Undine

Also called Melampode. In witchcraft legend, this is one of the components of the notorious flying ointment, and is used in rituals that summon the Devil. In Greek mythology, Melampus of Pylos used hellebore to save the daughters of the king of Argos from a Dionysian Maenad-like madness. In Christian myth, hellebore was born from the tears a little girl shed onto the snow because she had no gift to give to the Christ child. In low magick, it has been used by farmers to protect their livestock from the evil eye. Court magicians have used it in martial invisibility spells, enabling spies and assassins to infiltrate enemy camps. Hellebore resembles the wild rose, but does not belong to their family. The scent is a pale green herbal, darkly rooty, with a faint rose and peony-like overtone. Borage and hellebore fill two scenes, Sovereign plants to purge the veins Of melancholy, and cheer the heart Of those black fumes which make it smart. Oy, am I the first one? This is my first first review. The pressure... Well, I have to say I really like it a lot. It makes me think of roses and green, and in that regard it makes me think of my (failed) hopes for The Apothecary and Rosalind. I've never smelled a peony scent (and I remember someone bemoaning the lack of BPAL peony scents in the Suggestions forum), but this is an absolutely glorious smell, only lightly sweet, much more truly floral than others on me. The rose is dry and very light and not juicy, a wonderful supporting "pink" scent. In the middle there are herbal but fresh green scents--not medicinal at all--and underneath something sweet, wet, and distinct, though still quite light. I think it is orris. And possibly even a tiny little bit of the same orchid that's in Shadow Witch Orchid? Or lotus? So it's "rooty", but I wouldn't really call it dark--more warm, or golden. I unfortunately do get some soap, but it's not too bad. I tried layering on a little Shadow Witch Orchid to see if it might alter the soapiness, but no go--SWO is too strong and over-rooties (hee!) the Black Hellebore. I guess I wish it had just a little bit more of the greenery. But if you are a person who does a little better with florals, this scent would probably be fantastic on you. And, to tell the truth, I still like it so much that I will wear it anyway, and continue trying to find green layering items that might make it work better. A lovely addition to Rappacini's garden. On my scale, a 4 out of 5.

Yes, I think one Arctander book on eBay was $500 and the other was $750! I have great curiosity in perfumes, but I have to admit there are many other things I would buy first if I were to blow a chunk of change that size! (I don't understand why they don't just reprint books again when they get so pricey--clearly there is a demand!)

Hey, that's the safety/EO book I mentioned above. I also came across a number of the Schnaubelt books. The Arctander book, I believe, is out of print--unfortunately.

HA, it's funny, I just came across something about tea tree oil and cats today in a review of an aromatherapy book on Amazon. The reviewer noted that several recipes for animals were a bad idea and this is because of the way the cat liver operates--it can't break down certain toxins the way the human liver can, so a cat could be severely sickened by application of oils that would not be a problem for a human. I can't remember if dogs also had this difficulty. So, in this case I think there is a physiological difference between felines and humans. On the other hand, I absolutely believe, as you say, that one should be very careful with EOs. I just put a book on my wishlist that is specifically on the topic of EOs and safety, so I am betting that Beth probably has a few similar titles on her shelves.

Huh--the first application on my wrist just got a sort of characterless, soapy, cologne-y smell. A second, heavier application and the smoke and (still clean and rather soapy) leather come out big-time. I know only the faintest amount about the Sephiroth and I don't know if I'd use this for contemplation as a result. As purely personal fragrance, this seems too simple to wear on its own, but I'm curious about layering this with something a little sweeter, perhaps a fruity cherry- or berry-heavy fragrance. Maybe it would kind of be like what I wanted from Hellfire (cherry baby powder on me). I wish it were less soapy, though. As drydown continues, the soapiness intensifies and dominates and if it gets much stronger, I won't be able to wear it. On my scale, a 3 out of 5.

I got around to trying this out today because I saw a few people express doubts about the sweet pea in a new blend. I didn't like it very much. It smelled sort of sour on me in the way that BPAL carnation often does, and that was the dominating experience. I wondered if this is the effect of the sage and not the sweet pea, or the two together. )I know what sage smells like, but often things smell a little different in perfume form as opposed to the actual herb or flower.) To compare, I tried Juliet--which also contains sweet pea--and did not experience any of this sourness: it was quite a nice blend, actually (but that's another review). A second try of Aeval later today was much, much less sour, but more soapy, which is preferable overall. More lightness and freshness comes out, and it's almost a bit wet-smelling. The herbal green quality--the sage is almost a tiny bit spicy--balances nicely with the light musk. I never would have guessed tonka was in there. Overall, not for me--most florals aren't--but I'm satisfied that I'm OK with sweet pea! On my scale, a 2.5 out of 5.

Smells like almond (which in actuality is maybe the ylang ylang merging with a musk?) and an undercurrent of myrrh. Woodiness and that sort of dirty smell that is indeed very O-like. Probably a little bit of honey and maybe a small bit of vanilla or vanilla-like scent. As it dries down, there is more woodiness and ylang-ylang, less sweetness and almond-scent. Odd because the woodiness makes it sort of grounded and dry at the same time that it's got that dirty-O smell. Overall this gives me a faint impression of something else odd, a little mushroomy, almost--which sounds gross, but it's not entirely gross--something a little earthy, or like savory food cooking. It's very interesting and I wish I could place it. I also might detect a tiny little bit of soap, it almost reminds me of a laundry detergent that is not your normal detergent scent but which I don't know the name of. It's very minimal though. Not at all bad, but it doesn't speak to me. It has that sex scent, but its other components come off rather odd so overall I prefer O. On my scale, a 3 out of 5.

Hey, I didn't mean to give you a hard time. Everyone asks questions--I do, too. It's just that sometimes I've found the search useful to find stuff and then you don't have to wait for someone else to respond, anyway. Nor do I mean to imply that good people all use Paypal! The downside for me is that it takes money out of my bank account and not my credit card so if my Paypal isn't filled up it can be a little more painful immediately. I hope you feel welcome here!

Yes, SevenSins is saying what I was trying to say. Sorry, I spoke in the past tense and that might have given you an incorrect impression. So far I think you have a lot of leeway. It's only if you order after (or maybe on as she says) Nov 15 that I think your order wouldn't come when you want it. The Yule scents are already available, and they were made available on October 15th... so you had/have a month to decide what you want and place the order ... I am not sure what you mean by saying that you wouldn't get your order even if you placed it on the day available?? Unless you are not in the US? Based on my reading of what they say, anyway. As far as we know, there is no difference in when orders are fulfilled if they are Paypal vs. CCNow--it shouldn't affect your place in the queue. Rather it seems to just have to do with what is mixed up and in stock, and what isn't. That could mean that simpler orders generally might go out a little more quickly ... but who knows. As noted above in this thread, CCNow takes a much bigger cut of the lab's profits than does Paypal, so some forumites like to use Paypal just so the lab gets more money and the middleman less. Reading the forums can help with a lot of your questions, too. Some are answered in this thread, some elsewhere. Check out the bottom left of this page you're reading--there will be a search box that says "Enter Keywords" and a button that says "Search Topic." That allows you to search within this particular thread so you don't have to read each of the 5 pages--you can search on Paypal for instance. Each thread has one of these and subparts of the forum (like this BPAL FAQs area) have them too. There is also a forum search button at the very top right of the page. It allows you to search the whole forum, or parts of it, for topics you're interested in ... so you can search Paypal and CCNow, for instance. You can also limit the search to just titles so that you only come up with threads that are specifically on your topic of concern, instead of every thread where the words "paypal" and "ccnow" are used. Hope that helps!

An interesting mix of dark fruit with cinnamon and, yes, Silk-Road-like spices, maybe cardamom? And patchouli. A dark brown, spicy scent. The cinnamon dominates, sweetened by the fruit and given more depth by the patchouli. Although I have experienced The Burning before, this just tingled a little, which I don't mind. However, this ultra-spicy, Bengal-ish kind of scent just isn't my style. I am one of many who amp cinnamon, and I could see liking this better if it were more fruit, less spice. As it is, it's a bit too much potpourri for me. (All overly cinnamon blends reminds me of potpourri.) And on drydown it just gets more cinnamony and less fruity. The patchouli also goes much more undercover, which is kind of OK with me, because it was sort of dirty-hippie on first application. Weird; I usually do very well with BPAL patchouli. I know next to nothing about the Sephiroth, unfortunately, so it's hard for me to interpret how this scent interprets its namesake. I really do like the idea of fruit and cinnamon, and would like to see it again, balanced more away from the cinnamon. Throw is average. On my scale, this scent is a 2 out of 5.

Hmm, very interesting, a woody, resiny rose. Sandalwood, yes I think so. Myrrh? This rose is nice, not too juicy, but not my absolute favorite, a little less dry than the tea rose I love in London. Oddly enough, I can see where coulrophobe gets the malt-vinegar-fries thing, or where others get the aquatic note they mention. There is an odd salty note in the background and it really does remind me of chips, even salt-and-vinegar chips. It's low-key, but it's there. Very odd. Hmm. As it dries down this strange note, salty with a little soap at the same time, comes to dominate the rose; meanwhile the sandalwood and resin really die down. This ends up being very strange. I keep on sniffing because I want to know what the hell is going on here, but every time I sniff, it's kind of weird. It smells so much like ... fries. Rosy perfume fries. I like the wet smell, but as it dries down, not so much. Throw is medium and less weird than sniffing up close, more soapy. On my scale, 2 out of 5.

Raven, I believe that when you use CCNow, although you place the order on a certain date, the order is not "harvested" (that is, the money is not deducted) until a date much closer to shipment. Others here may be able to elaborate more. I think the Lab is trying to get away from CCNow eventually, but at the moment are stuck with it. I suppose this is one advantage to using Paypal, which as far as I know, works normally. Also, if you read above, the lead times are quite long, 21-45 business days, which translates to about 6-8 weeks. You can get an idea of how lead times are running by watching the Click-N-Ship thread in this area of the forum, where people report when they placed an order and when the CnS (Click-N-Ship; the notice that their order is shipping) was received. International orders generally take a few weeks longer, I think. As I recall, the Yule LEs notice said that shipment of scents by the holidays could not be guaranteed if the order was not placed by Nov. 15. So, I would take them at their word and presume that no, you won't get them by the holidays if you placed the order after the 15th. The swaps/sale forums here are a great way to feed the habit while you wait, but of course the Yule LEs won't be showing up until right around the holidays, unfortunately. Such are the difficulties of being a small business--BPAL scents are high-quality, hand-blended, relatively inexpensive, and lovely, but shipping is a wait, no question. They're working on the shipping times as best they can, from what we hear. So, long story short, I wouldn't panic about the orders you placed--they are probably fine. But you might not get the later ones by when you are hoping to.

Ah, carnation. We meet again, and you have won. This is a creamy, honeyed carnation, reminds me of Alice but creamier and I don't get any roses from it. Yes, maybe some almond. Unfortunately, carnation tends to be a sort of sour spice on me. I persist in thinking, for instance, that it was the note in many of the Carnaval Noir blends that didn't agree with me, and that perhaps it is the "incensey" note that occasionally pops up elsewhere. So on me it's this honeyed almond milk with this sourish, spicey, cloying dominant note. Bummer. This one's for swaps. Later: I can attest that, unfortunately for me, the throw is decent and it's fairly long-lasting. On my scale, a 2 out of 5.

When skimming over the reviews I had a hard time understanding how they could all be about the same scent, but now I understand. Yes, myrrh and roses, maybe a little frankincense? I wouldn't rule out tuberose either although I'm not great about distinguishing it. Although I don't know if Binah actually has woods in it, it does have a woody scent. To me, it's sweet, but not in a cloying way, and the resins prevent the (tube?)rose from becoming soapy. I like it very much. I find it very ceremonial and sacred-smelling. It makes me think of being in a cathedral... of the Goddess! It makes me think of candles, pews, and censers. I have an impulse to anoint a white candle with this and burn it. I could also see using it as a room scent for ritual or meditation. I don't know if I would wear it much regularly, because it does smell sacred and rather heavy, but I don't think that's its main purpose. On my scale, a 4.5 out of 5.

Hmm. This is very interesting, but as others have said, it's got this sour lime-y undertone that doesn't work for me. It's a very fruity lime. As a whole the scnet is very green, fresh, sharp, almost medicinal, with mint being dominant. I can love a little mint, but this is very minty, and aside from the sourness I'm just not sure about mint as a body scent. We have a mint oil bug spray (think eco-Raid) and although I do like the smell of that, I don't wear it, and also now this scent reminds me of spraying bugs, which is not Beth's fault of course. I'm not trying Envy at the optimal time of the year, though; it's quite cold out, and this is really a summer scent. Oddly enough, it was throwing all right for a few moments and now it seems to have greatly reduced, almost disappeared, just fifteen or twenty minutes later. It dries down to a soapy sour lime that's very close to the wrist and hard to smell. I didn't get a chance to check for the lavender before it went away! On my scale, a 2.5 out of 5.

Hmm. I almost really like this, but the rose goes from that good-aquatic-dry note to soapy. The cinnamon is at a good level and doesn't go too crazy, but unfortunately it burns and makes me a little red. Owee! Fans of dryer, less-juicy roses might like this, and if you're a cinnamon-amper you still might like it as well. On my scale, a 2.5 out of 5.

Weirdo! This is very O-like and dirty on me, but with very strong orange blossom. Very sweet. As it dries down I momentarily get a hint of something almost cardamom-ish, something very lightly peppery and spicy. Perhaps it's the sandalwood? Argh, it totally just gave me a scent picture of a spice I use while cooking, but the memory flashed away just as fast. Anyway, whatever it is, it made me sneeze! --Aha! The scent picture is of asafoetida, which sounds awful I know, but it's a terribly light touch and it's something about the very light pepperiness that brings up the association. I do not at all think that this is truly asafoetida. Hmm, upon further drydown that pepperiness appears to morph into soapiness. It's not awful, but eh. I like the light, initally sweet-but-not-soapy effect, very reminiscent of flowers on the breeze. But it's a bit too orange-y for me, and this mystery item, sandalwood or some unnamed element, keeps on having that peppery effect, prickling my nose, and then the soapishness. However, this will probably be very nice, a wonderful spring or summer scent (I think of cherry blossom season) for many. On my scale, a 3 out of 5.

This is one of the more fascinating scents I've tried. First of all, it has two of my nemeseseseses, dragon's blood and cinnamon, yet both are pleasant and not overwhelming. And its throw is very, very different from how it smells close to the wrist. Yes, I am going to go out on a limb here and politely disagree with a couple of the above reviewers: I do think this has dragon's blood, but very little, and perhaps a different type than BPAL normally uses? Similarly, the cinnamon is very low-key. It often goes all potpourri on me--like Sarada I have that experience with Hamadryad--but here she is completely right, it simmers away without going crazy. Sandalwood, I can see, but am unable to distinguish it for sure. Vanilla (or one of its scent cousins) I believe I can pick out if I think about it, and while I don't normally like vanilla much (I know, I know) I think it might do a great job of mitigating the dragon's blood and cinnamon here, and contribute to the throw. Up close, Blood Moon smells like an herbal Big Red with a hint of dragon's blood. The interesting thing is that it has very good throw and its throw, to me, is quite sophisticated, warm, sexy, and musky, with the cinnamon greatly toned down. I had a hard time believing at first that this was the same scent I put on: I thought I might have gotten an imp on my fingers when I was quickly going through and smelling them all! But, no. My first thought was, "Do I like this or not?" I don't know about you, but occasionally I get these scents where I'm honestly not sure if I really like it, or don't much at all. Then, as the scent developed and the gentle throw grew, I decided I do like it. I'm not sure yet if I'm going to keep just one bottle or more, but it's entirely possible that I'll decide I love this. On my scale, at least a 4 out of 5, and that might go up. In my opinion, Beth is really on a roll with the lunar oils! The last few have been excellent.

On me The Lion smells of BPAL's amber, closer here than it often is to the scent of the actual resin, and, yes, it's spiced. As it dried down I realized the scent I was smelling was that of tea. It does smell chai-ish; it is sweetened, by the amber I think. there is light cinnamon in there, which is nicely muted, and doesn't go crazy as it sometimes can. I also wouldn't be surprised to find a small amount of clove or cardamom. I don't dislike it exactly, but the tea just isn't my style. I can't figure out if I would like it better if it were a little lighter. Too bad, because I like the way the amber works. But overall this scent is very evocative of its name, and I like that the Tea Party Lion smells like tea. On my scale, 3.5 out of 5.

Did you guys see that recent Desperate Housewives recently with the cringe-inducing dinner scene between Andrew and his mother's creepy pharmacist friend? If you did, you know what I'm referring to, and if you didn't, you don't want to know. Well, when I put this on, I made a sound just like Bree: "Hmm. Mmm. Oh! Mmm." (Is that too gross a comparison? Hee. I couldn't resist.) I didn't really expect to like this at all, and I turned out to love it! On me this smells almost exactly like Black Forest, evergreen underlain by golden sweet, but just a little bit more musky and sweet, and slightly different green. I never would have guessed eucalyptus in a million years, nor galangal. I wonder if the eucalyptus is in Djinn, too, because like Djinn, this made my nose run a little at first. But I like the scent so much that I don't really care. It's got great throw and lasting power, too. On my scale, a 5 out of 5! Definite bottle material. I wonder if my nose will deal with it any better in the summer when it's less irritated.

Sigh. I had high hopes for this, because I could use more of this element in my life, but when I saw the red vial, my heart sank. Ah, dragon's blood. Your flat musky repulsiveness squashes out everything else. Dragon's blood is all you are. I really can't assess how this might be on someone else: unfortunately, I can't even get anything other than dragon's blood. It does have an herbal, almost medicinal smell in the imp, along with a wetter smell: almond? floral? I quite like the herbal smell, actually--it seems inspiring. Too bad that dragon's blood is so poor with my skin. So, on my scale, it's a 1.5 out of 5, but that's just me.

I got this card in a Tarot reading last night, so I decided to test this out today. When I apply this, it's very woody and reminds me of Hamadryad, but (I think) with a bit less cinnamon and a little greener or more herbal, like a little touch of Yddgrasil. The greenness fades quickly, but this blend reminds me of leather, books, and church pews, perfect for the Hierophant: learning and knowledge, the old-school way. A little waxy, even, like burning candles. It's interesting to me that some other folks get a lot of cinnamon from this, but I don't get an overwhelming amount. It's the first time that cinnamon hasn't kind of bugged me in a blend. It seems relatively faded compared to what Beth usually uses. I don't know if it's a different type, if it's aged (although I don't think it is, since OriginalWacky just decanted these), or if it's mitigated for me by some other element in the blend. The only downside is that the waxy smell comes to be strong, so that on drydown I smell a lot like ... well, like a crayon. It's actually quite a good replica of a crayon, but not as Hierophant-y any more. I didn't notice the frankincense on my own, but now that I think about it, I could definitely see there being some in here. Again, it's not a ton, so it doesn't really overwhelm me, as it can. And it blends quite nicely with the cinnamon. I find this a very gentle, studious scent, if also slightly suggesting someone a little rigid at times, as the Hierophant can be. Its air of solitary study also reminds me a bit of the Hermit. I think I may try this in a spray or with lotion to try to increase its throw and the lasting power of the non-waxy elements. As it is, the waxy portion is the one that throws and lasts the best. Still, it's quite nicely done. I find it soothing and a good companion to study. On my scale, a 4 out of 5.

How odd--these reviews seem totally all over the place. I just received a set of Tarot decants from OW, and I decided to start here because I received The Emperor in a reading I did last night. This oil is the color of Blood Amber, which made me very nervous because of my dragon's blood issues (see below). Right after application it smells very soapy, although not an extremely "high" soapy note. As it dries down I get a white floral that gives the scent a low, wet, and fresh smell, and I enjoy this stage. It also seems most evocative of the Emperor: civilized, practical, even. (It might be backed by a few herbs or even marigold, but if so that disappears quickly.) Low notes: I do think the Emperor has a little dragon's blood in it, though fortunately it doesn't seem to be a lot. (Dragon's blood always has a sort of flat, musky scent on me, if that makes any sense, it tends to amp up a little, and I am really growing to hate it.) There may also be a little amber. On further drydown, the soap increases and the dragon's blood does too, although it never gets too bad. On the other hand, the scent loses most of its complexity and it's hard to find much to distinguish it from a dozen other oils that had a similar effect on me. FWIW, I don't see this scent as especially masculine. Throw is fairly low, can't stay about staying power yet. I have to say that although I can see this scent being The Emperor, I wouldn't have guessed that it would have these elements or this effect. I would expect something more gilded, perhaps a little citrus, a la Versailles or Florence. I like the wet stage fairly well, but not so much the dry stage. Oh well. On my scale, it's about a 2.5 out of 5.

This is Sugar Skull '04. I got an imp of it so that I could decide whether to buy a bottle this year. So ... uh ... no one else got sawdust from this, huh? This is the weirdest thing, but that's what I get from this. Warm sawdust, slightly sugary or spicy, but overall it doesn't smell NEARLY as sweet or sugary as it does in the imp. Up close I get more of that burnt brown sugar smell, but further away, and overall ... sawdust. Very weird. When I put on just a little, I got less of the sawdust, as well, so this makes me wonder whether if I applied less, it would be a better scent on me. Some things are like that--your nose overdoses, and then things smell funky. And I did put a good amount on the second time, because throw/staying power is often poor on me--whereas this oil is very strong. I do like it pretty well, especially the non-sawdust part. It's much less sweet and cloying than I expected, really quite different than I thought it would be and even than it was in the imp. With the first application, I was considering a bottle. I'll have to try lighter doses in the future and see whether the sawdust effect is minimized. I'd also like to try '05 to see how it compares. I do like smokiness and darkness. At this time, I'd say it's about a 3 out of 5, on my scale.

No one thinks Oisin? On me, Oisin was the manliest man that's ever manned. Dublin was like that, only not quite as strong. I also think Frost Moon. And Old Scratch isn't as strongly masculine, I liked it quite well, but I think it could work very well on a guy.