olympia301

OK, more Ignorant Science:

I think the likelihood of glass breaking when going from cold to warm temps has a lot to do with: the type of glass it is, how thick it is, how disparate the temps are, whether it gets shaken or treated gently.

I bet that most small glass bottles which are fairly thick are pretty resistant to breaking after being in the cold. How's that for a definitive statement.

I'm not a scientist, but I have a Bachelor's Degree in Science which makes me pure B.S.

Hmmm, ok...here's the $64,000 question: if BPAl is an oil, and it freezes at much lower temps than water then--what about the expansion?

The reason why I ask is that the problems of breakage come in when the contents freeze and expand and break the container. That is a problem. It seems to me (from emperical evidence*) that fats and oils "freeze" that is become solid, but they don't seem to expand like water based things do. If the oils don't degrade during the freeze/thaw cycle, no harm is done.

Am I right, or am I wrong. I am curious, that's for sure.

*aka What I Have Seen

Yeah, I can't see it freezing as it's oil in an oil which is hard to freeze. I think it gets thick but does not actually freeze solid. I think it would have to be made of water to have that happen. High school kitchen physics.

Black Opal and Antique Lace. Both of those are really worth giving up a chunk of your soul for if you like musk+vanilla. Be damned, but smell good!

or

This is a straaaaaaaaaange smell indeed. It almost defies description. It reminds me of the smell of some fabrics and I can't really say it smells like any flowers or resins or herbs I have ever sniffed. It's kind of like an old perfume, and I mean that in a good way, then it sort of reminds me of perfume on someone else's skin. It's very warm smelling, I would not say it's exactly cozy. For all its oddness, it's nice but I would use it as a ritual oil and not try to get an alluring "good smell" out of it.

Some people have said it's soapy, I can see that...it smells like some liquid base soaps I have sniffed. Does it work? I would say that I haven't taken it on a road test, and frankly I am not looking for anyone. But this one smells like it could be some powerful ju-ju.

Deep, dark, musky-down and manly, Czernobog is for strong hearted men only. It is a BIG dose of musk and vetiver, a big jolt of red musk right in the middle, I detect a civety edge here and a whiff of menthol or some sort; a little will go a long way. It makes you smell warm and sexy all right, and dear God this stuff lasts. So proceed with caution but without trepidation. It's a wonderful scent and I would love to smell this on a guy. I'm a bit too fem for it, but that's just me. In this case I would rather recieve than give, and I think of it as Hyper Snake Oil for guys. It's yummy.

Plum is the first scent to catch my attention, followed closely by jasmine. another beautiful floral scent delicate but long lasting. I would again recommend this one to the flower lovers out there. It puts you in the frame of mind of the fox woman who goes about performing dastardly deeds on unsuspecting gentlemen. It is bright and attractively assuming but it isn't my scent so I will have to let this one go. Could be my chemistry or my sniffiness regarding florals but I am sure it will be popular with other BPALers out there and not languish from lack of admirers.

A frimp from the Lab. A very floral mix dominated by gardenia on my skin. One I would recommend to the flower lover BPAL fan. I would say white flowers, but in such a mix that it is hard to pick out the single flower notes in Eternal other than the gardenia.

This seems to be one of Beth's earlier blends, I say that because the first review was from March of 2004. I find this a simple scent and one that would fit with a virginal type of woman or, on the other end of the spectrum, one who was a real Goth type with a predeliction to the funereal aspect of their lifestyle.

In my own tastes, I think the the Lab has evolved way past Eternal in their approach to scent but I have to say that Eternal is indeed a good blend in the journey to the place where we are now.

Whoever said that Ravenous reminded them of Hunger, I second that emotion. Really close but gorgeous in their own way, like Hollywood Babylon is to Snake Oil.

Ravenous might be billed as feral, but I take Hunger as the more feral of the two owing to the Black Narcissus in it. That is sort of stinky and civety. Ravenous doesn't have that stinky edge (which is pervertedly lovely by the way) but it does keep the deep sweetness owing to the grand red musk and perhaps patchouli. Orange really shines in Ravenous like it can't in Hunger.

I love this blend. It would be an excellent Hunger in the summer, but it's not bad in the winter. It lasts very well and I think it's next in line for a 5ml order. Thanks to the lab for sending me this sweet treat.

To Follow Up:

After dabbing Ravenous on last night and going to bed with it on and waking up still able to smell that gorgeous fabulous enticing scent, I am in mad passionate irrational degrading love with Ravenous. I adore it. I would happily lie face down in the gutter reeking of Ravenous, but I don't think that will be necessary.

I love this blend.

And Furthermore...

Funny that some people would talk about Ravenous and Karma (Lush) together. I see Ravenous as what Karma should have been. To me Karma always reminded me of the soap at Motel 6. I have been gifted with it by a multiplicity of kind hearted Lushies, always to privately think "Motel 6" every time I smell the damned stuff. I had to end up throwing away the soap sample I got because I was scared that I would look out the bathroom window and see Big Rigs parked outside in a field of weeds and a big honking highway full of fast travelling cars and that LONELY feeling you get when you are in the motel room. It's when you start thinking you hear the crunch of the ice machine and smell the bleach in the background that it's time to throw away that soap...it's driving you to road rage, girlfriend.

Pinier and less aquatic than Nuclear Winter, the two share a chilly background of mint-like notes which I think have more to do with fir than fur here in Snow Bunny. If Nuclear Winter was ultimately solemn, Snow Bunny is as giddy as its name. More of an upbeat Skadi with a big smile plastered to its face, I sort of smell candy in the background, the kind of peppermint and sugar which we all sneak at this time of year.Maybe there is a hint of orange or tangerine peel, this is the time for good citrus and good times. Snow Bunny delivers both to my nose. I really like this wintery scent and I'm not much on fir or mintiness and I go slow on orangy things, but Beth has brought them together so well that I have to say I'm glad I went in for this frivolous Yule treat. I'd also like to say that there is a pleasantly perfumy note to Snow Bunny which keeps it from being too Herbal Earth Shack, so it's something you would wear rather than just keep and look at. Nice stuff.

I agree with slave1. This is one for the rose lover only. It's a cross between the dry classic rose of London and the to-the-wall strength of Rose Red. Long lasting and heady, diluted by nothing and pure as an aspect of Love, Peacock Queen is wonderful. It radiates, is long lasting, and just plain gorgeous. Not overwhelming as Rose Red can be but with more throw than London usually gives. I smell greenery down in the depths of the blend, and that is what gives it a personality. I am glad I got this one for Yule.

A strange perfumy minty-like scent with quite a few florals and very aquatic. I can't sign up entirely for mint such as: peppermint, spearmint, catmint. It's more of a member of the mint family here to my nose, a pennyroyal or some kind of medicinal smelling lavender rather than suck-on-a-candy-cane mint. Then there is the huge aquatic note with its attendent perfume edge. I think I remember this from Yog-Sothoth. I get that green component (could that be green radioactivity?) mmm, green glowing snow! Don't eat it, and stay away from the yellow snow, too.

This paints a good picture of a nuclear winter, frigid and barren with things growing from anothe part of the spectrum or a parrallel universe pushing weeds over to our side. I think it's a good performance peice, I don't think that anyone can paint a portrait in scent as well as Beth can.

Sorry that this one isn't for me, but I am very happy I got to try it and it made for a facinating Yule package.

This stuff should be illegal! Straight out of the bottle it is so powerful it will melt your nasal cartilage. It is the most concentrated rose scent on earth and you MUST give it room and air space to settle in or you risk a heart attack on the spot.

Once dry it radiates like roses in a greenhouse, the scent captured by still air, and the greenery surrounding it mixing with the smell of the blossoms.

This is a buxom rose, one which has reached its maximum powers of allurement, full of enchantment, beguiling and almost heart stopping.

One of the prettiest and driest of the dragon's blood scents, orris is the perfect compliment and unexpected. I would never have thought to put the two together, but they should have been a force long ago. This blend stays for hours on your skin and makes dragon's blood sophisticated and sexy rather than that obvious component in the blend. If you like dragon's blood, try this blend out.

The biggest note here is lavender. Very pleasant, with just a kiss of jasmine, and a sort of a small fruit scent in the background to keep the lavender from getting too ponderous. Perhaps I smell vanilla in this blend, but waaaay in the background. When I put my hand further from my nose, I get the fruit and jasmine much more strongly, they do outdo the lavender quickly and make for a winsome combination. As it settles down on your skin the lavender takes a back seat, and it becomes the agent for harmony, as a skilled hand will get lavender to do.

I have been told that this TAL is for aiding creativity and it does smell like the kind of thing that would clear out all of the day's demands and help you listen to that part of your soul which can dream up things you would love to do.

Hymn to Pan is only spoken of once in a while, in hushed tones of reverence. Happy I got to try it. Now I think I'll go off and paint!

Well, pirates, this one is a fair representation of seafaring wenches. I smell the creosote and salt spray in here, and a waft of wickedness upon the high seas. Patchouli from India, a sort of stony scent, aquatics. It adds up to a hearty exotic blend which will have you thinking of head shops and the fun you had therein. It's a good scent, and for the earthy folk on the forum, I can certainly see how it has won a place in hearts. It isn't for me, but I would recommend it with vigor for those who want to put in at Hispaniola. Arrrr.

Lots of jasmine, very aquatic (how fitting), calm, a bit sentimental, this is like a horoscope reading in scent. Though it's not me, I can see how the hopeless romantic, with the easily broken heart, a fine psi ability, and the uncanny gift of picking up on other people's thoughts could love this one forever.

The king is my favorite of the entire card royalty. He reminds me a great deal of Perversion, but he isn't as pungent and doesn't try to impress you with coconut, though it is definitely in there. I can't see the vanilla, though it may be overwhelmed by the rest of the strong scent in this one, but I can get woods from The King, and that makes it a most attractive blend. He is much more attractive and suave than the Queen, and I wasn't expecting that. This one is a real keeper. There is something in turns grapey and green about this scent which leaves it in the masculine territory, though not so much as would cause me not to buy it if it ever came up again.

I wanted to love this one as I love the name and the concept. Alas, it was not to be. Redolent with jasmine, with a bitter almond fanfare announcing the entrance of that jasmine. Oh, at first I thought I would really like Luna. what a neat combination, so rarely done! But then tragedy struck, it turned on my skin like a snake and that wasn't good for my head.

I would recommend this to jasmine fans, aquatic fans, and those who are hopelss romantics. This could be your Holy Grail. That almond opener is just inspired, and it's still original as it can be. My loss.

Jasmine for the most part in the mix, along with the juniper berry, and the rose geranium, and I get an impression of lavender in it all.It smells very "home made" to me. That can be charming, but I prefer the scents that say "I was made by a pro" rather than something that reminds me of my own best attempts on the kitchen table. Somehow I always always got lavender when I tried to mix scents myself. Sad to say, that has become the Scent of Chagrin to me. Means I didn't do it right, and I am sorry to say that association is rubbing off on Ligeia.

Please excuse the icon name misspelling. I got an imp to try from a kind forumite and they misspelled the name of this blend on the label. I didn't catch it until I had made up the icon and was searching the forum for the reviews of this scent. I would go back to fix it but I doubt that it will get much comment, so I am letting myself off the hook. There is a butterfly with the name of Ligea, hence the icon.

Yuki-Onna should never touch my skin. First it stunk then it turned into cheap lemon scent. This one was a total wash out on me, but it might be great on someone who loved things like O and whose skin chemistry was suitable to wear with ultra jasmine.

I did think of this, it reminded me of a prototype of Whitechapel, which is one of my all time favorites.

I am so sorry I missed this one when it was available. Such a great scent.

First, I smell almonds and cherries, then a comforting almost mint like backwash (which reminds me of a similar tone in Harvest Moon 2005 but sharper in Harvest Moon). Something wheaty, nut like, cinnamon-esque, apple. The smells of the harvest of August. Though all of these are exciting scents, there is a dreamy component to Lughnasadh as it should be. Very sexy in a vibrant earth way. It eventually adds up to a perfumy smell but with enough "naturals" to make you at peace with it.

Lughnasadh is a beautiful scent and if it ever comes back I am going to snag a lot of it.

The icon is the "Green Man" a symbol of the bounty of the earth, and a proper icon for Lughnasadh which is the feast of the first (summer) harvest when the great fruitings were gathered and the storing for winter started. It was a fertility feast accompanied by lots of sexy behavior, eating and drinking and merriment.

Menthol, vetiver, eucolyptus. Dark and rooty but with stone smell. Perhaps I am smelling lime underneat the stone. This is not a "feel good" scent of the year, but it certainly does capture what I like about the god Pluto and the planet whirrling out there so very far away.

there is something of a wild beauty in the background. Whatever it is, I don't know. Could it be a nod to the idea that Pluto, that lovesick dark entity finally did snag Persephone from the sunny earth and could keep her for 6 months, to brighten his life just a little? Or is it a homage to be intense glory we will never know first hand of the last of our planets to be discovered?

I am happy I got to try this one. It is heavy with dragon's blood which gives it sweetness and I think I can smell the juniper in it and something woody as well. This one isn't me but it is a well blended scent that smells very natural and charming.