I was going to post an entry about why I've been MIA, but really, I just don't feel like it. I'll just say that I'm ok now, but I wasn't for a while. I'm really sorry if I let anyone down or made anyone angry. I'm doing what I can to fix things, so pm me if I can do anything for you.
I hope everyone is managing to enjoy the holiday season. It's been snowing here, finally, so I'm starting to get in the holiday spirit.
So far everyone has been so incredibly nice and understanding. I wonder, what is it about BPAL and this forum that attract such wonderful people?
WORK IN PROGRESS
Here are the blends I either need to test or re-test. Most of these I've had in hand and even tested on my skin, but swapped or frimped away before I could form a good opinion. I really need to take better notes. The ones that are actually on my active wishlist are starred.
Bewitching Brews
Belle Epoque
Bess
Black Forest
Blood Amber
Brimstone
Cathode
Calico Jack
Chimera
The Coiled Serpent
Delirium
Epherma
Event Horizon
Fae
Grand Guignol
Grog
Hamydryad (looking for non-wintergreen kind)
I Died for Beauty
Intrigue
Kubla Khan
La Bella Donna Della Mia Mente
La Bella Dame Sans Merci
Leanan Sidhe
Lightning
Lurid
Mary Read
Morgause
Ode on Melancholy
Omen
Ozymandias
Penny Dreadful
Phantasm
Poisoned Apple
The Raven
Schrodinger's Cat
Seance
Shattered
Tempest
Ulalume
Ultraviolet
Veil
Wilde
Yggdrasil
Zephyr
Ars Moriendi
Danse Macabre
Darkness
Epitaph
Eternal
The Ghost
Haunted
House of Night
Les Fleurs du Mal
Midnight
Nocturne
The Phantom Wooer
The Reaper and the Flowers
Sheol
Shroud
Thanatopsis
Twilight
Wings of Azrael
Dark Elements
Burial
Hurricane
Sin and Salvation
Envy
Greed
Lust
Sloth
Death on a Pale Horse
Anathema
Black Dahlia
Dorian
Fallen
Faustus
Hymn
Languor
Les Infortunes de la Vertu
Magdalene
Nero
Oblivion
Penitence
Roadhouse
Rose Cross
Seraphim
Tzadikim Nistarim
Love Potions
Ave Maria Gratia Plena
Bathsheba
Bien Loin D'ici
Brisingamen
Debauchery
Depraved
Desire
Forbidden Fruit
Golden Priapus
Jezebel
La Belle Au Bois Dormant
La Petite Mort
The Lady of Shalott
Le Serpent Qui Danse
Libertine
Lilium Inter Spinas
Loralei
Maiden
Muse
Nefertiti
O (This was one of the first BPAL scents I tried, and it failed horribly. I'm curious to re-test it.)
Psyche
Rapture
Ravenous
Saturnalia
Satyr
Sed Non Satiata
Siren
Succubus
The Temptation
Suspiro
Vicomte de Valmont
Wanda
Wanton
Whip
Diabolis
A Countenance Forboding Evil
Baobhan Sith
Black Annis
Blood Countess
Bloodlust
Bluebeard
Catherine
Dracul
Goblin
Hell's Belle
Horreur Sympathique
Incubus
Kitsune-Tsuki
Loup Garou
Maenad
Malice
Marquise de Merteuil
Masabakes
Medea
Nephilim
Nocnitsa
Nosferatu
Pain
Phantom
Phantom Queen
Phobos
Rage
Serpent's Kiss
Szepasszony
Troll
Wicked
Neil Gaiman/The Carousel
Spider*
Mad Tea Party
The Caterpillar
Cheshire Cat
Croquet
The Dodo
The Dormouse
Drink Me
Jabberwocky
The King of Hearts
The Knave of Hearts
The Lion
The Mock Turtle's Lessons
Mouse's Long and Sad Tale
The Pool of Tears
Queen Alice
The Queen of Hearts
Tiger Lily
Two, Five & Seven
The Unicorn
White Rabbit
Illyria
Antony
The Apothecary
Caliban
Cordelia
Goneril
Helena
Hermia
Juliet
Katharina
Lear
Lysander
Oberon
Ophelia
Othello
Regan
Robin Goodfellow
Rosalind
Titania
Titus Andronicus
Viola
Wanderlust
Île de la Tortue
Windward Passage
Ars Draconis
Dragon's Reverie
Ladon
Rappaccini's Garden
Asphodel
Belladonna
Black Hellebore
Black Lotus
Black Rose
Blood Lotus
Blood Rose
Cobra Lily
Death Cap
Dian's Bud
Devil's Claw
Hairy Toad Lily
Hemlock
Love-in-Idleness
Love-Lies-Bleeding
Moon Rose
Opium Poppy
Shadow Witch Orchid
Slobbering Pine
Squirting Cucumber
Strangler Fig
Sundew
Voodoo Lily
Wolfsbane
Yew-Trees
Ok, here are my early, slightly incoherent thoughts on the 2007 Pumpkin Patch scents. I didn't intentionally try any of these on, but I did get some spatter on Chief Running Wolf (that would be me) while I was decanting them.
Pumpkin I: Pumpkin with pear, white wine grapes, and jasmine-laced tea.
Holy well-behaved jasmine, batman! This is a contender for my favorite of all of the Pumpkins this year. It's lightly fruited and sparkling, and just absolutely perfect on my skin. No butter, and actually no pumpkin to speak of after it dries. It reminds me of some kind of white grape soda - I think it's the Diet Rite brand. It isn't sticky sweet - just sweet enough and slightly fizzy. The jasmine stays strangely subdued. I think I will wear this frequently.
Pumpkin II: Pumpkin with tobacco, champa flower, carnation, and tonka.
This is another winner for me. I've entered the twilight zone, because on me, this turns into a kissing cousin of Hellion. How that happens, I have no idea. I'm too tired to go check the notes for Hellion, but I can't imagine what they might have in common. On the extreme drydown, the tobacco gets stronger. Again, no butter, and basically no pumpkin to speak of after it dries. It also seems a little "fizzy" to me, in the same way that Hellion does. Contender for my favorite, although I think I and V edge it out just a little, if only because it's so similar to Hellion on me yet has no chance of replacing it.
Pumpkin III: Pumpkin with white chocolate, caramel, pomegranate, and cream.
I predicted that this would be my favorite of the pumpkins, because, hello, yummy foody wonderfulness. But, it's not my favorite, and I'm not even 100% sure that it works on my skin. At first it was way too creamy, too tooth-achingly sweet, and too rich. I haven't been able to detect the pomegranate at all yet. Right after the first stage of the drydown, it showed signs of mellowing a bit, but I accidentally washed the scent off during decant circus intermission. (I scrub my hands after I finish decanting each scent so as not to corrupt the next one, but I usually don't wash my upper arms. I guess I got a little over zealous)This one requires further testing, but I think it's going to be a bit too foody for me.
Pumpkin IV: Pumpkin with cactus blossom, sage, and sweetgrass.
Well, this was on the underside of the arm with Pumpkin III, and it hadn't even really gotten to the drydown when it was corrupted by soap. So, I can't really say if this will work for me or not, but it does have promise. This one seemed to have a fresh, summery edge.
Pumpkin V: Pumpkin with benzoin, bourbon vanilla, lemon peel, neroli, blood orange, and red ginger.
Ummm, yes please! So far this seems to be my 2nd favorite of the pumpkin blends, after Pumpkin I. But with further testing, it could prove to be the best. It's complex and spicy, and I'm really loving the deep citrus edge. It seems perfectly balanced, as I can detect all the listed notes yet nothing is taking over the blend. It reminds me a little of something I tried before . . . maybe Oct 2006 13? But this is better on me, and I'm very eager to give it an actual test run.
I went through a purging stage and got rid of many of my bottles, but now I'm starting to hoard again. I have multiples of some of these. This list is from memory, so it's very likely that I've forgotten some things.
10ml:
Bordello
Hellion
Voodoo (almost empty)
5ml:
13 (2005, white label)
13 (July 2007, pink label)
A Bachelor's Dog
A Bold Bluff
Agnes Nutter
All Souls 06
Arachnina the Spider Girl
Arcana
Aziraphale
Black Tower
Blood
Bordello
Chrysanthemum Moon
Crowley
Devil's Night
Door 13
Djinn
Enraged Groundhog Musk
Fairy Market
Faiza the Black Mamba
Florence
Frumious Bandersnatch (almost empty waaaaah)
Halôa
Harvest Moon 06
Hetairae
Hunger Moon
Inferno (almost empty waaaaah)
Lampades
Leo 07
Monster Bait: Bloody Mary
Monster Bait: Tokyo Stomp
Monster Bait: Underpants
NYE in Dogville
One to Tie, Two to Win
The Organ Grinder
Pinched With Four Aces
Priala the Human Phoenix
Punkie Night
Queen of the Nile
Samhain 05
Saw Scaled Viper (almost empty waaaah)
Shadwell
Sitting Up With a Sick Friend
Sugar Skull 05
Temple Viper
Three Witches
Tristran
Tweedledee
Velvet
Victoria
War
The Wildmen of Jezirat al Tennyn
The Witch Queen
Wulric the Wolfman
Yvaine
I haven't been sleeping well, so I took a hot bath around 10:30 last night with the hopes that it would help knock me out. My soothing bath was interrupted by an angry and persistant bat. My apologies to anyone who may have seen a scantily-clad woman releasing an agitated bat from a towel sometime around 11:00 last night.*
Playing naked hide and seek with an ill-tempered bat frazzled my nerves. The cold medicine I had taken earlier backfired, so I was nervous and exhausted but wide awake. I tried to sleep anyway. Dogs barked. My mouse would not get off of his squeaky wheel, except to noisily chew on his toys. Dogs howled in 3-part harmony. Bat-like noises were heard. My son alternated between crying beside my bed because he didn't want to sleep in his bedroom alone, and crying in my bed because he wanted to sleep in his bedroom alone. I ended up putting the mouse habitat in my closet for the night. Even though my closet is huge and as nice as my bedroom, I still felt guilty. I had nightmares about mice when I did manage to sleep. Huge vengeful mice with squeaky bat wings. Sad mice with tears running down their little mouse faces.
So today I am functioning on three non-consecutive hours of sleep. That might not be so bad, except that I haven't gotten more than 5 hours of sleep on any night in the past two weeks. I am beyond sleep deprived at this point. I really wouldn't be surprised if I do start hallucinating bats.
Today of all days, I was railroaded into having lunch with my Mom and four year old son. I love them both dearly and normally welcome the chance to spend time with either of them, but today was just not the day. They insisted on eating at Burger King, of all places. My son, who is usually an angel, was on his worst behavior. So was my Mom. They both took pleasure in pushing my buttons, which were admittedly easier to push today than they usually are. Hooray, temper tantrums and crappy food for everyone! I've never been so glad to get back to the office. I'm the only one working today, which is good, but I can't leave before at least 6:30, which is bad.
*Note to those of you with an interest in bat welfare: I tried to be very kind to the bat. I gently picked him up with a towel after he roosted on a windowshade. He tried to bite me, but I think that's because he was upset, not because I was hurting him in any way. He appeared to fly away unharmed when I released him. Bats get into our house all of the time, so any advice on getting them out safely would be welcome.
One of my fish died this morning. Yeah, he was just a fish, and just a little neon tetra at that, but I'm still sad. I wonder if his tank mates miss him.
It's been over 3 years since Tito, my big albino Oscar, died, and I still miss him. He was the most petlike fish I've ever seen. As irrational as it may sound, I think he knew me as a friend. He got all excited and wagged his tail when I came near the tank. My husband always fed Tito, but he only wagged for me.
Random BPAL info: I'm wearing Neo-Tokyo today, for the first time in a long time. It smells weird on me today. Not bad weird, just different than I remember. Aunt Flo is visiting, so it could just be hormonal.
This has got to be a candidate for the most boring and uninspired blog entry ever.
I don't like jumping on an already moving bandwagon, so I've never had a myspace or a livejournal or an actual blog. Until now. I just popped my livejournal cherry. Granted, there are no entries and it's all plain and ugly at the moment, but the damage is done. And here I am starting a blog. You people could convince me to do anything.
Does anybody remember open diary? That should tell you how long it's been since I "blogged". I think the site still exists, but I'm afraid to check. It just wouldn't be the same and it would make me sad.
Since I'm a total lj noob, any advice and/or suggestions on getting started would be welcome. Otherwise I'll just fumble along and generally make an ass out of myself until I figure it out.
