Morrighana

Well, it's only Wednesday. Give 'em a week before you resend...sometimes they do have email problems, but they're also shortstaffed right now I think, so communication is bound to slow down.

[Merged] Just a reminder: The Lab's customer service addy is still: answers (at) blackphoenixalchemylab (dot) com

Our very own Macha designed the labels for CN, actually.

I've only had one BPAL package opened by customs in the year and a bit that I've been ordering. There is no duty charged, since the product is made in the USA, but they charge something like $5 for handling and then GST based on the value declared when they do this. The Lab usually declares very minimal amounts (I *think* the highest I've seen declared was $20, but I could be wrong), so even the GST isn't very much. It is really really rare, though.

Actually, for international accounts, you don't have to add a bank account to get a verified premiere account. Due to the logistical problem of international bank accounts, you only have to have a credit card on your account, and then click the "upgrade to premiere" (I think that's what it says, I don't remember exactly. Upgrade somethingorother at least), and follow the prompts, and it will upgrade your account for you. The downside of doing this, though, is that Paypal treats you like a business once you're accepting credit cards, and takes a percent fee out of every transaction (credit card or no). It is a very low fee, though, so I don't personally care.

My BPAL orders over the past year have all been handled by Canada Post. Only one thus far was searched and charged GST...cost me about twenty bucks. That's one order in dozens, though, and it was a biggun! Also... While I am going to merge this with the International Shipping thread in the FAQ (doing so keeps all the pertinant info in one place so inquiring minds like yours can find it easier, eh?), I'd like to point out that if you spend three or four weeks searching something because you really believe it should've been discussed already, you're searching too much! If you're worried, PM a mod. We'll check it out for you and either recommend an existing thread or give you the go-ahead to post a new one. And, warnings aren't 'demerits', they're just reminders to search and to utilize the mods if you are unsure, so you guys really don't need to preface every post with disclaimers like this...we're really not going to hunt you down and bitchslap you for posting!

There's no confirmation email listing *what* you ordered, but you should be able to view details of your Paypal transactions (in your History), or use the links that CCNow provides to view your pending orders.

It could be that your skin just doesn't absorb a particular component of that oil very well, so a residue dries on top of your skin instead of it getting sucked down. Try rubbing it in more thoroughly when it's wet, or moisturising immidiately before application.

What are the notes in each?

I hadn't really thought about it before, but that's what I do too. Weird.

Check with people in your building maybe? Same appartment number, different floor, or something? Perhaps it was delivered to the wrong person.

[merged with existing pregnancy thread] Having never been pregnant, I can't really comment other than to say that it would make sense that your scent preferences change while you're pregnant...probably to accompany the typical food cravings, I would think. Also, it is often remarked that your skin changes while pregnant (for better or worse, that "glow"), so a chemistry shift would be innate, wouldn't it? I don't really know for sure, but that does seem to follow logically.

Very cool!

In the bottle: Butter. Like Hellcat and Grog and the other buttery boozy scents, the first note out of the bottle is, for me, pure hot butter. (No complaints here! ) On my skin+drying: Mmph. Must...fight...temptation...to...lick...wrist. Mini doughnuts and caramel corn and and spun sugar and butterscotch schnapps and all of the wonderful things people have mentioned before me. Yum! Overall: I think I may just have to pick up another 5mL of Midway when it comes out. It is an incredibly delicious scent, without being overly sweet. Thank you Beth!

In the bottle: Lemons! Glorious lemons! In the bottle they are quite sharp and crisp, although not at all in a cleaning product way, as Blackrayne mentioned. They are more like fresh lemons as you cut them to make lemonade. I can certainly see how this blend is supposed to be purifying, as it immediately flies up behind my eyes and clears everything up. On my skin+drying down: Mmm...the tea and honey references are soooo accurate. All of the sharp edges of the lemons dissipate as the calming sweetness of the other notes come to the fore and mingle. The bright light of the citrus is still there, and it maintains its refreshing presence while the sweet notes soothe any frayed nerves. Overall: I am thoroughly impressed with the Panaceas...they are all so very well formulated towards their purposes! Lustration is no exception, as it purifies and soothes. I think I might use this blend as a linen spray as well as a room scent, and it will make a gorgeous light summer fragrance in addition to its aromatherapy function.

In the bottle: Hmm, I get something very smoky whispering to me out of this bottle. There is something sharp and green underneath it, I think, but primarily...smoke! On my skin: The sharp green note comes up from underneath the moment Succor hits my skin and dissipates the smoke entirely. I'd probably think I imagined it if I didn't have the bottle here to sniff! Anyway, I smell nothing medicinal, like Northernminx did...just green. Dry: Succor is sweeter now. Softer, and warmer, too. It puts me in mind of crisp mornings in the mountains: waking up just as the sun hits the frost on the trees in the forest and inhaling deeply the scent of the world. The smoke I detected before is back, I think, but it is a very, very soft woodsmoke, just lingering around the edges of this scent like the remnants of a glorious fire in the pit the next day. Overall: Wow. This is such an evocative scent! I am instantly transported to the epicentre of the calmest times of my life. My head is clear and everything I see looks a little brighter than it did just a short while ago. Wow. I probably won't wear this blend very often, but I will definately use it as a meditation blend and room scent whenever I need to be calmed and chill out.

In the bottle: I think Andra hit this one on the nose with the ylang ylang. That is all I can detect initially here! On my skin: I am ylang-ylang, hear me roar! Well, not really that loudly, but ylang ylang does tend to shout its presence on my skin. Drydown: As it dries, Seduction mellows from the initial hit of powdery sweet ylang ylang, and the hints of citrus and incense that Andra mentioned make themselves much more obvious from their perch in the crook of my elbow. It is much more cohesive now, Overall: This scent really does say, "Come closer and let me...*inhales deeply*...smell you...*inhales again*....my darling..." It is nowhere near as in-your-face and upfront with its sexual nature as the actual perfumes intended for seduction, which makes sense given its aromatherapy orientation. So, it is "quieter", if you could call it that, but still very sexy: it is the sweetness of warming skin and the spice of anticipation. Heaven.

Wow. Just...wow! In the bottle: A sweet orange with just a touch of gingery bite. On my skin: Damn, that's a juicy orange! This reminds me of an Fruits&Passions EO I had long before I discovered BPAL. It was specifically a Brazillian Orange, and I used to scent my baths with it when I needed a luxe pick-me-up. Moxie would be even better for this purpose. It is so juicy, it makes me want to taste it! Dry: Wow! Talk about invigorating. The lush orange backs off as this dries, and the gingery spices behind it come out. I usually can't stand wearing ginger (bad scent memory association!) but this gingery blend is actually quite wearable, which is nice! It is definately invigorating, like a shot of caffiene to the nose...it is actually waking me up and making me more alert as I type. Overall: I am absolutely blown away by Beth's generosity here. This lil' 10mL is going to dive straight into permanent rotation, and I will definately be picking up a bottle or two for friends in need of balls. Two thumbs enthusiastically up!

On me, Living Flame has a similar drydown and feel to F'54. It lacks the booziness, of course, but other than that it is quite reminiscent of 54.

They do only come in 5mLs. I guess Beth just thought Andra needed some extra Moxie these days or something.

Ooh, that's such a pretty label! I can't wait to get mine.

I received an order this week, and it was definately sans-reducer caps. The bottles have the caps with the little plastic nubbin in them, which provides an awesome seal (I can take bottles in my purse without leak worries!) and also is handy for non-slathering applications of the scent.

Sometimes, yes. Especially in the case of blends such as Formula 54, which was sold for $45 per 10mL bottle ( worth. every. dime. ). Others, such as Snow White, are limited due to the availability of ingredients...Beth has said that there is something in Snow White (I don't remember what, though) that she can only get in the time of year coming up to Christmas, so that is the only time she is able to make Snow White. And still more, like the Lunacy oils, are limited due to the nature of the concept they are created under (i.e. intended to correspond with a particular time of year), so while Beth may choose to use rarer/more expensive ingredients in these blends, they'd still be Limited even if she didn't.

If you use the BPAL site search engine (make sure you use advanced mode and set it to search for discontinued scents), you can find categorical info for all of 'em. Unseelie, for instance, was in Diabolus.