elbow

Traveling Imps was like that: http://www.bpal.org/topic/82939-traveling-imps-circular-swap-round-2/?hl=sniffies+circular

Bless you, that is exactly what I was looking for, and answers a bunch of questions I hadn't even thought to ask.

So, I got this glorious PIF, and now I'm neck-deep in imps. (No complaints!)

In a month or two, when I've tested to my heart's content, I want to start an imp/partial circular swap box. I participated in one of these years ago through LJ, and it was really fun -- a great opportunity to try lots of new things, and re-home a few imps that I wasn't crazy about.

I've never run a swap before, but I have read the swap guidelines, and have been observing/participating in several very well-run swaps over the past few months. I feel like I have a good handle on the basics of swap organization.

The thing is, I don't recall ever seeing a circular swap focusing on BPAL/BPTP products on the forums. Is there a reason for this that I should be aware of? A swap like this certainly has inherent risks of spillage and/or swaplifting, but I wouldn't think that'd be too much greater than with other kinds of swaps.

The search engine can't work with three-letter words like "box", unfortunately, so if you know of, or better yet, have links to similar swaps, I'd be very grateful! General advice and caveats are welcome, too.

This smells strongly and pleasantly of lemongrass to me when wet. (I've been trying to figure out what that note is; according to the first reviewer, it's the frankincense. Huh.) Then the other notes sneak up from behind and give that sharper note a long, warm, sweet embrace. The result is a jubilant, yellow-gold, fruity scent: the smell of being so happy you can't help but sing. I love it!

Reporting back - there are a lot of recommendations that I still need to try (have a few of the imps right now) but I've just tried Sudha Segara and Shub-Niggurath - and they're great!

Yay! So glad you're finding some winners! Your description of Sudha Segara makes me wish I could wear it... but ginger gets out of control fast on my skin.

I have absolutely fallen in love with the myrrh in This World, Where Death Reigns. Anyone have recommendations for myrrh-dominant blends that are not churchy incense?

I think the myrrh in Laudanum is really lovely. This is a love-or-hate scent depending on your skin chemistry, though! See reviews for both ends of the spectrum.

 

For the record, folks are 3welcome to lift applicable portions of my circular swap directions to start new swaps of their own.

Which is awesome and appreciated.

 

Agreed. If a certain PIF comes through, I'd like to turn it into a circular box of sniffies/partials. When considering how to write it all up, I realized Gwyd's swap instructions would make an excellent template to start from!

And for your next order, false.azure: Galvanic Goggles is most definitely dudely.

Wow. I just read this entire thread, and it's quite the saga.

In the realm of Spreadsheets, the torch is passed from faithful updater to faithful updater; one falls, and another rises to take zir place.

Meanwhile, over in Database country, rumors of downloadable DBs fade with the advent of web-based options. Wikis appear and vanish again, while Perfoom.com blooms, only to be overshadowed by (the inexplicably previously unmentioned) ScentBase. Perhaps the most promising contender emerges from bpal.org itself... but these apps meet their tragic demise in the Great Crash of 2014.

Epic, right? And the saga continues; now there's mobile options, and who knows what next?

I adore this kind of data geekery. I've spent countless hours tinkering with my own BPAL spreadsheet. You people are my people. And I just wanted to say: you rock.

I don't often recommend scents, but it seems to me there's a lot of overlap in our scent preferences. Hope some of those work for you. Post back here and let us know what you think, if you don't mind!

Looking back over my notes, I had a similar experience with Kubla Khan. So many interesting things going on there, but I couldn't get past the ginger, lily, and jasmine. Of course, what makes it go bad on you might be something entirely different.

Forgive me if my suggestions are not femme-y (so hard to define!), or if you've already tried them. I looked at your Notes post and picked out some GC scents that are still available from the Lab, to make your search easier and slightly less expensive.

Eden (fig leaf, fig fruit, honeyed almond milk, toasted coconut and sandalwood)

Laudanum (Nutmeg, sassafras, black poppy and myrrh)

Sudha Segara (Sweet milk and warm, healing ginger with a touch of golden honey and our blend of Ambrosia)

Miskatonic University (Irish coffee, dusty tomes and polished oakwood halls)

Desire (bittersweet neroli, black patchouli and black musk, gilded by apple, bergamot, blood red rose, teak, and vanilla)

Bengal (skin musk with honey, peppers, clove, cinnamon bark and ginger)

Aglaea (Three golden ambers, bright musk, peach wine and myrtle)

Kumiho (A sharp, biting blend of crisp white tea and ginger)

Oh, and do try Snake Oil and Black Phoenix if you haven't already!

Looking forward to your notes, false.azure! I've been trying BPALs on my male sweetheart, and though I've found many that I like on him, he doesn't care for them unless they fit his definition of manliness. Since everyone's idea of a manly scent differs, it's hard for me to know what to aim for. So far, the handful of ones he has really liked all have a leather note. Since you're amassing a non-leather list, I'm hoping your successes will help us branch out a little!

Amicitia is my new best friend. It is just such an endearing scent, sweet without being cloying or sappy: Ernest Shepard's Winnie the Pooh, not Walt Disney's Winnie the Pooh. It's so warmly well-rounded that I'm having trouble picking out notes... my wrist just smells like happiness.

This would be a lovely perfume for a little girl, but it isn't at all childish.

This goes on as a really lovely rose, enveloped by a deliciously toasty scent I can't name -- a little cocoa-y, a little salty. I don't know my resins well enough to say if that's what this is, but I want to curl up in it... which brings to mind the photo of wee Lilith relaxed in Tom Blunt's arms. Aww.

I don't know whether the mysterious warm toastiness is Tom or Lilith in this scent tableau, but it recedes into the background far sooner than I would like. In less than an hour I have trouble finding it, but the rose remains, serene and warm and sweet.

If you're on the fence about buying a bottle from the Lab, Tom (a Tarot expert) is offering a free six-card reading with purchase: http://arcanalogue.tumblr.com/post/99977350530/hi-friends-i-recently-found-myself-on-the-label

Very enthusiastic about January swaps (December's too busy for swapping in my world). I plan to sign up for the Altoid tin one!

Thanks for starting this thread, Aiobhan - I'm in the same boat, or a similar boat in the same millstream. I can't do jasmine or lilies, which are in so many floral scents that I tend to just avoid them altogether. Rose and lavender are hit and miss with me.

I haven't tried most of the scents mentioned above, but I can vouch for Venice being "not so bad for a jasmine scent." I could definitely smell jasmine during the first phase, but it softened to a gentler fruity-floral after that. I gave it an "okay but didn't grab me" rating. Delight (Frangipani, with rose, tuberose, and jasmine) is a floral I like so much that I almost don't mind the jasmine... almost.

If a floral works for me, it tends to have just one or two floral notes. Bathsheba (carnation, sensual plum, and Arabian musk) and Belle Epoque (Sweet opium, Lily of the Valley, vanilla, mandarin and red sandalwood) are both floral, but not overwhelmingly so. On a brief encounter, I thought Desire (bittersweet neroli, black patchouli and black musk, gilded by apple, bergamot, blood red rose, teak, and vanilla) was absolutely gorgeous. Glasgow (the rich scent of wild blackberry breezing over gentle rosy heather) is very restrained in its use of rose. The only floral I wear regularly right now is Kurukulla (a harmonious, sweet, enchanting blend of three lotus blooms and three roses).

The loveliest floral I've ever sniffed is Gold Phoenix (three ambers representing common gold, astral gold, and elementary gold, with verbena, angelica, and heliotrope that has been purified by frankincense and Gum Arabic). But that's an LE from 2009, and I don't know how it's aged.

I'm enjoying checking on the Indie Potluck swaps - what a cool idea! I love how everyone gets to rec something for everyone else, and how it brings more customers in contact with small-scale sellers.

I wear cosmetics just-about-never, and that's not going to change anytime soon. But I'm hoping at some point this swap concept gets applied to, say, indie producers of tasty treats, comic books, zines, costume jewelry, blank books, socks, stickers, greeting cards/stationery, or something wonderful I haven't thought of yet! I'm not in a place right now where I can organize something like this, so I'm putting it out there in case anyone else likes the idea enough to make it happen.

Thanks so much, Fuhrankie and Balame! I'll definitely be trying some of these suggestions.

Fun topic! Okay, my top 5 at the moment are...

Coyote

Delphi

Laudanum

Smiling Spider

Stimulating Sassafrass Strengthener

Anybody?

I'm really missing Delphi. I know it wasn't a popular one, but it was in my top 3 -- such a heartening waft of greenery and mead. I used to wear it on days when I had to lift a lot of heavy things. My scent notes say: "Makes me feel mighty."

Is there anything in the current catalog that resembles it?

I second the observation (made a page or two back) that Morocco smells like Shalimar. Really, uncannily similar, on me at least.

The Lion had joined them while this was going on: he looked very tired and sleepy, and his eyes were half shut. `What's this!' he said, blinking lazily at Alice, and speaking in a deep hollow tone that sounded like the tolling of a great bell.

The Lion is very mild on me, pleasant and a little odd. I can smell the amber with a bit of faint spiciness, and after a while the sandalwood comes out, as does the "medicinal" effect others have mentioned. After some head-scratching, I finally figured out what it reminds me of: A&D Ointment. It brings back memories of Mom taking care of my baby sisters in the early '80s, which is not a bad thing... but as I said, a little odd.

Today I tried a regular coffee stirrer and it brought way too much oil out of the bottle. I do like the McDonalds coffee stirrers because the end is shaped like a little paddle and it's good for getting as much out as you want. What I really want are caps with glass wands.

Then I believe this is what you want.

I've not ordered any yet, but having just read through the entire topic, I can warn you of this and also this. So it might be a good idea to look around for other sellers (try froogle for starters).

Edit: Whoops, just realized the age of the post I was replying to... oh well, maybe this will be a convenient summary for some.