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BPAL Madness!

izile

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Everything posted by izile

  1. izile

    Beautiful and Adored

    I'm having a harder time smelling this one out of the bottle. Not sure if it's because it's milder than my other stuff, or if it's because I've got the hot tea and honey out for the beginnings of a little one-sided congestion and post-nasal drip. In the bottle: very light, very powdery, hard to smell much behind a little sweet, a little soft and a little rose Wet: hasn't gotten much stronger, starting to remind me of Dawn: Maiden - which is a favorite, but how similar are they?? Dry: Definitely reminding me of Dawn: Maiden with the rose and honey. I will want to come back and try this again when my nose is 100% (I'd say I'm 75-80% right now) and do a death-match to see how close it is to Dawn: Maiden when one's on the left wrist and the other is on the right.
  2. izile

    Yellow Snowballs

    LOVE! In the bottle: I get really sharp bright lemon up front, but not like lemon pledge or lemon dish soap, like good lemon ZEST. There's some sweetness behind it, a little cool mint, but big lemon up front. Wet: More balanced, I'm aware of the vanilla cream more, but not overly vanilla. There's a bit of cool to it, but not really icy. More like Pink Snowballs than Nuclear Winter. Dry: Love love love. I have bright bright citruses with a snowy/cool background and a good balance.
  3. izile

    Crypt King

    In the Bottle: Very juicy and pomegranate and fruity with a kind of cologne back. Wet: Almost immediately the pomegranate and fruit/juice starts to fade and oak and baby powder start coming forward on me. I did test this on the fella, and while it was wet on him, it stayed very juicy and fruity, the cologne-y part just got a lot stronger. Dry: Almost entirely baby powder on me, maybe a little oakyness to the baby powder, but that's pretty much it. On him, the juice started turning really sour smelling, no oak or other woodsy notes, just like bad cologne had turned or pomegranate juice got old and went sour. Dry HOURS later: Several hours later it smells like a pomegranate version of Cykranoshian Catnip. It's got a very similar woodiness, hint of something "spicy" but not "spices" like cinnamon or clove or nutmeg, and a pomegranate edge. Took a long time for it to turn decent on me, but I still get too much baby powder to want to keep this one around, esp. since it goes wonky on the fella and it is definitely a more masculine scent to me.
  4. Anyone ever found a BPAL that was like Lush's Turkish Delight? I love the smell (kind of candied lemon and roses) but it doesn't really linger the way I'd like.
  5. izile

    What BPAL would this fictional character wear?

    Thanks for the suggestions! My friend plays a character that's kinda a halfway point between those two, and I've been trying to enable him. Testing and testing and so far the only thing that works on him is the Ninth Cage. 0_o. Weird.
  6. izile

    What BPAL would this fictional character wear?

    Fun! I like the idea of 10 being Schroedinger's Cat! (I don't like banana) Other fandom questions 1) Darth Maul 2) Ring Wraith and man, I wish I could request for someone to find out what the RPG Neutral (maybe chaotic) Elven Rogue combo smells like. Somehow hasn't shown up on the review list yet.
  7. izile

    Pine and Evergreen goodness

    Hmm, going to bump this thread 'cause it seems very close. Met a new guy, things going well, he has a LOT of commercial colognes. trying to tempt him away into the land of BPAL, at least for some options. Unfortunately, the notes he seems to like are the ones I avoid (but they do smell good on him). He likes pine, evergreen woods, and aquatics, kinda in that order. I guess I should really find out the names of the colognes he owns so that might give people who at least know about commercial stuff a better idea. I think the other day he was wearing something by Issey Miyake. Thoughts for particularly light/fresh/clean pine? (to me, a lot of BPAL's pine scents have been exceedingly dark, sappy, and heavy)
  8. izile

    Halloween: New Orleans

    Another very surprising one to me. In this one, I expected watery aquatic notes. But all I get is lemon pledge. It went on wet as WOW LEMON! it is now dry as slightly dusty lemon pledge. I love New Orleans and used to spend a lot of time there as a sophomore in college, and this is too bright and clean and not at all watery and way all too lemony for the New Orleans I remember.
  9. izile

    Halloween: Brooklyn

    I have to admit, I was a little surprised/confused when I compared the note description to what I smell. The first thing that jumps out at me is the aquatic nature. It's very clean, but definitely aquatic. As it fades, it becomes a little more flowery, but trees/woods I never smelled. Water when wet, soft flowers when dry.
  10. izile

    Dawn: Maiden

    I had wanted to skin test all the Dawn scents at D*Con, but Dawn: Maiden was the one that screamed "TAKE ME HOME!" No death-notes like the Priestess, not sharp, bordering on acric like Mother, Dawn: Maiden was just lovely from start to finish. In the bottle, I'm reminded of a slighly fruity version of "The Rose." I know there's no fruit notes listed, but many actual roses do have fruit-like notes, and there was a light hint of that to this rose. I couldn't smell much of anything else in the bottle. Wet on the skin, it becomes a bit more complex, it's sweet, but not at all smelling of "honey" the way the recent apiary scents do, or like "O" or other honey scents have, to me. It reminds me of the honey in Lady Una most. The rose starts to get some friendliness from the other flowers, there's something kind of sunny smelling, I assumed it was the heliotrope, though, in retrospect, the sweetness could have also been to do with the honeysuckle. Dry, it lasts for hours, has a good throw, and I smelled of sweet - but not at all candy-like - roses with a hint of fruitiness that lingers. The "milk" note never showed up on me, and I can't say I ever smelled an olive blossom to know if it were there or not. The guy I was with kept smelling me and telling me how nice it was. Bonus. It was great for the Steampunk Ball, too.
  11. izile

    Outdoor Events

    It's July 4th. I'm throwing a cookout in my backyard. . . I have 4 hours to figure out what BPAL to wear! ACK! Last time, my natural inclination was to go along with the kind of clean, crisp, plant-y thing and I wore Enchanted Florists, but it was just so soft it completely disappeared. I am also considering starting with a Snake Oil Bath Oil base (as there may or may not be persons unmentioned at this gathering whom I might want to smell very yummy to). ---- Also, may start going on weekly picnics to see movies in the park with a guy friend whom I know LOVES my BPAL habit. I've ALMOST got him enabled, so suggestions for that too. Basically, what do you wear/suggest when you know you're mostly going to be outside, and possibly around a lot of people?
  12. izile

    Magnolia scents wanted.

    I like both Yvaine and Josie for magnolia, but they go in two completely different directions. The lavender in Yvaine can be very strong (well, mine's probably a couple of years old, too, so it might be aged yvaine is very lavender strong). Josie is probably my absolute favorite, the balance of slightly honey-sweetened peaches with the magnolia is just so very evocative. I wear it when I want to be reminded of home (Mississippi).
  13. izile

    Cykranoshian Catnip

    This reminds me of a lot less orange version of Knick-Knack. In the bottle, i was really excited. It's dusty/mossy tree bark with a spicy-orange kind of smell. On my skin, I'm not very aware of the orange at all. It's very cedar-y. Spicy wood, warm, still a little dusty-mossy-barky. But oranges? They're booking it out the back, high-tailing for the hills and I'm not sure they'll come back. This might be a very good scent for a guy. But, it's different enough and pleasant enough that I'm not going to put it out to swap anytime soon.
  14. izile

    Yew Berry Infused Honey

    wet.. . weird. . . it almost immediately reminds me of that woody-forest note used in the Winter seasonal LEs. . . except. . . cinnamon, red hot cinnamon candy (am I insane?) it's like if those candies grew on a tree, this would be that tree. drying, the honey is trying to assert balance, but I'm not sure if it's going to be able to. It is a very dry spicy scent, I agree with saralaughs there. It's nice, but I'm not really a cinnamon wearing girl, so off to the swap pile it goes.
  15. izile

    Jerusalem Cherry Infused Honey

    wet: oh, I agree, very sharp and green and herbacious! Not really tomato-plant-y as something more wild and non-edible. as it's drying I'm still waiting for the honey. . maybe a little bit of sweetness in the background as it's drying down. But very little. It's kinda nice . I smell like I've been tending my garden, as I should.
  16. izile

    Durian Fruit Infused Honey with Brandy

    Wet this smells almost identical to Suck It, to me. As it's drying, the honey is coming out more, but the "fruit+brandy" aspect smells just like Suck It to me.
  17. izile

    The Aurora Spaceship Takes a Dive

    I had really wanted this to work. Even though I'm not entirely familiar with all of the notes as scents on their own. In the bottle it did smell kind of omni-floral, though I got no hints of flaming windmills or anything like that. Just light (not at all magnolia) mixed wildflower bouquette. On me. . dishwashing soap. Full power, that's all she wrote. I've never gotten the dishwashing soap reaction to a skintest before, so I wonder what caused it. But yup, hours later, it smells like I'm doing dishes. Disappointed.
  18. izile

    Roses, Pearls, and Diamonds

    The reviews had me excited when this showed up as a surprise frimp at my door. In the imp it smells like lovely green roses, like The Rose, but there's something tempering it, giving it a smoother, almost creamy edge. It's probably coconut, but it's not really "hey! I'm coconut!" or anything like that. Wet - very rosey but starts to morph fast. . . . changes to baby powder, all the time (damn those musks). Dry - I smell like a giant bottle of Johnson and Johnson baby powder. Nothing but. Dry - much later - I slathered as I ran out the door for work, so I wasn't able to wash it off, I just figured I'd cope and smelling like baby powder, while not enjoyable for me, isn't a *bad* smell. It took a couple of hours, but the rose is starting to fight back. I haven't quite made my mind up on this one yet. I like the rose note, and it is balancing. . . but it's balancing with. . . baby powder? maybe slightly coconut hinted baby powder? maybe? (snuffling my arm, currently) no, no coconut, juust baby powder, with a touch of rose.
  19. izile

    Musk free scents?

    I feel your pain. . . I don't mind the smell of musks, but my skin chemistry turns almost all musks straight into Baby-Powder-of-Doom, which means, the perfume has to go. So, I avoid anything with musk in it as much as possible (and it's really hard, because it's one of the most frequently used notes in BPAL, it seems.) Some musk free scents I've had really good luck with: Josie - honey peaches and magnolia Bon Vivant - Strawberry and champagne Persephone - roses and pomegranates Shattered - champagne, grapefruit, lotus, mint and aquatic flowers. Delirium - apple, rose, lemon The Hesperides - oak bark, apples, greenery - smells *just* like a real apple orchard Lightning - ozone, rain, "marine notes" Swank - pomegranate martini Les Fleurs du Mal - rose, lilac, wisteria Akuma - Blood orange, neroli, raspberry Marie - violet and tea rose Carnal - Mandarin and fig Whip - rose and leather Jester - huckleberry, neroli and red currant Elegba - coconut, tobacco, sugared rum Obatala - milk, coconut, shea butter, water The Rose - smell just like a real-life, green, fresh, rose bush Prunella - plums, wildflowers and cream
  20. izile

    Recommend for fruity floral?

    Some of my favorites are Fruit+Floral simple blends. Josie is definitely one of my all-time favorites. peaches, magnolia, it's perfection! I also like, though it's got a different mood to it, Persephone (roses and pomegranate) Strawberry Moon '09 is another absolute favorite and maybe Prunella, if you're OK with a cream note, but I like the fresh plums and slightly herby/green wild flower smell together.
  21. Just checking to ask what kind of response time or response I might be expecting: I ordered 3 bottles on Jan 31st, after paypal stopped sending them email addresses, but before they had warned us about that change here on the forum, so I knew I wouldn't get a Click-n-Ship or anything like that. Today the package arrived but it contained 5 bottles, none of which are the ones I ordered - obviously someone else's dearly awaited order. I wrote an email, but I don't think I've ever had an issue before, so I don't know how long it will take to correct the issue, what the response will be, etc. I guess I'm also worried, since the paypal change, I included the paypal order number with the original information and order in my email, but they won't have my email on file for that order, so? I hope that won't matter? Little bit fretful. There's no chance they could have run out of the Candle Moon and I just won't get mine because of the mix-up + delay, is there? (not so worried about the other bottles, just I know the Lunacies are only available for such a short period of time). --------------- Edit: Got a reply the same day! Said they would have the new package out ASAP! Yeah! No mention of running out of Candle Moon or anything else my worried, fevered imagination was cooking up!
  22. I do not believe single variety rose essential oils exist because of the great quantity of roses needed to make even a little of the essential oil (it's extremely expensive). I believe Damascus Rose is the standard for most EOs. The scent of roses varies wildly, but has very little to do with color. (The smell or a red tea rose will vary wildly from the scent of a red modern hybrid from a red old English, and even then, different breeds of red old English roses will have different scents completely independent one from the other.) My belief is that when BPAL lists a rose by color, that they have created a bouquet by blending other oils together to give the impression and feeling that they associate with rose and the color they are picturing in their mind. Like, you might think that black roses would be extremely potent, with dark musky notes, and would want to use component oils to lend to that idea [even though "black" roses (only extremely dark red or purple, real black doesn't exist) tend to be modern hybrids and therefore, have been bred for looks over smell and frequently have barely any scent at all], meanwhile, you would think that a white rose might be extremely light and ghostly and try and capture more of a fleeting and light feel to the scent, while some old English white roses are potent enough to cast their fragrance for dozens of yards.
  23. izile

    Scurvy v1

    Ow, I wanted this one so badly after reading some of the reviews, and finally traded off for half an imp. In the imp: beautiful bright limes with what could be a little vanilla sugar in the background, very faint. *swoon* LOVE! Wet: Wonderful! sweetened limes, but still sharp and citrusy and acidic with that lingering warmness somewhere in the background. Dry: OMGWTF HAPPENED??!!?! No limes, no citrus, what is this smell? it's horrible! It's giving me a headache, it's powdery and cloyingly sweet and *weeps* dammit!
  24. izile

    The Black Temple Burlesque Troupe

    I had been scared away from this one because of the black musk (musks 99.9% of the time = Baby Powder of Doom), but I kept reading great reviews and got a tiny tester. Smelled lovely in the imp, like rich, dark, unsweetened cocoa powder from some really exotic, gourmet purveyor. Wet: like cocoa powder in one of those *nice* tobacco stores Dry: Baby Powder of Doom with a hint of cocoa *sighs*
  25. izile

    Peach, Peach Blossom, Apricot, Nectarines

    I was just going to say - Woah! No one's mentioned Josie?? (possibly my new favorite, and definitely the first oil I've gotten and gone "WOW! PEACHES!!") Unfortunately, London, I've never smelled Algaea or Katharina, so I can't say how it compares to those two. However, Josie is lovely, succulent, fresh, ripe, southern peaches. I only get a little drizzle of honey, just to amp the sweetness. But the Magnolia is a major contender and needs to be considered. If you are iffy or are not that fond of Magnolia, I think Josie would not be a good idea. I love Magnolia (reminds me of home) and Josie is very well balanced so I adore it absolutely!
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