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BPAL Madness!

hackess

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Posts posted by hackess


  1. I received a sample bit of this one as an extra in a decant circle. It may have single-handedly changed my mind about Sugar Skull. I'd tried the '05 version and was hit with sugared fruit slices, those gel-like candies that look like sliced fruit? It wasn't horribly appealing, so I passed it on. But this soap is gorgeous! It smells like brown sugar and just a hint of the fruit. It lathers up very well, but the little piece (about 1.5in x .75in x .5in) I've got has lasted longer than I expected. I've been using it at the kitchen sink to wash my hands after handling messy things for about a month now. It's got some grit to it, especially as I get down to the end of the bar, but it's not too abrasive. If this is ever available again, I'd snap up several bars.


  2. 2007 Blend

     

    Bottle: The gorgeous red full rose I fell in love with in the earlier versions.

    Wet: An odd berry bubble-gum note is present. It's definitely a sharper rose this year.

    Dry: Still beautiful red roses, freshly cut, green stems and all. I got a distinct lemon note about 30 minutes into wearing it. 2007's brighter than my aged '05 blend and I'm not sure which I prefer. It's still like swimming in rose petals a la Mena Suvari in American Beauty.


  3. I was wondering if anyone else has had an allergy problem with the chocolate scents? I put on some Dreamland the other morning. A few hours later I receiver Candy Butcher in the mail and put that on too. I was fine until I used Candy Butcher. About an hour later I started wheezing and developed a sore throat. FOUR days later my tonsils are still swollen. My doctor isn't sure if it's my allergies or a virus but I tested negative for strep throat so that's out of the question. Could it be the Candy Butcher? I also had prpblems wearing Black Pearl and The Winter of our Discontent. Does anyone know if these have ingredients in common?

     

    Black Pearl - Coconut, Florentine iris, hazelnut and opalescent white musk

    The Candy Butcher - Dark chocolate with a heavy cream undertone.

    The Winter of Our Discontent - balsam, myrrh, mandarin orange, bitter clove, artemesia (wormwood), rosewood, nutmeg, dark musk, smoke and cypress.

     

    Not a single note in common. Do you have known allergies to any of these? If nothing else, you now have a list you can take to an allergist and ask to be tested for.


  4. I emailed customer service, but while I am waiting for a reply, does anyone know off hand what oils, other than Diwali, have mango oil in them?

    I am very, very allergic to it and I have a bunch of imps that I have been trying each day, but I really don't want to end up covering myself in something that's going to send me to the hospital! :P

     

    GCs: Kuang Shi, The Dodo, Tweedledum. LEs: Fruit Moon, Mi-go nBrain Canister, Corazon and Diwali. That's just for scents with listed notes. Obviously the Lab should be able to steer you clear of any scents with unlisted notes.


  5. I recently discovered Tulzscha and it's wonderful! But also horribly difficult to find more of. :P I'm going to keep my eye out for it, but in the meantime, anyone know any GC scents that smell similar?

     

    I used the lab search engine and found that the only current scent with cucumber is just cucumber (the Squirting Cucumber one) and most of the mint scents have florals in them. Envy sounds like it might be the closest... Any suggestions would be most welcome!

     

    Envy is way too herbal (dark green, if that makes sense) to be close to Tulzscha, IMO. Squirting Cucumber plus Grr (Panacea) might be what you're looking for.


  6. I really wanted this to be coffee single note, and it's nowhere near that. :P

     

    In the imp, it's all boozy caramel, and applied, butterscotch with hints of coffee. It almost immediate turns to woodsy notes, and reminds me very strongly of freshly polished hardwood banisters. It's very dusty and dry. Sophisticated and intellectual. Reminds me of ancient libraries, which is great for the visual, but I'm not a fan of the arid drydown. I've reapplied twice already today, just to cover the papery notes with something sweeter. It's evocative, but I'm not in love with it like I want to be.


  7. Snake Oil isn't among my favorites, but I don't hate it. Which is good, because I can smell it in nearly every Snake Pit scent I've tried.

     

    I have a bottle of Green Tree Viper and can justify a bottle of Saw-Scaled Viper (I think I like it more than Shub)

     

    I didn't like Asp Viper, Boomslang, or Coral Snake. The only others I could see myself trying are Habu and Temple Viper.


  8. I'm looking for a list of new items since the last time the Nattie/For_the_Nonce one was updated in the spring. I'm totally behind on my spreadsheet.

     

    pugmom, thanks for the link! The layout is quite a bit different, but I can definitely use yours as a backup if I can't track down something closer.

     

     

    Has anyone maintained the Nattie's spreadsheet - either the older layout or the newer one that For The Nonce put together?

     

    Anything specifically you're looking for? I took most of Nattie's spreadsheet and tweaked it a bit for its current incarnation.

     

    Here's most of what was released/discontinued/otherwise made available in 2007. I think I'm probably missing some of the Neil Gaiman stuff from this particular list, but it should be most of what you're looking for. I won't be maintaining this sublist, but I will be updating the full spreadsheet with all the release dates for situations like yours.


  9. Try Bonfire Night. DoA and October both didn't work on me, either, and I thought I'd love them. Bonfire Night is almost what I wanted DoA to be: just slightly smoky, just a little earthy, just a little sweet.

     

    If you like Jack, you probably want to try the Pumpkin Plunder scents. Pumpkin I is much like Jack in that it's a top note of buttery pumpkin, and then levels out to a nice sweet fruity blend. Pumpkin III has white chocolate and pomegranate. Pumpkin V contains blood orange and red ginger.

     

    I was intrigued by Bonfire Night, but put off by the idea of a scent with beer in it. Is it just a background note with a hops smell to it? I get a lot of smokiness off Hellfire, and I like that so Bonfire Night sounds appealing except for the beer part.

     

    Pumpkin II sounds good. Pumpkin I is definetley a no-go because I can't stand Jasmine. Is the orange strong in Pumpkin V? Because that one just sounds lovely.

     

    The beer didn't come out too much for me, and what did appear was a nice caramel note -- not hops. In Pumpkin V, the blood orange balances really well with red ginger and pumpkin, and (thankfully) masked the vanilla. Pumpkin I didn't give off much jasmine tea, to be honest. I got all fruit (pear and grape). Of course, YMMV.


  10. Pirate Moon is amazing! It's a beautiful calm aquatic that doesn't turn to soggy weeds or ozone on me. Hurrah!

     

    It's just slightly green, likely from the coconut palm, and full of soft wood notes. It really does put in mind a perfect white beach, blue ocean, and hanging in a hammock between two palm trees. Even the leather note is soft, like good worn doeskin breeches...and now, there's a bit of salty musk and my mind is wandering to a swarthy pirate and some land-lubbin'. :P


  11. Try Bonfire Night. DoA and October both didn't work on me, either, and I thought I'd love them. Bonfire Night is almost what I wanted DoA to be: just slightly smoky, just a little earthy, just a little sweet.

     

    If you like Jack, you probably want to try the Pumpkin Plunder scents. Pumpkin I is much like Jack in that it's a top note of buttery pumpkin, and then levels out to a nice sweet fruity blend. Pumpkin III has white chocolate and pomegranate. Pumpkin V contains blood orange and red ginger.


  12. The only one of this year's Plunder I didn't like was Pumpkin II -- the champaca was overpowering. I was hesitant about Pumpkin III, as BPAL chocolate and caramel usually don't turn out well on me, but in this blend they were fantastic. It smelled almost like hazelnut coffee, strangely enough, and when dry was a very creamy pomegranate, not overly sweet. Pumpkin V was touted as Pumpkin Queen's little sister, and that's pretty true. It's fruitier than PQ, and not nearly as spicy or regal. Pumpkin I smells like candy! Pumpkin IV is slightly green, thanks to the sage, and really is the only one that retains its pumpkin smell throughout.

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