Honor

Maybe this BPAL Spreadsheet would be helpful? It has all the scents, and then if you want to find the review thread of a specific one I find the easiest fastest way is to use the advanced search form, type the scent name in, in quotations, ie "Red Moon", hit search in titles only, and then ask it to search only in the reviews forum.

 

Hope that's somewhat helpful!

My thanks, again, and a million times in the future, for that spreadsheet. I had used it before, years ago, to "Seed" my own massive, multi-tab BPAL excel sheet.

I fired up the sheet today to update it with all of the new scents in the last year. Wasn't really looking forward to that. Happen to check the forum and BAM! someone recently posted an updated link to the original. Made things much easier for me. (And my own sheet is even cleaner now too!)

Thank you thank you thank you for all that hard work!

Wow, surprised at how many of this i'm seeing. It's the same issue too.

Make sure you email the lab about this, even if it's "just a frimp". I think it's important they know how prevalent the issue is so they can track down the supplier and what's affected.

I didn't think I was going to want a bottle of this at first; but by the end of the day, I wound up changing my mind.

In bottle: Smoky leather and sandalwood. There’s almost a peanut-butter smell from the sandalwood. This isn’t unusual for me; for some reason my nose thinks some forms of sandal wood is peanut butter.

Wet on skin: The peanut-butter disappears(yay), and it's all sandalwood with a musky quality.

Drying: The leather emerges! Suddenly very leather heavy, with a “smooth” soft base. The leather dominates for about an hour though.

Dry down: (about 2 hours after applying) The leather is still really prominent, with the sandalwood and a hint of smooth vanilla underneath.

Throughout the day/overall: The Mark remains leather forward after dry down which is surprising as my skin tends to “eat” leather. The sandalwood and vanilla meld together beautifully to create a soft, smooth base for the leather.

The village is moderate, it stays a bit close to skin. Duration is ok, at least 5 hours. By the 6th hour it starts to fade.

Overall this more complex than I originally thought it might be, the sandalwood tricked me! I’m curious to see how it ages, and I think I might need a bottle!

First of all, I love this poem. I'd not heard of it until now, and I think it's delightfully, wickedly enticing. So thanks to the lab for introducing me to it!

It's been a long time since I've written a review, let's see if I can still do it.

In bottle: Patchouli! Sharp but with hint of vanilla. Little disappointed, there's no sign of the fig.

Wet on skin:Still patchouli! Sharp, raw patchouli.

Drying: The patchouli is losing some of it's edge and sharpness, but it still is the dominant note. If there is a nuance here, my nose isn't getting it. The patch is mellowing though, becoming softer. Still no sign of fig.

Dry down: Finally the patchouli has calmed itself into a soft "woody" version, smoothed out with the vanilla.

Throughout the day/overall impression: On me, this is largely patchouli. It starts "raw" smelling but mellows out, combining with the vanilla to become softer less intense. While the patchouli seems to go through different phases, none of the other notes really come out on their own; I suspect the vanilla, benzoin and fig contribute to the phrases and final softness of the patchouli.

Sadly, on me, there's not enough nuance to this.

The response I got from the lab seemed a bit surprised, so I directed them to this thread for more info. (I mean, the lab has access to the forum anyway). Hopefully they can track down the source, and solve the mystery of the broken imp caps!

Welp, I sent an email. Hopefully they won't think I'm trying to be bratty. I tried to make it clear I wasn't upset, but that they might want to know/be aware.

I did not mention that anyone else had an issue because I didn't want to speak for anyone else. If they ask i'll let them know. Maybe if you had a paid imp that was affected send them a message so they can get an indication of how many are affected?

ETA: The first imp/order I had with this issue was back in October (2015). Every order since then has had at least one affected imp.

I just recently discovered "Venus Murcia" and it seems perfect for spring. Bright green grass, a touch of musk and florals, and honey.

Ah, ok... I just had another order come in with broken/sheared imp caps. This is the 3rd order this has happened to. I'm starting to wonder if they are aware? I'm really concerned about my big ordering coming in now.. .any thoughts on whether to email the lab about this?

I received a partial imp of this from a forumite as a freebie during a swap, and I'm super grateful she included it, as this is not a scent I would've chosen on my own.

In the vial: Sharp, freshly cut, wet (dew touched?) green grass. It's 99.9% ALL GRASS but there's a hint of something underneath it, just enough to capture my interest.

On skin, initially: the grass doesn't fade, it stays in foreground, but a slightly musky honey is starting to emerge (like a shy bumblebee?), but it brings the threat of baby powder. There is a slight powder note that usually happens to me with *any* of the lab's Honey notes. At this point I'm cautious....

Dry down: The powdery note is gone! Bright green grass is still prominent, but there's a light musk and honey note that rests just underneath the "green". Over time, thorough the day, the honey and musk gain momentum "creeping" up and interweaving with the grass note more. Mid-day, there's a light, floral note that peeks out. By the end of the day the green is faint (surprising, considering how prominent it starts out), and it's a soft light musk, honey and floral scent.

Overall, very beautiful and as others have said, more complex than the note description makes it seem!

Very happy to have some of this!

Interesting... I had an order come in a few months ago, around jan? and had the exact same issue with the same scent..

a frimp of Joy Mojo had the sheared cap, that is just as you describe. It was a frimp and I wasn't a fan of the scent (and i had an extra cap) so I didn't worry much about it but I think it's interesting that it was the same exact scenario.

I'm a little concerned because I just made a big order, including several imps for friends that I just got into BPAL. I hope their first experience doesn't have bad caps. :/

I had an imp of Joy Mojo recently that came to me with what looked to be a cut lid that finished snapping when I tried opening it, I had randomly ordered some fresh imp vials shortly into my journey so had something to put it in, but in my limited experience in the few months I have been at this. Bad caps are a rare occurrence, and probably from a bad batch of caps. I don't think anything in my imp/decant collection is older than a few years so can't attest for really old imps, but out of 136 imps/decants only had two broken caps, both from recent lab orders. My second broken cap was an imp of Snake Oil and it split after about 10 openings.

In Bottle: Incense, Sugary-Vanilla and Booze... all identifiable and present, but not quite blended...

Skin: Mmmmm. Musky Sugared Vanilla with Booze. Not much incense here. Similar to Dorian, but without the Florals and Lemon

Dry/Throughout the Day: This doesn't morph much except to lose the Booziness later in the day and become creamier, taking a "baked vanilla goods" quality to it, but with enough musk so I don't smell precisely like a cupcake.

Later in the night, when I snuggled with the boy, he declared that I smelled like candy (i.e. - sweet). Given that he grew up in a smoking household and a less refined sense of smell than myself, I took it as a compliment.

Overall: One of my favorites and I'm sad I couldn't get a bottle (only a decant). This is similar to my beloved Dorian, but different enough that I'd wear both equally as often. An overall sweet, "warm" vanilla scent, with just enough muskiness to keep it from being too "young" or "old". Something for a mature young woman in the height of her sexuality.

This very easily could be the perfect scent for me. Indeed, it has many of the components I listed in my "forum name" scent (which ism y ideal scent).

Sadly however... part of those "rich, velvety woods" includes sandalwood and/or cedar which almost never fails to take over and ruin a blend for me. There are a handful of scents w/ sandalwood in them that work, but I think it's because there are a plethora of other notes to "Get in the way". Here, sandalwood is a main player and pushes everyone else off the stage...

In Bottle: Cherries! But darkened w/ current a hint of something I can't identify... I'm guessing the mahogany.

On Skin: The cherries rise up at first, but then very quickly fade away to leave the sharp, dry pencil shaving scent of sandalwood. Ah, you nemesis you.

Dry: Same. Dry, pencil shaving sandalwood. There is no getting around this one, and for me, none of the complex elegance I was hoping for.

Overall: While my intial impression was lovely, the sandalwood amps too much and this is not to be.

Oh, you, utter sweethearts

thank you so much for all the suggestions so far!

 

And HonorAlexandria, you are the sweetiest of sweethearts!

Another member recently surprised me with a frimp of Phoenix, so I'll test that one first (naturally) then consider parting with it, or getting another one, hehee. But with two recommendations for Pirate Moon I think I should give it a shot!

I saw the 'for sale' link in your sig - but it's been archived. Mewl. If you have any imps still that you're considering selling, let me know, and I could include the Pirate moon on my list

Yea my for sale list is woefully out of date. I do have plans on updating it soon(NOTE: since "soon" could be anything from this weekend to next month) but if there's anything on there now that you're interested in, let me know. Either way, send me a PM

Someone in the reviews just said that Pirate Moon smelled like Old Spice Lime on them (and mentioned another scent which did, as well) so that might be worth a look....

Yea, that might've been my review...I was just about to come here and say so when I read this

But really, both Pirate Moon and The Phoenix EXUDE "Old Spice Lime" on me. I'm not giving up hope for them yet, as I'm personally hoping it's a time of month and/or the lotion I put on underneath it (realized this AFTER the review)...but I'd be willing to decant you an imp to see how you feel about it.

I though, at first smelling this, my nose was perhaps very unrefined, since i had a hard time picking out notes and all this made me think of was "Dorian". I'm almost glad to see then, that I'm not the only one who gets that impression.

In Bottle: I get light florals and citrus, with a base of vanilla underneath. Somehow soft and sharp at the same time.

On Skin: Immediately all I can think is a "younger", less complicated Dorian. This lacks the sugared tea which smooths out dorian and gives it it's elegant feel. If one were to personify, this would be the younger, less experienced brother of Dorian... sharp around the edges and not nearly as refined.

Dry: The florals are all but gone and/or melded with other notes, not able to be picked out. The citrus prevails with bergamont v. evident (I like this) and again, the vanilla sits softly underneath it all...preventing the citrus from burning the nose, but not overwhelming.

Overall: Sharp and soft all at the same time, lacking the subtly of Dorian... but still a pretty blend of citrus and vanilla. I'm liking this more and more as the day goes on (and hoping my burgeoning headache has nothing to do with this). The throw is moderate, but lasting power, as most citrus' on me, is low.

*grins* I got this from harmonyfb, so it's amusing that my review is below hers.

In the bottle I smell pine and juniper and little else.

I put this on boy instead of myself, just for S&Gs...on him, the juniper and pine take a back seat as the vanilla, a warm amber-vanilla, comes out... however, this blend does little else in the sense of blending... even upon final drydown all I get on him was sharp pine and vanilla, distinct and seperate, and honestly, these are not two smells that I think go together well.

Ooh, this is so lovely.

In the bottle it's a rich mixture of dry cocoa (think cocoa powder, not chocolate), dusky red musk and blood wine... I didn't think I could smell wine, but I absolutely can!

On my skin,it morphs so much I don't know if I can describe it all...

Wet: it stays similar to the bottle, with the wine note fading and becoming a slight hint of berry behind the cocoa and musk. The amber starts to peek through as welll as the sandalwood.

Drying: During drydown the sandalwood takes over and does what sandalwood ALWAYS does on me: pencil shavings, maskign everything else.

The good news is this is only a phase, with the sandalwood taking a backseat upon finally drying.

Dry: Once completely dry, the amber is evident, blending almost seamlessly with the sandalwood to create a lovely warm "dusky" base which also melds with the red musk. The red musk does take center stage though, but you can definetely get whifs of the sandalwood/amber combination. The cocoa isn't gone, and comes up here in there....

Overall: Amazingly complex, everytime I think i have this pegged, it changes. But overall it's dark, musky seductive blend that is not for the weak and is the perfect nighttime scent.

I don't know why but I get Old Spice w/ Lime from this. In the bottle, it's a pleasant aquatic mens cologne, with hints of lime ...but on me, I can't even bring out individual notes, just the overwhelming scent of Old Spice + Lime.

The Phoenix did the same thing to me though, so this may be peculiar skin chemistry thing. I'm going to hold off getting rid of this, try it again in a week or so... and add to this review if necessary but I did want to get these thoughts out before I forgot about them and/or in case anyone else gets the same result and t's not just me.

So excited to get this!

In Bottle: Immediately, this blend delivers... pure caramel apple... like others, I get bright red juicy apple slathered in caramel w/ a hint of cinnamon. The boy smelled teh cinnamon more strongly than I.

On Skin Wet: Luckily, nothing changes. Caramel has a tendency to amp on me and turn hazelnutty.....but not here - still pure, lovely, caramel apple, although the caramel note is a bit more prominent and the cinnamon dissapears to a whisper.

Dry: Caramel continues to strengthen, the cinnamon is gone and the apple is less prominent than it was, but theres still enough "juicy" freshness to prevent it from being pure caramel.

Overall: Pure caramel apple. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm going to love this for the rest of fall...

Throw: moderate

Lasting Power: Slightly less than moderate

Again with the mens cologne over here, but not in a bad way. In fact that wasn't even my initial impression, but upon reading the many reactions to it, I realize that what I was smelling identifies.

In the bottle this is all wet grasses, moss and a touch of aquatics. I'm rather fond of all those scents, even if they can tend to give me headaches, so I was happy...

Initially on skin, it maintains it's wet grass/aquatic smell. It's not just wet, fresh grass, but something a little darker and aquatics...I'm thinking mosses, but not like algae, if that makes sense.

Drying, this doesn't change much and I kept get whiffs of it on the drive in to work.. not bad...

BUT

Strangely, upon final dry down I get the same thing angaharad above me does... pencil shavings... which means there's sandalwood, or some sandalwood-like component in this, which makes me glad I didn't get a bottle. I don't know why, but BPAL sandalwood ALWAYS turns to pencil shavings on me... ever other sandalwood is nice and mellow and pretty, but not this.

Damnit, I really had high hopes for this.

2007:

This is a very peculiar blend, smelling nothing like I thought it would, and no traces of the notes listed... but still appropriate for the season.

In Bottle: Spicy sweetness. There are no individual components coming out (although perhaps I should try again on a day when I don't have a massive sinus headache?) and something in burning my nose

On Skin Wet: Sugar Skull. Seriously, all I can smell is sugared fruits and carmalized sugar that is indicative of sugar skull (which I love, so it wasn't bad, but not what expected)

On Skin Dry: The sugar tamps down, and there's the spice again...still nothing I can identify, it mellows out to spicy sweetness like in the bottle, but w/ less kick. There's also a weird menthol note coming through that doesn't blend well w/ the others. Thankfully, it's fainty.

Overall: Spicy Sugar Skull. There's no other way to put it. It's nice, but def. not what I expected and I'm glad I only got a decant to be honest. Although it IS evocative of fall, it's not the precise image I imagined. Where's the pumpkin, the apple, the patchouli?? I get none of these here.

Ah well.

Bottle: Buttered Pumpkin. Nothing but.

Wet on skin: Fruity(!?), still buttery pumkpin, and smokey something I can't place

Drydown: The fruitness disappears as it dries, becoming smoky buttered pumpkin and something acrid and sharp-probably the asphalt.

Overall: Not what I expected, nor did I expect to like it, but still not quite for me.

Oh, ok. Thanks!

Ok, so I'm still a bit stupid when it comes to Excel. Is it possible to merge a spreadsheet (i.e. the updated one hackess just posted) into an existing one? And if so, how?

Because I have a spreadsheet that's been customized to include my own notes, reviews, what's being swapped, etc... and while I want the updated oils, don't really want to have to redo all that other work.

Any of you Excel gurus have any ideas, tips, hints?

I'm loving this so far, which is peculiar since I'm an Aries, and actually *hated* my sign blend...

In Bottle/Wet: Fruity punch, with a touch of something underneath that I can't quite describe...

On Skin: Immediately it's still fruit punch, although the cherry is starting to dominate. There's a bit of a herbal/floral note underneath, right after you smell the fruits; I'm thinking this is a mixture of the rose/carnation along with the earthiness of fig

Drydown: Interstingly, once dry the fruits, even the cherry are mostly gone and this is a rose dominated scent. I love BPAL's rose (when prior to BPAL I HATED rose in perfumes) which is good because it seems to amp likeWHOA. Overall I get a dry rose scent, with bits of creaminess from the fig and nothing from any of the fruits. Not quite what I thought or hoped it would turn out, but pretty nonetheless.