Jenesis

That's alright, we were all new once of course, you can dilute the blends using carrier oils (Jojoba, coconut etc) if you wish - I use a few drops of Chimera in Jojoba oil as a post-shower smoothie for my skin sometimes. But for simple perfume use, generally, no dilution needed

See you around the forums, and glad to see another Brit

I managed to spill this one too...

Bottle: Woah, sharp. I think there's vetiver in there somewhere.

Wet: Chocolate? A complicated scent. I'm really not getting the "girl" vibe that most people get though.

Drydown: Gets a little nicer, a nice blend of some kind of sweet/foody thing under a sharper overtone (vetiver, clove or pepper).

Dry: Hasn't really changed from the drydown stage, and not really making me go "mmmm!". Off to the swap pile with you!

Are the oils safe to put straight on to the skin then?

Do you mean essential oils or the BPAL perfumes? Because BPAL perfumes are safe to put on skin (obviously, they're perfume). Some people are sensitive to certain "notes" that appear, for example, I avoid carnation because it gives me a headache, but the perfumes themselves are fine for direct application to the skin.

There is a thread here about reactions to oils/notes.

As for essential oils, some can be applied to the skin directly, and some shouldn't be applied to skin (check the rest of this thread for opinions/details). However, although the Lab's perfumes are made from essential oils, they are made in such a way that they are safe for application to the skin.

Hope this helps, and welcome

Bottle: Strangely, it smells like superglue.

Wet: Still superglue.

Drydown: Still superglue. I'm trying to smell other things, honest

Dry: Nope, still strong, headachey glue. There's something in here which just doesn't like me. Sorry Beth

Bottle: Sticky, sweet, hellishly expensive dark cherry liqueur chocolates.

Wet: The same sharpness that others have described, floating over aforementioned chocolate waft.

Drydown: This is where Vice comes into its own (on me, anyway). A deliciously sweet cocoa smell, prevented from being overpowering by the dark cherry. I can smell it just sitting here and it was the tiniest of dabs from the wand - not much needed at all!

Dry (early stages): Noooooo, talcum powder smell I guess that's the orange blossom - nearly all flowers go soapy/powdery on me. Not that this talcum powder is a bad smell, by any means, but I much preferred the sexy, cherry drydown.

Dry (after 20 mins): Less powdery, but now it's acting very oddly. It keeps switching between Velvet-esque pure cocoa and some cherry-flavoured lip balm that I had when I was 10. The cherry bit is nice, but not really me - a little too girly and sweet. Unfortunately it also smells rather artificial and plastic on me. I'll keep the Imp, but I doubt I'll be getting a bottle.

ETA (ages later): Just a thought, maybe this could be layered with something a little more bitter, like Phantom Calliope, to cut down the cloying smell while keeping the cherry?

Teggy, yes, skin on the head/face tends to be more sensitive because it is more exposed to the elements

Adding my own 2 cents, I have reactions to heavy florals like rose, jasmine, honeysuckle and the like - they all give me an awful violent headache! I've never figured out why, but as 99% of all floral blends smell like soap on me anyway (sorry Beth ) I don't have to suffer much.

I am loving Gennivre and I am going to very sad when the Carnaval set ends. Can anyone tell me a GC scent that is similar?

I'm looking for a Gennivre similarity too. Strangely, The Unicorn smelt kind of similar to Gennivre on me, as in it had the same "vibe" and feeling about it, but it's nowhere near as complex and meaningful as Gennivre on me. Suggestions?

From my BPAL database:

Bottle: My enemy vetiver.

Wet: I can smell the sweet vanilla now and the cherry. Sadly lacking in musk.

Drydown: Ooh, much better! A musky scent, sweetened by vanilla and cherry. The vetiver prevents it being too cloying.

Dry: The sweet cherry comes out even more. Yum! Now a gorgeous vanilla scent over musk. A real "wow" scent!

Bottle: An "average" scent. A pleasant blend, but nothing outstanding.

Wet: Still a smoky blend, rather "everyday", no one individual note seems to stand out.

Drydown: Aah, that's better! Woods work well on my skin and Danse Macabre is no exception. The woods go to the "base" of the scent with the sweet frankincense over the top.

Dry: The hazelnut comes into play. A rich, earthy, woody base underneath sweet frankincense and glittering hazelnut.

Throw: Hardly any, which is a shame, although I only tested it on the back of my hand. Would probably be better if applied more liberally and in more places.

Verdict: This could be my signature "Earth" scent! It feels very cozy and warm.

I think it's time to admit to myself that rose doesn't work on me. This turned into sickly old-lady soap within a few seconds, and lingered far longer than I would have liked after I tried to wash it off. It's a shame, because I'd love a floral blend in my collection, but it's not for me

I don't know what happened with Dragon's Blood on me. I really, really wanted to like this, and as soon as I put it on my skin, I was nearly knocked out by a waft of sickly, headache-inducing soap. Nooooo I can't smell anything else in it at all, no spices, no DB, nothing except "fake" smelling, plasticy, soapy florals of the kind you get in granny's soap.

I hate my skin chemistry

Other Ars Draconis blends seem to be alright - Bone and Heart manage on my skin, although they're not favourites - it appears to be just "pure" DB that turns to soap and baby powder on my skin. On to the Swap pile with you!

Bottle: Very bright. My nose is very sensitive to citrus so it's picking up the lemongrass like a searchlight!

Wet: Ahh, that's better. Green tea with lemon and a hint of mint.

Drydown: As quoted from my BPAL database: "Ooh, how nice!". The honey comes out a bit more on me now and goes well with the slightly bitter tea and bright citrus and mint.

Dry: It gets a little sweeter and a little less "wakey-wakey!". This is really nice, first LE bottle I bought, and I love it!

Final verdict: I've actually gone a little less crazy for this, but it's still one of my favourites. A nice light scent that doesn't smell like it's trying to clear the sinuses.

Rating: 4/5

In the bottle: Chocolate with a slight woody smell.

Wet: Chocolate. Chocolate chocolate chocolate. Seriously, I found myself checking to see if I'd managed to smush some melted chocolate somewhere on me this smells EXACTLY like those "seashell" praline chocolates. No other notes at all.

Drydown: The woods come out a bit more and mellow the "Woah!" sweetness of the chocolate. The myrrh starts to surface and complements the other notes nicely.

Dry: After a couple of hours it hasn't changed much from the drydown - this really doesn't morph on me at all. A nice, sweet scent, a little heady for everyday wear but great when you're cuddled up on the sofa with a duvet and a cup of tea! Upon reading the rest of this thread, I think I'll let my Imp age for a bit before I try it again. Mine was fresh from the Lab, so maybe after a month or so it'll be a bit less heady. Just a thought!

I got a free sniffie of this in an Imp pack from someone (can't remember who it was, but thank you for all your sniffies! ) and I think I have to finally accept that citrus just doesn't work on me.

All I can smell is artificial lemon-scented washing-up liquid although since Swank, Lightning and Aizen-Myoo all smell identical (and disgusting) on me, don't take my word as gospel!

This is my chosen "signature" scent. It begins with a strong rush of spices, and after about twenty minutes it mellows to a gorgeous soft, dark red floral, with just enough "bite" to be interesting.

I find that, when I first put Hell's Belle on, all I can smell is spice and "perfumey" smell. It fades away quickly to the warm, mellow scent mentioned above. The staying power of this scent is pretty good - I can still catch a whiff after I get back from my last lecture.#

Verdict: Only works on my skin for me, so I can't use it as a hair or clothes scent. But when it's on my skin: Wow!

Thanks, ladies Velvet and Blood sound particularly nice. (Can't wait to say "Blood!" when someone asks me what that smell is )

I have an Imp of Blood Countess, and I have to say I liked it at first, but each time I put it on it goes more and more "soapy" on me, until all I can smell is the yucky soap my mum used to use

I've jotted down my next order for the Lab (haven't sent it yet):

1. Darkness

2. Bordello

3. Spellbound

4. Midnight

5. Snake Oil

6. Dragon's Blood

1. Velvet

2. Blood

3. Dance of Death

4. Perversion

5. Hades

6. Morocco

This new hobby of mine is costing me a fortune I may have to cut it down to just 6 Imps - I'm a poor student and $30 is $30... (alright, it's about £16 for me, but that's five days' food! ).

So which 6 of the above 12 Imps (those are the ones I'm the keenest to try) would you say I should get, if I can only get 6?

Thank you all for helping out a n00b

Hi, I really hate to be so dumb but I'm very confused about all the talk regarding orders and shipping on this forum. I placed an order with the Lab using PayPal (I'm in the UK) on December 3rd (I wasn't bothered about LEs or the deadline so I didn't rush with my order).

I got the "Your payment has been received" email from PayPal, but I haven't heard anything from them since not even a receipt. Did my transaction not work, do you think? What should I do, as $31 dollars' worth has definitely gone out of my bank?

On a related note, what's all the CnC, CCNow and similar stuff about? What thread do I need to watch? Is there a thread for PayPal customers?

Sorry for all the questions but I'm getting worried

Afternoon, all

I've only recently been introduced to BPAL, but I have a small collection of Imps! However I'm a bit confused about the scents available and what "notes" work on me, etcetera.

Before I got into natural oils and scents, the one perfume that worked really, really well on me is Dior's "Poison" (the original blend, not the spinoffs!). According to the website, the notes in "Poison" are

Top: Coriander

Middle: Wildberries, Orange Honey and Tuberose

Base: Opopanar

Now my favourite of all these is easily Opopanar, as I love the lingering all-day wearability of this perfume. But, the whole blend smells "artificial" to me now I'm used to more natural products, so I need a few recommendations for BPAL scents based on things that smell like or similar to "Poison"!

If it helps, of the few Imps I have already, I like Chimera, Hell's Belle, Djinn and Fallen, but Swank makes me smell of dishwasher soap (I really don't like citrus), Nyx is an "old lady smell" on me, Midwinter's Eve is far too sweet and cloying, and Malice makes me smell like I had a bath in cloves!

Please help me figure out my body chemistry

Any help for a clueless newbie appreciated ladies and gentlemen

From the vial: The only word that I could think was "Marzipan!"

Wet: Still smelt very strongly of marzipan - I only used a tiny drop from the Imp wand and it still swamped me out.

Dry: Waited for it to develop, there were a few base notes I could smell underneath if I sniffed really hard, but the sweet sticky smell gave me a headache by then

P.S. First review, this, so sorry for complete lack of technical vocabulary...!