darharper

In the bottle: Sweet musk with slight herbiness lurking.

Wet: Sweet musk. Where did the herbs go? I do like the smell of the musk though. It is lovely.

Dry: Swoon! It has morphed into sweet musk swirling with herbs, a touch of fruit, and something slightly bitter rounding it all out. I don't know what that note is. Tobacco, perhaps? It is gorgeous! I love this!

45 minutes into wear: This just keeps getting better! The musk has increased and so has the fruit. I am definitely smelling pomegranate now and getting slight whiffs of lavender. My god this is a fantastic scent. The throw is perfect. Not too strong, but, not quite a skin scent either.

3 hours later: Still going strong. Still gorgeous. This is the best LE ever for me. It even beats out Mead Moon and I loved that.

This is such a sexy, feminine scent. I adore it! I am so glad I ordered it and have already tracked down another bottle.

Penumbra is

Not really. I emailed them again a couple of days ago and got a sugar-coated slap on the wrist for being IMPATIENT and poking them after a week of silence.

 

However, I was told that PayPal exists to serve, *giggles*, and that my "very real" concerns would be passed on to the department that is responsible for such things as character limits. This was possibly three days ago. I'm just rushing out but will find the proper details in a bit.

 

I noticed yesterday that the limit is still 300 characters, unfortunately.

 

I suppose, in the meantime, all we can do is try and condense orders as much as possible, or send payment with something like "emailed order to follow" in the comments field, then email it through to the Lab. It's just so bloody messy doing it that way, but I can't think of an alternative since it's the only payment option we have for now.

Thanks for the update! PayPal better exist to serve! Ha ha!

Any news on this? I am getting ready for my big order of CD and Halloweenies (when they are up) and there won't be enough room for the whole order.

Booooooo PayPal!

Another spicy scent in my last order. I tried this yesterday right before a brief trip to meet a visiting friend for coffee.

In the imp: Chai. Mmmm, chai!

Wet: Swirling spices dance around on my wrist. Bits of cinnamon (but not of the red hot variety), clove, ginger (I think). It smells so good! I adore spicy scents. I carefully watch my wrist for signs of welts. Cinnamon does that to my skin, but, Pickled Imp didn't, so I hang onto some hope.

Dry: Honey comes to the surface and mixes in with the spices. I smell divine! When I went to meet my friend, I gave her a hug and she said, "What are you wearing? You smell lovely!" It lasted all day even in the hot, humid weather we are currently having. The throw was good. I like a small throw so I was pleased. My husband said he would get soft wafts of the scent when I would walk by. Perfect!

It definitely smells like a good cup of Chai. I will wear it in the summer and in the winter. It isn't foody, in my opinion, which is good because I hate foody. Definitely a lovely spicy scent. Definitely a big bottle!

This imp was in my last order. As I am a ginger fiend, I had to try it.

In the imp: Just a light scent that was a bit fresh. Nothing distinguishing.

I was stupid and spilled it all over me. Wet, it was sharp ginger with something lurking behind. I couldn't put my finger on it.

Dry: It was a lovely creamy slightly sweetened ginger. It is lovely! Even with it spilled all over my arms, it is a light scent. Fresh, lingering, ginger, honey goodness. I really love this. It has faded a considerable amount since application an hour ago, which is sad. I think that if I hadn't spilled it all over me, it would be gone.

However, I really love it and would love to be able to see how it ages. Not much left in the imp, but, I shall put it away and pull it out in a couple of months. If it has become even better, I will definitely be getting a bottle. I really love it.

Disclaimer: I don't like foody scents, but, I do like spicy scents. Tested last night.

In the imp: Smells like Shub. Not good because I surprisingly didn't like Shub because my chemistry destroyed it.

Wet: Swirling cinnamon and clove. A hint of pine? Maybe? The cinnamon smells drier than usual. It isn't burning my skin, either. This could be good. So far, I like the smell. It is a bit foody and if this keeps up, I will have to swap my imp away.

Dry: Vanilla, cinnamon, hints of clove, and something else grounding it all. It doesn't smell foody at all! Hurray! It is the perfect warm, yet, slightly sweet spice scent. The husband agreed whole-heartedly and really likes this one. The throw is good, but, not at all overwhelming. It was still there this morning when I got up. It had morphed into a creamy slightly spiced dark vanilla. Definitely getting a couple of bottles. I didn't expect this to work and I am more than pleasantly surprised.

I included this in my last imp pack order. As I am a ginger fiend, I tried it first. It is really sharp in the vial, but, I think it will warm up once on the skin

It smelled sooooo good on. It warmed up and turned into a spicy, rich, dark, and slightly twisted ginger! Mmmm....sexy and not foodie (thankfully!).

Then the burning started! It must have cinnamon! I now have red welts all over my arms and my little heart is breaking. I know it isn't the ginger because I have so many ginger scents and wear it a lot. I might try it in a lotion, though. I have noticed if cinnamon is in soap or lotion form, I can do it. Oil form, not a chance.

I broke down and bought a bottle of this unsniffed. I fully expected to not like it fresh (as many people had the same experience). I wasn't sure if I would like it at all, really.

In the bottle, I picked up hints of fruit, but, mostly the patchouli. I like patchouli when it is a balancing note, but, I don't like it when it takes centre stage because I it gives me a headache.

I carefully applied just a wee bit and Instant juicy red fruits with a woody dark tone lurking underneath. OMG, this is gorgeous!

As it dried down, I was busy, so, not paying much attention. I was playing tug with the dogs, so, my body warmed up and the most amazing smell enveloped me. The lovely fruits, a musky veil, a woody undertone, and VANILLA! Dry, Mme. Moriarty is fantastic! Sultry! Gorgeous! And it just gets better with age? OMG, I MUST HAVE MORE!!!! Two bottles in my next order should do it.

Thanks for decant, Tartchef!

In the vial: Lovely vanilla and woody goodness.

Wet: Mmmm. I smell like bourbon and vanilla. So nice.

Dry: Skin chemistry! It turned sour and horrible. I am not sure what note did it, but, I have a feeling it may have been the orris because all the other notes are usually a great thing on me. I am so disappointed! I had such high hopes for this blend! Stupid skin chemistry!

Thanks for the decant, nekogrrl!!

In the bottle: That is a lot of sweet. I don't like most sweet things.

Wet: The oil stains my skin and instantly, there is this sickly sweet smell wafting about me. I am definitely smelling the chocolate and nothing else.

Drydown: As it dries, the overwhelming sweetness morphs into a dark chocolate (almost coffee bean) flavored spicy vanilla. It still smells a bit strange to me, but, it is growing on me.

Dry: It took about 20 minutes to dry, but, once dry, it is a musky spiced vanilla coco. It sits VERY close to my skin, which I like. However, I don't think it is a snuggle scent as my husband really doesn't like it. I think that I like it, but, I am not quite sure. I think that I will try it again in a couple of weeks and see what I think.

Thanks to nekogrrl for the decant!!

Western Diamondback started out very promising. The sage was definitely there in the wet stage and I loved it. As it dried, the vanilla started to peak out and mix with the sage. It was really lovely.

Unfortunately, once all the way dry, it turned into freshly oiled saddles. A rich leather. I love the smell of leather, but, I don't like the smell of leather on me, particularly. It went really, really masculine and the sage and vanilla disappeared. Oh well. Perhaps, I will try it on the husband.

I noticed today that PayPal seem to have drastically reduced the comment box character capacity to the extent that NONE of my order actually went through - although the payment did.

 

I've emailed BPAL with the missing details (this is a $500 order, so it did need a fair bit of space), but if this is a new permanent thing with PayPal I'm a little concerned about how it bodes for future orders. Does anyone know any more about it?

I noticed that, too! I could barely get an order for 3 bottles and an imp pack in there, which is a rather small order, really. I think it is permanent. Let us know what the Lab says. It may be that, in the future, we have to email the Lab our order details and then send the money through PayPal (which is such a pain in the ass for the Lab!).

I carry imps in a little medieval-themed decorated tin that I ordered from MamaCat on the forum. Check out her shop on Etsy! It is called badinfluence.

In the imp: sharp fruits with patch

Wet: Very sharp and definitely woody. A bit of woody sweetness peaking through. There is a smokiness underneath. Incense, I think, but, I am not sure. I am not smelling any fruits at this point. My skin always amps anything earthy and woody, so, those fruits may have to fight to get to the surface.

Dry: There are the fruits! This is wonderfully blended! The BPAL fruit scents constantly surprise me. I never thought I was a fruit girl because they usually smell so horrible on me; however, Beth has changed my mind. Her fruit blends, particularly berries, smell amazing on me! Especially when there is a grounding element of earthiness or wood. Dionysia isn't too sweet or too bitter. Instead, she is the perfect balance. Feminine, but, earthy. She is perfect! She has a lovely waft and up close scent. Dionysia is fresh, sexy, and extremely provocative. I LOVE this and have to get a bottle.

5 out of 5

ETA: After trying her out for two days, I am still in love; but, my skins eats Dionysia. After two hours of wear, she is just a soft hint left on my wrists. However, I put some on my shirt and she lingers all day surrounding me with her lovely scent. The complexity is still there even when not on my skin. She will be worn in my scent locket once it arrives.

I can't wait for Halloween! I love that time of year! Of course, I am anticipating it more this year because I have BPAL to look forward to!

Edited because of stupid spelling...

This was lovely in the imp. All fresh and sparkling. On my skin it turned to sour licorice. Not even nice licorice. Just sour and awful. I had to wash it off. Stupid chemistry! Definitely to the swap pile!

I got this as a frimp from a forum purchase. Thank you! I would have never thought of trying this as it isn't really the notes I like.

In imp: Sweet, juicy, berries. Ripe and ready for picking.

Wet: Very sweet and fruity. Smells like raspberry yogurt pie. I like the smell, but, I don't like smelling like food, really.

Dry: The drydown is lovely. The other notes come out to play and darken the overall scent. I smell like wicked berries. A sweetness tainted by darkness. It is very alluring. Every once and awhile, I catch a whiff of a spice (not sure what it is, but, I like it) and it makes me feel very sexy. I put this on yesterday after my shower. After dressing and the like, I went downstairs to have breakfast. As I walked by my husband, he said "What are you wearing? That is bad girl sex incarnate!" I have to get a big bottle of this!

The throw is good for the first two hours. After that, it becomes a lingering skin scent. Staying power is pretty good as well.

I am finding that fruits combined with spices work really well on me. Leave it to BPAL to open up new doors!

In imp: Sugar coated almonds.

Wet: It was all almond with a bit of cherry mixed in. Very very sweet.

Dry: Still incredibly sweet. Lots of throw.

After an hour: Had to wash it off. It was so incredibly sweet that I just couldn't stand it. Not for me. Off to swaps.

I just received a decant of this in the post. I don't know if the lovely person is on this forum (got it off of LJ), but, if so, THANK YOU!

In the bottle: Spicy floral. Very complex. I am having a hard time picking out any specific notes, but, I think I smell some ginger and some very sharp pepper. Smells lovely!

Wet on skin: It is all gardenia with a sharp pepper behind it. Gardenia always amps on me and I hate that. It is just too overwhelming of a flower. Yuck. Wait for drydown. Just wait. The gardenia is making me nauseous.

Dry: The complexity is starting to surface on my skin. The gardenia has been beat back by orange, rose, and a lovely mixture of spicy ginger and pepper. The gardenia now smells like a generic soft white flower scent. Overall the combination is really gorgeous! This is the second scent that has morphed on me so dramatically, the first being Siren.

If the scent stays nice and has a decent wear length, it is an immediate big bottle buy for this spicy ginger lover! It is so lovely, I can get past the 5 minutes of gardenia nastiness.

My last two BPAL orders that I did through Paypal didn't show up (sheer volume perhaps?) so I've had to email both times about it. I got my oils/a quick response from the Lab so it's no big deal, but keep those payment sent emails just in case.

Thanks for the info! The situation has gone from bad to worse with PayPal, but, thankfully, the Lab is being wonderful. However, if Paypal doesn't get this fixed, I won't be able to pay for my order.

Has anyone ever had that thing where Paypal refuses to process your payment? I called my credit card company and it is fine. I called my bank and that is fine. So, I called Paypal. Apparently the system is stopping my payment to the lab because my payment pattern is different. I have done payments up to $24 and now I am trying to send a payment for more than $100 and it is stopping me. And Paypal can't lift the freaking thing off of the system. Their answer? Wait for a couple of hours. AHHHH! And if that doesn't work the advice is: submit half the payment in one transaction and the other half in another transaction. Arg! I don't want to do that to the lab! I am so sick of paypal I could just scream. But, I have no choice because I am in the UK and that is all that we can use!

 

I've never had that happen to me, and I use PayPal all the time. Are you Verified with PayPal?

 

In either case, I would email the Lab ASAP. They'll probably let you send two smaller payments, as PayPal suggest, while they sort out the spending limit thing.

No, I am not verified. It won't let me because my husband also has a PayPal account with the same bank account. However, when I spoke to Paypal, they said that wasn't the issue because I had a sending limit of £1000 and had only used £70 of it. Since I am so new the country, I can't open my own bank account yet. I have emailed the lab. I hope I can even make the smaller payments, but, I didn't even want to attempt it until I asked the lab first. Thanks for your response!

ETA: Still not working! I called Paypal again and they said, make it in four smaller payments instead of two! Are you freaking kidding me? At this point, it is going to be such a pain for the lab. I was just going to cut my order down in size, but, I might as well get the most out of $13 of shipping. I feel terrible! I am really angry at PayPal. Really. Very. Angry.

Has anyone ever had that thing where Paypal refuses to process your payment? I called my credit card company and it is fine. I called my bank and that is fine. So, I called Paypal. Apparently the system is stopping my payment to the lab because my payment pattern is different. I have done payments up to $24 and now I am trying to send a payment for more than $100 and it is stopping me. And Paypal can't lift the freaking thing off of the system. Their answer? Wait for a couple of hours. AHHHH! And if that doesn't work the advice is: submit half the payment in one transaction and the other half in another transaction. Arg! I don't want to do that to the lab! I am so sick of paypal I could just scream. But, I have no choice because I am in the UK and that is all that we can use!

I got this scent as a frimp from Megara (thank you!).

In the imp: Spicy! Woah!

Wet: A little sharp, but, I am starting to smell the musk and some of the spices.

Dry: Very warm with a bit of sweetness teasing in the background. I really like this! It is transporting me to another place where the sun warms the earth and people speak in melodic strains of Arabic. God, this is gorgeous!

After 30 minutes: Wow! This just keeps getting better! It is beautiful, warm, damn sexy! I think I put too much on as it is rather strong (just a swipe on wrists and neck), so, I will have to tone it down next time. Still, it is lovely and it is on the bottle list!

Just an update for those that have packages that haven't arrived. Bill told me, via email, that they only consider a package lost a month after leaving their office. If you don't have it in a month, email the lab.

Thankfully, mine arrived last Thursday! YAY! And now, I am placing another order.

Can someone recommend a scent similar to White Tea and Ginger? They only carry it once a year now and since I am no longer living in the states, I can't obsessively pop into the store to check (besides, I like BPAL quality better anyway, but, I really miss this scent).

ETA: I found one! Kumiho! Added it to my next order and am so excited!