malanna

When I was first testing the waters with BPAL, I went to the review of BPAL on one of the websites that was listed and there were the amber bottles displayed. So purtyyy...I was slightly sad that the amber bottles weren't used. Hopefully, my Blue Moon and June Gloom bottles will be amber. Does anyone know why the amber ones aren't used anymore? Maybe because of leakage (the bottles had corks in the pics)?

The first and second time I tried this, I really loved it. I thought it was going to be a favorite. Alas, this was not so. This really didn't change much for me from the bottle to application. I get a slight hint of berries, but it's very faint. It's not so much freshly mowed grass, because that isn't quite so meadow-y and sweet as this, but grass outside of a Shakespearian forest with glistening morning dew. To me, it just seems to be like a single note. Not that I know what the sweet grass single note smells like, but it's like the scent is just concentrated and singleminded in this one area (it's not a complex scent). I really liked this at first, but then, once the novelty of sweet grass faded away, I paid more attention to this sort of artificial overtone I get. It's not like it smells like something artificial I have in mind, like air freshener or whatnot, but that it's different, yet it seems artificial to me (hard to explain...).

On application and the first hour, I get an orange creamsicle smell--orange and vanilla--yum! However, over time, it gets drier and drier and what my nose was telling me was vanilla (or just mixed with orange seemed like it should be vanilla) turns into (or takes off its mask) patchouli. I don't like this so much. After the initial impression, the orange recedes, with the patchouli taking greater prominence. After two or three hours and the orange is sufficiently well into the background, I get the impression of Snake Oil, but without vanilla. It's spicy with a bit of incense, but just very dry and smoky. It's not quite what I imagine Snake Oil would be without vanilla, though. It smells more like I'm burning a piece of wood that has been doused with Snake Oil minus the vanilla. Just dry and not so comforting.

Like everyone says, Alice is very much a little, prim, yet mischievious girl in a white dress and with a bow in her hair. I suppose there is milk and honey, but what I get is a spicy cinnamon-y kick at the forefront (although it's not outright cinnamon by any means). I had gotten this, because people had said it was like Dana O'Shea, which I don't get. Dana's foody honey and almonds. Alice isn't like that (re: little girl). I enjoyed it at first, but at times, this gives me a headache and I rarely see myself feeling in the mood for this. This scent isn't "me" at all, and it's one of those scents that has a concrete persona attached to it, so it can't be used that often. This'll probably be up for swaps.

On, it smells like it does in the bottle, soapy and clean. On the skin, it gets a little more powdery and my fears of it being a sharp, herbal scent are allayed. It really is comforting. It's soapy, but not dishwashing soap sort of soapy. I get the image of a beautiful woman in a light, thin white top (the ones that sort of look like they're made from hemp, but they're not--like the material peasant tops are made of), shorts (that aren't very short). She's not a made up type of gal and has a more natural, calm beauty to her. Her hair's tied back and her skin is glowing and looks clean. She's sitting in the kitchen, which has large glass windows and a glass ceiling. It's morning in spring, so the light is filtering in, and her husband (also attractive) comes in and nuzzles her neck. That kind of soapy.

It was Hellfire. But I was a bit confused about whether the Hellcat formulation had been changed, too.

In the bottle: smelled similar to the clean smell of Come to Me, but sweeter and nicer. On: Green herbs, with the clean smell fading. Then, dried roses come out, but not dominating the scent. I liked it much better in the bottle. On, it isn't comforting like Come to Me is, so I'm not sure what aspect of it makes it an attractant (didn't really test it much with other people around, so don't know if it works in that area).

I like sweet grass, but unfortunately, I don't smell it with Van Van. More like powder and something green and bad. It's bitterness makes me think of chemical fertilizers (don't know if it smells like that, but it's so bitter it makes me think of it). I kept on waiting for it to improve and it did mellow a wee bit, with a bit more powder, but the powder is scented the same way.

Tempest is a rainy scent. Out of the ones you have on your list, I've tried Persephone, Snake Oil, Venom and Dragon's Milk. Persephone is very bright and bubbly, so I don't think it really complements hot summer rain. Snake Oil is spices and vanilla and doesn't shout rainy weather scent to me, nor does Venom (which makes me think of posh department store ladies). Dragon's Milk has a bit of a Snake Oil feel--warm and comforting, without the spices. It doesn't bring to mind rainy weather, but it is comforting, so it might suit you when you're locked inside, waiting out the storm.

In the bottle and on initial application, I smell almonds. Foody...YUM. However, drying and after, it just smells clean and soapy to me. No spices, just soap (sometimes with a teeny hint of rose--if I sniff really hard). However, Come to Me and #20 Love Oil do a better job of making me smell clean (and actually comforts me as well), so in the swap pile Seraglio goes!

Smelled like incense-y Coke in the vial to me, which would be pleasant if it smelled a bit more like Coke. On, it seems sensual, especially in that the majority of the scent stays close to the skin, with bits wafting up. It's fruity and jasmine, which seems to clash, as jasmine is a bit of an "old lady" smell to me (not that Siren smells like "old lady"). So it isn't really fruity, nor is it really floral, or a lot of things. Its indecisiveness bugs me, because I can't quite pin down why I don't like it.

In the bottle and after initial application: Smells like Mr. Pibb, yum! After a while, it loses that carbonated feel and settles down with the patchouli (judging from the other reviews, I guess that's what it's supposed to be). Makes me think of tribal people wearing masks and dancing around a fire. Several hours later, I can smell the lime, which is pleasant. However, even then, the oil gets a powdery feel, which I don't like.

Very bright and bubbly. In fact, it reminds me of my current avatar (in case I change it: it's a pair of pretty feet and legs in rainbow high heels)--sort of giggly and bubbly, but sexy all the same. It maintains my initial impression of something incredibly juicy, but the rose comes out to temper the pomegranate. However, I don't like rose and it sometimes gives me a headache. It has a bit of that plastic-y feel that I got from Katharina (I seem to be the only one who gets this, though). Objectively, I really can see that it would be quite sexy in a bright way, except I just don't like it. *sighs*

Smelling from bottle: Mmm, melted creamy chocolate dripping over my skin. It could go two ways: incredibly sensuous or too food-y (for me) to wear. Wearing: Still creamy. Over time, it loses a bit of that milk chocolate feel and feels slightly more bitter. Even later, something peeks out (smells like rose to my uncultured nose) that keeps it from smelling like pure chocolate. That thing that peeked out doesn't seem to strengthen, necessarily, but it's like the chocolate is receding, so relatively speaking, the chocolate seems less strong. I don't like this so much (even though it's less foody, it doesn't have so much appeal for me).

I haven't tried it yet, but people say Jolly Roger is good for a beachy smell. And of the following--Tempest, Storm and Lightning--I've only tried Tempest, and I don't think they're really beachy, they might work, because they're sort of water-y scents.

In the bottle, there's a bit of honey tinged with sweat. On: Oh dear sweet goddess, this is what they mean by smelling like sex. It does smell like what I think sex would smell like, and unfortunately, I don't like it. It's honey, musk and sweat. It changes slightly, feeling less dirty, making it more bearable, but I still can't get over the sweat smell. Swapped this.

Initially, the cinnamon was predominant. I don't really like cinnamon, but I was able to stand it, because it was more like a sweet, cinnamon-tinged Coke. jj_j described the smell of it after application perfectly: Bazooka gum, with a hint of cinnamon. I got an image of a tarted up little girl smacking the gum with attitude. Over time, the little girl grew up, with the scent changing, but still remaining true to its original form, and now I get an image of a high-powered professional woman who isn't afraid to use her sexuality to get what she wants. She's still chewing the gum, but the gum's been chewed at for a long time. I also was slightly reminded of an incense-y shop, but it's not actually what an incense shop smells like. I really disliked it the first hour and a half, but what it smells like now, I'm not so sure. ETA: The way this scent changes really lives up to the image of what the name implies: you will Love Me. Initially, I didn't like it, but I was drawn to it, sniffing at it, until I went, "Wait a minute. I think I might like you, but I'm not sure." So the way it changes is rather manipulative. I also can't see this as a scent that is "me," but I might wear it on occasion, if I'm feeling a bit tarty, a bit underhanded and a bit like presenting a mask.

Very chocolate-y in the bottle and initially after application. A little after applying, I get a sense of something behind the chocolate--is it cherry or orange blossom or even both? A half hour or an hour in, the orange blossom really starts to assert itself, pushing itself next to the chocolate. Two hours later, the orange blossom has shoved past the chocolate (by stomping on it) and is at the very front. The chocolate is very faint now, with even the hints of cherry surpassing it, but orange blossom is the most notable scent by far. I wasn't sure if I liked it in the first half hour (do I want to smell like this dessert my college servery serves, which is basically a steaming pile of chocolate cake mashed up, so it looks, literally, like a pile of steaming crap?), but I definitely know I don't like it now. Sort of florally without being honest about it--I guess I don't like orange blossom.

I've never really smelled violet before, so I was a bit sad to find out I don't like violets (well, at least based on this scent). In the bottle, it has a very acridic, herby grass-treatment sort of feel. On my skin, it still stays that way (I suppose my chemistry draws out the vetiver), which I didn't really enjoy. After a few hours, the violet makes its presence known, with a wee bit of vetiver backing it up. I didn't like this, but I've got to give it points for having wafting power.

My experience with Fire of Love pretty much mirrored jj_j's. It's warm and hot, probably from the ginger. While O is the afterglow of sex, this makes me think of what's done that leads to sex. However, I can't get over the musky overtones...I keep on waiting for a cat or dog to come and hump me (luckily, I don't have pets). Getting this was good, because now I know I'm not entirely fond of musk.

The scent does evoke the idea of a kick-ass female figure...but Anne Bonny's just not for me. I suppose I don't like scents that smell like wood and salt. On, it was very dark and made me think of leather (could have been the description affecting me). Two hours later, it reminds me of something I can't quite put my finger on. Ah, it's the smell of water sizzling over the rocks in a sauna, with the wood and sweat of past sauna-goers.... Not really something I want to smell like. I'll try it again over the next couple of days, though. Edit: What I mean is, it's like an anti-perfume, but not in a good way.

*zooms off to add to wishlist* Thank you, Beth!

Whoa. Now I'm glad I put off on ordering, so now I can order them all in one go. I can't wait to say, "I'm wearing Blue Moon." I wouldn't have known it was going to be the blue moon had it not been for this, either. Edit: Yep, now I'm definitely going to be making at least an order a month. This is good business, too (well, even better than before that is). Genius!

I tried the "answers@blackphoenixalchemylab.com" which also bounced back for me twice, so I'd think that they all aren't working....

I tried emailing Nella's email and the answers@ email twice, both of which were returned. The second time, I copied and pasted from the Contact Us page...so I just PMed her, even though she prefers emails... Edit: because I forgot the returned part.