Mrs.Black

I, too, love Hanerot Halalu. I don't get any smoke from it; what I do get is orange flower honeycomb. I mean real honeycomb, not the candy. I can smell natural beewax and luscious honey subtly perfumed with the orange flowers of its origin. I'll need more than one bottle of this one.

Finally got photos of the Yules taken and posted to flickr, along with Sugar Skull spray, scrubs, Snake Pit, Ladies of the Grindhouse, and some other various things here and there. And a couple of new postcards. Hopefully I will have Toad Hall by the end of the week (along with Snow White spray) and I'll get some photos of those posted.

 

Could you please post a link? I went to flickr and searched by your forum name, but couldn't find them

 

It's in her sig .

Oh, OK, thanks. I have the forum set to the work skin with no signatures or avatars so I can look in "discreetly" while I'm at work.

Finally got photos of the Yules taken and posted to flickr, along with Sugar Skull spray, scrubs, Snake Pit, Ladies of the Grindhouse, and some other various things here and there. And a couple of new postcards. Hopefully I will have Toad Hall by the end of the week (along with Snow White spray) and I'll get some photos of those posted.

Could you please post a link? I went to flickr and searched by your forum name, but couldn't find them

I was a rabid Cinnabon fan during the six years I lived in the US. Still miss it.

So believe me when I say that the most Cinnabon-y of all BPAL scents is, by far, Chimera.

Thanks guys! Great, I still have copious amounts of Samhain, including half a 10 ml bottle from 2004, but I have to get this year's just for the bottle!

Can someone post a pic of this year's Samhain, please?

I did see talula_fairie's post before I quoted that sentence. I didn't realise though that what she was quoting was an e-mail from the Lab and not the Lab's website because, as I said, I'm pretty sure I've seen the same statement before on the Lab's website.

No, of course, no-one would expect Beth to change the copy on the website any time soon, although I wouldn't assume she is the only person authorised to do so.

"All of our scents are 100% naturally derived".

 

This quote from the BPAL website is very clear, I don't understand all the confusion and people saying that the Lab hasn't made a clear statement on this. The reason they say "naturally derived" and not "natural" is that there are many notes that cannot be extracted directly. This is true for most fruits, many flowers, leather, etc. For example, there is no such thing as "natural strawberry oil", but it's possible to mix certain natural oils to create the strawberry accord, which is what the Lab does.

Thanks Mrs. Black, that does make it clearer, but where on the website does it say that?

Well I'll be damned! I can't find it any more, ClareN, although I'm sure it used to be in the FAQ page. In fact, I cannot find any reference to the products being natural, or naturally derived, in the whole Lab website.

As I said before, I personally couldn't care less about the issue because:

1. Many natural products and essences are harmful and you wouldn't want them anywhere near your skin, so to me what is important is quality and safety (and for the stuff to smell good), and I get all these needs met through BPAL.

2. There are artificial molecules that are used to enhance natural essences in perfumery. This is to me an acceptable practice as long as it's done judiciously by a talented perfumer, which Beth is. Aldehydes, for example, an artificial compound, are said to be the "secret" that made Chanel n 5 into much more than just another rose/jasmin perfume among thousands.

Having said all this, I do think it would be in the Lab's best interest to bring back a clear statement about the "natural" issue to their website, since so many people set so much stock by this.

Eatingthesea, I think that was the label for Sugar Skull, I'm familiar with the image as well but I'm not sure of the name...i think I thought it was Joan of Arc but I could be wrong!

yes! that's the one. now to figure out the name of it...and i believe you're right, it's joan of arc. thanks!!!!

 

She's the Anima Sola, actually....

That was Sugar Skull 2005. The only vintage of Sugar Skull I didn't like, I must say. It had an undertone of smoky caramel or molasses that I couldn't get on board with. And I never understood the choice of label art because isn't Sugar Skull supposed to be "vibrant with the joy and sweetness of life in death"? The lady in chains surrounded by flames didn't seem to portray that very well.

Thank you for posting those first labels, Delirium 1009! I love it when labels are all different. Last year's Halloween label were a bit too plain for my taste, but I love this year's so far.

"All of our scents are 100% naturally derived".

This quote from the BPAL website is very clear, I don't understand all the confusion and people saying that the Lab hasn't made a clear statement on this. The reason they say "naturally derived" and not "natural" is that there are many notes that cannot be extracted directly. This is true for most fruits, many flowers, leather, etc. For example, there is no such thing as "natural strawberry oil", but it's possible to mix certain natural oils to create the strawberry accord, which is what the Lab does.

I can't wait to see what the Weenies will look like! Someone post pictures the second they get their bottles please!

Oooh, I can see why only 54 were made (thats the story, right?)

No, I recall a limited number was made but not specifically 54. The "54" refers, I think, to the famous discotheque Studio 54 in New York, an iconic establishment of the seventies. It's now been converted to a theatre.

Silk definitely has a scent all of its own - I wish I could describe it too! It's soft and a little bit "green" to me, I wonder if it's got something to do with the plants that the silkworms eat to make the silk. (Is it true that they eat mulberry leaves, or is that just an old wives tale?)

 

The bamboo note that Beth uses reminds me of it a little bit. Maybe something like Holiday Moon, which on me stays pretty green and lets the bamboo dominate, would remind me of silk... I'lll dab some on and report back. Are you a fan of any of the Asian-influenced scents?

Hi Ivyandpeony! Thanks for your answer. No, I haven't kept any of the Asian Moons... Holiday Moon, to my nose, had a very green pungent scent (I assumed that was the bamboo) that didn't agree with me. It was present as well, to a lesser extent, in Fire Pig, Earth Rat and Dragon Moon but not, to my nose, in Hungry Ghost Moon.

But you are right about the slightly "green" quality of the silk smell. There is something fresh and pulpy to it. Maybe the softer, paler woods would be a good place to start to look for the elusive silk scent. I'm going to retry Aziraphale and see if this is going in the right direction.

Hi, I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a BPAL that smells like silk garments. When I lived in the US one of my favorite haunts was T.J.Maxx (a discount store) and I used to buy lots of silk clothes. I remember one brand in particular, August Silk, but there were others. Well, silk clothing has a beautiful and very specific smell that I won't try to describe. For those of you who know it, have you come across a BPAL that reminds you of that? Thanks!

Madame Tracy is a very nice rainy scent. You wouldn't say that from reading the notes, but there you go.

Neither Zephyr nor Phobos fit that description. Zephyr is a musky, refreshing lemon, while Phobos is a bracing, chilling lemon. I would recommend Follow Me Boy or Cheshire Moon.

My mom is looking for the perfect rose scent. I have a feeling she wouldn't like anything too stinky (anything with patchouli is a no-no). I know she loves white floral blends, so a true rose or a crisp pale rose might be best, but I'm open to suggestions, as long as it smells mostly like rose!

 

Thanks so much!

I would recommend Moon Rose and/or London.

Hey guy's I've just ordered through Paypal yesterday and received Paypal's confirmation email. However I have not received BPAL's confirmation email. I'm wondering how long does it take from them to process Paypal orders and email us. It's my first time ordering so do forgive me for being a little nervous.

BPAL no longer sends order confirmation emails (or not to me, anyway). After you get the confirmation from Paypal, the next thing that will happen (but it usually takes at least three weeks) is that you'll probably get a "Click & Ship" email from USPS (United States Postal Service). That indicates that your order has been shipped. However, the C&S sometimes doesn't happen for international orders, so it's also possible that the order may just show up at your doorstep without warning!

Milk Moon 2007 is very pina colada-tropical. It was an LE, but wasn't very popular so it shouldn't be hard to find in the swaps area. Of the current GC scents you may want to try Obatala, Elegba and my personal favorite, Black Pearl.

I would say Dee for his intellectual side; Tombstone for the rugged action hero.

For what it's worth, Cup of Death was single note, juicy lovely fresh peaches on me.

Cup of Death? I don't remember a BPAL called that... Unless it's a Salon, I lose track of those, especially the retail exclusives since they are so hard to obtain.

Unfortunately, I have found BPAL's jasmine to be of the strong indolic variety, not the ethereal delicate kind. I love the scent of natural jasmine, and for a while I actively investigated all the BPAL jasmine scents, but I haven't found any that reminds me of the live flower.

Edited to say: Welcome to the BPAL madness!

I'd recommend:

1. Follow Me Boy

2. Love Me

3. Snake Oil

Sorry if these're posted already... here's Hexennacht '08 and Beltane '08! I tried to get as little glare as possible, but the labels didn't want to cooperate.

 

 

(Bigger version here.)

 

ETA: the server that I originally put them on seems a little iffy today, so if they're not loading and you're dying to find out what the pineapple mystery is about, I also put the smaller version on Flickr here.

I'm a bit disappointed with the rustic flavor of the Hexennacht label. I loved the original, which was similar to the GC labels but with a minimalistic little witches' hat.

Thanks for all the recs!