sunshinedaisybliss

So like many of us.. I had to try this, because I was intrigued by it having no listed notes. When the update went live, people were talking about this one being about Christmas tree decorations - those shiny coloured metal ones - so I guess I was expecting something metallic? I dunno... Anyways - nothing metallic! YAY! Like other reviewers have said, this is like candy - I'm guessing there's some pomegranate in here, some strawberry, some lime, and something else.. passionfruit, maybe? It has a tropical candy smell on my skin, rather than a fruity candy as others have mentioned. I'm pretty sure there's a musk in here too - or perhaps an amber or sandalwood? It's light, but I am definitely picking up a dry musky vvibe. I'm also not getting anything particularly 'fizzy' here - if anything, it's slightly dusty in tone - nor any ozone. Just... yummy candy smells, but not in an obviously foody way - it's like the smell of candy, without actually being the smell of candy. Like that makes sense, right? Heh. This would have been the perfect BPAL to wear for my 6th birthday party - it's cute, in a girly bubblegummy lollipoppy kinda way. A fun scent

(2012 version) Krampus is one of those Yule blends that has stayed pretty much the same from year to year - I have tried previous versions, and this 2012 batch holds no surprises but that's a good thing for those of us who like a bit of reliability Krampus is also one of those BPALs where what you get is exactly what it says you're gonna get - sinister red musk and black leather like POW right there in your face, with the dusty rags and wooden switches playing along as sidekicks. On me, it starts off with a blast of red musk and then the leather comes out on top for a while (which I prefer, the leather here is really warm and lovely) and then they battle it out for supremacy for a while but ultimately the red musk wins. It does eventually dry down into a lovely warm musky leather, and even develops a slightly sweet tone on my skin, but Krampus is definitely not for the feint-hearted - it's bold and ballsy and hot and mean and firey and ferocious. Do not let it near little children.

Miss Addie would have been right at home with those other pretty ladies of BPAL from The District I grabbed a half-decant of this, knowing it wouldn't be for me, but the note combo sounded so lovely that I really wanted to have a little to try anyway. And I'm glad I did, because it's just so pretty - kind of classy, very feminine, slightly luscious yet genteel. Mostly what I get here when I first apply the oil is the gorgeous waxy vanilla orchid as a mid note, with the neroli and apple blossom as the top notes. The red sandalwood is a little lost inside the sweetness of the top notes, but it does provide a nice warm base and adds a slight duskiness that cuts nicely through the mix. I'm not picking up on the star anise all that much - it's very subtle - and I'm getting no clove at all. After about 15 minutes on my skin though, all the subtleties that I noticed at first have faded and I'm left with... uhm... dusky vanilla peach. Really? Peach? Yep! And after about 30 minutes, it's pretty much completely gone - I can barely find the spot on my arm where I applied it. So overall... lovely, but fleeting.

OK.. so you know when something new comes out and you read the notes and go "OMGWTFBBQ!!!11!! I MUST HAVE THIS" because it sounds that good? Well.. that was me, when Mrs Palmer's was announced. So when I finally managed to get hold of some.. was I disappointed? Nope! This is by far my favourite of all the BPTP atmos that I have ever tried.. hands down. And that's saying something, because I've got some beauties. O the surface it's a beautiful warm, sensuous blend of patchouli and leather and vanilla but then you notice the tobacco and oakmoss just flirting in and out of the air and that's what brings it up to a whole new level. It makes the room smell cosy and inviting. I do find that sometimes it gives me a slight 'burning plastic' smell when I've first sprayed it - it's weird though, because sometimes I get that and sometimes I don't.. I guess it's just the nuances of the vanilla. The only thing annoying me about Mrs Palmer's is that it reminds me very much of a BPAL perfume and I cannot think what it is! If I manage to work it out, I will come back and edit this review. Rating: 10 out of 5.

Yep! This smells like the fresh herbs that I chop up when I'm cooking spaghetti bolognaise... oregano, thyme, a bay leaf, and rosemary. And yet no herb-related notes are listed! Curious and curiouser Anyways.. when I first sprayed this in the air and took in a big whiff, I kinda wrinkled my nose because.. well... I didn't like it. Mostly because it really truly smelled like that combination of herbs I listed ^^ and whilst that's a fine smell when it's in the pan with some garlic and onion, on its own not so much. It took about ten minutes for that herb blast to die down, and then I get ginger... not sweet ginger, but spicy hot ginger, and the hay.. that's about it, I really can't smell anything else. Overall it smells like herbs + ginger + hay + wet grass. Not my thing at all, but it is quite an invigorating smell.

La Belle au bois dormant = Sleeping Beauty I would suggest you explore the Ars Amatoria collection, and read some of the descriptions - Beth has chosen some beautiful pieces of prose to honour with her perfumes. One that always brings to mind a voluptuous goddess is Bien Loin D'Ici: This is the house, the sacred box, Where, always draped in languorous frocks, And always at home if someone knocks, One elbow into the pillow pressed, She lies, and lazily fans her breast, While fountains weep their soulfullest: This is the chamber of Dorothy. Fountain and breeze for her alone Sob in that soothing undertone. Was ever so spoiled a harlot known? With odorous oils and rosemary, Benzoin and every unguent grown, Her skin is rubbed most delicately. The flowers are faint with ecstasy. The Scarlet Woman, aglow with sensual indolence: red musk, benzoin, caramel accord, golden honey, and spiced Moroccan unguents. But another is Le Léthé (oh, the prose for this one is stunning), and also Bordello (A decadent, deep perfume, lusty and luxuriant. The scent evokes images of velvet-lined Old West cathouses, tightly laced corsets, rustling petticoats and coquettish snarls of pleasure) - for me, it conjures up a visual of those olde-time curvy saloon gals overflowing from their bustiers Excolo is another good one to explore, with all the Goddess types in there, but you'll also find some in Bewitching Brews. Oh - and also, Blood Pearl... but more for the description than name - lustrous, sanguine, soft and lavish

Is your address different to the one that's in PayPal? If not, you'll be OK... PayPal payments include your shipping info for the seller so it will be on there for the Lab. Check the email that you got from PayPal (the payment sent confirmation you receive) and it should show your shipping info on that. But if you've emailed the Lab as well, then you've covered yourself just in case - although the correct email for general customer service stuff is answers@blackphoenixalchemylab.com

You can actually get some of them from the CBDLF here - not all the Gaiman lines are available though Crowley is gorgeous! A definite must-try... have a look around the For Sale area here on the forum, you'll probably be able to find decants of most of these things

I would suggest you check out the Ars Amatoria line - in particular; Debauchery, Perversion, Depraved, Ravenous and Desire - they are all very RAWR There's also things like Whip, Lust and Vice that would be worth a look. The trick with BPAL is to step outside of what you think might be good, and take some risks! Many people will tell you they discovered their favourite BPALs completely by accident.. by trying things they never expected to like Oh - and there's a huge For Sale section here on the forum - that's a great way to pick up a stack of imps without paying too much, so you can try lots of things! Welcome to the forum

BiancaSlate - you could try using the search function here:--> http://bpal.org/search/ - if you put in a note (or note combo) it will search for any BPAL with that note listed. It will bring up things from the General Catalogue (GC) that are still available, but just be aware that it will also show Limited Edition blends too and those will be no longer available (but totally findable, in most cases, via the 'For Sale' section here on the forum)

As others have said, I think Autumn Lace goes over to the same side of the Lace family as Black Lace, Tattered Lace and Mourning Lace - it's dark and melancholy, kind of mournful - it feels... sad. The first thing that hits my nose is the cognac - KAPOW! BAM! Batman style!! It was a little bitter at first, which is probably the tobacco and/or laudanum, but after only a minute or two it started softening up and the incense and leaves started appearing. Ten minutes in, and the cognac has warmed up beautifully.. all soft and yummy. The leaves are woodsy - definitely brown autumn leaves, it's the smell you get when you walk through the park atop a carpet of fallen leaves. The linen note is definitely there - I recognise it from other Lace blends, but it's stiff and dark here - not white and soft/clean smelling at all. The tobacco is still there - it's quite bright on my skin, and the musk/incense combo is giving a lovely smokey backdrop. Thirty minutes in and really all I can find now is the cognac, musk, incense and linen with a remnant of tobacco . The leaves have gone and the black tea never really showed up. It's developed a slightly bitter cologne-like vibe, which I attribute to the laudanum still lingering and brightening the cognac. And finally, the sugar shows up! That was a nice surprise - it's changed things completely.. that bitterness has almost gone now. I was hoping for more musk/incense depth - the tobacco stops this from darkening on my skin, and when the sugar arrived it went slightly sweet, so it never quite gets to the place I want it to go - which would be dark/deep musk/incense/cognac. And I just can't shake the melancholy feeling of this one - it's kind of harshing my mellow. Overall, I find Autumn Lace to be very olde-worldy, and nice in its own way, but not really anything remarkable on my skin.

I'm sure I read somewhere that the RPG blends (or some of them?) have both a female and a male version of the label art?? The label art doesn't concern me just if it was tailored to be one or the other. I'm beginning to understand things a bit more and I see that much of it depends on body chemistry and personal taste. That's very true - it's really all about personal taste and what works/doesn't work on your skin - and honestly that's something I really love about BPAL.. any person, regardless of gender or whatever else, can wear any BPAL and totally make it work. I personally don't pay that much attention to the label art, in terms of it influencing whether I see a blend as masculine/feminine but I guess it might communicate something.. even if it's only subconsciously. I just thought I'd mention about the different version(s) of label art - I think the RPG blends in particular are designed to be more character-specific than gender-specific Jono - you might like to take a stroll through Rapaccini's Garden collection - a lot of those have that 'attached to the ground' kind of thing going on.

I'm sure I read somewhere that the RPG blends (or some of them?) have both a female and a male version of the label art?? Crowley is magnificent, but personally I find it to be more 'feminine' when new.. it's only after a few months of aging that it starts to get manly and awesome

OK you've already got Sin - good choice! and I second the rec of Kathmandu, and also Velvet (which isn't as chocolate-y as it sounds) - sadly (for me, anyways) many of BPALs sandalwood blends have floral notes that don't like me, so I haven't tried a lot of those. but here's some that may be worth a look: Lorelei is nice: neroli, sandalwod and ylang ylang - soft, with a really pretty soft/sweet prettiness from the neroli Anne Bonny: Indonesian red patchouli, red sandalwood and frankincense (warm and a bit kickass) Plunder: tea leaf, cassia, cinnamon bark, allspice, sandalwood, tobacco, peppercorn and nutmeg (although on me, this is more about the spices than then sandalwood) Mouse's Long and Sad Tale: vanilla, amber, sweet pea and sandalwood (just so pretty, dusty soft loveliness) Maybe you could get her an imp pack? That way she could try a few different styles of BPAL sandalwood Ooh - also there's Violens - five sandalwoods, dusty leather, and light musk - and also Miss Lupescu - musk, white amber, patchouli, ho wood, cypress, almond blossom, golden sandalwood and strange spices - (neither of these are available in imp-form) And if you can find it - from Carnaval Diabolique there's Hand of Glory - beeswax, leather, black pepper, saltpeter, nutmeg, Mysore sandalwood and oak bark - this is an awesome sandalwood/spice mix with the beeswax giving it a lovely soft glow. ETA there's a thread in the Recommendations topic for sandalwood here .

Blue Moon 2004 is very rare, so it's probably not that one... and I'm not 100% sure about this, but a couple of Lunacy blends I have from 2004 don't have picture labels - just the old-style white label/black writing, so there's that too You've probably got a 2012 Blue Moon - but there was three... a regular Blue Moon, and Blauer Mond (Brian's creation).. and then also the one from Puddin' - Luna Azul Luna Azul had a black bat flying over a moon, so it's not that one...I'm not sure if that's helpful, but I'd say you've got either Beth's Blue Moon or Brian's Blauer Mond - both 2012. I think Blauer Mond has the label you're talking about - maybe look up reviews for those two and see if you can pick which one is yours?

LisaF1163 - sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but Gluttony is actually discontinued so you won't be able to order that one If you decide to break your 'no LE' rule, I would definitely second GypssyRoseRed's recommendation of Gelt - it's a beautiful dusky chocolate+amber blend, really lovely. If you don't want to buy a bottle straight out (it's a Yule Limited Edition, available now) then I'm sure you could hunt down a decant in the For Sale area here on the forum And since you mentioned florals - The Last Unicorn might be worth a try: Frosty lilac petals, iris pallida root, orris, violet leaf, white chocolate, coconut, wild lettuce, white sandalwood, and oakmoss. Not available in imp form from the Lab, but check the sales section

Do you mean acknowledged by the Lab or by Paypal? If you mean Paypal, then yes, you should get a notice. I ask this because on my last couple of Lab orders, my PP notifications were delayed as much as a couple of days. I've never gotten an acknowledgement from the Lab. Yep - what the lovely portalkat said... you should have received a payment confirmation email from PayPal, but I have also been getting these days after the payment's made - just in the last couple of weeks - where normally the email comes through just seconds after I send the payment. But nope - you won't get any confirmation from the Lab, so you just have to hope/assume that they got your order OK.

I have no clues about a smell-alike for that one, but just saw an imp up for grabs on a swaps post here

aww Fiam - what a bummer ih8perfume has given you all the good advice already - I would second the suggestion of getting yourself a scent locket.. that way, you can still enjoy the lovely perfume of Mason En Pain D'epices without it having any contact with your skin. I'd say it's a 99.99% certainty that it's cinnamon your skin doesn't like - although it's not a listed note in Mason, it's most likely part of the 'gingerbread' and/or 'spice' that are in the description. So you'll probably need to be careful with any BPALs that contain cinnamon - what a shame! I would say though - give it one more try, just in case your skin was having a bad day (or, like you said - your freshly washed/skin was overly sensitive) - this time put some lotion or moisturiser on your skin first like an undercoat to the oil - but if you get the same burning, wash it off immediately and never do it again because that just doesn't sound like it was much fun for you at all.

Agreed. And I also agree with both Boo! and Snake Oil, which have been mentioned earlier. Halloween: Las Vegas is one that I find to be very strong in the throw department.

Monday very generously gifted her squirt of The Inn to me, because she's awesome But of course, having read her review beforehand, I was fully expecting it to smell like bananas. And - guess what - it does! But now I'm a bit unsure as to whether it actually does smell like bananas, or it's just my brain telling my nose that it smells like bananas because that's what I told it to do. It's all very confusing So let's just say.. there's definitely something fruity in here. And if it is banana, then it's not the fresh, perfectly ripe, stand-up tall kind of banana.. it's the mushy, few days too old, kinda brown and wrinkled banana. The fruit element definitely has a mead-like quality to it. Mushy mead, honeyish but verging on a beer-like smell. And there's something woody and smokey in here too. I think it smells like warm dark banana bread, honeyed mead, and old wood - with a bit of lingering bar-room smoke. Quite nice, but also a bit weird.

Withjoy - that's really interesting! I didn't realise we have had a total of four Blood Moon lunacy blends

In the bottle, it smells really citrus-y and sharp but sweet - 'fresh' is probably the right word to describe it - so I guess that's the honeysuckle, although I don't usually get a citrus smell from honeysuckle. It smells... sunny. Hmm. As soon as it's on my skin, I get a sharp blast of honey. Uh oh. I'm not really a fan of honey in my BPALs, it's not a note that plays nicely on my skin (stale vomit, anyone?) and it's the one note in here that I was worried about. But thankfully, a few minutes later it's mellowed right out and I can now smell the lovely patchouli and leather. The patchouli seems to have a slightly smokey note - I wouldn't have said 'sweet', but it's definitely not the earthy/hippy/feral slap-you-in-the-face patchouli we know so well from things like #Occupy - it's more the soft caress-your-cheek-gently type of patchouli like in Hippie Ghost. The sarsparilla isn't 'sassy' on me at all - actually it's pretty subdued.. it's just there, sitting quietly in the background, but it's adding a soft warmth and slight spicy spark that's quite lovely behind the sweetness of the honey. Leather.. hmm.. yes, it's there, but not like LEATHER at all - more like leather - kinda quiet, and soft and fuzzy. And hey - there's the French vanilla! It took about 15 minutes to appear, but there it is.. and it's lovely - quite deep and rich, not candy-sweet at all. The honey/honeysuckle sticks around pretty much through the whole wear time for me, but it never gets cloying or nasty - woo! Badgers has totally laughed in the face of my anti-honey stance. An hour or so later, I have a lovely soft smell of leather+patchouli+vanilla with just a hint of honey - very nice. And although it's soft and pretty, it's not weak or 'girly' at all - it has a bit of unff behind it for sure. I love Little Bird's description of a beautiful girl in a country song - that's it.. this is the smell of sunshine on your skin, laying in a field of soft grass and sunflowers. It's soft and snuggly but also a bit naughty - just like its namesake. Cute, but a bit badass - so actually, more like a honey badger

Yep - me too. TTLB is the first thing I thought of for melon but I see you've tried it already and it didn't work. Hmm - that's a shame! Here's a couple of others that you might like to look at - Earth Rat - the melon in this is lovely, but there's a lot of other things keeping it company: Peony, China's national flower, with bamboo for flexibility, plum blossom for perseverance, courage, and hope, tangerine for wealth, lychee for strong family relationships and peace in the home, orange for happiness, pine resin for constancy, golden kumquat and quince for prosperity, narcissus and King mandarin for good fortune, coconut for longevity, and candied melon for good health, with a splash of blazing red of dragon's blood... to help you scare away the rampaging Nian. The King's Daughter (The Last Unicorn): this one has a lovely sweetness and the watermelon is very fresh: Llilac musk, sandalwood, sweet pea, watermelon accord, pale woods, elemi, and oakmoss. And then there's Treat #1 from 2006 - it may be hard to find, but on me it smells exactly like watermelon candy: A super-sweet, glittering mountain of crushed hard candy: watermelon, pink lime, lemon, strawberry and piles upon piles of crystalline sugar.

Well thank you, but you're very welcome As you've noticed, people around here are always happy to enable help a new BPALer with their new addiction interest