Amoraexcena

I didn't buy this from the lab because I was scared of the ambrette seed -I somehow read annis. Thankfully I was able to get it through the forum! There is, of course, no icky licorice smell to this In the bottle, I smell a warm, soft vanilla and sweet, almost fruit-like honeysuckle. The rose is velvety and gentle and lurking beneath. On my skin the rose immediately amps, but it's a very realistic, beautiful rose. It's more subtle than Hope (which is the other rose scent I can wear), and is supported with a bouquet of sweet white-and-cream florals. I would wear this to a wedding, for sure. The florals do bloom quite a bit, obscuring the vanilla a little, for about ten to fifteen minutes. On the drydown however the vanilla musk predominates. The rose has largely faded into the background. I get wafts of gently floral vanilla musk, very similar to the effects of Antique Lace in its far drydown (the scent itself is quite different). I don't get any lunar oils at all from this blend unless you count white musk, which to me smells like musk that's been infused with coconut water. I like it better than The Girl, which had a similar crystalline musk. Now I want to get married under a Joyful Moon someday!

Wow, I'm amazed that this isn't getting more love. MORE FOR ME. I'm adoring this one... In the bottle, this is QUITE spicy. If cardamom wasn't listed explicitly like it is, I would probably have guessed dust and clove. Gypsy definitely feels dusty: it gives off the image of soft, feathery gray moth wings, tinged with gold and brown. On and dry, the sugar and bourbon vanilla comes out, balancing the spice with sweet. I don't think I get any "alcohol" from this, unlike some of the other posters....(I have a feeling people see "bourbon" and equal it to the booze, but "bourbon vanilla" is a type of vanilla.) I'm pretty sure bourbon vanilla is just slightly smokier than black vanilla, Madagascar vanilla or (foodiest) vanilla bean. This scent is hitting a lot of my scent palate (made-up term): it's sweet, smokey, spicey, rounded and smooth (buttery tonka and Egyptian musk, I think that's you) and maybe even a tad bitter. It's a beautiful olfactory pleasure. It's in the same family as Hellhound on my Trail. It doesn't have the wear-length or throw that Hellhound does, but it's VERY wearable. It's undoubtedly going to be one of my midsummer-night favs. Beth&BPAL.... I love you. This scent makes me SO happy. I'm having a tough time with my family right now and you're helping me pull out of it

In the bottle, this one definitely has a rich booziness to it. I think it's the saffron's fermented-honey-like quality that's adding that liqueur element to Celeste. It doesn't morph too much on. Up close, it's got a bit of bite to it -maybe saffron's the top note- but the throw, the throw!!! Soft, snuggly, smooth, cuddle-worthy vanilla spun sugar. An adult version of Aquolina's Pink Sugar. I LIKE. Celeste has fantasitc throw and higher-than-average longevity. The scent lingers for hours on end. I've used orris root powder as a scent fixative, maybe it's contributing to the wear for this oil or something. It's pretty powerful stuff too. A little dab on my neck is plenty to last me 5 hours. I'm glad I got a few bottles because this is definitely one of my Antique Lace/XCDL13/Elf v4 replacements! Hype? There's not enough of it yet, this girl's beautiful.

I would want Dragon's Breath: db, brimstone and black vanilla.

Obatala is a nice, soothing coconut blend that works well layered over sunscreen it hides the nastiness! Although the shiseido milk stuff I use actually isn't too bad smell-wise and has a wonderful texture. Courtesan Jigokudayu is lovely<3 equal parts coconut, Asian pear and tiare on my skin!

Oh I love Glee<3 Rachel: could use some Conjure Bag help! (Block Buster and Love me) but she wears something "pink" and sweet, like Alice or Vasilissa creamy skin musk and blushing pink musk with soft sandalwood, white amber, dutiful myrrh, and star jasmine. Finn: ...hmmmm. Something relatively simple yet sort of attractive... Violens maybe? Rugged and understated: five sandalwoods, dusty leather, and light musk. throw in some football sweat and grass stains! Quinn: Lady Macbeth The essence of ambition, covetousness and manipulation: sweet Bordeaux wine, blood red currant, thyme and wild berries. with a tad of Queen Gertrude Imperial violet softened by wisteria and chrysanthemum, but edged with the regal iciness of delphinium. Brittany: High-strung daisies (Hairography episode!) Daisy, pink carnation, pink pepper, and sugar. oh and a bit of Pele, Goddess of Dance. Santana: Intrigue! A sultry, exotic scent that inspires devious plotting and clandestine affairs. It is a scent painted in artifice, veiled in deceit, and slithering with whispered secrets. Black palm, with cocoa, fig and shadowy wooded notes. and yes, definitely add some Smut to that Puck: maybe Himerus? The God of Sexual Desire, Longing and Yearning; an attendant of Eros and Aphrodite. A passion-rousing blend of juniper, sandalwood, rosewood, red musk, orchid, bergamot and lilac.

I bought this for the S.O., who I like Dracul on as well as sweeter ones like Dorian. I think I have a new favourite though, because lately I like darker scents. Wet: yes, I suggest everyone brace themselves for the initial blast, because this one needs to settle before it shines. Dry: I think this has a tiny bit of the same musk as Black Temple Burlesque Troupe. Black musk... oh how I love you. I love Manilus because the woody aspect isn't overpowering (cedar sometimes goes pencil shavings on me but this is behaving), the leather isn't overpowering, the resins don't go powderey at ALL, and it's kept fresh by violet leaf (no violet flowers, I love violets (FAITH<3) and would recognize it if it were in here). I also get a tad of something metallic-smelling. I wish it were a tiny bit more spicey -a dash more nutmeg- but it's very, very comforting. Manilus is a great unobtrusive all-purpose nonsweet fragrance. I will like it more on the boy but I'll probably steal some for layering with BTBT, which smells awesome, btw.

I bought this one out of curiosity (hello orgasm, my bff) over a year ago now, and initially, it smelled exactly as I expected -fresh Snake Oil and O. I'm not the biggest fan of either and was thinking of keeping my bottles for investment's sake, with a vague idea of re-trying them and probably selling them in 3 years or so. BUT. I tried Womb Furie '10 today with my trusty tester toothpick as I aired out each of my bottles in my "Ageing" Box, just because WF smelled REALLY good in the bottle....and honestly, if it keeps getting better, I might just keep it. I'm similar to several of the previous reviewers in that my skin doesn't much like most of the lab's honey notes. There's a SLIGHT hint of play-doh- I'm guessing one of the honey's is turning a bit on my skin- but that's only if I sniff really closely. The throw is completely beautiful. A strong golden nectar that's lightly spiced, faintly musky, and mouth-wateringly sweet. It's undoubtably something I'd wear before sexing the SO. I think it's actually turning me on lol. For a nympho like me, this is awesome. Verdict: If WF comes out next year Lupercalia, I suggest everyone buys it. Even O- and SO- haters might find something in WF. I'm guessing the '11 version will likewise age really well. I'm kind of hoping it gets turned into a GC...or at least makes a yearly comeback. Everyone needs to try this!

Chaste Moon '10 was a very cool, luminescent floral to me, no jasmine or gardenia to my nose.

Clockwork Couture: Female has a similar feel - and it can still be ordered, I believe O_O I thought CC:F ran out ages and ages ago? ...i would trade my bottle of The Girl for CC:F anytime ;-; I want to try that one sooo badly! I'd guess CC:F is slightly similar to Faith, in that it's sugary and slightly floral... but Faith isn't a GC. Hmmmm are there any GC marshmallow-pinkcandy-floral scents? High-strung daisies kind of fits the bill minus marshmallow...

I am HAPPY. Midnight on the Midway is one of my favourite CD scents. It was recently discontinued and I was very sad. BUT! In my last order I included Vasilissa in an imp pack. It's REALLY similar to Midnight on the Midway: a very sweet floral with I think a pink musk base. Vasilissa is sweeter and MotM has a little more jasmine but without comparing them side by side I doubt I'd be able to tell them apart. yay<3 I had to share my happiness!

In the Imp: I smell a sharp, sour green apple tinged with eucalyptus. Wet on Skin: The apple fades to eucalyptus, spearmint and ice. It definitely goes herbal. Drydown: Lily of the valley and pine soap, with a melange of herbs. Very little apple.

In the Bottle: The '10 blend is certainly not very sweet (much less so than the '05). It's daffodil, heady iris, breezy tulips to begin with. On the Skin: It mellows a little into more breezy floral, sweetening a little as it dries. It's cold and crystalline. I definitely get a sense of white blooms glowing under a full moon. Drydown: The creaminess comes out a little, and thankfully this doesn't sour like so many other cream blends on my skin. It's a little more aquatic. Still a very cold floral lunar scent.

I'm surprised Smut hasn't been mentioned: Three swarthy, smutty musks sweetened with sugar and woozy with dark booze notes. It's not overly boozy, it's got a similar honey musk to O while not being too much like a cun*, and DIFFERENT. Love it! and the 2010 version is getting some rave reviews....but another vote to Dorian if not!

Imp: Apple, grape and something gritty in the background- definitely the cinnamon bark. It's more woody, bark-like, than any other cinnamon I've found in BPAL. It's not Lyonesse, that's for sure. Wet on Skin: the tartness of the pomegranate is now apparent and the richness of fig just envelops you. What's interesting is that the throw on this smells like a mouth-watering juicy ripe purple fruit. Close up on the skin, it's spicier, slightly woody, and has a bit of an edge. Drydown: The tartness of the pomegranate and tamarind fade a little, leaving a softly glowing sweet fruit-juice-cloud-throw that's pretty impressive in strength and longevity. It's not like it's unbearably strong on my skin either... really intriguing. Images of a sunset in the Garden, licking the juice off your fingers after a long day of harvesting the last ripe fruit, leaning back against the bark of the tree...

Imp: as ciabonefish mentioned, this smells VERY exotically middle-eastern. Cardamom, nutmeg, maybe tumeric, caraway and tonka as well... Sweet but not vanilla exactly. Wet on Skin: it's a pretty strong spice in there, be wary of over-applying! I think I smell carnation, rose, and something else- amber is the usual culprit-making this go a little powdery on me. Drydown: a bit warmer, less sneeze-inducingly spicy. I'm definitely tempted to keep this for a while to age.

Imp: a vaguely sweet syrupy oil with a hint of cedar. Wet on Skin: The woods, definitely some cedar in there, are amping like whoa! But I love the smell of cedar so that's fine with me. The fig's in there just lightly sweetening this blend, but it's not fruity really, just a mildly sugary presence. It's a really relaxing blend. Drydown: Definitely cedar-dominating, with a hint of sweetness from the fig and touch of dark cocoa spicing things up that comes out in drydown. Not foody by any means. I think it's a pretty good gender-neutral scent, slightly on the feminine side. I quite like it, and once this imp runs out I'll consider a bottle.

Bottle: Rich, almost alcoholic intoxicating cacao and tobacco. It smells RAW. Not like the hot-chocolate-y Bliss, that's for sure. The dark oil definitely has a sinister edge. The label art is wonderful- a sexy bat-winged priestess with tentacles sensuously running around her curves, dancing... Wet on Skin: The blend sweetens up a little, along with some added spice that's quite reminiscient of SO. As mentioned previously, it's a cousin of Boomslang- but I'm not getting any of the strange, cloying off-putting sweetness of that blend, BTBT is a more subtle warmth. The tobacco is less raw, now it's a bit more like a fine cigar. The musk is smoothing this out, I think. It feels rounder and more wearable while being the epitome of night-time sexy. Drydown: I only used a dab of this, since it seemed like it could be an overwhelming blend. It's a stronger-than-average blend to be sure, but not so much that it's overwhelming, I could definitely slather more. As a matter of fact I'm tempted to add more on now- it's addictive and it's only bound to get better with age! I just popped it out of the box containing my last Yules and after giving it a good roll, I *had* to apply it asap. Once it is quickly absorbed by my skin, it's a sweet tobacco-incense blend with a hint of cacao and a heavy dose of musk. I usually like the far drydown best of most of Beth's blends (Shadwell is a great example: it's rich, warming condensed milk and soft leather in the far drydown, about an hour or two in, while kind of jarring upon initial application... others like Black Lace also come to mind) and BTBT is no exception: a BIG BONUS of this blend is that it reaches far drydown stage in a matter of minutes and stays there forever. This. Is. Brilliant. I hope it'll be resurrected in many future Yules to come!!!

It should be $12. It was slightly increased recently due to shipping price increases by the USPS.

I found the Water of Notre Dame to be very "sparkling," if you can pull off lily of the valley without it curdling into soap like my own skin! my review: Water of Notre Dame: Imp: bubbling spring water, delicate rose and lavender water (one more flower scent in there I can't pick out- lily or maybe cherry blossom?), fresh-squeezed splash of lemon, a squirt of lime. Wet on Skin: the citrus amps a little, as well as something slightly spicey- maybe the floral I couldn't feel out was carnation? but still predominantly watery and definitely relaxing (even though I'm always stressed trying to pick out notes!). It's strangely energizing too though. Like a draught of cool water when you're parched. Drydown: this is absorbed into my skin SO fast. Good throw. Definitely keeping the imp, though something is curdling it a bit into soap- lily of the valley, you again!. The Lotus Tree doesn't get enough love imo, a fun, sparkling gourmand floral juice: Imp: vaguely sweet, vaguely floral, vaguely fruity Wet on Skin: suddenly, HONEY! But a very wearable honey, and honey notes don’t always work on me- maybe a white honey. It’s the nice nectar-sweetness, not the concentrated bee-honey sweetness. Drydown: back to being vaguely sweet, a really nice gourmand skin scent. Not much throw but I bet this would be great to sleep with. A very wearable, non-powdery, non-soapy floral with an O-like drydown! Other ones that deserve testing: Danube (though again, lily turned this into soap on my skin, but it's a lovely aquatic floral in the imp), Cheshire Cat (lavender didn't agree with me here, but again blame my skin) and Caliban (a nice gender-neutral aquatic).

Imp: quite herbaceous, prominent heliotrope and oakmoss. Wet on Skin: the peach immediately amps, making this blend much sweeter. The white musk definitely adds an ethereal quality to it; the feel is similar to The Girl. An elusive fairy… Drydown: A light, adorable juicy peach scent with a faint tinge of green. I get little or no bergamot in here (which I think is a pretty bitter citrus scent), which is fine with me. It's also the most closest-to-skin scent I've tried yet.

Imp: a deadly cross between almonds and anise: bitter almond, powerfully centre stage. Wet on Skin: a slight whiff of citrus touch: the austere bergamot stands right behind bitter almond as a supporting role. Drydown: Jasmine kicks out both bitter almond and bergamot, but leaves room for the other spices and incenses to take part. A complex drydown, warm like Morocco without the vanilla, gently floral, almost resinous with spices. A morpher, seriously.

I personally think there is a good reason why the lab does not say a clear YES or NO to the "all-natural" question. Maybe even more than one reason. Theoretical reason #1: First of all, because it is not actually a black&white issue. There is no legal definition of "natural," and therefore food labellers plaster this everywhere, including very processed foods, because there is some misconception that natural=good and synthetic=bad. Molecules that occur in nature can be exactly replicated in a lab (and as Turin's youtube link demonstrates, we can also create non-naturally occuring molecules). These molecules, both in vitro and in vivo, act exactly the same way in and on our bodies. There is no "memory" of the molecules' past; what matters is what the molecule actually consists of. Naturally occuring coumarin is carcenogenic no matter that it's found in tonka beans, 100% naturally- along with many other toxins in many different forms (poisonous mushrooms, toxic plants, frog/spider/snake venom...). Why do people think natural=good? In the western countries, our predominant religion is thought to have affected our perceptions of good/bad. People are sinful since the fall of Adam and Eve, and anything we touch or create can be considered corrupted, or "bad" (man, create?! that's God's job!!! etc). We all know the literature, I won't quote or cite examples where nature/animals are assumed "innocent," "pure," "good." Having a conscience and not being governed completely by instincts is apparently a vice in this era. Unlike the label organic, there are no guidelines nor governing bodies to enforce said guidelines for the label natural. For a food to be afforded the prestigious label of organic, it must meet specific federal standards set by the USDA. From the ground up: the soil must not have sewage or petroleum-based fertilizers, the crops must not have pesticides sprayed on them, they cannot by genetically modified organisms, any livestock must be fed 100% organic feed, and not injected with growth hormones or antibiotics. This is just for the USDA, and other non-governmental organizations have even stricter requirements for their organic stamp of approval. I'll come back to further significance of this later, it suffices at the moment to say that organic=legal term and enforced with fines, natural=nonlegal, vaguely defined term that totally depends on your perspective. If the lab were to make the normative statement that YES, they are all-natural, they would then be questioned incessantly (and we already excessively have, in this 17-pages-long-thread that I doubt jayne or many recent forumers have read in its entirety)- "well, what does that mean?" To what degree are you natural- essential oils only? Any "chemical-processing" aids? "Are you SURE they're all-natural, if you're sourcing anything from outside your lab?" It's a really big can of worms for a mostly-fans-operated forum. How much time do we want Beth out of her lab, not creating lovely oils but answering dry questions on a forum? The bolded question brings me to my next, Theoretical reason #2: The lab can't be 100% sure of all-natural ingredients, unless it actually picks all its crops and grows its herbs and spices etc- vanilla beans, sea kelp, spices from around the world, honey from its bee-farms. You see, I worked in a restaurant for a long time, and I understand the dangers of a "100% guarentee." For example: allergies. Obviously, allergies are not to be taken lightly, because people can die or health severely detrimentally affected. The restaurant, while being reknown for its "Never say Never" attitude to customer service, will never guarentee that the food is safe from, say, a nut allergy, unless it has made all sauces, breads, anything not whole in the dish from scratch INSIDE the restaurant. Even a huge chain with big purchasing power cannot feasibly vouch for the bread from the local baker- the restaurant cannot monitor whether or not the baker stays away from all nut products, all the time, in his bakery. There are too many big "What If?'s"- what if the baker's assistant ate a granola bar right before his shift, he washed his hands but some peanut crumbs were left on his apron? What if there are nuts in the vinaigrette-maker's shoppe, and he uses identical mixing spoons for all his dressings? Furthermore, and this brings me back to organics, even if the trusted sources Beth gets her building blocks from can be 100% be relied on to be 100% mistakes-free, 100% never change throughout their entire life of how they conduct their trade, and 100% stay "all-natural" to be whatever "natural" means to everyone , what happens when products are not organic? Pesticides on citrus fruit: many citrus essential oils are extracted from its outer skin by cold expression, I believe. How do you keep the pesticides away from the oil? So now there are possibly chemical compounds that are actually worrisome to our skin in the EO? Or does everything have to be wild for it to be natural? Honey: how do we know that the bees, even if they're not from a bee-farm, did not visit any non-organic home-garden flowers? The definition of natural, to me, is still in question. By guarenteeing for all their contributors, the restaurant would take a huge risk legally (and of course, morally- no one wants an anaphylactic shock, or DEATH, on their conscience). They could easily be sued if they guarenteed safetyfrom the allergy yet health problems occured. Similarly, the lab could be sued for false advertising and damages, trauma etc. if, say, a person with MCS (Multiple Chemical Sensitivity) had a reaction to an oil when it was labelled as "all-natural." The medical validity of MCS aside, someone with the psychological characteristics of MCS or odor hypersensitivity could sue. The USA is the Land of All Torts. And even if the lab wins, it could still have to shoulder the financial burdens of hiring lawyers, and implicit costs of time away from the lab. Theoretical reason #3: The lab WANTS you to ask questions if you're allergic or sensitive to a certain substance. If it's an allergy, chances are you probably know exactly what it is, perhaps even on a molecular level. I'm not going to pretend I'm any expert on the subject of chemistry/allergies, but someone who is Coeliac (autoimmune to gluten) probably knows they must be careful with gliadin, a prolamin (gluten protein.) They will then proceed to ask whether the oils they wish to purchase contain these proteins (maybe this is a bad example, I have no idea what topical application of gliadin does to someone with Coeliac, since it's a small intestine disorder and I think different from an allergy... but let's pretend it can be a topical problem as well). The lab can follow up with this specific request. Maybe they can do chemical tests to determine whether these proteins exist in the oils. Maybe they can ask the people who helped make the oil's components (picked the vanilla beans for the vanilla extract? ) to make sure there is no gliadin. They may or may not be able to 100% determine the existence of certain molecules in the oil. But at least the customer's question can be answered directly. There is a danger, if "reassuring" statements like "all-natural" are made, that people allergic/sensitive to certain non-naturally occuring chemicals will not ask the lab before testing the oil. If the orange-grower uses a pesticide that got in the essential oil, and the customer is allergic to something in this pesticide? This may seem far-fetched, but there is a small possibility of danger. Perhaps more likely, someone with a sensitivity to aldehydes joins the BPAL community. They have not read this entire thread. They read the "all-natural" label on the main website, and assume all BPAL products to date have always been "all-natural perfume," and free of aldehydes. They would come across one of the 3 "synthetic" prototypes, and encounter problems. Would the lab risk a customer's health, so that it can slap a superficially reassuring "all-natural" label on the website? Even saying that "BPAL all-natural" again, to answer a question in this thread, poses a risk- the newer members only read the recent threads and don't come across the names of the aldehyde-containing ones. I'm tired.... sorry for such a long post. Last words: carolsag, if you are truely concerned about an allergy or sensitivity to a certain substance (ex/cthulhu tentacles), or a category of substances (ex/all shellfish), I would specify exactly what it is that worries you directly to the lab and not try to rely on an "all-natural" label. Honestly I'm a little skeptical of or MCS/idiopathic environmental intolerance. If you're sensitive to something and unsure what it is exactly, go ask a doctor. Chances are, the substance can occur in nature AND is reproducible by the right chemical labs- either way, they'll affect you adversely and you should make sure you stay away from it. jayne, I doubt that Beth uses any of the synthetic materials listed in your wikipedia link. I also doubt that I should trust a wikipedia page that clearly needs more citations for verification as a definitive answer on the question of differences between synthetic vs natural perfumes. Now let's all rejoice!: Candles Moon!!! squee.

Imp: very gentle rose Wet on Skin: gardenia, white rose and other gentle florals, thank god this white rose stays true. Drydown: Honestly I don’t know what the flowers in the description really smell like on their own. This is a very gentle, inoffensive “young blooms” scent. Evocative of a young maid in a pretty white summer dress picking wildflowers.

Imp: vaguely sweet, vaguely floral, vaguely fruity Wet on Skin: suddenly, HONEY! But a very wearable honey, and honey notes don’t always work on me- I suspect white honey. It’s the nice nectar-sweetness, not the concentrated bee-honey sweetness. Drydown: back to being vaguely sweet, a really nice gourmand skin scent. Not much throw but I bet this would be great to sleep with. A very wearable, non-powdery, non-soapy floral! I don't understand at all why this isn't more popular.