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Going on, this is sweet, ripe blackberry wine, sultry chocolate, and pipe tobacco. No pun intended, Kali is absolutely divine. Honey, lotus, and balsam all show up as this warms up and settles in, and while it sounds like this might be a heavy scent, it's not. Kali is flowing, deep, and sensual - think midnight offerings on a pool of water, illuminated to bare shapes by flickering candles bobbing on the surface of a slow-moving stream that's been showered with petals of all sorts. It's also rich, lush, and delicate - the blooms in this, along with the blackberry/wine note, mean it has wisps of exotic fruit and flowers that flit past your nose like they're on the breeze. There's a complete cycle to this scent, though, as it's grounded by the palest wood note, balsam, and the velvet of tobacco leaves. These create such depth, and such anchoring for the other notes, that they may be the best balance of notes I've encountered in a very long time. This blend is complete, perfectly matched within itself, and an absolutely triumph of scent.

I just saw in Brian's post that you guys are moving the Lab tomorrow - I had no idea you were so far along in the process with the new store! I'm so glad he mentioned it, because it really gives us all an idea of how many things, in addition to keeping up with orders, you guys are juggling. The early-May/mid-May thing was a big help, too, Nella - thank you for the info. I'd never thought about add-ons and the chaos they must create; I mean, it's one thing to find out that your order disappeared in transit and to have the replacement combined with something you had ordered in the meantime - but it's another to just add to an order after a couple of weeks have passed. I've always considered separate orders separate orders, unless I realize pretty quickly that I missed something or goofed the order; I guess I just assumed that if I didn't contact you guys within ... oh, 48 hours or less ... that it would stay in the queue where it was and be processed as such. I imagine that none of us would mind a 48 hour rule, especially if it helped you guys get things out with less stress on your end. Thanks to all of you for taking such good care of us. As much as I love Beth's scents, the great service is a huge part of my repeated purchases, and I appreciate your work more than you know.

There's almost nothing left for me to say on Malediction - every one of the previous comments covered mine, aside from trying it with Black Rose and the fact that Malediction had great staying power (if not a ton of "throw") on me.. The faint and gorgeous lemon pith note teased me all evening, too ... yum! Be sure to try this one, on your skin, and give it just a bit time to mellow. The scent you get by sniffing the vial is not indicative of what you'll end up with, and the ingredients don't turn out at all like you expect them to. Definite purchase, in spite of having left this till the end of my "try-em" list. Don't make the same mistake I did and leave it till you've gotten the rest of your wishlist - if you don't like it on, you'll love it as a room scent.

Something about the sweetgrass in this bothers my nose ... it just doesn't seem to fit in here. The lily and rose are a wonderful combination, and I even like the drop of juniper that's in here - it's very faint, so don't be discouraged if you're not a juniper fan; it's needed here to give that cold, crisp texture to the florals - but for some reason, the more I sniff my wrist, the less I like the herbal note the sweetgrass provides. When I first put this on, my nose was able to separate out the sweetgrass, and I really, really like what Sepulcher is without it. After a few minutes, though, I can't keep the notes separate (and let's face it, the exquisite blending of scents is one of Beth's many amazing talents), and I have to take this off my list for possibility of future purchase. Definite presence, though, and austere and cold are accurate descriptors.

Sparkling citrus and mint, with the faintest hint of something bitter and light anise. Stunning first on, and for the first little while. After about 15 minutes, though, this switched completely to anise, without any other notes coming through to my nose. The depth and vibrancy Absinthe had originally seems to have completely vanished, much to my dismay. I've never had absinthe, so I can't tell you how true this might or might not be. I will say that if your chemistry allows you to keep that first, fleeting impression, I want to sit next to you on the bus, please!

Mine doesn't have descriptions, or you'd be welcome to it. It's on my to-do list when I actually have a half-day to do it in. Besides, you don't want my comments on how they smell on me.

Heliotrope and sparkling citrus notes are what I get. No cinnamon or spice note for me, but I love this one. It's light, it's orange-yellow, and the warmth of heliotrope (named for the sun it moves to follow across the sky each day) makes wearing this scent like sitting in a pool of sunlight on an early autumn day. By the way, when I say it's light, I don't mean that it doesn't have "throw" or intensity. This is lush and complex, with distinct presence.

For those of you who like dark, earthy smells, Torment might be a good one to try. The vetivert - which, when used in fragrances, can get very strong very fast - is remarkably moderate when given a few minutes to settle in. Combined with a hint of sharpness from the bay, this is abyssmal - and I mean that in the sense of the troughs of the ocean. I have a feeling that if you could bring up a handful of mud from the depths of the abyss and bury your nose in it, it would have this other-worldly earthen scent to it, spiked with rumblings from the center of the earth. While I'm not a big fan of heavy or earthen scents, this one would be one of the few I'd wear.

Soft, edible and so, so warm ... After my daughter was born, I finally realized that I was the warm, milky, sweet brown sugar scent I kept looking around for - and I loved the smell, frankly. Dragon's Milk is that same lush, soft, barely-there smell of skin, milk, and body heat combined with the sweet tartness of a cherry icee. It's comforting, edible, and melts into my skin, leaving me nuzzling my wrist for more. Good staying power, in spite of my need to nuzzle around and find it - and for that matter, it's led more than one man to nuzzle my neck, trying to be surrounded by it, too. Sexy without being blatant, and comforting without being overwhelmingly foody. Definite order of larger bottle.

Really lovely. Cedar, but not overpoweringly woodsy at all. I second Thanatopsis Azraelis's review - it really sums this one up for me, aside from the part about me really wanting a bigger bottle.

The eucalyptus is so sharp and clearing in the first few minutes of this, and it's tempered in a soft and unexpected fashion by the violet. When the eucalyptus starts to fade, the mint becomes apparent and it cools the warm, peppery violets in this bouquet. In the end, there's a clear, definitive violet scent that never shows the neroli side to me, but is still chilled and bright because of the mint. Interesting!

Ooh. Not a good ooh for me, either. Definite musk in this, and I have that feral smell plus a bit of baby diaper wafting off me. I want to like this; there seems to be a hint of ginger, plus some soft and wooden warmth underneath the pungent musk smell. This could be great if I could bear the "animal in-heat" tones that are in it, but I think that's more of a reflection on my chemistry's poor reaction to most musk notes, rather than on the scent itself. I wouldn't, however, recommend it to those who don't care for the pungency of musky scents.

Complete with spicy pith and peel, Mandarin Orange is sparkling and true. Delightful!

For me, Georgia Peach is peaches in light syrup, straight from the can. Golden, light, and perfectly true peach tones with just the lightest added sweetness. Another winner from the Single Notes category!

Oh, my, yes! This isn't the watered-down version you find in a Williams-Sonoma cleaning product, this is the real thing. Grab a handful of fresh basil, crush it in your hands, and you've got the same glorious herbal bliss that Beth's distilled. Not foody, but crisp and green and spicily sweet, this true basil is the kind of scent you'd wear to celebrate strength, charisma, and summertime all at once; I certainly will be!

Spreadsheet is updated, purchase list is complete, and I'm so looking forward to the update being official! Two quick questions, though, Beth - Elegy's listed on the "Shiny and New" page at the lab, but I don't see it here. Will it still be coming out at Midsummer? Also, are you ready to announce what the new pricing will be? That would really help me to decide if I need to break my "to-purchase" list into two orders. Can't wait, can't wait!!! This scent whore thanks you from the bottom of her heart!!

Tough call ... Gluttony and Old Morocco, without question. Come to Me, Tamora, and Unseelie would be next on my list, I think, with Old Venice wrapping up the pack.

That's it exactly - I now take the tops off the roll-ons I kept and apply just like I would out of the original BPAL bottle. The apricot kernel oil has been a fabulous carrier because it's scent-free and absorbs right into my skin ... but I've had no luck with ANY carrier oil in a roll-on bottle. BPAL by itself rolls on beautifully, but adding a carrier seems to make it too "heavy" for the roller to spread, for lack of a better scientific explanation.

I was afraid of this scent, and put off trying it for a long, long time - I don't do well with cloves, and couldn't imagine this to be light on them. Luckily,with my body chemistry, the cloves are light. Heavy on the cinnamon, some pepper, and just a hint of cloves makes this absolutely yummy. Heavy on the cinnamon also means a little red patch where I applied ... not good. Will try with the apricot kernel oil as a carrier next time around - I want to be able to use up this Imp!

Definitely all over the place on this one ... Heavy, harsh neroli - very bitter - and a soapy smell, initially. Luckily, though, it dries down to orange zest with a creamy floral note that's not white at all, and I'm amazed to say that I like it, a LOT. My toddler distracted me with her eighteenth attempt to get out of bed as I was on my way to wash this one off, and when I sniffed again, I couldn't believe it was the same scent. Definite full-bottle order. This is perfect for less casual wear, and is an attention-getter; my mother asked what it was, and guessed it was one of those $120 bottles she couldn't afford, even if I had managed to swap for it. I think I'll surprise her with a bottle, too.

Did I mention that I'm getting more fond of juniper all the time? Juniper never gets sharp in Undertow, as the lotus note really keeps it smooth and part of the blend. This is aquatic and flowing, and although the mint fades away from the obvious things your nose senses pretty quickly, it helps keep this cool and refreshing. Nice, and unique enough to be a standout, if not solely based on its other merits.

The initial flood of almond makes this seem innocuous enough, but the palm of my hand (it was the "toughest" skin I could think of) has a large red welt to go with the testing of this scent. I tried right next to that spot after adding some apricot kernel oil, and all seems to be well. On, it's super-sweet, cinnamon, and orange Tang - and by that, I mean the breakfast drink. Must be the neroli, which in my experience with scents other than Beth's, was always sharp and bitter; hers seems to avoid that. Spiced orange cider is all I can think of. It's nice, but it's not something I want to smell like. Would definitely use this in my house at Christmas, though.

The China Rain is definitely aquatic and reminiscent of a hard rain clearing the air. There must just be a drop of vetivert in this, because it's grounded, but only barely. Unfortunately, Hurricane resembled an expensive and pleasant guest soap on my skin in a couple of minutes. Will have to pass, in spite of my liking of this initially.

It takes a while for the juniper to settle down in Burial, but it's very apropos for freshly-turned cemetery loam. After a couple of minutes, the rose with green stems peeks through, and while this never has a distinctly earthen scent for me (compared to Zombi and the like), it's still an earthy scent. This could very definitely be the scent that the gravedigger gets when he turns over a couple of spadefuls after the graveside service, with the scent of flowers on the breeze.

My skin didn't produce an earthy scent out of Thanatopsis at all. Guess I'm odd in so many more ways than I had realized. Juniper keeps this light and brisk, the pine seems to be the tiniest of drops, and the musk rounds Thanatopsis out to a scent that is both ethereal and sensual. Another nice surprise, as the musk is reined in and the scent is neither too earthen or piercing. I'm seriously contemplating a purchase, much to my surprise.