Vega

Hello all, Yes - I read the entire thread. But I didn't see any question/answer concerning this, so... I don't have food allergies, any hay fever is very mild if it happens at all. But I do have sensitive skin - have had eczema in the past, as well as sporadic contact dermatitis to certain soap products. I didn't react when I tested a couple imps from a friend, nor when I bought a few scents direct from BPAL and Blooddrop. But I bought a large passle of BPAL imps off Swaps, and since then I've been gradually developing rashes/hives over all the places I test on a regular basis. I used to always test on my wrists, and when the hives developed, I started on my upper hands, and they're now developing hives too. Small, red, raised lumps that itch occasionally, and get inflamed only when I scratch them. I've only just started keeping track of what oil I apply and where, but it seems the hives take a while to appear -- I don't get immediate fiery inflammation/swelling, so I suspect that it's not a particular ingredient that's causing it (though I'm not ruling that out either). However, this only started when I started testing a HUGE batch of imps from Swaps. So... Am I just over-sensitizing my skin by trying many many different scents in quick succession? (quick = a different scent each morning/evening) Since I didn't have any skin reaction when I just had a few imps before I got onto the Swap forum, perhaps my skin had time to get acclimated to the new oils then, and I'm now simply overloading it, however that may happen. I'm also wondering what the potential is for contamination due to use, ie. if the imp wands have been skin-tested by the previous owner, and I'm reacting to "contamination" from the previous owner's skin and not the oil per se. Now I'm not at all squicky and I've no problems with using cap wands and oils that have touched other people's skin (and I definitely trust that most BPALers don't grossly contaminate their oils during normal use! ), so I feel this question is pure overreaction/paranoia. But I really want to narrow down the cause of my dermatitis and avoid it in future. If that means not being able to swap anything, I'd be very sad - but I'd rather not have rashes! Thanks for reading this through I hope it made sense. Any advice from more experienced BPALers is welcome!

Frimp from the Lab! In imp: Fresh watery/aquatic, slightly milky/creamy. On skin: When wet, the aquatic element is initially dominant on top of a gently-sweet milky base. The roles gradually reverse as it dries -- eventually all that's left is a sweet milky scent, reminiscent of powdered milk, with a whiff of watery tang left over. The milk note is lightly sweet, warm, gentle, unobtrusive, and quite pleasant; the aquatic is definitely reminiscent of a blue-green ocean. Verdict: The more I wear The Sea Foams Milk, the more I love it. It's very evocative: like an ocean wave crashing on the shore of my skin and leaving foamy milk behind as it recedes/dries. Hokey description but that's exactly what happens on me! My only complaint is that I love aquatics (and they love me too, so far) and wish the aquatic part lasted a bit longer. Nevertheless I'll be keeping the imp and happily using it. Thank you to the Lab for making such a lovely scent and introducing me to something new and wonderful!

Disclaimer: My nose is completely untrained and I've an abysmal scent memory, so my impressions are just impressions. I try to wear a scent several times before making a review. Lab-fresh imp. In imp: Alcoholic! Some reviewers say "brandy", I'm inclined to agree. On skin: Very bright, sparkling, shimmering, in an orange-gold way. The whiskey/brandy note is completely dominant. It settles and diminishes very slightly as it dries, and I start detecting something very deep and dark underneath -- something inorganic and mineral, maybe warm stone. I feel like I'm just smelling the radiant surface of a very deep scent, but can't quite detect or give a name to the depths. Unfortunately the brightness remains the entire time and smothers out any subtlety or depth. Verdict: While I can appreciate how the scent evokes its Lab description, the bright alcohol note is overwhelming and really not to my taste. I'm keeping it in hopes of eventually teasing out the various notes, but Sheol ultimately goes to swaps.

My first review, of the second BPAL scent I ever tried! Disclaimer: my nose is relatively untrained so my notes may not be terribly accurate. I try to wear a scent several times before making a review. In imp: watery, tangy and slightly sweet/floral. On skin: very green and watery, tangy, faint flowers. Gently bright/luminous/dreamy. Soft yet heady. Becomes more gentle over time, dries into soft flowers and loses that green/aquatic tang. Borders on being soapy and/or perfumy, but not always. Colour impression is a pale green-yellow; puts me in mind of lilies and other aquatic plants floating on a serene pool. Verdict: I find it very pleasant and relaxing, will definitely keep and use up my imp. Possible future bottle. Thanks to Emera for gifting me with an imp and enabling me onto BPAL!

Oops, double post!

I just got frimped with Hurricane, and I'm slowly working my way towards the Steamworks scents -- they all seem to be things I'd like. So far I've been reading reviews 'til my eyes ache and getting what looks most interesting. Gravitating towards ozones/aquatic, spicy, light incense and fresh/piney -- but it's because the floral and heavier scents don't seem to grab me as much so I haven't gotten many of those yet! *heh* I'm definitely still in the "honeymoon phase" of liking most that I've already tried, because they smell so gorgeous and "new".

Thanks everyone for the recs and wonderful advice! I'll try them out for sure. I've definitely been taking copious notes of my impressions and comparing everything to each other, like wearing similar scents on each wrist. (Sheol and Summer's Last Will & Testament are both bright and golden, but quite different; that same cloying-sweet fragrance in Chimera and Hermia must come from honeysuckle, etc etc...) Yeah, it's been a lot of fun. I guess when I see my notes saying "is that floral? woody/spicy?", I get a bit impatient wanting to know what it REALLY is. (That's the want-to-know-everything-NOW intellectual speaking out now... ) Lightning was the first BPAL scent I ever tried, and now that I know what ozone smells like I can pick it out from a complex scent like Tin Phoenix. So maybe if I smell something "single-note" it'd start jumping out of a blend like that? (I really like ozone BTW - it's such a singular scent, and doesn't seem to be turning rancid or dryer-sheets so far. )