Galen

Vechernyaya - Sparkling sophisticated white musk tempered by something slightly creamy. Very glad I got to try it, but I have yet to decide what I think... I don't want to start a whole lot of speculation, but to me this smells like Antique Lace without the vanilla. Surely someone else must see (smell?) the similarity? I'm going to have to test Antique Lace and Vechernyaya next to each other to confirm or deny. And then mix Vechernyaya with SN Vanilla Bean to try to prove my point. I'll try to report back once I've done this experiment

I really need to review some of the newer oils, especially because the impressions I have are a bit different from the current reviewers; apologies that it's so brief! Penny Dreadful - this starts out as crunchy heavy biscuits* - digestives or something. Very like the current smell of Lush's Aqua Mirabilis! Then it does the same trick as Jailbait - a womanly sophisticated perfume slowly emerges from underneath a completely un-related smell. But the biscuits manage to ground it a little so that it's not as overwhelming as Jailbait was on me. I love the first stage, but I'm still not convinced about the shape shift to the second stage though... *or cookies if you're not british

Eden - gorgeous! starts out fresh, green and a little of the coconut warmth; kind of like coconut tree leaves or something; it warms up slowly to reveal soft sweet coconut that eventually becomes honeyed coconut... Yet somehow this remains fresh all the way from the start to the finish, without making the honey any less sweet and rich. Beautiful! Quite long lasting too. ETA - I forgot about the figs! Usually the lab's fig blend doesn't work on me - too strong or something - but this is a totally different fig note to that!

Chaos Theory 2 CCCLI (351?) Interesting - it starts out very spicy - I'm guessing I'm amping up some cinammon? and it then dries down without any cinammon at all to a soft very slightly spicy floral, which must have a little bit of gardenia in it, judging by the way it goes on my skin. Not me, I'm afraid, so I'm currently swapping imps out for other people's Chaos-es. What it has made me realise is that, although I can guess roughly what kind of note I'm smelling (flower, spice, etc.) my nose and memory are not that great at identifying notes unless someone (e.g. lab description or forum reviews) tells me what I'm smelling!

I'm interested in this also. At what point (if any!) do international orders qualify for free shipping? (not that I'm ever going to order THAT much, but still...)

This starts out very woody on me, softened slightly by florals. Depending on my skin chemistry on any particular day this then dries down in one of two ways: it either stays rather woody (on a "bad" day) or, on a good day like today, mellows out into a beautiful creamy floral that is softly grounded rather than overwhelmingly sweet. I suspect it's the orchids and the geraniums playing nicely together with the woody notes, but I can't identify which flower it actually is... Overall - changeable, and sometimes heart-breakingly beautiful, at other times nothing special.

wet - Vice and the Red Queen (I definitely prefer Vice) dry down - Vice and Kabuki are rather similar (I prefer Vice) I find Tezcatlipoca and Loviatar are somewhat similar initially (I definitely prefer Loviatar) finally, Hearth & Miskatonic University have similar vibes (love Hearth, don't like Misk)

Any responses to your query yet, Kaylee?

Okay.... that's pretty serious, hun... As you can imagine, all the ingredients of the blends aren't given somewhere. In the past, I know that people have emailed the lab when it came to needing ingredient information due to allergies; I think this might be just such a case... I'm not sure what the right email address would be, but the contacts page on the main site says: Customer Service: answers@blackphoenixalchemylab.com

Gentle spring rain is Szepasszony; not the atmoshpere-clearing storms you were asking about though...

I had forgotten all the notes except cocoa when I put this on. Yes, it starts out with that rush of chocolate a la Bliss for the first few minutes, but it quickly settles down to something more woody, and more like Velvet, although Velvet goes very dry sandalwood on me, and this doesn't. After that, I don't know what I'm smelling but it's warm, and sweet, with hints of resin and some soft floral. :checks description: leather and incense and patchouli - that would explain it. Apart from the cocoa, the patchouli and floral notes are possibly the most distinct, but this really is a shape-shifter, and it's impossible to pin down the notes. not masculine at all on me, just fabulously blended, warm and sweet. This is a new favourite

from all the reviews, I was expecting soft and creamy, so when it went on herbal and sharp I thought I had the wrong blend! But it takes time for this to develop; after a while I had sharp citrus overwhelming the soft coconut, and was convinced my skin was schizophrenic; but I could see why people were describing the citrus as lime - very sharp and very fresh! About an hour later, I can see what all the fuss was about - soft, creamy, coconut and a beautiful lime/citrus that has softened and mellowed out but still retains a refreshing freshness. Lush, indeed....

Woah! I got such a strong mental image from this... It's devout Middle Eastern worship, resinous, holy and masculine. As I continue to smell, I realise that this is a pious man; he's mature but still too vigorous to be considered old. Charming, well-dressed, well-spoken, an intelligent man - I think he's a doctor, given the suggestion of a slightly medicinal, clean undertone. Well loved, he embodies the best manners with everyone he meets, and the most sincere worship when he's alone. Thank you, Beth, for such a clear image.

Judgement this is mostly patchouli, with an almost medicinal note near the start that has completely disappeared on drying down. but it is patchouli with a soft, slightly sweet and - dare I say - chewy feel to it. Having read the judgement card's description I would agree that this is a very forgiving and comforting blend.

I found something that tickled the same memories. Not an exact match by any means, but on me Machu Picchu has that same green, almost lime-like but soft fragrance...

poor Andrabell's bulging PM box. I feel it's pain And poor andrabell having to PM people back incessantly to say: But I need your EMAIL ADDRESS! Thank you so much for the spreadsheet btw - I've been using it for months, and it has provided me with hours of fun, as well as helping me identify notes I like and notes I don't that I would otherwise never know about.

I can smell the coconut, but instead of the warm smell of white musk, I smell something very dry, the smell I associate with white sandalwood. This could well be the iris, as I've noticed that in combination with white sandalwood in some of Beth's blends beefore. All-in-all, this is a sandy, deserted tropical beach...

single note Sweet Almond = Snowcake soap Envy = Demon in the Dark soap anyone got a match for the Soft Touch??

pure, perfect clove. And yes, it's now clear that carnation smells like a flower with some clove in it. I have only one problem - my strongest scent association for savoury cloves, without any sugar added, is my mother cooking up an uber-large pot of minced meat, with chopped onions and loads of spices, so that she can freeze one-meal portions of meat for quicker cooking... I love the smell of meat frying, but I don't want to smell like it myself! I think I really need to layer this with something sweet, or pass it onto someone who will love it more than I

I didn't expect to like this, as the (bitter) almond blends are bitterly overpowering on me, but this is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS. almost exactly the same as Lush's Christmas soap, Snowcake, it's sweet, creamy, rounded almonds. who needs to wait until December?

The first time I tried Eclipse, I was disappointed. All I got was almonds, no sign of my beloved heliotrope, and I went to sleep pretty soon after. So I tried again, and for the first 15 minutes, I mostly just get pungent, strong, bitter almonds and a stinging sensation. a light floral note struggled to announce its presence under the spiciness and bitterness. After about 20 minutes, my wrist doesn't sting anymore, and almond and cinammon both share the stage in a spicey savoury smell that is a combination of both... half an hour later, I just have almond/cinammon spice, and just a little bitterness. there's something plasticy-y drifting around underneath, that makes me think there's some ginger in here, as that's how ginger behaves on me. I don't notice any of the sweetness of heliotrope, which I was hoping would decrease the effect of the almonds. after a couple of hours, I have a very soft, spicy, floral, which I think of as generically bpal in nature. all in all, once the overwhelming almonds calm down, it's a savoury spicy smell, like the spices in baking but without any sugar... I'm reminded of Three Witches, but not quite as nice on me; cloves play much nicer than almonds... I don't think I can wait through the dry-down on this one, and even then it doesn't call to me.

wet on skin - some heady flowers; is it jasmine? or violet? ah yes, hello, violets! that sweet acrid burning note that can only be the way violets go on my skin. a few minutes later - burning parma violets. I should just avoid violets. :sigh: a bit later on - oh, poo. maybe it's just a cold day today and my hands are too frozen to let the other notes develop, but all I'm getting is quite dark violets.

On skin - I get citrus-y green tea. Funny, there's no tea mentioned in the description. Minutes later - somehow both warmer and sharper at the same time. I can't get a handle on the notes here, just something really sharp and an under-current of something softer. A little later :sniff: are you sure there's no green tea in this?! It's reminding me very much of Embalming Fluid - citrussy green tea I don't like the smell of tea at all, which is why, to my disappointment, this blend really doesn't work on me...

In the imp, this smells like a soft floral. On my skin it is pure soap. Like the smell of the Almay soaps my mother buys, the smell on the wrapper, or the smell of the bar once it has been left to dry, for that extra soapy smell. So strong is the association that I feel like I've got soap on my skin, which feels so tight and dry that I want to go and rinse my hands. On dry-down, the blend is even more soapy, but with a faint hint of some traditionally perfumey floral which I can't identify. Before I tried this, I didn't understand what people meant when they said oils went soapy on them, so my understanding has been broadened.

thanks! I'm so wanting moxie, actually, especially after some of the reviews. But some reviewers have mentioned a ginger note, and that is so not a good note on me. As observed with Embalming Fluid (I don't like tea. at all.) if I don't like the smell, I'll roll over and go back to sleep rather than face the day with it... If on the other hand, it's pepper, I don't mind pepper at all. Might just have to take the plunge and try it for myself! As for whitechapel, I may have to give it a try at some point