps=

AEGIS

Aelophile

Al-Azif

Anthelion

Antony

Baku

Banded Sea Snake

Bastet's Laughter

Bat

Black Forest

Blessing of isis

Blood Amber

Bloodlust

Boo Bam

BRASS BALLS

Caliph's Beloved

Coyote

Death and Life Completed

Death On A Pale Horse

Debauchery

Doc Constantine

Dorian

Dracul

Dragon's Claw

Dragon's Eye

Euphony

Fascinum

Fenris Wolf

Golden Priapus

Lionheart

Lord of the Forest

Loviatar

Lunar Eclipse

Morocco

Music of Erich Zahn, The

Ochosi

PEACE

PERPETUUM BONUM

Pollution

Regan

Robotic Scarab

Satyr

Serpent's Kiss

Snake Oil *approx 4 mths aged

Somnus

STFU

Stimulating Sassafras Stimulator

Tanin'iver

The Attrocious Attic

Titus Andronicus

Troll

WHITE LIGHT

Wolf's Heart

Bilquis**haven't tried on me yet

Bottles:

Alone

Banded Sea Snake

Bed of Nails

Krampus

Lunar Eclipse

Mechanical Phoenix

Men Ringing Bell With Penises

Satyr

Snake Oil *fresh and about 9mths aged

Three Witches

TKO

Western Diamondback

Thank you and wish me luck!!!

I wasn't sure what to expect from the Steamworks range. I've got Mechanical Phoenix (one of my first bottle purchases) and Aelopile is nothing like it.

As other reviewers have said, this is cedar. I was a little worried at first because sniffing it in the imp it doesn't grab me and shout "come dance!". In fact, I'd probably stand in a corner alone sipping my rum and coke if this were my dance partner and I went off initial impressions. It's cedar and lemon but without the citrus component of the lemon (that must be the lemon verbena playing in the bottle). But there's a vague almost soap-ish (?) undercurrent that I can't put my finger on.

Immediately upon application it is Lemonheads/acid drops. The verbena became bold and demanded that dance from me! She settled down though, did a graceful jitterbug with the cedar and both behaved impeccably.

It didn't last very long, it's faint now and mostly cedar a few hours after application, but it's a nice cedar and not sharp or pencil shavings.

This is a nice scent, it can work as gender neutral but some men might find it too lemony, some women might find it too woodsy. It's worth stepping out in your good shoes and getting an imp though! Let it do a little dance on your skin to see if it's your style. It will be interesting to see how this ages. We ordered on 2 May, got it out of the PO today (CnS 22 May) so it hasn't had a chance to settle too much yet.

I was frimped this in our recent order and I want to say a big Thank You to the person who did it!

I find this to be an amazing blend. It is a nice balance between the clovey-spiceyness, the piney everygreen resins and the vague hint of either myrrh or frankincense. It is sharp wet, sharp like diamond-encrusted troll teeth. As it dries down it smells more like the fresh sapling (s)he's plucked from the ground to pick (her)his teeth with and slides into incensy goodness.

It reminds me of Black Forest with a smidge of Lunar Eclipse, but more 'feral' than Black Forest, more spicey and incensy. I'm really curious to see how it ages.

I had been thinking of putting a bottle of Black Forest on our next order. I think I'll put Troll on instead.

In the bottle: Pretty. Not a scent for me, too feminine. Yes, flowery in the bottle, I can almost smell jasmine but not a strong jasmine, just a touch. ? There isn't any jasmine in the description so this must be something else. I don't know what ume, sakura or wisteria smells like so I can't say which is stronger or what might be contributing to the vague reminder of jasmine. Hmm, does it makes sense if I say it's a 'sweet' scent like cherry blossoms mentioned in the description. Maybe it's a slight 'candy' or almost 'bubblegum' hint but balanced with the florals.

I can understand where Mrs Black got the shampoo description from. It's a nice scent, "clean".

On my wife: Immediately after application the cherry blossom/sweet smell is prominent. On drydown the cherry blossom seems to have faded and it's a nice floral. No "shampoo" or clean smells now, just flowers.

Hanami is a nice scent. It's sweet but not foody (we aren't foody scented people). It's subtle but not shy. If you aren't a slatherer I think it wouldn't have a lot of throw. I'm glad we got her a bottle. I like other things on her a bit better but I do like this because it is a nice scent.

If you like Spirit of the Komachi Cherry Tree you might like this. Spirit of Komachi is sweeter, more cherry than blossom where Hanami is more like a floral carpet under a cherry tree with some cherry blossoms mixed in.

(I'm still developing my nose and learning to pick out the different notes so this will be light on substance if you are looking for a detailed breakdown.)

I got my decant yesterday. I was worried that this would be a floral (especially with all the floral notes) or fruity scent. It isn't. I sniffed the imp and though "oh, well, ok. Gee, I've got a bottle of this on order?? Maybe I'll swap it". I know better than to make hasty in-the-imp decisions though.

I brought it home, gave it another sniff. It's......unusual. It has a hint of spice, of medicine and herbs and something else. I don't really smell fruit strongly. There is a bit of a 'sharpness', could this be the tobacco or blackened fruit gums?

On the skin and dry it is really nice! I can't put my finger on it but it's lovely. It's vaguely spicy but not in a head-shop kind of way. It's more sophisticated. It can be a good masculine scent or a good scent for a woman. I am glad I bought a bottle unsniffed before it came off sale. I'm debating if I need a backup bottle. I don't think it's my "Signature Scent" but it is very nice.

If you like scents along the lines of Alone or Satyr this might be one for you to try.

I have De Sade but haven't taken time to get to know it very well. Black Forest is nice. When I first got it (it was in my first BPAL imp pack) I thought it smelled like cologne. I have had it a few months now and it smells more 'pine' but more like the sap or the needles distilled. I haven't smelled Calico Jack or Windward Passage.

I have Satyr and really like it. It's kind of spicey with a light amber undercurrent so if you are looking for non-cologne that is an option. I also have Western Diamondback and really like that. It's snakey/leatherish with a tiny bit of vanilla. Again, a non-cologne scent.

Good luck and I hope he likes them.

I hope my first order will have arrived when I next see my (long distance) boyfriend. He's not a scent-wearer, only deodorant, so I wonder if I could talk him into trying some of the least daunting ones like De Sade (can't object to smelling faintly of leather, right?), Black Forest (might work), Calico Jack and Windward Passage (he sails, plus it sounds non-cologney). Maybe Dirty?

 

I might have to resort to sneakily painting some onto his neck with my finger though..

Hi again, I've stumbled across this scent and it reminded me of your question.

Check out the reviews:

Al-Shairan

I love Satyr. You won't see anything about spice in the description, Lab description: "Unleash the bawdy, unrestrained passion of the satyr! A ferociously masculine scent: sexual, vigorous, and truly wild." It smells like it's got cinnamon, maybe a touch of clove and a tiny smidge of amber or something sweet?? It was one of the first imps I got and I own a bottle of it now. It's a GC in the Ars Amatoria (formerly Love Potions) sextion I mean section.

Reviews Here

Give it a try. You can order just an imp so if it doesn't work you aren't out a lot. Good luck!

Newbie question: What are Chaos Theories?

Here's 2004: Chaos TheoryHere's 2005: Chaos Theory II: The Butterfly EffectHere's 2006: Chaos Theory III: Strange Attractors2007: No Chaos Theory for this year

vultureguy - Basically, the Chaos Theory blends are all labelled only with a number and there is only one bottle of each scent. That is, no two bottles are alike. The possibilities are endless, and since every bottle is unique which I think is cool. On the downside, though, if you get something that's truly wonderful, you know you'll never get more of it. So every time I get something, I hope I don't love it enough to crave more, and if it doesn't work for me, I'm always able to swap it.

Newbie question: What are Chaos Theories?

No, it's not every year. I don't *think* we had Chaos Theories last year. It happens whenever it happens, and in the spirit of the whole thing, sometimes people buy one bottle, sometimes many. It's so random. I personally love that about Chaos Theory and tend to buy several bottles and decants. The idea of having something totally unique is really cool.

 

With the price of everything going up (gas, and therefore everything from the Lab's raw materials to packaging stuff I'm sure), we can't be sure how much the next round of CT's will be, but I'd venture a guess at around $18. Hope that helps!

I think it sounds like a cool idea. I never thought about the craft foam, I only use Kleenix.

For Christmas, I gave my sister a set of six Mad Tea Party imps; I tried to pick a range of fragrances. I was giving her a Mad Hatter necklace I bought off Etsy for her birthday, and since she was away for her bday she got that gift at Christmas, too. So I did a two-occasion theme. I used polymer clay to decorate an Altoids tin and lined it with craft foam to cushion the imps.

Thank you. We gave one to our friend today and she loved it, along with Perversion and Hells' Belle.

Hmm, I'm new to BPAL but haven't seen any steak-smelling ones. Wood notes, I think the Dragon Bone has blondewood in it (or is it Dragon Claw that does?) and smells sandal-woody on me. I thought I'd read about one scent that supposedly smelled of parchment. I can't remember what it was, Krampus is dusty linen (I ordered it and have had my CnS for it) so I don't think it was that. Putting them some of them in a wooden box would be nice for Michael, maybe one of those boxes hand-carved in India you get in import stores? I like my Satyr, it's a nice scent for men but not a strong 'wood' connection (unless you consider the pipes they play).

Gun oil and courage? Not sure but if there was I'd buy it!

Check around, hopefully some of the people who have been here awhile might have some good suggestions. I'm useless---got our first order in early Dec and waiting.....waiting.....

vultureguy, Those boxes are gorgeous!

 

I would love to come up with theme sets to get some friends interested in BPAL.

 

I love the idea of a Jim Butcher/Harry Dresden theme. Is there a steak-flavored bpal? Cause I happen to know that Jim loves steak!

(it's a long story, but essentially, he and his wife were at a con we attend a few years ago and we took them out to dinner)

 

Actually though, I'd include one of the scents that has alot of wood notes. Michael is a carpenter, don't ya know! And probably some scent that signified knowledge and old paper, etc. for the Archive (b/c I love her).

 

And is there a scent that smells of gun oil and courage? Because that's Murphy. A tree scent for the Chlorofiend. One of the wolf-scents for Billy and his gang.

____________________

I've recently discovered BPAL. My step-mom loves Ancient Egyptian stuff. She can't drive since she had a stroke (has blackouts) & lives in a small city so she is limited in her perfume choices. I thought I'd put together some Egyptian-themed imps for her for next Christmas. I found the perfect gift box to put it in. It's leather, lotus flowers stamped into the leather on the sides. It was only $15NZD (approx $11.55USD). I picked it up because I know it would be gone by the time Christmas comes around. They only had 3 of this size.

Here are the imps I want to get to put in it to give her:

Anubis

Bastet

Nuit

Cairo

Black Lotus

Blood Lotus

Nefertiti

I've just ordered a decant of The Flower Song so I might get her either a bottle of that or give her the imp if my wife doesn't like it.

I showed the box to a friend at work and she loved it. She's had a rough time in the last year or 2 so we've picked one up for her. We introduced her to BPAL last week. She loved a frimp I got from a swap, Perversion, and one of my wife's imps from our first order, Hell's Belle, so we have put those in it to give her Monday. She really likes Vampire Tears too and I have a bottle on order for her.

Thought I'd share the idea.

Here's a shot of the 2 boxes closed:

I know this is about 3 years out of date but I came to read over the thread because this is what happened to me today. I love Satyr and have worn it a few times. I've had a mild tingle before but today after my shower I could see exactly where I'd applied it because I had red itchy welts. They've gone away and I'm going to try another application shortly to see if it happens again or if it was open shower pores.

Really hoping for the open pores. I love Satyr and want to pick up a 5ml.

Thank you for the hope!

For those of you who have an oil that doesn't burn one day, but then burns the next...

Are you applying the oil right after getting out of a hot shower? Open pores could be an issue.

Just a thought.

My wife and I ordered our first set of his 'n hers imps and Fruitcake was one of 2 frimps. It was a pleasant surprise to open the box and see a couple of freebies. Thank you Lab!

In the bottle Fruitcake is very....cakey, sweet, vanilla and cherries and a hint of something else but it is STRONG FOOD SMELL.

Even though it didn't appeal to me I thought I'd try it on to see how it dried down. It mellowed to a baked sweet cake kind of smell and ended on a vanilla note. Nice I guess, not my thing but I can see how others could really like it. My wife didn't want it near her

Neither of us are fruitcake fans (either the baked or the scent) and the imp is packed and ready to go to an enabler who has kindly sent us a couple smellies, including some Mechanical Phoenix for me to check out & maybe order before it comes off sale. More than a fair trade in my mind. I hope she feels the same.

Overall: Nice and the scent captures what they were going for. Not one for us but a good job by the Lab on this scent for anyone addicted to smelling like food, or for anyone who wants to torture those who have gone on a diet.