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BPAL Madness!
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About this blog

Astrophysics, Lovecraft, BPAL, computers. If that 'aint a weird mix I don't know what is.

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Red Lantern - Heady, Smooth, Sticky

A tribute to the opium den cum bawdyhouses of Shanghai in the 1930's. Golden amber, blonde tobacco, Sudanese black coconut, rich caramel, black currant, white opium and delphinium laced with a sensual blend of Asian spice.

I have no idea whether this is the 06 or 07 version. I think it may be the 06 as the label isn't "shiny" and it looks a little weathered.

In the bottle, this is incredibly sweet - think along the lines of the overpowering caramel of Creepy.

First on my skin, it retains this caramel-sweet whoosh, but I can detect the coconut in there too.

Drying, I get a slight "burnt sugar" smell. I hope this doesn't last.

Drying after a few minutes, the sugar has faded to the background, leaving a smooth amber-coconut scent. Very strong, so use sparingly, but going well so far!

Dry (10 mins): I'm not getting any opium, spice or delphinium out of this. It's just a smooth, slightly "sticky"-smelling scent. Definitely pleasant!
Jenesis

Jenesis

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IGMO!

5mls of Saw-Scaled Viper and March Hare, and frimps of Baku, Himerus, Coyote and Intrigue.   I have to admit, I'm suffering a tiny bit of buyer's remorse about the Viper. While I love it, I don't wear it nearly as much as I used to (back when I ordered this second bottle), purely because the first ten minutes of wearing it is so hard. The cassia nearly blows my sinuses inside out. The drydown and dry phases are gorgeous, but it's just not going to be used enough to have two bottles of it. Oh well. I may put my older, slightly less full bottle up for sale in the future.   On the other hand, March Hare and I were meant to be! I found myself using my partial bottle for scenting my clothing, bedding and in my oil burner, not to mention a lovely if short-lived perfume. So definitely not regretting bottle #2 of that.   As for the frimps, I'm sure Intrigue is following me around. In the last three Lab orders I've made, they all have a frimp of Intrigue. And I still haven't tried it yet! I'll be putting it on tomorrow or tonight to test it out.   Oh, and I also got my eBay UK purchase - my long-sought bottle of Geek. Yum yum, opopanax, woods and leather - rawr!
Jenesis

Jenesis

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Delousing Powder

I was frimped this by the awesomeness of shelldoo in my Death Adder order. Woohoo!   Quoted verbatim from the review thread:   Attendees at the June 30, 2007 Thunder Moon Will Calls on the East and West coasts were offered "an extra-speshul themed package" if they donated an item of clothing at the door to help women in local shelters.   To match the "Privilege and Pruno" theme of the events, the package was a plastic baggie with standard prison-issue toothbrush, comb, plastic razor, soap (samples of Macha's new line of Silk Road Trading Company soaps to be exact) and an imp of Delousing Powder! There was no description - only a frosty glare from the warden as she confiscated your clothes. - Numenon   Like others, I got a very strong lemon/citrus vibe out of this. Usually, lemon sends me running for the hills and smells like dishwasher soap. Not so with Delousing Powder! It does smell a little like Fairy Citrus, but it has a lovely sweet sherbert vibe about it too. It smells more like one of those frothy, citrusy, sweet cocktails you get on mainland Europe in August than soap. It also reminds me of lemon Callippos (ice lollies).   All in all, a pleasant scent, perfect for hot summer days - which means I won't be wearing it any time soon *looks out gloomily at the rainy and flooded country*
Jenesis

Jenesis

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The Red Queen: Too Big a Tart

Deep mahogany and rich, velvety woods lacquered with sweet, black-red cherries and currant.   Wet: Rather nice cherries, not very sweet, more "real" cherries than those glace ones drenched in syrup.   Drydown: A weird mix of sour, tart currants and cherries.   Dry: Sadly, it was not meant to be. It's not an "Eugh!" scent, but it's nowhere near as nice as, say, Bloody Mary. The cherries remain, but there is no sign of the rich woods, and the currants smell like they could use a few more spoonfuls of sugar on top.   Final Verdict: Fruity, slightly tart pie with no sugar.   Rating: 3/5   Review
Jenesis

Jenesis

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IGMO! (13, Eat Me)

My 13 order has arrived!   Ordered: 13th July CnS: 31st July Arrived: 4th August   5ml 13 5ml Eat Me   Frimpies of King of Hearts, Incantation, Erato and Harlot. I swear Harlot is following me about. Incantation sounds interesting though!   I'm quite impressed that this order got here so fast, due to the stupid postal strikes in the UK. I'm waiting on two swap/decant packages as well, both mailed before or around the time of my CnS, so here's to hoping RM don't eat my decants...
Jenesis

Jenesis

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March Hare: Pure Fruit Heaven

Bottle: Pure apricot. Like a jar of apricot jam.   Wet: Slightly spicy apricots, reminiscent of one of those pastries with apricots and cinnamon/spices on top.   Drydown: Sweet, slightly less in-your-face apricot now, lightly spiced.   Dry: Now this is LOVE. Gorgeous, smooth, sweet apricot grounded by a hint of clove and spice in the background. Absolutely delectable. And so glad it's GC!   Verdict: An apricot pudding with spices drizzled over the top. Sexy, smooth and sensual. Seriously, I can't find the words to describe just how delectable (sorry, used that word already!) this scent really is. Definitely one of my top five! It's also great as a room scent (hence my pending second bottle!)   Rating: 5/5   Review
Jenesis

Jenesis

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13 (July 2007)

A base of cocoa absolute and white chocolate with thirteen baneful and beneficial bits including vanilla bean, white ginger, orchid, golden peach, massoia bark, clove, honey, and starfruit.

Wet: Strangely, I can smell no chocolate at all. Although it is making my stomach rumble. May be subconscious?

Drydown: This smells very "department store perfume".

Dry: Yum! I smell edible! (I love foodies...) The chocolate has come out, but it's thankfully not overpowering (a la Candy Butcher) like I thought it would. The whole scent is rich and smooth - sweet cocoa over the rich fruit and vanilla. The scent reminds me of those special edition hot chocolate flavours that Cadburys released a few months back.

Dry (10 mins): It is official: My skin eats white chocolate. This reminds me quite a bit of Xanthe, with the bright fruits and slight "perfumey" tang. Perhaps a slightly less liberal application is called for. 13 isn't a top three scent for me, but it is a top ten! (Seeing as I only have thirteen bottles...)

Verdict: Slightly "perfumey", but a nice smooth fruit blend with something rich and creamy underneath.

Rating: 4/5

Review
Jenesis

Jenesis

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What Amounts to 2 CnS in 2 Days!

You know that bottle of Geek that was up on eBay UK? I won it! I can't wait for it to get here. It's all paid for and is being sent First Class, but there was no indication of when it would actually be posted. I've bought a bottle off the seller before (waaaaaaay back in 2006) and that was fine.   I also got my CnS for my last (and for once, only pending) Lab order! March Hare and Saw-Scaled Viper, both second bottles - March Hare because I just love it so much, and SSV because it fades fast so needs lots of reapplications. I didn't order Pruno in the end, I couldn't justify the cost of three bottles + shipping
Jenesis

Jenesis

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Friday 13th Update

I'll be honest, when I got up this morning and realised it's Friday the 13th, my first thought was "Oh no! I'm seeing Jon today! I hope we don't have bad luck!"   Yep, I completely forgot about the Lab's 13 formulations! Thankfully it came as a nice surprise, therefore, when I got home and saw the update. And what an update!   A base of cocoa absolute and white chocolate with thirteen baneful and beneficial bits including vanilla bean, white ginger, orchid, golden peach, massoia bark, clove, honey, and starfruit.   Chocolate... AND vanilla? AND peach? AND ginger? AND bark? BPAL, you read my mind Holy shamoly this sounds good! Chocolate I love, peach is my favourite note ever, and vanilla and ginger run a close second. I also love woods so hopefully the bark will give me that. The only thing that slightly concerns me is the orchid, but as Beth said the chocolate is a strong note I'm not too worried about it.   Yep, it is ordered! Along with a bottle of Eat Me which I've been planning to order for ages. I can only afford two bottles plus shipping at the moment, so it might as well be these two!   *Sends strength and speed thoughts to Labbies, the USPS and Royal Mail for the coming month*
Jenesis

Jenesis

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IGMO!

Yay! I actually picked this up and hugged the package when it arrived. Cough.   European Order! 5ml Imp5ml Brown Jenkins   Imp of The Red Queen   Frimps: Phobos, Water of Notre Dame, Tezcatlipoca, Regan   I FINALLY have bottles of two of my absolute favourites now!   It struck me the other day that my five favourites (this week ) are Imp, March Hare, Dorian, Brown Jenkins and Geek. Four of those are GC. Perfect!
Jenesis

Jenesis

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Ventriloquist Dummy: As Evil as the Namesake

Well, in good accordance with Murphy's Law, the missing bottle of Ventriloquist Dummy was waiting on my doorstep for me this morning! So I'm happy about that (annoyed at Royal Mail though!).   The problem came when I first wore the Dummy.   I don't usually go for hyperbole, but this is just: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!   The Dummy really hates me most woods and things go lovely on me but with this one all I can smell is dust, decay, rot and a pile of ancient, rotting potpourri. And the worst part is, I'll have two bottles, as I ordered another one thinking the first one was lost. So now I'll have to sell or swap them both, which always makes me feel guilty, as I put other people to effort packing and sending them to me, and then I'm just getting rid of them. I always stay well under the price caps in the swap forum, though.   Whyyyyy   ETA: Oh no! I have a decant on the way as well! I'll feel soooo guilty about putting 2 bottles and a decant up for sale at once, it looks like I'm trying to profit, but at the same time I don't want to hang on to them for six months then sell them, for the same reason
Jenesis

Jenesis

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Ventriloquist's Dummy on eBay!

As the Dummy goes really psycho on me, I'm selling both bottles. One is in my Sales page (Gone!), the other is on eBay.   My eBay Stuff   Anyone who missed getting the first bottle from my sales post can bid Oh, and if a forumite wins, send me a PM and I'll include some freebies!
Jenesis

Jenesis

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Creepy and Spooky on eBay

I really hate having to do this, but my finances are taking a nosedive. I'm therefore putting my 5mls of Creepy and Spooky on eBay. Creepy was nice but pure butterscotch on me, which was alright but rather cloying and heavy, and certainly not something I would wear. Spooky was very nice, but it went to almost pure vanilla - which I can get from other, cheaper oils.   So: Creepy and Spooky on eBay UK. International (USA and EU) bidders are welcome. Shipping is expensive because I will send by recorded delivery.
Jenesis

Jenesis

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Wishlist Pimpage

Just pimping my Wishlist   Wishlist Highlights:   Fire Pig Enraged Groundhog Musk Cheshire Cat Eat Me March Hare
Jenesis

Jenesis

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Geek: A Man to Watch

So I got home yesterday to find a box of BPAL waiting for me! My Mum (bless her heart) obeyed my instruction to the letter and not only did she put the bottles upright in the Lab box and leave it in a dark place, she put all my other bottles in it too! So well done Mum!   Anyway, one of mine was a 5ml of Geek with about 1ml left in it. My review as up on the forums goes like this:   ---------------------------------   Geek   A snarling, feral scent, ever-so-slightly deranged: hot leather, opoponax, cedar, pine needle, mosses, dry grass, patchouli and cinnamon bark.   Wet: Smells like aftershave. Not unpleasant, but I'm questioning the long-term use of this scent. Patchouli AMPS on me so that's all I can smell at the moment.   Drydown: Ooh this is getting lovely! A warm scent, green and plant-y but without being herbal.   Dry: Hubba hubba! Sexy woods lifted by a little spice. A rather more masculine scent than I'm used to, but perfect for when I'm either PMSing or just in the mood to feel powerful. Rawr!   Final verdict: 5/5   A sexy cedar and pine blend, made fun by cinnamon bark, and darkened by opopanax.   Review   ---------------------------------   I mainly put this on this morning as I'm building my new PC this afternoon
Jenesis

Jenesis

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Bloody Mary: Sweetness in Red

Why waste time chanting her name in the mirror 13 times? Bedevil your next slumber party the easy way! Chunky, glistening red fruits with sweet cream accord, black clotted cherry, and powdered sugar!   Wet: Cherry cough medicine.   Drydown: Getting more interesting, a cherry scent (real cherries, so not too sweet) with a creaminess underneath.   Dry: What every summer fruits pudding aspires to be! A gorgeous, sexy blend of cherries, lifted by the sugar and warmed by the cream. Yum yum. It's like a less sweet version of Vice (which suits me just fine!). Final Verdict: After the drydown, a cherry pudding sweetened by sugar and drizzled over with cream.   Rating: 4.5/5 (Loses half a point for the bad wet smell )   Review
Jenesis

Jenesis

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My Sale: Now a Sale Only

I'm really sorry to any potential swappers, but I have to make my Sales post a true sales post and make it Sale Only. I am getting in some serious financial difficulties and I really need to make some money back - thank the almighty that I have room and board provided free, is all I can say!   To anyone who is CURRENTLY swapping with me (i.e. has started a dialogue via PM), our agreements will of course be honoured I'm posting the last of my swap packages today, but after today I am not swapping. Thank you for reading!
Jenesis

Jenesis

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Alton Towers!

My boy is off to New York next week. Lucky him. Yes I am jealous! We've been talking about going to Alton Towers (a Six Flags type theme park) for a while, and we decided to go this week so we can go before the schools break up and it's full of kids.   We're going tomorrow! And not only that, but I get to stay at his place tonight (he's closer than I am to it) and go with him tomorrow. Yay! So I get to act like I'm 12 again. I love rollercoasters, and I used to go to the various theme parks all the time with my Dad when I was younger, but I haven't been for years. I'm so glad I'll get the chance again - and I'm so glad that I have a man who understands wanting to feel 12 again!
Jenesis

Jenesis

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Dummy off eBay

Right, I've taken the Dummy off eBay and put it up in my Sales Post. The reason, you ask? I'm in search of one or two particular bottles, so I thought I'd have more luck swapping it than selling it   I also have an ISO Post up asking for a 5ml, full or partial, of Monster Bait: Underpants. I know it's a long shot, since it's popular and rare, but if anyone has any Underpants that they would sell to me (or better, swap for my Ventriloquist's Dummy!) please PM me!
Jenesis

Jenesis

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Fire Pig: Squeaky, Soapy Clean

A new year's blessing! Peony, China's national flower, with bamboo for flexibility, plum blossom for perseverance, courage, and hope, tangerine for wealth, orange for happiness, lychee for household peace, pine resin for constancy, golden kumquat, pussy willow, and quince for prosperity, narcissus and King mandarin for good fortune, and peach blossom for longevity, with a splash of blazing red of dragon's blood… to help you scare away the rampaging Nian.   Bottle: A light, refreshing floral (oh dear, florals = soap)   Wet: Smells like my Mum's shower gel, an inoffensive yet plasticky flowery smell.   Drydown: More like soap than gel. I should have learned my lesson about flowers by now.   Dry: Nope, afraid the piggy just doesn't like me! I'm sure this would smell far better on someone who likes florals. It seems to be a very light, refreshing and energising scent for those it works on.   Final verdict: Flowers hate me, and this was no exception. Given an extra point for not making me want to vomit like peony usually does.   Rating: 2/5   Review
Jenesis

Jenesis

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Saw-Scaled Viper: Sexy, Warm and Venomous

I got this as a frimp (THANK YOU!) from someone I bought a decant from. Snake Oil was alright on me, nothing special though, so I hope this will be a good addition/mix on me.   Bottle: A whoof of ginger and cinnamon clears out my sinuses.   Wet: Pure, strong ginger.   Drydown: For some reason I'm getting toast out of this! Little slices of toast with cinnamon and ginger sprinkled on top.   Dry: A mixture of cinnamon, ginger and something smooth (presumably the Snake Oil) underneath. Delicious!   Dry (30 minutes): Must. Get. A bottle. Sweet vanilla topped off with cinnamon and ginger. I can't stop inhaling! Gooooorgeous.   Throw: Strong! Lasts a very long time too. Use sparingly, or the Viper will bite your nose off!   Final Verdict: It's Snake Oil - but darker, spicier, more sinful and infinitely sexier.   Rating: 5/5   Review
Jenesis

Jenesis

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Exams are over!

And that's official!   Whether I'll have to come back to resit any of course remains to be seen, but oh well, that's not for a few months   I'm off home tomorrow, which is bad in the sense that I'm leaving a week before everyone else so they'll all be partying without me, and also that my Mum and I fight a lot when I'm home (we get along fine at opposite ends of the country, strangely...). However it is good in the sense of BPAL! I've had all my orders/purchases/swaps from after May 10th sent there rather than here, so when I get home there should be Geek, Bloody Mary and The Red Queen waiting for me!*   Not to mention all the components for my gorgeous new PC   *ETA: Plus Imps of Brown Jenkins, Shub, Imp, Vice, Fire Pig...
Jenesis

Jenesis

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Black Pearl: Rot, Decay and Damp

Evocative of the sea's unplumbed mysteries. Gentle and lovely, but menacing and profound. Coconut, Florentine iris, hazelnut and opalescent white musk.   Bottle: Chanel No. 5. And not in a good way.   Wet: I actually recoiled from my wrist when I smelt this. Strong, sickly, rotting flowers and sickeningly sweet coconut.   Drydown: Doesn't change much from wet - still awfully strong coconut. I usually like coconut, but this is just too much.   Dry: Smells *exactly* like the old lady next to you on the bus who must bathe in her cheap, shop-bought perfume.   Final Verdict: I'm sorry, Lab, this one is actually nauseating on me. It would be lovely on the right person though   Rating: 1/5   Review
Jenesis

Jenesis

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The New Rig

My new rig is built and working! Running Windows Vista Ultimate, this thing has a 2.6 GHz Athlon Dual Core processor, 2GB of DDR2 RAM, a lovely MSI K9N Diamond motherboard, 500GB SATAII hard drive, a 6600GT graphics card, two DVD-RW drives, a card reader, a floppy drive and one of the coolest cases on the market. In case you're wondering why a new gaming rig has an old 6600 GFX card, suffice to say I'm saving up for an 8800GTS!   The Case     My Desk   The rig with 19" monitor, Razer Diamondback mouse, Logitech G15 Gaming Keyboard and speakers.  
Jenesis

Jenesis

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Carnivale: Sweet, Sticky and Sinful

Bright, intoxicating, hectic notes masking a twisted, corrupted core: sweet wild berry, spicy carnation and heliotrope layered over deep amber and musk.   Bottle: All I get from this is "cheap cologne".   Wet: Very sweet, sticky berry, rather like candyfloss. I feel like my nose will become stuck to my wrist if I get too close!   Drydown: Still the sweet berry, but with an undertone of florals. I must admit I was scared by the carnation in the description (flowers hate me), but it seems to be working out so far.   Dry: As always on me, the musk appears. No spices, but the florals are behaving, and that's all I ask! The sweet fruity note is still top of the heap, and the whole thing definitely reminds me of a carnival or fair. Or a sweet shop. Not exactly an everyday scent, but definitely one for Hallow's Eve, Christmas or other Winter festival! (Or just for when I'm feeling indulgent )   Final verdict: Rich, sensual and sweet, this is truly a decadent scent.   Rating: 4/5   Review
Jenesis

Jenesis

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