Macha

At one point Snake Oil bottles came with Carnaval Diabolique special labels but that's over.

No, they still come this way...this was a (quite probably) permanent change.

Sarada's got it, I think. I just know that I adored Three Witches to bits: if I could have gotten the re-release as a 10ml, I would have...and I didn't. Thus my agreeing that the a 10ml Three Witches is very likely an original formula version.

Sounds right to me. I'm pretty sure the Lab stopped selling 10mls before the Three Witches re-release.

But the kitty is speeecial....

Can you try sending it to them from a different e-mail address? If you're being blocked, that might help the issue. Also, double check the e-mail address you're sending it to, just in case that's the problem.

I read in the War review that there is a picture of a woman on the label??

I bet Macha is working her butt off ... all the new lab artwork, BPTP soaps and now her own soap company.

I for one sure appreciate all her hard work but I'm sure she needs a much deserved vacation.

Now, is there anyone out there that's wants to share her lovely new artwork with us??

Ahem...as a matter of fact, I didn't do the art for these. Too busy. Beth found some other very talented artists to pick up the slack, and I look forward to seeing the labels myself!!

They're photos. We're looking into the issue, since we thought it was a photo we had permission to use.

hehe! I had fun with those...glad you like them!

If anyone ever needed proof that the Lab hand-blends their oils, this would probably be the shining example.

Unfortunately, the cold hard fact of the matter is that when you are mixing up oils from such incredibly remote locations and sources, that crop variations are...well...inevitable. I think Electra likely has nailed this in saying that one of Hamadryad's woods likely smells minty, and for some reason the batch that season was stronger than normal.

Differences should be pretty minor, I believe. Of course, I wasn't holding up a bottle of the last set to compare with, but I DID reuse the same files, so...mostly any differences would be to accommodate larger or smaller perfume titles (some are real doozies for length.)

I was relatively careful to match letter color and hat shading for the Carnaval Diabolique scents. For Carnaval Noir, the only labels that used the "Snake Oil" label were the Snake Pit — and my decision to use that label with the type of serpent on each was so very last minute (I had told Beth I was going to make a single label, then changed my mind because I wasn't happy with it and ended up doing them all individually) that I honestly didn't pay much attention to the jester's crown.

Except, perhaps, to make sure it lined up with King Cobra's head just so.

What are the differences in label color and design between the first release of the Carnaval Noir series and the second release? Some of my bottles show that the little skeleton-jester at the top of the label is wearing a white hat, while on others his hat is red. Which was the first original release?

Answer: The color of the Jester's hat was my whim.

In the bottle, what I smell the most strongly is fresh ginger essential oil, the kind that has an earthy dirt note to it. Underneath that, there's some cinnamon and cassia, but I have a strong sensitivity to that ginger note, so it's what I notice the most.

I'm fortunately not particularly sensitive to cinnamon or cassia essential oils, so skin contact did not produce a rash, welts or the burning sensation that others have reported.

When first applied, Saw-scale is very spicy, with the Cinnamon/Cassia quickly battling it out with the ginger and winning for predominance. Underneath, it's supported by the scent of Snake Oil. As the scent dries, true magic happens. It becomes creamy spice, and really wonderful. I like spicy scents, and I like the initial application well enough — but the dry down is pure heaven.

So let me start by explaining that I can't really wear Snake Oil.. I am one of those people who, sadly, has the perfume turn to something that is a precise and uncanny rendition of play-dough within moments of contact with my skin. So I wasn't really planning on trying the Snake Pit, but Beth talked me out of abstaining. A while back she showed me a cocoa absolute oil (I believe she passed it around at a Will Call too) that she'd discovered — rare, difficult to obtain, frighteningly expensive — and it was this perfume gem that she had added to Bloomslang.

Yeah, okay. I had to try it.

As others have mentioned, this is a thick oil. I knew from previous experience with the cocoa absolute that it tends to separate, but even so I managed to not mix it enough the first time, and ended up with a light Snake Oil scent that didn't much smell like cocoa but didn't turn to play-dough either. A good sign, I thought.

I mixed it a little more thoroughly and tried again.

Even well-mixed, the chocolate for me is less an in-your-face extravaganza than a sneaky sort of figure, darting in to tap you on the shoulder, then running away when you try to look. But the cocoa does do an excellent job of making the Snake Oil behave, so what remains is a rich, sexy, and dark fragrance that does not tend towards even the slightest resemblance with children's toys. And truly, it's pure joy to finally be able to wear this perfume and not have it go wrong.

Since my theory is that the CTIII's are GC imps in disguise, I'm hoping someone will know. So in the off chance you've smelled it, please help.

I'll do one better: I have personally witnessed Beth making Chaos Theory scents. Each bottle is created individually from single notes.

They are absolutely not disguised GC scents.

Have you tried Szepasszony?

It definately hits the rain/flowers/ozone notes, although I'm not so sure about the exhaust.

I will admit this is the very first time I have ever heard anyone's complaint be that we didn't keep a General Catalog label on something. And to be perfectly frank, last year's labels would have been different too, but we ran out of time.

Just so's you all know....it's the same label for the entire Order of the Dragon series (I would have loved to have done individual paintings, but there was just no time...the lab's really hopping on turnaround.)

So, under the circumstances it only makes sense that I begin my reviews of the new CD scents with this one, because...well...obviously it's a bit special to me.

In the bottle this smells mostly like orange blossom with a little mint. A little sweet, maybe. It does not particularly smell like tea to me. It's only after it's on the skin that it starts to sweeten, and starts to smell like the minty tea for which I have a notable weakness.

I was leery of the honey note, because honey can often go very bad with my skin chemistry, but happily that is not the case here. It's just a lovely, sweet fragrance, which I have decided I adore completely.

Some months back, when I had planned on painting a triptych of the loas (a project which didn't work out, although I have some preliminary sketches) I had stopped by the Lab. Beth, knowing what I was working on, pressed a bottle of Hermes into my hand. It made sense — there are some strong parallels between Papa Legba and Hermes, and I work electronically in a manner that calls on these powers very strongly. She told me to rub a little on my palms before sitting down to draw. It's a re-apply as you go sort of thing and very easy to do. No special training. Put a drop on your palm, rub your hands together. That's it.

In the bottle it smelled very strongly lavender, but as soon as it's on the palms of my hands, it's pure cinnamon with a slight lavender undertone. It's very spicy.

So....the first thing I discovered is that my cat HATES this. He will all but run from me while I'm wearing it. That's not necessarily a bad thing: keeps him from trying to jump on my lap while I'm trying to navigate through a tricky sketch.

The second thing I discovered is that this oil works better than any other I've tried, and I've tried just about all the inpiration and creativity blends. Writer's block? Not a problem. Painting? Works beautifully. Gaming? Oh yeah...

Yup...you heard me. Gaming. I discovered by accident that Hand of Hermes also works very well when playing computer games (I know, it's a bit odd,) helping give me the calm, cool edge I need in raids and the like.

The result of all this? I keep a bottle in front of my computer at all times and another one in my satchel. I grow cranky if I lose track of it. It's become as indespensible as my drawing table and keyboard. The fact that I adore the scent just makes it that much better, because it is extremely effective. This stuff works.

As Summer said: it is an invaluable tool for me in my professional life.

Stay focused....chat about what you got belongs over in Come Squee with us, not here.

I'm not being a bitch about...just consider it a very gentle reminder.

If there is, they'll let you know.

Since she didn't say so, I would take that as a "no" in the meantime.

Darned interweb and it's loss of subtlety in a text medium!

Gosh, I certainly hope it was meant as humor — I can only hope to be held to the same standard as some of the artists the Lab has featured in the Salon!

The Salon Labels each feature the artistic piece that inspired the perfume, of course. And like all art, it won't be everyone's cup of tea, but that's the nature of art, isn't it?

That's very sweet, but sometimes the beautiful label isn't my artwork. I'm certainly not too proud to state that some of my favorite labels were designed by Beth, rather than myself.

It's just the same as for the 5mls, but stretched to fit a larger size (in most cases.)

And since I don't design the art for 10mls, but for 5mls, the art tends to be stretched out of proportion for the larger size, often in ways that weren't intended and which I don't necessarily think look very good.

The only exceptions to that is art on the bottles that were always intended to be 10mls, such as the LE bottles that went with the statues from the Trading Post, Sepheroth and Tarot — none of which are changing sizes.

So umm...I guess I'm saying I don't think you're losing out, art-wise.