meaganola

I missed getting this during Halloween season last year, but I got it during Yules, which means it's been sitting on my aging box for almost a year. Today, I finally tested it! I had high hopes because Snake Oil is fantastic on me, and I love Pumpkin Princess and Pumpkin Patch 2 from 2007. This should be *awesome*. Testing conclusion: OMG WASH IT OFF. The spices burn, and the scent turns into, like, celery. I *could* wear it in a scent locket, but I have a Clocket, and I just never bother with it any more. If I can't wear it directly on my skin, I don't wear it. Sadly, this will have to be rehomed.

nervous energy this morning - finished updating the Lupers BPTP update, and added the new Alice and Emerald City (and Lunacy) - think it's up to date.

 

(as ever, ignore the color coding, and column A, that's all personal notation)

 

Izile's BPAL Spreadsheet

Ooh, *fantastic*. I finally got my new (well, okay, at this point, a few months old) laptop set up with Open Office last night (aargh, security settings!) and was getting ready to go through the insanely arduous process of updating the spreadsheet I had on my old laptop with far too many months of missing updates. This saves me a ton of work. Thank you!

Another Pacific Northwest native (at least three generations on my mom's side, maybe even four or five) over here! Although my dad wasn't born here, he was a timber cutter -- yeah, destroying the forest, and that made for some really ugly family dinners, lemmetellya -- for thirty years until his retirement, his brothers were timber cutters (I think one of them still is), and their dad was one even after he lost part of a leg in an on-the-job accident, so they're naturalized PNWers to me.

Anyway! Yes! I fully believe in Sasquatch. Our forests are huge and weird. I cannot believe that we have discovered every species out there, and I cannot believe that there isn't an undiscovered humanoid out there. I don't believe in *a* Sasquatch. I believe in an entire *tribe* of them because, well, a baby Squatch has to come from *somewhere*, and that somewhere is a mommy and a daddy Squatch. And my family's background made me instantly *know* I had to have every single oil and atmos in this release, and Lady Cecily was the one I had the least hope for because all of those florals made me very, *very* wary. As it turned out, however, the boldest note is lemony black musk, but that's one of my favorite notes, so this makes me very happy! I was afraid this was going to be all screeching florals (for some reason, it didn't occur to me that fur = musk or that it would dominate), and that would be a VERY BAD THING, so I'm delighted that the musk has tamped the florals down on me. The florals are there, but way down in the background, and they're more like dried petals that have been ground up rather than loud bright *pain* of fresh florals. Black musk is very much a winning note for me, although it's also a very heavy note, so I will have to be careful about when I wear it because heavy notes can cause The Quease if I time and dose things wrong.

Conclusion: I have a feeling that this is going to be a very sought-after scent as it ages. I'm very glad I picked this one up even if it's not something I will be able to wear every day!

I call the nausea/headache combo triggered by certain scents as The Quease. Some things always trigger it, but some things only sometimes does. I have to sniff my way through my rollerball a some days so I can figure out what won't make me feel like I'm going to throw up because it varies from day to day. Sometimes it's not a note but rather a feeling: Dark/thick/heavy oils tend to be more Quease-inducing than light stuff, although light stuff are more likely to trigger STABBITY PAIN.

And then there are things that used to problematic but are not any more. It might be worth just setting these aside for now and trying again in six months.

Spanish Red Carnation under Hod. White carnation would have been more appropriate, but these are what I have. Carnations were my mom's favorite flowers (hence the tattoo in my avatar), so I'm going a little overboard today. It's my tenth Mother's Day without a mom, and it's worse than the first one for some reason (the first one after she passed away was the day I got my animal cracker tattoos).

I went in December 2008! It was still hot (like in the 80s or maybe even 90s, I think), but I'm a lifelong Pacific Northwesterner, so we have a different take on what qualifies as "hot." I went heavy on the Mad Tea Party section. I took a couple of Yules as well (I can't wear Gaoler's Daughter now due to a horrible weather-caused flight experience coming home) as well, but what I really remember is wearing Cheshire Cat (that was the day my sixty-year-old father decided to do something that would have gotten us kicked out of the park and Pirates of the Caribbean shut down for the rest of the day if he had been caught, but it was a sort of Mom's-dying-wish sort of thing).

 

As for traveling with them, that time, I used an ammo box (and I did have to open that for TSA so they could see it was *perfume* and not *bullets*, but I had expected that), but now I use a mint tin in a zippered baggie (just in case it pops open), whether it's on a plane, in my car, or just across town on the bus (and when I'm questioned, I call them "aromatherapy oils"). I can cram something like two dozen in there, if I recall correctly. But I would suggest only taking a few -- maybe one for each park and one extra for fancy going-out-at-night if you're doing that -- because it's going to be easier to lock down memories if you keep scent consistent. Then whenever you use that oil in the future, you will remember that day/park better. But then I'm OCD, and I need structure for things like this, so your mileage may vary.

 

(Side note: When I was in college, I had a friend who made up her own meanings for acronyms, so to this day, I prefer to type them all out because I can just *hear* her: "YMMV" = "you make me vomit.")

 

Would I be over-stepping my bounds to ask what this "thing" he did was?

Nah. I think I actually told this story on the forum shortly after it happened, so I didn't think anyone would care now. It requires a little backstory: My mom passed away in 2002, and she was cremated. Some of her ashes were buried in her family's plot, and my dad, my brother, and I each have some as well. Before she passed away, she had told Dad that he was to take the family (my brother, his wife, their kids, and me) to Disney World when the boys were old/tall enough to go on *all* of the rides. That turned out to be in 2008 (my sister-in-law had *just* found out she was something like two months pregnant when Mom died). I'm actually not sure whether this was Dad's idea or Mom's request, but he took some of her ashes and had planned on sprinkling them by the Haunted Mansion, but he couldn't find what he considered to be the *right* spot, so we went on Pirates of the Caribbean, which I considered to be the right spot because that was her absolute favorite ride at Disneyland (I was actually confused why he had picked the Haunted Mansion aside from the ghost theme, and I guess that was in fact the sole reason he had picked that spot. *So glad* he changed his mind because that was *not* right for my mom). He had a little pill bottle with some of her ashes, and he, my brother, and I each sprinkled some into the water over the side of the boat on the ride just as you pass under Davy Jones in the mist (absolutely the right spot for Mom).

I went in December 2008! It was still hot (like in the 80s or maybe even 90s, I think), but I'm a lifelong Pacific Northwesterner, so we have a different take on what qualifies as "hot." I went heavy on the Mad Tea Party section. I took a couple of Yules as well (I can't wear Gaoler's Daughter now due to a horrible weather-caused flight experience coming home) as well, but what I really remember is wearing Cheshire Cat (that was the day my sixty-year-old father decided to do something that would have gotten us kicked out of the park and Pirates of the Caribbean shut down for the rest of the day if he had been caught, but it was a sort of Mom's-dying-wish sort of thing).

As for traveling with them, that time, I used an ammo box (and I did have to open that for TSA so they could see it was *perfume* and not *bullets*, but I had expected that), but now I use a mint tin in a zippered baggie (just in case it pops open), whether it's on a plane, in my car, or just across town on the bus (and when I'm questioned, I call them "aromatherapy oils"). I can cram something like two dozen in there, if I recall correctly. But I would suggest only taking a few -- maybe one for each park and one extra for fancy going-out-at-night if you're doing that -- because it's going to be easier to lock down memories if you keep scent consistent. Then whenever you use that oil in the future, you will remember that day/park better. But then I'm OCD, and I need structure for things like this, so your mileage may vary.

(Side note: When I was in college, I had a friend who made up her own meanings for acronyms, so to this day, I prefer to type them all out because I can just *hear* her: "YMMV" = "you make me vomit.")

*The* number-one for me: Pretty much anything with "white" in the description. Instant ice pick to my brain.

For Juicy Fruit: I would suggest that you try to track down Perilous Parlor. It was a Halloweenie LE, but there may be some leftovers floating around on the Sales/Swap thread.

My standard 6-pack starter kit recommendation:

• 
   
  
• Snake Oil (and if it doesn't work for you when you get it, tuck that imp away and re-test every six months! It changes quite a bit over time)
  
• Alice
  
• O
  
• Dragon's Milk (Nilla wafers soaked in dragon's blood and smothered in caramel sauce! And it just gets better the older it gets)
  
• Morocco (this one also benefits from some aging. I can't smell *anything* in the bottle/vial when it's fresh, but after six months or so, it starts getting good)
  
• Dorian (just... *oof*. It's unisex, but not unisex like CK One or laundry detergent, and I get compliments on it almost every single time I wear it. And, again, this one ages like a champ)
  

These are probably six of the Lab's best sellers. I actually hate O, and I'm just kind of in the middle for Alice, but I *love* Dragon's Milk and Dorian. Since you like fruity stuff, I would probably recommend dumping O and getting Tamora, Lolita (honeysuckle lemon drops!), or Bewitched (if you're familiar with Republic of Tea's Blackberry Sage Tea, Bewitched smells pretty much *exactly* like that to me).

One thing about the Lab's stuff: I was very wary when I started wearing BPAL because I have a bad history with commercial/department store perfumes, but the more I wear this stuff, the more I think I must have problems with synthetic components and perfumers' alcohol used in department store stuff. There are very, very few department store scents I can wear, but when it comes to BPAL, it's much more wide open. I still have to pay attention to specific notes (white sandalwood, white musk, and pretty much anything else with "white" in the name = STABBITY PAIN), but where I'm pretty much limited to Tokyomilk Tainted Love if I want to wear something that can be purchased at Sephora, I have literally hundreds of BPAL oils I can wear.

And I would also suggest looking into a scent locket. Scent isn't as strong when you use them, and if it *is*, you can just take the locket off.

I was an idiot and did not put my address i n the comments field on paypal with my order. I emailed my address to

paypal@blackphoenixalchemylab.com. Could someone please tell me if I did the right thing? Thanks.

 

Is your address different to the one that's in PayPal? If not, you'll be OK... PayPal payments include your shipping info for the seller so it will be on there for the Lab. Check the email that you got from PayPal (the payment sent confirmation you receive) and it should show your shipping info on that.

 

But if you've emailed the Lab as well, then you've covered yourself just in case - although the correct email for general customer service stuff is answers@blackphoenixalchemylab.com

Yup, I have had to send email about my orders (usually the order itself when I'm doing a decant circle and can't cut the text down to 300 characters), and I have specifically been told that the answers@ email address is the correct one to use. I usually just forward the PayPal transaction receipt and include whatever information needs to be connected to that transaction.

To push things in a non-musk direction: Ambers do this to me, especially lighter ambers like white or golden. Yeesh, I can feel myself getting a headache just *thinking* about white amber!

I wonder if there is some issues with the ClicknShip-things - I have one delivery coming that I didn't get a ClicknShip for - but the order-verification claims it was shipped 4 days ago - nothing in junkmail either - then again, I'm just happy to know it is on its way \o/

What order verification are you talking about? If you're looking at the CC Now date, that's what we tend to refer to as the harvest date. Basically, it means your order has been pulled from the CC Now queue for processing. It does *not* mean your order has been shipped. I don't know what sort of lag time there is between CC Now harvesting and shipping because I use PayPal for all of my purchases (it costs the Lab less money to accept PayPal orders than CC Now orders), but I do know that there is at least a few days (and I'm thinking more like a week) between the two events.

Can anyone find the review thread for this year's Frederic? I don't know if my search is just fritzing up - I can find the 2008 one.

When there are rereleases like this, all versions are usually part of the same thread. This one is a little different because the original was forum-only, but there does not seem to be a thread for the new version, so I'm thinking that the old thread would be the right place for the new incarnation.

This one is a gloriously heavy citrusy melange (no one single citrus note is more prominent than another) just barely verging on syrupy with a few faint hints of floralness if I concentrate on picking those up. I love it! This is my favorite Lunar New Year oil so far. I just wish the label was available as a t-shirt or poster. That would be *awesome*. It would go wonderfully in my bathroom on the wall where a medicine cabinet was probably supposed to go.

I was wondering if the cherry thing was just me, and I'm happy to see it's not! I think I've tried every incarnation of Smut except the first one, and this one is quite possibly my favorite. It's less boozy than last year's version, which had been my favorite before this one. I can even wear this one to work and not feel like a bar mat!

There's something about this that makes me think of my grandmother. Not because she wore perfume at all (if there's anything that triggers a scent-memory of her for me, it would be Noxema) or ever had flowers around the house, but probably because she always took peonies to the graves of our various relatives on Memorial Day. Although I never went with her, just *knowing* that there are peonies make me associate this with her. And then there's the part where I wear a lot of pink. I even have a pair of hot pink patent leather combat boots. So it's like one part my grandmother because of the peonies and one part me because of the pink! As for the scent itself, it's a bright, happy, pink-candy-floral scent that will be a very welcome addition to my springtime seasonal collection. There's an unexpected tea-like note in the background, but I love tea, and it works in here, so it's just an added bonus, although it makes me desperately crave iced tea.

The fruit is wonderful in the wet stage, but once it dries down, I can barely smell *anything*. There's a teensy bit of soft florals, but that's about it. I think most of the notes here just hit an olfactory blind spot for me because I can tell there's *something* there, but I simply don't really detect it. Plus it's very soft, delicate, and pretty, which are more or less exactly the sorts of adjectives used for scents that are very much not me (and probably related to the can't-really-smell-this issue). Not a keeper for me, but I can see where this one will very much be in demand once decants are tested.

Wet, it's the same to me as to everyone else: Bright, juicy pear. But when it's dry, I get a very creamy scent -- with a very, *very* faint tinge of chocolate. I have no idea where the chocolate thing is coming from, but it's very pretty and delicate. Unfortunately, I'm not a pretty-and-delicate sort of person, so this partial decant will be enough for me, and it will go in the "only when I get a very specific craving" section of my collection.

ETA: The honey. I forgot to address that. Normally, BPAL honey goes horribly wrong on me in ways I can't even describe but usually involve The Quease, but this one works and doesn't make me want to barf. Too bad it's in an oh-so-very-not-me sort of blend.

Ok....couldn't find an answer to my question anywhere here, BUT I have been into BPAL for 5 months now and learned that they put out, yearly, the Halloweenies and the Yules...also the Lunacies (spelling?) every full moon, my question is, are there other LE's released during the year, like, for example, Valentine's Day? Or are others just kind of random? I would like to know so I could be prepared for anything upcoming!! Thanks for any answers on this!!!

It might be a better idea to ask this in the Chatter section under the BPAL FAQ page or in the Speculation thread, but, in short, the three main Walletgeddon LE collections are Weenies, Yules, and Lupercalias, aka Lupes (Lupercalia is the precursor to Valentine's Day).

There are also smaller LE collections we can usually depend on being released, like Bards of Ireland in March (we didn't get those this year, but we got the earthquake fundraiser collection instead), April Fool's Day in April, and Anniversaries in November. Then there's *also* the 13 series (I think there was one 13 blend that appeared on two different occasions, but they are typically mildly different) commemorating Friday the 13ths whenever they happen (note: They are only up for 24 hours, so don't wait for reviews if you think you want them!). And then we have the annual Lunar New Year oil.

And then there are random surprise small LE collections like the RAINN fundraiser or Paduan Killer Bees, and then there are single surprise LEs like Lo Krathong or Stinky, not to mention Dark Delicacies exclusives that are basically DD-only LEs like Black Lace or Batty and other retail-only exclusives like Pretty Indulgent's various oils, plus Will Call exclusives like Blood Champagne, and WC exclusive giveaways like Hot Buttered Rum, and non-WC event exclusives like Giant Squid for Sakuracon last year (and then there are event exclusives that are given away for free at certain events, like Dungeon Crawl for, um, the Geek Girl Tweetup, if I recall correctly, which I probably don't).

Oh, and I almost forgot the forum LEs: We have been getting Lilith scents every September for her birthday, and then there will be just random forum-only LEs popping up unexpectedly like Halloween: Las Vegas and WILF. Oh, and I also almost forget the Post's LEs like Candied Pumpkin or the Echo & Narkissos set.

In short, although there are certain times when you can expect certain things (Lupes, 13s, Aril Fool's Day), there are always surprises. If you want to try them all and don't care whether you have a bottle, decant circles are your best friend. By my count, there were over 160 LEs between January and October alone, and that was *before* the Yules and Anniversaries.

Edited to brak up the wall o' text.

Penitence. Frankincense and myrrh! It smells like these candles my mom used to burn exclusively around Christmastime in the '70s.

Okay I have another question: Mouse's Long and Sad Tale. I had an oooold decant that said it was a prototype, and since using up that one I've acquired two more. One is pale/clear like the prototype, the other is a gold-y amber colour.

 

I can't tell you if them smell the same because I have a ridiculous head cold and can't smell a thing. Also, my BPAL has been closed up for 6 weeks since I found out I was pregnant due to some unfortunate scent aversion and I'm nervous that it hasn't gone away yet. So I can't tell you if these smell the same.

 

Which colour is right?

Ah, one of the most frustrating things about BPAL. It's possible they're *both* right, even if they don't smell or look the same. BPAL is almost entirely dependent on natural components, and, just like, say, a bowl of strawberries picked off the same plant, there are color and scent variations all over the place. You might find a better answer in Different smells/colors, same perfume.

The basic rule of thumb: If it's on the left side of the Lab's site between (and including) Alchemists Local '93 and Wanderlust, it's impable. Everything else is not, although you can order pre-made complete sets (no breaking them up, no swapping them for something else when you order) of Panacea, Salon, and Last Unicorn imps, so, as a side note, decant circles of those three categories are not allowed on the forum.

I don't cut my Bpal oils. I don't really have any allergies to watch out for either so YMMV.

Strangely, I don't cut the ones that burn my skin (typically, the ones with cassia and/or cinnamon), but I do cut TKO because the scent is *potent*, and I always forget just how strong it is when I slather it on my wrist. I tend to sleep with my wrist next to my face, so if it's too strong, it can actually keep me awake, which pretty much defeats the purpose of wearing it. I use jojoba oil, and I mix it in a half-and-half-ish ratio in a rollerball. This was the first oil that I put in a rollerball because I was concerned I would dump an entire bottle all over my bed if I tried applying directly from a bottle, but it turns out that rollerballs are the best way for me to apply oil.

Only my very favorites go into a rollerball, though. The ones I use will hold about half a bottle of oil, and that will last me at least a year. I don't go through oil quickly, to put it mildly (I still have half a bottle of my very favorite Halloweenie: Dia de los Muertos 2005, which I got a little over three years ago in a Lab auction). If I only have a decant/imp or bottle of something, unless it's a decant I made for going-out-this-one-particular-evening purposes, I go the straw-style coffee/cocktail stirrer route (unless it turns out to be a new favorite GC, in which case I sometimes start a new rollerball and add imps to it as I collect them). I picked up a box of them at Cash & Carry a couple of years ago, and I don't think I've gone through even half of the box.

I could have sworn I saw a review thread for Benevolent Triple Conjunction, and now I can't find it. I did separate searches for "Benevolent" and "Conjunction" in the TAL review section, the LE section, and the overall review section, and it is steadfastly refusing to come up. Help, please?

SO WEIRD. I just did a forum-wide search (that is, not restricted to reviews) and found it tucked away in the TAL section. But when I searched in the review section as well as specifically the TAL section, I got nothing.