trollgirl

After a brief search, I finally found someone willing to sell me Strawberry Moon! Yesssss.... In the bottle it was tart strawberry candy layered over something green, bitter and herbaceous. And... huh, it's smells almost creamy. Weird. On me I get the deeeeelicious dandelion sap note that I get in Roadhouse. Nommmm... and there's a small hint of strawberry plastic. Oops. But the plasticky note fades fast, and I end up with fresh ripe strawberries dusted with sugar. I also get a strange powdery sugar vibe, kind of like sticking my nose in a bag of confectioner's sugar--that sort of powdery. The grass and dandelion really stop the strawberry from becoming too candy-sweet. After a while the green notes come to the fore, and I end up with something that's really close to my skin--a soft, fresh and only slightly sweet strawberry scent, like I rolled around in a big barrel of grass and strawberries and came out with my skin lightly scented with the juices. Lovely. I also let my boy sniff the wrist. His reaction: "Poached pears?"

In the vial: Boozy coconut with a spritz of pineapple juice. Noms. Also getting a whiff of buttery cinnamon buns. On me: Cinnamon of Death that's just on the verge of pencil shavings. I can't smell anything else. I'm very sad because I can smell the pineapple on the toothpick I used. Skin, you suck.

Really want the stuff in red. DISO PIRATEY SNIFFIES! Anne Bonny Black Pearl Calico Jack Grog Jolly Roger Mary Read Looking for bottles of: Sachs Scherezade Witchblade Sara Pezzini Suck It (Halloweenie 09) Yvaine (And will always take more) Australian Copperhead Cottonmouth Lyonesse Most Snake Oil variants (Chaos, Snake Pit--try me!) Scherezade Snake Oil Looking for decants of: Countess Willie Door Eisheth Zenunim Haloes Graveyard Dirt (any year) Marquis de Carabas Nanny Ashtoreth TKO Also looking for imps of: Alice Bensiabel Coyote Horreur Sympathetique Hunger Kill-Devil La Bella Dame Sans Merci Lady Macbeth Lampades Mouse's Long and Sad Tale O Poisoned Apple Prunella The Sea Foams Milk The Sea Foams Blood Non-BPAL Arcana The Sweet Trade (bottle)

Sugar Skull 2008 smelled like raisins and incense with a sprinkling of brown sugar. But mostly raisins. After about ten minutes, I smelled like a rum-soaked fruitcake.

This was a sweet light incensy-rose in the bottle. On me I immediately got a huge blast of beeswax, which calmed down quite quickly and became a beautifully sweet floral scent (mostly roses to me) that was nicely complemented by the beeswax and frankincense. It was lovely with a bit of a funereal feel to it, like a hall full of beautiful white candles and flowers. For a while there it looked like Day of the Skulls was going to become one of my favourites. And then over the course of the day something went a bit wonky. The flowers mostly faded off and the beeswax started to become really thick and waxen and cloying. The funereal feel I got became really, really creepy. There's something in that waxy smell that I find hugely unsettling. It smells like old, old candles in a long forgotten crypt. Every so often I'll catch a whiff of the fresh florals again and go "Awww. Pretty." But then I sniff my wrist and the wax is all creepy and making ghostly "woo-woo" noises at me.

***9/11*** Legwarmers? Armwarmers? I would love to wear legwarmers. However, I don't think I could pull them off. Armwarmers... hmm, I've never really worn them but they could be useful. What makes everyone stand out from the Switch Witch herd? Must I stand out? I like being part of this herd. This herd is a good herd. If you are into the original Nintendo system, what 3 games would you want that you don't have? Nope. Not that into Nintendo actually. What is your favorite category of the GC? Ooh, how to pick? I really like the idea of the Steamworks... though I've only enjoyed two scents from there so far: Antikythera Mechanism and Obsidian Widow. A lot of my favourites seem to come from Ars Amatoria. ***9/10*** Stance on Joss Whedon and his enterprises? I'm a fan of Joss Whedon. However, I'm a little glad that Firefly didn't continue. I'm sure it would have suffered the same fate as Buffy (declining terribly towards the end). Has anyone tried ice wine before? Do/did they enjoy it? I love ice wine. We had a bottle just last week when, in the midst of all the SWing excitement, I forgot my boyfriend's birthday. I bought him a bottle to celebrate (and apologize). It was lovely. What other perfume companies (besides bpal) have you been curious about? Possets, I suppose? I've generally avoided most other companies since coming to BPAL. However, SW has introduced me to a great many other etailers. I'd be curious to try anything that smells good! Does anyone here do anything with grave rubbings? I don't. Would you enjoy art based on original Graveyard photography? I find graveyard photography quite serene and beautiful... but I don't know. I gravitate more towards the quirky these days.

***9/9*** Do you play a musical instrument? I've played the piano since the age of four. Sadly, when I moved away we sold my piano and I haven't played anything besides Guitar Hero/Rock Band guitars since. One day when I have a bigger house I will buy a piano again. What do you think of Irrelevant Disturbing and Surreal Crawdad Dream? Love it? Hate it? Kicking yourself for not getting a bottle? I have a bottle of Crawdad Dream. The first time I tried it it was far too sweet on me. I will probably test it again soon but I think I am just going to let my bottle go to someone who will love it more. How do you feel about trinkets? You know - tiny toys or doodads that serve no purpose than to be cute, take up space and make us smile. Love them or waste of money? I like them, however I find it difficult to purchase them for myself because I tend to go, "Well, do I really need this?" and if my answer is no, I will generally not buy the item. Can melty things be shipped to you, or will they be in puddles by the time you open the package? Probably will be melty since it may sit outside my house in the sun for hours before I get home. Though I guess it is getting colder now... Who likes pirates? Yarrrr. What are your feelings about Dia De Los Muertos? Don't have any feelings about it. I Wikipedia'd (Wikipedia knows everything!) it and it seems interesting but I don't think I'll ever celebrate it. What do you think about the Nightmare Before Christmas? If candy is sent, would you prefer small amounts to a Halloween sized bag? I like candy. A lot. However I know it's probably really bad for me. Halloween sized bag of candy will probably come to work with me and be shared with people. Do you like notes in your soaps or bath stuff that you don't like in your perfumes? If so which? I like citrus and really bright sharp lemon notes. Also aquatic and salty things. For example I really liked Lush's Ocean Salt cleanser and their Bohemian soap. Clean lemony goodness! Not really anything I'd wear as a perfume though. Too clean. Do you like floral soaps or bath stuff? If so, what florals work and what don't? Not sure. ***9/7*** If you have pets, is there a SPECIFIC toy they like to play with; brand and size? Is there a treat/cookie they eat? What brand and size? What's your ringtone? Nyxie loves laser pointers and things she can chase. Russell prefers large fuzzy objects he can wrestle. He's not much for the chasing--it involves getting up. Just to throw a silly question out there...Munsters or Addams Family, y'all? Um... What think you about receiving tea accessories and/or miscellany (like mugs, cups, saucers, strainers/filters, honey, natural sweeteners [like stevia])? Yay! How do you feel about copies of music or dvd's that your witch might have that you might enjoy? Not just mixes, but whole copies? Copies? Errrrrmm... I'm not too comfortable with that. Comes a little too close to piracy for me. Say, witches, I have a question about birthdays. do you expect/rely on other people to plans birthday outings and activities? Usually. Tarts? Yes/no? Yes? I'm wondering if my witchee would like to try these types of things (like the caramel with sea salts or chocolates with chilis/bacon/salt etc.)? Those sound neat! ***9/6*** What's your favorite animal? I have to pick one? Erm. I like cats a lot. And dogs. Snakes too. What one (or two, if you really must) BPAL bottles are you most longing for? Hay Moon and Mead Moon. I didn't order during that lunacy because I already had a pending order and I've told myself that I will not make a new order until my pending order has shipped. And then after it passes I think about it more and realize that I probably would have loved both. If you could have dinner/drinks/coffee with any 3 living people that are not your family/friends already, who would they be-? ***9/5*** If you could bring back any TV show from cancellation what would it be? Firefly, probably. But, you know... it's kinda nice that it ended before it got terrible and jumped the shark, like so many other TV shows. I wonder if my witchee would like a blanket type thing. Would you? Mmm, snuggly blanket. What's your favorite "I know it's bad for me but I can't help myself" treat? POUTINE. It's a Canadian thing. I used to hate fries till I found poutine. Fries, slathered in gravy and covered in cheese curds. It's like a heart attack on a plate, but soooooo goooood. Very important question: Are you planning on buying anything off your BPAL and/or other wishlists during the round? I don't think I'm going to buy anything off my wishlists. I'm waiting for a pending Halloween order and after that I will probably make a new order. Also I have to wait for my Halloweenie decants to come in, maybe I'll stock up on some of those I like as well as buy some things for my witchee. Do you wear a watch? If so, what kind/style? Sadly, I don't wear my watch very often because I don't want to stain the strap with my BPAL and ruin it. It's a beautiful watch my bf got for me on my birthday when we were in Florence. How do you feel about having a donation made in your name to something?If you like that idea, what types of organizations/groups would you want the donation to go to? I think any good cause will make me happy, so I'll leave it up to my witchy if she wants to do that. I only ask that a donation not be made in my name to any Christian missionary efforts. I'm sorry if that is mildly offensive but even when I was a Christian I was quite put off by the "we have to save the savages from the clutches of Satan" attitude I saw in many people at my church and staunchly refused to give any money to to aid in missionary efforts. I know missionaries do a lot of good work, but they always seem to have an ulterior motive, and it does not feel right to support the "my religion is better than yours nyah nyah nyah" types. ***9/4*** What is your favorite art movement and/or style? ie impressionist, surrealist, art nouveau, etc. Have to say art nouveau and pre-raphaelite. Do you have a case for your mp3 player/digital camera? If you would want one, what size is your digital device? I do have cases. For tea drinkers, do you bag it or prefer loose I prefer to bag it. Much more convenient. Loose is so much prettier though... Does the weather change where you are, as in, does it get cold in the winter? Anyone need homegrown scarves, hats, mittens, etc? Oh goodness, does it get cold! *shiver* It's already starting to get cold. Last winter we had -40 degree temperatures (with wind chill). I would love to get something homegrown. I make my own knitted stuff but I've never received handmade stuff myself and would love to. Who are your forum buddies? People you know well enough online or IRL to help your Witch pick out stuff for you? Hehe. I don't have any yet. I hope to get some out of this SW experience.

Halloween Switch Witch Random Questions - Part III ***9/3*** My questionnaire is chock-a-block with ideas for Witching me on the cheap, and without sending "stuff for stuff's sake". And I just came up with another one--make me a Pandora, Finetune, or Last.fm station you think I might like! What manner of affordable Witchery might you covet? I don't know if I can listen to Pandora anymore. For a while there they didn't let people in Canada listen to it... oh, yup, still not allowed to listen to Pandora. I've used Last.fm a bit but not Finetune. Anyway, I do love music, whether it's an online radio station recommendation, or a list of songs you think I'd like that I can search for on YouTube or whatever. I'd love a mix CD. I'd also greatly enjoy stories about your pets, and links to cute and funny videos. Ooh, and recipes that you really like that I should try out, tips on making stuff... ideas for things that I can do with my boyfriend on weekends! We tend to get really stressed out during the week at work and sometimes on weekend I feel like we need to do "something" but I never know what that something is so we just sit at home. Does your cell phone have a place to attach charms? I just checked, and yes. If you drink coffee (and make it yourself) do you use a French Press, regular filter basket coffee maker, Espresso Machine, Percolator? I use Starbucks! Hehe... I don't drink coffee very often. Occasionally I'll use the Espresso Machine at work but I don't really like the coffee from there. What movie soundtracks (or scores) do you love? Lord of the Rings. The Hours. Err... I'm sure there's a whole lot more that I like but it's totally not coming to me right now. How do you scent yourself? Do you layer soaps, moisturizers, etc. or do you go straight to slathering your bod with BPAL? I tend to only scent myself with BPAL these days. I've actually started getting into fragrance-free moisturizers because I want to use my BPAL and I'm afraid the scents will mix. I'm just such a slatherer of BPAL recently. I sometimes mix BPAL in unscented lotion. I can go through something like a fifth of a bottle if I'm doing that to slather in a lotion. If I'm not doing it in a lotion I use a bit less, but still quite a bit. Well, I guess it depends on the blend. If I know it's strong, I tend to slather less. Do you/how do you scent your world? Candles, incense, diffusers, potpourri? None of the above? I use those ceramic aromatherapy thing with the tealight and the dish. The name is completely escaping me at the moment. Are those diffusers? I like room sprays and linen sprays but I always hold back from buying them for some reason. I also like those things with the bamboo sticks stuck in oils that somehow draw the scent up and into the room. Maybe those are the diffusers? Hehe. My brain is totally broken today. I don't use candles very much because most candles seem to have a waxy smell that I don't really like. And a lot of the scented candles I've sniffed are plasticky-sweet and artificial smelling. Maybe I've just not smelled really good ones. BPAL is such a scent-ual experience. What are your other tactile, aural, or olfactory pleasures? I love knitting with very textured yarns. In the beginning I used to love the sooooooft yarns like Malabrigo and silk and stuff like that but over the course of the past year or so I've come to love yarns that seem less processed and are more "rustic", I guess. People seems to hate vegetable matter in stuff like Noro or Peace Fleece but I love it. I don't know why. I like picking stuff out of my sweater. Maybe I'm just fidgety. And I like imperfections in my yarn--bizarre place of thick and thinness, things like that. It just makes the knitting more interesting. And they feel nice on my fingers. I recently made something out of Sea Silk which is really smooth and soft and flowy and it felt weird, like there was nothing there. It was a little disconcerting. And then there's music. I enjoy music so much. I can't get through a day without listening to something. It actually helps me work better if I can have music and not hear other people. Sniffing. I sniff everything. My tea, my spices, my boyfriend, my yarn. MY YARN. Mmm, sniffing yarn. I sniff my cats too. It doesn't work out so well with Russell because he's very sheddy and I end up with a nosefull of kitty-fur. Nyxie's a lot better with the not-shedding so she's much nicer to sniff (though less patient so she's more likely to walk off). I also love cooking because of the smells.

Halloween Switch Witch Questions - Part II ***9/2*** How do people feel about receiving baked goods/kits to make said goods? Or other cooking items? Would you enjoy oil or vinegar flavored with herbs grown at home? Strange and exotic spices with recipes to try? Cookies made with carnation petals? I have to admit I'm a little wary of freshly baked food items sent in the mail. I'm afraid it will sit in the post office for weeks and weeks and I'll end up with a squished cake or moldy cookies or something. But cookies made with carnation petals? Wow, I'm really curious. Kits are great. Spices (exotic or otherwise)--woot! And I love oils. What are your pet's names, and what are they named for? Nyxie and Russell. Nyxie's the first cat I've ever had. I've had her from the time she was a kitten. She's named after the black dragon Onyxia (40-man raid boss) in World of Warcraft. Onyxia --> Nyxie. Russell I got a year later, and he was an adult when I got him. He was found wandering the neighbourhood of someone from work, begging for food from people and looking longingly at the interiors of their houses when the doors were open. They think he was abandoned, though they couldn't find his original family. The people that found him already had three cats and a whole bunch of kids (they babysat for people) and they couldn't take him in. I had a spare room so I could keep him indoors and seperated from evil dragon kitty, Nyxie. We all agreed that he didn't look like he could fend for himself very well and he was wandering really close to a busy road and no one wanted him out near that. It was also late autumn and it was starting to get cold. So we took him in and he stayed in my spare room for a while. I posted stuff on the internet saying he was found but no one ever claimed him. Took him to the vet and got him checked out and eventually he became mine. We were originally thinking of calling him Gandalf (or Odin), because he's grey, but we settled on Russell--after the philosopher Betrand Russell--because he looked more like a Russell than a Odin (or Gandalf). ***9/1*** Who here is a complete, over the top, Alice In Wonderland fanatic? Not really. I do like the Jabberwocky poem though. It just sounds great when you read it. Are you a Trekkie? If so, which series do you prefer? Do you have a favorite character? Not a trekkie. Do you have phobias? I hate worms and other squirmy things. Hate maggots, they make me want to run away and hide. There are places in World of Warcraft where you encounter squirmy grub-like creatures and the first time I saw them my boyfriend and I ended up dead because I was too busy going "Argh! OMG OMG!" and hyperventilating to kill them. That was at level 20. At level 50-ish, you encounter the same creature but twice as big in another area. *shudder* How do you like your mix CDs? Random? Stuff you know you'll like? Random! Would you rather get food or jewellery? Well, depends on the food, and whether it ships well. I have to say I do eat more often than I wear jewellery. I do like pretty things though. Do you like children's toys, such as jacks, those little things you tilt around to get the ball in the right hold (wtf are those called?), the aforementioned caplet dinosaurs, cap guns, etc?: I have a few My Little Ponies at my desk at work... apart from that I'm not big on toys. English candy/tea/marmite or other stuff that you love and can't easily get outside of England? Tea! Mmm... tea. English candy? Toffee! I like toffee. Fanfic as a gift* - yay or nay? Your fandom? Slash preferences?*well, a virtual gift obviously. You know what I mean. Must be crackfic! And funny! Totally crazy weird stuff. Crossovers! I once wrote a Harry Potter meets Lara Croft fanfic. I didn't finish it though. Hee. Prefer weird to romantic. Any beaders here? Need beading supplies? I like beads. Not a beader though I'm sure I'd find some way to work it into knitting. Do you like making up your SW packages around a theme, or prefer to mix it all up? Don't know, never done it. I probably won't stick to a theme though. I'm a fairly random person. Band-aids: do you like the fun and funky ones? I'd wear fun and funky band-aids. What's the scariest thing that's ever happened to you? Nothing coming to mind at the moment... ***8/31*** What is everyone's favorite Halloween song?! There are Halloween songs? How many of mah fellow witchies play video games? Platform? Do you like used games? Video games? All. The. Time. I tend to prefer RPGs and Action/Adventure type games. I will play shooters if the story/setting interest me, but I don't gravitate towards them because the first person view gives me motion sickness. I play on the PC and X-box, mainly. I'm still playing World of Warcraft after almost three years, and I'm working my way through Grand Theft Auto IV on the X-box. I have a Wii because the boyfriend wanted one. I played Super Smash Bros. for about a week and he played some other game for about a week and now the Wii is just sitting there unused. I find I don't really enjoy Wii games. They have some good party games but a lot of the Nintendo stuff is not really my cup of tea. The games tend to have well-designed, fun gameplay but there really isn't anything that really draws me in. The stories and plot tend to be rather flimsy. If a game is multi-platform I tend to buy it for the PC or the X-box for better graphics. Oh, and I'm perfectly fine with used. What kind of music (genres, please) do you like? Rock, alternative, indie, mash-up, folk. Have any of you ever received a book from a Witchy and loved it so much you ended up buying a copy for a later Witchee? Never been witched. What kinds of eye shadows do we all like? I barely wear eye shadow, though I do like it. I wish I could pull off the really bright, highly saturated, heavily pigmented eyeshadows (like red and turquoise and stuff) but I don't have the eyes for it. If I'm wearing it I tend to go for subdued colours and play up lips rather than eyes. Do you like lip balm? If so, do you like tinted, glossy, sparkly, pearly or just plain lip balm? I love all lip balm! However very pale and pearly stuff tends to make me look a little weird because then my lips end up looking paler than my skin and I start looking like some kind of weird robot-person. What are some of the SW gifts/finds from past rounds (or you can just name a gift in general that you found for someone if this is your first round!) that you are the most proud of in terms of your sleuthing skills? Well... I didn't find a gift for someone but I made my friend a knit hat with kitty ears that she really liked, and she always wanted one but was too shy to ask for one and was really happy when she got one at the start of winter last year. And, secondly, what is something you've been searching for but just can't find? I have been trying to find Hercules: The Legendary Journeys for my boyfriend because he has fond memories of that show. It seems to be out of print now or something. ***8/30*** Do you knit/crochet? Do you need any supplies? I knit! I've got most of the supplies I need though I lack stitch markers. I've been meaning to get them, especially the cute ones with dangly things. My yarn store carries them but I always forget to get them. I end up using little loops of cotton to mark my stitches. What are your two favorite etsy shops? Don't have a favourite. I know, what kind of crafter am I, not having an etsy favourite? I've never bought anything from etsy. I like browsing it though. I'm not sure why I've never bought. I think it's because I was afraid of Paypal for a while. But then I found BPAL and had to get over that fear. So I expect I will be shopping at etsy soon. Possibly this SW round will cause me to loose my virginity. Are you active on any other boards/forums? If so please specify where and your username there. Ravelry. I'm nonsequitur on there. ***8/29*** What would you tell yourself 6 months in the past about 2008 so far? "I know you're pretty stressed out from stuff right now, but it's going to get worse." Hee. If you had one minute of fame, what would you do/say in the spotlight? "Hi... er, gotta go." I really hate being in the spotlight. Stage fright and all. Robots versus zombies: who wins? Robots. What would zombie say? Braaaaainz? Where are a few of your favorite places? On the couch with the xbox controller in my hand, cat on my lap and a beer on the coffee table. Or tea. I also really love the Rocky Mountains. I actually prefer it in winter when everything's white and covered in sparkly icicles, but I hate driving in winter so I never go. Also, it gets really cold. Walking around the sea wall in Vancouver. And Singapore, because I grew up there. Out of curiosity, all the fall babies who are celebrating their birthdays during the round - who are you, and when is your bday? I'm a Spring/Summer baby, What is one (only one) object that you collect, that totally goes against your personality or beliefs? Can't think of anything. I'm not much of a collector in the first place. Are you a soap addict? Anything you like to avoid in soaps (goat's milk, lye, dyes, etc...) or any particular scents you like or brands you want to try? I love soaps. Being clean is good and all. I tend to use very basic store-bought soaps. I can't justify the expense of buying special soaps for everyday use. But I do like them. Do you like kilts and would you wear one? I've never worn a kilt. I don't know if I'd wear one. I've worn many a plaid skirt but a real kilt? Hmmm. I think it might look like I was trying too hard to be scottish.

Halloween Switch Witch Questions - Part I ***8/29*** What's your favorite book? I don't know if I can pick. Off the top of my head I really like Susanna Clarke's Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell and Neil Gaiman's American Gods. What size socks do you wear? How about hat size? I wear size seven shoes. I think my feet at pretty average. Same goes for my head. Do you read comics? Which ones do you love and which can't you stand? I love the Sandman graphic novels. Recently I bought a couple of trade paperbacks of Buffy Season Eight. They were okay. Not great. When I was a teenager I was a huge X-men fan. I've been told Watchmen is pretty awesome but I haven't read those books yet. As for comic books I can't stand... "can't stand" might be too strong a phrase, but I don't have very much appreciation for anime-style art. Symbols that are meaningful to me? I don't know. I might have to think about this for a while. By nature are you a morning lark or a night owl? Night owl. Definitely. Have to get up early for work these days and I seldom ever get to do the up-till-dawn gaming sessions anymore, but oh well. What's your favorite type of music to hear live, rather than recorded? Most music sounds better live, I think. What is your favorite autumnal-seasonal drink? Cider? Does cider count? ***8/28*** Crossword puzzles? Other pencil puzzles? I'm not much of a puzzle person. I'm a little too impatient and I'll probably just toss them at the boyfriend and get him to solve them for me. He likes puzzles. Favorite artist? Alfons Mucha Favorite poet? Tennysson, e.e. cummings. Halloween. Do you like it kooky or creepy? I think I'd have to say kooky, since I like everything kooky. Reserved or Raunchy? Are we talking about Halloween? Probably reserved. Probably not going to see me in a sexy latex nun outfit anytime soon. Earth, Wind, Fire or Water? Earth. Tea or Coffee in the morning? Tea. Fruity snacks or chocolate? Chocolate. Would you accept art? Of course. Antiques or Brand New? Both. What keywords do you use when searching for items for yourself on Etsy? Videogame, warcraft, RPG, geek, knitting, jewellery, art Are there any of y'all who are allergic/sensitive to having natural fibers on your skin? I don't have any fabric allergies that I know of. I love natural fibres, especially the texture of more rustic wools like Peace Fleece. It may itch a little bit but I don't care. However, I dislike the feel of synthetic fabrics made out of acrylic and things like that. I can't stand touching them. What was your favorite ghost/scary/campfire story growing up? None that I can recall. Bugs? Do you like 'em or not? I love bugs! I grew up as a kid running around in my grandma's garden looking for beetles and spiders. I was also kind of a loner kid and would spend recess catching bugs to play with. I'm a little weirded out by wormy things though. Not big on the worms. i haz no imp storage. do you? I haz imp storage, yes. ***8/27*** If you have a garden/planter box, what do you grow? I once had a little planter box full of herbs. They died because I'm terrible with plants. Next summer I will get one of those huge barrel things and plant a barrel-full of "wildflowers". I've seen the seeds sold in the stores. They would be happy-surprise flowers! If they don't die. What incense scents do you prefer? Patchouli! And spicy stuff. But I don't burn incense very much these days. Do you decorate for Halloween? What sort of decorations? Dress up for Halloween? I aim to have a jack 'o lantern this year. But I think that will be pretty much it. And I plan to dress up, but I don't know what I'm going to be yet. Bats, cats, skeletons, monsters, vampires, witches or what other ghoulies do you prefer? Cats, vampires and witches. I like faeries too. I don't suppose they count as ghoulies though. Do you like horror flicks? No. I'm too easily frightened. Who here prefers stylus and ink to ballpoint? Anyone invested time and effort into calligraphy or proper Victorian writing? ... what is this writing of which you speak? I press buttons and words appear on screen. What about stationery? Need some? What styles do you like? I tend to communicate electronically. ***8/26*** What is one item that you've wanted forever, could have afforded, but have never gotten and why (haven't you gotten it!)? I've been meaning to try some Possets, but there have been too many awesome BPAL scents that I've put it off. What Halloween scent are you most looking forward to? A Blade of Grass! Tattoos! Do you have em? Do you want em? Whatcha got or getting? I have two. I have a rosebud on my hip and a stylized skull on back. Reduce - REUSE - recycle. Do others feel the same? I try my best. What is your favorite crafting supply? Yarn. Wool. Weigh in...Are you right or left-handed? Left. Any period of time that you love? Victorian? Perhaps the Renaissance. ***8/25*** What's your favorite part about Fall? The leaves turning. Do you like office/school supplies? If so, what is your favorites? I like things I can stick on my fridge for shopping lists. Maybe that doesn't count as office supplies. What's your favorite Halloween candy? I don't like candy corn... I don't know if I have a favourite. Something sour, perhaps? Will you be participating NaNoWriMo? If so, is there anything you'd like to have for that? I haven't done NaNoWriMo in years! I probably won't be doing it this year either. Probably will be too busy at work. ***8/22*** Where does everyone like shop for witching goodness? No clue yet, since I'm a newbie. I'm sure I'll figure something out. Etsy seems to have potential. What is your favorite pumpkin goodness? I like roasted pumpkin.

I tried on Inez last night and I have to say that on me, Inez (Golden amber, vanilla musk, myrrh, cedar, carnation, and red sandalwood) smelled almost exactly like Lyonesse (Golden vanilla and gilded musk, stargazer lily, white sandalwood, grey amber, elemi, orris root, ambergris and sea moss). The only difference is that Inez had a darker incense-y feel from the myrrh.

Does anyone know how much shipping costs are for orders larger than 12 items going to Canada? I emailed the lab about it but I want to make an order before some of the blends go away on Aug 18. I'll probably wait till then to see if I hear from them but it would be nice to have a ballpark figure if anyone else knows. ETA: Never mind. The lab explained it to me. *is silly*

In the bottle: Marianne is red musk with just a hint of sweetness. And yes, very, very dark. On me: Oh, yes.... I see why everyone says this is like Scherezade. It smells very similar on me. I get mostly red musk as first, and then some patchouli. I smell no flowers. This is very dry and sweet, very much like incense. I'm really baffled because I get absolutely no bergamot and usually citrus overwhelms everything else on my skin, especially for the first fifteen minutes or so. For a while I was just sort of "meh" about Marianne, just as I was about Scherezade, but then over the course of the day I kept getting whiffs of this wonderful evocative scent--sweet, velvety, seductive. And I only applied a testing amount, from a toothpick! Wow. So gorgeous. It smells exactly like a carved sandalwood fan I remember my mother bought while we were on holiday somewhere. And I can imagine the lady in the artwork carrying a carved fan like that. She's elegant, sophisticated, mysterious, and absolutely beautiful, like her scent.

An irrelevant, disturbing, and surreal scent: red currant, green tea, red musk, Hawaiian ginger, benzoin, vanilla, coriander, squash blossom, and blueberry. In the bottle: Crawdad dream smells like berries. There's a note in this that I smell also in Fairy Wine, I suspect it is the red currants. It smells like blueberries, currants and honey. Just enough of the berry tartness to balance the sweetness. It's promising! On me: At first I get juicy juicy blueberries. They're bright and fresh and bouncing happily in a basket shortly after having been picked. The scent is sweet, but not overwhelming. I still get that sweet honey-like note, but it's in the background. Just there. And then suddenly it all goes downhill. My basket of blueberries is thrown into a pie-pan, and a huge load of vanilla and sugar is mixed in. A sweet crust is tossed cruelly over the startled blueberries, masking their freshness and the whole thing is pushed unceremoniously into a hellishly hot oven. The blueberries, hearing the metal door slam shut, realize that it is their death knell. They scream frantically to be let out but to no avail. Slowly, one by one, they start boiling from the inside and burst. Their juices are cooked and all freshness is gone from them. Mixed with the vanilla and the sugar they become goopy, cloying, and overwhelmingly sweet... Er, anyway. Yes, it is very very very sweet, so sweet that it makes my throat want to swell shut. It's a musky blueberry pie filling with just a whisper of green tea. I am reminded of the time when I was little and every weekend would ask my parents if I could go look in the Strawberry Shortcake doll store. They would say yes, but stay outside because the smell was just too much. Crawdad Dream reminds me of the smell coming from that store. I have to go wash off now. I'm going to hang on to this one for a month or so to see if I'm just having a weird skin day, but this one might be a swapper.

Edge of Chaos LXIX 69, lovingly christened "And you should wash your hands after". Because you totally should, you know, wash your hands after... with something that smells like this! In the bottle this smells like a clean, slightly aquatic green floral with a hint of musk. It's almost Irish Spring-y in its cleaness, and unisex. Refreshing. On me I get some kind of creamy white floral. I thought it might be lily of the valley at first, because it reminds me of some lily of the valley handsoap we used to have when I was little. However, I'm now more inclined to believe that it is orchid. It does, however, smell exactly like freshly laundered bed linen. Mmm, clean linen. I think there might also be some white musk in here. It reminds me a little of Oberon (which I really like by the way), without the bergamot. ETA: I just tested Phantom Queen and this Chaos Theory is very much like Phantom Queen, but less sweetly floral.

I tried 13 when she arrived--lab-fresh and eager for loving--on my desk. I couldn't give 13 the love she so craved. Her apple-ness was saccharine and reminded me of artificially flavoured apple candies. The chocolate was overwhelmingly foody and sweet. I felt as though I had fallen into a vat of experimental disaster fruit chocolate. Alas. I put 13 in the dark, dark corner of my bottle box and told her that she was meant for the swaps. Fortunately for 13, I am incredibly lazy and never put up a swap post. I tried her on again yesterday, almost two months later because she was keening to me from her little corner in my bottle box going, "Love me! I'm a good girl now, you'll see!" In the bottle she was all bitter cocoa powder. Dry, a little bit spicy, and very, very bitter. Almost coffee-like in her bitterness. Not promising. But 13 was all like, "Pleez to be putting on the skin nao?" So I did, a tiny, tiny dab from the tip of a tiny, tiny toothpick. 13 was then sweet, creamy chocolate. Milk chocolate sweetened with gorgeous smooth honey. And then the apple scent emerged, and if there's fruit in anything, it just comes to the forefront on my skin. So I ended up with slices of fresh, crisp apple that had been dipped in a velvety chocolate dip. But it was goooooood. 13 was sweet and uplifting and made me happy. 13 actually reminded me a lot of Lush's Soft Coeur massage bar. Chocolately, with a hint of fruitiness. I'm not sure if it's a mood thing or a skin chemistry thing but 13 will get the love she deserves now. It can be hugs tiem.

Ooooh! Fun topic! I especially like your picks for Dawn (green energy, teehee!), Tara and Dru. I think Giles should smell of some kind of tea as well though. Hmmm, tricky one. Dragon's Heart comes to mind though. Xander is the ordinary everyday guy, and the fact that he's right in the fighting the good fight with Buffy shows that he's the bravest of them all. Dragon's Heart - A scent pulsing with vitality, warmth and insurmountable strength: dragon's blood resin, red and black musks, a throb of fig and a sliver of black currant. I don't know why but I thought of Dirty immediately. I always imagine Riley smelling clean, and he's such a normal (well, mostly), clean-cut guy. He might be out fighting demons in camo but he always, always scrubs thoroughly after. Dirty - A wonderful antidote to an all-nighter oozing with drunken, addled perversion and debauchery. A fresh, crisp white linen scent: perfectly clean, perfectly breezy. Spike? Severin, definitely, since Spike's relationship with Buffy was so twisted and violent (but omgsohot). I think a liberal sprinkling of Nosferatu wouldn't be out of place either, since Spike lives in dusty old crypt. Severin - Leopold von Sacher-Masoch, the Father of Masochism and sexual surrender, had planned on writing six volumes of erotic literature entitled The Heritage of Cain. Only the first two volumes were completed, the more famous of the two being the notorious Venus in Furs. This novel tells the tale of a man, Severin, that enters into a relationship of slavery and increasingly debauched degradation with his mistress, Wanda. Dry black teas, Earl Gray, and leather. Nosferatu - As soft as grave dust and as dry as a breath drawn within a long forgotten crypt, this is Nosferatu: desiccated herbs and gritty earth brought to life with a swell of robust and sanguineous red wines. And just for fun, I bet Adam smells like Embalming Fluid.

I got Roadhouse as a frimp and when I looked at the scent description I was a bit fearful of putting it on. I mean, truck stop sleaze, booze and cigarettes? Srsly nao... So, I read the description out for my boyfriend. He asked me if I wanted him to buy some for me. I said, "Why? I already have a sample." He replied, "Well, I thought you might want more." Well, he was right. The minute I tried Roadhouse I knew I needed more. I cannot express how much I Roadhouse. It perks me right up, like golden glee in liquid form. In the imp it smells like one of my favourite beers, a microbrewed India Pale Ale with a ton of hops in it. It's green floral hoppiness and I want to inhale it. On me sweet grass and dandelion sap emerge as well. It's a clean, fresh, bright and breezy scent, like rolling around in a grass meadow. I never got the tobacco, but that's fine. It doesn't morph at all on my skin and stays true to its fresh grassiness for about four hours. Have I mentioned I like beer? I really like beer. Maybe that's why I like Roadhouse so much. And perfume-indifferent but beer-loving boyfriend says he likes this one too.

Since I've started slathering more I up-end on wrists or stop up the bottle with a finger and then dab. For stronger scents I use a disposable coffee stirrer. If it's a new bottle I've never tried before I use a toothpick to test it and if I like it it goes into the "apply in whichever way is most convenient at the time" pile. I try to keep the possible swaps uncontaminated.

Maybe you wanted it to rhyme with Paypal.

Imp was a frimp! In the imp Imp was peach candy. On me Imp was fuzzy peach, earthy peach, ripe peach, sweet peach, peachy peach, peachpeachpeach... and mint? Imp smells like a peach iced tea with a spring of mint. Yes.

In imp: Hello banana and pineapple! This is definitely tropical--fruity and green. On me: This blend goes through three distinct stages on me. First I get fruit. Citrus, and my guess would be lime. It's clean and fresh and wet. Love it. Also bananas and pineapples, maybe mango. This is very tropical fruit punch-like. Then the florals take over. They're light, and absolutely gorgeous. Orchids are in there I think, but I'm not going to try to name the others. And then finally I get the smooth, sweet amber scent that I love. Stunning. This also smells like something my mother used to wear. It's a nice scent memory. I'm definitely getting a bottle of this at some point. This would be a great summer scent for hot days.

In imp: Woah, spicy floral, almost cinnamon-ey. Also get a whiff of something… citrus? Interesting. On me: Er, juicy citrus? I swear I'm smelling limes or lemon or something. With a woody base. Bizarre. This lily is voodoo-ing up my nose. This is like a spicy lemon tea to me. Every so often I get a slight whiff of creamy flowers taunting me. Extremely odd, not what I was expecting at all. Overall: Much brighter and less floral than I thought it would be. Expected heady, creamy lilies, got lemon spice. Looking at other reviews it seems this is really different on a lot of people. I'm not super-surprised, if there is any kind of citrus-like component in a blend my skin will make sure it overpowers everything else. Still like it though.

Me too! I had to trim down the number of characters in my order today, omitting unnecessary the's and such. Also I figure the lab knows who Mme. Moriarty is and I didn't have to include her title of "Misfortune Teller". I only wanted bottles this time but if I had wanted several imp packs I don't know how I would've been able to put it all in.

Severin! And Antikythera Mechanism if he's being Bruce Wayne, because that blend smells so classy to me--like the warm wood paneling of a library and pipe tobacco.