Mrs.Black

Rose Red is my rec.

I don't usually write reviews, but given the scarcity of Hanami reviews I just want to say here that Hanami smells like the best shampoo ever. A tad disappointing if you were, like I was, hoping for the fresh, pure scent of Japanese flowers. But still, I will enjoy wearing this in my hair.

I just noticed my first bottle of Rose Red 2007 has a different label than the *cough* 6 following ones.

 

Weird.

The 2007 Yules all came in two different labels: a parchment label and a picture label. The parchment labels were all very similar, the picture labels completely different and geared towards the individual scents' themes.

I've read some of the reviews for GC scents and a few have mentioned images on the GC bottles. So I was wondering if certain scents in the GC have images and if so, have the images been discontinued? And what bottles feature the images and any one have any pics?

Well, the Neil Gaiman, Good Omens and Stardust scents all have picture labels. And the Salon scents too, of course. Among the "regular" GC scents (the ones priced at $15 a bottle) the only one that I can think of with a picture on the label is Schroedinger's Cat. At one point Snake Oil bottles came with Carnaval Diabolique special labels but that's over. Rapaccini's Garden scents all come with stilized labels, different from the rest of the GC's, but no pictures per se other than botanical motifs.

Bumping this thread 'cause I am in serious need. I've fallen into a depressive episode and after three years of being on my meds they're not quite treating me for what I need anymore so I'm anywhere between feeling sluggish and crappy to an absolute mess. Since I moved over here from NY I've been getting my prescriptions filled there and sent to me but my doc wants me to find someone over here and I've begun the search; only, I can't see my GP for two weeks for counselling or a referral and I'm really stuck. It's extra hard for me now since my depression is getting in the way of my school work which is why I moved to another country to begin with. I'm all alone here and all I've got for treatment other than the meds is my BPAL. My regular mood lifting scents are working for me now so what I need is recs or more information on Panacea and the Voodoo blends and which ones I should try out since determining exactly what can help soothe me is difficult. I'm not looking for a cure in perfume but something to help me cope would be wonderful

If it has to be BPAL, I´d recommend Aunt Caroline´s Joy Mojo, but my best recommendations would be TALs Radiance of Ra, Anthelion and Peace. Hang in there, heysunshine!

High John the Conqueror is definitely very grapey.

Madeline, God bless her, is a wearable Zombi. Over the years I have owned several bottles of Zombi, only to sell them barely used, because, although I do like the scent and remain in awe of the phenomenal concept captured in it, that upturned soil smell was way to strong and realistic for me to wear with a straight face on non-Halloween days. The damp soil note is present in Madeline too, but much more tempered by the flowers than it is in her more sinister brother. Ironically, I prefer the soft pink tea rose in Zombi to the more pungent white rose in Madeline but, in the end, I'd rather have a big bouquet of flowers with a bit of wet soil attached to it than a whole upturned grave with a few scattered beautiful roses.

Edited to add that testing Madeline has given me cravings for Zombi *again*.

I just wanted to put in a good word for Famine here. It is a wonderful smoky black tea scent. I detect some honey, although it isn't listed on the notes, but the overall effect is not as sweet as White Rabbit or even Dorian. I was afraid that Famine would be too masculine for me to wear, but it's not. It reminds me of Chergui, a very exclusive Serge Lutens parfume that can be only obtained in Paris.

I was wondering which Voodoo Oils (now classified under "The Conjure Bag" in Bewitching Brews) people have found most effective for their intended purpose. I have none at the moment (been busy delving into TAL). I have owned and swapped several bottles of voodoo oils over the years but there's a couple that I miss, and I'd like to get a couple of new ones.

Ooo, looks like it's time to try The Reaper and the Flowers... I've suspected all along that this might be "it".

I had and swapped a 10 ml bottle of Maiden, it was a bit too sharp on me, but I agree that it has a florist's tone to it.

I don't write reviews very often, but I feel the obligation to post the following public announcement:

"My fellow fans of House of Mirrors -- do not cry any more for that long-lost crystalline beauty: it has been re-born under the name Archangel Winter".

Thank you for the recs, there's a couple more I need to try. Come to think of it, Snow White does have that chilled flower feeling, as does Rose Red in a different way, but I don't think either provide the complete florist's experience. I think part of my problem is that I need the scent of carnations somewhere to get the full association.

Thank you for all the replies -- I hate to be so difficult, but I 've tried all the scents suggested (except Monna Vana) and, while I find many of them lovely, the only one that approaches my perception of a florist's smell is Rose Red, except of course it's a soliflore, not a bouquet. The most disappointing to me was Poisson d'Avril -- I ordered three bottles thinking it would be my florist's holy grail for sure, but the scent seemed very sharp, astringent and artificial to me . I know others love it and get the beautiful fresh crisp bouquet or dewy, flowery meadow.

I guess it's time to try Monna Vana, then.

I have a very impressive perfume collection (BPAL and non-BPAL) but, when it comes to florals, [cue U2] I still haven't found what I'm looking for. That dewy, cold, beautiful scent that you get when you walk into a florist's shop... that's my elusive holy grail.

I've tried dozens of BPAL florals (LE and GC) and none of them recreate that florist's smell for me so far. However, I am still hopeful because I know how Beth rocks the rose soliflore: Rose Red and London are two of my favorite perfumes in the whole world. I know Beth *could* recreate the florist's smell in a scent. The question is: has she done it yet? Right now my hopes tend to drift in the direction of two oils I haven't tried yet: The Reaper and the Flowers and Lillium Inter Spinas.

So have *you* found the BPAL florist's scent yet?

no offense. I've ordered from other small etailers and they use lotsa bubble wrap and they dont charge a handling fee. Since I paid this much for an order, I shouldnt have to pay an extra handling fee. Besides Im sure bpal is earning enough profit to sustain it's business. Not like they need to charge handling fee to cover their costs. oops. *waits to be attacked*

 

I did post in the wanted section. Since global priority is the only way to go, I guess I'll just try to do a group order. *sigh*

First, I don't think your post is offensive at all, nor do I see how it could be construed that way.

I'd just like you to realize that, while the Lab is a small business, it is not a one-person operation like some other on-line retailers. The Lab maintains a staff with salaries, medical benefits, sick leave, etc. I happen to think that this justifies a small handling fee per order, in addition to any sales profits. I'm very happy to pay this if it helps the Lab to continue growing and expanding and developing Beth's creative vision.

Does shipping for TAL cost the same as BPAL? I emailed TAL and I got no reply. Is the $13 shipping global priority mail? If Im not wrong, isnt it $11 and not $13? Also can I have it shipped airmail instead because I wont be ordering so many. It doesnt make sense for me to pay so much shipping for a few items!

 

Hi, I've ordered TAL before from Australia and the shipping rate is also $13 for up to 12 bottles. I think the Lab's $13 shipping rate includes a very reasonable $1 handling fee, as the price of the USPS international priority flat rate envelope is $12.

 

For the four years that I've been a BPAL customer, they have always used global priority mail to ship to Australia. I recall reading somewhere that the Lab prefers this method as too many packages go missing with regular airmail. I don't think you would save much at all with regular airmail versus the flat rate global priority envelope.

 

The global priority envelope costs $11. I just checked. Besides I've ordered from other etailers and I always pay $11.

Honestly, I think regular airmail will be cheaper if Im ordering 2 or 3 bottles. It's ridiculous to send so few bottles in a huge envelope. I've had airmail and global priority mail sent to me and I've not noticed any difference. No faster delivery time or lost mail. I think global priority can get lost too.

Anyway I'm still waiting for a reply from TAL.

The lab will not send it by airmail, because they had so many parcels get damaged and lost in transit. (Mainly I think it was the damage.) And if the shipping itself costs $11 it's sure to cost the lab more than that to send stuff out! The cost of the mailer and bubblewrap for a start, but also the time it takes to physically send it out - the lab has staff costs too.

If it's really stressing you out, you can post an ISO in the wanted forum and see if a forumite can send you some (you'd have better luck with decants, but might be able to get bottles) and they would be ok with sending it via airmail.

Yes, even if the global priority envelope is $11, a handling fee of $2 to include packing materials and staff time to do the packing and shipping of orders is still very reasonable. And since the Lab has had problems with regular airmail and will no longer use it, I think the dzurlady's advice is excellent: you probably should post in the "Wanted" section for bottles or decants of the TALs you want, and work out with the offering forumites an airmail arrangement.

Does shipping for TAL cost the same as BPAL? I emailed TAL and I got no reply. Is the $13 shipping global priority mail? If Im not wrong, isnt it $11 and not $13? Also can I have it shipped airmail instead because I wont be ordering so many. It doesnt make sense for me to pay so much shipping for a few items!

Hi, I've ordered TAL before from Australia and the shipping rate is also $13 for up to 12 bottles. I think the Lab's $13 shipping rate includes a very reasonable $1 handling fee, as the price of the USPS international priority flat rate envelope is $12.

For the four years that I've been a BPAL customer, they have always used global priority mail to ship to Australia. I recall reading somewhere that the Lab prefers this method as too many packages go missing with regular airmail. I don't think you would save much at all with regular airmail versus the flat rate global priority envelope.

Thanks for the answers. I'm pretty sure that next year, as the end of the Carnaval looms, I will break into a panic and get them all... leaving time to order back ups of the ones I fall in love with .

I have been reading the reviews and realized that maybe an indicator of the relative popularity of the scents is the number of reviews for each. Boomslang is the undisputable winner with 141 reviews. The rest of the Snake Scale (haha, get it?) looks as follows:

2. Saw Scaled Viper, 93 reviews

3. Australian Copperhead, 87

4. Death Adder, 84

5 & 6. Temple Viper and Green Tree Viper, tied at 78 reviews each

7. Western Diamondback, 74

8. King Cobra, 64

9. Asp Viper, 60

10. Coral Snake, 58

11. Habu, 57

12. Banded Sea-Snake, 54

13. Cottonmouth, 52

I left out Anaconda due to its limited availability as a frimp with the Snake Pit set.

I was surprised to see Cottonmouth at the bottom, as I have read praise for it in other threads. Maybe the addition of floral notes alienate the regular resin & spice fans of Snake Oil? Or maybe looking at the number of reviews is the wrong way to gauge popularity?

So how does your personal Snake Scale compare with this one?

I confess that I've been dragging my feet on the Snake Pit... I like Snake Oil so much that I'm afraid of the "messing with perfection" effect. I've only got Boomslang so far, which I like on its own right, but haven't tried any of the others. Decant circles are scarce here in Australia, so I need your advice on which Snake Pit bottles I should get. Which of these scents, in your opinion, are better than aged Snake Oil?

Sugar Skull label - just to round out the rest of the Halloweenies

 

Thank you so much, Tramp! I've been waiting for this one forever. I love the candy-floss pink. Good thing I have two Sugar Skull bottles on the way!

I just got my bottle of Goblin, and I'm in loooove. I wouldn't say that it's a patchouli for patchouli haters, you do have to like patchouli to like this one. I can't really smell the coconut or the benzoin, to me this is just a patchouli single note with a hazelnutty and creamy undertone (probably the coconut and the benzoin ).

The funny thing is, from reading the reviews I had already resigned myself to having to sell the bottle (or worse, being stuck with it forever). Some people made it sound like you might as well write "dirty hippie ass" across your forehead.

But no, this is an earthy, unsweet, refined patchouli... Who knew? Goblin love.

Okay, so most bpals are very sweet on me. This isn't actually a bad thing - I don't have a problem with sweet scents, I like them just fine. But lately I've been kind of tiring of everything smelling so sweet. I want some things that are only mildly sweet, or not sweet at all. Currently the only thing I think I have that fits the not-sweet-at-all bill is Burial, which I like, but isn't one of my faves. (Even Brimstone is a little sweet on me - yeah, it's pure gritty smoke, but it's a sweet gritty smoke.)

 

Any recommendations?

The driest BPAL scents that I remember are Penitence, Oblivion, Cathedral and Wolfsbane.

Edited to add that Ouija seemed very dry to me as well, in a polished wood way.

I have a question!!! I was reading that some scent are REVISITED?! or RESURRECTED?! Does this mean that it's a possibility of EVER bringing back the Single Notes for a limited time?!?!?!?!?! I regret the fact that I was born 3 years too late to be able to enjoy these scents that a lot of you guys have!!! What do you think?? Any chance???

My personal view of this is that the single notes are the least likely to come back of all the discontinued scents. (But I would be really, really happy to be wrong). The reason most discontinued scents disappear is either ingredient unavailability or low sales not warranting to keep them in the catalog. In the case of the single notes, however, I suspect their retirement was more of a business decision to concentrate on the creative side of things.