allamanda

Temple Greek

Origin: TAL Circular Swap

Something fruity-sweet and incensey too. My first reaction is lotus and myrrh, but having read the other reviews honey might be more logical. Very nice but fades rapidly. There is a very pleasant herby feel to this, I agree it seems to be sage, but as sage often smells bitter to me I wonder if this is white sage which I love.

After what seems like forever, I suddenly get lavender. This is lovely.

As this was tested from a circular swap imp I applied the teeniest drop to my skin. It is beautiful but, given my own supply, I’d definitely use this with candles and / or a burner.

could be Cinnamon Bark.

 

I'm fine with Cinnamon leaf, but Cinnamon bark gives me a rash.

 

anyone know which cinnamon blends are which?

Not for sure no, but I think my skin reacts similarly. Some blends with cinnamon are fine, others not:

Mercury & Inferno were violent!! Chimera is fine. Eclipse is dodgy but I can wear Three Witches. Gingerbread Poppet didn't make my skin react (only tried once as the smell isn't me), Harlot, Wrath & Sin are fine.

Several of the TAL oils sometimes cause a mild reaction if applied on my inner arms, I generally avoid applying anything I suspect contains cinnamon to the neck & cleavage.

No idea if my reactions are remotely consistent, but maybe if they match your findings they'll be of use.

ETA: Other oils that affected my skin (although I'm not sure that cinnamon is always the culprit):

All Night Long, Love Me, Ulalume, Alecto, Silk Road . That's all I can recall for now.

i placed my first order on 27.07 and paid through paypal as i am from the u.k.thing is i havent had any confirmation of order exept from paypal and the money has come out of my account.i am starting to wonder if i included shipping info in with order or can bpal obtain this info from paypal???i have sent Bpal an email just to confirm i had done everything right but i havent had a reply    my initial excitement is shrivelling..........can anybody smooth my furrowed brow.......?

Your shipping info will have been provided from PayPal along with your payment. Although usually you receive a confirmation email from Bpal, once in a while you don't.

They tend to be pretty swamped, so it can take a while before someone is able to answer the emails.

Unfurrow your brow It'll be ok. Give them a few days to answer your email and then keep an eye on the click'n'ship and order threads, that will enable you to judge when other international orders placed around the same time are shipping.

Hey, I was trying to figure out if the international package days are regular (like every thursday or whatever) and if they happen every week, or if they happen a bit more sporadically.

 

Any clues?

Afraid not. They're special surprises.

Unfortunately, as I understand it. Internationals involve at least one person stopping packing, wrapping etc. to stand in line at the Post Office for what can become an entire day. I'm *guessing* that they wait until there is a hefty batch for despatch, especially in view of staff shortages.

The best indicator is watching the click'n'ship thread.

ETA: They're worth the wait

Concentration

When first applied: Mint, peppermint and after a while joined by something tingly and herby, I think lemon verbena.

I applied this when I was trying to write an essential formal letter and was struggling. Coffee was consumed, Concentration applied to one arm, Helping Hand the other and I started sniffing. The mint did a lovely job of clearing my head and I set to work. What I think is Lemon Verbena (well lemony and herby anyway) made me feel fizzy all over, looking good!

The alternating arms seemed to do the trick; Concentration woke me up and focussed my fuzzy brain, but Helping Hand seemed to ground me and persuaded me to remain seated long enough to write the letter.

Sometime later I sniff again. Now I can smell thyme, clear as a bell. Perhaps it’s lemon-thyme? That would make sense as I prefer it to verbena. The mint has receded way into the background and I’m left with a beautifully gentle, herby scent.

Writing this review was achievement enough. Concentration works and I’m hooked.

Edited because 6 hours later I swaer I can smell chamomile too. I'm more than hooked and so grateful I have a bottle of this.

Black Annis

I was a bit nervous trying this oil, vetiver can be overpowering on me and civet rarely works with my skin chemistry.

Very strong vetiver when first applied, turning mossy with a touch of anise. I’m surprised, this is nice.

Once dry I can detect the civet, so well balanced with the other ingredients that I am really enjoying it. Gorgeous and long-lasting.

I didn’t expect to fall for Black Annis but I did and now have a big bottle.

If you also love Black Annis, make sure you try Czernobog.

I'm just contrary I love Spellbound but Black Rose goes soapy and unpleasant with my skin chemistry.

If anyone has recommendations for similar scents to either noir or despair, please tell me! I'll be watching this thread, but if you'd PM me as well, I'd love you forever and ever! (:

 

[edited becuase apparently this morning I cannot spell!]

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I haven't really found anything like Noir, but the following sort of have a similar *feel* to me, if that makes any sense!

Lilith, Megaera and Tushnamatay.

There were elements to Despair that I loved, but also something that gave me a feeling of decay. On me I found Nosferatu to be like the parts of Despair that I loved. Crossroads also put me in mind of Despair, but more towards the parts that I wasn't so keen on.

The Magician

When first applied: lavender, but calm and focussed rather than relaxed and sleepy lavender. Once dry the lavender fades and I can smell incense with faint florals, something heavier grounding it but very much in the background maybe sandalwood.

For a long time this remains a slightly incensey floral which I adore, then suddenly it morphs and becomes woody (my skin chemistry is prone to this). In this case the woody note is gentle and pleasant, like much-loved and worn furniture, rather than the overpowering pencil shavings I sometimes get. I had already put this on my “must have” list, now I’m not quite sure.

ETA: The Magician then disappeared!! The floral and incense disappeared after a couple of hours, then the wood vanished about 30 minutes later.

The Fool

When first applied this is bright and sparkling; cherry blossom, I think, and mint. As other reviewers suggested, this is more akin to pennyroyal than spearmint or peppermint. Very nice.

Once dry this is still very minty (you couldn't fall asleep!!) but beautifully tempered by the cherry blossom, this is really lovely.

Much later...I'm still convinced it's cherry blossom, but now I can detect a crispness like green apples.

Another big bottle :sigh:

The Hanged Man

When I applied this I could smell tart apples, but within seconds a sweetness appeared, perhaps lotus?

As the oil dried and the scent developed more I could feel a depth that made me think of orchids, rich and slightly exotic.

This winds up as a beautiful, gentle, slightly sweet floral. It’s gorgeous!

The Sun

When I first applied this I laughed out loud. I could smell fresh oranges and pictured a golden sun.

As this dries I’m getting a dry, spicy feel, much like cinnamon, no corresponding rash though ( I suffer the red weal cinnamon reaction with about 50% of the oils that I know contain it, the others I am fine with) so maybe it is allspice or my nose playing tricks.** That’ll teach me!! On my second test I applied to the crook of my arm (no testing space left elsewhere!!), this time I have a slight rash and itchiness, so my money is on cinnamon, but in relatively low concentration. 30 minutes later the rash has gone.** I can still smell spicy orange with the occasional whiff of what I think is musk.

As others have mentioned, there is something heavier grounding this. At times it smells warm and woody and other times I’m not sure. It doesn’t *feel* like myrrh (which is usually very identifiable on my skin) and there is no ‘scorched’ note. I even keep detecting a very faint smell of tea.

This is bright, warm, happy and I love it.

paypal at blackphoenixalchemylab dot com

but formed into an email address

Maybe I should have posted my dislikes too!!! Or even posted some more reviews.

Endymion doesn't work on me and, although I like Nyx, the jasmine goes mad. I love Water of Notre Dame though

Your skin-chemistry seems to have some similarities with mine. Jasmine is a no, no, however, night-blooming and star jasmine seem ok on me. Rose I am ok with. Rosalind and Maiden don't work for me; Maiden I am sure because of the Carnation, I haven't tracked down the culprit in Rosalind.

Mint and Lotus sometimes work for me, sometimes not. Like you Black Lotus doesn't, whilst Blood Lotus does. I love Dragon's Milk, Embalming Fluid and Tamora, not keen on Neo-Yokyo though.

What works exceptionially well on me and with the rose containing oils excluded:

Baku, Temple Of Dreams, Cathode, Chimera, Dragon's Bone, Dragon's Heart, Empyreal Mist, Fae, Hamadryad, Hemlock, Intrigue, Lampades, Pele, Scherezade, Bluebeard, Djinn, Imp, Masabakes, Nephilim, Pain, Szepasszony, Danse Macabre, Darkness, Oberon, Regan, Aizen-Myoo, Kabuki, O, Perversion, Severin, Snake Oil, Cheshire Cat, Lust, Sin, Megaera, Judgement, Justice, Strength, The Hermit, The Star, The Sun, Bayou, Glasgow, Machu Picchu, Sybaris.

I'm not sure which rose-containing oils you've tried, but on my skin the one that is irresistable is white rose. Beth uses so many different roses that perhaps one would suit you. If you haven't already tried it, I'm curious as to whether Queen Mab would work for you, I love it but don't especially notice the rose.

mmmm perhaps that explains why I'm broke

ETA: How did I miss Kumiho and Depraved?? !!

Actually, I have two imps of Hemlock. One is a pale yellow and the other is a pale green, The pale yellow one smells like herbs with a touch a lemon, while the pale green one smells far more piney.

 

I wonder if I got two very different batches, or if one isn't really Hemlock!

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Ditto. I have several imps of Hemlock, the pale coloured ones are Hemlock but without the eucalyptus hit... the green ones have the eucalyptus. Personally I prefer the paler version and sadly my 5ml is green I still like it but...

Not sure if they are just different batches or if it changes a lot as it matures.

ETA: Mistletoe doesn't work on me, but pine and eucalyptus can both be hit and miss with my skin-chemistry. However, I love Dublin, Ice Queen, Skadi, Blue Moon and Havisham.

Masabakes

When first applied I can smell the mimosa and myrrh, no sign of the blackcurrant at the moment. I love the smell of mimosa and the myrrh is giving a really interesting and pleasant result.

Once dry this is a slightly spicy floral on me, with incensey tones. I never did manage to isolate the blackcurrant, but suspect it is just adding to the richness.

This smells really good on me and I like it a lot.

Lampades

When first applied I can smell cranberries, but sweeter than expected. After a few minutes I can smell the musk and just catch a floral, I assume the lilies, in the background.

Once dry this becomes more tart and closer to how I expected it to smell

Gorgeous

I think maybe The Star is one that either varies a bit from bottle to bottle or morphs. The following are my original notes from months ago:

Boozy coconut, with a minty tinge. There's what smells to me like almond when first applied as well. Creme de Menthe meets Malibu, may even be lime in there too. Dries to a lovely citrussy coconut, delicious.

This was testing from an imp and I then purchased a 10ml bottle. I no longer detect mint but find the lime more noticeable (this was the case even when the bottle was new).

Hemlock is another one that seems to vary a lot. I didn't detect eucalyptus in the imp I tried, but from my bottle it is very apparent. Having aquired more imps of Hemlock, the green ones have eucalyptus, with the others I don't notice it.

Much neater

Thank you.

Quite a few of us have found our hormones affect how the oils smell on our skin. If an oil doesn't work on me I usually wait a few days and then try it again. It seems that (on me anyway) moods as well as the time of the month can affect how an oil behaves.

In addition, in the beginning I also found I almost needed to learn to appreciate the oils. How to explain that they sort of grow on you?? Seriously, it is as though though initially they are a big shock to the system, I often change my opinion. For example, I had tried Intrigue several times, found it interesting but wasn't hooked. I tried it again and

So, if I might suggest you give them another go.

With my skin-chemistry Dublin and Paris are fantastic, Dana O' Shee is nice, Twilight doesn't work. You will win some, lose some

What notes do you particularly like or dislike?

March Hare

When first applied I get a sweet impression and then the cloves. The sweetness must have been the apricot, but the clove appeared so quickly I didn’t have time to identify it. This is really nice; the cloves are offsetting the sweetness of the apricots to good effect.

This stays very consistent on me, slightly spicy; slightly sweet it really does smell gorgeous.

Glad it went well Femke I'll keep fingers and toes crossed for you.

Dragon’s Tears

Dragon’s blood and grapefruit-like when wet. Once dry there is a slightly musky smell too.

After quite some time I’m getting the faint lily note that others mentioned. Love the wet stage, not sure about the dry.

My skin chemistry sometimes makes lily smell very sour, sadly that is what happened to Dragon’s Tears.

Ave Maria Gratia Plena

When first applied this is very woody and sweet on me. My nose can sense the lemon peel, but at the moment it is swamped by the woods (I can’t separate Rosewood & Sandalwood in this blend at the moment).

As this dries it tones down considerably. Now the lemon is apparent with the florals giving support.

This winds up sweet and pretty on me; slightly powdery, nice but not compulsive