miamaslegi

This reminded me a little of Ivanushka when I first put it on but now that it's dry . . . I think my nose is broken because I'm getting violet! Lots and lots of violet! What? Reading the notes and then getting a big whiff of violet is confusing, but I like it! ETA Oh, derp, orris! Well, I must amp orris because that's all I could smell once this got on my skin. I wish I could have smelled any of the other notes, but still, I like it!

Late this summer, right after I posted about Memento, I got my first tablet which came with, among other things, a free year of Evernote Premium. Since then, I've been keeping track of my orders, stash, testing, swaps and sales, and so on in it. I really like that I can keep everything up to date across all my devices, Android, iOS, and OSX. I have one notebook in Evernote for BPAL - I'm still working on getting the last bits of my stash and tests and orders from ages ago into it. I had been keeping a binder of handwritten notes and a binder of info on all my orders, swaps, and sales - I've been able to put those away. In my BPAL notebook, I just make sure to tag everything appropriately and simply (pending, decant circle, order, forum buy, swap, sale, test, stash, etc.). I was tagging everything in my stash and that I tested with all its notes, the collection, and so on, but realized that's just making things unnecessarily complicated since I can search all my notes for everything with vetiver or all the 2012 Lupers or everything I haven't tested yet. I'm not a person with all sorts of contacts and job and social things to keep track of (I'm an introverted homebody and, for all intents and purposes, a housewife), but I am the sort of person who keeps a personal journal and a reading log and a book of memorable quotations and notebooks of reading notes and a recipe notebook and a weather log and a crafting journal and lists of games beaten and movies watched and notes on the cats' and dogs' checkups and notebooks upon notebooks of random jottings, reminders, lists, and whatnot. Evernote has enabled me to keep track of all of that and pack my shelves of notebooks and journals up - though I'll never give up my handwritten personal journal! I have resisted doing something like this for a while because I love to write by hand and I'm a bit of a luddite, but while it is quicker to pick up a piece of paper and jot down a shopping list than to put it into Evernote (for me!), it's easier to keep track of my phone or iPod than a dozen little scraps of paper that eventually end up in the trash. Ooops, sorry for the digression! To get back to the point, I'm really liking using Evernote to keep track of all things BPAL-related (and everything-else-related!) since I can format things any way I like, I can add pictures and links, clip relevant webpages, and even dictate my testing notes, and I can keep everything up-to-date across all my devices. It took a while playing with Evernote to get the hang of it and see what I could do with it, but now I am using it for more than I ever imagined!

(I'm sorry, mods - I have absolutely no idea where this post should go!) I was wondering if there's any way to see all of my orders placed since the new lab site went live last year? If I go into my account dashboard, I can see my 10 most recent orders, but that's all. Is there any way to see all of them?

I remember folks talking about the variations in Gnome a while back - an older, lighter, fizzy-ginger oil and a newer, darker, woody oil. I just wanted to say that I got a frimp of Gnome in with an order yesterday and it's just how I remember my old imp of Gnome from a year, year and a half ago - a light, almost clear oil that's most definitely fizzy ginger (I've not run across any of the darker, woody version). Maybe now's the time to buy a bottle? ETA or a handful of imps, anyway! EATA: I'm sorting my imps at the moment and I discovered that I have an imp of Gnome that I received from the lab on 27 September - it's light-colored, fizzy ginger, too. I'd love a bottle of it, but I don't think I'd order one if folks are still getting the dark, woody version. Hmmm . . .

Thanks!

I need some help identifying this bottle (I figure it's not BPAL, so I hope that's OK!). I received it as part of a purchase, but I can't figure out what it is!

Let me start by saying that I do not like licorice, anise, fennel, or anything similar in any form at all, period. In the imp, I mostly got mint and lemon. Once on my skin, this became a light, inoffensive, herby-green and lemon scent that the anise snuck in and ruined. Granted I probably wouldn't reach for something like this sans anise, but still. Anise, why do you have to stink so bad??

This is definitely very dark, rich, and drop-dead sexy! Wet, the tobacco is dominant - it's not as . . . spicy/nose-tingly as the French Tobacco SN, but still rich and sweet and deep. As it dries, the black musk and opoponax come out - I just love it! I never get more than a breath of patchouli, which is fine by me. This is so very sexy - I'd love to smell it on ye olde man-thing.

I tested this first back in September of last year, loved it, and put it on my buy-a-big-bottle list. Finally I ordered a bottle a couple of weeks ago - it hasn't gotten to me yet, but I went back and tested my imp again. In the imp, 51 is very fruity - the honeydew and green mandarin (which my nose reads as lime) are very much in the forefront. Once I put it on, the musk and fresia come out beautifully. This does smell glowingly green - phosphorescent, almost. Very spring/early summer feeling. Dried, the amber comes out, warming and softening everything up. After several hours, I'm left with a light, sweet white musk and amber scent that is just lovely. I'm glad I've got a bottle on its way that I can stash away until this spring!

In late 2012/early 2013, I got an imp of Aizen-Myoo and I loved it! It was mostly sweet pink cherry blossom and black tea with just a hint of sweet citrus. Needless to say, I put a bottle on my to-buy list immediately! Finally this past April, I got around to ordering a 5ml of it and was sorely disappointed. My bottle smells entirely of bitter grapefruit. At first I thought it might need to settle and age for a bit, but then I remembered that the imp of Aizen-Myoo smelled sweet and lovely from the get-go. Still, I thought maybe some "accelerated aging" could help it and so I tied a bit of coffee filter over the mouth of the bottle and left it sitting, open, on top of my bookshelf for a week. Nope, still bitter grapefruit. I'm going to be testing them side-by-side today to see exactly how they differ on my skin when dry, but man . . . I want a bottle that's all sweet cherry blossom and tea!

184: EDEN GC: Wanderlust "This oil contains the innocence of the Garden, coupled with the Truth and Erudition found in the fruit of the Tree of Evil: fig leaf, fig fruit, honeyed almond milk, toasted coconut and sandalwood." Received from lab 13 December 2013. In bottle: This is really nice in the imp - milky and toasty from the almond milk, coconut, and sandalwood, with a hint of fruity fig. Wet: The fig is way in the background behind the coconut, sandal and almond milk. This is sweet, but not too sweet thanks to the fig leaf. Dry down: There's something off here - I think I'd like this better if it were more creamy/milky or if it were more richly fruity. It's balanced a bit too well - it needs to tip more to one side or the other. Dry: The fig has really come out in the last 40 minutes or so and it's much more fruity now, but the almond, coconut, and sandalwood are still noticeably there. This reminds me a bit of Intrigue. I like this, but I think that a bottle isn't a top priority for me. Still, very pretty and nicely blended. 3.5/5

185: PRURIENCE GC: Ars Amatoria "An unwholesome scent. A craving, an itch. This scent smoulders with a lust that singes the edge of your nerves and leaves your soul chilled: red amber and scorched musk with voluptuous carnation, charred vetiver, sensuous tonka, and orris." Received from Lab 2012 In bottle: All I get is the vetiver and a bit of sweetness from the amber and tonka. Wet: Mostly vetiver with a hint of tonka and powdery amber. It's a little less complex than I thought it would be. I am a committed vetiver lover, but this isn't wowing me yet. Dry: Smoky (but not harsh) vetiver and dark musk sweetened and smoothed out by the amber and tonka - never got the orris, which I like, so that's a shame. I do like this now (I am a vetiver fiend, after all), and I might go for a bottle in the future, but it's not a priority. 3.5/5

186: SANTA MUERTE GC: Excolo "A deep, resonant scent, both comforting and soft: lovers’ roses, solemn chrysanthemum, dark vetiver and dazzling cactus flowers." Received from Lab 12 July 2014 In bottle: I'm getting vetiver and a faint, sweet floral that reminds me a bit of Flor de Muerto. I love vetiver, so if the rose can behave itself, this might be nice. Wet: Blergh! Rose and hairspray. No no no no. Do not like. Dry: Roses sprayed with hairspray. DNW. 1/5

187: TITUS ANDRONICUS GC: Illyria "Dark musk and black amber with frankincense, red sandalwood, neroli and bergamot." Received from Lab 31 July 2014 In bottle: Nice! I'm getting the smooth sweetness of the amber and sandalwood with a citrusy zing from the neroli and bergamot. This doesn't smell masculine in the imp. Wet: The neroli and bergamot have come to the forefront with the sweet resins and wood in the background. This is more masculine smelling on my skin, and the combination of notes has given this a dark yet almost creamsicle-ish feel. Interesting! Dry: Amber, frankincense, dark musk and sandal. Smooth, sweet, dark, and a bit smoky/incensy - the citrusy notes are all but gone. I do like this, but I think I'd rather smell it on a man than on myself. 3.5/5

180: BORDELLO GC: Ars Amatoria "A decadent, deep perfume, lusty and luxuriant. The scent evokes images of velvet-lined Old West cathouses, tightly laced corsets, rustling petticoats and coquettish snarls of pleasure. Bawdy plum with amaretto, burgundy wine and black currant." Received from Lab 28 February 2014 In bottle: Sweet, fruity plum, currant, and wine - yummy! I love wine scents, so I hope this plays nice on my skin. Wet: Still nice and fruity but with a perfumey edge (plum sometimes does that). I was kind of hoping for yet another rich, dark wine scent to add to my collection. Dry down: Warm and fruity - not winey, but I am really liking this a lot. It's almost got a custardy note in there (maybe the amaretto?). Tasty! Dry: This is fading a bit in intensity, but is still nice and fruity. I think this would be worth a bottle in the future! 4/5