Cereus

BPAL oils are very high quality and if you're not used to powerful smells it is very easy to overload your nose/brain. When I first began making my own soap, the lavender oil gave me a killer headache. I knew that I was not allergic to lavender and had a lot of previous exposure to it, so I stuck it out and now I can be around it at any time with no issue. [i actually hear a lot of people mention lavender specifically in this way, I think it's just particularly antiseptic or strong.] Personally, initial exposure to herby smells tend to give me a bit of a headache, but I eventually acclimate. Sweet floral or foody scents will make me queasy no matter how much I smell them, though. A lot of the more popular BPAL scents seem to be sweet so I'm always a little cautious trying new ones. Trying to recover from overloading your nose using a another scented product, even if you're used to it, will only make it worse, and it sounds like that could be what happened to you. Your brain is trying to process all these new smells at once, can't handle the load at first, and then you just tossed something on top of that load. It is a normal reaction though. Sniffing the BPAL samples directly out of the bottle can be overkill even if you're used to the smells, again because the oils are very potent. If I'm sniffing anything out of an imp I'll hold it about two feet away and waft it a bit so it isn't overpowering. If you think you have an allergy or a sensitivity to an ingredient, then I would not suggest exposing yourself to it to try to get over it. However, it is definitely possible that you're experiencing sensory overload that won't affect your health aside from that overloaded headache/nausea feeling. Sniffing fresh coffee beans can actually reset your nose, like a palette cleanser, so if you don't mind the smell of that, it could potentially help a bit with the sensory overload. Absolutely use your best judgment, though. If you think it was an allergy, or a more gentle follow up test still makes you sick, then do what's best for you and stay away from it. Good luck, I hope you at least overcome your nauseous association with the oils, and maybe even find something you really enjoy!

In the bottle eucalyptus and mint through violet. Wet I get a blast of the greens before the violet sets in. I think my body chemistry amplifies the violet. The neroli adds an occasional touch of sweetness the blends well with the violet. Dry I get perfume de violetas with hints of greens. My skin gives the violet occasional boosts throughout the day that tend to carry the neroli as well. I love to use this on days when my sinuses are giving me hell but I still want to feel lovely in spite of it. The sweetness of the neroli can be a little cloying if I'm already feeling nauseous, but otherwise the entire effect is refreshing.

In the bottle, flowery and almost herbal. I'm mostly getting orchid, poppy, and myrtle; no one note stands out, but it is lovely. Wet the cypress jumps out at me, followed soon by the orchids, then the cereus. The cypress and myrtle keep this from being too flowery but it is still a beautiful blend so far. Nothing is fighting to reach the fore. As it dries I'm beginning to smell the myrrh and eventually the labdanum. Dry this is gently sweet but still herbal and incensey. All of the sudden the currant and labdanum pop out; interesting. The myrrh is still a strong undertone as the currant softens again to make way for orchid, poppy, and cereus. This constantly morphs for me, the cypress and myrtle chasing the florals through incense, with ocassional flashes from the currant. Very lovely, I will enjoy this both on my skin and in a locket.

In the bottle I smell honey and perhaps a rich vanilla cake batter. Wet I smell honey and rich spiced cakes with hints of dried fruit in them. I'm getting a definite pecan danish vibe, and perhaps some allspice? The honey is very rich, almost carmelised. All of the richness is lent from a buttery note. There is a hint of the wine, but it is distant and more like a baked rum. As it dries, the spice stands out more, but this is still honey and butter through and through, like a rich glaze. I am not a foody, and can barely handle sweet foods in real life despite a love for baking, so I won't be keeping this for myself, but I think this would be a delight for any fans of sweet, desserty scents.

What I'm smelling in the bottle is murky but sharp, and almost salty; mysterious and I cannot quite put my nose on it. Once on... cyanobacteria doing their dance in the nitrogen cycle; definitely aquatic, but not in the obvious sense. That sharpness is still layered over the whole scent, but that fades as it dries. The algae drifts far enough away that it's no longer at the forefront, but still present. What remains on drydown is salty, more brackish than oceanic, but warm and comforting [i grew up in the swamp, so take that with a grain of salt]. I can understand how people describe this as masculine, reminiscent of a fougere without the lavender, though I would consider it more neutral.

Mysterious 20 minute late double post? Ugh, sorry. Nothing to see here.

Windward Passage lasts over 24 hours on me. I can usually still smell it on my wrist when I wake up. It is a light scent on me, though, and is eventually overpowered by my lavender soap. The High Priest Not To Be Described is complex for several hours on me, but has a long, dry, chamomile single note for the rest of the day.

I am considering picking up a bottle of Oof since my partner and I both have chronic sinusitis. I was wondering if any one had any experience with Oof in a scent locket. Specifically, does it still lend sinus-clearing properties, or would it just be reminiscent of a jar of Vick's left open across the room? I'd love to be able to wear a locket as a preventative/soothing measure on particularly bad allergy days. If it has enough throw that it could waft over to my partner when we're sitting together or out for a walk, all the better. Any recommendation for other sinus clearing scents that work well in lockets would be greatly appreciated! My current fallback is Ultraviolet, but I tend to amp the violet, so when my sinus headache is bad enough to make me nauseous, it's a little too sweet and almost cloying to let the eucalyptus and mint go to work. I'm also not much of a floral person. I've always loved violet, but it's definitely not my signature scent. I will definitely be looking into The Coil, though. Thanks, contrary_wise!

I'm actually lucky in that whatever causes most of my allergies to 'regular' perfumes isn't an issue with BPAL. There are a few notes I know I have to avoid, and tobacco is a bit of a heartbreaker for me as well, but there are many scents out there I can still use, for which I am grateful! I wanted to help people with the glove issue, though; thanks to work I really know my stuff when it comes to glove types so... You don't want to use latex for any of the perfume oils, as it will cause the gloves to dissolve. It's not that the BPAL oils are very corrosive, they just happen to be a specific weakness of latex/rubber gloves. You can get boxes of nitrile gloves [my personal favorite, good for pretty much anything but the nastier acids and ketones like nail polish remover or paint thinner] much like a box of latex gloves. Neoprene gloves [if you need something more like a pair of rubber dish gloves] should also be a good choice. If you cannot get either of those, vinyl gloves, like the ones you can get in hair dye kits, can work reasonably well.