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BPAL Madness!

wichapi

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Everything posted by wichapi

  1. wichapi

    The Darkling Thrush

    This is one my favorites among the new Yule releases, and while I had hopes for it from the description, I didn't think it would be this outstanding. It is resinous - that bit of winter pine - but deep and dark where the floral aspects are concerned. It is incredibly s o f t yet prominent. Mysterious and beautiful.
  2. wichapi

    Recs for Longest Lasting Oils

    IceQueenIceQueenIceQueen!!!! I have a glass rod cap and use it to "comb" scent through my hair. I recently grabbed Ice Queen, mistaking it for Queen of Diamonds, started combing and then, sniff-sniff... "Waaaaiiiiit a MINUTE! This isn't Queen of Diamonds! Oh well." Then proceeded to finish the comb-through. TWO SHAMPOOS later, I was still catching whiffs of Ice Queen in my hair! Amazing.
  3. HUGE thanks to those who suggested Eris as a Blue Moon equivalent! My husband sneezed his head off from something in Blue Moon, making it a very sad moment of parting... The Blue Moon that is, not the man. NEVER the man! Eris not only passed the sniff-n-sneeze test, but is so incredibly like BlMn that I am happily astounded (or I have forgotten exactly what BlMn smells like, but no matter because Eris is MORE close enough!)
  4. wichapi

    Machu Picchu

    Machu Picchu is an amazement. Golden amber is the center of this scent system, like the 'hitching-post of the sun." Everything else spirals around it... aquatic high-mountain mists, exotic woods of the rainforest... and guarana? Incredibly designed and crafted in every way. So glad Beth didn't include the thin high altitude air or I'd be clutching my chest.
  5. wichapi

    Holiday Moon

    Oude, as always, fastens down the scents of both the bamboo and the teas. It creates that sensual undertone for the sharp green and white top notes (like honeysuckle or paper whites?) Someone mentioned citrus as well, albeit more mandarin flesh than pulp. Maybe its the oude that reminds me of the addictiveness (nose-to-wrist penchant) of Blue Moon? And while I love Blue Moon, Holiday Moon is far more complex and appealing, imho. Happy Year of the Dog! GREAT Foo Dog art work!
  6. wichapi

    When your favorite GC blends are discontinued

    I am near the end of my bottle of Corazone. After searching through all the "similar to..." posts, can someone please suggest a similar or nearly identical bpal scent (preferably catalog, but anything please!) Thanks!
  7. wichapi

    Snow Moon

    Sitting here with my bottles of Ice Queen, Yuletide, Skaadi, Mistletoe, and Snow Moon... Plus my container of French Roast coffee beans (to clear my nose between sniffs.) In the bottle: most similar to Skaadi (not getting Ice Queen or Talvikuu at all, with Yuletide being far more spicy on the cinnamon and clove side.) Down deep, Snow Moon has a bit more... mint? Eucalyptus? On wet: (back of wrist) pine laden and very sweet; maybe a touch of Mistletoe... Bayberry? There also seems to be a midnight rose which is more prominent in the atmosphere than on the skin. Dry-down: good staying power... a bit of spice comes up on skin... Carnation? Love it.
  8. wichapi

    Tempest

    The frimp rushed me to buy a 5ml. This is one fabulous scent and makes terribly homesick for those clock-work summer thunder storms of Colorado. Tempest is all there: ozone to the nines, sheeting rain (if not a suggestion of hailstones,) and all the "green" which is eventually intensified at the end of the storm, both in color as well as scent promises of mesquite and purple mountain-sage flower. Tempest is one of my favs which I often wore during the hot, all too dry months of summer. Its negative ion in a bottle. Very uplifting! Brava!
  9. wichapi

    Ouija

    Sweet with a tangy bit of ozone, rosewood definitely, something someone else described as smoke - but to my nose seems to be more of a moistened dust. I really like it, then I just like it, and then quickly don’t – all in a matter of split seconds. Are the notes that separate and rapid in succession? At the end, something seems to hook onto the back undersides of my tongue; an odd constriction sensation. Most intriguing, but not enough to include in the bottle stash.
  10. wichapi

    Mata Hari

    SUBTERFUGE! Pure subterfuge! Mata starts out as one thing , then turns into quite another. This may be very apropo for the spy/espionage aspect of Mata Hari, but she is my first miss with BPAL. Outside of the oils containing patchouli, this one made feel Brilliant in concept and execution, but just doesn't mesh with my constitution. Sorry Lab.
  11. wichapi

    Blood Moon 2005

    Blood Moon The feral scent of the heat of the chase, deep woods, undulating musks, brushed by forest herbs, crushed grains, and touched by blood-dimmed lunar oils. I ordered two bottles and now wish I’d ordered more! In the bottle and on first application: A subtle form of Bengal, playful spicy nips without the fangs (but love those fangs, too!) Not just cinnamon, but very fresh & potent cinnamon bark (sticks or curls.) If there’s dragon blood in this one, I’m glad it doesn’t overpower as is the tendency. Yes, there’s also that latent metallic tang (gee, blood is iron-rich; iron is metal, and there you are!) which lingers for quite awhile. I really like the edge it gives. After about an hour: A sense of Old Morocco; not a dominant heat but hot-to-warm with a sweetness that pulses in and out of circulating woods laced with spices, smoldering embers, and resins. This is now among my very favorite offerings from The Lab. Thank you so much!
  12. wichapi

    Come to Me

    Come To Me has such a blend of scents that just as I think I've identified one, I sniff again and nope... its something else. Citrus? Ginger? Maybe. Aquatic? Airy? Maybe. Not getting any green or soap. Just a HUGE lift and various levels of content refreshment. My husband, not a fragrance fan, LOVES it. So I have a 10ml en route after swapping and buying every available imp I could find on the forum. And that's all I'm saying.
  13. wichapi

    Bengal

    For me, Bengal is very similar to Morocco, only it has MUCH more spicy-heat in the bottle, on the skin at first application, and through the first hour of wear. About three hours later (max,) my skin does its usual thing with hot-spice scents and swallows Bengal whole, leaving only a whisper. It moves rather quickly from "ferocious fangs" to "soft-paws." Undaunted, I slather on more! I love it, and have two rapidly dwindling 5ml bottles. I foresee a growing collection of Bengal 10ml bottles in order to keep up with the demands of my nose and skin chemistry. I shall, however, persevere.
  14. wichapi

    Morocco

    I have two bottles of Old Morocco, quickly obtained because its the first spicy scent my skin doesn't devour within the first hour after application. I love the warmth of the madagascar vanilla (? - sniffed the bottle of extract in my spice cabinet - pretty durn close!) with the undertones of amber and various woods (thank you Lab for NO patchouli !) I'm a huge fan of carnation and other "heated" spicy scents like cinnamon and clove. In the bottle and on first application, Morocco is immediate coal-glowing heat without overt "fire," and very sexy. After an hour or so, the heat seems to calm down to a consistent ebb and flow of sultry warmth. My husband is not big on fragrances, but always makes a positive comment when he catches a whiff of this one me. Its all here in Morocco, and it stays, both on my skin (for hours without overpowering the senses) as well as in my bottle and travel-imp stashes. Wanderlust INDEED!
  15. wichapi

    Sol

    Sol arrived today (thanks Lab!!!) In the bottle: Very spicy... is that lovely, trance-inducing, Delphi/Grecian Apollo temple bay laurel amid those lovely spices? On: And yes, amber with the cool-vanilla of heliotrope (that's appropriate! ) and sun-kissed oranges. The voodoo oil Eros spoke of... Block Buster perhaps? Good nose! Verrrrry close! Nope. Not getting dill or gerkins here. Its a soothing Winter Sun slowly returning to warm the land; the leavings of yule with brief glimpses of spring. 'Sides that, its VERY sexy and sultry. Glad I bought two that will NOT be up for swap anytime soon, if ever. One hour: I do wish it would last a little longer on me, as my chemistry rapidly devours spicy scents (among my favorites, naturally.) The heliotrope and amber linger though. Very nice little bit of twilight there. This one requires some stunning label artwork, sorely missed.
  16. wichapi

    Beaver Moon 2005

    Just received Beaver Moon (plus Sol & generous frimps - thanks Lab!) In the bottle: Vanilla laced naughty cream cheese... Smaggie? Do I also detect a bit of spiced rum? On: Snappy spice lightly layered over the sweet vanilla cream cheese... but more butter-like now. A bit like a high-end white wedding cake. I'm not normally a foody-scent wearer, but the overtone of Bengal/Morroco-like spice has me most intrigued, wondering if/how Beaver Moon will morph in an hour or so. Also, love the art work & colors of the label! So much nostalgic and suggestive detail in so little space!! Brava! -more later with ETA-
  17. Thanks all. Since I didn't know, I included the time information in case it had any bearing. Better to include all info up front on question than hash it out over four or five q&a postings, eh? I am not one who frequents the CnS thread or this one. Things come when they come. But after a few days of hearing about Blood Moon, the ol' BPAL addiction starts to override the patience factor. You know the old joke: What did one starving vulture say to other starving vulture? Patience my ass, I'm gonna KILL someone. IvyandPeony!! Thanks for helping SevenSins and me with our HMMMMMMs... Your explanation about oil availability and batch amount really resonated. Of course! And I doubt very much that the Lab has a mechanized assembly line fill-er-up process... But gawd, can you imagine??? I also have to keep reminding myself that BPAL just moved, too. Yea right, like that's an excuse (<--- that's the best smiley I could find to express evil satire.)
  18. I'm a little curious about how orders are processed (looked through FAQs and topics, and this seems to be the place to ask:) Blood Moon (as well as Beaver Moon) went live early, which I caught by chance and ordered two bottles within the first hour, receiving my CCNow receipt by 6:?? p.m. on Sept. 17. I notice a great many people are and have been receiving their Blood Moon orders. Are these processed chronologically or by last names (in which case we bottom-of-the-alphabet-ers are once again... well, at the bottom?) Just want to know if I should continue to endure or start worrying about a lost package. Thanks!
  19. wichapi

    Sea of Glass

    Maybe its because its the first BPAL scent I experienced (yes, only recently am I no longer a BPAL virgin,) but this scent immediately penetrated and stayed: sweet & delicate in one respect, and like anything sweet & delicate one must handle with care or wind up with palms full of splintered shards. I agree with another post that there is a definite edge here... Perhaps its the ozone mixed with what seems to be a sharp release of peaked white honeysuckle after sunset. I caught a whif of exactly that in my back yard just the other evening. Now granted, I haven't experienced each every one of BPAL's scents, but this one was an instant favorite and likely to remain so.
  20. wichapi

    Hell's Belle

    I enjoy reading the reviews here, thank you all. And I've been lurking, off & on for a while - so this is my first "vocal" venture on the forum. Hell's Belle, one of my instant favorites, has a deliciously nasty backnote like burning sulphur... gunpowder... or a freshly lighted charcoal incense briquette. This is what instantly grabbed me; cutting through veneers of spicy sweetness to an inner cinderlike sizzle. I know this contradicts the "creamy" effect so many have mentioned, and maybe its just my nose, but I can't shake the sensation of sparklers on a hot July night.
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