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Notes to myself and anyone else

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Lilith And The Jarocho

Posting this because the entire description should be saved somewhere. I haven't tried the scent itself, but I'd like to find a decant. I think I would like it but I just can't justify a whole bottle right now, with my financial situation being what it is.   Lilith And The Jarocho.... In the past eight months since Lilith was born, Ted and I have had many moments of unutterable joy. There is one, in particular, that stands out from the rest as perfect.   Our daughter loves music… everything from the clank of her toy piano, to unending looped choruses of "You Are My Sunshine" (with Moonshine variants) and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" (or Bat) sung by her mother at naptime, to a rousing round of "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" belted out by her father at playtime, to all the hair band videos she watches on Metal Mania.   This kid LOVES music.   On the last Saturday in April, Ted and I took Lilith to Olvera Street, and stopped at the El Paseo Inn for lunch. While we were waiting for our food, the band came to stand behind our table, and Lili was riveted by their music. At the end of the first song, she clapped! Holy hell, that was adorable. The singer saw Lilith clapping and staring, and walked over to us. This sweet, wonderful man serenaded her.   There was a Perfect Moment -- the kindness on the singer’s face as he sang to my baby, Lilith’s eyes as wide as saucers, her hands in prayer position, and the joy radiating from my husband -- this was a moment that brought me to tears.   This scent is a swirl of everything I felt, sensed, smelled, and saw right then, at that perfect point in time: Jasmine, vanilla, Spanish cedar, moss, marigold, purple verbena, candied tamarind, lime rind, a splash of margaritas on a nearby table, a little bit of Dorian, a little bit of Snake Oil, and a bright bouquet of mal de ojo.
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Ho Hum....

* sigh *   I am not only bored but restless, too. I'm at work and kind of wish I wasn't here. I feel like I have important things that need to get done, but not much time in which to do them. Just restless energy, I guess. And I guess this Mountain Dew I'm drinking probably isn't a great idea.   Earlier today I wore Fearful Pleasure, which I still like a lot. Right now I'm wearing To Autumn, which I also like.....maybe even better. I just like them both, I think. Fearful Pleasure does this kind of musky thing on the dry-down, which I don't like as much.....but it's not enough to put me off the scent. I guess it's the woodsmoke that gives me that musky impression, or maybe it does have some musk, although I didn't see anyone else mention it in reviews.   Anyway, enough babbling for now.
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sniffie overlooooaad............

I got so many decants today yesterday! Add that to the Lab order I got this week, and a couple other forum swaps this week also......I have a whole big bunch of new sniffies to try. I'm so glad tomorrow is Saturday, even though it's my weekend to work. I'll have time tomorrow to relax and try out all my new stuff. Well, I doubt I'll get to everything but I'll try a bunch.   I already tried A Countenance Forboding Evil, and didn't like it much. : ( I usually like patchouli but it disagreed with me in this blend, for some reason. Maybe the ylang-ylang contributed some weirdness, because honestly I couldn't smell that note, but there was something there that just wasn't sitting right for me. I will, of course, try it again......maybe in a few days, maybe sooner.   I also tried Monsterbait: Underpants and honestly......I wondered all day if I got a mis-labelled decant. It smells exactly like Morocco to me. I did some searching and found that some other people smelled the similarity, but really....I thought it really was Morocco and not Underpants. I told moonarcana I think she'll help me figure it out, she has a decant of Underpants.   I tried both Christmas Rose and Buena Noche, and I liked B.N. much better. It did remind me a little of Chrysanthemum Moon (which I was hoping for), and later some soapiness came out (from the lily, probably). Christmas Rose was sharper than I was expecting, and almost aquatic with the snow note. Not sure that one is going to work for me but I'll be trying it again.   Out of all the Yule LE blends this year, I know I want a bottle of Jolasveinar. Beyond that I don't know yet, I've got a lot of testing to do. I probably don't need a whole bottle of Buena Noche, but I might want one. I can't wait to compare Rose Red and Peacock Queen.
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Video Game Excitement

I realized yesterday that I've reached the point where upcoming video games are more exciting to me now than upcoming movies. I guess a lot of people crossed that line a long time ago, but for me it's pretty amazing that I reached it at all.   I am still excited about the Dark Crystal sequel, and the Dawn Treader movie from the Narnia series. However, I am much, much more excited about the Last Guardian. In fact, I just preordered it. Woo Hoo!! I can't wait.
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Alien prequel

I'm excited, of course. The first one is pretty much my all time favorite movie, and I liked all the sequels, even the ones that most other people said were crap. I liked the third one, and even liked that 4th one somewhat. Never cared much about the Alien Vs Predator spin-offs, though.   I have been hoping for a prequel for years. I always wanted to know more about the Space Jockey in the first film. So, of course I can hardly wait for this. I don't expect to be blown away, but I also don't think it will completely suck. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high. I think with the current technology, the special effects could be really great. The Space Jockey was a lot bigger than the humans in the first movie, so maybe the Aliens will be a lot bigger too. They seem to take on the physical stature of the host, somewhat (like the "dog-alien" in the third movie).   As for the story, who knows. It could go pretty much anywhere, really. I like the idea of the movie ending on a down note, because of what we already know about the story in the first Alien movie. But I guess it's pretty useless to speculate at this early stage.   But really, it would be so great if the series was redeemed in the eyes of.....well, everyone since pretty much everyone hated the last one.
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bleh.

I have been feeling like crap for the last few days. I don't know what's wrong with me but it reminds me of the way I used to feel when I drank a lot. I've felt kind of spaced out a lot of the time, achey, irritable, about to cry at the drop of a hat, and......just not myself. It really sucks and I don't know if it's the full moon, or if I'm fighting a cold or something, or just allergies, but I don't like this. Do not like this. It's almost like when I had mono, so maybe that is flaring up again. I've read that it can come back after being dormant for a long time (would be years in my case).   Anyway, I apologize for my behavior to anyone who happens to read this.
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(previous entry continued.....)

Inez and Aeronwen are both bottle worthy. And Wild Men of Jezirat Al Tennyn. Have to re-try all of those, and again, make some decisions. Carnaval Diabolique is totally worth a bottle, so I have that one to consider as well. And I haven't even tried Isaac yet!! : /   On the plus side, I have a nice, completely full, well-aged bottle of Mme. Moriarty that I love. Ditto Midnight On The Midway and Antonino.   The big problem is Chaos Theory. I've been wanting a new round of CT for a long, long time......and I really want at least 6 or 7 bottles, possibly more. There is no way I can get all of this stuff, I just can't swing it. I think I'm actually pushing aside CD in favor of CT. CD will be around longer (and we still have more acts), and CT will only be around for a few weeks. And Chaos Theory is just so.......special! It's like my own little bottle of uniqueness, and a complete surprise, and just fun, fun, fun.   So there ya go, I guess my decision is made. Buckle your seatbelts, it's going to be a Chaotic ride!!
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That Feeling again

I guess basically it's insecurity that I'm feeling. NYE was fun, but ever since then I've been worrying that I made an ass of myself....said the wrong things.....acted like a dumbass......etc. I hung out with 3 of my friends, 2 of them are a couple I know, both very good looking, good friends, always gracious to me and I know I worry needlessly. They were nothing but nice and let me crash on their couch, invited me to a great dinner, went out of their way to make fun drinks I hadn't tried before (caiphirina? I don't know how to spell it), but I can't seem to just let go of my worries and just have fond memories of the whole night. I envy them because I am single and when I let myself think about it, not really happy about it, so I usually just try to focus on school and work. Anyway.....just feeling totally unworthy and trying to write about it to get it all out. Really nothing new in my world.
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Chaos Theory V!

I squeed my pants when I saw this:   "For this series, we decided to try a different type of chaotic experimentation. Each CT:5 scent has a base of one of the following scents, in wildly varying proportions:   Dorian O Penitence Snake Oil"   ....I totally was not expecting a new round of Chaos Theory!! All my bottle purchasing plans just went out the window in favor of CT. I love it so much, because each one is on-of-a-kind. My tentative plans for purchasing this round:   Snake Oil.....will 2 be enough? I dunno, I already bought the whole Snake Pit, how many Snake Oil variants can one person hoard?? I did trade away a few of my Snake Pit scents, though. I'll say 2 of these, for now.   Dorian......at least 2, maybe 3......not because I'm crazy about the scent, really, but I think this one has the most exciting potential to be something great with other notes added (did that make sense? I know I'm rambling now).   Penitence.....at least one, maybe 2.....Penitence itself goes just a bit powdery on me, but I like it enough that I want to try one or two variations, just for the hell of it!   O.....no thank you! I am glad there is one that I can safely skip. I never have tried it, and honey usually is not my thing.   So, screw it, I should just get 1 of each (of the first 3) now, then another one of each (maybe 2 more of Snake Oil) before they go away. Sounds like a plan! I'm already impatient!
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Excited

I am so excited about Bioshock 2! I hope it doesn't suck. I pre-ordered the special edition, which has some nifty extras like a soundtrack CD, and also the orchestral soundtrack from the first game on vinyl. My turntable currently needs a new stylus but that's neither here nor there. It also has an art book of some sort. Kind of an impulsive purchase but there ya go. Now the only bad part is, it will take a few days for it to be delivered, and meanwhile other people will be playing the game already......   But....I've waited this long, I can wait a while longer.
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Moody Myrtle

I have quit smoking again. I worked myself up to it, picked a date, and took the plunge. Please excuse any moody outbursts, I apologize in advance.   I also quit drinking, since that usually leads to smoking (music leads to dancing, and dancing leads to touching).   Anyway, this shouldn't be hard for me, I have already quit both for over 7 years in the past, and I was pretty dumb to start again.
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non-bpal review/Vetiver Guerlain

Vetiver Guerlain   "fresh and outdoorsy, a blend of vetiver, wood, tobacco and spice." (description from Fragrancenet.com   I love vetiver and having read lots of rave reviews, I really wanted to try this. Wet on the skin, for the first 10 or 15 minutes, this is a glorious, almost dizzying swirl of fresh, bright citrus notes, with some green grassiness peeking in and out. I loved it! After a while, all the top notes fade and what's left is simply vetiver single note. It's a light, fresh vetiver, almost reminiscent of sweet hay. Not a bad thing, but I'd love to smell that first stage longer.
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Ranting and raving....

First of all.....if you're reading this, and I complain about something that you do, please don't take it personally. Just a minor pet peeve of mine.   I've noticed a trend lately with reviews. People are writing their reviews based only on sniffing the scent in the vial, not putting it on the skin. This drives me crazy. Basically, it's like judging a book by it's cover. In my experience, most scents smell totally different, or they go through changes, after they touch a person's skin. I admit, when I go to a meet 'n sniff, I don't try on every scent that I come across. I smell some of them in the bottle and make a judgment based solely on that impression. But that is different from writing a review for other people to read.   When I read a review of a scent, and the person didn't actually try it on, I write it off as completely useless to me.
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Whooooa Nelly

I'm a little exhausted....weekends tend to wear me out (the ones when I work, that is), and I didn't get much sleep before work. My landlady showed the apartment to a couple with a little girl. Having strange people in the apt kind of wakes me up and so I couldn't get to sleep after they left, and also, I'm on at the very end of Under The Dome, and I just couldn't put it down to go to sleep. So I had about 4 hours of sleep before work, maybe 5 hrs tops. Anyway....this is okay because in the morning when I get home I will flop into bed and sleep to my heart's content!   I am excited to be moving, but most of all, ready for it to be done (and I haven't even started). I can't wait to be in my cozy little new apartment! It is a funny apartment, probably the smallest one I've ever lived in, and kind of retro but not in a cool way...it has a tacky, 70's Brady Bunch kind of feel. The living room has fake brick on the walls (which I think is awesome).
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Breakdowns and stuff

My exams went really well, what a relief! Moving on.......   I wanted to do my own breakdown of some recent updates. I'm at work and it's busy, so we'll see how far I get. Starting with the Black Helicopter scents.........   The Aurora Spaceship Takes A Dive...."Texas thistle, bluebell, red corn poppy, magnolia, sunflower, cedar sage, and smashed, flaming windmill". A little on the floral side for me, and I've learned that I'm not a big fan of poppy. But still, I could end up liking this. I may track down a decant.   The Committee Of 300: Meeting Minutes......"An ominous round table for the quintessential Round Table Group: polished wood, tobacco smoke, faded cologne, and neon discharge". Sounds discordant, with wood and smoke, but also cologne and neon discharge? I just don't know about this one, it could go either way. I suppose I'll have to try a decant sooner or later.   Illuminati Cotillion......"Ceremonial incense, pipe tobacco, temple roses, and shittim wood". If not for the roses, I would really want to try this. As it stands, I might want to try it anyway. I'm always attracted to incense scents, and even some of the ones with rose end up being nice.   Menacing Ionospheric Research Instrument......"Electrically charged white amber, violet, sage, mint, and neroli flanked by dazzling metals and shining wires". I usually stay away from violet, and I'm not a big fan of neroli, but yet again, this could go either way. I'm just not sure! Decant, somewhere down the line.   The Montauk Project....."Breathtaking native flora concealing a bastion of covert government experiments: shagbark hickory, sassafras, black gum, bald cypress, pine, dogwood, wild comfrey, swamp sunflower, and trumpet creeper". Bottle already ordered! The florals scare me a little, but I'm very attracted by the sassafras and pine. I love taking a chance with a scent and being pleasantly surprised. I'm not completely sure I'll like this but I can hardly wait to find out.   .....more later.....
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Stressing about money

I hate this, but I don't see any way around it. I'm absolutely stressed out about money. I don't know how I'm going to make it through the next month or two, and there is lots of stuff going on that I want to take part in. My friends are going to a big drag show in Dayton, which is about a 45 minute drive. They want to get hotel rooms so we can all drink. I don't even know if I can afford to drink at a bar, much less do that and get a hotel room.   Then our gay pride weekend is the following weekend, and I'll be going out again, and spending money again. I guess I just need to sit down and write it all down, and figure out a budget because my funds are definitely limited. : (
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Antsy

Ugh......here I am at work, stuck to a desk, and feeling antsy as all hell. Why don't I ever feel like this at home, where I could actually get up and do something? I could actually organize my perfumes and put up a sales/swaps page if I felt like this at home! Or any number of other things that I need to get done. : /
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my first post!

I'm starting this because I have 2 livejournal accounts, but I really don't participate in the bpal communities on lj. I used to be a member of a couple of them, but decided that my lj is not the place for my bpal trading. I still write about bpal stuff but I get the feeling that many people on my friends list probably don't care about bpal. So here I am.   Friday I had dinner with my dad and stepmom, and told them a little bit about my perfume obsession. Actually, I told them about Fabienne and Possets. They both expressed interest, and they might go to a Final Friday where Fabienne opens her studio to the public (along with many other artists at the Pendleton Art Center). My point, and I do have one, is that I would like to make lists of imp packs for my dad and stepmom, sort of a bpal introductory selection of scents. My stepmom says she likes gardenia, so I did a search on the lab's site and came up with a few possibilities. The one that stuck out most was Le Serpent Qui Danse. I think she might like Antique Lace, although I myself have never tried it. She works for Clinique and would probably like the more traditional-smelling bpal perfumes, at least to start out. Other than that I have no idea what her tastes might be, so I'd like to come up with a range of styles for her to try.   As for my dad, I would go for more masculine blends, obviously. The first one I thought of was Casanova. Maybe Whitechapel, Calico Jack, possibly Dracul. For both of them I'm going to stay away from limited edition scents, so in case they end up loving a particular scent we can definitely get more. That said, I would probably let them try some of my LE's, particularly from Carnaval Diabolique. Bonnie (my stepmom) might possibly like Midnight On The Midway, and heck, my dad could like it too (I love it, and I'm a guy).   So for the next couple months I'll be keeping my eyes open for possibilities, and I think there are at least a couple recommendation discussions I'm going to peruse also.
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Halloween Summary....

decants, priority 1 Carlin Feeding The Dead The Hell-Gate Of Ireland Lambs-Wool Countess Dolingen Of Gratz Sarah Julia Stone   decants, priority 2 Shadowless Like Silence Summer's Last Will And Testament Trick Or Treat 2009 Pumpkin Patch III Pumpkin Patch IV Lord Ruthven   bottles? The Hell-Gate Of Ireland Lambs-Wool Sarah   Edit: ordered the ones crossed off (in decant form so far), and Devil's Night to boot! Honestly at this point, I'm thinking Sarah might be the only bottle I go for. But of course that could change if I fall in love with any of the other decants. : )
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Lupercalia scents

As much as I can remember, Lupercalia is my least favorite of the yearly 'big updates' from Black Phoenix. Every year, I get excited about trying some new scents, but overall, they've had the lowest success rate for me. I like a couple of the Shunga scents from '08, like Ebisu Making Love, and Men Ringing Bells (actually bought a whole bottle of that one, even though I don't wear it much). They both remind me of some kind of fabulous, expensive hair care products. And I really like Chintimani-Dhupa, which I think was a Lupercalia scent.   Today I got some of my decants from this year's update, and so far I've briefly tested Miller Vs. California, Lovers In A Rice Field, and Lovers With Rutting Cats. I think the Rice Field is the best out of those, but again, it smells like some kind of fancy shampoo or conditioner. Not so much foody as drinky to me, it starts out rather like shampoo or soap. Then it drifts into plum tea, then later into plum wine. This scent, in the early stages especially, is extremely reminiscent of one of the 4 Fat Cats wax tarts, but I can't remember which one. Basmati Rice, or maybe White Plum Chutney. This is nice because it reminds me of when I lived in northern Kentucky, three years ago, which although not the greatest time of my life, does have some pleasant memories.   Lovers With Rutting Cats is probably my least favorite of the three. It reminds me of Love's Philosophy, but not as sweet or sugary. Or maybe Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener, without the sassafras. Basically I get a lot of vanilla that comes off a little plasticky, and as a whole, the scent just feels a little flat or one-dimensional to me. I might be spoiled because so many other bpal scents seem 'deep' to me, and this one just falls flat on my skin, unfortunately. Of course, this is from a first impression, and those sometimes change.   Miller Vs. California is an interesting one. This scent actually smells more complex than the notes suggest. I first smelled a lot of sweetness, fruit, berries, and cream. The leather seems to be a supporting note only, nothing like the leather in Quincey Morris, or other leathery blends. As this one dries, it changes a lot. The papery note and the leather both come out stronger, and it also seems to get spicier, which I attribute to either the leather, fig, or possibly both (or maybe something else entirely!). At the beginning, this reminds me a lot of the newer Milk Moon, which I hated, but this is better....the cream isn't so sour or cloying. It's creamy, but the sweetness of the berries and fig balance it out a little more. I think the leather is actually helping to ground the scent a lot, even though I couldn't really smell it at first. Later, after drying, this scent smells entirely different.....it does remind me of some other GC scent, but I can't think of which one. Nephelim? Or the one I can never spell, Tzadikim Nasturtium or something. Anyway, I swear there is another scent that smells something like this, but I can't place which one it is. I like the early sweet and creamy stage more than the later, dry, papery/spicy stage of this one.   So far I can't say that I'm likely to get much wear out of these, but I also have yet to try my other decants. I have Flowering Chrysanthemums and Phallus Head still to try, as well as decants from another circle still on the way. I'm really looking forward to Dia and Glukuprikos (sp?).
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