terrierhead

I'd recommend Kumiho. I've been wearing it to work these past two days and it's perfect - crisp and clean without smelling soapy. It seems very high end, somehow, which is an added plus.

Thank you! I figured there would be some variation since BPAL products are made in small batches. Part of my issue might be that I always buy imp packs. I read in another thread that imp packs take longer than orders with bottles alone. Incidentally, the package got here last night. But, now I'll know to give a month or two before fretting, no matter what the CnS and arrival threads say.

I've got two questions and I wasn't sure where to ask them, so I'm putting them here. First, it looks like the Budding Moon shipments are arriving for many people, but I haven't received my 01/05/06 order yet. I feel silly asking this because I just got my CnS on 01/26...but how long should I wait before contacting the lab about a possible problem? I'm betting I'll get my shipment in the next couple of days, but in case it doesn't arrive, how much time should I allow to pass before trying to get help? My other question: if you make a post and it gets moved, how can you find it?

In the imp, this smells like sweet orange candy and a mixed bouquet of flowers. On, it goes even sweeter yet sharp. With dry down, it has turned to two separate scents - one on each wrist. My right wrist has a deep, round yet sweet floral fragrance; I smell the heliotrope and the honeysuckle primarily. My left wrist, however, smells like orange sweet tarts. No, I don't pretend to understand.

I'll second the recommendations for Water of Notre Dame and Block Buster. Both are lovely, not very strong, and calming. Belle Epoque has the opium note that she enjoys without being overbearing or negatively charged.

I ordered an imp of Sudha Segara from the lab because I'm trying to find a creamy scent that doesn't overdose me on honey. Mission accomplished! This fragrance is rich, creamy and sweet, but not cloying. The ginger is very nice also, but lacks throw. I wore this to bed last night and it was perfect for getting to sleep - warm and comforting. I may buy a big bottle.

For me, the opium predominates in Belle Epoque, with the lilies wafting in and out. BE had fantastic staying power, although it turns a touch powdery (the lilies, maybe?) after several hours. Overall, a fantastic blend!

I read in another thread that Pride smells expensive. It might be worth a look.

I just realized I never reviewed Eve. In the imp, it was sharp, honeyed roses, with some note that reminded me of pickle relish. Wet, the pickle relish came out hardcore. I'm trying to track down the culprit - Ouija did this, too. Eve has since flown away in a swap to a happy forumite.

Before Bastet, I never realized why so many people think almonds and cherries smell alike. In the other almond fragrances I've tried the almonds have come out very almondy, for lack of a better term. Not so with Bastet. In the imp, this is creamy, spicy, sweet cherries. The cherry pie filling fragrance continues through dry-down. Nice, but not what I was looking for. Luckily, I know just who will appreciate it.

I love this to pieces in the imp. Unfortunately, I can't smell it on my skin at all. I used half the imp in a single day slathering away, trying to get some of that delicious clean, lemony scent to be perceptible. I'm saving the rest of the imp for warm weather - I figure the heat will imp this up. If so, it'll join my big bottle list.

I just got my new batch of imps from the lab (remarkably quickly, too ) and had to try White Rabbit right off the bat. I've wanted to try this scent since I started perusing the BPAL site. Unfortunately, it doesn't like me. I don't get sweet, creamy tea with honey, ginger and pepper. I get wet cardboard and bandaids, both in the imp and on skin. Wow, is this ever not for me. I think it might be the honey crossed with the pepper. Honey seems to go all wacky on my skin. Bye bye, bunny - off to the swaps box for you.

Add me to the Ghost fan club! This is a lovely, cool floral with decent staying power for me - I can still smell it a few hours after applying. There's a cucumber note early on which is not at all bothersome, and fades after about 20 minutes. I've worn this to work today, and it seems appropriate both for daytime and for the office. It's feminine but not frilly or shrill, and is ok for a professional environment. If you're interested in BPAL that you can wear to the office and are curious about fragrances outside the tea family, give the Ghost a shot.

I got an imp of Water of Notre Dame, along with several other nice smellies, in the mail on Thursday. It was a nice thing, seeing as how Thursday had been my suckiest day of the new year thus far. I'd stayed home sick for a half day with a nasty headache and had gone in for an equally nasty half-day of work. The headache came with a side of nausea, so I was wary of trying any new scents. I remembered that a reviewer on LJ had said that WoND was headache bane, so I went ahead and tried it. I couldn't isolate any notes in particular right off, but it gave me the impression of nice hotel soap. The floral kind with scalloped edges. The scent stayed the same even with dry-down. About half an hour after applying the scent, I left home to go to a lecture. I was in a rotten mood still, which wasn't helped because my husband was running late and I thought we'd be late. In spite of that, my headache seemed to ease as I kept sniffing my wrists. We arrived at the lecture site and couldn't find any non-restricted parking. I drove around looking for a spot where I wouldn't get a ticket and gave up eventually. I took a spot right near the entrance, and my husband and I started walking towards the entryway. I got about 15 feet from the car when I spotted something by my left foot. It was a wad of cash - three twenties and two tens. I waited for several minutes, but no one came to claim it. I left a note with the university's lost and found service, but no one has called, either. I'm officially considering the money to be mine at this point. I'm sure this wasn't what WoND was intended for, but I give my thanks to the beneficial spirits. I'll keep using my imp, with great respect for it. ETA: I'm wearing this scent again today, and it has grown on me even more. I think this has honey in it. Honey and I usually don't get along, but this is a watery-smelling note, rather than full-on honey. It smells like honey melted into a cup of hot chamomile tea. In addition, there's something plant-y (I know, really precise ) - it makes me think of a tall lily with a thick stem that's been split, with phloem spilling out. I think I need more of this.

From the ingredients, I was expecting this to be terribly sweet. I was pleasantly surprised by a bracing hit of blood orange followed by sweet yet tart raspberry. This seems like a fruit blend for adults. It loses some of the bite with dry-down, but is still lovely and a little invigorating. I could see this going into heavy rotation.

This stuff is like Valentine's Day in a bottle! A sweet, sexy, boozy Valentine's Day that starts off with a glass of red wine with your lover, followed by sharing a box of deep, dark chocolates. Then, you and your valentine retire to a room with vases of brightly colored yet softly scented flowers to get to know one another a bit better. Yes, this is good stuff.

In the bottle, this was lemony, woody goodness. Wet, however, it turned to cedar wood - the smell of the wood shavings that people put in guinea pig cages. While I was trying this, my terrier rubbed up against me and bumped my hand, apparently intrigued by what I was doing. Some of the scent ended up on her by accident, but it was a happy accident. She got a tiny bit on, and it doesn't seem to be bothering her in the least. I don't think I can wear this (too woody), but it smells brilliant on the dog. On myself, I get pure cedar shavings, but the full nuance of the scent comes out on Taffy (my terrier) - true lemon verbena and sandalwood goodness, with a touch of cedar. I swear I don't mean this as any sort of insult to Beth or the lab. I wish this smelled half as good on me as it does on Taffy.

P'shaw, Spring comes to Chicago, too. Ok, so it's two days of pleasant weather between freezing cold and blistering heat, but the fact that it's fleeting makes it more precious, right? Back on topic: I'd like to add another vote to Ophelia as a Spring scent. It's absolutely lovely, but somehow doesn't strike me as a summer fragrance.

In the imp, this is pure bubblegum. I gave it a shot anyway, and, after dry-down, was rewarded with a sweet floral. Still, it's reminiscent of gum - rose bubblegum. It's pleasant, but not something of which I see myself ever needing more than an imp. I'll be more wary of lotus blends in the future. The search for a bolder counterpart to Ophelia continues.

I ordered Scherezade in my first lab order, so I was truly looking forward to trying it. The past two weeks have been a real learning experience. Unfortunately, my lesson from Scherezade was that it's the red musk that gives me headaches. I can avoid the headaches by not sniffing my wrists while wearing Scherezade, but where's the fun in that? So, at this point, red musk = bad, white musk (ie., Embalming Fluid) = good, other musks = ? Beyond the musk, Scherezade's spices turn rather murky on me. I'm disappointed but will try again later. It very well could be a wonky skin chemistry thing.

Both Amsterdam and the Dormouse were very lawn-y to my nose. Both have floral components, but the tulip in Amsterdam in particular seemed very light.

In the imp, this is warm almonds and something I can't identify. Dark honey? On, it turns to Dr. Pepper. I'm serious. It put me in an odd, nostalgic frame of mind, which turned out to be appropriate since I tried it on New Year's Eve. I'll try this again, but if it stays this way I doubt I'll try to acquire more of it.

I was beginning to worry that none of the popular scents would work for me, but Dorian is fantastic. I get vanilla that's not cloying, sugar that doesn't run over everything else, and tea - amazingly, it's a sweet scent that I can handle. This establishes that honey notes are bad for me, but sugar is ok. I love this to pieces and will be ordering a larger bottle.

I love the smell of almonds, so I think Seraglio is fantastic in the imp. It's strong, sweet almonds with a bit of citrus - like a touch of orange peel. Once it hits my skin though, it turns into honey with a touch of almond. Something about my chemistry amps up sweetness, which is a pity because I wish this weren't quite so candy-like on me. This is nice, but too sweet to be very "me." I wish I got any of the clove or nutmeg at all. Perhaps this will change with aging.

In the imp, this is icing sugar and candied rose petals. Wet, it turns to straight honey, but a softer honey than what was in O. It's slightly creamy on me, but not really milky. With dry-down, the roses come out a tiny bit, and the carnations make a spicy appearance in the far background for a few seconds here and there, but honey is center stage. I never got any bergamot. I'm not wild about this, although it's nice. I'll try it again in a few weeks; if it's the same, off to swaps it goes.