lainevierge

What a wild scent! When I first put it on I was getting a very ozoney note that I could only explain as dryer sheets. It wasn't unpleasant, but not something I'd choose to wear. On the dry down I was reminded of Opiate Southern Gardens of Orchids. A sharp neroli note was hovering in the background somehow keeping the florals from being too mushy(?). Now that I've had it on for a while it it giving me a distinctly spicy note, like the dried chili in Raven Moon. I'm entranced!

I'm pretty sure I already know the answer to this, but is Surrender to Chance a legitimate BPAL retailer? My friend just sent me a link to a BPAL bottle sale they're having, and it seemed sketchy to me since I've never heard of the company before.

I've recently discovered the glory of plum blossom in Lovers in a Ricefield and then I tested Bordello and fell in love with that plum too. Since I was never all that into fruity scents I never imagined I'd go so crazy for plum. What are your favorite plum scents? Is there anything a newfound plum lover like me needs to try?

This scent is so weird. I usually know better than to try anything with a caramel note because it usually ends up VERY cloying, but this one stays in the background. I also get the red currant, pimento & bergamot and they combine into a very strange, spicy scent. I really think this is an odd little perfume. It's not something I'd wear again.

I understand all the Snake Oil, Womb Furie & Infernal Lover comparisons here. Third Charm is definitely in the same family. I would say if you're a fan of those scents that this one certainly should be added to your collection. It doesn't smell to me like it will deepen with age in the same way you can be sure Snake Oil will and it's missing the overwhelmingly creamy honey that Infernal Lover has. The patchouli and the woods everyone has been mentioning are definitely coming out on me. I can even smell something akin to dead leaves somewhere in the background. Lovely autumnal red musk blend!

I dabbed this on my hand a few days before properly trying it out and it seemed to be a lovely dark floral, so I was holding out a lot of hope for this blend. When I tried it today I was getting a LOT of violet, the straight up violet candy kind (unlike the weird, unfortunate, sweaty smell that some other violet notes have turned to on me). It faded pretty fast though so I reapplied later. I noticed this time that the dark floral I was smelling in the bottle is there when I first apply, but then an effervescent, fizzy violet overwhelms it. I like the effect, but as my husband mentioned when he smelled it it was very "perfumey", i.e. not like the other stuff I wear. The scent and concept are nice enough, but this one is too girly, innocent and candy-like for my taste. The throw and longevity leaves a lot to be desired too, as I like my scents heavy and everlasting.

It's amazing how much this smells like brass and steam. Unfortunately, citrus doesn't work well on me and it's starting to overwhelm everything. After a few minutes all I'm smelling is something akin to a sweaty gym mat. Gross, I know. This is why I can't do citrus scents. I wish the amber came out more. Really lovely scent for those who can wear citrus and cedar. Still amazed at how much it smells just like metal and steam when it's wet on my skin.

Thanks for the info wickedgoddess. I emailed CS again and did receive a reply this time. I'm glad to have it confirmed that email is the best way to contact the lab if I need to, since using Twitter or Facebook for customer service seems sketchy to me.

My order was with the Lab and my email was sent to 'answers' about ten days ago. I never got a reply. Should I send another email to the same address, or is there a better one to use for customer service?

Ditto here. Same order date, no CnS or anything else so far. I figure I'll wait another week or so before emailing, though. I emailed the lab four days ago and have yet to hear back from them. I know from the CnS thread that the Canadian orders being filled are from around 1/23, so I'm not really worried anymore that my oils have been lost. However, I'm kind of annoyed that my email hasn't been answered and that according to the CnS thread US orders from as late as 3/2 are being sent out. How do international orders fall that far behind?

Are any other Canadians waiting on a January lab order? I placed one around the 24th and have heard nothing yet. According to the CnS thread the Canadian orders seem to be from around that time or a bit before. This is not my first order from the lab, nor is it the first time it's taken over a month to be processed, so I'm aware I can email customer service if I want precise details. I'm just curious if anyone else is out there waiting like me.

It seems like this scent isn't going over very well in general, but as soon as I saw the word vetiver I knew it was for me. When it's first on my skin it is gloriously vetiver-heavy, and it dries into something reminiscent of Velvet Tiger. Then everything mellows slightly and it turns into the loveliest spicy, close to the skin, growly-vetiver scent. I don't really get the grapefruit or patchouli until a good hour into wearing it, but they are there. I love this one. It's elegant and heavy, but not one of those scents that makes me feel like I need to save it for special occasions. So glad I got a decant.

Wet, this reminds me a lot of Black Lace and Raven Moon. However, it's less plastic than Black Lace and not as sexy/spicy as Raven Moon. On the drydown the violet goes powdery and while it's still lovely, I like my bottle of Raven Moon more.

I feel like I'll be reaching for Lovers In A Ricefield a lot this spring. The plum blossom reminds me of warmer weather.

I got a bottle of Obatala in my order yesterday that is DEFINITELY not Obatala. I've had multiple imps of Obatala and this bottle has none of the toasted coconut and shea notes that Obatala does. The best way I can describe the scent in the bottle is figs and tropical flowers. I'm not super bummed about not getting the right scent, as I ordered it because the proceeds went to charity, but I am curious. Any clue what is actually in my bottle? Has this happened to anyone else?

'09 version In the imp this is all incense and resins, and after the initial black gumdrop stage on my skin it fades to sweet, smoky resiny goodness and reminds me a bit of No 93 Engine. A lovely Yule scent.

This is my first time trying one of the Lick Its and now I know why I was smart enough to avoid them all these years. In the decant : peppermint stick, with a sharp menthol kick On my skin : cough drops. So gross. Thankfully it's completely faded within a few hours, so no worries about having to wash it off.

Why did I think this would work? Oh yeah, vanilla, red musk, patchouli, nutmeg and honey. ALL lovely notes on me. I'll agree with whoever said this was like 13 (Feb 09). It's just like that on me but sweeter. I can't get over the caramel though. I should have known better. It was total caramel when I opened it (yup, the kind that turns straight to celery on me) but when I put it on that faded for a while. I've had it on for several hours now though and the caramel is back. I want to like it, but ick. I can't deal with the caramel/celery smell.

I second this. Independent is the fizziest BPAL I've ever smelled, even hours later.

Oh my god. I never thought I'd end up having a love affair with anything containing Dragon's Blood, but this stuff is awesome. This is one of the most comforting resiny scents I've ever put on. I wear it when I'm not really feeling 100% and it makes me feel cozy and nice all day. I don't get any of the black currant, but I don't care. This is one of those "smells like me, but better" scents, if you can believe it. I don't actually think I was born smelling of Dragon's Blood and musk, but this just seems so natural on me and not like I'm wearing heavy, cloying perfume.

Eep. I ordered this imp last Christmas when I was trying out all the apple scents. Somehow it made it through the first round of testing and landed in my imp box. I pulled it out randomly to wear the other day and ugh. Too much rose. I wanted to love it for all the great notes it has (apple, patchouli, musk, bergamot, teak, vanilla). From those notes alone it sounds like a beautiful dream, but the rose just kills them all.

Out of the two of those I've tried (Voodoo & Death Adder) as far as I could tell Voodoo had no vetiver, but Death Adder is pretty vetiver heavy. One of my all time favorite vetiver scents is Saturnalia though. It's a must have for all vetiver lovers.

In the imp this reminded me of Torture Queen, one of my absolute favorites. However, on my skin it started out smelling like the dollar store plumeria hand cream I had as a kid. Then it morphed into star anise. Not a fan.

Yes! I was coming to this thread to say exactly this. I decided to test this one after putting on some Piper at the Gates infused lotion after my shower and the two are quite close. I'd say that the big difference is that Summer has a sharper, wetter citrusy note in it without the resins that back Piper. It also reminds me a bit of Severin, in a lemony-anise sort of way. I like it enough to not wash it off, and I'm happy it didn't turn into the the lemon horror I was expecting (lemon is usually a very bad note for me), but I'm not sure if I'll keep my decant.

I remember liking this when I first got the imp and I put it away with the rest of my imps where it laid untouched for probably around a year. I pulled it out and slathered it yesterday thinking that leather and chardonnay sounded divine. HUGE mistake. I had a massive headache for the rest of the day. I'm now convinced that I can't do the rum note, or maybe tobacco, since Elegba triggered the same sort of carsick-air-freshener feeling in me. Just thinking about it now makes me nauseous.