dawndie

Hooray!

In bottle: chemical cocoa On skin: the cocoa is more sophisticated than the original 13, it reminds me of the perfumey bite of Stardust, but more foody Half-hour later: yum, the cocoa is more creamy but nothing else stands out, it's so well-blended. If I look for the orange rind, there it is, but it doesn't jump out at me In conclusion: I like this blend more than the original 13 (2005 version), this seems more grown-up and ooh-la-la. I wish it were stronger and lasted longer, or had more of an "oomph!" to it, but not every blend can knock me on my ass with how great it is I'll keep the bottle for now and see if it amps as it ages.

We got XM radio about 1-1/2 years ago and I really enjoy it. DH had it installed in his car and they gave us a free portable one that he hooked up for my office. I preset all the alternative channels (which are named Lucy, Fred and Ethel, har!) and the decades ones, '40s through now. Plus jazz, bluegrass, alt-country -- it must be 90% music. I love flipping through them all; you never know what will be playing, plus no commercials! OK, body hair check: I haven't shaved my pits since the summer It actually doesn't bother me one way or the other and DH doesn't care (at least no Sasquatch jokes yet). Plus you're right, it comes in pretty thin anyway.

I logged on today thinking there would just be a Lunacy blend and that's all, and there were all these others! I already had my order planned, and since I bought a bottle of 13 I was only going to buy 2 bottles, Quincey Morris and Wilhemina Murray. Now I'm pondering changing that --Bitter Moon -- the ingredients list reminds me of Chrysanthemum Moon, but with extra flowers. I'll pass --Purple Phoenix -- this one I'm torn about, as some of the ingredients sound great and others (violet, fig, lilac) haven't worked in other blends. But who knows? What a surprise to see more discontinueds released! I actually squealed a little when I saw Glasya -- this was a frimp in one of my first orders and was discontinued soon after I got into BPAL. It's one of those magical wonders, in that dragon's blood and civet are "yuck" on me, but Glasya is this beautiful dark incense that doesn't morph. I even put some on today to help me decide, and I still can't decide! *grr* The other DC's were never tried and I'm not jonesing for any particular one, even though Glitter has a loyal following. Decision time: I'm ordering Quincey Morris and Purple Phoenix. While Mina Murray sounds nice, it's been compared to Alice and Parlement of Foules and I have bottles of those already. I think I'll be happy with my Glasya imp, as I have a bunch of other BPAL-incensey blends that I including Snake Charmer and Mme. Moriarty and Hellion -- those seem to have an extra "oomph" included.

Oopsie! I'm trying to talk myself out of ordering it later this month, i.e. "What if it smells nice because it's aged?" The imp is over 2 years old at this point, but I wrote down "BPAL incense that doesn't morph" when I first tried it. OK, I'll order a bottle if I start working by the end of the month before it goes away

I have a feeling Fergus will rebound from this slight setback And is LaVerna flipping everyone off? She is a bad-ass.

Those really made me laugh! Do you have more heads? I picture a crafty basement with heads on shelves and having conversations with each other at night.

I've felt strange because nothing's been happening with the job situation. Nothing. I'm there through this week, and then I have no idea. I haven't heard back from my previous job, even after leaving a message last week. I'm not in panic mode, because between the bonus, severance and vacation time I have a few months of money, but I'd much rather save than spend. I'm glad I get to vent here. Of course, that hasn't stopped us from going to estate sales! We haven't bought much -- an old radio cabinet with the radio removed, very art deco '30s that we want to put records in. DH bought a mini-fridge for the garage for $15. I bought a sewing book by Better Homes & Gardens from 1961 for $1.50. I found a 1950s red record tote to carry 45s -- my mom has a couple (pink? blue?) with the same exact graphics, so I was pretty jazzed to find one full of records and in great condition for $12.50. My sister's husband and his band blew through town on Thursday. We realized between all the CDs we have, we've never seen him play live. He writes his own stuff and arranges other songs in a jazzy lounge vibe. We had a blast going up to Denton to see him and another jazz band play.

I bet your will/force/intention etc. will come through the gumbo -- like in Like Water for Chocolate! I've read in a couple of witchy books about how clapping channels energy, as in "Hey energies! Pay attention here!" so try it with the handful of spices: clap and rub into the pot while thinking of the goal or the person. Worth a try, and another pot of gumbo

In bottle: musky fruit On skin: morphing, woo! Berries that appear and disappear almost immediately, and then the tobacco leaf takes over. These seem like "raw" leaves, freshly cut and already hanging up. Then it sweetens up with the pomegranate. So weird, the dramatic changes of this one Half-hour later: it's calmed down considerably, but it's creamy and sweet and musky and earthy at the same time. No strong pine, thank goodness In conclusion: I made a plea to be Tricked, because both oils sounded great with one exception in each: Trick #1 had black leather and Trick #2 had pine, and both of these have overpowered blends in the past. Trick #2 is so beautifully blended, however, and I'm pleased to have this bottle.

I never had an Opus doll, but we have a boatload of Far Side and Calvin and Hobbes anthologies, plus the Bloom County collection called "Billy and the Boingers Bootleg" -- Bill the Cat's punk band. It came with a little record, that 20 years later I have never removed and played. Ack! DH was on some rant last night, and I laughed that he came from a long proud line of Angry Irish Democrats. He remembered his grandmother saying, "I wouldn't vote for a Republican dogcatcher!"

I'm so happy Puddin' Tom is fitting in. Yay for happy animal family! We have two old and crabby cats who wouldn't tolerate anyone else; they run and hide when someone knocks on the door, let alone sets foot inside. I like to hear about blended families. I really like your postings, actually -- and they're much better than Carrie Bradshaw's. Those would always revolve around some cliche or bad pun, like "to pee or not to pee?" Ugh.

In bottle: vague chemical flowers On skin: floral at once, but not overpowering Half-hour later: the musk strengthens, but it's not Smutty Musk, it's gentler and girlier. The "Eastern spices" (I'm thinking of Morocco) are barely present. In conclusion: I have to give a shout-out to valentina who combined Smut and O and named it Smut-O-Rama. When I read this description I thought, "Yay! Smut-O-Rama!" but this obviously isn't the same combo. It's a pretty, slightly spicy floral, but doesn't rev my engine as I hoped.

--I got my big birthday order yesterday (Saturday 10/21, 5 bottles! Woo!), which was held up for Pumpkin Queen. I the Lab because I think they threw in a couple of extra frimps, probably because the component issue of PQ held up the order. Worth the wait! It really perked up my week. I even got a frimp of Vice, which has been on my wishlist for forever and a day. --I have my current job for another week, then who knows? No one's given me a definite date. I called my previous job, and the HR staff supervisor said she was "thrilled" that I would return, but she had to "crunch some numbers" to make sure they can fit me in salary-wise. I was happy, then sad. I still have a bunch of friends there and the money was good, so I hope to hear something this week. --[minor rant]You know what's the worst about losing this job? Losing my laptop! I fell in love with this over the last 16 months -- I can sit wherever I want in the house, I can travel with it, I can stay online as long as I want even if DH wants to be on the main computer. I have the opportunity to buy it back after I leave for a good price, but Boss Lady said I have too much "importance" on it and she needs it after I leave. Nonononono! *hugs laptop in death grip* Hopefully I can get her husband to do a data transfer to her computer (he's the techie of the two) and then I can get Lappy back.

PQ is already reviewed! I've tried to immediately review all the bottles I get instead of procrastinating and then forgetting. Boss Lady said that I can leave Lappy on Friday and she swears her husband will do the data transfer that weekend and I could pick it up right after. *whew!*

In bottle: buttery BPAL-ly pumpkin, which smells like fresh-baked bread to me On skin: wow, the orange really pops on this one. It's not super-sweet like juice, it's more tart with the peel. The pumpkin's hanging out in the background, just chillin' yo Half-hour later: the ginger is a really nice combination with the orange peel. I don't know why the pumpkin turns out so strong on me, but the citrussy zip keeps it zippy instead of bakery In conclusion: I bought the Pumpkin Patch last year and liked the first 3 (cider, cocoa and pomegranate) a lot more than the other 2 (sandalwood and woods & ivy). I guess I like the "foody" pumpkin blends more, as they seem to meld together better. The Queen is a beautiful melange of pumpkin with the orange and ginger. Worth a bottle!

In bottle: creamy butterscotch-caramel (what's the difference? I love them both) On skin: blast of butterscotch, then lots of tumbling apples with creamy sweet butterscotch underneath Half-hour later: as long as I keep my wrist away, it's a heady creamy blend, like Miskatonic U. with apples instead of coffee. Up close, unfortunately, the coconut is stronger and tends to smell fake to me. It's not overpowering though -- the apples and caramel are great in the forefront In conclusion: Creepy needs room to move and groove; it isn't a sniff-up-close blend that works on me. But I thought the same about Spooky and I love my 2004 bottle the more I have it, and I can see that happening with Creepy too. I'm glad I have a bottle

In bottle: apple cider. Can I drink this? I shouldn't On skin: lots of rolling tumbling apples; no big surprise from the sniff from the bottle Half-hour later: mmm, still lots of apples, but they're diluted with something watery floating on top which must be the cranberries. This keeps it really interesting, not too sweet or potpourri-y. This is the grown-up punch at the Halloween party -- apples and cranberries with vodka In conclusion: I love the Halloween scents -- my favorite time of year, and my favorite bunch of LEs. I'll be wearing this one a lot this season

In bottle: slight woody incense On skin: the woody incense is there for only a flash, then it's a real jumble of florals Half-hour later: still lots of floral with a woody undertone, like a bouquet sitting on a rustic chest. Neither the florals nor the incensey nag champa is overpowering, it's a nice combination In conclusion: this is like a more floral Hellion to me. It seems more feminine than the name implies -- I wanted something more masculine and drug-addled

Hee! You probably made that guy's day, flashing a bit of skin

You're adorable! And us short girls have to stick together. Footstools unite! We don't get much of an autumn here, so thanks for the orangey pumpkin pic!

I like reading everyone else's first impressions too, and then I get excited when reviews start popping up. You hit it on the head (har!) when you said BPAL challenges our minds to sniff and savor and experience. Writing a review is like a brain-teaser, trying to describe how something smells

I've been feeling a bit down and out-of-sorts lately with the job situation, so this big update is a nice distraction. I waffled on 13 -- I bought a bottle of the 2005 original and while it was nice, I ended up swapping it away. I think it was the iris at the end that made it not as enjoyable. Anyway, the reformulation was tempting enough so it's been ordered. I can't believe there are Yule bottles available! I tried Jacob's Ladder at a Meet-n-Sniff and didn't like it as much as I thought I would -- unfortunately I haven't found an amber blend I love yet. Stardust has a great description, but I tried it and it's not something I would ever wear regularly. I already have bottles of Lick It and Midnight Mass. Here are the new ones I'm interested in: Haloa -- I'm all over any reference to wine, but the "cakey" note hasn't been working on me lately Jolasveinar -- snow and dirt sound intriguing and different, and with pastries in the background? Weird! Knecht Ruprecht -- more snow, this time with fruit trees, but if "Black Forest" means pine in any fashion it won't be good for me Krampus -- this one sounds like a lot of fun, but the black leather scents come out too processed and "city," if that makes any sense. I like the leather of Dead Man's Hand (and Quincey Morris, from the reviews). We'll see Snow-Flakes -- I'm anxiously awaiting the hopeful return of Snow White, so hopefully this isn't a substitute, but it sounds nice anyway Sol Invictus -- this sounds a lot like Litha (great!) and Et Lux Fuit (OK), so I'll check the reviews Yule -- I had a bottle of Yuletide which was good but not great. Too much Krafty Korner craft store smell. This one might be a bit more complex Phoo, that's a lot. The new GCs I'm interested in are: Mania -- the musk blends have really been nice lately. Smut totally changed my perspective Horreur Sympathique -- wow, so many great ingredients, I can't wait to start reading reviews of this one

I've never jumped in a decant circle, and that seems like a good way to try a bunch of the huge LE updates without buying every bottle. And Beth's little sidenote is what probably convinced me to retry 13 Thanks for the encouragement too! Boss Lady said that this coming week will probably be it for me. But I'll be calling the old job on Monday to let them know and hopefully they'll bite. Things should get interesting!

Congratulations! Those digital thermostats rock hard -- we had one installed a year or two ago and you can tell it to keep the A/C or heat down when no one's home during the day, and normal on evenings and weekends. Hooray for micromanaging your thermostat!