YoakeNoKami

ETA: I see that your order is mostly stuff from the recent update, so I expect you actually mean 08/05/2009. I ordered fairly soon after the update went up and just got my order today, so if you still haven't received your CnS, be on the lookout over the next week or so. They probably have a massive influx of orders when posting a HUGE update like that-- just remember that sometimes the time from order date to arrival can vary. Two weeks (so far) isn't so much, considering that the wait time from order to shipping listed on their website is actually listed as (exceeding 14-21 days), and they've been getting things shipped super quick. I got my CnS Friday, and my order today. Also.... have you checked your spam folder? Sometimes e-mail will randomly start sorting CnS notices to spam, even if they haven't before. Also, it can sometimes take upwards of a month for the Lab to fill orders-- maybe check the BPAL CnS/IGMO threads to check out the dates on the orders being received at the moment, and what exactly those orders are. They're probably going to have a backlog considering the recent update, as well. You could also e-mail the Lab if you start getting really worried about where your oils have gotten to... but I would give it a bit more time before I started worrying.

In bottle: Pretty much just straight fresh violet, very much so. On/wet: Sweet, fresh, sugared violets. It's really, really gorgeous-- this isn't the same sort of sugared violets in Faith, though-- this is a more full, rounded violet. Drydown: Violet pastilles!!! It's sweet and sugary... without being sugary. It's not something that morphs too much when it hits my skin, either, which is a wonderful change for me with a violet scent-- quite often they go soapy or green on me, and this doesn't. Overall, it's really a gorgeous scent and I wish that more violet notes would turn out like this on me.

In imp: Cocoa-mint. Yummy! On/wet: It's very cocoa, so far. A hint of that oakmoss, which is very interesting, but also of the mint. Drydown: I have to say that in some aspects, this very much reminds me of MB: Tokyo Stomp. However, I think that this blend, overall, is fuller, richer in some ways. On drydown, it's primarily cocoa-mint (rather than vanilla mint) and smells very much like actual Thin Mint Cookies, but I'm definitely getting the pistachio out of this as well as the oakmoss. The chocolate not is stranded somewhere between Bliss and El Dia De Reyes, and is really quite lovely, and I adore the way it interacts with the mint and pistachio. I think I'm going to need a bottle of this.

Imp: Sort of a funny tangerine. Like soda-water (oh! The seltzer!) with tangerine rind in it. Weird. On/wet: SELTZER LIKE WHOA. The tangerine is still there, though I think I'm getting some of the floral as well. Drydown: Okay. Definitely, definitely odd. Tangerine, then apricot, then strangely warm and slightly crushed flowers. Then the seltzer. I'm not really getting much of the amber, which is okay, as I suspect that it would do strange things on my skin in this blend. Not really any pineapple either. It's an interesting scent, but I think I need to consider it for a while longer-- trying to figure out if it's something I like well enough to wear repeatedly.

In imp: Faintyl melony On/wet: MELON. Ripe melon, most likely cantaloupe? It's very yummy. Not really getting anything else from it yet, as this melon is trying to mug me. Drydown: Overall, I have to agree that this is very similar to Yemaya on me, but not so much sticky-sweet melon juice as sliced, ripe melon, still on the rind. There's green tea in the background, drawn out behind the melon note, and they smell awesome together. There's also some sort of dry woodsy-herby things in the background (maybe the toadflax?), including a hint of the lemonbalm. Lovely! This is probably one of the few blends I've tried which has had a "green tea" note that actually smells like green tea on me.

In the bottle: Super fruity! Very much currant and honey. On/wet: Still currant, but it's a bit more grounded here. Less sharp, more sweet. Faintly peppery honey coats it, really, which is very interesting. It's sweet, yes, but still very fresh and maybe a little sharp. Drydown: Still very curranty, though the light bit of blackberry has definitely jumped in. It's a little softer, too-- the amber and then honey conspiring, I expect. They're very interesting together in this, and they sort of soften an buoy the currant and blackberry. The pepper is in there still, but more like an afterthought, a little taste, than a focal note. Overall: Really gorgeous, with good throw. It's very bright, and even a bit bold. I don't think it'll do for super-warm days, but it seems like a good fit for the summer anyways. Gorgeous.

In imp: Sweet, light melon. How pretty! There's a trace of aquatic here, though, so we'll have to see how that turns out. On/wet: Interesting. Not so much of the melon, a little bit of a floral. It smells a bit like a bath shop, really. Drydown: At first sniff, like one of those commercial cucumber-melon scents, which also tend to smell sort of salty to me. Final impression: Contemplating for a moment, it's still the melony smell, with a little bit of aquatic. I think what I'm reading as a salty aquatic here is actually eucalyptus of all things, which is very odd, but also very interesting. The base notes are sweeter and more rounded under the eucalyptus-- perfectly ripe melon of an indeterminate sort, served with crisp sliced cucumbers in a sweetened vinaigrette. Totally a late afternoon snack of cubed melon and salad near the water, the scent of eucalyptus drifting in on the breeze.

Okay, so I have a question about The Feast For the Greatly Revered Ones: Has anyone else got this going on? One of the bottles of it that I've got quickly separates out into half light colored oil and half dark, and the other is mostly the lighter oil with a teensy bit of the darker stuff at the bottom. I mean, a gentle roll blends it back together, but the scent of the oil is also noticably different-- fruitier in one, and more cocoa in the other. Is it just that the oils weren't blended together all the way when they were bottled...? I wouldn't be concerned, except that it's a rather large variance in the contents of the bottles. Anyone else? EDIT: Ahh, I'd heard a while back that they were using an automated filling system! Thanks-- I can totally see how that would cause this!

Imp: Definitely pink scented! Faintly reminiscent of both Marshmallow Poof and Beaver Moon-- More fruity than Marshmallow Poof, and more sugary than Beaver Moon. Tantalizing! On/wet: Oddly enough, faintly cocoa-buttery sugar. Definitely getting a hint of dandelion, though for now I'm going to say it's a hint of dandelion sap from the cut stem, faintly sticky, sweet smelling (though I'm afraid the sap tastes nothing like this smells) . Drydown: Creamy, lovely, faintly fruity marshmallows! It's really an amazing scent, because it retains the sugar note and the fruit hint that I first noticed, but becomes a smooth vanilla-strawberry marshmallow, with just a hint of that dandelion sap in the background. Overall: Eating strawberry marshmallows on the back porch in springtime, maybe very early summer, after the lawn has come back to life enough that somebody went over it with a mower, but no one's bothered trying to pull weeds (read: multitude millions of dandelions) out of it yet.

Imp: bitter herbs, some sort of piney resin On/wet: Huh. Powedery bitter herbs, still. Resin is still there, but a bit drier now. Odd. Drydown: Whoa, hey, resin-baby powder, wtf? Oddly like laying under the shrubs in grandma's garden. Overall, still with that *sneeze* yeah, that's the chamomile, alright. Not really getting the saffron, the amber's there but gone to powder. Basically: Baby-powdery resin-- amber & frankincense + dried up chamomile flowers. Floral, and not in a good way, but in an allergy0inducing way.

So at first it was amazing-- vanilla, pineapple, frangipani. Delicious! I was so sure I was going to need a bottle... Then. After a while, I started thinking it smelled kinda familiar. Kinda... summery. Like the beach. Like-- oh no! argh, it went for tropical sunblock after half an hour, without fail. Even in the scent locket.

Um... well... In bottle: Metallic, slightly cologne-y, and faintly reminiscent of Phoenix Steamworks. It differs a bit-- rather than sun- and heat- warmed metal, it's more of a cool metal. Definitely getting the "gold" aspect. On/wet: The "gold" note, for the most part... then a little citrus. Cool water. Hmm... musk of some kind? Not sure, but a pale one... Drydown: Gold, WHITE MUSK ( ???? ack ). What???? Apparently not enough " white musk " pr whatever this note is to set off my allergies.... but... in conjunction with the other notes, definitely enough to turn it utterly to soap. ARGH. NO, please! Guest soap-- expensive guest soap, granted, but, um, yeah. No. Overall: I was really hoping this one would work out-- right off the bat it smelled lovely, like a cooler and lighter version of Phoenix Steamworks (which I love, even if it does sometimes wear a bit cologne-y), but the whole turning to soap thing is a dealbreaker. Gah. I waited an hour and a half and it did not turn back, so likely not keeping this.

Bottle: Sweet pumpkin/mango. Mostly mango. On/wet: mango/pumpkin/COCONUT. Like a fresh mango and coconut salad, with a cut pumpkin nearby. Drydown: Way sweet pumpkin-persimmon with a little mango and a bit of coconut. Really, really sweet, with this hint of flair to the persimmon which could be amazing if the pumpkin would move over and let it take the stage with the coconut.

Bottle: Like cranberry-carnation-Jack. Huh? On/wet: General fruit, butter. Red musk. Drydown: Cloying but swiftly vanishing pumpkin and candle-shop cranberry. No pumpkin, no anything else. But closely followed by: Later drydown/Overall: Overwhelmingly squished currants, cranberries, and some general warm fruit juice smell. Not a keeper for me.

Bottle: Honey, some kind of deep dark vanilla yum, a rich and smoky something-or other. On/wet: Smokey roast pumpkin, having been buried in coals to cook. Honey again. And a bit of the lovely sage. Drydown: Ooooh, this one I can keep! Slightly spicy honeyed pumpkin, the faint bit of sage, and some of that cherry tobacco, I think. Pine is in there, too, in a warmed-wood kind of way, like the firewood stacked up next to the woodstove, but not blaringly so--I think that it's probably the cedar that I'm interpreting as "spicy", but it's not really one of the top notes I'm getting out of this. Overall: Very warm and definitely wearable. I'm glad I aged this one, for sure. Though it did wear off rather quickly, but my weird skin chemistry tends to do that to blends with cherry tobacco, for some reeason. Hmmm. Might need to slather a bit.