Yvaine

i did. i posted a mere hour after jayne's first post directing her to e-mail the lab with any questions. Hey, apparently I did too, within 10 minutes of your post, hkhm!

This forum cannot give a definitive answer as to the components of the lab's oils. It has been discussed, opinions and experiences have been offered, previous posts have been quoted. There is nothing more solid that this community can offer you. It can go on and on and on ad nauseum, but black and white answers can only come from the lab and if that is what you actually want, that is where you should be directing your questions. You can repeat the question here all you like, but only the lab is equipped to give you the degree of specificity you require. While the labbies are active on this forum, they cannot be expected to address every question posed to them here. Frankly, as fraught as this thread has become, it wouldn't surprise me if they were hesitant to post here again. Orders take several weeks to ship. I am sure that, even though they may be backlogged with orders and emails due to recent technical problems, you will receive an answer before you receive your oils if you have emailed them. I have had reason myself to contact CS more than once and without fail I have always gotten personal and attentive replies. eta: I spent a while composing this and so did not see your post immediately before mine, Jayne. I think it's the best step you can take.

Jayne, I was also willing to give you the benefit of the doubt that you were honestly inquisitive and, though you may have put your foot in it, it wasn't shit-stirring. I'm backing away from that opinion now. You stated that Guerlain, etc use synthetics but that you are fine with that because you believe them to be quality. Beth has responded to you and plainly explained that she is very selective about her components and sure of the quality. She has also said she doesn't use prefab fragrance oils. This should be sufficient information for you to trust other brands, this should suffice for BPAL. Besides, I believe if she breaks down her creative process to you in any further detail, she risks revealing proprietary information. If you genuinely want to pursue this line of inquiry, I really suggest you contact customer service directly. The community is clearly not going to be able to answer your questions to your satisfaction, and it's really upsetting a lot of people. If you're here to inflame emotions, mission accomplished. Move on.

Isn't there a thread somewhere about how new EU trade restrictions on EOs and such are going to impact the perfume world? Annick Goutal, IIRC, was mentioned as one who stood to be very hurt by the new trade rules, but anyway--at a business level it stands to really impact the perfume world because there is so much trade in components and that trade is central to the production of traditional perfumery. But anyway--the bottom line is that everyone's getting things from elsewhere and I would wager it's extremely to find a perfumery that really builds fragrances molecule by molecule without reaching outside. I do remember a round of discons when I first came to bpal that included a lot of scents with a grapefruit note, as the grapefruit crops in Florida had been devastated that year by hurricanes (I think it was hurricanes). Anyway--the grapefruit note became unavailable or priced out of range, and the scents were temporarily discontinued until the grapefruit oil was replenished. This would not have been the case if it was a completely manufactured note. As far as the price point, I think while it's fair to say that some blends by all rights should cost more, other blends could cost less. By not discounting some oils, capital is generated to make up the cost of the pricier oils and thus the price point can stay fairly stable. The base costs have risen over the years, and the cost to the consumer has as well, so I don't think that it's impossible that the Lab is able to operate a profitable business using quality components while maintaining standardized pricing schedules.

$25 on perfume samples is a luxury for me, so it does matter. Then in the future, you might wish to research your purchases more thoroughly before making them. In this case, you did not even look up the opinion of the perfume reviewer you regard so highly before making a luxury purchase? You also might have noticed that there are numerous second-hand bpal sales in various places where you could pick up gently used samples for smaller prices which also might have been a better initial investment for you.

I have to agree with the above. You were interested enough to place the order, try them out and see what you even think of the fragrances. If you've already ordered, what are you planning to do even if someone gives you the worst possible answer to your question? As far as where the oils come from and how natural they are, the lab is the only place you're going to get an answer to that. You should probably email them directly and ask. eta: Well... I'm not trying to disparage BPAL or anything. Honestly, I just started learning about it recently. But I've been buying $3 samples from The Perfumed Court for the past year. I can get just about anything from there. BPAL is actually a little more expensive. I guess I've just been immersed in the world of traditional perfumery for awhile. People take a lot of pride in craftsmanship, on assembling their perfumes molecule by molecule or using the finest essential oils. Maybe I am being a bit prejudiced... The two bolded sound contradictory to me. What I'm reading from your remarks is that you say you aren't trying to be disparaging, but the quotes you have posted are, and the last bolded statement sounds like you're denigrating the creation process. You might want to clarify if this isn't what you mean.

JOSIE The brooding, raucous, and hot-blooded proprietress of the Château Lobrano d'Arlington, the gaudiest bordello in the District. Miss Josie had a true talent for hype, and promoted her ladies in an effusively romanticized, over-the-top fashion. La Belle Stewart, who was in actuality a circus hoochie koochie girl from Chicago, was billed as "a bona-fide baroness, direct from the court of St. Petersburg." Heady magnolia and honeyed peaches. In the bottle it's very soft peaches and cream. On application, it gets stronger. The honey and peach are obvious, the magnolia lurks around in the background and lends some southern intrigue to the blend. As it dries down, the magnolia comes out more and mingles with the honey. I feel like I'm sitting under a nearly full-bloom magnolia tree eating peaches. Honey notes do not typically work for my nose, but this is an exception. Dried down, the magnolia has gone to the back again and the honey and peaches take over, though the sweetness is broadened by that magnolia note in the back. This is not a ripening peach, or one of those anemic early peaches that don't even have a scent. If you bit into this one, juices would spurt through your fingers, trickle down your arms, and mysteriously make their way into your cleavage. This is plump, juicy peach just waiting to be bitten. Overall: a lush sweet not-quite-foody scent that is innocent as pie--if that's what you're paying her for...

LULU The Diamond Queen. An expert showman and entrepreneur, the eccentric Miss Lulu was the Mistress of Mahogany Hall until 1917. She invested heavily, but not always successfully, and at the end of her career as a madam, wanted to fund production houses for the budding movie industry in California. The 1934 Mae West film, "the Belle of the Nineties", was loosely based on Lulu's exploits. Tobacco flower, white gardenia, bergamot, and bourbon geranium. In the bottle, this is very bergamot and tobacco flower. It reminds me of Tabella minus fig. On application, it's fairly sharp and reminds me of a good hotel soap. Think Waldorf Towers. During drydown, it's mellowing and the bergamot softens. The floral notes are mingling more obviously with the bergamot, though it remains a sharp scent. After about 10 minutes, the bergamot has turned into a soft citrus and no longer dominates. There's a nice blend of sweet white florals to temper it and it's a spicy floral. Overall: She comes on strong and stays there, but stick with her and she settles down to a strong and sultry southern citrus floral that's never a background scent.

Senseless is the breast and cold Which relenting love would fold; Bloodless are the veins and chill Which the pulse of pain did fill; Every little living nerve That from bitter words did swerve Round the tortur'd lips and brow, Are like sapless leaflets now Frozen upon December's bough. Skin musk, white sandalwood, balsam fir, frozen black berries, cedar, winter rose, and white amber. In the bottle: Sharp, citrussy and white. A touch astringent. Application: The sharpness really comes out. I can smell the white musk, but it's at the mercy of the balsam and maybe the cedar. There's something green citrus about it, like unripe lemons. Drydown: This smells a lot like CK One for a while, which I was not keen on. But after an hour or so, the sharp astringent quality that reminded me so strongly of perfume has faded and it's a lovely white musk sweetened by rose, amber and berries. The potential sweetness of that combo is reined in by the earthiness of sandalwood and maybe still the balsam a little. The rose doesn't amp on me, which is unusual because it almost always does. Overall: A lovely scent once full drydown is achieved. Not too strong, very subtle (not faint). This is maybe the scent you would put on if you were going out on a date that you knew was going to get up close and personal and you wanted the other person to think you just smelled naturally that good instead of be-perfumed.

Sevivon, sov, sov, sov Chanukah, hu chag tov Chanukah, hu chag tov Sevivon, sov, sov, sov! Chag simcha hu la-am Nes gadol haya sham Nes gadol haya sham Chag simcha hu la-am. A bounty of chocolate coins! Dry cocoa and golden amber! Gelt is gorgeous. I'm not a foody fan, but I will be hoarding this. In the bottle: perfect cocoa powder, with a dash of hazelnut. This is not very sweet at all, it's exactly like sticking your nose into a fresh box of expensive cocoa powder that's got some hazelnut flavor. Application: The same, but it immediately starts warming up. The amber is poking it's head through the cocoa and giving it a homey warm feeling. This is the scent of curling up on a chilly night with a steaming mug of cocoa, prepared from scratch the stove-top way, with a healthy splash of frangelico. 15 minutes: Much the same as application. There's still beautiful, dry cocoa and the golden warmth of amber. It hasn't sweetened up or collapsed in on itself. Overall: This is a remarkable scent. It smells precisely as described by the lab, and I think can be appreciated by both foody and non-foody fans. I will be stocking up on this before it vanishes.

Green scents are my thing, so I was thrilled when I read the reviews of this and even more so when I snagged a decant. Out of the bottle it smells like subtly spicy clover and ivy and white flowers. I really like this, I had to put it on immediately. Immediately after application, it's all green and fresh. Green roses is the best thing I can think of to describe what I'm smelling. After a few minutes I smell roses coming forward, but still grounded by a strong green note. I love this. As long as the rose stays where it is, the Passionate Shepherd can call me his love anytime.

This has been a rough week. I forgot to put on bpal before leaving the house, but--surprise--found an Anthelion decant in my purse that I didn't even know was there. I felt better as soon as I put it on, just started unwinding and feeling more positive about the direction of things. The whole day felt a little better. Lots of the same frustrations and annoyances as the rest of the week, but I was able to be more detached about them and therefore handle them better. I spent three weeks in the Arctic during the summer, meaning the sun was always up. Some people on the trip had trouble sleeping, which can happen, but I was fine. By day 2 or three, I felt just blissed out. Things were happening, things I had to fix and they made my life difficult, and the people I was with who weren't sleeping were becoming monstrous to be around, but it really didn't hurt me, it just sort of rolled off and I was able to handle things much more effectively by feeling the way I was. That's the closest parallel I can give for the effects of Anthelion. Of course, sadly, eventually you have to return to where the sun sets or the Anthelion wears off, but there's some lingering goodness and I like it. As for the smell, it's beautiful. It has a really strong throw on me for the first hour or so. I get spicy carnation-y white gorgeousness, which is different from what most people have said, but honestly after 15 minutes or so, it smells like I put on Lush's Potion Lotion while wearing a sprig of lavender. I really love this, for scent and for practicality.

I bought this bottle when it was available from the lab, and I don't think I ever tried it on my skin. So today was that day. In the bottle it smells exactly like those white chocolate mint drops you see everywhere around Christmas. I love those things, but I'm not sure how much I want to smell like them. At application it smells just like the bottle but slightly warmer. Vanilla is coming out more, I didn't smell that much before. It's not the vanilla like Snow White that gives me a headache, it's tempered by coolness of the mint. After about an hour, it was creamy cool vanilla. The mint was only evident in it's cooling of the vanilla. It was lovely and strong, and I remained aware that I was wearing it without it being all up my nose. Verdict: This is one I should have tried before. I love vanilla, but so often the vanilla scent in the oils doesn't get on with me, but this is a rare and joyous exception. I see wearing it a lot more in the fall and winter, but it's a keeper.

In the bottle: A lovely sharp floral, very cologne-y. Not totally what I expected from the description. At application: aquatic and floral, but with something deeper coming up. I like this a lot more now. After wearing: It's become deep and full. I love this. The instant I went outside in the summer, it became a wet woody floral. I can see Spanish moss in trees and smell the water lapping at the cypress knees. It has shades of something I love in Anais Anais--ripe magnolia, maybe and wood. I love this. I want to sniff myself for days. Overall: It's the perfect scent for a sweltering summer day. Evokes images of perspiration covering the surface of the skin, reclining on wrap around porches under lazily spinning ceiling fans, those summer moments when you see bodies moving in the heat and you know they should be moving together. Mmm.

In the bottle: Brightly floral with a strong rose note. Sweet green floral. Wet: uhm, roses. Pure strong roses. That's it. Pure "look, honey, what I just cut off the rose bush for your breakfast tray" roses. Lovely, but strong. My cats won't come near me. Drydown: Stays roses. Just roses. Like walking around with a corsage. Dry: Fading, pretty fast. After 3-4 hours, I have to apply my nose directly to my wrist to smell anything. Still the same pure rose smell, but extremely faint. Overall: I like it, particularly on a dreary dark rainy day like today. The word I would use is hopeful, not cheerful.