ivyandpeony

I honestly think everyone should go put an imp (at least) of this on their wish list NOW! I'm green with envy that some of you had the foresight to order a 5ml unsniffed... Silk Road is hard to describe but it is truly beautiful and I'm wondering if it is one of those blends that will morph to the wearer so that many, many of us will fall in love with it. I have compared it to so many other blends in my mind... Snake Oil's little sister without the vanilla? Sudha Segara's cousin, less ginger, more of another spice? Overall, it's a gorgeous sweet and spicy blend with occasional reminders of something floral. This will be a fantastic blend for hot summer days when you're dreaming of slathering yourself in your heavier spicy scents but afraid of overwhelming the crowd... hell, it would be a fantastic blend for taking out the trash or walking the dog! Go get some, now!

I have been trying lots of new oils, many of which are floral, so it's proving a little difficult for me to attempt to describe the differences between them. But I would have to describe Prague as a very bright and clean floral. It's truly beautiful. Although its sunniness does invoke thoughts of spring and summer, I'm such a fan of florals that I will probably wear it year round, particularly when I need a little break from the more prevalent rose and jasmine scents in my collection. This would also make a fabulous room scent... I picture buying a bouquet of lilies, then putting just a few drops of Prague in my diffuser to create the illusion that I have filled the house with them. I'm so glad I took a chance on a bottle instead of an imp, because I would probably have had to dash off a random order for Prague and Silk Road by now...

I never got any incense from Black Phoenix, just that cherry Coke - almond scent... Hearth was very similar on me, and Kabuki is very cherry as well. Queen of Sheba is a huge favorite of mine, but on me it is extremely spicy, start to finish! Sorry if I am just duplicating other's suggestions... but I'd just try and get my hands on imps of what people have recommended and try them yourself, since you can see that body chemistry can really affect what you get out of these.

I find this fig single note very rich and intense. I wore it alone as a perfume recently and was amazed at its throw. Although I didn't pick up any notes that seemed artificial, this seems more deep, fruity and raisiny than a simple fresh fig, like sweetened figs to the Nth power or maybe even a fig wine. I don't think I will wear it alone again, but layered with something spicy or woody to temper the sweetness, I think it will be gorgeous.

Would you believe that I bought this when single notes were discontinued back in October of 2004... received it in December... and just now tried it? I'm such an idiot - I really love this one! I often feel left out because many of the fruity notes don't work on me... particularly apricots and berries... but this pomegranate is just gorgeous. It smells ripe, juicy and both sweet and sour simultaneously and has more depth than many fruit notes. If you have smelled too many icky potpourri or candle scents, this single note is SO refreshing. I am going to be playing with this one a lot!

This may well be my favorite of all the single notes I have been lucky enough to try or acquire... I love carnations and I mourn the fact that they don't even seem have that much fragrance anymore, at least the ones most florists carry. Beth captured the perfect carnation in this single note, sweet, spicy and just a little hint of "green." There are enough nuances to this that you can wear it alone, which I love. It's such a great example of the fabulous single notes BPAL produced...

I couldn't believe my luck when I was able to get my hands on a bottle of this, which I split with a favorite BPAL friend. We are fortunate ladies indeed. This single note is the juiciest, creamiest scent of pear I have ever experienced from a bottle - it's the aroma of an authentic, beautiful perfectly ripe pear held close to your nose and multiplied by 20. It has enough complexity to wear alone as a perfume or to amplify the pear note in some of my favorite blends such as Endymion. Anyone trying to pass off synthetic pear fragrance on the unsuspecting public would spontaneously begin to flog themselves in shame upon sniffing this incredible creation... really, it's just so good.

I was beyond excited to find a gift imp of this in a recent order... could Beth be dabbling with this one with plans of eventually re-introducing it? If so, I'd be thrilled. I'm hoarding most of this imp for warmer weather, because this one smells so lovely and summery to me. Very fresh, wet early morning blossoms blended with sweet but not overripe melon. It makes me feel like I'm walking barefoot through dewy grass... this evokes much more the ingenue before her deflowering to me. Really lovely.

Tintagel would be wonderful - what instantly jumped to mind was Catherine, since it is based upon the formula supposedly worn by Catherine de Medici herself.

Ah, JK... zee great minds, zey think alike:

 

 

I've been neglecting my bottle of Potion - I guess I haven't been wearing too many simple florals, and I've been slathering on richer moisturizers this winter. But for some reason this morning, it said, "Oh please, I am getting lonely!" So on with the Potion, and then... Bathsheba! This smells SOOOOOO good together... spicy carnations with a little sweetness....

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(ETA - this was in the Lush thread, in the fashion & makeup subforum )

Baba Yaga is one that I search for with every update... I've managed to acquire 5 imps through swaps and made one of those into a parfum spray, which I am wearing today. It's perfect for a day like today, bright, sunny and cool, that will fade into a cold night smelling faintly of smoke. After all, it is still February.

Baba Yaga starts out very bright and fruity, if not pure pineapple to me she's definitely candied fruits to tempt little children or to top tiny Russian cakes. The fruit mellows as some creamy floral notes emerge and I get the faintest notes of smoky incense. After a few hours, the incense note is prominent although the fruit and floral notes do stick around to color it.

I can see why Baba Yaga isn't a darker perfume - after all, she seems like a witch with a sense of humor. I mean, she flies around in a mortar and pestle, has a house with chicken legs... she's not totally bitter, hateful and SCARY like Black Annis. If I was forced to meet one of them, it would be Baba Yaga, no contest.

I'd love to be able to buy a big bottle of this one day!

Oh gosh - hope everything is OK! Poor Sofie. I feel bad b/c I think that's one of the imps I sent her for being such a good helper with the fund-raiser. Please let us know how she's doing... hope the "trauma" is the worst part of it. And I will decant a new imp and send it if it got spilled, if she still wants some after all this... Hugs...

Another option for carrying several bottles in your purse or carry-on is a plastic travel soap case/dish. I recently sold 3 bottles to another forumite and was brainstorming for a little more protective way to ship them in a bubble mailer. I realized I had an extra 99 cent soap dish for travel, and put them in there. A few gift impies and a little bubble wrap filled it up so there would be no shifting or clinking together, then I put the whole thing inside the mailer - if you are traveling you could just use cotton balls or Kleenex to fill in any empty spots and add a little cushioning.

 

Or, if you want to feel like you have a professionally made piece of luggage for your preciousss:

Padded travel case for bottles

Aurianrose, don't know what your medical insurance situation is. But if you can afford it, you should see an allergist and try to find out if they can pinpoint your allergy. Here's my little hives story -

 

Last year I had a reaction to something (we suspected peanuts or shellfish) and broke out in hives all over... treated myself at home for 24 hours with Benadryl and Benadryl topical and it wasn't really helping that much, so I finally went to the ER. They were completely freaked out, loaded me up with all sorts of stuff and gave me a prescription for Epi-pens. The doctor told me that it's hives this time, but it could be anaphlytic shock next time. Scared the you know what out of me - although I know they have to over-warn you because of the malpractice situation.

 

So I immediately got an appointment with an allergist and underwent the complete skin-prick test all over my back. Verdict: I'm not allergic to any foods, not peanuts, nuts, shellfish (I was so happy because I love shellfish). So we have no idea what it was that gave me hives! I had a massage on Saturday afternoon... hives started Saturday night... but I had hives in places my massage therapist never touched and she didn't use any essential oils on my body... I have never had a reaction since... so my allergist told me not to worry, sometimes these things just happen and you don't know why.

 

But, if YOU are truly allergic to hazelnuts, you could also be allergic to other nuts like macadamias or even trees in the same family, you could have a major reaction if exposed to them in the future (even unknowingly). So that's why I was going to suggest you try to find out if you can. It's just much better to know, than not to know.

In the bottle, Dorian is unbelievably gorgeous - sugary notes, vanilla, tea, something intangible that must be the musk... completely and utterly swoonworthy. Must get a hold of myself.

 

Slathering on Dorian... sniffing arms... Dorian, where are you? Slather more, slather neck, bosom, more on arms... ah, there you are.

 

An hour or two later... Dorian, oh Dorian? Where did you go? Am I such a saucy wench that I scared you away?

 

I am going to have to invite Dorian back when it's a little warmer - or maybe when my hormones aren't in this stage - or maybe both. Perhaps he recognized me for the insane, PMS-crazed bitch that I have been lately and took off for Andrabell's to sit the week out.

White Rabbit zoomed into my top ten the first time that I wore it and is by far my favorite of the BPAL tea-based scents. On me, it's a spicy gingery-peppery tea blend with the smooth milk and honey creaminess of Alice as its foundation. I don't get the linen note from the description that some do pick up on. It is a lighter fragrance, so I have to slather a bit more, and I have scented some body cream and decanted an imp to slip into my purse for touch ups. But I think it's worth every bit of the extra trouble!

Alice is a scent that I don't think I will ever grow tired of. On me, it is perfectly balanced sweetness, creaminess and spicy floral notes that is simple and elegant. Although many of the BPAL rose blends have gone way too rosy on me, resulting in that overwhelming powdery grandma rose that we all dread, the ones that work are so gorgeous. Alice is one that works and I love the way that the rose harmonizes with the spicy carnation to offset the milk and honey. This is a truly inspired blend and one that makes me shake my head in awe at Beth's creativity every time I wear it.

I was disappointed that March Hare doesn't work as a perfume for me, but I may still try it as a home fragrance or try it in some lotion after reading those suggestions here. I can't decide whether I just don't like apricot, or whether there might be something specific going on in March Hare that turns me off. I can't smell clove, which is a favorite note... I don't detect a buttery note, which is something that generally doesn't work for me, a la Jack and Harvest Moon. Whatever the cause, it's one of the few BPAL blends I have tried that sadly has sent me to the sink within minutes to get my scrubbin' on. But it sounds like when it works for someone, it's absolutely beautiful.

This little imp had been patiently waiting for me to try it for... I don't know how long. And I don't know what finally led me to grab Queen of Sheba and think, Hmm, let's give it a go! But... I am smitten, head-over-heels. The Queen and I have no unpleasant moments together. From the start, when I am immersed in a cloud of sweetness and spice which mellows to honeyed, spicy almonds over the course of many hours, I am completely blissful. Comparisons to O, Dana O'Shee and Snake Oil are accurate, but Queen of Sheba's spices are unique and when I am craving this blend, nothing else will do. The Queen also gives Snake Oil a run for the money as far as staying power - those two are among the few that I can still sniff on my wrists "the morning after."

Ulalume intrigued me from the first time I read the description, but it took me a long time to try it. I thought it sounded fascinating and romantic, but that the combination of notes surely had to be bizarre or even.... icky.

 

I was so, so wrong. Ulalume is one of my favorite BPAL blends now.

 

In the bottle, it smells like the woods to me. We didn't have much in the way of woods growing up, mostly scrubby little oak trees and pine trees with a little creek running through, right behind our house. But the fresh air and the smell of the trees, blended with the earthy, mossy smell of the floor of the woods, is what I get from Ulalume at first. It isn't the deep, dark brown earth of Burial or Nosferatu, or the lighter smell of dry earth of Zombi, but more of a living earth smell.

 

Once applied, I get the scent of lilies and I'm amazed by the way that this light, glowing floral works with the mossy scent of the woods. I adore lily notes of all types and this one is just beautiful. Others have mentioned that Ulalume seems like a blend of two different perfumes, and I tend to agree - but it is a blend that works in wonderful harmony. It's a great blend to wear when you want the feminity of a floral but feel like you need something to help you feel strong and grounded too.

What about Hymn?

Andrabell, when we get together you will have to check out Tarot: The Star (I picked up a bottle in RedHotMama's Unicef Auction). I can decant an imp for you. It is very light to my nose but I do love the lime-coconut-mint vibe. I'm picturing a very refreshing scent for the 98 degree / 100% humidity Georgia summer days.

Smitten - the new handcream that has debuted in the UK - keeps that Snowcake & Dana O'Shee vibe going. I had to order some stuff from the UK and pay the $$ for shipping, I just could not wait. Ianastar, you are going to LOVE it....

 

I use it for body cream... the consistency is about the same as Dream Cream, it's rich so a little goes a long way and it's not much more expensive than D.C. if you compare grams to grams. I like it with Snow White too, and I think it will go wonderfully with lots of honey - almond scents (I'm thinking Queen of Sheba next....) Not that I don't love Dream Cream, but I usually don't go for lavender during the day, and that's what Dream Cream smells like to me.

I can't really smell the lotus on its own in Kali - to me everything is blended so well, it's just this gorgeous, rich chocolatey floral. But it is absolutely worthy trying! It's one of my very favorites of all BPAL scents.

 

And I second Inkstone's suggestion of Kurukulla - that one stole my heart immediately. I am rationing my imp until my big bottle arrives. The roses and lotuses together are beyond beautiful. If you are a fan of those, this one will take you over the moon, baby!

Have you thought about hunting down some of the BPAL fig single note? You could use that to layer & amp up the fig in whatever you're wearing a bit...

 

I haven't tried all the blends you listed, but I definitely get lots of fig in Carnal. The fig and the mandarin are really nicely balanced on me. Cerberus is much more complex, a blend of many more notes, as is Nemesis, but I get a lot of rich figgy fruit in both - Cerberus is a sweeter blend and Nemesis drier.

 

BTW, I love the title of this thread - I picture the Fig Newton commercial from the 70s with the guy in the fig costume signing and dancing every time I see it!