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BPAL Madness!

ivyandpeony

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Posts posted by ivyandpeony


  1. The official guidelines link has glitched out on us, but you will find a general guide here if you happen to have questions while we are repairing. Please feel free to contact mods/admins with questions & remember that if you receive a note from us, it’s a gentle reminder, not a personal attack. No one else sees it & we are still glad you’re here. Thank you, guys! 
     

     


  2. I haven't had a leaky bottle or imp cap issue in a long time, but I completely sympathize! I would encourage all of you to be sure to let the Lab know via e-mail. They don't have enough staff to constantly monitor threads like this one, but if you let them know when you received the order with the leaky imp (and I promise, it doesn't matter if it was an imp you bought or a frimp) they may be able to check their stock and prevent more faulty caps from getting out there. They are completely dependent upon the QC at the bottle supplier - imagine the expense if they were to have to test every container they buy before filling it - and it is helpful to them to know when something like this happens.


  3. My rec isn't a GC, but it might be easier to find because the Salon was around for so long - Garden Path With Chickens (Damp grass, ivy leaves, morning glory, daisy, rose geranium, heliotrope, white gardenia, climbing roses, peppery nasturtium, phlox, begonia, verbena and sun-warmed herbs). Don't let those floral notes that are listed chase you away, this one is a sunny bright green scent.


  4. I love Visions III too and agree with your description, Leira.

    So many BPAL fans adore Goblin, but it's always seemed like the patchouli was on the raw, hippy-dippier side of the scale. But Gingerbread Goblin is so different to me! The patchouli seems so much softer and fuzzier.

    And for anyone trying to find a smoother, more mellow patchouli, my advice is always: age it, age it, age it. Patchouli seems to get softer as it ages. The woodiness that seems so raw to me in fresh patchouli becomes more of a spiciness.


  5. I can't remember if I posted in here before about this, but here goes:

    If you loved Eve (OLLA) or are curious about her, you might want to give Cicuta (Vampires Don't Sleep Alone) a go; while it's not as complex as Eve, it shares some vibes with her - the incense-shrouded dusty rose and the slightly spiced edge. I think it's a fairly good replacement for Eve, and I certainly love both of them :D

     

    Oh, thanks! I have a bottle of Cicuta in my undecided box - I will definitely give it a re-whirl and see how it clicks with me. I bet it's been two years since I skin tested it.

     

    I just got my bottle of Scholar's Tower tucked in my Halloween order. It is definitely a member of The Lion - Jacob's Ladder - Hesiod's Phoenix - La Lugubre Gondola family. Anyone who loves those scents should try to score a bottle (and should have at least one back up bottle of The Lion tucked away and aging as we speak!)


  6. I am an ambergris lover too! Look for "grey amber" or "gray amber" when you're perusing notes, since it's another name the Lab uses for it. I'd almost swear that there's ambergris accord in The Girl, even though its description includes white amber, not grey. Under the Harvest Moon (Blue and white musk, summer roses, wild crimson leaves, grey amber, carnation, lavender bud, and vanilla bean) is a really lovely crystalline autumn blend. The Torture Queen from Carnival Diabolique is maybe my favorite blend that lists it as a note (white amber, vanilla musk, white tea, ambergris, gardenia, and chrome) - and another favorite from CD is The Maltese Cross of Sanctus Germanus (golden amber, blood orange, ambergris, lilac, frankincense, and agarwood). Silver Haired Bat (Gleaming white amber and silvered ambergris accord with copoiba balsam, benzoin, Atlas cedar, black pepper, and oudh) is gorgeous, although harder to track down (it was a Bats Day exclusive last year IIRC). Unveil the Grace in Thine Eyes (orris, luminous ambergris, and golden amber illuminated by a sunlit golden musk) is another LE with it that I've tried but I need to revisit it.

    I uncovered a few LEs with ambergris that I haven't tried (or have since forgotten): Aubin Grandpied Bunmanchi, Childhood Playmate (pale fur, lavender water, Corsican immortelle, white thyme, benzoin absolute, ambergris accord, and sorrowful carrot seed), The Shadowy and The Sublime (Moroccan amber, wisteria, ambergris accord, white rose, magnolia, white mint, angelica, bergamot, and myrrh), A Nocturnal Reverie (Violet musk and oudh with black amber, ambergris, agarwood, black currant, dark musk, fig, and lavender incense).

     

    I have to go look in my BPAL box ASAP. I bought quite a few of the Century Guild scents but now I'm baffled because I don't remember buying or trying Curved Sky and it sounds so much up my alley!


  7. From their site, it seems that they are resellers of a number of brands but they are not an official BPAL retailer. The Lab may sell older limited editions via Etsy, ebay or trunk shows, but none of their retailers do. Although I don't know anything about this particular shop, businesses like this one aren't necessarily bad - there are a number on ebay that sell decants of high-end perfumes and I've purchased scents from some of them over the years. Basically it's like you are buying from a forum member or ebayer who is reselling for profit. The Lab already got their money when the bottle was originally sold and their customer service can't help you if you aren't happy with your purchase, but you might be able to find a rare bottle that isn't available.


  8. I loved this so much I split it from the original topic it was in :D I don't have a full list yet, but I would HAVE to put The Witch Queen in one of the witch-y villainess bottles, probably Malifecent (even though TWQ is technically a Gaiman character). I think it's my favorite of all the BPAL scents inspired by wicked ladies real or fictional.

     

    I really wish these bottles would become a reality - although that could easily mean that Disney would have some cheap, smelly eau de toilette to fill each one. I would prefer buying them to fill myself, even if that meant they were at a higher price point as "collectibles."

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