joseybird

Bewitching Brews In 1897, a new form of entertainment was presented to the people of Montmartre, Paris: the Théâtre du Grand Guignol. During the course of an evening at the theatre, one would watch several small plays, ranging from crime dramas to sexual farces, a violent, throat-ripping, eye-gouging, acid-tossing good time, which always included shock topics such as infanticide, necrophilia, insanity, murder, paranoia, vengeance and death by common household object. Our Grand Guignol perfume is a shot of sweet apricot brandy; just enough to settle your nerves after a ghoulish, gory brush with the macabre. I applied this as I sat in the bus back from NYC and spent the ride alternating between Succor and smelling this. I put the name and description out of my mind, and immersed myself in the atmosphere this created. This is not a languid boozy scent. Oh no. This is a rowdy, jostling drink, the kind other barflies would laugh at you for sniffing; "That ain't fine wine, buddy! Take a swig and pass the juice on!" They would holler above the din of the club or theater. This really is apricot brandy The booze smells the strongest at first (with a twist of what smells like apricot sn), but by late drydown it's calmed down a lot, and the apricot is left as the designated driver, so to speak.

any more *white* musk recs? Oisin, Antique Lace, Fae, Zephyr, and Juliet are all on my ADORE list, and I have a sneaking suspicion that it's the white musk I'm having a wild, passionate love affair with

And when Terpsichore, with iris-plume, Bade o'er her lute her rosy fingers fly; 'T was pleasure all -- the fawns in mingled choirs, Glanced on the willing nymphs their wanton fires, Joy shook his glittering pinions as he flew; The shout of rapture and the song of bliss, The sportive titter and the melting kiss, All blended with the smile, that shone like early dew. The Whirler! She is the Muse of Dance and the Dramatic Chorus. She holds both a lyre and a plectrum. Terpsichore is the mother of the Sirens by Achelous, the River God. Bright, joyful and expressive, her scent is kinetically charged, graceful, and an inspiration to all dancers: vanilla and carnation with neroli, iris, stephanotis, sweet pea, apple blossom and palmarosa. Initially, neroli is the strongest note--floral and herbal with a characteristic sharpness. The sweet pea and apple blossom make an appearence shortly after, with the palmarosa adding a playful bite. The vanilla and carnation only become evident upon drydown, unfortunately (unfortunately because those are my two favorite notes in the blend :lol). I can't really talk about the other notes because I'm not especially familiar with them I would call this a neroli-based blend, as that note seems to dominate throughout. It's a soft floral/herbal with a breezy, clean softness that makes me think of blends such as Annabel Lee and Juliet. Very playful and pretty without smelling too flighty =)

A strong, steady, dependable money blend. Use in spellwork for prosperity, gain, and abundance. Decanted by the lovely and talented pranashakti! I have an imp of the Red Ginger single note, and fresh out of the vial, Foundation of Fortune smells like a less intense version of that--sharp and warm and with that characteristic fresh ginger "bite." However, as the scent dries down, what I can only describe as an "ashy" note emerges. This smells like dried ginger root! I can't really say anything about the ritual usage for this oil, unfortunately, but I can definately see the association with money; oddly enough, the scent has the "texture" of dusty, crackling paper! The scent conjures up associations more with material than spiritual wealth; I'm curious as to how others interpret this oil [added description ~qs]

I definately agree! I get a "vanilla tea" note as well as scones and berries and honey

I read a report of a study recently that showed that women are better at detecting smells. Not sure if it said anything about picking out specific notes, though. Midnight Kiss is deliciously sexy and gothic; it's like a feminine counterpart to Dracul/Count Dracula (though it smells nothing like either of these oils).

Anything not overtly foody that smells of chestnuts or walnuts?

Oh, and Snow White! It really does smell like a coconut Froze-Fruit No wonder it's a classic--perfect for both Winter AND Summer

A quick bump, 'since it ain't long til summer! I have a HUGE reserve of Skin Trip coconut body lotion that I recieved as "gifts" (long story ) a few years ago, and I'm wearing it every day. I find that Obatala, with its creamy aquatic-coconut-vanilla fragrance melds very well with it and makes me feel summery all over

Agreed. And Antique Lace and especially CHASTE MOON.

What a glorious, glorious scent! Inez combines the light sweetness of Egyptian Amber with powdery, dried carnation, delicate vanillic musk and dry woods. The amber is the real star here, balancing out what might otherwise be an overly-dry blend (as ceder blends can too often be) and giving the composition a pleasent skin-scent lightness. Like a lighter Storyville. Love

NEEED more coffee scents! I wish there were more GC coffee blends, especially since it's such a rare note even in non-BPALs -- we coffee lovers need our fix!

Just a quick bump 'cause it's necessary

I knew I'd like Hay Moon because I adore Serge Lutens Chergui, whose dominant note is hay. Hay Moon is a warm, earthy hay. It's definately a skin scent, and not very heavy; while it would be nice in the autumn, it's also perfect for a humid summer evening. I can't give it top marks, however. Though I like Hay Moon, it merely smells like one chord of Chergui, which is far more deliciously complex. What I'd give for a Hay Moon lotion/bath oil though! (And btw, MOAR HAY SCENTS NAO PLX BETH )

My experiance exactly The BPTP bath oils (the only other BPTP product I've tried) are of such fabulous quality that I had high hopes for this soap (included as a generous freebie in a swap package)

Lady Una smells exactly as it should smell: comforting, exotic, and fae. On me, it smells like a blackberry scone with tea and milk, and yet (oddly enough) it doesn't smell explicitly gourmand (by that I mean that it doesn't smell like I have the aformentioned foods smeared all over me ). It may be the touch of musk, which is usually helpful in helping a scent blend in with my skin chemistry. I would recommend this oil for those who love foody scents but can't wear them or can't bear to smell like actual food. Another note: The honey musk note is completely different from normal BPAL honey notes. I can't wear BPAL's honey, but I can certainly wear Lady Una

I don't think there's anything wrong with wearing a perfume oil to the gym, especially if it smells nice and fresh =) Oils don't have as much throw as, say, spray perfumes, and I think other gym goers would be grateful to be smelling something pretty instead of other peoples' sweat.

It is Yule, and the Holly King has slain the Oak: blood red holly berry, mistletoe, wild thyme, verbena, cinquefoil, hemp, winter rose, evergreen, frankincense, juniper, and myrrh. Samhain was, along with Rose Red, the first BPAL I fell in love with. It was very atmospheric, and it captured the holiday beautifully. Then I got Lughnasadh and Mabon. Those, like Samhain, were also gorgeous "tapestry" scents which painted scented "scenes" of their respective holidays. But then came Beltane, and Litha, and Ostara, and I was dreadfully disappointed by each. Partly because I felt they lacked the rich complexity of their earlier Sabbat counterparts, partly because they turned to soap on me. So I wasn't expecting much of Yule. But now that I try it...Ooo this is lovely! I normally don't like evergreen scents (Snow Bunny, Skadi, Snow-Flakes, etc), but Yule is a bit different. It starts out evergreen and berries, but quickly dries down to something warm and golden--almost vanillic--with hints of lemon and herbs. Like a warm little nest of light and life buried in crisp snow.

Antique Lace (powdery vanilla) and Mouse's Long and Sad Tale (fluffy and pale pink-smelling).

2, 5 and 7 is a very sweet, sugary, slightly grassy, very "pink" rose.

Casanova is a great basil scent (in fact, it's the only predominantly basil BPAL I know of). The basil note becomes stronger as the oil ages. Zephyr is my favorite "clean" scent. The lemon and white sandalwood and white musk smell fresh and clean, but the vanilla rounds the scent out and prevents it from smelling too dry and bracing. It's like a crisp linen blouse.

I have Count Dracula and Smiling Spider, and Smiling Spider smells a lot more like clove cigs to me. It's more bitter and has a very strong tobacco note.

Stunning stunning STUNNING! Chilly woodsy notes (though no evergreen!), sweet jammy notes, and a lovely crystalline resin. Like a walk through snowy woods on a gorgeous, breezy, chilly day with the scent of frozen blackberries wafting through the air. I can't believe this is LE

I'd imagine Beth weighed the risk of selling single notes vs the possible profit and made a decision. I think it is a sound decision for any business owner. Regardless of what market you're in, the fewer options people have to buy from, the better. Of course, the customer wants the most options, because the more options you have, the lower the prices go, and the harder the struggle is to improve quality. Sure, Beth doesn't list exact recipes... but why make it easy for someone who may actually possess the skill to blend oils to elbow their way into her market? I've really not seen any company that does anything similar to what bpal does, however I could easily see a competitor or two popping up and cutting into an otherwise solidified fanbase. I can't imagine Beth woke up one day and was like "I'm just going to stop selling every single note for the fun of it!" I'm sure there was a justifiable cause to pull them from the site and I'd be very surprised if they were ever put back up for sale by Beth. I'm sure there's a good reason. I'm just not ready to say "This MUST be the reason" without any situational facts. I believe that Beth stated the desire to focus on her blends as the reason for taking down the single notes; if there are other reasons, we do nothing but speculate vaguely unless Beth decides to tell us.

If a perfumer could identify an oil's supplier simply by sniffing the single note, they 1) have mad skillz beyond the realm of normal science and or 2) they already know who the supplier is and have thus already explored that venue. And if they went so far as to do a chemical analysis, well...you can do a chemical analysis on blends, too.