portalkat

GAH! It took me ages to find this conversation about Pacifica's Spanish Amber, since it's been merged into this new thread! Annnnnnyway...

 

I got mine! I actually received it over a week ago, but I've had a ghastly cold and no ability to smell anything, so it's taken this long before I could try it! And my verdict? Well...

 

Yes, it does smell like Spanked - they really are very similar indeed. I completely agree with what was said earlier - they don't smell exactly the same, they kinda feel the same, but there is definitely a likeness in the scent. I did a two-arm comparison (Spanish Amber on the left, Spanked on the right - of course Spanked completely stomps all over the Pacifica - it's just way more rich and deep and complex.

 

I bought the little tin of the solid perfume version, because that was the cheapest option for international shipping, and it's got a lovely texture plus the tin is cute. However.. as others mentioned.. the scent itself is light, and doesn't last long on the skin, so I'd probably go through this little tin pretty quickly if I were wearing it daily. But if you're really craving Spanked, this certainly is a decent stand-in

Well, that is good to know since it is probably the closest that I will ever get to Spanked. I got my solids a few weeks ago, but I never posted anything because I had nothing to compare it to, never having tried Spanked. I do like it and I like the texture of their solids. It actually lasted a really long time on me, but my skin always hangs on to scent, so it isn't surprising. I could see where this might have a similarity to Spanked, but I could see where it wouldn't be as complex.

Some rose blends that like which are not traditionally feminine are Pulcinella & Teresina, Zombi, Blasphemare Reliquary, Seance, Rakshasa and Ouija.

I'd really like to order the "13" that came out today, but I can't find a link for it anywhere on the website. It's not under LE's or the moons section, and there's no link for it in the Shiny and New section. Am I missing something?

It's the very first entry in the LE page above the Weenies. I assume that you are looking at the Lab's LE page here.

This is the "13" that I am wearing today. On me this smells like creamy milk chocolate with black cherry over a lovely wood note. It's almost like Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream melted over a wood picnic table. I love the way that the sweet notes mingle with the wood. I'm glad that I have more than one bottle of this.

You might also want to look at Caliban from the Illyria category -

 

"The scent of the salty seas, bittersweet wine, palm and tropical ferns"

 

It's aquatic, but it definitely has the scent of the greenery. Tempest and Thalassa from your list are some of my favorites as well.

There is another thing that you can do for your mailing address. The first address on the label would be your physical street address and the next line down would be your PO Box number and then the City and State beneath that. That way, you would have both addresses on there as proof. The way that the USPS had it set up was that the second line would be where it was delivered. I'm pretty sure that this is still the case.

I went to Whole Foods this morning. The thought of buying the solid perfume got me moving and out of the house early, only to find that they didn't have the solid in the Spanish Amber. They said that they have been ordering it every week when they place their orders, but it never comes in. They did have the spray, so I tried that, but I really wanted to buy the solid. I quite like it even though I've never tried Spank, so I can't compare them. I think that I'll try calling some of the other Whole Foods in the area.

 

I've found Pacifica stuff at Sephora (although Spanish Amber isn't listed on the website). You can also find it (and the scent in other forms, and lots of other scents) on Pacifica's webpage here.

Thank you I forgot about Sephora which would also have worked for my instant gratification, but I ended up walking in the shadow of sunshinedaisybliss and getting it on Ebay, along with a solid of the Mexican Cocoa. It ended up being cheaper than if I had gotten it at Whole Foods or Sephora, so I'm happy. It isn't instant gratification, but I can be patient for a few days.

I went to Whole Foods this morning. The thought of buying the solid perfume got me moving and out of the house early, only to find that they didn't have the solid in the Spanish Amber. They said that they have been ordering it every week when they place their orders, but it never comes in. They did have the spray, so I tried that, but I really wanted to buy the solid. I quite like it even though I've never tried Spank, so I can't compare them. I think that I'll try calling some of the other Whole Foods in the area.

Maybe I'll just go to Whole Foods to pick up the solid tomorrow. It's probably going to be the closest that I'll ever get to Spanked.

I've been all excited about trying it because I know that they carry it at the Whole Foods just 10 minutes away from me.......when I realized that I don't know what Spanked smells like.

My Fairy Godmother picked up a bottle of this for me at Comic Con.
I wanted it for the beeswax, smoke and frankincense, but I was worried that it would come across as mainly a floral because of all the floral notes. When I first tried it, I found the strongest note to be the beeswax and I waited for it to dry and for the other notes to come forward. Well, they did, but just ever so gently and they stay in the background. I find that the florals just help to support the beeswax, just like the way that edible honey will take on the flavor of the host plant nectar. This is not at all a floral blend on me, but mainly a beeswax scent with the resin,smoke and florals mixing together in the background. This is gorgeous and I am so glad that it is available during the latest update so that I can snag a backup bottle. This is my favorite beeswax blend so far.

Bottle #557

 

This came in the mail a few days ago, but I couldn't open it until today because it was a birthday present from my DH and today is the day, so..........O M G it's coffee with vanilla and a sort of amaretto note. This is absolutely perfect. I don't lean towards foody scents, but I love coffee perfumes even though I don't drink coffee. In some ways, this reminds me of Misk U, but with more of a French roast note. The amaretto note is mostly while wet. When it dries, it smells more like French roast with a creamy vanilla and a bit of hazelnut. The throw is pretty strong and I only put a little on my wrists. This is my favorite of all the CTs that I've ever ordered and I will be keeping this and wearing it often.

If you're going to contact anyone about it, I'd call the post office, not the Lab. They are the ones who are controlling the show at this point, after all! It's possible someone scanned your package as delivered but then it missed the truck.

 

Now Im leaning towards it being delivered to the wrong house/ stolen. That sucks soo bad!! I guess Tiki Princess and i were not ment to be. I didnt have insurance on it so i guess its just a straight loss??

You mentioned that CnS tracking showed that it was delivered "yesterday." I assume that you mean Saturday, but have you received your mail today? I'm asking because this has happened to me before and sometimes they mean delivered to the station or distribution point, but not to the end recipient. I would give it a day before I contact the USPS because mine turned out fine and it ended up being delivered to me the next day. Just for the record, I knew that it was not delivered to me that day because I know my carrier and I had been home and sitting near my porch all day........stalking my mailbox.

I am a complete doofus and sent my latest order via CCNow paying by PayPal. Ack! Will my order still go through?

My PayPal account shows that the money was sent, I emailed the Lab with apologies because I now know about the double charge they will get hit with. Feel terrible for making my mistake.

Your order will still go through and don't feel bad because a lot of us do that in the beginning. I don't use CCNow, but I think that it will say "order processed" and it doesn't really mean that, but once it says "harvested," that is when it is actually pulled and being worked on - something like that, anyway. Anyway, your order should be fine.

Is the Body Shop oil just straight patchouli?

The notes listed with the product description were not very helpful:

 

Top notes: warm

Middle notes: herbaceous, patchouli

Base notes: earthy

 

The search function on the Lab website brings up 70 blends with patchouli that are currently available. But in most of them the patchouli is just a complimentary note or a base note.

 

http://www.bpal.org/search/index.php?term=...=1&search=1

 

It might really help if you could find out what other notes she likes and dislikes, so you know what direction to take - or not to take - when you chose Bpal scents for her, because they will not exactly be straight patchouli.

 

If all else fails - if the Body Shop oil is straight patchouli you can get her a bottle of high quality patchouli essential oil in addition to some bpal imps. It is fairly inexpensive, even in high quality, and is supposed to improve drastically with age, it gets considerably more mellow and smooth with time.

From what i know, The Body Shop is just Patchuli, i could be mistaken, though. She doesn't really wear anything else besides that, so it's hard for me to tell what other notes she would like. To me, hers smells like dark and smokey, almost. I wouldn't even be able to detect if there were other notes in her oil.

Thank you so much to everybody who has answered so far. You guys are really helping me out!!

I'm pretty sure that all of TBS oils are/were blends. The end result is the main note, but I think that all of their oils have been blends.

I have TBS patchouli and I am a patchouli lover. My vote goes to Goblin and it's the only one that I can think of when I'm thinking straight patchouli.........except for Banshee Beat and that one is super rare.

thanks for your responses, guys! is the customer service email answers@blackphoenixalchemylab.com?

*nods*

I love all three notes, so I knew that I had to order a bottle of this. I was hoping that the champaca would be light because I have Panther Moon and Cracked Bell, both of which have a pronounced champaca note and I wanted something a little different. On me, this is perfect and exactly what I wanted. It's strongest on the orange blossom and sandalwood with a hint of champaca in the background. I'm finding it to be a little dry and I might try layering it with a sweet sugar note that I have........Okay, I just did that and it brought out the orange blossom a bit more and the sandalwood is no longer so dry. My chemistry does not tend to sweeten things up, so I often do this to nudge the scent along. Perfect!

I thought that my nose was broken until I read some of the other reviews. This was a no brainer for me because I am a vanilla fiend and I like all of the other notes, so I was totally shocked when I put it on, took a sniff..........minty toothpaste?!?!?! Okay, that threw me, but I was determined to love it, so I left it on to dry down. When it dried, the mintiness went away and the vanilla got stronger. I need to test it again, because I only put a little bit on, but I think that it is turning into what I wanted it to be.

 

Okay, I put more on this time and that note is smelling more like cardamom, but it's still a bit minty. After about 45 minutes, the vanilla is finally stronger than the cardamom. Up until that time, the throw was vanilla and I could only smell the cardamom when I put my nose to my wrist. It reminds me of the vanilla that is in Boo and when the two notes finally balance out, it smells like a dry, cardamom pod mixed with the vanilla. I really like this after about 45 minutes or an hour after applying. I think that this will age nicely and get more balanced as time goes on.

The vetiver in this is not very strong on me. The strongest note is the red currant with the lemon and apricot. I just received it from the lab today, so it is a bit sharp, but I know that it will mellow out and be just lovely for the summer. I'm not getting much coconut, so I might try layering it with a coconut blend. I bet that this would be lovely layered with a bit of Tiki Princess.

I have a puzzle. I was frimped a prototype that is simply labeled "Lulu". I searched both here and the BPAL site itself and came up empty-handed. It's definitely a floral blend and so probably will be swapped as I'm not a big fan of the florals but I'm curious about it and its notes. Any help is appreciated

It's here in the District category.

Uhh, y'all....this is my first visit to the BPAL and my first posting, so I'm a hopeless newbie, all right? Here's my question: where are the single notes? I want to try out a single note of the Red Mysore Sandalwood, and I can't figure out where on the $%#-ing website it's located. Can someone clue me in?

I'm sorry to say that single notes are no longer available from the lab and they haven't been for a number of years now.

I ordered the same day and am still waiting as well. Something must be backordered even thought it was never announced...

 

I just saw an announcement by the lab saying that Gypsy Moth and Yewberry Honey are on backorder. Did either of you have those is your order? That might explain the lack of CnS. Here's hoping they come off backorder soon!

 

Yep. Two bottles of Gypsy are in my order. I wonder if the backorder pertains to orders placed after the 17th, or if it counts for orders from before that since Brian said they're packed and ready to ship. Hmm...

Aaahhh, that explains things. I have an order from the end of last month as well and it has a bottle of Gypsy Moth. I got worried earlier today and sent an email, but now I know.

Well, I was way past prom age, but I smelled like Magie Noir, Ivoire and Poison.......and mousse, lots of mousse.

 

That said, Teenage Cannibal sounds like a good choice. Actually, a lot of the things at Dark Del sound like they might fit the bill since they are strong and have good throw. The 80's were loud and larger than life.

I'm going for a backup of this one. My holy grail BPAL is Midnight Mass and this falls into that same category for me, only I find it a little more incensy and the wood note is a little drier and deeper. I was hoping that I would love it from the notes, but I didn't expect to love it as much as I do. I also love the pipe tobacco note which serves to sweeten things up. This also reminds me of Blasphemare Reliquary layered with Tabula Smaragdina. Yep, I'm definitely getting a backup of this beauty.