-
Content Count
208 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Profiles
Forums
Blogs
Gallery
Calendar
Everything posted by xeia
-
Almond fortune cookies and a bit of roadside palm reader-inspired incense. I feel totally inadequate to post a first review (Thank you, Mod, for fixing me up to look nice), but I know people are waiting on reviews before they buy, so I want to do my part! In the bottle: My initial reaction is "Hawaiian Punch!" I think it's the slightly spicy fruitiness. I'm pretty sure my nose is just reading the almond as cherry, because this is the last time I get fruit. Wet: The incense struck me first, and I was thinking gentle spiciness, with sweet around the edges. The incense flavor is garden-variety. (Except, of course, it smells better because Beth made it, and she makes cheap, normal stuff smell classy.) Drying: There's a phase where it does just what it says on the tin. It smells like you opened a fortune cookie, and there's some incense there. Not in-your-face incense, but like your roommate habitually burns it, and your couch just smells like that now. A couple of hours later, it has settled down into comforting warmness. Predominantly I get that lived-in incense smell, with the sweetness behind it making it even more cozy. This would make awesome room scent, if it doesn't keep doing that fruit punch thing. Bonus, supporting the good causes the Lab picked to donate to!
-
I am so glad to have this one in my collection! Leather and I don't usually get along, but I don't get any standing out here. The cinnamon is subtle and nonburny. I have it filed in my head near Haloes: Warm, soft, well-blended, crowd-pleasing.
-
This was a "what the heck!" addition to my decant order, and I'm glad it was. I haven't really been attracted to the leaves/moss/greenery/dewy outdoors-ey scents in the past (the dead leaves in Sonnet d'Autumn don't work so well for me, for example), but this is a great gateway scent for these notes. It's a damp, but not necessarily aquatic, scent. The floral notes are subtle and soft, giving it an ethereal finish. These ghosts are at a classy party!
-
Psyche is a favorite of mine (after I swore I wouldn't fall for something hard to find... ) It's a very well-balanced but quick-fading blend, with the lavender initially in the forefront, and later a rose-tinged frankincense. If you get a chance to try it, especially if you are a rose and/or lavender lover, you're lucky!
-
It's been a few updates since this thread had any action. I've been loving sandalwood in a few things I've tried lately and would love more recommendations and favorites! Ghosts in Love dried down to a very "true" sandalwood (reminded me of the sandalwood paste used in Hindu rituals), and I just realized I think Belle Epoque and Om Gam Ganapataye Namaha have the same sandalwood note in them. Any other recent sandalwood loves? Weenies? Crimson Peak?
-
SANCTUS The Sanctus are considered by some pious vampires to be the saints of their kind, and from what we have gleaned, they are very likely the stuff of myth. These vampires are paragons that possess impossible, phenomenal powers that defy known physics, including the ability to shift shape, turn into a gaseous form, and command other vampires through will alone. The mythological Sanctus are venerated by some, but we have no evidence whatsoever that they truly exist. Diabolically otherworldly: golden osmanthus, lily of the valley, celestial musk, and frankincense. Sanctus smells bright to me when applied. It's sweet, fruity, almost citrus wet and in initial stages. The dry down is woody musk with only a hint of sweetness. I'm definitely glad to have tried it and might wear it more when the weather is warm or I need a mood pick-up.
-
Least helpful review ever: I love this and I want to smell like this forever and it's awesome. I can't pick out a particular note, the blend is sweet and warm and somehow delicious without being foody. Probably the most helpful part of today's test was my husband's opinion. He said things that I initially had a hard time understanding about how this one didn't smell "sharp" or "burny," but I think what he meant was that it already smells like it's dried down to a blended awesomeness, and I totally agree. I'm off to try to find a complimentary perfume! (And so grateful I fell for a GC!)
-
BPAL scents appropriate for very young children?
xeia replied to beetiger's topic in Recommendations
I suspect we like Mermaid because of the name/concept: it's against "type" that she generally picks. She's excited to get decants of the Liliths and wanted to pick among the pictures, so I ended up editing her wishlist due to notes. And budget. Dilution: honestly, I was considering both because supposedly both are long-lasting and won't interfere with scent, but the coconut came across my path at a good price/quantity first. Wish I could say there was thoughtful deliberation! I chose roller bottles because I wanted the kids to be as independent as possible, minimizing spillage. They also each get to dip into lotion I've scented sometimes. -
BPAL scents appropriate for very young children?
xeia replied to beetiger's topic in Recommendations
It's been a couple of years and many more updates since this thread was last active, so I'm wondering if other BPAL parents have recommendations for kids! My son (3 1/2) is into anything cakey. He has a roller bottle of Very Pink Surprise Cake that he loves. He is also following me around hoping to get his hands on my Boo HG. (Nope, too precious!) We have a ritual that if he wakes up with a nightmare, I dab a bit of Somnus on one wrist (to help him sleep) and a bit of Baku on the other (for nightmares). He will say, "I need smells! The sleepy one and the no monsters!" He also likes vanilla smells (which he adorably pronounces "familla"). My daughter (7), goes for the fruity and flowery. Her favorites right now are Mermaid, Blue Lollipops, and Love-in-Idleness. She is going to get a roller of Mariposita (which she says smells like strawberry gummi bears) as soon as I get my act together and make it up. She likes a lot of blends I have tried, but sometimes I think they are too complicated, grown up, or the name is downright inappropriate! I have been surprised she rejects all of the other foody things she's tried (VPSC, Pralines, Boo), saying they smell bad to her. Not sure if it's her body chemistry or the way her nose is wired. Anyone else have kids with favorites or stashes of their own? I would also appreciate recommendations for "simple" floral or fruit scents. -
I'm afraid I became arrogant after purchasing a couple of perfect bottles blind... The last two I have bought have not turned out well, including Muse of Fire Wet, it is definitely a strong bouquet of florals. I can't distinguish any specific one, and I'm not getting any of the other (sugar, vanilla, creamy, spicy) notes others have mentioned. (I may not have the most developed nose, either.) Eta: I initially thought this was violet-ey when dry, but I think I was getting a similar headachey thing from a weird jasmine chemistry reaction. Huh. Usually jasmine and I get along just fine. Disregard my strange nose and skin.
-
I'm spoiler-ing the evocative imagery and the personal childhood story, in case you just want the review... So, for me, this is the scent of a moment like that: peace and love and joy... and significance. Wet, it's more soft lavender (and probably I group the patchouli in with the herbiness of the lavender). The sweetness of the vanilla/benzoin and fig feature more on the drydown (even reaching for it, I never get the tiare specifically), and the woods ground out the whole thing and keep it from being too simple or too sweet. It has lasting power on me (all day with no reapplication), but it stays close. Thank you, Ted, for sharing the Moment.
-
Newbie here! Would love recommendations based off of notes I like!
xeia replied to Bich Hang Pham's topic in Recommendations
I also love Belle Epoque as someone else mentioned, because it somehow smells greater than the sum of its notes to me. The sandalwood and opium serve to ground it a little, not overpowering or "dark" on me. You might try Eden, which is heavy on the coconut and fig. If you like fruit and floral together, you may want to check out Croquet (citrusy floral) and/or Lampades (cranberry floral). I also immediately thought of the LE Lilith Mermaid, because for me it splits the difference between floral and aquatic, a great blend. (I hope it wouldn't break your seaweed rule. I'm not great at picking out the different parts of aquatic, so I can't tell you how "seaweedy" it is.) You can probably get some from another forumite on For Sale because it's no longer available from the lab. -
A tiny siren’s perfume of pink seaweed, lotus petals, Tahitian tiare, white gardenia, orange blossom, sea salt, and vanilla-infused benzoin. This is one that my 7 y/o daughter and I agree on as a favorite. It's a feminine, happy, complicated thing. I don't pick out any notes individually. Others said it better than I would have, floral and just sweet/pink enough to not be too aquatic, but aquatic and "fresh" enough to avoid being too floral. PS, we think around here that Mermaid does best when it's well-blended in the bottle. We've both had the experience of putting it on and unexpectedly not liking it or thinking it's "off." (I had initially bought a decant and then thought I'd made a mistake when I bought a bottle and it wasn't like I remembered.) However, when she's well-rolled, no complaints!
-
On paper, this should have been my signature scent. Love vanilla/tonka, Lily of the Valley is my favorite flower, and add in a little resin/woody goodness to anchor it and make it last? I should be in heaven! On my skin, I like it, but don't love it, and I'm a little sad. It's soft and warm, glowing is a good descriptor. I get a round, complicated vanilla-like thing: on the sweet side, and not exactly foody. Not the super-duper almost tasteable sweet of LotV or honey. When it's dried down I can sniff hard for some wood and amber. I know I never got any Lily (because I mourn!), and I don't remember any apricot either. There is absolutely nothing wrong about this scent. It is the kind of thing I would use to enable, or maybe put on my kids, or use in a lotion for layering with other things. I don't regret buying a bottle, but I'm still on the lookout for the thing I wish it had been. ETA: I'm revising my review, since I am coming to wear Haloes more and more over the past month. I'm forgiving it for not being what I hoped, and appreciating it for what it is: a close-wearing, sweet, comfortable, vanilla-based loveliness. It's the scent I wear on a day when I want my perfume to be there, but unassuming. The day I know I will be layering later on because new BPAL mail is coming. When I'm going to be sitting with others in close quarters for long periods of time. Haloes is an introvert, lovely when you give her time and space to be herself.
-
I don't have any specific recommendations to add (except Bien Loin D'ici, which I'm just testing, sweet caramel and musk, pretty strong on me), but I will second Soupy's recommendation to try as many imps as you can. As a relative newbie myself, I am finding sometimes my skin does what others' don't. Some people's chemistry seems to exaggerate certain notes (they also call it "amping" a note), when another will get a totally different side of the same blend. With "strength" of the perfume, if you look at some of the review threads, one person will say "my skin ate it" (it didn't last at all), and then two posts down, someone else will say it lasted all the following day or they couldn't wash it off! Most of my tester collection is second-hand imps from the forum "For Sale" section, which is quite economical. You can often find GC's at $1 a piece. I buy pretty selectively, and it seems like I end up with things I like more often than not. Still, it's easier on my wallet to "fail" with imps than bottles! Good luck!
-
Seconding Numanoid, I"m sure there are those here who know much more than I do, but we just visited Toronto last month to give you a flavor. We entered Canada via Michigan, left via NY. And, our border crossings can be interesting (ha!) because my husband is a brown person with a non-US passport. The questions were the Why are you coming, why did you come, where are you staying, etc variety, and some interest in whether we bought anything significant, especially traveling with (drinking) alcohol. I vote for keeping the BPAL with you, too. Good luck moving!
-
I don't know how the Scalia, Mystical Aphorisms of the Fortune Cookie, compares to the list above, but fortune cookie incense... nice. Reviews look like folks are getting cherry/almond and vanilla, but that the drydown is primarily incense sweetened by those. I think I slightly prefer sweet incenses (is that the plural form?) to be sweetly floral (a la Hymn) rather than foody, though.
-
I'm a relative newbie, too, so I don't have a long list of recs for you like others will, but I have recently tried Defututa, reviews http://www.bpal.org/topic/41464-defututa/ I think it hits a few of your favorites (vanilla, honey, spice: cinnamon), and I don't think it has any of your no-notes. And it's GC, impable, and likely available on forum! Good luck with your search!
- 24 replies
-
I hope I'm in the right spot for my question... I don't have a huge collection, and I haven't tried a ton of oils, but a couple of my favorites at 10 am, were definitely not my favorites at 8 am. The initial notes I get (and I wish I could tell you which ones, but again, newbie) are sometimes a little headache-y or sick-inducing. But, like I said, by the time those notes (fade off? dry down?) in an hour or two, I'm back in love and stay in love as long as I can still detect anything. I feel like I don't have the right language, and definitely should go read the skin chemistry threads, but this really is a dilution question because: How will diluting (or solid-perfume-ing) my oils affect their scent at different stages? I definitely don't want to do anything that prolongs that early scent (on these oils). I'm wanting to dilute to extend the oils (will probably use fractionated coconut oi), or solidify (eyeing the Bramble Berry kits) to make them more portable. I guess I could also consider that transition phase to be a sign that I should give up on those oils? Thanks in advance for the collective wisdom!