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Aw, dammit. Just when I thought I wasn't going to have to hunt down any more hard-to-find and ridiculously expensive bottles... Milk Moon is gorgeous on my skin. It's a creamy vanilla scent with a very slight coconut or mint twinge to it (I can't really tell which one). And butter. It smells soooooo good.

Herbs, citrus, and something woodsy. It's a bright, powerful scent. As it dries down it loses most of the citrus, and what's left is an herby pine scent. Unfortunately it smells a bit sour on me, but to be honest these notes don't usually work on my skin so I'm not very surprised.

Powdery and sweet, which makes me think there's amber in this. There's also a slightly bitter floral note in it, which could be carnation. I think it smells golden, creamy and spicy.

Spicy, earthy, masculine. Quite fitting for Malkuth, I think. Not light and fleeting at all, it's solid and strong. Sweet, too. I don't usually like cinnamon very much, but I like this.

Eat Drink Man Woman definitely has my vote! I love that movie.

Tried this one through the GC circular swap. Smells mostly aquatic to me, but sweet too. The florals are modest and not overly strong. I like the cherry blossom a lot. This oil smells cute. I like it, and will get an imp of my own. Not sure about a bottle yet, though.

At first this smells mainly like lemon, but that fades into a strong floral. I can't really smell any sandalwood, which is too bad. I think there's some musk under there, but the florals are so strong I can't really tell much. I do think this is pretty, but it's not my style. Too floral for me.

I am trouting myself because of La Fee Verte. At least three imps of this have come through my swap box, and I only held onto one of them because the first time I tried it I didn't like it. But I've tried it again tonight... and damnit, I'm gonna need a bottle. I can't believe I swapped away those other two imps, like an idiotic carefree fool. I have no idea what I think this smells like, some sort of honey sweet spicy white musk combination... whatever it is, it works. And how.

My very first reaction to this was "pee-yoo." A pungent floral. But it's growing on me. I've tried it three times now, and every time I don't like it at first but I think it's quite pleasant when it's dry. It has a floral scent to it, but there's also a sweet fruity note in it. I'm not sure which one, but it doesn't really smell like berries or melons. And I wouldn't say it's citrus, either. It's an unusual scent, kind of bright for what I pictured as appropriate for Baba Yaga. It's not disgusting or ugly, and it doesn't smell rotten. It also doesn't make me think of giant chicken feet, which is what I was afraid of.

This is a sharp floral on me, something like gardenia, but that's not it. Yellow. It definitely has a perfumey quality to it. For some reason the scent reminds me of a very viscous shampoo that I used when I was a kid -- something like Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo. I know I've smelled this floral scent before, but I can't place it. It's making me feel nostalgic, which is why I think it's something from my childhood.

Spicy, woodsy, sweet pine. That's what it smells like to me. Masculine. I don't wear pine well, but my hubby does -- so this one goes to him!

I love Voodoo Queen! It smells like a sweet, resiny incense. Dark and brooding. It gets powdery after a while but retains that sweet scent. I looked at the other reviews that say it's like pickles, Smut, Gypsy Queen, florals... it smells nothing like any of that on me.

Lascivious, flirtatious, and vampy as hell. A true heartbreaker’s perfume. The innocence of orange blossom tainted by the beguiling scents of ginger and patchouli. Vixen reminds me quite a lot of Dior's Poison, which was my signature scent throughout college -- but it's better. It smells exactly like the description says it does. I love patchouli, ginger, and orange blossom -- those three were some of the few notes that I already knew I liked before I found BPAL. So this was one of the first BPAL oils I ever tried. Vixen is a dark color in the imp, and it stains my skin when I put it on. After trying lots of BPAL oils, I now know that both of those things indicate that I'll love the scent of the oil. And I looooooooove Vixen. Vixen has been on my list of favorites since the beginning and I expect it always will be. Whenever I smell it I am transported back in time to the evening I first tried it, when I was in total awe that anything could ever smell that good. There's nothing quite like BPAL newbieness, and Vixen brings it back to me. ETA: Lab's description.

At first, pepper. But that was for about three seconds. Then a very bright and juicy fruit scent came up quick and shared the spotlight with pepper and tea. I thought it was an odd scent, and a little jarring. I sniffed it again 15 minutes later and that weird discordant pepper note was gone -- it's mostly just bright fruit. This is an interesting scent, but I don't imagine I'd ever reach for this imp instead of other ones that I truly love.

While the scent is strong, it's quite herby and green. Reminds me of Irish Spring soap and dryer sheets. It smells bright, clean, and fresh. It ends up (after an hour or two) smelling like a faint green floral. So when it's strong it's herby, and when it's faint it's floral. Interesting.

Cross-posting to Reviews forum and my LJ journal. I got the second package from kakiphony, which incldues Leanan Sidhe, Neo-Tokyo, Obatala, Tweedledee, and Vixen. Here are my reviews. Leanan Sidhe - Her perfume is a crush of Irish herbs and flowers, Gaelic mists, and nighttime dew. While the scent is strong, it's quite herby and green. Reminds me of Irish Spring soap and dryer sheets. It smells bright, clean, and fresh. It ends up (after an hour or two) smelling like a faint green floral. So when it's strong it's herby, and when it's faint it's floral. Interesting. Neo-Tokyo - Urban metallics and an ozone-tinged breath of electric light mingled with reedy bamboo, crisp mountain air, cherry blossoms, delicate orchid and a splash of playful, wet fruits. Smells mostly aquatic to me, but sweet too. The florals are modest and not overly strong. This oil smells cute. I like it, and might get an imp of my own. Probably not a bottle though. Obatala - Obatala’s ofrenda is soft, white and pure: milk, coconut meat, shea butter and cool, refreshing water. It's funny, I remember reviewing this when I first got the imp -- I thought the coconut had a suntan lotion smell and I didn't like it. This time I thought it would be different because it started out as a creamy, dark coconut. But after about 30 minutes, that suntan lotion scent I remembered was back. So... this one's still a "no" for me. Tweedledee - Ridiculous! Kumquat, white pepper, white tea and orange blossom. At first, pepper. But that was for about three seconds. Then a very bright and juicy fruit scent came up quick and shared the spotlight with pepper and tea. I thought it was an odd scent, and a little jarring. I sniffed it again 15 minutes later and that weird discordant pepper note was gone -- it's mostly just bright fruit. This is an interesting scent, but I don't imagine I'd ever reach for this imp instead of other ones that I truly love. Vixen - Lascivious, flirtatious, and vampy as hell. A true heartbreaker’s perfume. The innocence of orange blossom tainted by the beguiling scents of ginger and patchouli. Vixen reminds me quite a lot of Dior's Poison, which was my signature scent throughout college -- but it's better. It smells exactly like the description says it does. It's been on my list of favorites since the beginning and I expect it always will be. Vixen was one of the first BPAL oils I tried, and now whenever I smell it I am transported back in time to that evening, when I was in total awe that anything could ever smell that good. There's nothing quite like BPAL newbieness, and Vixen brings it back to me.

At first I can mainly smell the dirt, but it has a very sweet floral overtone. It turns into a sweet floral with a really lush, rich background. It smells humid to me and reminds me of a hothouse. This might be the only GC blend with a dirt note that I would wear. (I specified GC because I sometimes wear Queen of Clubs.) It has good throw for only a couple of hours, but it remains faint several hours later.

The smells salty and grassy to me at first. It's pretty green. Then as it's drying it's more like an aquatic/grass combination. I like the scent, but as a perfume it fits my hubby better than me. Good throw, too.

The first scent I can pick out in this is mint. Then it turns into a sweet boozey scent with the barest bit of mint... blends like this are what makes BPAL the paragon of perfume excellence that it is. I have never smelled anything like this. It's like springtime, but it's a fun spring day -- like one of the days when you have a few drinks with good friends and you all end up skinny-dipping in the lake. The scent that I can tell is bourbon reminds me of my grandmother, which is kind of weird. Makes me wonder if Grandma was in the habit of taking a nip from a hip flask when I wasn't looking. Wears close to the skin; not a lot of throw.

Cross-posting to Reviews forum and my LJ journal. I got the first package from kakiphony, which incldues Ave Maria Gratia Plena, Hymn to Propserine, Jazz Funeral, Jolly Roger, and Juke Joint. Here are my reviews. Ave Maria Gratia Plena - Rosewood with Sicilian lemon peel, red Mysore sandalwood, pale musks, sweet mountain sage and a dusting of lily, night-blooming jasmine and orris. At first this smells mainly like lemon, but that fades into a strong floral. I can't really smell any sandalwood, which is too bad. I think there's some musk under there, but the florals are so strong I can't really tell much. I do think this is pretty, but it's not my style. Too floral for me. Lots of throw, and pretty strong. Hymn to Prosperine - The darkening amber of faith’s sunset, deepened by the dark fruits of Proserpine. The first time I tried this, it went wonky after 20 minutes. This time, it's staying mostly perfumey amber that doesn't go powdery, and the dark fruits aren't starting to smell like rotten fruit. I'm blaming hormones for that first failure trial. This time it's dark, ambery, and only very slightly fruity. Fades pretty fast though; it's almost completely gone in an hour, leaving just a trace of amber. Jazz Funeral - Bittersweet bay rum, bourbon, and a host of funeral flowers with a touch of graveyard dirt, magnolia and Spanish Moss. At first I can mainly smell the dirt, but it has a very sweet floral overtone. It turns into a sweet floral with a really lush, rich background. It smells humid to me and reminds me of a hothouse. This might be the only GC blend with a dirt note that I would wear. (I specified GC because I sometimes wear Queen of Clubs.) Good throw for only the first couple of hours, but it's still faintly there for several hours after that. Jolly Roger - Sea spray with an undercurrent of leather, Bay Rum, and salty, dry woods. At first it smells salty and grassy to me. It's pretty green. Then as it's drying it smells more like an aquatic/grass combination. I like the scent, but as a perfume it fits my hubby better than me. Good throw. Juke Joint - A bawdy, gleefully wicked and unruly scent: Kentucky Bourbon, sugar and a sprig of mint. The first scent I can pick out in this is mint. Then it turns into a sweet boozey scent with the barest bit of mint... blends like this are what makes BPAL the paragon of perfume excellence that it is. I have never smelled anything like this. It's like springtime, but it's a fun spring day -- like one of the days when you have a few drinks with good friends and you all end up skinny-dipping in the lake. The scent that I can tell is bourbon reminds me of my grandmother, which is kind of weird. Makes me wonder if Grandma was in the habit of taking a nip from a hip flask when I wasn't looking. Wears close to the skin; not a lot of throw.

I was at the airport yesterday picking up my husband, and I was sitting in one of those rows of chairs. A woman and her child sat down behind me, facing the other direction. For the next 20 minutes (until I could no longer stand it and got up and left), this woman lied to her kid, made him cry, berated him, and basically told him he sucked. Not only that, but she had this whiny nasal voice with a pitch that could bend steel, and she spoke very loudly. Apparently the kid (probably 3-4 years old) had just gotten a Spiderman toy less than an hour ago, and he threw it into some baggage bin or something, and they had to sit there and wait for airport personnel to retrieve it for them. So the woman ran through the list of other things she could have bought with that $8 instead of wasting it on a toy for the kid which he then "threw away." She told him that his dad works hard for that $8 and it was not nice of him to throw Daddy's money away. She told him that when she told Daddy about what he did with the toy, Daddy would probably never buy him another toy again. She pointed to a policewoman and told him that she was going to go over and tell the policewoman what he had done and she would come over and arrest him and take him to jail. This is when the kid started to cry. The crying just spurred her on, she then described how miserable he would be all alone, without Mommy or Daddy and no toys at all either. All of this because the kid had a toy and did what kids do when they have toys that look like superheroes who fly through the air: He threw it. She sat there and let him throw the toy repeatedly, and then when it landed in a bad spot she berated him for 20 minutes in public, doled out the "wait until Daddy finds out" threat, and then told him he's going to jail. Of course none of this is her fault, it's all the kid's fault. Unbelievable. I have no idea at all what gave that woman the idea that it's acceptable to talk to a little child like that. I honestly can't imagine that it would be natural to anyone, so I guess she must have seen someone else do it and figured it was a good idea. Which sickens me even more.

At first this scent is too much lemon for me, but it seems like a sweet lemon, not a tart lemon. Kind of like those candy lemon drops. When it's dry, a green herbiness emerges, but it's still sweet. The grapefruit is doing something funky to it when it's dry -- I can still mostly smell lemon, but it's got a little twang to it. A bit of discord. I think this would be a good scent for people who like lemon and herbs.

I am usually conflict-averse, but I would have raised hell at that shop! Even though it didn't end up costing you anything, it did cause you a lot of headaches and wasted time trying to figure out the whole problem. Plus it was a crime. And if it was that shopgirl who stole your info, she deserved to be fired -- stores should be able to trust their employees with their customers' personal information. Anyway, I'm really sorry to hear that this happened to you... I am careful with my credit info but I still live in fear that something like this will happen to me too.

Hunh. I didn't know they could do that. I mean, I guess somewhere in the back of my head it must have registered that maintainers can shut down comms, but I was totally surprised by the announcement. To be honest I didn't know that Beth started alchemylab, I figured that some people started it with her blessing and she jumped in from time to time to make comments or suggestions. It seems a drastic step, which makes me wonder how bad it's gotten for Beth and the Lab. I seriously bet there are times when she just wants to scream at everyone for being such nitpicky demanding dumbasses. (I just hope she's never wanted to scream at me for being said dumbass.) Personally, I think that shutting it down is a great idea. Hell, if I ran a business and maintained a comm associated with my business, and the comm was full of people jacking up the prices on my products and selling them to make profits, and talking trash about my business and each other, I'd want to shut it down too. I know that some people are upset because they feel like they'll lose touch with some folks they had gotten to know, but for the most part I think those of us who like to talk to each other are over here on the forums anyway. Hopefully the people who like the "community" aspect of alchemylab will come on over.

I am really going to try to write reviews for everything in my blog too. If you see me slacking, give me a poke!