ivyandpeony

My little imp (and bath fizzie) of Oof have been lifesavers this past week while I have been feeling sick. This stuff really works for painful sinuses - I swear I can feel the irritated membranes being soothed, calmed and shrinking up almost instantly when I hold that little wand up to my nose.

 

The average American probably can't smell menthol and/or eucalyptus without thinking about Vicks Vapor Rub, and I am no exception - but to me this is also quite different from Vapor Rub and similar products.

 

Oof smells much more herbal and green than any commercial product I have tried. I have always found them harsh and eye-watering. I wonder if there's some juniper and anise in Oof, because I get a little whiff of gin and a slight licorice smell from it too, once that first nostril clearing wave has dissipated a bit. (Juniper would make sense for its detoxifying benefits and lymphatic stimulation, as would fennel, which also detoxifies and can help you relax without getting too sleepy.) I appreciate that there are no ingredients other than essential oils, meaning I can use it in a diffuser, make a sachet of it, etc. and that it isn't in a greasy petroleum jelly base that I hate to put on my skin.

 

With the number and variety of colds and sinus issues I have, I am definitely ordering a bottle of this with the next update. It's one of the fastest-working and most effective Panaceas I have tried.

Having read that thread through to the end now myself, I see that the lab is now recommending complete avoidance during pregnancy rather than just steering people away from certain oils, so please take my list above as hypothetical, as I wouldn't wish to suggest that someone go against the lab's advice.

 

Because of the lab's recommendation that pregnant customers avoid wearing BPAL oils on their skin for the duration of pregnancy, I am going to close this topic to further posts.

 

However, I would like to direct anyone who is interested to the following thread: Light, gentle, subtle scents... for offices, expectant moms, etc. Those pregnant moms who may want to use scent lockets or scent their homes with BPAL should be able to find some great recommendations for blends that are less overwhelming/stomach-churning to the hormonally activated senses.

 

Good luck!

Moxie is a great citrus with no lemon at all - it's bright, spicy orange. It definitely energizes me. You can find it in the Panaceas category (or buy a bath fizzy scented with it from the Black Phoenix Trading Post). It is my favorite from the Panaceas and my favorite bath fizzy of the ones I have tried!

 

You might notice that I did merge the threads... but I am going through and archiving old chatter in the longer threads throughout the Recs subforum so they will be easier to read through. Don't forget you can always do a search of only the subforum or of the topic itself to make things easier!

Whitechapel is definitely my favorite lime BPAL! The combination of notes is wonderful. For orange, I love The Haunted Palace, although orange isn't necessarily the dominant note. Grapefruit can go strange on me, but I do love The Queen of Diamonds (that one may be hard to track down, though, since it was a forum only LE from late 2004).

 

I can't always tell the difference between lemon and lemon verbena in a blend, unless everything else with the verbena is herbal and woody as well. So I find Shanghiai deliciously lemon-y, even though it contains verbena. Phobos is gorgeous, layers of lemon scents over white musk and white grapefruit - again, it's lemon verbena instead of lemon (with lemongrass added too). My ultimate favorite lemon is Snow Angel, though.

 

The description of Santa Eularia des Rios doesn't name the specific fruit used, just "piquant citrus," but it is a lovely citrus to my nose.

Wet, it's hard to identify any single note, but once applied, this is drying down to a gorgeous resinous blend with just a touch of fruitiness. I'm surprised not to be getting much honeysuckle, since it's a note that likes to amp on me, but it may be melding with everything else and just adding some sweetness to the blend. I'd definitely characterize this as sweet as opposed to dry, yet nowhere as sweet as things like Sugar Skull, Anaconda, Snow Angel, etc. It's really lovely.

At first, I'm scared, because sage does this crazy thing on my skin: it turns into a band-aid smell. But I don't even smell sage in the bottle, just fruit and patchouli. As this dries a bit, it's rich blackberry brightened with lime, but softened with herbal notes - I barely smell patchouli. Very pretty, very interesting, and one of those that immediately makes you wonder what it will be like in a month or two because of the fresh brightness of the fruit and the wonders that can be aged patchouli. I'm really pleasantly surprised by this one!

I've never had reactions either until tonight. I was actually using TAL, not BPAL, Hand of Hermes which smells like it has a little cinnamon. I put some on my throat and forehead. On my throat nothing happened, but the spot on my forehead has been burning for about an hour now. Yikes! I guess the skin on my face is a bit more sensitive than other spots. I haven't had reactions on my forehead with other oils, but I guess I'll have to be a bit more concious of the spicey stuff.

 

Owie, Teggy! Keep in mind that TAL oils aren't intended for use anywhere on the body unless specifically stated in the description so you are definitely proceeding at your own risk if you use other ones for anointing or scent. In general, whether it's BPAL or TAL, I would be extra careful about putting anything on my throat and forehead unless it was specifically intended to anoint chakras - my skin is hella sensitive in those places. And of course, anyone could have a random sensitivity to some ingredient that's skin safe for 99.94% of the population, so we have that to deal with too.

 

When I have gotten a little burning from Inferno, Jailbait or something else I love that is spicy, my MO is to wash anywhere it touched with soap and cool water, then either apply some unscented lotion if it's mild, hydrocortisone cream if it's still bothering me.

 

Another general thing I thought I should mention - I have noticed more posts lately where people are mentioning severe allergies to certain ingredients, the type that trigger much more dangerous reactions than a mild rash or burning sensation.If you have such an allergy, please do not rely on anecdotal advice from other forum members to protect yourself. The only way you can ascertain whether a blend actually contains an allergen is to ask the Lab directly, by e-mailing them at answers@blackphoenixalchemylab.com.

 

They aren't going to be able to send you a list of all the ingredients for every perfume they've ever sold, of course... You should be able to eliminate some blends by using the search engine on the Lab's website and submit a list to them of some oils you are interested in but suspect could contain the evil allergen. And keep in mind that like so many food products, the Lab's products are all made in the same environment and with the same equipment, so there's a chance that a trace allergen can be found in any product... just sayin'.

This is just beautiful! It reminds me of many things, but it isn't identical to any of them. I thought of Constant Comment tea, of orange pomanders, spice cakes... but none of those have beautiful ambery musk that clings to the skin. The spices in Bakeneko are very nicely balanced, and I had to remind myself by re-reading the notes that cinnamon and cardamom are in there - the effect is more of the spice that you get from a nicely aged amber (I'm thinking Jacob's Ladder 2005 kind of spice). Plus, cinnamon and cardamom can be the welt-inducing twins for me, and no such mischief is committed here. The Satsuma adds a sweet fruitiness with no tart surprises. I'm kicking myself for only ordering one bottle!

I haven't been able to try them all yet, although I've sniffed quite a few.

 

Boomslang I have tried and I adore - it's very rich and spicy, even at this "fresh from the lab" stage. I think I would love Saw-Scaled Viper, but I am afraid to apply it to my skin after reading Andrabell's review - the girl claims she's made of asbestos and she got spice-burn from it. I love the Lab's red ginger note as well as all things spicy, but I'm sorta like the tender underbelly of a toad and I can only imagine what might happen if I slather this one. I might try diluting it (which worked for me with Bengal and Al Sharain).

 

I haven't sniffed Temple Viper yet - but to my nose, Death Adder is hard-core vetiver in the bottle! Then again, my nose is very sensitive to vetiver (and doesn't care for it) and my skin amps it.

 

My rec, if you are going to splurge for a bottle unsniffed, would definitely be Boomslang. It's the most like Snake Oil of the four you are considering, at least to my nose!

Andrabell is right - Beth says she doesn't keep notes regarding formulas, etc. when she makes them, either, so they are truly unique and cannot be duplicated. You may end up finding a GC blend that resembles a Chaos Theory blend, but as received from the lab in their 5 ml bottles, they are in no way rebottled GC scents.

"Hey! You got your chocolate in my Snake Oil!"

 

"And you got your Snake Oil on my chocolate!"

 

Two great smells that smell great together - that's Boomslang.

 

One word: divine. I don't necessarily fall in love with every chocolatey BPAL blend I try, but this was some sort of divine inspiration that struck Beth. I am going to have to order backup bottles of this, or wage a campaign for the Snake Pit to stay forever, or something.

 

It was the first thing I tried from the Snake Pit and it's so good, I am diving in headfirst now. I'm ready to caress all the snakes.

I took your suggestion and added the link to the first post in the new thread about finding BPALs to match commercial perfumes. Thanks for the idea!

Voila! Here's what I found:

 

Top notes: ginger, lychee, marigold, yellow freesia, chamomile oil, sungoddess rose

Heart notes: night blooming daylily, white violet, paradisone, lotus flower

Base notes: patchouli coeur, oakmoss, exotic woods, skin musk 2000

 

I used the first link in this thread, which is kinda buried in this section. But the pinned area is already pretty cluttered, so I have avoided adding anything else to it.

Retyped, there's no problem with starting a thread like this - you aren't limited to that thread, although you're free to ask questions there too.

 

Either way, hope you get some good suggestions - I haven't smelled this one in ages. Do you know what notes are in it?

Hi there yakavenger - welcome to the forum!

 

I was just going to mention, you might also want to try sending a PM (personal message) to terrenity, in case she/he doesn't see your post here.

 

There's also an extensive allergy discussion thread in FAQ that may be helpful to you, located here.

 

Anyone with allergy issues that could endanger his/her health beyond a mild rash should not rely solely on the anecdotal advice of members of the forum and should e-mail the lab at answers@blackphoenixalchemylab.com for questions regarding allergens in particular blends.

 

For that reason, I am going to close this thread and request that all discussion of allergy issues be directed to the thread in FAQ.

Roadhouse and Tarot:Temperance have a dandelion note which to me, also resembles fresh hay. I third, fourth, fifth or whatever The Lion - I pick up a sweet grass note from it among the spicy amber.

Bumping this thread - I must be thinking of spring - I think that Garden Path With Chickens has a very fresh, green grass note in it. It's combined with lots of wildflowers and just a hint of something aquatic that gives it a dewy feel, but that green grass hits me every time. I can't wait to order a bottle of this one.

I'm still thinking about how I'd answer your query - but I thought you might want to see this thread. It's not quite the same concept that you are getting at, but the responses quinkel got could be helpful.

 

Ozone and aquatic notes always strike me as cool and aloof... particularly the blends from the Springtime in Arkham Run (Yog-Sogoth, Kingsport, Dunwich, Cthulu...). But I'll put some thought into it.

 

Don't disengage too much, we need you around here. Hopefully this is just in regard to a tiny area of your life!

The civet and the musks that the Lab uses are all plant-based accords. I don't know what is in them (and I honestly don't know that the Lab could/would tell you everything that comprises those without giving up very valuable intellectual property - their best advice would probably have to be to avoid blends containing similar components if you have a reaction to any particular blend).

 

Marietta, it might be worth your time to add allergy testing to your to-do list in addition to an asthma check up, in particular since allergies can trigger asthma. I am allergic to every plant that grows in my area, or so it seems (all hardwood trees, domestic and wild grasses, ragweed, I have a list of the zillion somewhere). But I can say, I don't seem to have ever had a respiratory allergic reaction to any BPAL I have tried, just the occasional itchy cinnamon, cassia or cardamom welt on my wrists.

Mail to the Hillhurst Ave. address should get to the Lab, even though it isn't their current brick and mortar address - they still use it for Trading Post activity and such. I would definitely e-mail Sara in customer service, giving her as much information as possible about your order. I know she will do her best to get to the bottom of it!

Neutrogena's body oil is made of sesame, but it's deodorized - so it doesn't smell like sesame. I always buy it unscented, but I think their scented version smells like their Rainbath shower gel.

The Death of the Gravedigger (from the Salon) has lots of fresh, wet soil smell when it's wet. I'm very interested to see what happens with it as it ages - I love resins and I'm hoping they will peek out more and balance with the dirt.

 

The Premature Burial was very wet and earthy, so much on me that the dirt note overwhelmed all the other notes... so I didn't keep it. But if you love dirt scents, it should be up your alley!

 

My favorite of the earth/soil BPAL blends is Ulalume - I love the lily and wood notes, and the dirt/earth note in this one smells just like wet soil and leaves to me.

Well, you've done it for me now, Andra - I'm going to have to try aged Love Me. Fresh from the lab, Love Me doesn't play nice with me. But if it reminds you of Cauldren? I will gladly bathe in it for experimental purposes!

Toasted sesame oil - the dark brown one - has a much stronger smell (and flavor) than raw sesame oil.

 

You've completely stumped me on this one, Couscous... if I have tried a BPAL with a hint of sesame, it was subtle enough to escape my nose! Then again, the nutty notes in BPAL don't come through as extremely nutty to me. The almond note falls a little more towards cherry to me and the hazelnut note has a little more of an oatmeal smell, if that makes any sense. Toasted sesame is a really nutty smell to me.

 

(Just in case you don't cook much: Sesame oil is extremely delicate, whether it's toasted or raw, so if you decide to pick some up to try in layering combos, store it in your refrigerator. It can go rancid very quickly otherwise.)

I really loved the Cauldren scent (despite Charity's deliberate misspelling ). Sin is the BPAL blend that reminds me of it most - amber, patchouli and cinnamon.

 

A little mod note - I added the Yodelingfish reference to the title with the hopes that it would help attract a little more attention to your topic.