angelamaria

In tester: lilac musk, frankincense, and sandalwood. The flowers are only hints--I wish they were more apparent. No pomegranate that I can capture.

Wet on skin: lilac musk, and sweet red rose that is turning powdery--well, both of them probably are. Pomegranate is very subdued here, which is a surprise and makes me think that maybe this has a chance! Somewhat ethereal in feel, but still fairly full-bodied. Oh, oh, the rose is suddenly out--and the whiff I got is freshly cut and young red rose. Oh, really, really nice! This is a nice, beautiful rose. ...oh wait, I just sneezed.

Dry: the red rose is actually holding its own here! It stays true to the rose note I got during the wet phase--fresh and young and very beautiful, not overwhelmingly floral, almost green.And there's also the lilac powder and faint incense. No pomegranate. The lilac does turn more and more powdery as time goes by.

Verdict: sadly, the lilac does ruin this. Drat, and I thought I might have a nice red rose scent now. The rose does turn powdery after a good while too.

In tester: sweet apple, light and pretty and white. Very feminine! I'm liking this a lot.

Wet on skin: light florals, and a sort of shimmering scent. Not very apple-y, and there is a similar feel to this that I've noticed in blends that have turned grandmothery on me. :/ Still--well-blended, and almost creamy. I'm getting orris, moonflower, and a slight crispness (apple?).

Dry: well, there you go, the orris amps, the blend gets soapy, and quite grandmothery. Also somewhat cloying on me, but the apple is more apparent than it was wet; maybe because the florals have gone soapy? I'm trying to hunt for the sandalwood, but it's not showing on my skin.

Verdict: rather sad about this, I did like how it smelled but this doesn't play well with my skin!

One of the first things I had to test!

In tester: floral and foody. Whoa. Yummeh. Sweet, bright flowers. Banana. Boozy kakanin (general term for Filipino rice delicacies). Yum!

Wet on skin: floral and foody, does not change from the tester scent, although deeper and darker flowers also emerge. Hints of kakanin: rice, banana, syrupy leche flan. Some florals are going soapy.

Dry: hmm, one of the florals--or the blending of the flowers here--have suddenly reminded me of that beautiful, haunting floral in Annabel Lee which I loved--bright and sorrowful at the same time, sweet and cheerful but quite haunting. Which, I suppose, is quite apt! Not as foody--this is more floral on me by far, with a hint of the foodies and a syrupy sweetness.

Verdict: I was thinking maybe it was a mistake to get a bottle, but now, I don't think so! I will probably not need more than that, though.

In tester: wood, pumpkin, and vanilla.

Wet on skin: mmmm wood. The blonde wood here is very nice, reminds me of Glowing Vulva. Lovely vanilla, too. Yes, definitely reminding me of GV. The pumpkin kind of takes a backseat for me here, which is just as well.

Dry: oh, this is definitely lovely, and along the lines of GV, most definitely, although when it's dry, it's not as highly GV as it was before. Wood and vanilla and a hint of pumpkin. I totally was not expecting to like this, since everyone is going "pumpkin!!" but this was quite unexpected. Doesn't change much from the wet scent, although it gets smoother and a tad smokier.

Verdict: keeper!

In tester: slightly minty musk with violet leaf and tea, herbal and green with a faint floral and pretty sweetness.

Wet on skin: icy skin is quite right, not entirely minty, but cool. Elemi, saffron, violet leaf and tea are all blended together well but also recognizable (while looking through the notes list), otherwise it's just a nice almost-delicate herbal/green/floral blend. The "crypt dust" is also coming out, but it's not a powdery blend, just giving it a hint of dust.

Dry: it's developed into a beautiful blend that reminds me of something that I can't quite put my finger on. It's just...familiar, in a good way. Doesn't change much from the wet scent, although it grows a bit more vibrant, not as cool and aloof. The notes are very well blended, and they are now very difficult to pinpoint.

Verdict: very pretty, but I keep waffling between if it's a keeper or not, that I'll just pass, I think.

In tester: oh wow. Dry leaves, cocoa, vanilla, and white musk. Slightly cologney, but also quite creamy due to the cocoa and vanilla. I wouldn't call this foody, but definitely chocolatey.

Wet on skin: so, so pretty. Love! I can tell right now that this will be a keeper, depending on that white musk. Fragrant and slightly herbal leaves, and cocoa, and vanilla. Overall feel is cool and cold, but not minty. Ohhh, this is love. The play between the leaves, cocoa and vanilla is really pretty here, it's simple and uncomplicated but great character.

Dry: cocoa and vanilla, with that slightly herbal coolness. The leaves have receded newly dry on my skin, although as it's on me longer, the leaves do come back out--and much later on, I had a mostly-herbal leaves with a touch of cocoa, and unexpectedly beautiful too, in a different way. There are no grandmothery notes here for me, the white musk stays true.

Verdict: definitely a keeper! I also ordered a bottle of this unsniffed and I'm pleased to know that it's definitely "coming home".

In tester: linen, vanilla, dark fruits, lavender, jasmine...uh, well, reading through the scent list, I can pinpoint each of the notes, but on its own I would probably have difficulty describing the notes. It's floral, herbal, faintly unsettling.

Wet on skin: largely the same in the tester, but something is kind of alcohol-ly--thankfully, this burns off fairly quickly. Mostly a sharp lavender on my skin, with the other notes there in the background. Somewhat dusty...*looks at amber suspiciously*

Dry: argh, it's gone to dusty lavender. I blame the amber. Dusty lavender, sweet fruits and flowers, and a creamy vanilla. It's very pretty, but for some reason it still has that dark, menacing vibe to it--I'm not sure if it really is the blend or my "knowledge" of what the name of the scent is

Verdict: I ordered a bottle of this unsniffed, and I may try aging it and seeing where it's gone after a year. I am not holding much out for my skin and amber, but it's worth a shot.

In tester: dark and boozy, with the black currant and resins front and center.

Wet on skin: black currant and florals, and faintly resinous. As it dries, the red currant burns off a bit and the florals emerge more, an even blend and difficult for me to pinpoint which floral is which. The sweetness also comes up more, but stays dark and rich.

Dry: well! The red current has come back, darkly fruity and prominent over the florals. Almost amazingly, the rose hasn't gone to rose, which is good. Overall, this is a fruity--darkly fruity--blend, with florals to sweeten it up but not overwhelm and rich resins to ground it.

Verdict: quite nice, but not for me.

Awww. You can opt to use rose blends in a scent locket, maybe? And I believe some people also put BPAL in their hair instead of on skin. If it's the note itself that's a problem, you could also try looking for other "kinds" of roses--rose also turns powdery on me, but white roses stay "rose" longer and better than any other type of rose for me, and I know I also have problems with some forms of white musks, but not others. Maybe it's just a particular kind of rose that's problematic for you?

In tester: sweet, fruity green apple! It's almost syrupy-sweet. It's a "white" scent, even if it's a green apple. Fabulous.

Wet on skin: sweet, sugary apple. So, so pretty and so, so nice. I think I can get the ylang ylang and the tiare, but they aren't front and center. Very well blended, the notes meld together well and nothing is overpowering over the others. Crystalline, sweet, sugary apple.

Dry: sweet, sugary apple. Syrupy and crystalline, at the same time, and while I usually dislike syrupy-sweet scents, and highly druity scents, this doesn't tip over on to those categories, even though this is definitely on the syrupy fruity side of things. Love! Crisp, beautiful, crystalline.

Verdict: keeper! Lovely.

In tester: green. The sandalwood and gardenia notes are most recognizable.

Wet on skin: hmmm. I'm not sure what this note that I am smelling is--maybe the white cognac, as it has a slightly liquor-y sort of feel. Gardenia, and slightly green, rich. This is quite pretty! Somewhat unexpected, to be honest. Good, strong throw. I think I will have to retest if the drydown is good--I have a feeling that this will be one of those blends where a little will go a long way, on me, and will just grow stronger as it ages.

Dry: the white musk has gone faintly grandmothery. Aside from that, I get gardenia, that note that I assumed was white cognac, and a hint of sandalwood. It's a pretty, floral blend, well blended.

Verdict: probably a pass, but as I did get a bottle unsniffed anyway, I'll age my bottle to see how it develops later on.

In tester: green, fresh newly cut roses. Also, chamomile and freshly turned soil.

Wet on skin: green, with soapy florals and cut stalks. Huh, this is going super powdery on me, it's making me sneeze something fierce!! I don't think the soapiness of the florals are helping any. It's hard to sniff when you keep wanting to sneeze.

Dry: the thing that was making me sneeze is gone--now it's a slightly grandmothery, soapy floral with a slash of green and fresh soil. It's very evocative, and quite a pleasing scent, if only the florals held their own and the rose did not go all powder on me (I can still get a bit of it). Sadly, no presence of bourbon vanilla for me here.

Verdict: passing on this one. I guess I should have expected it based on the rose note present.

In decant: tea, quite herbal. There's a touch of vanilla, but overall it's a clean herbal scent. Gender neutral.

Wet on skin: tea, quite simply. It's slightly powdery (not sure where that's coming from), but refreshing and clean, as if newly out of the shower. The aforementioned touch of vanilla is there to make it creamy, but not foody in any sense, and it's just a hint. A gender neutral tea scent.

Dry: it's almost all gone now, on my skin. If I pull hard I can get at it, an herbal note with slight vanilla.

Verdict: a nice skin scent, and probably better for someone with a better skin chemistry than mine for this.

From tester: cranberry and teakwood! Minty and fresh as well, with a hint of tobacco flower. It's a non-floral floral, and seems to be right up my alley.

Wet on skin: this has a cologney feel, likely because of the mint, but doesn't go all the way to that spectrum, I think because of the teakwood and tobacco flower. It's floral and fruity and minty but never really going into any of those fully--very nicely blended and balanced between the scent families. Gosh...I'm liking this a lot. The teakwood and cedar is grounding this out beautifully, I think. Eeeeeeeee.

Dry: this is really amazing. It's mostly a red fruit scent now, but never tipping into "too much for me"-land. It's very nicely grounded by everything else that it never becomes too fruity. It's elegant and fresh. I don't know why exactly, but it made me think of a cross between Glowing Vulva and The Girl; Glowing Vulva was probably suggested by the teakwood note, but I have no idea why I thought of The Girl, as they don't have any similar notes. It probably has to do with the quality or "feel" of the blend? As it ages, the resins come out a bit more, sweetened by the fruits, and a hint of smokiness from the tobacco flower.

Verdict: gosh, a keeper!

In bottle: floral and cool, glittering. Soft jasmine. Very pretty!

Wet on skin: soft jasmine, cool and bright. I need to do a jasmine deathmatch one of these days...ahem. This is very pretty, and very much reminiscent of Zorya, but this is a "stronger" floral while wet, a bit more present and solid, and not so much on the sweetness and creaminess that I always find in Zorya. The rose is also turning slightly powdery, but not overwhelming.

Dry: dry, this is a cool, bright floral with a touch of powderiness on me. The difference is much more pronounced than wet--while zorya is still sweetly bright, it is almost shockingly so against the softer Nuit. While both are predominantly jasmine blends, the other florals present give them a different feel from each other--Nuit is a more grown up zorya, with the latter a bit more playful and younger in tone.

Verdict: a very pretty jasmine blend that doesn't disappoint. I prefer Zorya, but I can definitely see Nuit working as well. I can't justify multiple jasmine blends though, so this will have to be given up.

I was frimped a tester of something called Nowhere in Particular, but I can't find the review thread anywhere. My search abilities are failing me. Anyone know where this would be? (is it even BPAL? I feel like the name sounds familiar, but...)

It was part of the Wind in the Willows series

http://www.bpal.org/topic/50709-nowhere-in-particular/

In tester: butter rum and herby saffron. Creamy.

Wet on skin: saffron, vanilla, and butter rum! Wowww. Beautiful vanilla, foody yet not. Slightly herbal, sweet, not too cloying, but very creamy. Dark, but not brooding or anything--just not bright, and not in the middle.

Dry: creamy vanilla, sweet and caramelly, with bright slightly herbal saffron. Oh my. I understand why it's so sought after. Definitely in the foody realm, but not in your face or cakey or anything like that. Not plasticky in the least on me, which means this is one of the few foodies I can wear.

Verdict: I was very sad when I finished my test on this, because I was after foody scents but couldn't wear many and since this was one I could wear...I stared at the prices this blend goes for on the secondhand market and, well, oh boy. I gave up. A fabulous BPALer gave me the opportunity to get a bottle though, at a reasonable price, so now I'm very happy I have some to wear and not just to sniff longingly

In imp: wow, bright! Fruity! Apples! Some hyacinth, but...apples!!

Wet on skin: apples! And hyacinth. Both are equally strong and sort of vying for attention, but it's a very good meld, hyacinth a bit soapy though. Beautiful, almost intoxicating floral/fruit, and as it dries, the hyacinth is winning a bit, I think? But the apple note is giving it a clean, crisp freshness, which I like in apple. Beautiful. Clean and bright and beautiful for summer. Fresh! Almost playful.

Dry: mostly hyacinth now, the apple kind of pale and probably just providing a good clean background, trying to prevent the hyacinth from taking over and going all boozy. It's a pretty scent, but as it ages on my skin, gets slightly powdery, until much later it's gone soapy and rather old-ladyish because of the strength and "fullness" of the hyacinth I would prefer the crisp apple! I even liked the color in the imp too

Verdict: sadly, this blend just isn't a winner in the dry stage for me.

In tester: wow. Antique Lace...is that you?! Vanilla! Creamy! Maybe a bit of floral, but even less floral than Antique Lace. It's also deeper and darker, but that's only in comparison to Antique Lace.

Wet on skin: a bit "stronger" than Antique Lace, as well--this one is a bit more "present", I understand why some reviewers get more tonka from this than vanilla. Oh, THIS IS BEAUTIFUL OMG. The lab has to release something like this again!!! Why did this not become the release version of the RPG Elf? ...well, okay, I know why. Elves do seem to be more suited to the more nature-y blend that the released version is. Nevertheless, this would have been a win, that the released version was not.

Dry: does not morph on my skin. Definitely amazing! Creamier and smoother than Antique Lace at this stage, also slightly "darker" in tone, and without the floral notes. This is more similar to single-note than anything else, I think.

Verdict: somehow, I will have to find a bottle of this. I don't know how. It's way past the budget I set myself at with BPAL, and I can't let myself go over that for fear that I'd just keep upping and upping it, which I can't allow myself to. But it is absolutely beautiful, smooth and creamy and nommy.

See my three-way deathmatch between Antique Lace, Elf v4, and XCDL13 here: http://www.bpal.org/topic/65148-death-matchin/page__view__findpost__p__2050792

In tester: oh my gosh. Oh. My. Gosh. I opened the stopper and I said it out loud. Oh. My. Gosh. This is a sweeter, more floral Antique Lace. Whiter. If Antique Lace is like ivory, XCDL13 is white. A second sniff I did a few days after made me think of a coconutty tinge as well, although that note wasn't here my first test/sniff.

Wet on skin: oh. My. Gosh. Does not morph from the bottle scent so far. Sweet, slightly/softly spicy Antique Lace, and white. Brighter, sweeter. AL is old lace, this is fresh and white and lightly dusted with vanilla sugar.

Dry: soft, sweet Antique Lace. The floral note is not as prominent now, so it's not as "bright" as when wet, but still super beautiful. Simpler now, as well. Sweet, sugary vanilla. Light throw.

Verdict: newly on, I definitely favored this above Antique Lace and Elf v4 (which I realized I never posted my review on, yet). I love that brightness, that whiteness. Dry, that whiteness/floral quality fades and puts it very similar to the others, albeit being the sweetest of the three. It also disappeared on my skin about 2-3 hours after. So lovely--if the lab has not yet released this, and will be releasing this with the refresh, I'm definitely snapping bottles of it, but right now, 3 hours of loveliness from a blend I have *never* seen available on anyone's sales or swaps post, premium price or no--probably not going to be worth it.

See my three-way deathmatch between Antique Lace, Elf v4, and XCDL13 here: http://www.bpal.org/topic/65148-death-matchin/page__view__findpost__p__2050792

In bottle: refreshing, bright, slightly powdery lily. Creamy, very beautiful. Lovely, and quite promising!

Wet on skin: light throw, but oh so beautiful. The stargazer lily note is so beautiful *_*!! It's soft and elegant, almost ethereal. So, so beautiful. The tea rose is soft--I don't really get much of it, and there is no overwhelming powder or anything like that. It's definitely floral, but not heady and in your face.

Dry: oh, such LOVE. Stargazer lily, maybe a hint of the powdery tea rose, and beautiful vanilla musk. Absolute love! Light throw, very ladylike and elegant. I felt a little guilty liking Victoria, for all she's annoying, but then I love Yvaine too so hopefully that cancels out?

Verdict: blind unsniffed bottle buy win!! Excellent.

In bottle: oh, very...*ponders* floral and fruity. Slightly soapy, too. I'm getting apples, but it's a little flat--yes, flat, not crisp.

Wet on skin: relatively the same as the bottle smell, but oh! On my skin, it becomes a little creamier, with a vanilla sort of creaminess. It's still fruity-floral, but the bottle smelled too "airy" for me, and almost artificial as a result. On my skin, it has more fullness. It doesn't go crisp, but it does has more depth.

Dry: augh. Like The Hesperides, this sadly turns grandmothery on me, a kind of "oily" and stale sort of scent.

Verdict: I don't know if I'm lucky or not that I've dodged another proto bullet. I did hope to love this, but alas, my skin chem strikes again.

In bottle: yep, very berry alright. I was kind of hoping for a lightly berry scent, but oh well! There's also a touch of tea and flowers.

Wet on skin: berry, musk, and tea. The berry-ness is almost like juice, high and sweet. As it dries, the flowers come out more, the jasmine a bit more prominent. Soft, almost creamy. Very pretty!

Dry: amazingly, this isn't as predominantly berry on me now as it was in the bottle and wet. *fishes it out of the for-sale box where she had prematurely put it in after testing* I suppose my skin ate up all the acai berry and left most of the rest behind? Now, it's a very soft floral and tea, with a bit of musk--and this is pretty, and right up my alley. If i sniff really hard, I can still get a touch of the berry, but otherwise it's quite disappeared.

Verdict: I really do like the dry stage on this one, it's my kind of scent. However, considering there is a huge difference between the wet smell and the dry smell, I'd probably be better off not gambling on my skin chemistry forever and ever not changing. Pass.

if i email the lab my order after paying through paypal, should i expect confirmation? i placed my big order on sept. 12 and emailed them the details the same day, then sent a follow-up a week later and haven't gotten any kind of response. i've never had to do this before and i'm nervous about my order details being misplaced.

 

I was a bit leery of paying through Paypal for my Weenie order of doom, but I did it anyway. I then emailed a list of the scents to answers@... and got a confirmation from Bill later that day (or the next day - it was soon after though). However...I'm seeing all of these CnS's going out that were ordered after mine...and I know sometimes there's a hold up with a bottle or 5, but I really want these...and this is the longest I have had to wait for an order. Just a bit worried...emailed customer service just to check and maybe get an estimated shipping date on Saturday, and still no word. Oh well. I'm just ranting. To answer your question, I believe you should have gotten a confirmation email from customer service. You may want to email just to be on the safe side...

 

i never got a confirmation, and i've sent one or two more messages since then, with no reply. i'm honestly starting to freak out a little bit that something went wrong and they never got my order or something or i'm mailing the wrong address... i used answers@blackphoenixalchemylab.com, too.

I'm international, so Paypal is the only option, and I've never gotten a confirmation (from BPAL) when paying with Paypal--but I do get the payment confirmation email from Paypal. I just wait for a while and then the CnS comes. I wasn't aware the lab confirms Paypal orders!

In tester: ambergris, and citrus for brightness although it's not too discernible. Definitely cologney, but sexy and not WHOA THERE BOY. Clean-smelling.

Wet on skin: mmm, sexy. I'd love this scent on a man. Ambergris...and it's almost smoky and leathery actually! This is delicious, slightly herbal, and clean. Ohhh, sooo~ sexy. <3 Ahem. Noble cologne indeed, but not unapproachable. This is a noble manly scent.

Dry: aaaaand~ my skin loves this too, because it's getting eaten all up. Mere minutes after drying, it's gone very faint, with that delicious smokiness and leatheriness. I can't believe there is no leather in the notes list.

Verdict: mmmm I would definitely slather this on my man, given a chance