Cats

I'm very surprised by this -- I'd learned that while there's no legal definition of "natural" that "pure essential oil" can only be used if it is indeed the extracted essential oil from plant material (although it can be contaminated by solvents used in extraction process). But that was 15 years ago. If there has been a change in US labelling laws allowing synthetics to be used while still claiming "pure essential oil of X", could you please point me to any citations? This is a very important issue to me healthwise. Thank you very much.

It's very difficult. I'm about 95% housebound because of it. BPAL is the first perfume I've been able to use in 15+ years, and I dilute them (a LOT) and don't use them daily, just in case of possible sensitisation. I use only homemade soaps made with organic oils, and Paul uses only unscented, fragrance free bodywash and shampoo. We don't buy any cleaners or anything, just use soap, baking powder, and vinegar for cleaning. Almost all the food we buy is organic. It's hard, but better than the seizure like episodes I had so often before we learned what to avoid.

Hi Iain, I very much appreciate your taking the time to comment. I do agree that not all EOs are safe, especially not for all people. I've also studied herbs and EOs for almost 2 decades now and there are several I avoid and others I use with caution and watch for any negative reactions. However for ME the generalisation that manmade fragrance chemicals will make ME ill while natural generally ones will not is literally true (and I was speaking specifically about myself). I must avoid manmade chemicals because almost all of them are broken down through the cytochrome p450 detox pathway. Things that are generally safe for people with no cytochrome p450 damage can be extremely toxic to me, simply because anything that goes through that pathway can't be broken down well by my body and continues to circulate and accumulate. That does include some natural substances as well, such as caffeine, alcohol and some herbs, which I avoid. My damage is specific to the cytochrome p450 detox pathways (from solvent and pesticide exposure). So to me man-made chemicals generally cause serious problems from even minute exposures (including things that are generally harmless to the healthy, such as artificial colours, fragrances and flavours, preservatives, even mild detergents, anything petro-based, almost every drug, etc), while some herbs that can be hepatoxic but are not broken down through that pathway I can use judiciously. My comment on being reassured is because it was pointed out that Beth has stated she uses only natural ingredients, and I have been pointed to the website where that is stated. I will take the time to doublecheck with Ted, as well. And Morrighana, thank you again. edited since I can't type well today

In the vial this smelt amazing -- almonds and spice. ::swoon:: It hit my skin, and instantly the almonds and spice completely and totally vanished, and the rose exploded into rosey prominence. ::sneeze:: Off to the swap pile it goes.

Oh, I love this! It smells like unrefined coconut oil, only stronger. I could happily smell this way quite a lot of the time.

I've seen absolutes of several of those, but then it's only been a few years that I've seen absolutes at all -- is it a newish type of scent harvesting, perhaps? I know I can't use the solvent extracted absolutes, but I have a CO2 coffee absolute that's just to die for and I can use it with no problem. I have some diluted Vanilla absolute as well, that's incredible.

Thank you so much for the reassurance!

I hope this is resolved soon. I have liver and detox system damage, and man-made fragrance chemicals are something I have to avoid if I don't want to get seriously ill. The reason I've been buying BPAL was my impression (from quote riddel posted from the BPAL site) that none of them had man-made fragrance chemicals in them. Most of Beth's blends, even if I don't care for the smell, haven't made me ill, although a couple have caused serious nausea and headache. I had assumed that it was just a plant I was sensitive too, but now I'm pretty anxious about the possibility of man-made chemicals being the cause. ...

I'm head over heels for this. In the bottle I smelled mostly the pepper. Wet I smelled the ginger as well. Dry I smelled the ginger and pepper, but softened, and the frankincense has come out to play. Amazing. I can't stop sniffing my wrist!

Really not what I was expecting at all -- I took the "wolf" part too literally and was expecting something more animalistic. In the bottle: Very piney and oh so very much not for me, since I'm allergic to pine. Oops. To the swap piles it goes.

I adore vanilla, so while I'm not sure about amber, I got an imp of this. In the bottle it smells sweet and vaguely vanilla-y. On me it starts out as the softest, palest, gentlest tea rose With in minutes it was vaguely tea rose scented babypowder that's making me a bit dizzy and lightheaded. I'll give this another try in a couple weeks, since I really want something vanilla-y.

Like Dia de los Muertos, I was nervous about the smoke in Hearth. But, oh, I adore this! In the bottle it was bright, biting cherry. Wet on me: cherry, but not the fruit. More like Kool-aid cherry or Jello cherry. Not that it smells artificial at all, but it's much stronger than fresh or dried fruit. Dry: Wow. Now I can smell the tobacco, but it's not burning tobacco. It's something from the upscale tobacco shop -- rich and dark. I'm not sure I'll wear this often, but I think it will be a great room scent. Very comforting and warm.

I was very hesitant to try Dia because I'm asthmatic and severely allergic to both smoke and incense. Great merciful galloping wildebeests, am I glad I got an imp (and later a bottle!). It's incredible. In the bottle it smells rich and warm. I don't smell smoke or incense. Instead it's a warm, comforting blanket -- sweet and rich with a hint of chocolate. And on me it becomes even richer and darker. It's a soothing, all wrapped up in a warm woolen blanket smell. Absolutely incredible.

On this is incredible in the bottle! Cinnamon-spicy, vanilla-y, like fresh-baked snickerdoodles! Just lovely and mouthwatering. On my skin it promptly turns baby-powdery, but it's so divine that I'll be using it in a scent locket. (Layered with Sugar Skull? Fabulous!!! -- the cinnmon spices up the sweet and they become even more delicious.)

In the bottle: I don't DISlike it, but I don't really like it either, and I can't much describe it. It's soft, and floral without hurting my head, and smells like ...em... faint floral play-doh? A dab on me turned instantly to plasticy baby-powder.

In the bottle: barely a hint of coconut, very strong floral (the iris?). On me: instantly headachey, overwelming floral and musk, no coconut at all. I'd like a new skin chemistry, please!

Bee Pal

Oh, I have another new love. In the bottle it reminded me of Grog: hot buttery rummy On me at first it was Bright!Heady!Fruit! and a bit overwhelming. It actually reminded me of a fruity perfume I bought at a science fiction convention in the 70s. Then the fruit faded (in moments) but I wasn't sure what the new smell was. "Smell me!" I demanded to the boykitty. He sniffed, shrugged, and said "corn?" That was it -- candied corn (but not caramel corn -- the kind with the hard crack candy on it). Now, after about 15 minutes, it's apply and spicy and buttery and delicious. This is what I was expecting Samhain to be. Love it!

Quantum spice mentioned The Hermit smelling like musty old books Madame Nyx mentioned old books about Gaueko and about Omen. Fairykin said it about Ouija. Hope that helps!

I remember reading something like that, but I'm not sure what it was for. I want to say The Apothecary, though

Oh, that's good to know. I'm trying to stock up on Sugar Skull because I love it so much. I'll have to order some Gluttony to try. Thank you!

Oh, Sugar Skull, how to I love thee? Maple Sugar. Carmelised Sugar. Delicious in the bottle. Droolingly good on my skin. I'm so glad I have a bottle of this; I think I'm going to look for an extra, too!

In the bottle: Mmmm! Strong, but the lavender and lime smell SO GOOD! On my boy: The lavender was overwelming at first, then it settled down and the lime popped out, and a little musk. SO yummy! We both really like it.

I'd read the descriptions and really wanted to love Ice Queen, especially reading the peppermint mentions. But it did me in. Just on opening the bottle it was too overwelming -- very strong floral with musk and some sort of strong bite I can't identify. Insta-headache. Blast my funky chemistry!

She smelled lovely and almondy in the imp. But as soon as she hit my skin my chemistry struck again: Baby Powder.