Usagi

Usagi, that sounds like fun!

Thanks. I hope you can play, if/when the swap goes up.

 

I am definitely tempted, depending on where the deadlines fall in the summer. I would probably be more likely to play if the requirements were more like 2 clothing items and 1 accessory, but don't change it up on my account! I also just did a huge closet clean-out and all of the bags have gone away, so I'm afraid I wouldn't have much at the moment regardless.

I was thinking maybe sign-ups would open towards the end of next week, with matches assigned by the end of the month, and a sending deadline of either the first or second week of August. But I'm open to moving the dates around.

My main reasoning for the three/two requirement was thinking that those numbers would get closest to making a complete set, without being insanely overboard(take all my clothes ). But a lower number would be totally fine with me as well-- especially if it would encourage more people to play.

 

I would love that swap, but it would totally turn into a thrift store shopping expedition unless it was all accessories. Our sizes are such a huge range!

That is a really good point. I was kind of approaching it from the perspective of 'well, maybe other people are like me and have things in an eight size range...?' I am also not above stealing garments from my beautiful sister(who is a statuesque size 16) or my best friend (a petite 0/1) for the right cause. I am the clothes gremlin!

But you are right. It would be difficult to match everyone--size-for-size. What if the swap was a hybrid between repurposing things you already own and thrifting, player's choice?

Would there be any interest in a Summer Haulternative swap? Either straight from your closet to another's, or a low price-cap(say $20 before shipping) vintage/thrifting adventure, based on your swappee's sizing, and personal aesthetic (illustrated by a selection of inspiration images in their questionnaire-- so it could even work for people more inclined towards cosplay clothing desires). Maybe set the requirements at three clothing pieces, and two accessories?

 

It would be a one-to-one mystery match, open to internationals, and have a six-week receiving swappee's questionnaire to mailing deadline.

 

Any thoughts/interest?

Akuma? It smells more like one of those sweets-loving demons from manga/anime. It has a similar vibe to ( gorgeous, and lamentably DCed) Succubus.

 

The trading Post has the Demon's School atmo. spray.

 

Smutty Goblin hair gloss (though it's LE), reminds me of a dark, potentially demonic, carnival.

 

And, as Balame mentioned already-- though LE-- if you can get your hands on the Infernal Lover, that's some sexy demon there. Pandemonium is pretty devilishly sexy, too.

Is there any interest in another Bath and Beauty circular swap box? I have *way* too much stuff from the last year, that just didn't fit into Em--'s amazing swap box when it came, because it was too crammed full with goodness already.

 

Also, I was hoping to revive the LE/DC circular swap, but with the change that other products(atmo.s,hairgloss, bath oil) and etailers would also be welcome, and that it would be a straight-up take out<-->put in swap. I only have two problems:

1. It was recommended by participants that I get an actual box to put the scents in next time-- and I don't know what size or format would be best(I'm thinking plastic craft supply box, but am open to suggestions).

2. What to do with the mega-rare, unicorn scents that the lovelies of the last round included. I know that they might disappear in an instant with a switch-around free-for-all (and also I would *so* keep the tester of Elf v4, because ), And that doesn't seem in the spirit of why those lovely Forumites shared the scents. So, would that need to be a smaller, sniff everything swap on its own?

 

P.S.

Animal Spirit swap sounds so awesome!

 

P.P.S.

The idea of an Alphabet swap came up while at the post office today. Kind of like Scattergories, where you have five categories and have to find something for each starting with the same alphabet letter (and potential for 25 repeat swaps on the theme ) Thoughts? Is it silly?

bottle: PEAR , with a fizzy musk underneath, and just a hint of the lemon beneath the sweetness of the pear.

 

wet: juicy, juicy pear, and it seems to have been soaked in subtle lemon water, then laid on a cool, light-colored, effervescent musk.

dry: lingering sweetness of ripe pear, and just a hint of musk.

bottle: strawberry-jasmine-white-chocolate-candy-fiesta!

 

wet: really syrupy berry floral cream. It kind of reminds me of a more floral Weeping Branches Moon-- it has that same heady, hard candy, fruit scent.

dry:sweet, fruity, perfumey; just very nice and reminiscent of burgeoning spring things.

 

This has a good deal of lasting power and throw; like walking around in an awesome sweets shop.

bottle: dark, leathery musk, and just a bit of herbal patchouli, maybe; it’s almost sweet and a little smoky.

 

wet: it’s very different; warmer, more comfortable, the leather just adds the merest hint of skin warmth. There is a musk that’s low key, but swirling with another note that's a bit powdery, then something that’s almost floral but not-- it could be daemonorops? I don’t know... The presentation is just very well-blended, and it is difficult to pick any notes standing out.

dry:there are musks going on; one the citrusy kind of slightly powdered black musk, and--underneath-- just a bit of the chemically, sort of high-pitched, tang that white musk usually gives me. The leather has mostly faded, and either the honey or the cream is lending a slight sweetness.

 

Overall, this blend is a lot lighter and warmer than expected. The honey and cream temper the leather and musk to create a rounder, friendlier whole. Yes, the dragon is a creeper, but he's a *lovable* creeper-- and has no camera, so no worries about things ending up on the 'net. Oh, wait...

 

If you are hesitating on account of the leather, Creeper's leather is extremely smooth and soft, and all of the notes come together into an extremely wearable scent.

In the bottle(after about an hour's rest from mailing): I smell very sweet jasmine, and very bright citrus.

wet: The jasmine turns itself to support for the citrus note, making this a creamy-fizzy-sweet kind of deal. It's bright and happy and...prosperous?

drying: As it plays with my skin chemistry, I'm getting bits of another, slightly watery, delicate floral underneath the citrus, which has a little bit of a tang to it when you inhale deeply enough. If I had to guess, I'd say an interplay between bamboo, peony and pine, maybe? I'm not really smelling anything discernibly Dragon's Blood, yet-- which is surprising. Yet, the whole thing dances so beautifully on the skin and in my senses. It's like sitting in the shade of a late spring garden, with a cool rock pool next to your feet, watching rays of sunlight play across the stones.

drydown(little over an hour later): It's dried down to a soft, creamy floral. There was a short phase where it veered a teensy bit towards a slightly soapy(albeit really nice, quality soap) phase. But now, it's just a cool, close to the skin, soft green floral, with a lingering hint of the gorgeous citrus.

Wooden Goat is absolutely beautiful, and I am so very enamoured of this incarnation of my zodiac animal. It will be getting a lot of wear. Out of the seven Lunar New Year scents I have tried, this one is probably my second favorite(right behind Water Dragon). It's happy and vibrant, but not overpowering-- with a close throw, and pretty decent lasting power(showing now signs of fading here at the one and a half hour mark).
Unless you absolutely loathe flowers or citrus, I would recommend you give this a shot. You may just fall head over heels in love(says the girl who can't stop sniffing her wrist). And, no, it does not smell the same as the Lunar creatures that have come before.
The closest comparison I might make would be the lovechild of Water Dragon and Water Snake. It isn't as 'WOO, citrus!' as Water Dragon is at the outset-- and the citrus has a different quality to it(more like citron in Water Dragon),nor is the drydown that beautiful mystery musk. But it isn't anywhere near as jasmine-floral as Water Snake. Wooden Goat seems to bridge somewhere in between, and adds its own glimmering coolness, for a unique scent of its own.

"Travel The World" Swap!

 

I know that I love getting local goodies when I do a swap, and I thought it would be fun to build a box of things that really show what your city/town/region is about! I was thinking it could be a mystery match swap, where in a questionnaire people put their top 5 cool-sounding regions from a list of the most common regions BPAL members hail from (Paris, Texas, Pacific NW of USA, Toronto, Quebec, England, Ireland, Japan, Singapore, California, Texas, NYC, etc) that they'd be curious to learn about through a swap. Or, if they truly don't care, "Anywhere!" could be an option instead of/in addition to a top 5. Then people can hopefully be matched with someone from one of their top 5 choices! There would be no guarantee, of course, but it would be cool if most/all people could get matched with a gifter who is from a city they like!

 

Then, each box could contain something like:

 

1 (or more) local savory edible

1 (or more) local sweet edible

1 "traditional" souvenir (key chain, magnet, hat, etc)

1 unique-to-the-area/"We're famous for this" souvenir (something you maybe couldn't find elsewhere, ex: Mt. Saint Helens ash sculpture from WA or a legit French absinthe spoon)

1 item with a visual depiction of the area (postcard or small art print that shows a local landmark/attraction, ex: photo card of the Eiffel Tower)

1 item that just screams "this is from my region!" to you!

 

There would be a basic questionnaire - foods like/dislike, activities/hobbies, colors like/dislike, etc. The boxes would have a minimum spend amount of $15 - then people don't have to worry about getting a 50 cent everything, but they also don't have to feel pressured to put a bunch of expensive stuff in it. Maybe there could be a max spend limit of like, $50 total? All of these without shipping of course. And people who are willing to ship internationally would have a better chance of getting paired with another person who will ship internationally?

 

I'm just tossing this out there - I'd LOVE LOVE LOVE constructive criticism or other ideas! What do you guys think? Is there interest in this? Could I pull it off as a moderator of my first ever swap? Maybe for something starting closer to May/June, if spring proper fills up?

This sounds awesome (except that I live in Bumblemoo, and can't really think of anything delicious[that wouldn't spoil en route] that evokes my town. ). What if the participants were able to also put, for example, foreign cultures/areas that they might have access to and could get swap items from? Say, there's a great Asian/South American/European specialty store thirty miles from where you live, you could add that as an option to gift your swappee?

Does anyone plan to run a 12 days of Christmas swap? I'm so excited with the 13 nights of Halloween and I'll definitely need something to cheer myself up around Christmas... And I don't really feel up to running one on my own, so I figured I'd ask.

 

I don't know about the 12 Days swap. A while ago, there was some speculation that there might be an Eight Crazy Nights swap at some point, which could also be super cool. At least, I think there was? This could just be the ramblings of a swaps addict...

@FragranceLush, those ATCs are fantastic! I'm so sorry that some of the cards in your swaps got eaten by the postal system.

There were never any mailing problems with the ones I sent, or received. I think because they were safely tucked inside greeting cards. But, then again, the ones I made were mostly just of the 'oh look! I drew/painted a tiny, cute picture. :D' variety. There was only ever one that was three dimensional and had clay bits. That one *definitely* went in a bubbleope.

 

@Emma2403 I see no reason why the ornament swap wouldn't be open to internationals. You guys are awesome! The last one was, wasn't it?

 

Anyway, anyone, please feel free to jump in on these ideas and make a swap. Otherwise, you'll probably see many circular swap posts from my annoying self somewhere down the line...

 

Meanwhile, Meaganola and I are putting the finishing touches on the 13 Nights questionnaire, and should have that up for approval very soon.

A Halloween-themed ATC swap would be awesome!

 

FragranceLush, the way the swaps on here were being done before, all that was required was a 2.5x3.5" card in a regular envelope-- to keep it low cost and for international mailing. But, if there was interest, I see no reason why there couldn't be a round that was more like a mini-package swap, with an ATC and a few little things around a theme. That might be really fun.

Okay! 13 Nights it is. I'll start assembling the questionnaire, and hope to have a swap thread up for approval sometime next week, but the weekend of the 23/24th, at the latest.

Also, if there happens to be anyone who's been desperately dying to be a swap co-host, if they wanted to contact me, we could up the max participant cap... Just sayin'.

 

 

Oh, yes, Fall Switch Witch!

 

Also, for future thought, ATC swap and ornament swap?

So, with the Forum down, there was a lot of time to contemplate the possible swaps that could be going on with all you lovely people on here.

 

I just thought I would throw some stuff out here, and hope for opinions and responses to see what might be doable and fun.

 

Dia de los Muertos craft swap (swap would be open to international, sign-ups the end of August or so, and a mailing deadline of early/mid October so that everyone could have their gifts in time for the Holiday): five, or so, different things to place on your altar, shrine-- or about your home, for those who simply like the aesthetic. I was thinking an offering, maybe an effigy, a sweet treat, something skull-related(calaveras and calacas would be great), and some fun decorations(paper banners, flower garland, etc.). A light source or special candle might also be a nice component

Main questions/concerns are: (as always) is there any interest? Is this doable, especially without getting too personal for those who may want to participate, in respect to their loved ones? Is this potentially offensive to anyone who may practice a more serious(<--this is not the right word, but solemn doesn't fit, either) observation of this time?

Anyone who would like to input, please let me know, or PM me, if you feel it's too sensitive. It's a bit difficult to gauge how things are observed elsewhere. Here, it's very celebratory and slightly more secular, I guess.

13 Nights of Halloween (open to international, signups end of August, mailing deadline of end of September/beginning of October, required gift squee in-thread on a daily basis for either the last ten days of October/first three of November, or the last thirteen of October): Thirteen gifts, one to be opened each day/night of the specified time around Halloween, and reported on in the swap thread, so that everyone can enjoy the many awesome things all the gifters come up with. This was very fun last year.

LE/DC Test and Take circular swap ( starting in the fall, when the temperature has gotten cooler, so as not to have to worry about either heat spoilage or boxes being frozen in mailboxes over the winter,US only, due to priority shipping cost for international, time constraints, and the higher possibility of that much BPAL getting lost also limited to a seven day hold period for each participant; ten participant max): a circular swap, starting with all the goodies from the last circular swap, and adding in BPTP goodies-- possibly also a few other etailers. The difference from the first round would be that it would go in the large priority box, and--based on the success of the two test&take swaps run earlier this year-- participants would be able to take out things for which they swapped in( with the exception of a few ultra-rares donated by the amazing participants of the last swap that would stay in the box for everyone to get a chance to sniff).

Bath&Beauty circular swap (US only, large priority flatrate, seven day hold period per participant; ten participant max): like the fun swaps that Em-- has done. You take stuff out you want. You put stuff in that is extra or didn't work for you. You send it on.

Element(or Deity) art/craft swap (open to international): There were a couple of swaps like this a few years ago, with beautiful results. The idea being that you create an artwork or craft piece for your swapper based on their selected element(s) and/or Deity(ies).

 

That's all I've got, for now. Thoughts, opinions, suggestions would be much appreciated. Long live swaps!

So excited for this new Lunacy theme!

In the bottle, it's a high-pitched, white lunar herbal, leaning heavily towards herbal. First applied, it's still light and herbal, but has the weight of a highly refined unisex cologne-- perhaps leaning a bit towards an aquatic. The neroli and elemi combine to form an airy-cool scent that is neither one nor the other, but brings wisps of rich herbal coolness with very light throw. The pepper adds a little kick. I don't smell the tobacco flower, per se. But I think it's in there, delicately adding a white roundness that completes the scent.

As it dries, it goes through a short "soapy" phase-- but only the best, french-milled, tiny niche shop soap, you understand -- where it's a bit too white and too high-pitched. This phase fades quickly. It could be due to the bottle having just ended its journey this afternoon, being born only slightly earlier than that. It's anyone guess.

When the scent has settled into the skin, there is more tobacco flower. It's cooler and rounder, with the orris adding a fine, powdery quality, like moondust. As it fades, there's mostly sweet orris-- a little powdery-- buoyed by a soft breath of tobacco flower.

The impression this scent gives is of a cool, dark field of grey sand, under a black sky, where the earth has replaced the moon. And maybe it's comforting that no one can hear you scream.

This blend is pretty fabulous, greater than the sum of its parts, and highly wearable.

Okay, I am in the process of typing up a Bath & Body stuff circular swap (like the fabulous ones that Em- runs), and I have a question for anyone who might be interested in it; or even anyone who just wants to give me some of their good advice.

 

Someday(late March/early April maybe?), the LE/DC circular will go to round 2-- with all of the amazing goodness that the lovely participants added in last round. I've basically come to the conclusion, based on the success of the other, more free-for-all testing circulars, that it's going to be a put in/take out circular this next time-- with the exception of a few, exceptionally rare scents that were added by the amazing angels of the last round (or, maybe they were imps... because I am now in love with Elf v4, and the likelihood of getting some, ever, is extremely low). Those scents-- I think there are about six?-- will be required to stay in the box, for the sniffing joy of all participants.

It's also basically going to be a sturdy box(the kind made of wood or plastic) inside of a medium/large flatrate priority box.

 

 

So, my question is, should I save all scents- including other etailers and alcohol-based samples from retail and niche places-- for that box and have a kind of free-for-all scentplosion of various wonderful scents, in addition to BPAL? Or, should I include other etailers and retail perfume in the Bath & Body box?

 

Any thoughts and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Also, I apologize, I seem to be a rather wordy question asker...

As a fellow lover of the Unicorn, nothing I've tried has been an exact match for its loveliness (either in BPAL, or the other brands I've dabbled in).

The two that have come closest might not be the greatest help to you, as one is another DC, and the other, an LE from a couple years ago (though I have seen it for sale a few times).

 

Rosalind (Dew-covered berries and fresh green grasses with a faint breath of spring flowers.) is more berriful, but has the same luminous, soft green forest glade feeling.

 

Enchanted Wood Florist (A burst of sweet, strange flowers, luminous Moon-tree sap, and ornamental grasses.) smells like magical, tropical Unicorn.

 

Anyway, good luck on your quest! I hope you can find another scent to love as much as the Unicorn.

still waiting on my imp to try, but maybe ekhidna is another option.

 

and I love boundless Vista. more tide-pool than swamp to my nose, and crazy delicious.

 

edited to say that Faeu Boulanger is on etsy!

 

Aww, now I want to try that. A tidepool scent would be awesome.

 

For bogs, Plague of Frogs, from the Hellboy line, might be worth a try. It definitely had a dark, rotting aquatics feel to it.

If you are OK with it, I could help co-run the mystery match swap if you can be the leader. I'm pretty confident I can run the seed swap. It was really pretty easy last time. Of course, I'll be participating in the gardening swap, too!!

 

Last year it just kind of worked out that everyone matched up, pretty closely, by zone. Depending on who participates in this winter's seed swap, I will still try to match everyone up by zone as closely as possible. Unless you think a more free-for-all approach would work better. So many of the seeds are annuals anyway and not so dependent on zone, so it could really work out either way.

 

I was thinking about trying to have participants divy the seeds up into set dollar amounts of seeds (i.e. $1 worth of basil seeds or whatever) so that it everyone would know they were trading for equal dollar amounts, but 1) I think that's pretty complicated 2) What if you save seeds and don't pay anything 3) I don't want it to turn into a sale as I'd think that might violate forum rules somewhere! and 4) I know with me, it would have ended up being such small dollar amounts that it really wasn't worth quibbling over.

 

If anyone felt like they didn't get a fair deal in the seed swap and would like to remain anonymous, you can send me a PM so no one's feelings get hurt.

 

Sure we can co-run. That would be great. I'll start working on a questionnaire draft, and see what comes up.

 

As far as last year's seed swap went, I felt that the people who sent to me were very generous with their seeds, and I hope I was, too. It shouldn't be necessary to set a certain price value on seeds?

 

Perhaps instead of a growing zone, it might be more effective to do it by types of things grown? I don't know, the swap seemed to go really well with zones last year, also...

 

On a completely different topic--concerning the Rare & LE circular from last fall(?)-- I'm hoping to get a second round going. Hopefully, this will be either the end of this month or the beginning of next month. This one will include atmo. spray samples and bath oils.

It could also be split into two boxes, I think.

Right now, it's just trying to figure out the best way to ship the lovely scents safely, and still keep cost down.

Any suggestions?

Just wanted everyone to know that I'm getting organized for the garden swap!

 

Last time I did a seeds/bulbs only "exchange" where everyone sent seeds and/or bulbs to a couple of other participants so that everyone could get a large variety of different seeds. We only swapped seeds that we already had or had already planned to buy, so the cost was very minimal. You could even get away with postage only if you saved seeds from the summer.

 

Usagi has suggested "mystery match" style swap where each participant would put together a package for someone with a small list of gardening related items and a price cap of $15 - $30. Each participant would only send and recieve one package.

 

What say the masses? Seed Exchange? Garden Switch Witch? Both? Neither?

 

Personally, I'd kind of like to do both, but I'm not sure I can manage both by myself. I do the seed exchange because I rarely use the entire packet of seeds in one season and there are SO MANY THINGS I want to try out. But the other swap sounds like fun also!

 

I'd be excited for both, so no help there. I'd also be happy to help out, if you need it. Or we could each take a swap; or run one, then the other. There always seem to be more seeds than space to plant them in, so small amounts of many different kinds of seeds is always awesome.

Last year's seed/bulb only swap was inexpensive and fun.

 

ETA:

Would the seed/bulb swap be matched by climate zone, like last year, or would it be more of a free-for-all?

 

Funny you should mention this! I was planning to do one in January after all the holiday madness dies down! I was planning to include seeds, because there are some seeds that can be started as early as January (indoors of course) in my area. But I'm all for this as long as we can keep it relatively inexpensive!

 

And if you help me run it, we could allow more swappers in, right?

 

That sounds awesome! Would a price cap of $30-$35 work? I actually think it could be done for around half that maybe, if people were crafty(or had a billion tons of seed that they *really* want to share with the world). I know that I've found amazing garden gloves, and the best hand pruners, at places like Ross and TJMaxx for $7. Plus, the crafty, wonderful people among us could make garden totes, or those hammered spoon plant tag stakes-- or even some pretty rope.

But a just seed swap would be fabulous, also. The one you ran last year was great, and really helped expand on what we can grow out here(okra does not appear to be one of those things, sadly).

Would anyone be interested in a Winter Garden swap?

 

I was thinking maybe five components:

*seeds/bulbs

*reading material(book, magazine, catalogue)

*tool

*gardener-specific care item(hand creme, sunblock, hat, etc)

* and either a scented item(citronella candle to fend of mosquitos!), or something yummy to enjoy while you stare at your beautiful handiwork?

 

If international forumites wanted to play, instead of sending seeds, we could maybe do a small gift certificate to their local garden center, or find seeds in their country on Etsy?

Inspired by the 12x12x12 box of samples I'm rapidly filling up in my storage area - is anyone (Usagi?) doing a cosmetics sample swap this winter?

 

Because man do I ever have a pile of samples that I will never use - lots of good stuff, just anyone who has been assigned me in a swap knows that I have the sensitive and allergic skin to end all sensitive and allergic skin - oh, and I'm about as pigmented as copier paper, which makes color matching very difficult.

 

Gwydion is right. It sounds like you have enough to start your own circular Bath and Body box. I'm in a similar position, with a drawer full of samples from the past year. Maybe we should make it a "Clearing it all Out: Bath and Body edition" swap.

I'm not quite sure why, but Snake Charmer Res. seems to be my Halloween scent.

OOOOoo! OOO! DO IT! I can help out if you need a little extra help with being the leader! Its a little too much for me to do right now, there's a lot of tracking going on with the 12 days sort of thing!

 

13 Days of Halloweeen! AIEEEE!

 

(ANd yes, there were 12 packages that were sent, then everyone started opening presents the same day, and opened one present each day for 12 days.)

 

To get the internationals...2 weeks might be too close for people on the pacific rim. But you could either have them start a little later, or ask people mailing to them to mail sooner-I could be wrong, but I think stuff to them usually takes longer from the us-or maybe you could work it out so that they have swappers who are closer to them-then the two weeks would be ok. And you'll have to be a little more strict with the mail by dates with this sort of swap, that was the most nervewracking bit...keeping track of who had gotten their packages, and who still had to mail and all that! And poking at people who weren't posting.

 

 

13 days of halloween would be very cool I would also be willing to lend a hand with running it, if help is needed. I havn't run one before but I get the idea of it.

 

 

Would a two week window between shipping deadline and start of the 13 days be enough to let internationals play?

 

Not for Australia.

Last package I sent from here to the USA took about 10 days.

However, bare in mind that I live an hours drive from where Aussie international mail leaves, and that it was arriving fairly close to where USA international mail arrives. It was held over the weekend in Aus customs, and went straight through US customs.

If I had been on the other side of the country, or further north or south, that would have added days to it easily. Same being if the recipient had been further east in the US, or had been held by either customs.

It also wasn't around any seasonal holiday.

 

Auspost tracking does start working on the USPS site after it's arrived in the US, so there's always that to consider.

 

You guys are awesome. Okay. I will get on the questionnaire, and hope to have it up by the end of the weekend.

And, thank you for the info on international mailing. We can make the mail by deadline September 30th, which would give packages fifteen business days to reach their destination-- with the advisory that those swapping internationally might want to mail earlier. I don't know of a foolproof way to avoid getting held by Customs, but will include a question about items to avoid sending with that in mind.

This is going to be awesome.

 

That journal swap sounds awesome!!!! I don't think it's too labour intensive, especially if people know what is happenning while signing up. I think those kind of swaps are fantastic!

Awesome! I'll work on this idea. Look out for it in the not too distant future.