Josh

Whaa I just got an email from CCnow saying that they cancelled my Tiki order because my card is expired! It does expire in april.. but it is supposed to work up until may.. it's working everywhere else and I JUST got a new card in the mail a week or so ago.. can't remember if it was before or after tiki's went down b/c it was sent to my mom's house and I don't have it yet.. bah! I wouldn't mind except for my Blue Fires!!! I mean.. if they had declined it right away I would have just used my credit card.. but to email me a week later? I emailed the lab but I don't know if they will be able to do anything since the tikis have been taken down.. *sigh* maybe this is my sign to stop spending so much money.. but man I was going to use Blue Fire as my scent on my upcoming cruise with the bf. blah.

 

Anyone know if the lab will be able to re-order my stuff? I cant wait for their response...

Well that's a bummer :/

I was always under the impression that cards still worked during the month they expire (ie: up to and good through April) -- but perhaps certain online billing systems take extra caution since there is such a high rate of credit card fraud on the internet? If your card has been working fine during April then it is most likely something on CCnow's end.

Do bpals contain any alcohol? I ask because today I was shipping some packages to other folks on this forum and the post office guy asked if there were any liquids or perishables and I said there were perfumes in there. He said I couldn't send them because USPS cannot ship anything with alcohol in it? I told him they were alcohol free and, without batting an eye, he said "oh ok" and processed them. Of course, I don't know if they're alcohol free, but with the amount of bpal in the mail system at any given time I figured other people may have been asked this question before?

I have a hard time believing anything with alcohol cannot be shipped thru USPS. I mean, what would happen if you ordered a commercial (alcohol) perfume online? Do those things have to go through UPS/DHS/FedEx?

This is very red smelling. For whatever reason, when I first smelled this a while back I thought it was a warm, rounded cinnamon. I just tried it on again today and thought to myself "this kinda smells like cinnamon, but it's far more mellow.. and really fascinating to smell." Checked the notes on here and sure enough, no cinnamon is listed. This slightly burns my skin when I apply it but it's nowhere near irritating or anything like that. Overall this is a very red scent, yet it is not bursting with sharpness nor is it an 'in-your-face' type of scent. It is a very mellow, rounded, warm, and reddish/burgundy fragrance.. gender neutral, a confident scent with a mysterious vibe.

ETA: It has been brought to my attention that cassia is cinnamon. I knew that. I was just testing you. Really.

The House is the creepiest bpal I've come across. It smells like a secret place that's been haunted for centuries.

This has got to be my favorite of the Snake Pits.. this or Boomslang.

I'm not a berry person at all, but with the mixture of Snake Oil and the other notes listed, this works just right. Smooth and very enjoyable to sniff.. this is unlike anything else out there. The vanilla really smooths the berry over, preventing it from being too tart or sharp. Excellent.

-snip-

 

ETA: Oh nooooooo! Now it smells like (I hate to say this) vomit. Stupid skin!

 

-snip-

 

 

-snip-

 

...is this the scent of an eating disorder?

 

-snip-

 

SIGH. I wish I didn't have to say this, but I can relate to these two scentiments (was a genuine typo, but doesn't it fit so well?) perfectly.

So right! This smells identical to really sour vomit. This is stunning how accurate it is. Of course, not something I'd ever wear - but this is really a bpal achievement and the name/description make total sense now. That's really amazing actually.

Edit: After about twenty minutes this smells almost identical to one of my alltime bpal faves (The Castle) but with something really sour (ie the vomit). It's a very interesting scent.. sharp. For some reason this strikes me as something someone really sophisticated would wear. And someone BONE THIN.

Popcorn jelly bellies swirling in a chilled glass of Disaronno.

This is quite nice.

2006 Smut: Very similar to Snake Oil but, dare I say, better? Seriously good stuff

2008: Smells like a musky cinnamon/gingerbread? I'm almost worried I got a mislabeled bottle!

After reading all these reviews I figured I knew what to expect - wrong. This is really strange. It's more like a sweet milk than a vanilla.. and there is something that is slightly minty but not really, and it was also slightly lemon-ish at first for a moment, but not really. This is just very difficult to describe. I definitely get the buttercream frosting vibe that others picked up on -- but there is also a weird medicinal something there.. perhaps that is the saffron? I'll need to try this one out a little more to decide whether I like it or not, but this is definitely unique for a bpal oil.

In other news, I don't think I've ever seen a LE amass so many reviews in such a short amount of time. They must be selling a boatload of this stuff!

2007 version. This is a standard floral backed up by something very bitter smelling. I think it is the cactus that is creating the bitterness. That's how I'd describe this: a strikingly bitter floral... one of the few florals I really enjoy.

All I really get is a well rounded almond/cherry-ish scent. This is like a creamier and more subdued version of Black Phoenix. I'm not really getting any honey here, or anything else for that matter.

Hunger will have a regular GC label, unless they have recently been changed.

This just made me realize that every bottle I own is a LE blend. I presume GC bottles all look like Snake Oil's label? The aged look with carnival-esque font type?

I'd love to see the label art for Hunger, anyone?

For visual minds, Sundew smells exactly the way Tiamat's "Wildhoney" cover looks:

Sticky, golden/orange summer sweetness.. but not that sweet. I'd say this is a floral for people who dislike forals.

Random thoughts.....

 

Josh, I still 'owe' you some decants, I haven't forgotten, but school and work sort of got in the way. I do have some stuff you'll like or at least enjoy trying.

No way, I'm owed nothing --- I've been traveling a lot lately and was worried I might have missed anything sent my way anyways, so everything worked out well. I managed to get all the ones you recommended and all worked great except Brimstone.. or maybe I'm thinking of Malediction, or both. They smell like a really bitter BBQ sauce almost.. or rather, "mesquite"/liquid smoke + wood chips. Troll is mad though, I think I even prefer it over Djinn. RM Renfield is really interesting to me, but I also managed to get some other scents from this series and was blown away by The Castle. It's one of my faves, but something that only really works in fall/winter. Have you tried Hunger or Tombstone? Any suggestions of similar scents there? Satyr, Hunger and Snake Oil .. those really thick, dark, second-skin smelling scents... love those.

I usually apply right where my sleeve or neck of shirt ends. That way it's exposed to air but I'm not rubbing my scent everywhere, on objects and/or people. So for long sleeves, wrists or back of hands. Short sleeves, I apply on my inner elbows or even upper arms. As for the neck I usually put it right under my adam's apple, or on the back of my neck just below my hair. Sometimes on the sides of my neck, below the ears.

 

And if I get it on my fingers I rub the excess in my hair.

I'm the exact same, only whatever excess oil there is usually ends up either on my black wool jacket. From my experience, bpal scents tend to last far longer on anything that isn't a live, breathing creature. I can still smell the dab of Satyr that I put on one of my jackets at least a week ago, yet on me the stuff is all but gone after 6 hours or so.

I read the description of Dee and it sounds absolutely wonderful and perfect for my guy... so it's a surprise (and disappointment) to hear it described as generic cheap cologney. I'll still see if I can find an imp somewhere though...

Dee was such a letdown for me. It is probably the most department-store smelling cologne bpal sells, and the only reason I've kept my imp of Dee is to occasionally sniff it to remind me that I shouldn't always believe the hype.

With the help of others as well as my own plunge into bpal, these are the scents I've found to work best on myself.. so they may work equally as well on other guys:

Satyr (It's like a masculine Snake Oil, only thicker and darker. Supreme shit right here.)

Hellfire (Decadent + masculine)

Dorian (By far the oil I get the most compliments wearing. Women really seem to like the way Dorian smells. Reminds me of weak tea drizzled over aged apples.)

Other good ones: Port Royal and Golden Priapus. If your guy is into more unique/dark scents I'd highly suggest Tezcatlipoca and Centzon Totochtin. If you want really bold scents that will make everyones head turn, go with either Djinn or Lucifer.

Intrigue has a woody/resinous base to it.. like the varnished teak wood on an old sailboat or church pew (think Cathedral's resins), and the fig really helps to sweeten things.

This one is a morpher. After about 30 minutes I am finally detecting the cocoa. It is dry and bitter, just as it should be. I'm also detecting another very deep and subdued note which I presume is the black palm. This is all quite complex, and really lives up to its namesake.

This really smells like a more mild Cathedral (wood/resins galore) with cocoa and fig. I really like this one a lot.

In the imp this smells exactly like those Orange shaped and flavored chocolates that you smack down to break into wedges. Sadly, the moment this hits my skin the chocolate dissipates and leaves nothing but orange. However, it is not a bright and lively orange -- rather, a more mellow, chalky and candy-like orange. It's interesting, but I wish the chocolate didn't disappear so quickly.

Grog reminds me exactly of Miskatonic Uni except for one thing.. Miskatonic has a papery/book scent to it whereas Grog has a boozy/acoholic scent to it.

As a shameless drunk, I have to side with Grog.

Tombstone is a lot like Snake Oil except slightly more masculine. I actually prefer it over Snake Oil for this alone, but also because it lacks the playdough vibe that (fresh) Snake Oil has.

Also of interest is the oil itself, which is 100% translucent and thicker than anything I've seen, including aged Snake Oil. Speaking of which, I can't wait to see how Tombstone ages. Another bottle-worthy scent.

So. F'ing. Good.

Amen.

This stuff is crazy enticing... Hunger is a very fitting name yet this isn't foody smelling, just appetizing smelling -- if that makes sense. It is spicy and somewhat sweet with a smell that has a shimmering dark brown/golden tint... like a royal table full of rich waffles and exotic syrups. I have no idea how to describe this, but it does share similarities with Snake Oil. Quite an excellent scent, supremely decadent and exotic in nature.

Cannot stop smelling this. This could even be a new favorite. I'd recommend everyone try an imp of this stuff. I'll be going for a full bottle in my next order.

This is shockingly weak in strength. I've never had a bpal scent that is so faint.. I literally had to spill 1/3rd of the imp onto my wrist just to smell something. I'm completely vexxed as to how this could be so weak.

Anyway I get a little something that smells like Satyr but it's still difficult to tell due to how nonexistent this scent is. Weird.

This is so good. Nosferatu is like a mix of Zombi and Jazz Funeral plus a bit of red wine which adds some sweetness to the mix.

This is interesting but not in an enjoyable way. It smells like walking past a construction site of a house being built.. paint thinner, caulking, glue and paint... a fresh house still full of its acrid, industrial smell. This stuff would be impossible for anyone to wear convincingly. I'm almost in awe of how off putting it is. Definitely lives up to the namesake... I'm terrified of this stuff.

Despite not liking this, I give Scarecrow points for being one of the most unique and original bpal scents I've ever come across.

In my most recent order which included over 30 imps, Coyote was the only one that elicited a verbal "damn!"

This stuff really evokes nice mental imagery.. warm, sunny and summery. It has a perfumey quality to it, but it's fairly gender neutral.

No wonder this stuff is so widely loved here on the forum. It's very comforting and definitely something I'll be wearing more of as the days become longer and warmer.

Edit: Ahh.. almost immediately upon drydown the scent started to fade. By 1 hour I was left with nothing more than a faint babypowder. By 2 hours it was gone entirely.