Poenari

Echoing hammy and Numanoid here. If you already know what Samhain smells like and love it, then what are you waiting for?! BUY THIS NOW!! If you don't think hair gloss is the product for you but you love Samhain, BUY THIS AND WEAR IT AS A BODY SPRAY! You know how sometimes when one of the BPAL/BPTP scents is translated into a different medium and different notes become more prominent than in the original scent? Well Samhain is the truest of the true from perfume to hair gloss. It's that same gorgeous autumn in a bottle scent we all know and love.

If you aren't certain from the notes, Samhain smells like nothing else. Fir woods, apples, spiciness, and the essence of Halloween to me. The notes are well-blended but I always get a top note that is slightly menthol. That isn't present in the hair gloss. I hope this sticks around long enough for me to buy a backup bottle because I want to wear this every fall for years to come.

I adore red musk and can't stop collecting as many blends with it as I can, so The Poem Cloud was another insta-buy. This is the perfect counter-balance to Smut hair gloss. The Poem Cloud is the good girl to Smut's slutty little sister. I get the comparisons to Infernal Lover as well as Third Charm. This is simply beautiful and the red musk as always, sticks around for a long time in my hair and with my body chemistry. Goes with so many of my perfumes, and I'm happy to have it!

This is a lovely scent, and lighter in feel than I had expected. There are no pencil shavings from this sandalwood. The scent is slightly sweet, gently floral/resin combo from the amber and tiare. The oudh and sandalwood are subtle. This is suitable for any situation, and as a hair gloss, it's another excellent choice.

I guess I forgot to review this one! I bought two bottles when it won the lunacy poll, because I love Sin perfume. Getting it in hair gloss form was going to be a definite win for me. I can't really add to what LiborAmoris and Silvertree said. This is gorgeous Sin, and as a hair gloss it is extremely long-lasting. I even love how it makes the shower smell when I finally rinse it out of my hair. Gorgeous!

I sprayed a squirt on my arm and smoothed it in to test. The red musk comes out first but is immediately followed by the smoke. Unfortunately for me, the smoke immediately amped into stale cigarette smoke and took over. I absolutely smell like the day after a drunken binge in a smoky night club. However, I've never been a smoker and don't like the smell of stale cigarette smoke clinging to my hair and clothes, so Red is not for me.

I use my bath oils as after-shower moisturizers. Recollection is a lovely scent, and very wearable as a scent in any setting. The marshmallow is not overly sweet, it is warmed by the cocoa butter, and the vanilla is mixed into the mèlange, making this a comforting foodie scent. This is a great companion for Stekk, although the cocoa butter makes this a bit heavier in feel than Stekk's light fluffiness.

This is the atmo spray of my fantasies, hopes, and dreams! I swore I wouldn't buy any more atmos because I can't seem to make a dent in the plethora of bottles I already have. (It used to be easier to use up atmos before I retired, when I had bottles kept at work and others at home.) No matter, when I read the notes for this, I knew I had to get a decant and hopefully it would be enough. NOPE.

If you ever dreamed of a red musk scented atmo, THIS IS THE ONE! All of the notes blend so beautifully together, and as much as I adore red patchouli, even that doesn't scream at you. This is sexy drop-dead gorgeous and I don't ever need to try another atmo. I would love this as a sleep scent but I'd never get any sleep if I sprayed it on the bed linens, if you get my meaning. I do, however, want to roll around in this. Yeah, I'm buying a couple of bottles of this for sure.

Tested as a moisturizer, since that's how I use my bath oils.

A dry vanilla cream, due to the sandalwood. No hint of pencil shavings, as sandalwood can sometimes turn on me. The slightest hint of tea rose is found only after drydown. Nothing foodie about this vanilla. Pretty, gentle, feminine, and I could see this working with a lot of perfumes. However, it's not a "me" scent so my decant will suffice.

Even fresh from the mailbox, this is fabulous. I have a strange relationship with Smut perfume. It gets me a lot of compliments, but I don't completely love it. There's a hint of "after-sex" smell in the perfume that is what keeps me from loving it. But the hair gloss (well-shaken, I might add) is perfect! All the Smut goodness with none of the "after-sex". The musks are sweet but not overpowering, and not boozy. This is actually quite wearable in any setting. I need a backup bottle because this one is going to be sprayed all over mah body and hair!

 

I love this bump! Red musk is one of my fave notes also. A few suggestions:

 

A Rosy Colour Paints Her Claws with Honor (if you're also ok with rose and bourbon geranium)

Psychodynamic Discharge (if you're also ok with leather and vetiver)

The Tumultuous Vultures of Stern Passion (more vetiver here)

 

The Infernal Lover is really tough to find (and was released more than a few years ago), but it was AMAZING. I dream that it will come back some year.

Ooh, I hadn't thought of A Rosy Colour, I may have to track some down, I've seen a few floating around the forum.

 

Just tried Hollywood Babylon, someone kindly frimped it to me, so I just got it today. This is what I wanted the Instructional Manual to be...sexy red musk with hints of creamy strawberry.

 

I adore red musk and it usually amps on me in a good way, that gets me a lot of compliments. In addition to the ones listed above, I would add:

Krampus - Sinister red musk, black leather, dusty rags, and wooden switches. I get a ton of red musk from it myself. I didn't order this year's, but I don't think there is a lot of variation from year to year.

Mircalla, Countess Karstein - Languid, melancholy fire: red musk, purple orchid, frankincense, smoky vanilla, Styrian herbs, peru balsam, tonka, Zanzibar clove, and patchouli. This is such a favorite of mine that I have a few backups. There is currently a bottle available on the Lab's Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/listing/157217140/mircalla-countess-karnstein-5ml-black

Anyone have a recommendation for something that smells similar to Banshee Beat? Yes? YES?

I have Banshee Beat purchased from UO back in the day, as well as the Lab's re-release as OGBB. They are identical because the Lab found a big supply and rebottled it as OGBB. Revenant Rhythm is the same, so I highly recommend getting some of that from the Trading Post while it's available. You can read threads on the many uses for hair gloss and bath oil and atmo in the BPTP threads.

So, I love patchouli, and especially patchouli with vanilla so I have many bottles of BPALs with those notes. Mind you, these are just my thoughts and skin chemistry is different on everyone yadda yadda yadda I'll run down a few that I have:

Goblin (bonus- it's a GC scent and impable) is the closest that I've found to BB. The benzoin and coconut blend into a sweetness with the patchouli. The coconut is nothing like suntan lotion, so have no fear there. The patch is the same kind as in BB. I highly recommend this one as a great alternative.

Ask the Nearest Hippie: the weed is very prominent in the bottle and when first applied, and although it dries down fairly quickly, it makes this a more gnarly scent and not as wearable in public. The patch is dry and dark and the scent is not as sweet as BB.

Feed Me and Fill Me with Pleasure (also kind of hard to find): this is beautiful, the same patch to me as in BB and the amber here takes this into a different realm, but the honey keeps this on the sweet side.

#occupywallstreet: another dark, black patch, but with cocoa and tobacco as well as vanilla. This one is another dark patchouli, not as sweet due to the tobacco and the cocoa lending a dryness to it. Gorgeous and wearable, but the dark counterpoint to BB.

These are the first ones that pop into my head whenever this question is asked. I might have more suggestions after I've finished my coffee

If you do a search in this thread alone, you will find many recommendations with addition comments.

Also, here:

http://www.bpal.org/topic/1838-bpal-patchouli-theres-nothing-else-like-it/page-6?hl=banshee&do=findComment&comment=1779184

And here:

http://www.bpal.org/topic/21163-searching-for-the-perfect-vanilla/page-14?hl=banshee&do=findComment&comment=1848794

But keep an eye out for Revenant Rhythm for sure!

How is it possible that I never reviewed Dragon's Milk when I love it so much? I swore I had, but can't find a review, so I'll try a brief one again. I adore Beth's dragon's blood note and usually have great luck with it in any blend. Dragon's Milk is a gorgeous blend with the Dragon's blood and the honeyed vanilla. It is sweet and resinous at the same time, with almost a sticky sweetness from the Dragon's blood and a heavy vanilla and honey on my skin. A little goes a long way and it lasts forever on me. I adore this scent so much.

I was fortunate enough to get the hair gloss too, and I wish this scent made the Trading Post catalog as a GC for hair gloss and bath oil.

Beeswax dominates and drowns out everything. This is the same beeswax note that has ruined these other scents for me: Young Edith's Bedroom, and Whiskey, Candlesmoke, & Musk atmo sprays. Something about this particular note makes me wrinkle my nose. I can get by without washing it off, but I will be happy when it is faded and I can apply something else that I prefer. Fortunately I don't find that problem with honey. QoD however, is not one for me.

I have emailed them a couple more times & no reply, I wonder if they are getting them at all...

That is definitely unusual! Do you have Facebook? If so, then maybe trying to message them via the Lab's Facebook account? I'm so sorry this is happening to you!

 

 

 

I've emailed them at answers@blackphoenixalchemylab.com once on the 5th & another on the 10th, both have gone unanswered

That seems very strange! I email the Lab often (I am a pain in the butt, constantly asking for combined shipping) and they generally get back to me same or next day. I feel like if they haven't answered, it's because they didn't get your email. My last email to them was Jan 28, and I received a response that day.

 

Maybe it is an email issue? Have you emailed the Lab before and gotten a response?

 

Yes, I have. I got their address right, right?

 

Yep, that's it for sure! And if your email has gone through before, you wouldn't expect it to be some sort of technical difficulty.

 

It may sound a bit unorthodox, but if it's something that requires fairly immediate attention, you could email Puddin at the Post. He is really quick to respond to emails usually as well. You could explain your emails to the Lab have gone unanswered and see if he'll check for you if they were received? Or if you're worried the whole problem is your email you could PM him on the forum, he seems to be around pretty regularly.

 

I can't really think of anything else to try, sorry. hope it gets resolved soon!

 

I think it's a poor idea to email Puddin' about Lab orders. He is Beth's husband, but the Trading Post and the Lab are separate companies. He has his hands full dealing with running his own business and serving his customers. The Lab employs their own customer service. To me, that would be like contacting Taco Bell about problems with my Pizza Hut order- they're owned by the same corporation, but very separate. Just because the Lab and Post have co-relationships doesn't make them get all up in each other's business issues.

Also, Beth recently posted somewhere that some email clients are not getting through to them- I think it was Hotmail and I can't remember the other. It shouldn't be a problem since you've had emails go through before, but you might try a different email client.

I like to apply my initial test without re-reading the notes first, to see which ones (if any) I can discern. My initial response to Insects was note a note, but a thought: "Unexpected!". This was not at all what I had expected from the name, and it's been long enough since I looked at the notes that I had completely forgotten them. As LiberAmoris stated above, it is hard to pull individual notes, so I read them, and was surprised to find patchouli listed first! I adore patchouli and was so surprised that I didn't recognize it. Perhaps because it's listed as an attar and has a different distillation method or concentration? I don't know. I had to google it.

Back to the scent: now that I know the notes, I still can't pick them out. This is beautiful, feminine, with an iridescence that is purple-green. I give up and can't beat LiberAmoris' description. I love this.

At first, it smells like ambergris and musk, with no fizz or champagne note, of which I'm kind of glad. Soon after drydown, the rose peeks out, and it's a soft gentle rose without soapiness. Again, good for me. The overall scent is so pretty and feminine. There is a hint of vanilla but the scent is so well-blended that after 30 minutes I just get a lovely feminine perfume. This is not something that I would wear often enough to get a bottle, but I will reserve my decant for special occasions. I could see this as a very perfect scent to wear to a wedding and it would definitely be a great scent for a bride to choose on her wedding day!

Initially on my skin I smelled a slightly soapy rose note, so I looked up the notes before trying to identify anything further. OK, so there is rose here, and it is the kind that turns to soap on me. Disappointing. But the rose hasn't amped to eleven as so often happens with soapy rose notes, so that's a plus. After about 15 minutes, I can smell the lily and something else that is slightly green but woody at the same time. Overall, this remains a white floral scent to me, and while it's very pretty, it's not in my wheelhouse. It smells like a room full of funeral flowers and greenery to me- there's that combination of pretty floral with a hint of sadness. I'm happy to have the decant and that I had a chance to try this.

Lilac-forward, with a slight powdery floral, and an undertone of something that makes me wrinkle my nose, as if it's almost sour. This is a very unusual floral scent with an old-world feeling. I adore lilacs, but the overall scent of this on my skin is not for me. I'm happy to have a decant and to have tried this. It's the "Push Me Pull Me" of Crimson Peak perfumes!

This is a beautiful myrrh-dominant scent on my skin, but a darker myrrh than the one in Little Egypt, for example. This myrrh doesn't turn as powdery on me as myrrh can. I think it's due to the poppy, which my skin loves. The musk and sandalwood are so nicely blended into this that they don't stand out as individual notes, but complete the scent of darkness and shadows. Perfect representation of the name!

Smoky vetiver, dark and deep. I like vetiver so this doesn't scare me off. I don't smell the other notes as individuals, but there is a hint of something else dark and resinous blending into the vetiver enough to keep it from being a single note. Very strong throw and long-lasting. Perfectly named scent!

My husband has been a woodworker for as long as I've known him, which probably contributes to my love of wood scents. Rosewood is a favorite of mine, given that I don't have to fear the soapiness I get from so many varieties of actual roses.

This perfume is a lovely rosewood scent upon application, pretty and feminine. Upon drydown, the slightest hint of soapy rose comes out on my skin, but I have to really search for it to detect the soap. After 30 minutes, the rosewood is gone and I'm left with a soft soapy rose. This isn't a scrubber for me but it's not one that I would reach for. For those looking for a soft sweet pinkish rose scent with a vintage feel, this is for you. It would also be very nice for a young girl or teen.

So I'm looking for (craving really) more vanilla! I'd like to expand my collection a bit. Would appreciate recs!

 

My favorite vanillas: Snake Oil, Banshee Beat, and Snake Charmer. Also, I loove my Black Vanilla & Cardamom hairgloss! Wish I could turn it into a perfume oil!

 

With that being said.... I've not been able to find any of these LE's I just listed above. Pretty much giving up on those until they decide to finally release Revanent Rhythm. (What's taking so long?!) And fingers crossed that Snake Charmer will make a comeback! Do you guys have any recs for me that are in my vanilla range?

Respectfully snipped. Since you like Black Vanilla & Cardamom HG, have you considered Antikythera Mechanism? The notes are "Teakwood, oak, black vanilla, and tobacco.". It was also an LE hair gloss as a lunacy poll winner, in addition to being a GC perfume.

And since you love Banshee Beat, have you considered using Revenant Rhythm bath oil and/or hair gloss as a body perfume/body spray? I love Banshee Beat as well and have it, and I really find the Trading Post's RR products to be just perfect. Because there are always slight differences in the way the scent turns out on my skin between the products, in some ways I find the RR bath oil to edge a bit more towards the vanilla side, but not too much.

A true tea note, very identifiable as tea. This is the strongest tea blend I've smelled in any BPAL. Upon drydown, just a hint of a dark fruit. Neither bitter nor astringent nor sweet. If you ever wanted a true tea scent, get this one before it's gone!

I'm very confused. My decant of The Workshop smells absolutely wonderful, but is not a match for the notes. I expected the same sharp metallic note that I smell in The Elevator atmo and The Magician perfume. However, it smells almost like Beth's snow note found in Crimson Peak! I sprayed it again, and even sprayed a small amount on my wrist to give it a closer sniff. On my wrist, I get the metallic note I expected, but there is still an almost minty note like snow. No oil or lubricant, nothing sharp. This is almost like a spray version of Crimson Peak perfume to me. This is actually very refreshing, and I wonder now if I need a full bottle. If it smelled the same as my decant, I would be thrilled.