emzebel

The amazingly wonderful heartbeast gifted me with a bottle of this, and I simply cannot thank her enough - this is a simply gorgeous blend. The rose is soft and alluring, but not so much as to be overpowering and the resins are spicy and sweet and almost edible. I would never have pinned this as "floral" from the bottle or on my skin, which is what steered me away from ordering it off the bat.

 

Absolutely delightful!

This is a sweet creamy fig on me - definitely figgy, but not overwhelming. Strangler Fig is actually what I had hoped Eden might be before the greenery got all out of control - soft and creamy, with a darker undernote that keeps it from being truly *sewwt* or foody.

 

I really like this and can see it making its way to my bottle list.

Roses are one of the florals scents that I tend to like and often seek out (along with lily and lotus these days). And I adore Dragon's Blood and tend to like how Beth uses it in her blends, so I had high hopes for Blood Rose as an ocassional sweet floral imp scent, if not necessarily an OMG, must have big bottle scent.

 

Alas, there is something almost too syrupy about this for me. The rose does not blend quite right with the DB to my nose and it is just too...powdered rose syrup on my skin. Ah well. You win some, you loose some.

Death Cap grows like its namesake, starting with an earthy push of soil, and developing into a colorful, resinous, almost sweet warm umbrella of scent.

 

There is just enough earthen scent here to make the soil lovers happy, I think, but not so much as to be overly scary for those of use who like a warmer spicy scent. This is definitely the smell of something flora and natural though. I am falling maddly in love with it, and it is definitely on the big bottle list.

Does anyone know if the new additions to Excolo (the Orisha in particular) have fancy shmancy labels?

 

They are the same as the GC, except for under the name of the scent, it reads in RED ink: orisha blend and the usual BPAL at the bottom (in red also). And, the label is outlined in white. Also, the Shango I rec'd was in a amber bottle.

 

Actually, the Orishas seem to differ in the accent color depending on the blend - Osun is in yellow, Ogun is green, Yemaya is (I think) blue, but I may be remembering her wrong...but the main difference is the hint of color for "Orisha Blend".

 

All of my bottles last order, including four non-Orishas, were amber, so it may just be the current run of bottles for those.

Very very melony with an herbal, almost musky backdrop. As others have noted, this is somewhat similar to Fee, and just as beautiful to my reckoning, but in a different way. There is something almost aking to Fruit Moon in this to my nose, but with a little more depth and interest from the non-fruity notes. And like many of the Orishas, there is something about Yemaya that I find very comforting, deep to my bones.

The Orishas and I are getting on well, and Osun is no exception. On me she is HONEY. Very heavy, exotic, herbal pollen laced honey. This is not the pedestrian clover honey you buy in a plastic bear at the supermarket, oh no. This is wild honey from a farmstand along a country road. If you've read "The Secret Life of Bees", this is Black Madonna Honey.

 

I love what Beth does with honey. I love what Beth does with herbs. So it is no great surprise to me that Osun sings to me with a song of comfort and joy and great and sonderous beauty. This blend is the wonderful herbal pollen laced blend that I had so hoped that Honey Moon would be. It wraps me in comfort just to snif it. It calms of to slip it on my skin.

Mmm. Sweet spicy plum. I love plum. The only reason I didn't order a bottle of this right off was I was already ordering two bottles with plum notes and it seemed like overkill, but this is going on the bottle list.

 

...I feel like I should say more, but really, sweet spicy plum really covers it on my skin. And, frankly, that's quite lovely for me.

My first reaction to Obatala - why oh why didn't I just order a bottle right off the bat. I want to slather this like I've never slathered before.

 

Obatala is fresh and creamy. On my skin, the coconut is subtle and not overtly tropical (I don't feel like a walking tropical drink wearing this) and while I can see the comparisons to Milk Moon, which I love, it is different to me - lighter, with a hint of something almost spicy or herbal, not as cloying and a little more wearable.

My first thought with Holiday Moon was "Ooh, citrus tea! I love it!" On the drydown, it becomes a little more woody, almost dusty - not something I will wear regularly, probably, but I think it will be a lovely hot scorching summer blend.

Before the updates I had my doubts about Peony Moon, because I'm just noy a huge floral gal, but when I saw the notes and how similar they were to Budding Moon, which I adore, I had to go for it. (Well, actually, I would have bought it anyway, but I had high hopes for it!)

 

In the bottle, Peony Moon smells like a slightly drier, sharper, more precisely floral close relation to Budding Moon. On my skin, for the first few hours, what I suspect must be the peony, drowns out most everything else on my. I can smell hints of the plum blossom but very little of the woody notes.

 

A few hours into it now, the florals have backed off a bit and this is a more girly pink scent to my nose - very pretty, but I'm not sure yet if it's quite me.

Don't worry, although my first thought was SQUEE as well, in the big pics, they don't look at all confusingly similar.

 

Although that would be an *awesome* cobranding opportunity, if anyone knows Johonen...

As Macha said, only the Lab Rats know for sure, however, I have ordered with both CC Now and PayPal and I've been at both the front and the back of the line with both methods.

 

If I had to wager a guess in your situation, the volume of your current order is probably the cause of any hold up, because a lot of Peony Moon CnS's still seem to be going out and, again, this is just my personal experience talking, large imp orders seem to take longer.

 

But, I can say that the only time I have been the first in a CnS received thread was with a PayPal order!

The first time I wore the Masque, I could have sworn that it smelled like bloody chocolate. Which was nice, but not what I was expecting.

 

Wearing it again, out and about (and at a different time of month), I can smell much more of the wonderful honey spicy depth that is this blend, and none of the cocoa I was so sure was here before (must have been the honey and cloves playing tricks on me).

 

This is lucious...similar to Luperci, but sweeter and closer and without the feral muskiness. I am really taken with this one.

Tried as part of the Discontinued Scent Circle.

 

This is one of those scents that I am glad that I've had a chance to try, just because I love the name and the concept (says the woman with a black widow tattoo). However, I've not been actively seeking it because of the fear that the jasmine would overwhelm the blend for me.

 

I actually love the scent of this blend - it is dark and alluring and just twisted enough to perfectly capture the essense of a black widow. Unfortunately, between the jasmine and the red wine, 15 minutes in and I just cannot wear it, as much as I like it. So I guess my chemistry is saving me from having to hunt down something painfully elusive.

I don't think so.

 

The thing about gift certificates is even though it seems like they should be really super simple, legally, they can be a PITA in terms of record keeping and tracking, and every state and country has their own laws about how and when their citizens GCs expire, revert to the state and the like. So while it seems like it should be really easy to just print up some pretty papers and ship them along, as some small localized business will, for a small but international business like BPAL, CGs could be an absolute nightmare.

First off, I have to confess that this little impsy was a serious bit of the draw for me in ordering the Parcel, although I probably would have broken down and done so anyway. 'Cause, well, I love me some liquor scents and Beth does them so well, and roses, while not my favorite floral scent to wear, are among those that I *can* wear. And, well, I was just curious to see what the twist was going to be, if there would be one...

In the vial, I mostly smell roses, with a slight liquor undertone. On my skin, it is definitely a rose scent, but these are not bright, fresh new rose blossoms. These are roses that have maybe been left in the vase for a day too long, or musty dried roses - not unpleasant, necessarily, but not in their prime.

The cognac is there, but not predominant for me, sadly.

I will say, though, that I do not get any obviously unpleasant odors from this, unlike some reviews I've seen elsewhere. I don't smell dirt or dead bodies or decay. Maybe I just lucked out in chemistry.

Oh, and the label is really cool.

Not being a lover of floral blends, I did not have high hopes for Budding Moon, until I read the description.

 

Being a great lover of Ms. Beth's plum blends, I had great hopes that I would at the very least like this, if not love it...and oh how I adore it.

 

On me, Budding Moon is a sweet fruity plum wine with a wash of spicy greenery. This is such a wonderful scent for deep winter to remind me that spring is in fact on its way.

I'm not really a big floral gal, and I really could not tell you what a lily smells like, but evidentially I like them!

 

Cobra Lily smells like a more pure floral base note from Al Araff, without the honey's spicy sweetness that suffused that blend. Instead, this is a very tart refreshing blend, that is not overtly flowery in a musty-powdery-perfumy sort of way, but is very pretty with just enough bite to appeal. I really do like this pretty little cobra...

Kali reminds me a lot of the backdrop that I love so much in Freak Show before the fig takes over - the tobacco and dark cocoa, with honey and wine notes giving Kali the sweetness that fig and tonka bring to Freak Show. The florals are sophistocated and moist in this without being overpowering. It is warm and spicy and tasty, but still almost subtle - I really really like this blend - I think it may be a new favorite.

Whooeee, this is sweet. This is actually a lot like what I expected Sugar Skull to smell like, but creamier. The creme brulee comparison is spot on.

 

Mitzvah is a little too sweet for my tastes. Wearing it almost made my teeth hurt, to be honest. I need a little fruit or something with my syrupy sweetness, I guess...

On me, Fee starts out almost all melon..melonmelonmelon.

 

But then, just as I was beginning to wonder what had happened to the other notes, this almost musky scent started coming out. I know musk isn't listed as a component, but that's what it smells like on me - musky melon. It is actually a pretty nifty little scent. I am looking forward to wearing this when it starts to get warmer, as I think it will be a wonderful warm weather scent for me, actually.

This smells almost exactly like Snow Bunny on me - lightly piney with a kick - which while pleasant enough is something of a disappointment, as I was hoping for lemons and peaches! But I guess while we can pick our perfumes, we cannot pick our skin chemistry.

 

Actually, to be fair, at first, it does smell very much like a sweet fruity tea, but dry, it is very much the blue-pine and frozen berry scent of Snow Bunny. Now, a few hours after I tries it, it is sweetening up a little more, actually, and the tea may be trying to make more of an appearance.

An immensely potent purification oil. Anoint your chakra points and palms with this oil, and anoint white figure candle, a personal fetish, or any other object representing you. Purges your soul of dark and morose thoughts, and vigorously cleanses away day-to-day irritation and misery. Helps relieve stress and anxiety, and clears your mind of ugliness and clutter.

 

I have been thinking of hunting down some White Light for some time. I've been going through a bit of a rolling rough patch and some mild depression and had received a couple of suggestions that it might help me see my way through it.

 

Through the wonderful kindness of an almost stranger, I was gifted with an imp of this at dinner the other night, while traveling for a job interview. I tucked it away in my film canister cum imp case, thanked my benefactor profusely, and went on.

 

24 hours later I felt like I had been hit by a truck. I'd been through 10 hours of intereviews, was completely unsure whether I had a chance at or even wanted the job, was feeling rather heartbroken about the whole deal, and facing a redeye back to the east coast.

 

So, sitting in the airport, I dabbed on some White Light. I rubbed my wrists together and inhaled deeply.

 

I immediately felt more centered, more open, less tethered by the angst and anxiety over things I could not control. I continued to inhale my wrists, breathing deeply and concentrating on releasing the negative energy until I boarded the plane. At which point, at the moment I was allowed to recline my seat, I dropped off to sleep and slept through until the landing announcement was made, with minimal disturbance.

 

I do not sleep well on planes.

 

I generally believe that for most part, oils such as White Light are primarily valuable as tools, for me, to help me focus my mond on what I know I need to do. The scent is very pleasant and relaxing to me, with the herbal base that I find common in almost every TAL I've tried and some floral and sharper herbal top notes that are nice enough. I have no desire to wear this as perfume or to use the oil as anything other than a tool as I've described - whether it has inherent power or not, it has properties which help me release the things I need to release, and that is hugely valuable to me right now.

 

Now I just need the TAL site to go live so I can get a bottle!

I had the opportunity to try just a tiny swipe of this at dinner with some wonderful forumites. Honestly, I was not expecting to love it, as Jack and the Pumpkin Patches, while fine, are not my favorite blends.

 

But Pumpkin King is something else alltogether.

 

It really is like a more pumpkiny version of Beth's autumn blends - very dark and rich and spicy, without that buttery note that I'm uncertain about in the other pumpkins. If I could get some of this without selling my firstborn, I would, but I'm rather fond of him, so I will have to survive with my bottles of Samhain and imps of Mabon and Harvest Moon for spicy autumnal goodness...