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BPAL Madness!

shadow

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Everything posted by shadow

  1. shadow

    Scent for Halloween?

    I'd hoped for my Halloween oils, too. But it's alright, I think I'll go with Harvest moon or Jack. And really, what's more Halloweeny than Jack?
  2. shadow

    Scent for Halloween?

    I don't think I'll have my LE's in time either, so I think it will be Harvest Moon. That's really beautiful. That or Jack - both are appropriate and lovely.
  3. shadow

    Tzadikim Nistarim

    Right on the head. I don't read reviews before I try the scent anymore (except limited editions) because I don't want to mess it up, but I had almost the same reaction to this. This morning I put it on reight before dashing out of the house for work, and I got the sweet smooth fruity smell everyone else mentions - almost like pineapple, but not quite, there's no tartness in it for me. But it isn't sugary either, just a round clear golden sweetness. This lasted all day long. About an hour into work I smelled a bit of spice in this one, not like seasoning spices, but a bit like the spiciness of the carnatioon single note. And not like that. By the end of the day the spice and fruitiness were gone, but wafting up was this clean, pristine smell. And I thought (not nearly as poetic as ChupaChup) that it was as if the scent started out as a bridge between the world of the flesh and of the spirit, and eventually lost all sense of the corporeal and was distilled to the essence of the idea behind the scent. Which is a long, confusing, involved way of saying it was very, very pretty, and if I ever get around to ordering 5 ml's of the year round scents, this will be one of them.
  4. shadow

    Rain Scents

    For warm rainy days I like High John the Conqueror (good pick!) or Dissipation. For cold rainy (or snowy/slushy) days I like warm spicey scents, like Old Morocco or my Kathmandu blend (or Old Kathmandu by itself), or carnation... pretty much anything warm and comforting. Dana O'Shee is good too, but it isn't spicey.
  5. shadow

    Chaos Theory

    Each bottle of Chaos Theory is truly unique, a fragrant fractal, and exercise in the joy of chance and uncertainty! Each is a one-of-a-kind, utterly random combination of scents, the composition of which is based on whim, mood and gut instinct. Each bottle is numbered, and comes with a small parchment certificate. I'm sorry in advance, I suck ass at separating notes and describing perfumes, but I'll give it my best shot. Chaos Theory Fragrant Fractal C is the one I have. I think the lab is really magical. I've always had this thing about numbers, so to have that particular number made me very happy, in the geekiest way possible. Then I opened it slathered some on, and my face fell. Grapefruit? Oh no. I just tried Baobhan Sith, and while it was okay, it didn't really work well on me. So I was worried. Not to mention, all I could smell was pith. It wasn't even the actual fruit! Within 5 minutes, I was grinning ear to ear again. The pith sweetens (my skin tends to do that to everything, it's why I stay away from supersweet scents) and suddenly I'm smelling other things. It reminds me a bit of Blue Moon, it has that light, airy sweetness, without whatever it is that smells like candy. Final analysis - this actually lasts a pretty long time on me, and it blends beautifully with my skin. It's clean, but not harsh or severe, it's sweet, but not sugary. I think what I'm getting is aloe and orchid, or whatever it is that I associate with orchid in the lab's perfumes. So grapefruit, aloes and orchid? Whatever it is, it's absolutely stunning, and I would say it could very well be my signature scent, only I can never get it again. Beth, congratulations for bringing beautiful order out of chaos.
  6. shadow

    Mata Hari

    I've always thought it was jasmine that I didn't get along with, but now I'm wondering if it's rose? Or maybe the combination of? All I get with this one is a sharp "jasmine" and coffee. I unfortunately never get to the vanilla, fig, tonka bean or mahogany. My skin grabs on to the sharp flower and the bitter coffee and they just keep duking it out. For hours. I finally gave up waiting for it to change into something wearable, but I will (like any other oils that may not work on my at first) give it another try.
  7. shadow

    Baobhan Sith

    This is another one that smells completely different wafting around me than it does on my skin. When I first put it on it's a cheerful, bright sparkly scent. I can smell the grapefruit and a little ginger and some white floral. Shortly after it begins to morph and I wonder if I'm going to have to wash it off - it smells like perfume, something I've smelled before. White Linen? White something, it's a very dry sharp floral. Very very dry. It fades a bit so I don't feel the need to wash it off, and it's such a work acceptable scent that I stop noticing it. During the last half of the work day I'm noticing that I am still catching whiffs of this when I'm not expecting to. It's still that dry floral, almost heading into one of those triple milled french soap smells, but when I hold my wrist to my nose I'm getting something completely different. It's soft and very sweet, the ginger and tea are in there, sweetened by some beautiful flower. It's odd how it's so different on my skin from the way it smells in the air. It's a little over 12 hours later and I'm now getting tea laced with ginger. I really love this stage. Overall the perfume is clean, bright and cheery, yet startlingly sophisticated.
  8. shadow

    Ophelia

    I like florals, and I mostly like aquatics, so I figured this one would be a given. Immediately after application it's gorgeous - lotus usually turns to candy, but something is keeping this one light. You definitely get the water feel, and the flowers - big light pink blooms. But after 10 or 15 minutes another note is creeping through. I don't know what it is, but it's not good on me. It's not rot or mildew, but it makes me think of those giant seaweed pods. It's weird and it doesn't fit into the prettiness of the rest of the scent. Maybe I'm projecting the character on the scent, but I don't think I'll be able to wear this one on my skin. I do think it would be a perfect smell for linens though.
  9. I think O smells a lot like Amber Romance, just less cloying.
  10. shadow

    Kathmandu

    I've had this one for a while now, and kept putting it to the back of the try pile. Now that the weather has chilled to about 40 degrees, I'm feeling the need for heavier, denser, warmer smells, so I tried this. For some reason I was afraid this would smell just like Masabakes, which didn't do well on me at all, but I was completely wrong. This is what I thought Old Morrocco would smell like. I love OM, but it has a tendency to smell a bit like cake after the first 1/2 hour or so. This has complexity and warmth but doesn't go foody on me. On me this smell is all spice and incense with a soft sweetness. I don't get any cedar (if it's in there, it's very faint), the sweetness of it must be from the lotus. I think I'm catching the saffron if I smell deeply and closely, it's a strange, sharp note that's not completely blended into the rest of the spices. Overall this is gorgeous, and I'm so glad I got this. It's a perfect autumn/cool weather blend.
  11. shadow

    Allergy Questions, Allergies and other reactions to oils

    Queen Mab is very pretty and works on a lot of people. Xiutechutli (I think that's close) smelled Chanel-y when I put it on, but I think that might have been something weird about me, because none of the reviews look even close to that.
  12. Oh! I just tried Seance and really liked it too! I do get the same feel when I wear Ouija (that dry, dark Victorian sitting room vibe), unfortunately the rose in Ouija almost immediately takes over. Is there tea rose in that? Whatever kind of rose it is, we don't mix. In Seance the hazel comes out strongly after a bit, and the other scent that does that on me is Danse Macabre. But that one is much stronger and darker to my nose. ETA: Danse Macabre also doesn't have the green or the age that Seance does.
  13. shadow

    Séance

    This one is so strange on me. Right out of the vial, it's sharp and biting, almost like cinnamon, but it isn't red or brown, it's like a really sharp dark green. Slowly that fades and I get the old, dusty soft smell that I got from Arcana, the one that reminds me of old books, wood chests and dusty attics. I really love this one and will definitely wear it more. Oh, this one is more feminine than Arcana - that one is more like a wizard's tower and this one is more like a Victorian lady's attic.
  14. Bordello is ragingly sweet on me. And it lasts forever.
  15. shadow

    Tobacco scents

    Rake out a crotch? I'm dying over here. That sounds really horrible, and if there is ever a book that does that, I'm running.
  16. shadow

    Tobacco scents

    Kali went really sweet on me - I think it's the wine, but I really got the yummy tobacco note out of Hellfire and Perversion. Hellfire is one of the only ones to make me picture a place, that's how good I think it is. It makes me think of a rake out of a crotch novel - or his study anyway. A dark room with a fireplace and dark leather chairs and books and scotch and two glasses. Yum. Sorry, I really love Hellfire and will wax on for a really long time.
  17. shadow

    Are bpal blends all-natural?

    Eau fraiche: 3% or less perfume oil. Eau de cologne: 2 - 5% perfume oil. Eau de toilette: 4 - 10% perfume oil. Eau de parfum: 8 - 15% perfume oil. Perfume: 15 - 25% perfume oil. Perfume oil: 15 - 30% perfume oil. Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Perfume oil: 85 - 100% perfume oil. That's off the FAQ, so I always assumed that meant these were pure essential oils. And I didn't see it, but I could swear there used to be a caution about using some of the oils straight on the skin as they could be very irritating, especially to sensitive people.
  18. shadow

    June Gloom 2004

    It's not what I expected (see what I get for preconceived notions?), but it's delightful nonetheless. When I first put it on, it's lemons, only greener. Bright, clean and sharp. Eventually the sharpness fades and I'm left with a soft, slightly sweet floral. It goes very light after 3 hours, so this would either be a reapplication for me or one of those that I could slather on. My three year old begs me to put this on him, the boy's got taste.
  19. shadow

    Perversion

    Another bottle. I absolutely love the new Hellfire, and this is the female counterpoint. It's dark, sweet, sexy, and just a bit dirty. I get enough of the chardonnay to brighten it and make it feminine, enough of the leather to cut the sweetness, and overall I get flavored pipe tobacco. I also thought I got a whiff of coconut, but I don't see it in the new description. If it's in there, it isn't a sweet, packaged coconut, it's more like the husk or wood, left out in the sun a bit. It really complements the vanilla/tonka note. I have to stop now or I'll just keep throwing out random ravings about this scent.
  20. shadow

    Good scents for travelling, vacations

    Hey, this brings up a good question. What's the best way to transport an assload of imps? I'm flying to Texas in August and want to take them all, but can't figure out a good way to get them there. Carry on I would guess - will they leak? And for the Europe question, definitely Snake Oil. I think and woman going to Europe (okay, pretty much anywhere) should take Snake Oil with her. Plus, I think they're less "fragrance free" there, so you can probably get away with heavier smells if you want. I haven't smelled most of your scents, so I don't know what would be good. You need some bright energetic scents for shopping, something soft and sweet for garden walking, something grown up and sophisticated, slightly dry for museum touring.
  21. CCNow lists status as shipped when they actually deliver the order to BPAL. Which means the lab didn't actually pull your order until the 13th. I think they've said they're halfway through the orders from June 17 (the orders actually placed on June 17), and they're trying to catch up during the week they're closed (see the announcements thread for more info on that). Okay, so all that babbling was to say they probably haven't even looked at your order yet, so if you think there's going to be a problem it not getting automatically forwarded to your new address, you may in fact want to email the lab. Their email addresses are listed in their FAQ on the website. I'd email them now (and make sure when you do you include every bit of information about the order you can - the CCNow confirmation number, your real name, the address, even the order just to be sure). Oh, and the wait time is generally 4 weeks or so. Sometimes more, sometimes less. But not usually less, we've been drowning them for a few months now. I know there's a thread somewhere (it may even be earlier in this one) that explains CCNow and how it actually works. You might try finding that, or maybe one of those forum goddesses who are quick with links can direct you to it.
  22. I generally can't tolerate any kind of smell without puking during a migraine, but I seem to recall a couple people mentioning the Pain oil helping during headaches.
  23. shadow

    Blue Moon 2004

    I laughed at the peripheral comment in the first review. I opened my bottle and went oooh, so I held it up for my husband to smell. He grabbed it from me and sniffed several times with a puzzled expression. "I can catch a whiff of it, but when I try to really smell it I can't smell anything." On to the review. I know nothing about ritual, and really only bought it because it was a limited edition, and it was a moon oil. I have always been in love with the moon, so despite not knowing what to do with it, and thinking it would be a little stinky (mugwort, bay and juniper?), I ordered a 5 ml. I too wish I had bought a 10. In the bottle this is bright and almost candy sweet. On, it immediately softens into one of the prettiest things I have ever smelled. It has the freshness of cucumber without actually smelling like cucumber. I think I can pick out the orchid, but it's very soft. There's a note that's a little cool and slightly distant, I'm guessing it might be the juniper? It's really hard to single out scents as I am very new to wearing fragrance and don't actually know what a lot of these notes smell like on their own. All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by this scent and it will definitely be thrown into heavy rotation, especially during these warm months. Gorgeous. I'm once again in awe of BPAL oils.
  24. shadow

    Midnight

    I have no idea what any of those flowers smell like individually. I didn't even have any kind of idea what the fragrance would end up being like (I actually figured it would be a sharp, unpleasant, powdery floral), and the only reason I ordered it was because I liked the idea of a perfume of night blooming flowers. Oh. My. God. This is it. This has shot straight up to the top of my favorites. I never figured myself for a floral person, but this one... it makes me want to wax poetic, and I have NEVER been poetic. Not in the least. When I put this on I fell like I'm sitting on a bench in a lush garden. The day was hot and muggy, and now it's completely dark and there's just a slight breath of air beginning to swirl around me, catching the fragrance of the flowers and wafting them all together. It's got good throw (not enough to choke people around me, but enough that someone sitting next to me, and maybe even one over, will catch a whiff). It's got incredible staying power, lasting about 12 hours. This will be my first 10ml bottle.
  25. shadow

    The smell of night

    I'm picturing something dry, with a lingering campfire smoke kind of undernote. Maybe The Hesperides (wood and apples) mixed with something smokey? I've only tried a few of the scents, so I really don't even know why I responded to this thread. And now I'm babbling. If you come up with something, please let us know because it sounds like it would be wonderful.
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