Mrs.Black

My personal view of this is that the single notes are the least likely to come back of all the discontinued scents. (But I would be really, really happy to be wrong). The reason most discontinued scents disappear is either ingredient unavailability or low sales not warranting to keep them in the catalog. In the case of the single notes, however, I suspect their retirement was more of a business decision to concentrate on the creative side of things.

I would recommend the current Hamadryad, which is very wintergreen minty (as opposed to the original cinnamony version that I am hoarding). Also, Jabberwocky. And this is more difficult, because they are LE's, but I remember that Skadi, Snow Moon, Snow Bunny and Ice Queen all had that nose-clearing menthol effect on me. Get well soon!

Hi Amy, the best thing to do would be to e-mail the lab (answers@blackphoenixalchemylab.com) and explain the situation; they'll tell you what to do.

Could someone please post a picture of the Sugar Skull label?

Ah, but that is the beauty of BPAL, now isn't it??? Almost all of us are here because we are so out of the mainstream, taste-wise! This is very true! And I found out I'm not even the only one who squees over jasmine and gardenia... I guess I worry about a GC blend I love going buhbye because it's unpopular. How often does that happen? As a BPAL veteran I can tell you that this hasn't happened in a very long time. In fact, I only remember it happening once or twice in 2004, the year I joined the forum. That's when Black Widow, Bruja and a few others were discontinued due to lack of sufficient demand. (I can't believe there was unsufficient demand for Bruja ). Other than that, as far as I can recall, later discontinuation issues have all been due to the inavailability of certain components. (This makes sense if we consider that the Lab's client based has grown hugely since 2004). Sometimes the Lab tells us the component that is problematic (like grapefruit oil being scarce when Cheshire Cat* and a few other grapefruit-based scents disappeared), sometimes it doesn't (like in the case of Antique Lace*). * So as not to contribute to a coronary accident in fans of Cheshire Cat and Antique Lace, they have both been brought back to the GC as the componet issues were resolved.

Besides Dorian and Snake Oil, I would also recommend Tombstone.

Chimera smells very milky/creamy to me, and it's one of my favorite GC's.

First I must confess that I never write reviews. Don't glare at me like that. I made an exception years ago for my beloved Sugar Skull, and I feel it's time to make another exception because I think everybody should be shouting at the top of their lungs from tall buildings, naked, about Temple: Witches. I ordered Temple: Witches and Temple: Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn as part of my huge first ever TAL order, which I have been planning for years. Temple: Witches, scent-wise, is absolutely stunning, the most beautiful magickal aroma I've ever experienced. It's sort of an herbal incense, it reminds me of a pretty much unobtainable perfume from the Serge Lutens non-export range called Encense et Lavande. It does, indeed, seems like a mixture of the highest quality incense and the finest non-sweet, non-pungent lavender, with other herbs mixed in as well. I have a word of caution for the people who abhor soapy scents, because there is a soapy quality to it as well, but I actually love this. However, the overall aura you will get from wearing this is not so much "freshly scrubbed and wholesome", but more along the lines of "in touch with nature and privy to the secrets of the earth". I see this scent as a symbol of the union of the natural and the spiritual. I will use it in meditation and report later.

The whole evil thing and the fact that there are no notes listed scared me at first but now I think I'm ready to venture into the realm of the Qliphoth. But being, as I am, anti-imp (sorry, little fellows!), I have to get a full bottle, and I think they only come in 10 mls. Which Qliphoth is big bottle worthy for you? (And please explain why).

I never miss an opportunity to petition for Bruja to be resurrected so here it goes... WE WANT BRUJA BACK!!!

The Raven, Nocturne and Le Serpent Qui Danse encapsulate purpleness itself to me.

Fourthing or fifthing (??? ) Hod as my favorite BPAL carnation scent. I ordered two bottles of Pink Moon -- high hopes for this as well.

The BPAL scent than reminds me of marmalade the most is Kunstkammer (from Carnaval Noir).

I agree, Love Me has nuclear throw and staying power. I am a very heavy header with all BPAL oils except this one, you really shouldn't slather Love Me.

I find that Tushnamatay has a very similar vibe to Scherezade.

I have VSDAH, have tried over three hundred BPAL's and here's my two scents: I agree with Dorian (wholeheartedly) and with Black Opal (with some reservation). I cannot agree with other recommendations made, such as Snake Oil and Antique Lace, for the following reason: VSDAH is vanillic and powdery, but it also has a fresh component that SO and AL lack. IMO the BPAL scent that is the most similar to VSDAH is Kether (one of the Sephiroth).

I have read the reviews of the Qlipoth, but I haven't actually smelled any of them. At one time I ordered three bottles of the Sephiroth (Malkuth, Kether and Hod) but ended up keeping only Hod, which smells like my beloved Chimera with carnation added. So far, based on the reviews, I'm tempted the most by Thagirion and Gha'agsheblah. (I enjoyed your review of this last one, Sarada-- the Perimeter of Destruction smells like blackberries, hehe!). And what I found most interesting is that, after reading everyone's opinions of the scents and selecting these two, I thought of looking at the particular brand of evil they embody. And guess what? These two are definitely shortcomings that I have and need to work with. Then I looked at the other definitions to see if maybe I was an all-round sinner, but no, Gha'agsheblah and Thagirion are definitely the most representative of my dark side.

Thank you so much, I found it! So, I see that Samhainophobia is the only one of the three with no witch on the label. This suits me perfectly, I'll just order All Saints and Devil's Night to complete my Nine Crone Collection!

There is a photo of All Saints, Devil's Night and Samhainophobia (just those three in a same picture!) in the Community Gallery. The labels are so adorable! I love especially Samhainophobia's label, I can't wait to get a bottle of my own. Thank you so much! But... where is the Community Gallery?

I would be really grateful if someone could post pictures of the labels of this year's All Saints, Devil's Night and Samhainophobia, which are the only Halloweenies I haven't ordered yet. I wasn't in love with All Saints or Devil's Night last year, and Samhainophobia doesn't sound like it's for me, but I might yet order them all to complete the trippy witch collection. And if you own these babies but don't have a digital camera, could you just please describe the labels for me?

Thanks, lookingglass! I'm definitely getting a bottle of Fae! And... ooops! I just found a thread with the same topic! Sorry mods, please close this one.

I've bought several bottles of apricot or peach based BPAL's over the years and, while I found most to be perfectly nice, I have ended up swapping all of them away as I didn't seem to reach for them. But right now, with summer coming to Australia, I am on a huge apricot/peach kick and I think I need some of these babies back. Off the top of my head I remember liking March Hare, Yerevan, Fae and Imp. I didn't really like Katherina or Tamora because they were far from a fresh fruit interpretation. I was iffy about Depraved but now I'm ordering a bottle because it reminds me of my beloved Mitsouko by Guerlain. So what are your favorite peach/apricot BPAL's and why?

Thanks for all the recs! They have refreshed my memory about all the lavender scents that I have tried. I have tried Somnus, Twilight, Sophia, Paris, Dee and Old Scratch -- sadly none worked for me. However, I had totally overlooked the Panaceas! And I'll have to delve into TAL one day soon as well.

I love the smell of Burt's Bees Repair Serum, which is a mixture of lavender oil and attar of rose (with lavender being the prominent note). So far I haven't found a BPAL lavender that worked for me. I don't keep detailed records of the scents I try, but I do remember that Oneiroi, Temple of Dreams and Psyche were far too sharp and pungent, both in the bottle and on me. I was particularly broken-hearted over Psyche, as I love the goddess herself and the idea of a lavender-rose blend. Should I try Nanshe? What are your recommendations for a BPAL soft lavender? So far the only BPAL I tried that approximated what I have in mind is the discontinued Bruja, which didn't have lavender listed in the description but somehow smelled like it to me.

The Lab uses Global Priority Mail for international orders. It is really fast. I have had orders get to me in Australia in as little as six days from the date of shipping. Six to ten days seems to be the norm.