I got bogged down and couldn’t update my BPAL blog, but have continued to purchase. Since the last entry I’ve purchased bottles of:
Minotaur
Temple Viper (these two were purchased from a forum buddy, both smell amazing)
Black Lace
Prospero (these two were my “normal” purchase one month from Dark Delicacies instead of the Lab. Both are really nice)
Hony Mone
Blood Phoenix
Chanukkiyah (I was underwhelmed by these 3, but hopefully aging will help)
Numb
Peacock Queen 2005 (these two recently purchased from another forumite)
I Married a Vampire from Planet X
Diary of a Lovestruck Teenage Cannibal (Vampire is a bit too masculine, but Teenage Cannibal is nice)
Anactoria
Lunar Eclipse (recent update)
Regarding Numb: it’s gotten a bad rap and I don’t know why. I bought Numb brand-new from the Lab when it was offered in July 2005. I liked it well enough, it was like frozen sugared violets, but unfortunately I broke out in a rash the few times I wore it. I gave it to my mom, and when we went to visit for Christmas I was looking at her stash (I’ve also given her Harvest Moon 2004 and Taurus 2007) and noticed that Numb was almost empty. She loves it! It’s her favorite and she asked if I could get her another bottle for her birthday.
I finally took recent pictures of my collection. I enjoy reading about other collections and what people love. I’ve been buying directly from the Lab for over 3 years and have over 100 bottles of favorites. Here’s the main box, it’s a tin from a men’s cologne set that DH had received. I was so excited when the shipments started arriving with special BPAL orange shipping tape, *dork alert* I would carefully peel it off to stick on the tin.
Here’s a picture of the inside, it’s totally full and I’ve started a second box. The bottles are in order based on when they were received, which makes less and less sense. If I’m looking for a bottle I can make a good guess where it will be, but it’s hard to browse if I’m trying to decide what to wear out of the blue.
My special imp tin: these are imps or decants that I want to keep. There’s my one tarted imp (Alice); even though I have a bottle I’ll never get rid of the imp just because it’s the way imps aren’t done anymore. I also have some single note decants, Tomato Leaf is peeking out. The labels have the She-Devil forum skin logo, there are a few others floating around in there. These were won in the forum fundraising raffle in April 2006.
My backup box contains Arcana and Possets bottles, new BPAL bottles arriving and tested imps that I don’t care to keep.
I’d love to have a nice display rack of some kind, because the labels are kick-ass and I could see everything. But how is that possible? I’d need a wall at this point.
So it’s been a crazy October with traveling (cruise to Mexico last weekend and planning for friend’s wedding next weekend) and I didn’t order right after the Yule update as I wanted to wait for the Lunacy. But what a great Yule update!
Angeronalia -- Strength, passion, and the cleansing fire of joy: olive blossom, white nectarine, vibrant blood orange, honey absolute, lemongrass, elemi, sensual patchouli, and the quiet purity of gardenia. This sounds like a different and interesting floral. Wait for reviews.
Archangel Winter -- Crystalline, glassy ice whipped by a snowstorm. Piercing ozone, winter darkness. Aquatics aren’t my thing, most go too soapy.
Chanukkiyah -- Olive oil, beeswax, glowing amber, sweet sufganiyot, pomegranate, and fig. Hmm, olive oil as the main ingredient? Interesting. Wait for reviews.
Christmas Rose -- Bruise-tinted hellebore blossoms pushing through snowdrifts. I read that hellebore was green and herby, therefore this isn’t a BPAL Rose. I’m not one for the straight-up florals anyway.
Diwali -- Lotus root, mango, tamarind, cardamom, clove, almond milk, cashew, rice flower, coconut, supari, raisins, and incense crafted from aloeswood, red sandalwood, cedar, and spikenard. This sounds interesting with the mélange of ingredients. Wait for reviews.
Egg Nog 2007 -- Sweet brandy, dark rum, heavy cream, sugar, and a dash of nutmeg. This is one of the all-time forum favorite Yule blends, but I’m afraid the heavy cream will go rancid or plastic. I’ll think about this one.
El Dia de Reyes -- Hot cocoa with cinnamon, coffee, and brown sugar. Not so much for cocoa, cinnamon and coffee; I’d rather drink it than smell like it.
Fruit of Paradise -- The Fruit of Paradise, the Nectar of Death: bittersweet pomegranate, nurtured and cultivated in the hollow darkness of the Underworld. -- Pomegranate is one of my favorite notes, so dark and foreboding.
Gingerbread Poppet 2007 -- Warm, cozy gingerbread spiced with nutmeg, clove and cinnamon. Another all-time favorite for some, but gingerbread is not one of my favorite scents. I don’t want to flounce around smelling like a giant cookie.
Haloa 2007 -- Wine grapes, myrrh, frankincense and olive leaf, and the warm scent of offertory cakes. I have a bottle of last year’s; it was pretty sweet and cakey at first, but the incense has gotten stronger which I love.
Jolasveinar 2007 -- Their scent is a mishmash of snow, dirt, Icelandic moss, marsh felwort, and the smushed petals of buttercups and moorland spotted orchids, with the barest hint of the scent of pilfered Christmas pastries. Another blend from last Yule, and the reviews gave me the impression that the “pastries” will end up plasticky on me.
Krampus 2007 -- Be good, or Krampus will toss you in a river! Sinister red musk, black leather, dusty rags, and wooden switches. This was a love-it-or-hate-it blend for forumites last year. While I love red musk, black leather and wood comes out pretty harsh on my skin.
La Befana -- Candy charcoal, winter lilies, parma violet, a sprig of cypress, a poof of chimney dust, and holiday sweets. Candy charcoal? I have no idea. Wait for reviews.
Lick It One More Time -- Every holiday season should be full of lewd suggestions and filthy double entendres, right? This is a new take on Lick It and Lick It Again -- a peppermint candy cane with a flash of vanilla and an extra jolt of sugar. I have a bottle of the original Lick It, a sweet-sparkly mint.
Midwinter’s Eve 2007 -- A melancholy, deep scent, poignant and brimming with nostalgia. The perfume of sugared plums over a breeze of winter flowers. I had a bottle of Midwinter’s Eve 2004, and while I loved the sugared plums it ended up a bit waxy from the flowers. I ended up using it all in my oil burner and don’t need more.
Mistletoe 2007 -- The plant of peace in Norse tradition. If enemies met in the forest and came upon a sprig, they laid down their arms and observed a truce until the next sunrise. I don’t like the green planty blends much.
Noche Buena -- A celebration of the Nativity: the light, uplifting incense of the Misa de Noche Buena, purple sage, and a vibrant bouquet of plumeria, chrysanthemum, tuberose, Angel's Trumpet, Mexican tiger lily, dahlia, and azucenas. This sounds beautiful, Chrysanthemum Moon is one of my favorite Lunacies and the ingredient will pop out at me. Plus purple sage is in Corazon which is one of my all-time favorite bottles. Wait anxiously for reviews.
November -- Autumn leaves damp beneath the first snowfall. I’m not sure about damp leaves. Wait for reviews.
Peacock Queen 2007 -- In dramatic contrast to the soft innocence of Snow White and the dew-kissed freshness of her sister, Rose Red, this is a blood red, voluptuous rose, velvet-petaled, at the height of bloom. Haughty and imperious, vain, yet incomparably lovely to the eye, but thick with thorns of jealousy, pride and hatred. I love the description for this, it’s so snotty. This will probably demand to be ordered.
Rose Red 2007 -- The perfected winter rose, dew covered and freshly cut. I have and cherish a bottle from 2005, it really is a perfect rose.
Shivering Boy -- Cold, cold forever more. A winter storm roaring through empty stone halls, bearing echoes of despair, desolation, and death on its winds. The scent of frozen, dormant vineyards, bitter sleet, and piercing ozone, hurled through labdanum, benzoin, and olibanum. Woo, sounds really detergenty. Wait for reviews.
Snow Storm -- Winter aconite, balsam fir, cedar leaf, and white mint. I don’t know what Winter aconite is, but Botanical.com says it’s a deadly herb. This blend is probably too green for me.
Snow White 2007 -- A chilly, bright perfume: flurries of virgin snow, crisp winter wind and the faintest breath of night-blooming flowers. Finally! I’ve been waiting to reorder Snow White, and while Snow-Flakes appeared last year and is quite lovely, this bottle is definitely being ordered right off.
More Gaiman/Pratchett scents, which by the way I finally read Good Omens and enjoyed the dry British apocalyptic wit.
Famine -- Sleek black tea, tobacco leaf, frankincense, lilac, and white musk. Tea scents aren’t my favorite.
Madame Tracy -- A coquettish blend of tea rose, ume blossom, geranium, lily of the valley, violet, and heliotrope. Tea rose has the risk of going all twee baby-powder on me.
Pollution -- A toxic chypre: radioactive green musk, davana, and oozing white amber. I haven’t tried green musk, let alone if it’s glowing. Wait for reviews.
Hastur -- Smoky-sour labdanum, black patchouli, wet tobacco, and brimstone. This sounds like Schwarzer Mond and Minotaur, dark and eeeeevil. Wait for reviews.
Ligur -- Dry olibanum, black moss, soggy ti, khus, and opoponax. Same as Hastur, except probably more masculine cologne with the black moss. Wait for reviews.
Fairy Wine -- An ethereal vintage, steeped with dandelion, honey, and red currants. I love the boozy wine blends, and the other ingredients sound nice.
Lady Una -- Honey musk, green tea leaf, blackberry leaf, vanilla bean, and fae spices. The BPAL Honey is greatness, but not sure of the green tea (even though I drink it every morning). Wait for reviews.
And finally, the normal Lunacies. I love the cool rippling script for Long Night Moon!
Long Night Moon -- A bouquet of night-blooming flowers, petals dusted with frost. Cereus, moonflower accord, night phlox, honeysuckle, silver thyme, white mint, and blue musk. Lots of white flowers, not for me.
Sagittarius -- Sage, clove, dandelion, balm of gilead, fig, and chamomile. I’m afraid of the clove, which can overpower.
Ivanushka -- Soft, velvety fur and warm musk, brushed by forest woods and dusted by dry leaves. This sounds a lot like Buck Moon, which I liked but didn’t love enough to keep.
In conclusion: I’m ordering Fruit of Paradise and Snow White!
Lottsa stuffs!
Beaver Moon -- wild cherry with vanilla cream accord, and a hint of strawberry. Boy howdy, this sounds a lot like MB: Bloody Mary. I like Bloody Mary but it seems to disappear quickly.
Swan Maiden -- White gardenia, white iris, sandalwood, calla lily, French magnolia, muguet, jonquil, and orchid. Lots of white florals, not my thing.
Scorpio 2007 -- Dark musk, wormwood, basil, dragon's blood resin, galangal, and opoponax. While I love the musky blends, I don't like wormwood.
Midnight Kiss -- Eternal desire, unquenchable passion: red musk, cocoa absolute, Nepalese amber, red sandalwood, aged patchouli, nicotiana, and blood wine. Mmmm, every single ingredient sounds great.
Vampire Tears -- Regret born from ceaseless longing: wisteria, white grapefruit, neroli, green tea, jasmine, white ginger, honeysuckle, iris, and tonka. This blend definitely has an Asian vibe, but doesn't sound great for me.
Ile de la Tortue -- Damp air trapped in limestone caverns, heady greenery, hothouse orchids, nicotiana blossoms, bois de chandel, elemi, palm wine, garambullo, pega-pega, flame of the forest, and a swirl of Haitian vetiver. These ingredients sound really cool (pega-pega? flame of the forest?), but I'm afraid it will be too green and aquatic.
Windward Passage -- Breezes blowing off of the waters of the Caribbean: marine accord, seaweed, and bladderwrack. Another aquatic, we'll wait and see on this one.
Kill-Devil -- Sugar cane, molasses, oak wood, and honey. Oooh, I have yet to try a blend featuring molasses. Definitely want to read reviews.
Plunder -- The scent of a pirate's bumboat, overflowing with stolen wares: tea leaf, cassia, cinnamon bark, clove, allspice, sandalwood, tobacco, peppercorn, and nutmeg. Cassia and cinnamon really amp on me and aren't a favorite.
And a couple of forum-only blends!
Pirate Moon -- Red musk, ambergris, coconut palm, red sandalwood, balsam, date, warm leather, tobacco, ebony, lingum vitae wood, pandanus grass, an' a touch o' lime. Two red musk blends in an update? I can't resist this one, it sounds bootylicious (yarr!).
The Phoenix -- Sea air, gunpowder, lime, salt-crusted wood, a splash of blood, and a dribble of Snake Oil. Probably too masculine with the assorted manly ingredients. I do like when Snake Oil makes an appearance.
In conclusion: I ordered Midnight Kiss and Pirate Moon!
Wowee, another big update. Work has been busy -- don’t they know that there was a huge BPAL update? GO AWAY, I’M BUSY READING ABOUT THESE NEW SMELLIES! This will be a quick run-through for me to remind myself what to watch for in reviews.
Hunter Moon -- Dry leaves, autumn bonfires, blood red wine, feral, animalistic notes and the chill of approaching winter. Ah, the fabled Hunter Moon! I’m so glad this is back, it sounds great.
Aeaea -- A dark ocean breeze, electric with adrenaline, magic, and fear, clashing with the thick scent of poisoned berries and spiny aloe, against a backdrop of snowdrop, cedar, and cypress. While the name is fun to say over and over again (Aeaeaeaeaeaeaeaea) I’m afraid this would be too floral and/or soapy.
Libra 2007 -- Rose, black cherry, carnation, fig, honey, plum, and black currant. Rose and black cherry AND honey AND BLACK CURRANT? I got more and more excited reading the notes. Even with the carnation and fig, this was made just for me!
All Souls 2007 -- An incense blend that invokes the higher qualities of mercy and compassion, mingled with the soft, sugared currant scent of offertory soul cakes. I was intrigued by this last year, as I love incense blends, but it sounds a bit too cakey-foody which isn’t my favorite.
Bonfire Night -- Beer, woodsmoke, tar, and treacle. It’s funny, Villainess recently updated with Mosh, a beer soap. Is beer going to be the new hotness for fragrance? I’ve brewed several batches of beer and needless to say it doesn’t smell like a stinky biker bar when it’s fermenting in the vat, it’s sweet and yeasty. Wait for reviews.
The Death of Autumn -- Dark amber, dead leaves, khus, saffron, bitter clove, chrysanthemum, camellia, galangal, and a drop of oud. This sounds very musty-dusty which I’ve enjoyed in Mum Moon. Wait for reviews
Dia de los Muertos 2007 -- dry, crackling leaves, the incense smoke of altars honoring Death and the Dead, funeral bouquets, the candies, chocolates, foods and tobacco of the ofrenda, amaranth, sweet cactus blossom and desert cereus. I have Dia ’05 which is nice, but I don’t need more.
Hexennacht 2007 -- German fir and forest lichen, incense and bonfire smoke, and the wet, glimmering scent of skin warmed by dance. How great that Hexennacht is back! I bought the original way back in March 2005 and I love it, smoky and sweet. Update: it looks like this was included by mistake. Too bad, it's a beautiful blend.
October -- A rustle of red leaves, a touch of smoke and sap in the air. This sounds really interesting; sometimes a blend with the shortest, vaguest description turns out to be so beautiful. Wait for reviews.
Samhain 2007 -- damp woods, fir needle, and black patchouli with the gentlest touches of warm pumpkin, clove, nutmeg, allspice, sweet red apple and mullein. The classic Halloween blend. I have bottles of ’04 and ’05, a truly unique fall scent.
Samhainophobia 2007 -- Menacing Haitian vetiver, patchouli, and clove with a shock of bourbon geranium, grim oakmoss, and dread-inspiring balsams pierce the innocuous scent of autumn leaves. Another reappearance, but too woodsy for me.
Sugar Skull 2007 -- Vibrant with the joy and sweetness of life in death! A blend of five sugars, lightly dusted with candied fruits. I have a 2005 bottle which I love, I get a strong booze note which keeps it from being too sweet.
The Atrocious Attic -- The air of the room is dusty, laced with the scent of a child’s perfume and the remnants of a dried, crumbling bridal bouquet: tea rose, violet, white sandalwood, French lavender, and Calla lily. Cool description, like Havisham. I’m not much for ethereal florals, though.
The Chilling Cellar -- Wine just turning to vinegar, crumbling mortar, red clay, and the coppery tang of old blood. I love wine, it’s one of my favorite notes, but I don’t want wine that’s “turned.” Wait for reviews.
The Forbidding Foyer -- The faint scent of brimstone, ghostly breath laced with cognac, neglected mahogany panels, and rot. Smoke and rotting wood? Wait for reviews.
The Ghastly Garden -- Overgrown oleander, marshy water hemlock, the sugared nectar of carnivorous blooms, putrefying wet greenery, oozing sap, crushed rosary peas, withered climbing roses, and nightshade berries. Lots of greenery, wait for reviews.
The Lurid Library -- The incense-tinged scent of forbidden tomes and the musk-laden remnants of infernal servants. This one sounds awesome, incense and musk.
The Perilous Parlor -- Faint echoes of laughter and the distorted music of a harp drift by, along with the scent of soft white pear and sweet vanilla. Maybe too soft and sweet? Wait for reviews.
The Twisted Oak Tree -- Blackened, rotted oak wood blanketed in moss and choked by a cloak of grasping ivy. Probably too masculine with the wood and moss, wait for reviews.
Pumpkin I -- Pumpkin with pear, white wine grapes, and jasmine-laced tea. I have to be careful with these pumpkin blends, as they sometimes come out way too foody and heavy, almost like baking bread. For this one with “white” notes, wait for reviews.
Pumpkin II -- Pumpkin with tobacco, champaca flower, carnation, and tonka. This sounds a little better, as I really like the champaca flower blends. Wait for reviews.
Pumpkin III -- Pumpkin with white chocolate, caramel, pomegranate, and cream. Probably too foody, wait for reviews.
Pumpkin IV -- Pumpkin with cactus blossom, sage, and sweetgrass. Interesting florals, wait for reviews.
Pumpkin V -- Pumpkin with benzoin, bourbon vanilla, lemon peel, neroli, blood orange, and red ginger. This sounds like Pumpkin Queen version 2, which I really enjoyed. Wait for reviews.
A Murder of Crows -- Sleek iris and verbena, grey amber, benzoin, davana, and glossy herbs. Iris is one of those overpowering notes on me, so it’s good I won’t have to order the whole Patch to try this.
Event Horizon -- Black opium, labdanum, opoponax, black orchid, and benzoin. Dark sophisticated floral, wait for reviews.
Mary Read -- Salt air, ocean mist, aged patchouli, sarsaparilla, watered-down rum, leather-tinged musk, and a spray of gunpowder. I recently tried Olokun and was impressed that the ocean notes didn’t turn into laundry detergent on me. This sounds a bit more masculine but I’ll anxiously await reviews.
Schrodinger’s Cat -- A paradoxical scent experiment! – tangerine, sugared lime, pink grapefruit, oakmoss, lavender, zdravetz, and chocolate peppermint. Flat-out citrus blends aren’t my favorite, as they don’t hang around long enough.
Kubla Khan -- Through sunlit caves of ice, roses unfurl amidst dancing waves of serpentine opium smoke and amber tobacco, golden sandalwood, champaca, tea leaf, sugared lily, ginger, rich hay absolute, leather, dark vanilla, mandarin, peru balsam, and Moroccan jasmine. What a beautiful-sounding blend with a bunch of favorite notes. Anxiously await reviews.
Epitaph -- Roses and funeral lilies perceived, faintly, through an indistinct, ghostly mist. Roses are Yay!, lilies not so much.
The Phantom Wooer -- A lifeless love song: stargazer lily, bone dust, tomb mosses, buttonweed, moonflower, and honey myrtle. Lots of florals, nah.
A Countenance Forboding Evil -- Patchouli, ylang ylang, blood orange, and vetiver. This may or may not be stinky on me, with the blood orange sweetening up the darkness.
Goblin -- Black coconut, gnarly patchouli, and sweet benzoin. I am a sucker for coconut, even though I haven’t found my one true love yet. Wait for reviews.
Incubus -- Spectral white musk and the heart-stopping chill of sheared mint, fanned by caramel-touched body heat, and the diabolical sensuality of black musk, nicotiana, and sage. Reminds me of Red Lantern, hopefully another smutty musk blend.
Troll -- A lurching, hateful, bitter scent. This is a gruesome blend of ghastly greens and blacks: vetiver, pine pitch, troll musk, black basil, clove smoke, and scorched cumin. Probably too dark and masculine for me.
Hairy Toad Lily -- Spotty, hairy, purple, sweet! I haven’t had much luck with the Rappaccini Florals.
Havana -- Date palm, dried tobacco, snakeroot, and leather. Ooh, date palm! Sweet, but not too sweet. Wait for reviews.
Hi’iaka -- mai’a, hibiscus, white ginger, akala, na'u, Hawaiian moon flower, yellow ilima, pink lokelani, jewel orchid, and fringed orchid. I was just thinking the other day that BPAL doesn’t have many Hawaiian floral blends. This sounds like a nice addition.
Plus a Trading Post exclusive!
Crypt Queen -- As sweet as death, as deep as the grave: pomegranate, raspberry, gardenia, plum, and rose with patchouli, black pepper, rose musk, and a hint of blood accord. Yum, how I love dark fruits like pomegranate and raspberry and plum.
Trick or Treat blends -- Spiked Punch sounds the best, as I love the fruity boozy blends. All the other blends sound good though, except for the piney TP’d Trees which I know wouldn’t work on me. I might sign up for this next month.
In conclusion: I ordered Hunter Moon and Libra 2007 as my normal monthly order, and Crypt Queen for my birthday present to myself.
13 has been reformulated yet again; by my count this is version #4:
A base of cocoa absolute and white chocolate with thirteen baneful and beneficial bits including vanilla bean, white ginger, orchid, golden peach, massoia bark, clove, honey, and starfruit.
I see vanilla bean and honey and my eyes roll back in my head, all ...must order... but Beth made a comment that this version is very chocolate-heavy, so I think I'll pass. I have the October 2006 version (which I'm wearing today, natch!) and I'm really enjoying it. It's a little bit less foody and more sophisticated than the original, which I tried and ended up swapping away. I'll wait for the next update!
First off: I got a raise today! Yeehaw! Here’s a quick run-through of the HUGE update:
Red Moon. Our blend for this Moon mixes traditional lunar oils with the warmth of amber, red musk, and heliotrope, the russet haze of dragon's blood resin, sunflower, and crushed orange peel, with a dusting of summertime herbs: chamomile, rue, elder flower and marigold. I sniffed the previous incarnation at a Meet-n-Sniff which was beautiful, and this looks to have red musk and sunflower added which sounds even better. I’m so glad this is back! I had no inkling this would return.
Allison Gross. Witch-herbs, crushed golden flowers, and a man-made-dragon’s surly musk lightened by the scent of the blossoms and unearthly incense that clings to the Faerie Queen’s hair. Dragon’s blood musk, ambergris, sunflower, chrysanthemum, muguet, and rue, with gingered lily, moonflower, bluebell, peony, nightwort, and white rose. I’m not sure about what may end up being “bubblegum musk.” The unusual flowers (sunflower, gingered lily, bluebell) may make it interesting.
Leo. Egyptian amber, walnut bark, chamomile, frankincense, and saffron. this sounds like a sneezing fit between the amber, bark and chamomile.
Sportive Sun. Heliotrope, amber, almond flower, frangipani, cedar, and calamus. Sounds nice except for the cedar.
Gibbous Moon. Moonflower, Madonna lily, orris, white ginger, cucumber, hyacinth, and Irish moss. Too much floral in this one.
Agnes Nutter. Gunpowder, charred wood, smoke, and rusty nails. When we go to estate sales, many times in the “old man garage” there are saved coffee cans of old nails and nuts and bolts, along with hunting rifles and ammo. So all I’m imagining is this smelling like old man garage.
Azriphale. Ethereal musk, blonde woods, and dusty Bible accord. I want to try this to see what “dusty Bible accord” smells like.
Crowley. Infernal musk, red patchouli, lilac cologne, mahogany, lemon rind, oakmoss, leather, and vanilla husk. This sounds a bit too masculine with the lilac cologne, mahogany and leather.
Shadwell. Roll-ups, mildewed raincoat, sweet tea, and condensed milk. What are roll-ups, other than the pressed-fruit snack I ate as a kid? Old pants? Ew.
War. Red ginger, black spices, patchouli, honeysuckle, and three blood-soaked red musks. This sounds like a winner, like my beloved Glasya.
Fairy Market. Otherworldy golden incense, blooming wind-flowers, everlasting lavender, bluebell, a faint whiff of exotic sugared candies, and fae mist upon wet green grass. I don’t do lavender, so “everlasting lavender” sounds even worse. Everything else sounds cool.
Tristran. Dust on your trousers, mud on your boots, and stars in your eyes: redwood, tonka bean, white sandalwood, lemon peel, patchouli, rosewood, coriander, and crushed mint. Redwood would probably be too strong on me; another masculine one.
Victoria. Graceful vanilla musk, tea rose, and stargazer lily. Vanilla musk and tea rose sounds lovely.
Witch Queen. Wild plum, red musk, tuberose, calla lily, heliotrope, pimento, ylang ylang and beeswax beneath a dark haze of sinister purple-hued incense smoke. Dang, wild plum and red musk right off the bat, like a one-two punch of favorites.
Yvaine. The high, crystalline scent of a star-filled night with blue lavender and lush magnolia. Lavender again, nah.
Also, more soaps! I recently tried Snake Oil and Shub soaps (Shub is finishing up in the shower). I knew that quite a bit of oil goes into the batches, but I was disappointed personally that the fragrance didn’t last on my skin without the backup boost of oil applied later. I was really hoping for a nice overpowering blast of scent; bowl me over! I don’t care! Alas, I get dressed and can smell the detergent from my clothes more than my nice soap. However, Bordello and Perversion are two of my absolute favorites and I will probably order those eventually.
In conclusion: since I already ordered the 2 Sephiroth bottles, I’m going for Red Moon only.
I caved today and ordered bottles of Chokmah and Nahemoth, unsniffed and completely swayed by reviews and recommendations of other forumites. Especially filigree_shadow, darn her encouragement! With the collective references to Snake Charmer, Hellion, Snake Oil, Smut and Bordello, I had to give these a whirl.
My only worry is that the update on Friday will be glorious with lots of LEs I will want to purchase. We'll see!
I knew Blue Moon would be returning, but not with a whole bunch of other scents, including Thunder Moon! This month has been full of crazy storms here in Texas -- here are some pictures taken with my cell phone at work one afternoon. I work in downtown Dallas across the street from the American Airlines Center:
July’s thunderstorms are the harbinger of this month’ s Lunacy scent: Thunder Moon. This is the scent of a summer storm: thick black clouds pass over this full moon, the Goddess roars, and Her Beloved hurls his forked bolts of lightning in the distant sky. Ozone deepened by liquid amber, and a spray of hot nighttime rain mingled with the scent of lightning-struck wood, water-soaked summer blooms, and sun-scorched grass. -- I learned my lesson early on from Storm Moon that ozone turns into laundry detergent on me. Cool name and nice description though.
Selkie -- The chill waters of the Orkney coast, tea-leaved willow, honey-touched Grass-of-Parnassus, sea aster, and Scottish Primrose. -- this sounds a little too twee and floral.
Cancer 2007 -- Cardinal Water: the essence of feeling. Wild lettuce, wild pear, chamomile, germanica orris, sweet pea, and mallow. -- The lettuce and pear sound interesting, very fresh and summery. I have the Sweet Pea single note which makes me a bit sneezy, it’s a fizzy citrussy floral. Hmm, I’ve never ordered one of the Celestial or Astrological oils.
New general catalogue additions:
Helena -- Rose amber, calla lily, night-blooming jasmine, water lily, and white rose. -- Don’t know if I’ve ever tried rose amber, but oh! There’s white rose at the end, one of the few single notes I have imps of which is bee-yootiful. This sounds like way too much lily though, not one of my favorite florals.
Hermia -- Pink pepper, golden amber, honeysuckle, and passion flower. -- I remember pink pepper from Mi-Go Brain Canister. I’ll wait for reviews.
Lysander -- Lilac musk, tonka, wood violet, and urbane lime rind, with a Venus-kissed tangle of myrtle, blackberry leaf, and benzoin. -- this sounds like a masculine cologne.
Robin Goodfellow -- Dark musk, moss-covered wood, ragwort, heather, and sage. -- I really enjoy the dark smutty musk blends, so I’ll look forward to reviews.
Dian’s Bud and Love-in-Idleness -- no descriptions for these, so I’ll wait for reviews.
In conclusion: I’m ordering Blue Moon and Cancer 2007!
A big one with Salon III:
Rose Moon -- Bulgarian rose, tea rose, violet leaf, opium poppy, Bois de Jasmin, patchouli leaf, honey, blue lilac, balsam, woodruff, and lemon peel. -- I knew I would most likely want Rose Moon, as I love the BPAL rose blends. This does sound nice, I’m just hoping the Bois de Jasmine does not mean JAZZZMIN!! that will amp and overpower. I’m pleased to see blue lilac too, that’s one of the few single notes I have tried and it’s really lovely.
Blue Moon -- Mugwort and bay, for psychic sensitivity…Juniper, for divination through dreams…Orchid and galbanum, for complexity, wisdom and noscere…with a potent lunar-charged blend of exquisite Asian woods, moonflower, Madagascan ylang ylang, Florentine iris, Greek cypress, davana, green tea absolute, palmarosa, cucumber, Clary sage, melilot trefoils, wood aloes, and pale creeping buttercup. -- I knew I would most likely want Blue Moon too. I have a sniffie of the previous Blue Moon and while the initial ingredients are the same the “base” differs slightly. I still see cucumber and wrote down that it smelled like a “perfumed cucumber, clean and refreshing.” It looks like this will go away, then be here for the next Lunacy update too.
Tamamo-no-Mae -- soft skin musk, brushed by white tea leaf, rice flower, black locust flower, white sandalwood kodo smoke, dry ginger, benzoin gum, and Amacha. This one sounds nice too, hopefully light and pleasant for the summer.
Gemini -- Lavender, benzoin, orchid, and frankincense. Unfortunately lavender goes very antiseptic-herbal on me a lot of the time. No thanks.
And a quick run-through of Salon III:
Bat -- Dusty amber, grey musk, red orchid, moonflower, night-blooming phlox, stock, honeysuckle, English ivy, toadflax, and purple salvia. Amber usually means “smells nice but disappears,” and dusty amber seems even more vague.
Cleopatra -- Accords of peach kernel, hemlock, aconite, and belladonna, with bitter almond, saffron, honey, myrrh, hyssop, frankincense, and palm. I like the BPAL Hemlock, but really disliked the BPAL Belladonna, plus almond is not a favorite and peach = plastic.
Death and Life Completed -- Grey amber, carnation, lemon balm, hydrangea, Chinese peony, white sandalwood, cypress, juniper, cedar, hibiscus, and African daisy. Carnation, nooooo! Too spicy on me.
Fox Fires -- Weeping cherry, watery bamboo pulp, nettle tree bark, green tea incense, soft musk, rice wine, and Japanese tree lilac. Another Asian-themed that sounds nice.
Kiyohime -- Salty ocean spray, red kelp, black plum, lychee, sea moss, green musk, hachiya, plum blossom, and matcha. Salty ocean spray = box o’ laundry detergent.
Love and Pain -- Lavender, Balkan tobacco, black musk, dark vanilla, and golden copaifera. Everything sounds good except for that darned lavender.
Macbeth -- Lightning-charged ozone, steel, myrrh, mugwort, colophony, ajowan, and leather. Lightning-charged ozone = “mountain spring” scented box o’ dryer sheets.
Mad Meg -- Fire-scorched earth, black mandarin, cinnamon bark, bitter almond, sage, vetiver, and balsam of peru. Cinnamon bark AND bitter almond? Ugh.
Madonna -- Hyssop, pomegranate, Angel’s Trumpet, Indonesian patchouli, iris, white orchid, and frankincense. This sounds interesting, I love dark fruit blends.
Monna Vanna -- Russian rose, mimosa, gardenia, bois du rose, parma violet, calla lily, red currant, ambergris, and bourbon vanilla. Roses are usually good, plus a dark fruit bonus.
Philosopher in Meditation -- Smoldering woodfire embers, Galen’s Kyphi, and Abramelin incense. I love incense blends, but I’m afraid the woodfire embers will be eye-wateringly strong.
Schlafende Baigneuse -- Skin musk, white cream, honeycomb, yellow rose, King mandarin, chrysanthemum, golden amber, honeysuckle, and wide-throated yellow monkey-flower accord. This sounds beautiful, except I’m nervous about the white cream curdling on me.
Smiling Spider -- Bitter clove, black musk, mahogany wood, and patchouli. I like the sweet clove of Madrid, but this sounds too dark and masculine.
Spirit of the Komachi Cherry Tree -- Cherry blossom, blue lilac, lavender monofloral honey, white sandalwood, and Asian pear. Yay for honey and blue lilac! Sounds very pretty.
Sunflower -- Sunflower bouquet, black amber, creeping black moss, wilted greenery, and scorched, dry stems. Sunflower sounds unique and this blend sounds interesting.
Sunrise with Sea-Monsters -- Ocean mist, kelp, ambergris, amber, white pear, osmanthus, freesia, and seafoam accord. Is it laundry day again?
In conclusion: since I ordered Lady Luck Blues on the 13th, and since Blue Moon will be around for the next Lunacy, I’m ordering Rose Moon and Tamamo-no-Mae!
A mini-update, ain’t that great? I'm a poet; you bet I know it.
13 (new version) -- A base of cocoa absolute and white chocolate with thirteen baneful and beneficial bits: cardamom, fig meat, grains of paradise, rice flower, chamomile, sandalwood, catnip, clove, and a bundle of five blessed blossoms and herbs. -- by my count, this is the third version of 13. I bought the first one (May 2005) and liked it but didn’t love it. Off it went to swaps. It was revised in October 2006 and I still have a bottle of that; it’s more sophisticated and “perfumey” than the original 13. This latest revision sounds nice (with catnip! Hee!) but the cardamom is scary -- that’s what made Enraged Groundhog go totally cinnamon on me. I’ll pass.
Bad Luck Woman Blues -- Spanish moss, black pepper, mullein, sweet sage, vandal root, cypress, cigar tobacco, and a puff of goofer dust cloaked by a swarthy cologne of vetiver, lime, dark musk, caramel accord, and lilac. -- While I am intrigued by “goofer dust” (la cocaina, maybe? ) the rest sounds too masculine.
Lady Luck Blues -- Honeyed Bulgarian rose, vanilla flower, benzoin, tonka, black plum, peony, and iris. -- this one sounds great! Honey and roses, yum.
In conclusion: while I was hoping to save funds for the next update (Rose Moon! More Snakes!) I’m getting a bottle of Lady Luck Blues
A day early, but fine with me!
Milk Moon 2007 – the previous Milk Moon was not my cuppa tea at all, it ended up like sour breast milk, so I wasn’t expecting to want this one. The other ingredients sound great, but that yucky milk was so off-putting I won’t order.
Minotaur – this sounds nice, like Schwarzer Mond. I really like the swarthy smutty musk blends, but lately I haven’t been reaching for them much. It’s springtime and I’m wearing a lot of honeyed and incensey florals. I have Schwarzer Mond already and that will keep me happy.
Taurus 2007 – normally a rose LE is a must-order, but the other florals sound a bit overwhelming. I should tell my mom to order, as it’s her birth sign AND her wedding bouquet was daisies, so perfect! I gave her bottles of Harvest Moon 2004 and Numb and she seems to like them, so maybe she’d like this.
Poisson d’Avril – another rose one, but iris is sure to overpower it. Nah.
More Monster Baits! I was hoping for another April Fool’s surprise like MB: Underpants, and we have three!
Tokyo Stomp – this sounds great, vanilla and mint.
Ventriloquist Dummy – I of course love the base of caramel, brown sugar, hazelnut and butterscotch. Yum! I like patchouli well enough if it’s in a nice blend. The only iffy element is apricot – I thought I’d love Grand Guignol but the apricot brandy smelled just a bit plasticky.
Bloody Mary – all these ingredients sound wonderful, I love cherry and red fruits and powdered sugar, and hopefully enough cream to smooth everything out without curdling it.
I had no idea about the Salon Dogs until I read about them in euterpe’s blog! Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, I would have missed all the puppies.
A Bachlelor’s Dog – musk and leather sound good, but I’m afraid the tobacco will become too masculine on me
A Bold Bluff – cherry tobacco, on the other hand, I am interested in, plus I do like tonka in most blends.
His Station and Four Aces – nope, fougere = cologne on me
Kelly Pool – worsted wool, really? All I picture is an old coat. This may be interesting
New Year's Eve in Dogville – this sounds like Stardust with the perfume and champagne
One to Tie, Two to Win – this doesn’t seem to fit in with the smokey masculine ones, I guess these dogs are outside chomping on grass and dandelions
Pinched With Four Aces – more tobacco along with the dreaded and feared cinnamon
Riding the Goat – pipe smoke and incense sounds nice, very exclusive-clubby
Sitting Up With a Sick Friend – more tobacco and leather, plus “classic perfume” and rose sounds like it would clash.
Stranger In Camp – another outdoors one, but definitely too much wood
In conclusion: I ordered the 3 Monster Baits!
It's feast or famine sometimes -- the past couple weeks we've gone to several houses and they've been pretty blah. A couple of weeks ago we got a Lane side table (early '60s maybe) and a tall lamp with a great canvas/linen shade for $50, but that's been it. Yesterday was good though, we went to 4 houses and bought things at 3 of them:
--one house had a bunch of collector plates (Norman Rockwell, Wedgwood, etc.). No souvenir plates unfortunately, but I bought a Presidents of the United States plate, through LBJ, for $4. I guess I'm SOL if I can't remember the presidents after LBJ
--another house had a wrought iron Lone Star we can hang outside ($15) and a green California pottery bowl/large cup, very faux-Fiestaware ($2.50)
--another house had a set of clay coasters from Disney World's Grand Californian hotel ($1.50)
The first house had a giant glass barrel-shaped container, maybe 2' tall, full of matchbooks, but we were peeking through the glass and there weren't any cool ones catching our attention. They wanted $65! That's a crazy high price, considering we got 2 bags of great matchbooks from all over the world for $4 a few weeks ago. Maybe the big glass container was valuable?
Another big one:
Aries -- this actually sounds like a nice combination, but I’m concerned about the black pepper and dragon’s blood overpowering everything else. I’ll read the reviews instead.
Ides of March 2007 -- I don’t really want cologney scents, and the reviews for the previous version made it sound too masculine for me. But this was a favorite for many and I’m glad old favorites pop back up.
Ostara -- another blend of a bunch of cool-sounding ingredients, but there’s a lot of florals and I think I’ll order Fire Pig instead for my “spring fling” with fruit instead of flowers.
Pink Moon -- this was a huge debate for me before the update, as I have a sniffie of the last Pink Moon and was really waffling on ordering a bottle if the formula was the same. The previous version reminded me of Love’s Baby Soft with extra flowers. However this version is different and carnation, while sugared, goes way too spicy-strong on me most of the time. Too bad.
Roux-Ga-Roux -- pretty cool concept (a Mardi Gras curse!) but too many plants.
And more cool General Catalog blends:
Calico Jack -- while I would love to order this for the name/image alone, I’m sure all I’ll get is detergent. I’ll read reviews to see if it’s more complex.
Poisoned Apple -- this reminds me of the Snow White ride at Disneyland, it was considered a scarier “dark ride” that everyone rides through in those pod-type cars on a track. At one point you turned a corner and there was a mannequin of the Wicked Queen dressed as the Old Woman and she’s holding out the poisoned apple. Soon we realized if you reached out far enough you could quickly grab the apple! Yoink! So many of my high-school friends had little souvenir plastic apples. Sorry, Disneyland workers, who had to replace the apples! ANYWAY. The red apple with the hemlock sounds good, as I really liked Hemlock by itself.
Bien Loin d’Ici -- red musk, honey, Moroccan spices, everything sounds good, can’t wait to read reviews.
Croquet -- nice fizzy citrus, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen a pink lime
The Dodo -- This one might be nice too, we’ll see *eyes cassia suspiciously*
Knave of Hearts -- Roses? ‘Nuff said
Queen Alice -- err, what’s sandy cider and wooly wine? I won’t get this because of the carnation anyway.
51 -- cool, an alien scent! I definitely want to read reviews of this one ( X-Files theme)
Squirting Cucumber -- wonder if this is similar to the previous Blue Moon? That was very fresh cucumber-like on me.
Voodoo Lily -- cool name, but I don’t like straight-up floral much except for rose.
Brown Jenkins -- this sounds pretty nice, another lighter incense-type.
The Deep Ones -- another detergent one, probably. But what does crushed coral smell like?
In conclusion: I ordered bottles of Fire Pig, Boomslang and Western Diamondback
I know I probably spend too much on what others might consider incidental or frivolous: perfumes, incense, candles and soap especially. This money could very well go towards more responsible things, like paying off the mortgage or saving for the eventual new car. I realize this, and still shop for little things anyway. Am I in denial?
Side story: there were some eBay auctions ending on Saturday that another forumite was holding -- I've actually met her in real life at a couple of Meet-n-Sniffs and she was very generous with her substantial collection, so I wanted to pay her back for her generosity. I gave myself a certain amount max to bid, and first thing Saturday morning I was sniped on a GC bottle I was bidding on. It really irked me, especially for a catalog blend, but I know in order not to be sniped I have to bid the very very maximum I am willing to spend. If someone snipes that, I have to be comfortable with the fact that they wanted it more than I did. So I bid extremely high on a rare bottle and won!
I was telling DH about it at dinner that night, and when I got to the end he rolled his eyes and asked, "how much was this tiny bottle of perfume?" I started to explain that this bottle was rare and that was the only one I purchased from her, but of course felt ridiculous doing so.
But I've justified to myself that it's more than a tiny bottle of perfume: this is a hobby. I have a nice-smelling hobby. I like smelling nice things and smelling like a nice thing.
I have the worst attitude towards others sometimes, and it’s difficult to blame on Aunt Flo when it happens at any time during the month. I guess I’m not a very social person. I could do without interactions most of the time; the whole farcical song-and-dance is a big energy-suck.
--you come into work on Monday, and are asked about your weekend
--every morning you’re asked about the previous evening
--on Friday you’re asked about your weekend plans
I understand that people are just trying to be polite, and the big picture is that we’re all here just killing time until we die. I don’t initialize these exchanges, I just say “fine, how was yours?” I’m a hypocrite. Maybe if I was “brutally honest” like others so proudly call themselves, people wouldn’t ask me anymore.
Spoiler
“My weekend was great! I sat around on my fat butt, drank too much and blew my husband. How was yours?”
There are a few people who as they’re walking by need to say “Hi Dawndie!” every time they walk by, even if they walked by before and it’s later the same day. Can’t you just smile or nod? I don’t like interrupting people when they’re trying to work, but I don’t get the same courtesy. The secretary desks are basically in the walkways in front of the attorney offices, and sometimes people will knock on my desk as they’re walking by -- I guess if I don’t pay enough attention to them. :curses under breath:
Then there’s one person here who will go out of her way to butt into the conversation if she’s nearby. Does she do this with everyone, or am I just lucky? My desk was near Noseyperson previously (not recently, like 4 years ago) and if you were having a phone conversation and then hung up, she would usually have some comment about your phone call. Seriously, what was I supposed to say? It’s impossible not to hear when our desks were so close together, but can’t you try to ignore it? Isn’t it rude to insert yourself into someone else’s work or personal life without invitation?
I do have a friend here at work, and I don’t mind eating lunch with him most of the time because he’s funny and very dry. I guess we’re anti-social together. We were in the lunch area recently talking about suck-in movies -- the ones you flip by and you end up sucked-in watching, even if you’ve seen it 20 times before. I said DH was watching one of his suck-ins last night, Ocean’s 11 (yes, with the ARGH BLARGH!! at the end, although he had flipped it by then). Noseyperson at the next table (not even sitting with us!) pipes up, “Which one?” I mumbled “the newer one” and Noseyperson comments for a few moments on how none of those “hunks” “do anything” for her. (Noseyperson, if any of those “hunks” saw your Jabba the Hutt’s Grandma ass, they’d run in the other direction.) She then blew her nose really loudly and I had to put my head down to keep from busting out laughing. GROSS. But I won’t say anything to her, unless Brutally Honest Dawndie blurted out, “Noseyperson, we weren’t talking to you. We don’t care what you think. Please go far away, especially when it’s time to empty your sinuses.”
OK, I actually feel better after my crab-in. I know a big part of this is I went from semi-working-from-home back to a big office, and I just need to build up my tolerance, or Zen Out like Valentina, or be like Snarky’s meditating turtle. Ommm…
Estate sales dropped off over the holidays and they’ve started back up again, so we’ve gone to a few. It seems we aren’t the only ones jonesing for them to return, as the past few weeks most houses we go to have been packed with people. This weekend I bought a souvenir shot glass from San Francisco ($2) and an unused Las Vegas postcard of the original Aladdin hotel for 10¢. The coolest purchase was at another house: two big bags of matchbooks for $4! Going through them last night was a lot of fun -- they were from the ‘60s and ‘70s mostly, lots of restaurants and some old Vegas ones, and some from Paris, London, Mexico, Singapore, Brazil, Cairo, and most were unused. The funniest was from a Chinese restaurant in Berlin named Hung Wang. Hee hee! Yes, I’m ten years old.
We like going to see the houses, but there’s a constant struggle with buying things. I’m trying to be good and not fill the house with crap (especially with my weakness for old souvenirs). I don’t like shot glasses in general, they’re kind of a give-up souvenir that seem to be for sale everywhere, but I have a soft spot for San Francisco and since it was so cheap I bent the rule a bit. I don’t want to start collecting shot glasses though -- I like the older weirder wackier souvenirs like plates or tablecloths or matchbooks.
Another dilemma is furniture -- we like some of the pieces we see, and by the time Sunday afternoon rolls around they’re usually 50% off the tagged price, but 1) where are we supposed to put all this? and 2) how are we supposed to get it home? The house with the matchbooks had (along with the very cool Wurlitzer organ) a huge beautiful bar, like a pirate bar! Two pieces, front and back with 3 barstools, the guy said they paid around $6000 for it and we could have taken it all home for $600. We have a Camry and an Altima, and we don’t know anyone with a beater truck or van. Maybe this is a good thing, as we’d be filling the house with furniture instead of smaller things. Oh, but I want a bar! In my house! I’d never leave
Ugh, it’s only Thursday? I’m dragging this week. We went out with my cousin and his friend last night to watch the Mavs game, and I think I drank too much Guinness. No, I know I drank too much Guinness But it’s so good! It came to the table with a little shamrock on top, like the more talented baristas can put a creamy heart on top of your coffee. Cousin’s Friend had a picture in his cell phone of a coffee he ordered in Santa Barbara with a big smiling cat face on top, which was really impressive.
I’m distracted by online shopping the past couple of days. I placed a Possets order on Tuesday for a few of the new LEs: Kitty Cupidon, Haute Love and Silver Roses. Wednesday was incense and a few perfume samples from feMaledictions, and I finally placed an order to try some Fred Soll incense. I’m also eyeballing the 4 Fat Cats Wax Works update, as I’ve ordered from Holly previously and really liked her tarts -- strongly scented and no dye. Last week I received an order from My Lady’s Chamber for more incense, and I can barely close my incense drawer as it is, so why am I ordering more? Is my house subliminally stinky?
I just love coming home after work and lighting candles and incense, and on Saturdays as I’m doing chores having simmering oil or a tart burning. It must be a nesting thing. I guess I’m making up for lost time too, as the end of 2006 was money-stressy since I didn’t know where/when I would be working. It’s not like any one purchase is terribly expensive, but these buying flurries are obviously something I need to get out of my system. Once I get a few new things in the mail to play with, I should be fine. Yeah
Wow, another huge update! Let's see what we have here:
Crow Moon -- meh, too many flowers
Oborot -- too much pine & woods which don't work so well on me
Fire Pig -- now this one sounds interesting! There are a lot of ingredients, but it may work together like 13 does. Luckily it's hanging around so I can read a few reviews before next month's update & order
Enraged Groundhog Musk -- "Cranky groundhog musk," hee! Sounds like Vice with additional musk, yummy
And the Carousel! I have just one Gaiman collection at home, of the Death stories (1995 or thereabouts), but I've read other Sandman storylines from that time period. It sounds like he had some input with these, which is neat!
Bilquis -- great googly moogly, another honey blend that sounds divine
Mad Sweeney -- I love the boozy blends, but the straight-up wood not so much. Waiting for reviews
Mama-Ji -- probably too spicy for me, especially with my skin occasionally breaking out in rashes
Mr. Ibis -- this sounds interesting too, with the papyrus and musks and white sandalwood. I'll watch for reviews
Mr. Jacquel -- usually amber as the main ingredient means it will smell nice but disappear. BUT Haunted is just amber and musk and that one lasts and lasts and is a big fave of mine, so we'll see
Mr. Nancy -- this one sounds weird, cookies with a bay rum cologne? It's so crazy, it just might work
Spider -- another cologney one, probably too masculine on me but I'll want to read reviews
In conclusion: I ordered Chintamani-Dhupa, Svadhinaopatika and Enraged Groundhog Musk
--Ack, I was bumped to the 2nd page of blogs! This means that 1) I'm not updating enough, and 2) there are lots of other people updating! I'm glad to see people joining us on Blog Island (TM Antimony)
--As to my previous post, this collection agency has obviously been carpet-bombing people across the country with demand notices for phantom amounts. Lots of complaints posted on ripoffreport.com and complaintsboard.com. I filed a complaint with the FTC online, and since I demanded proof of the debt I'll hopefully never hear from this company again
--We went to World Market on Sunday to spend some gift cards. I love being able to walk through that store and grab anything that looks interesting without having to spend cash. We got a couple bottles of wine, some beer made by Trappist monks, shortbread cookies, Irish oatmeal, mushroom & wine pate, pasta sauce, a bunch of incense, a big candle, and some replacement forks. Rats, I listed all this and now I'm hongry! (TM darkitysnark)
--I definitely read everyone's blogs, even though I don't comment most of the time. We have a great bunch here
In our mail on Wednesday was a collection notice addressed to me, for what looked to be a landline phone number in Southern California as I recognized the area code. This collection agency wants almost $900!
I am not worried because:
--although we lived in SoCal previously, we moved to Ohio in July 1995 (and paid all our utilities, AFAIK. We certainly didn't leave no $900 phone bill )
--Regardless, statute of limitations on an old utility bill is 7 years max
--I don't recognize the phone number as one of our old ones
--we were never contacted by the actual phone company, just this collection agency purporting to represent the phone company
--I check our credit reports every few months and there have never been any weird charges or accounts popping up
However, I am worried because:
--my name is fairly unique and have never heard of anyone else with the same name. Is someone using my name?
--the collection agency might start reporting this on my credit (which has no other blemishes) and wreak havoc until I pay
--there's little recourse for a lowly individual against an aggressive collection agency, or without hiring an aggressive attorney
I sent a certified letter denying responsibility for the bill and demanding proof that I owe the money. I found a good form letter online; the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act has all these requirements they have to follow, like they can't contact me by phone, only in writing when I request it.
Now it's time to wait and keep my fingers crossed
I'm completely overwhelmed by the latest update, with the Lupercalia and Carnaval Diabolique additions. So many great scents! I don't want to go through the whole list of every new scent, but the ones I'm interested in are:
Svadhinaopatika -- the amber blends are OK on me, not great; they don't seem to last very long, but I love the honey blends and would like to try this
Vasakasajja -- I've been really liking the champaca blends lately, so nice and incensey/floral
Chintamani-Dhupa -- another incense blend that sounds exotic and romantic and great
Khajuraho -- I sniffed last year's at a Meet-n-Sniff and while I thought I would love it, it was a bit underwhelming. All the ingredients sound nice though, so I should try a bottle
Parliament of Monsters -- another incense blend. More please!
Australian Copperhead -- what a great idea to do so many variations of Snake Oil. I want to try the blends that focus on my favorite BPAL notes, like vanilla or honey or musk, so this one with amber and vanilla sounds nice
Death Adder -- same as above, with black coconut and vanilla
Temple Viper -- same as above, with sugar cane, frankincense and champaca
Western Diamondback -- if this had the leather from Dead Man's Hand or Quincey Morris, I will die!
Wild Men -- maybe red amber would be stronger than regular amber? The additional ingredients sound nice
In conclusion: I ordered Haloa (before the Yules disappear), Haunted (a GC that I've been wanting forever) and Australian Copperhead
We went out of town for the last week and a half to see family and friends. It's hard to lounge on the forums with dial-up Here were the pros and cons:
Pros:
--going to Vegas with my parents -- we stayed downtown at the Golden Nugget and didn't set foot on the Strip
--seeing friends
--giving and getting gifts! Lots of gift cards for this trip
Cons:
--my sister is getting divorced. I just tried to be there if she wanted to talk, but otherwise be a distraction (my normal dorky self)
--another favorite aunt and uncle are getting divorced after 40 years of marriage
--I sprained a ligament in my foot while walking through a construction-filled parking lot. Hooray for the emergency room on Christmas Eve and a bonus prescription of Vicodin!
--Getting a cold just before coming home
--Our return flight was delayed 3.5 hours, and we didn't get home until after midnight on New Year's Day
--I remembered to pack the digital camera and battery charger, but not the memory stick so I couldn't take any pictures
This lists a lot more cons than pros, but we did have a lot of fun. I return to my job tomorrow, so less worrying about money. I'm glad to be back!
I have a job! Woo! This has been a long 2 months, and while I've tried not to accelerate into PANIC!! mode, I can't say I haven't been nervous. This was where I worked before my last job, and they even offered me a raise over what I was making before. Scoreboard!
Seriously, I was hoping this would work out, as I liked my job, had a bunch of friends there and it was an easy commute. Now I can shop! I was really trying to keep a lid on my normal splurgey favorites, like candles and incense and shoes, and now I can shop without (much) guilt. Here's what my list is to eventually purchase:
--Possets: Santa Fart, plus Luminaria? Madame X?
--Long-sleeve BPAL t-shirt
--New cute black shoes – babygirlboutique.com had cute ones
--Joann fabrics: apron pattern, tape measure, pin cushion/sharpener, fabric pen, iron? I can't find our old one
--Stuff-o-rama bracelets
--Fred Soll incense
--feMaledictions incense, perfume samples
--My Lady’s Chamber incense
--Reprodepot – Texas tablecloth, Las Vegas buttons, more fabric!
--Love & Rockets back issues, Locas in Love (Penny Century issues), subscription?
--Mr. Beer -- I haven't made beer in a while, this would be fun to get into again
--DVDs: Buffy, Angel, All the President’s Men 30th anniversary edition; Mel Brooks (Young Frankenstein, History of the World)
Yes, I keep a list of stuff I want to buy if I had lots of funds. I rotate them so I'm not buying so much at once (i.e., perfume or incense). Who me, materialistic?
I'm getting all screwed up with these three-day Lunacy updates -- I convinced myself it would be live on Monday, and yet when I stumble to the computer on Sunday morning there it is! Not that I'm complaining, heh.
Wolf Moon -- I had a bottle of the previous Wolf Moon (the first Lunacy I ever ordered), and while it was nice it ended up a little too men's-cologney on me and I swapped it away. The previous one didn't list any notes, so it may be a completely different blend, but with the pine and juniper it becomes a no-no
Lycaon -- this sounds really interesting, a lot like Schwarzer Mond, but I'm a bit concerned about the "blackened" myrrh -- I don't want something to smell burnt on me.
All the new Salon scents sound great, just like in Act I. These seem to have a lot of thought put into them. I would like to order imp sets of both eventually, but I'll wait until the job situation sorts out.
And the Resurrected scents are still here! I told myself if I was re-employed I would splurge on a bottle of Glasya, but alas, nothing's happened so I thought I would miss it. Now I can order! Plus Glitter! I'll take this as a sign that I should order these while they're here.
In conclusion: I'm ordering Carnaval Diabolique, Glasya and Glitter. Yay!
I'm taking a little break from sewing -- yesterday I made pillows for the living room sleeper sofa (Ugliest in the World, but it's nice to have a queen-size sleeper). We hide it under a cheapy slipcover. Today I'm working on finally finishing a sleepshirt with bacon and eggs fabric. Today's the perfect day to sew as we got a huge cold snap, or ARCTIC BLAST OH NO EVERYBODY PANIC according to the local news channels.
I feel sorry for the saps who have to shlep out in the cold just to stand there for the "live spots," but then I laugh and laugh as they're trying to fill time and describe how cold it is Ooh, look at the ice I'm holding! Brr!
But it's been snowing most of the day which is unusual for here. Grass and roofs are covered, but the streets seem fine. I made mushroom soup which was good
