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BPAL Madness!
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Experiences with Fragrance

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Testing, testing!

Apparently this blog layout was designed without cross-browser compatibility in mind, because the nav strip parks itself firmly over part of my entry and the controls (including, presumably, the "edit" button). Not pretty. Maybe if I put a bunch of line breaks in the entry I can force it down below the nav strip so I can find edit buttons? Let's find out!   [Edit] Yay, sure enough it forced the entry down below that nav bar, and now it is editable. Weird workaround, but it's easier than getting them to re-code the design to work in all browsers.   [Edit weeks later] Well, I finally discovered other skins. It turns out that if you don't use the graphically-hefty default "seasonal" skin you can actually see your editing buttons and other nice things. Otherwise, many things are obscured by the weird way that the page loads. So... if there is anything you can't read here, choose a better skin like one of the "Kiss" skins and you will be able to view the entire entry.   Anyway, this weblog is a place for me to review scents without stuffing up the forums with my opinions. By now most of the scents I am trying have been out for a very long time, and I doubt that anyone will be reading to the end of the topic to view any new reviews -- nor is it likely that my opinion would contribute much at this point.   But hey! It's nice to have a place to discuss my impressions in any case. Viva the blog!
Vanille

Vanille

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The quest begins!

This is the first post under the category "Quest for Chocolate." As noted in this post, I am looking for one or more really true, strong, lasting chocolate (and/or cocoa) based scents. A worthy quest!   So far I have tried the following BPAL scents, all of which are supposed to have chocolate and/or cocoa notes: Vice (smelled like chocolate covered cherries until it dried, then became just candied cherries from that point onward), Gluttony (no chocolate scent was detected at any point), The Candy Butcher (smelled like chocolate cream until dry, then just smelled like cream), Enraged Groundhog Musk (fruity and spicy but alas, no chocolate detected) and Centzon Totochtin (nice but no chocolate).   A bottle of 13 (July 2007) has just arrived, and it does smell like cocoa just sniffing the bottle... have yet to try it (waiting to see where I can get wand caps before using the bottles). Imps of Bliss and Boomslang are on the way, as well as an imp of Intrigue and a couple other editions of 13. So let's hope that at least one of those turns out to be a good chocolate scent on me.   Widening the search, I ordered a few samples from DSH Perfumes based on a recommendation in this thread, and those will arrive within the next couple of days. Meanwhile I have Grog on one wrist and Irish coffee (i.e. Miskatonic U.) on the other to get me through the evening. Hooray for comfort scents!
Vanille

Vanille

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Chocolate quest to date

I think I've now tried every BPAL GC (and most every LE) fragrance that contains "chocolate" or "cocoa" as a listed fragrance note. It was an interesting quest. Along the way I found several nice scents that don't seem very chocolatey but are pleasant in their own way (Velvet, Tezcatlipoca, Vice) and a few that actually did exhibit a chocolate scent on me.   Bliss was the only one that had a true chocolate scent (and stayed true) on me. Not Candy Butcher, not Boomslang, nor any of the other currently available scents. A couple of the versions of Thirteen had a reasonably lasting chocolate note in the complex mix of scents. I also seemed to catch a chocolatey note in the Smut I tried, and would love to get hold of a sample of the 2007 version.   I would also love to try Lump of Coal someday, as it has been touted as an "ultimate" chocolate scent by some.   Anyway, it has been fun. Here's to more chocolate!
Vanille

Vanille

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Chocolate revisited

Overall, I am finding that HAEE's chocolate fragrances stay much more strong and true on me than BPAL's — the one exception being BPAL's Bliss. So when I want a chocolate fix, I turn to HAEE's Cuppa Cocoa, Chocolate Caramel Eggs or Whipped Chocolate Trio Mousse (the last two words are switched on the bottle I have, but this is the title on the site). Coming soon: HAEE's Hot Chocolate and Ghoulfriend! Hope to try soon: White Chocolate Latte.   On the home front: I have just discovered the joys of wax fragrance tarts. Wheee! This is thanks to an enabler who included one in a swap, thus starting me on the quest for home fragrances. And in a recent swap, I was delighted to receive a small but mighty square of Wylde Ivy's Dark Chocolate Cream in a soy wax tart. Heaven! It smells a lot like BPAL's The Candy Butcher should have smelled if it had stayed true on me. Nice!
Vanille

Vanille

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New favorites 071109

I had to create a new category so that I can rave about new (to me) fragrances that are in the "wow" category. It's getting so that I will only keep fragrances that make me say "wow" and the rest go right up for sale or swap. But some "wows" are more rave-worthy than others.   Top new love (and lust, since it has been discontinued): Sugar Dust fragrance by Sweet Melissa. I got this in a swap, in the form of Whipped Body Cream (the cream is whipped, not the body, so don't look at me like that). WOW! When I opened the jar and started to apply it, I almost had to physically restrain myself from licking it off the backs of my hands, it was THAT luscious. Oh, my...   So I've been keeping the jar at my desk, and putting it on as often as I can justify (yes, I'm going to have the smoothest hands and forearms in the county before long)... and wondering how I might get hold of some more. WANTSSS the precioussss... I would definitely like to find more of this cream, as well as other products in this same fragrance.   New love and semi-lust: Wylde Ivy's Sandcastles fragrance. I think it was a summer scent this year. Now, I like coconut notes anyway, but there's something special about this one that makes me say "wow!" and want more. Maybe it's the ginger? I'd like to find other products in this fragrance as well.   Renewed love: BPAL's Antique Lace. I had an imp earlier, liked it but traded it away in a tough swap (you know how it is when you really want something and start offering things you'd rather keep to get it? That's what happened there). Now I have it back in a partial bottle, thanks to a lovely recent swap. Niiice. I generally take a skeptical view of any scent with a floral-sounding description, but for me this scent is redeemed by its lovely vanilla notes.   Old love betrayed: BPAL's Shub-Niggurath. Love the fragrance, dislike the name. I had forgotten how wonderful this scent is on me, and put my bottle up for sale in a frenzy of de-stashing. Just as I had decided to re-test it from an imp and rediscovered its total wonderfulness, a forumite swooped down on the bottle and wanted to buy it. I couldn't say "no" without feeling like a jerk so... now I need more *cough* SN. Here's hoping I find some again soon.   As mentioned in the latest post under Quest for Chocolate, I just had the pleasure of testing a Dark Chocolate Cream soy wax tart by Wylde Ivy. Oh, my! I will be interested in trying more of their tarts fragrances, and I wonder if they have DCC in wearable form as well...   Uh-oh... I just made the mistake of checking out WI's site for possible fragrances... erm... I'll wrap this up for now because I've got... er... things to do (yes, that's the ticket). Bye for now!
Vanille

Vanille

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