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I've gotten backlogged on reviews to write, and Magdalene happened to be the one I grabbed today. It wasn't one that interested me much originally, and I think I had it in my head that this would smell like Ave Maria Gratia Plena, for some unknown reason. That was my mistake, because, no pun intended, this is divine. Out of the vial, Magdalene still didn't hold much appeal for me. I try all of Beth's scents, though, and thank goodness I did. The second this went on, I had a delicate cloud of orchid to revel in, with the rose and labdanum combining to make an almost tea-like base. In fact, I feel like I'm floating in a cup of Orchid Oolong combined with Snow Rose from The Republic of Tea - and that's a very good thing. It takes a few minutes for the rose to really come forward, and when it does, the orchid is still around. I'm so impressed with how the base of this scent changes when it does that; same three notes, completely different result. It has much less sweetness than Regan, but doesn't lose the orchid's strength of character that's so well-displayed there. Magdalene is wistful, but not in a sad way. More of the smile you get when remembering something wonderful that you've accepted isn't possible anymore - like flipping through my daughter's baby album, then having her come running up to me to tell me she loves me and knowing it will never be like that album again, without detracting from the beauty of the moment. Flowing, delicate, and soft without being wispy, Magdalene is beautiful. It's ripe and lush and completely feminine, and it's a stunning representation of those moments when I feel absolutely complete and like I have full knowledge of the facets of being a woman.

Other reviewers mentioned spice cookies, which isn't something I'm terribly fond of. I put off trying Laudanum because of those, which turned out to be my loss. The nutmeg is really blatant when I first put this on. Within a few minutes, though, the sassafrass starts to come out, and I get an interesting root beer and nutmeg blend. It's definitely medicinal, but in an herbal/home remedy sort of way. Laudanum turned out soft and soothing with a bit of wear, and although it had only moderate staying power, it really was something of a soporific. Oddly enough, it reminds me of the cabinet in my kitchen with all the baking spices, and it's a gentle, almost delicate scent.

It *does* go well with Samhain, and the Hesperides, too! Something about the Pumpkin Pie made my toes curl up, and not in a good way, so I gave it to a friend. I tried it with Jack and with Gluttony, and neither one seemed to work for me.

You'll laugh, but I did exactly the same thing - I picked up a 3-in-1 in Spiced Cider and Eggnog, plus Gingerbread Man, hoping they'd complement Beth's LEs. Drugstore.com had a great special that included a tub of the Gingerbread Souffle with purchase (they typically have great freebies on Philosophy orders, among other things). Gingerbread Man is definitely citrusy. Beth's Gingerbread Poppet is so rich, so true, that I have a feeling you'll be as disappointed as I was when you compare the two. They smell ... well, nothing alike. The Lab has baking gingerbread down perfectly. I like the Eggnog, but imagine it will seem watery and weak next to Beth's version. Between the concentration of scent you get in oils and Beth's knack for making every scent its lushest and most vibrant, that's my standard response with mass-produced bath and body products these days. I imagine I'll layer with it anyhow, as long as it doesn't conflict with Beth's scent; the 3-in-1s do good things for my dry skin. It was worth the try, though!

We got two bottles of Chaos Theory, rather than share, and from the beginning, they've been chaotic! Picking up the package at the post office, we opened the pull-tag on the priority mail box so we could breathe in that Lab-melange smell in the car, and while I ran into Kinko's to pick up a fax, Matt started digging through the packing peanuts to see what he could read through the bubble wrap. When we got home and started unwrapping the other bottles and digging through the packing, we had cards for Chaos Theory bottles IV and VIII, but only bottle VIII. 15 minutes of digging around in the box and car later, bottle IV reappeared. After sniffing the two scents, we both wanted IV as our own, and nearly got into an argument over the concept of sharing it. Then, when I went upstairs to put the new bottles on the shelf, half of the bottles on the tray slid into the floor when I put VIII in the collection. Chaos at work! As for the scents themselves, VIII is an interesting blend of cinnamon with a distinct floral tone and the tiniest bit of amber and sugar sweetness. While it dries down to a fairly gentle warmth, it spends most of its time smelling like Christmas potpourri; in fact, that was Matt's first comment as he wrinkled up his nose. It's definitely more likely to end up in an oil burner around here. IV, though, was another story. Faintly aquatic, sweet, and only vaguely floral, it makes me think of a lighter, lusher version of some Angel-type oil thrown in as an extra in a swap one time. It's not the kind of scent I'd usually appreciate, but it's compelling in its near-edible quality - and by that, I mean that it doesn't smell like food, but that you want to breathe it in and taste it on the tip of your tongue like champagne. We're not using either of the Chaos Theory scents any time soon. Our exes have put so much chaos into our lives in the last month that we don't want to encourage any more, and are already liberally covering ourselves with Aunt Caroline's Joy Mojo and Block Buster, instead. Once things calm down, though, I can't wait to use Chaos Theory IV and to go back and try Chaos Theory VIII again to re-test my initial impression. Previous review of IV posted by Lorencita.

Okay - new round of questions from Beth for the custom scent!! In general, these questions are followed by, "Why?" and "Explain how it makes you feel ..." In other words, elaborate on what's an otherwise simple question. a) shower, using unscented or VERY lightly scented product; sniff your skin and give your impressions of your natural scent b ) favorite colors c) color schemes in your home d) type/style/texture of clothes you prefer, for all seasons e) Historic time period or figure you're drawn to f) television, cinematic, or literary character you relate to? g) what's dominant in your personality - "one word someone might use when first meeting you" sort of thing ... and do you like it, or try to downplay it? h) e-mail a picture from a wonderful, perfect moment in your life I'm only halfway through these - knowing what you like is one thing, explaining with some small degree of coherency WHY you like them is another thing.

I'm a little late getting here, but you might try this thread for some other ideas for interview scents. If you don't find what you need, you can always throw a little more info at us and we can give you some more specific ideas. Best of luck with the interviews; you'll do great!

Argh! I've been Buffy-ing the last couple of days, as my skin has been ridiculously dry, but it's sucking up my BPALs and taking them over. Tamora disappeared in three hours, Queen of Hearts went even faster, and <gets goosebumps over the horror of this one> ... OLD MOROCCO TURNED INTO A BALE OF HAY! I do give Old Morocco credit for making it half a day, in spite of smelling distinctly like last season's hay, stacked in a barn that had the doors closed in 100* weather. I am dismayed and appalled that Buffy can do this to my scents, but need the wax-like moisturizing power too much to stop using it. Any suggestions for something that works WITH Buffy, not something EATEN by Buffy? You guys LUSH it up more than I do, so I'd be grateful for compatible scents.

I've had a custom scent on order for a while now, and had been waiting for Beth's life to slow down a little so we could do this in an atmosphere that was good for both of us. She e-mailed me the other day, asking for some basic information about what I like and dislike, what kind of places or things in nature I like, a bit about my body chemistry, and personal information in order to do my chart and a reading. After she gets a chance to sit down and take care of those things, she said she'd e-mail me with the more in-depth stuff. I'll keep you posted as it comes along - I'm sooooo excited! <---- closest I could get to a happy dance!

Honeysuckle, then jasmine, then back to the honeysuckle - Old New Orleans is all about these two flowers, and it's interesting to see how the jasmine took a back seat to the bright sweetness of honeysuckle. In many scents, it comes straight to the front and stays there, so this was a pleasant surprise. I never end up with a spice note from this. I have pure, lovely honeysuckle that gets a crisp sparkle from lemon rind, and the jasmine, while still around, does more of a supporting role here - it stays underneath the scent and really supports the honeysuckle on its shoulders, providing a warm, wet, languid base for Old New Orleans. I can't decide if I like this one or not. There's just enough jasmine, which I don't usually care for, to make me indecisive about this big, lush bouquet of moist blooms in full flower for full bottle. The imp will likely get used up as I make my decision, though.

Seems like anise must not like my skin, as it took off running in Old Kyoto and became almost overpowering within 15 minutes. This starts out so well, though - it's a shame I'm not going to be able to wear it. The cherry bloosom and white sandalwood were gorgeous together, as the white sandalwood seems to be so much less heavy and sharp than red sandalwood; it never overpowered the cherry blossom's light, sweet flower. For the first 2 minutes or so, the anise is even nice - it's got a beautiful rust-tone that gives Old Kyoto real dignity and quiet strength.

The peppery-sweet tones of violet are really smoothed and rounded out with the gardenia in Le Serpent Qui Danse. While the vanilla was a definite latecomer to the mix when I wore this, it's there, and it's smoky and rich when it does arrive. I'd swapped away my bottle of Veil the other day, as it just seemed sharper and sharper, ultra-peppery violet each time I wore it lately. Le Serpent Qui Danse, though, has the soft, velvety tone Veil had when I went through my first 5 ml. bottle, and I love the sexy edge the vanilla's smokiness adds here. I'm really considering a 5 ml. of this.

I think Beth must have made this like the martini that simply toasts the bottle of vermouth - the ylang-ylang is so faint it's almost invisible. Because I have issues with ylang-ylang (particularly headaches), I was really delighted about this! Sweet, soft, and true rose; I agree with other reviewers that the ylang-ylang seems to be intensifying the rose's sweetness rather than contributing its own scent. These are pale roses, too - light and fresh and sweet, without the lushness of red roses or the crispness of tea roses - more like pastel pink or white roses, to me. I'm going to get a bottle of this for my mother, as I think it might fill in for the Rose Red she loves so, and that I just can't get my hands on any more of. It doesn't have the same clarity or intensity that Rose Red does, but it dried down on me to a true, true rose, which is what she's been looking for over the last several years.

I've got ambergris and patchouli wafting off of me, with maybe a drop of heliotrope, sweetening this up as it warms. There's a hint of fruity floral in here, too - perhaps orchid? The patchouli really fades into the background in a couple of minutes, but it's an anchor for Van Van in all its stages of wear. Not bad, but I don't think it's something I'd wear everyday; this is clean in a soft, new baby purity sort of way, and makes me feel like I've got a fresh start to the world around me.

Yep, familiar with it, and nope, nothing like it at BPAL that I've found. Liz over at Underground Scent Plant is working on a dupe of the fragrance (should be available any time now), and she does a great job with things like that ...

Jolly Roger will get you the sea and salt air, Pele is tropical blooms, and I'm told that Tarot: the Star is a gorgeous coconut. I can't think of any that combine all those notes, but you might get imps in the three scents and see how they combine!

Great list, Ambrosia! I'd recommend Villian and Vicomte de Valmont. I love De Sade and Jolly Roger, but the Villain and Vicomte were scents that I just couldn't get enough on when they'd been applied to man-flesh. Both were *truly* drool inducing. I get goosebumps just thinking about how good Vicomte smells ... ooh!

I'm not usually a fan of honey, but that's apparently because it hasn't been Beth's version. Wearing this amazing scent, I picture her forcing an entire beehive into a Willy-Wonka looking machine, which chugs and chugs and suddenly spits out bee-shaped capsules of golden gel ... it's because I get a sense that this isn't just honey distilled, it's honey and honeycomb. I love the pale, flowing pastry-ness of this note, and I'm thrilled to know what adds the delectable note to blends that have honey in them, but no spice - even though I smell a definite powdery spice that's not otherwise describeable. There's no question why the Lab has such fabulous blends - between their expertise and the fabulous individual notes Beth creates to blend with, we're geting nothing but the finest. Another winner!

Azazel went on my skin in a beautiful start; lemongrass, with its sweetness tempered by lavender. I'd never thought of how well this pairing would play off of each other, but they're incredibly complementary. It doesn't take too long for the bay leaf to poke through, and this just gets more and more spa-like. This smells so much like - and yet so much better than - the spa at Beaches Resort at Providenciales in Turks and Caicos, British West Indies. When the sage adds itself to the mix, there's an exotic wood-green feel about it. Unfortunately, after I'd had this on for a while, my chemistry gave it a metallic tang; I'm going to try it on my mother, who gets completely different results out of everything she tries that I pass along. The tension rolls out of me when I sniff this one, and I can't tell you if it's my association with a week of massages and snorkeling or the scent itself. Azazel's not a scent I would consider overly masculine, but it's definitely about effortless, defiant, and overwhelming beauty.

Shollin nailed the new Hellfire; brandy, leather, and the smoke from a pipe. It's such a creamy blend, too - the leather really does this strange, but absolutely gorgeous, smoothing of the scents. The ambergris comes through after a bit, and this mellows Hellfire even more. It's a decadent, sated smell, and it's enchantingly disconcerting because of it. I'm not usually a leather fan, so this one is on my "perhaps" list. I don't think I'll let go of the imp, though, as this is intriguing and a definite possibility for repeated wear.

Don't feel bad, Red Hot Mama - the giant update updated with limited editions updated with lunar scents and goodies has led me to a record FOUR ORDERS IN SEVENTEEN DAYS. I could justify and tell you it's not as bad as it sounds, and that three of them have been fairly small orders, and that my mother has discovered Old Morocco and had to have some, but there's no point. In my recent quandry regarding whether to keep working full time while going to school, or to go to school only and with excessive hour permission, having money for BPAL was in the upper middle of the prioritized list of things to consider before making a decision. I am such an addict. And damn it, I'm delighted to be!!

Regan comes out of the vial and onto my skin with a sweet, faintly powdery, and almost spiced vanilla that's vaguely familiar and completely enchanting. The vanilla isn't the same vanilla that's in Snake Oil and some of the other blends; this is a more tropical scent with less of the edible sweetness. I'm not familiar with the scent of stephanotis, although I'd guess it's what's providing the faint powdery crispness underneath it all; the orchid is an arching stem absolutely burdened with purple blooms, sweetening the brown velvet of a fistful of vanilla beans with delicate strength and a juicy tone that's not fruity. Regan's beautiful in the manner of a woman who's intriguing, attractive, and just different enough from the usual crowd to stand out a bit, but doesn't realize it - which makes her even more attractive. It'll be a big bottle of this one for me.

On the Lab's website, back on the contact page, there's the following e-mail address: Wholesale Inquiries: wholesale@blackphoenixalchemylab.com This might be the best way to check in with Beth and the Lab about the possibility of selling through your store; I don't see any additional info on the website about the subject. On a side note, this looks like it was your first post, Subboo - welcome to the madness, and thanks for spreading it around in your store!

I can tell that this is going to be soapy, but it's a very different soapy than any of the other scents have been. Clean, but aromatic. Just a drop of anise, perhaps? This dries down soft and with an herbal note to it that I'm not familiar with - it's green, but it's pale green, and with an edge that isn't citrus but has some of the pith/peel characteristics of a lime. I can't remember if I have this on my to-purchase list; I'm going to have to go back to the spreadsheet and mark it as a maybe. A second try will be a necessity to make a decision on this one, as one minute I adore it, and the next I crinkle my nose.

I don't know if I got a prototype or the final version, but my imp of Cathode is very different from Shollin's. Heavy on the spanish moss, it's a barely-minty version of Tears. Dry down is a sweeter, more "round" version of the same, and it remains very aquatic. It's lovely, mind you, and I won't be disappointed if the bottle I ordered comes smelling like this or Shollin's version.