concrescence

I thought it was listed at the top of the page whether blends shipped in cobalt versus amber bottles? Bewitching Brews says amber, Sin and Salvation says colbalt? Rappaccini's Garden and the Wonderland scents claim colbalt as well.

 

It looks as though most of the LEs (from pictures I've seen and what few I've actually gotten myself ) come in amber, but there are a few GC scents that appear to still come in colbalt (though I've not ordered anything from the GC except LEs and Bewitching Brews thus far, the descripts might be out of date?).

 

EDIT: Although Diabolus does list its line as being housed in amber bottles . . . hn.

 

 

Interesting!

 

I had never noticed that at the top of each page before, but now that I look:

Sin and Salvation

Mad Tea Party

Rappaccini's Garden

Somnium

 

All say presented in a cobalt blue bottle, whereas all the others say amber

 

cool

this is no longer true anymore, though. like i said, all my bottles, GC (regardless of category) and LE, are amber except for a couple that i got very early on (i think they were from the Sin and Salvation category). either the trickle of blue bottles in recent orders are leftovers from when they were more common or the lab is now starting to reinstate them. either way, i wouldn't *expect* cobalt bottles. if you get one, cool, if not, oh well.

interesting. the lab used to use cobalt bottles more frequently. the only two that i have are from when i first started collecting bpal, around early 2006. i seem to remember that the lab discontinued using the cobalt bottles not long after that, and i think it was because they didn't fit the new bottling machines. perhaps they've gotten a new supplier. that would be nice, because i think the cobalt bottles are prettier. i really don't think there's much of a difference between cobalt and amber bottles, though, than just the color. both will protect the oil from light.

did you email them at answers@blackphoenixalchemylab.com from a non-yahoo email address? if so, and you haven't heard from them by the end of business on Monday, i would email again. it is the weekend, afterall.

i've gotten the wrong bottle in an order once before, and they were very nice about it. they apologized and sent out the correct bottle right away.

probably unlikely. the lab has occasionally resurrected limited edition scents before, usually for their anniversary. however, purple phoenix was an anniversary scent itself, and it would seem weird to bring it back. maybe the lab will at some point resurrect *all* the phoenixes. that would be cool (and very phoenix-like ).

your best bet for getting an "untainted" fresh-from-the-lab bottle would be to stalk lab ebay sales. you never know what they're going to dig out of storage and put up for auction.

to me, silk road smells a lot like baklava. it can cause a little redness at first, though, if you have sensitive skin. but anything that has cinnamon, which is important to the whole baklava thing, is likely to have that problem.

i've never gotten through a full bottle. my first two bottles (and first BPAL loves) were Penitence and Morocco, i received them in Feb. or Mar. 2006, and they're just under half full. i think it's just that i have a lot of different scents, and though Penitence is my "signature scent", i probably only wear it once every week or two.

the lunacy scents, as well as those that have accompanied them this past year (the zodiac and shapechangers), are available to buy during the full moon (or two full moons, we got ahead of ourselves when there was a blue moon in may) prior to when that moon/zodiac would occur so that you will have them in your hot little hands and be able to actually wear them at the appropriate time.

if you post an in-search-of post for capricorn in the swaps area, you'll probably be able to find some.

so... i am in love with both Lurid Library and Black Lace. i'm almost positive that the musk of infernal servants in LL is the indian musk that's in BL, and my skin absolutely loves it. i could roll around in the stuff!

 

i used the search function on the Lab's page, but nothing came up. is there a GC scent that uses this same musk? i've heard some people comparing antique lace to black lace, but i've never smelled it. is it the musk that makes them similar or just the vanilla?

 

I don't think that the musks in Black Lace and Antique Lace are identical. They do bear some similarities as blends, and if you like one, you might like the other. But I wouldn't say one is a substitute for the other. For me, Black Lace was mostly dry and smoky, with a backdrop of vanilla musk, while Antique Lace was predominately sugary vanilla, with barely any musk. I've only worn Antique Lace a couple of times, but the musk didn't strike me as being the same.

 

Unfortunately, I can't think of anything else that would be similar to Black Lace, but I'll be sure to post here if I ever find anything.

thanks, neelah!

so... i am in love with both Lurid Library and Black Lace. i'm almost positive that the musk of infernal servants in LL is the indian musk that's in BL, and my skin absolutely loves it. i could roll around in the stuff!

i used the search function on the Lab's page, but nothing came up. is there a GC scent that uses this same musk? i've heard some people comparing antique lace to black lace, but i've never smelled it. is it the musk that makes them similar or just the vanilla?

if there isn't: Beth, pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease use this musk in a GC scent, especially with a bit of vanilla and/or incense.

well, i guess i'll update and say what i tend to wear while princessing: alice, mouse's long sad tale, maiden, persephone, pink moon 07, hermia.

porcelina- i would second hermia for you because it's quite pink and girly, but that pink pepper gives it a spicy kick. it really captures the sort of feisty yet girly attitude of hermia.

i'm poor right now, but snow white is definitely on my list. i might get it for christmas.

i don't have SAD, so ymmv, but...

one to tie, two to win is seriously summer in a bottle. it smells exactly like sitting in the grass on a breezy, warm, sunny summer day while making dandelion chains.

unfortunately it's LE and may be hard to find. you would have to pry mine out of my cold dead hands!

with paypal, the money immediately comes out of your balance, or if you are doing instant transfer, as soon as the transfer clears at the bank.

with CCnow, the money taken from you when the lab "harvests" your order from CCnow to be put in line to be filled. they seem to do this about every 1-2 weeks. if you log onto CCnow after they do this, it will say "shipped" but it hasn't actually shipped. i guess you could think of it as if your order has "shipped" from CCnow to the lab, but the goods haven't really been shipped to you. you'll get a click'n'ship notice from USPS when it actually goes into the mail.

i think i just gave you more info than you really asked, but whatever. i'm kind of long-winded like that!

i would also call your credit card company to find out what the problem is. my credit card company flagged and stalled a lab order once because i had never bought anything from them before with that card and because the lab is listed as selling *computer software* (i'm not sure why or if they're aware of that) and the company said that it was not in line with my usual buying habits. basically, they were watching my back and were afraid it was an unauthorized purchase. i told them that it was fine, and they went ahead and sent the order through.

i don't have kunstkammer, but my 1.5 year old bottle of morroco did that quite some time ago. i think it's just a normal aging/settling thing with some oils. my morroco also smells fine. as long as it still smells good, i wouldn't worry.

ETA: a update on my bottle of high john the conqueror: i had one of those very woody, almost vetiver like high johns. after six months or so, it's now calming down and i'm starting to get a bit of the sweet grapish note that a "normal" high john the conqueror has.

i would also suggest morocco. vanilla is not one of the listed notes, but it clearly smells like a spicy vanilla. it's very gender neutral and smells great on both me and my exboyfriend.

i would highly recommend Penitence. it's just frankincense and myrrh. some people find it too "churchy," but on me it's very sweet, creamy, and sexy. it's my #1 bpal and the only one that i consistently get compliments on.

another one that hasn't been mentioned yet that i really like is Priala. she's myrrh and cinnamon. i like her a lot.

i, too, love the frankincense! penitence is my #1 BPAL and is one of the few scents that i get compliments on. and no reason not to try it since it's GC.

i also like rose cross, hymn, king cobra, all saints 05, leo 07. i haven't tried midnight mass because it sounds so similar to penitence and some reviewers mention the dreaded pine note that i've found shows up in some batches of BPAL's incense blends. i don't think it actually is pine, it's just that one of the resins seems to occasionally come up smelling sort of like pine in some of their batches. me and that piney resin not DO NOT get a long. that's what ruined all saints 06 and pit and the pendulum for me. my two most painful disappointments since i was soooo excited about them and soooo sure they would work. *sigh*

I'm actually clueless as what, and if, I'll be dressing up. Very tempted to go as a Mary-Sue (at which point, something akin to Pink Phoenix will have to be worn.)

 

If I go as my usual Millicent Bulstrode, I'm thinking something tough, and with leather. DeSade hates my skin, but perhaps Quincy Morris?

my favorite leather scent is Loviatar, but that may be a bit too sexy for Millicent.

i'm going to be curled up at home, since i ordered it from Amazon with guaranteed release date delivery, so i'm going to want something nice and cozy. i'm thinking Pumpkin Patch #4. that's my favorite pumpkin scent. and maybe i'll make some pumpkin pasties, too!

Does anyone else get vetiver out of High John the Conqueror? My first bottle I got off the forum, and it smells like grape soda. A new bottle I got right from the lab smells like heavy vetiver...do you think it is mislabeled or is it some weird effect of aging?

 

ETA: I emailed the Lab and this is what they said: "The thing about HIGH JOHN is that it is one of the only scents that consistantly varies in scent; something about the extraction process does not guarantee uniformity in scent, plus the more it ages, the more the scent changes. We get pure HIGH JOHN extracted from the actual root, and it never has the same smell twice; unfortunately, it’s the nature of the beast, so-to-speak, so there’s no real remedy for this situation. Hope you have a great day!"

 

Of course it goes to figure that natural plant oils would not be the same from time to time...I guess I'm more surprised that they ARE the same, or same enough from batch to batch! But it does help answer my question

i had a pretty similar experience with my high john the conqueror, but never emailed the lab about it, so i'm glad to get a more satisfactory answer than just "there are batch differences." my imp was quite grapey, but my bottle was STRONGLY cedar. it's interesting to find out that the high john root itself is what causes the wide scent differences. i find that it's voodoo efficacy is the same, regardless of its scent. and, after a few months, it is finally mellowing out, but i doubt it will ever become that light grape that my imp had. i have to use my bottle very sparingly since the scent is so strong. it's hard to get other scents to mask it.

i pretty much always wear wolf's heart to interviews. some might find the scent unusual, but i find it very comforting and grounding, and i think it helps me make a good impression. sometimes i add a bit of high john the conqueror, too. unfortunately, my bottle smells strongly of cedar instead of light grape, so i have to use it very very sparingly, but i think it gives me a boost. whatever you wear, just don't wear too much. enough that you can smell it but that your interviewer can't (or only just a little).

i just made a TAL order with the new 2-page paypal send money thing, and it went through just fine. i think they've fixed the glitches. go ahead and order.

thanks! i thought that might be the case, but didn't want it to "bounce."

i'm pretty new to paypal and have a dumb newbie question:

i have a paypal balance because of some forum sales i made recently, but it's not quite big enough to cover what i want to buy with shipping charges. my paypal is tied to my checking account. do i need to transfer money into my paypal balance before i make the order, or if i make the order as is will it automatically take out the extra from my bank account without my having to manually transfer it?

don't feel bad. you couldn't find it using the search engine, because it will only search for words with at least 4 letters. a very odd and annoying feature.

i just got a new bottle of high john the conqueror from the lab and it doesn't smell like my lab imp AT ALL. not one teeny tiny bit. my imp is a grapey floral and my bottle is very very strong cedar. i seem to remember having a conversation about this with another forumite that this happened to, although i can't find it in this thread. since she had the same scent change, it's obviously not mislabled, but i just can't figure it out. i know the official lab answer as to why there are batch differences, but this change seems like a lot more than a batch difference.

fortunately, i don't really wear this oil for its scent, but for its effect. unfortunately, i usually layer a tiny bit of it under another scent that i like a lot better, but this new high john the conqueror has such a strong throw that it's difficult to hide it under anything else. i smell like a hope chest or a freshly cleaned hamster cage. the effect doesn't seem to have changed, though. if anything, it has gotten stronger. i made a bucketfull of tips and seemed to impress my clients the last time i wore it, even though i was dog sick.

i just wanted to give a warning about the change, though, in case some people wore this oil just for its scent. it is not the same at all. if you liked the fruity floral but don't like cedar, do not order it for the time being.