starfish327

lab fresh imp. someone gave me this thinking it would work better on my skin than on theirs (i'm guessing that it means that neither of us knew about the florals since i amp them into oblivion). in the imp: spiced white florals. not really all that strong though. wet: ...nothing? this is odd. wait now i'm getting a whiff of floral. dry: orange blossom with a touch of something else. just a hint of other florals and the patch. i actually really like this. this is the first floral that didn't send either me or my boy into a frenzy. it's really light on me though. it's going to get used but probably not replaced unless i end up with another frimp.

i'm not sure that i like the scent on the skin but it's definitely changing my mood...i'm not so sure that i'm more relaxed so much as i'm not tense about my appearance or my body (and confidence is a large chunk of attraction). i don't have a particular person in mind and magickally speaking i've been dumped down a rabbit hole so this may not be the best time to be testing this, but it's been jumping out of the imp box so no time like the present i guess? i also don't have a particular individual in mind either so this may come out muddled. update: well. i guess it worked. sort of? i didn't get any male attention but the women around me were nicer than normal. i know that's not the intention of the oil but that's what seemed to work out for me...

frimped with recent purchase, came in yesterday. *it's odd. i've noticed recently that all the frimps/gifted imps that i've gotten lately are either all the same thematically or things that i've been looking for. right now i'm looking for calming/meditative blends and this just came in the mail along with a couple of others of the same type, all randomly. in the imp: lavendar wet: single note lavendar dry: more lavendar with something underneath- my boy's words. i'm guessing mint of some sort or the fennel others are talking about. the boy likes it. that's all i really care about. if this works as a calming bend i may be getting more of it.

in the imp: incense and vetiver/smoke wet: incense and vetiver/smoke dry: incense and vetiver/smoke but increasingly light and sweet. whiffs of something almost fruity. increasingly patchouli and the smoke starts dying down. reminds me of ritual- reminds me of a dragon ritual i went to this summer specifically though i'm not sure why. masculine but i also can't see this on a guy either. huh. don't know how i feel about this one. it sort of sets my teeth on edge, but i like it at the same time. i do have to say though that it's calming in an odd way.

warm leather or something that's registering as leather-like. similarily there's something that's reminding of being smoke like without actually being smoke. definitely masculine.

i knew going into this that this wasn't going to be a blend that wasn't going to be very high on my list. this one though...didn't even make it to skin testing, which is bizarre with me- there's only been three or four scents like that for me. in the imp it's a slam of vanilla- like cheap imitation cooking vanilla. underneath that there's something that reminded me a lot of dirty laundry or the bottom of a mesh laundry cube. honestly it just reminded me too much of dorms near the end of semester when people run out of laundry time so they just douse their laundry piles with stuff to freshen up their rooms a bit.

for whatever reason zarita really smells like marshmallow fluff fudge. it smells like my mom's kitchen at christmas. it wasn't bad but not what i was expecting at all.

i only tested this out of a friend's imp box because i had it ordered and i was afraid that i'd hate it. in the imp: it's...meh. it reminds me of axe a little bit. it smells like something that's a knock of something that wants to smell like the theme. oh no. this doesn't bode well for my imp in the mail. wet: more meh. it smells like a knock off cologne. dry: OH HOLY HELLS THANK THE PERFUME GODS FOR MORPHING. my friend flat out gave me her imp after smelling it on me. this is rich deep sexy and powerful. it's edgy. it takes on this very warm and almost leathery note without it being leather. there's something that smells like it should be boozy but it's not. i don't remember registering floral in it, but at the same time i remember thinking that this wasn't a guy scent at all regardless of what i was getting initially, this is the type of thing that i can see on one of the big name flappers and society girls during the interwar period- this is a great gasby type scent all the way. i adore it for that- i'm totally obsessed with interwar america. so now i have two imps of it and those imps are probably going to spawn a whole clan of tavern of hell imps if i'm not careful.

i didn't do a skin test because i apparently lost my mind for a minute but this is one of the best imp scents that i've come across. it's subdued florals (but not weak. definitely not weak) surrounded by rain and dirt and rum. honestly, this reminds me of what a good alter should smell like. it smells like offerings to santa muerte or hecate or another of the cross roads deities. it's definitely a death scent, but it's the type of scents that reminds you that death shouldn't be feared because it's too powerful and there's no point of fearing it. it's beautiful, and i will be getting my hands on my own imp. edited to add: this is also the first dirt note that i recognized instantly as dirt in the vial. i hadn't found a blend with a dirt note that actually smelled like dirt to me before.

in the imp: candied florals wet: sweet citrus and florals. i'm getting a blood orange or tangello vibe but i have a hard time thinking that it is either (reading the note list i realize that it's the grapefruit). white florals that are behaving behind the citrus. zingingly sweet. dry: same as wet, but it's morphing and loosing its sweetness after another amping of citrus (it went a little sweettart on me for a minute), now i'm getting more tea and ginger. the citrus has moved to the back. honestly this is more what i thought j horror would be like. i do like it, but luckily i don't wear florals enough to see myself ever wanting to replace it.

starbuck's pumpkin coffee syrup. then it goes popcorn on me (supposedly, i didn't really get that vibe but my friend did from my arm). so nope, off of my wishlist...

this may be the imp that brings my boy over to the dark side. he says that it smells exactly like absinthe- eerily so. i'll take his word for it.

in the imp: cologne wet: more cologne dry: wow. there was a perfume that i used to wear in high school that smelled exactly like this. it was blue and came in a bottle shaped like a crystal or a chunk of ice, i don't remember the name of it off the top of my head. i like this blend but i don't think i can pick out any individual notes. the boy cautiously sniffed the imp but he wouldn't open it. he says that it smells like he'd probably wear it, but he likes things with dragon's blood in it. this is the closest that i've gotten him to try bpal...

Have you tried Metal Phoenix? I'm wondering if Torture Queen is anything like it. I love Metal Phoenix but can't seem to find a bottle for sale. Oh and yes......Ded Moroz is really nice on this man! : ) It has a masculine quality without being 'dood-fume' to the extreme. I like it. i agree. i didn't think that ded moroz wasn't that masculine until i compared it to snow maiden, and moroz was definitely the guy of the two.

in the imp: bitter herbs wet: bitter herbs. and i'm sneezing which means that one of those herbs is basil. dry down: italian seasoning mix with slight orange. i was really hoping for less herbs and more orange and florals- i can wear florals when mixed with citrus. but no i smell like the herbs you put on a pizza.

i'm apparently allergic to something in grand guignol. it's the only blend so far that i've had a response to, but it was caused a burning pain on the application point.

in the imp: oh blood orange how i heart you... wet: blood oranges and lily dry: blood orange, with a stronger white floral and a touch of ecucalyptus.it's fairly balanced. it reminds me of body wash for some reason. this is pretty. it's nice. it's behaving much better than its psych counterpart. but i'm not really a fan of pretty and nice. i'll use the imp, definitely but i'm not seeing myself wanting to replace much more than another decant of it, if that.

Welcome to the BPAL forum. or internet comms in general.

I cared about whether they were using commercial prefabricated blends intended for lotions and candles. I got an answer to that and I'm grateful. Alternatively, I'm not personally invested in natural vs. synthetic (although other people with health issues are), but I would still like a definitive answer and have received no straightforward answer from lab staff about that topic. Clearly there isn't enough information out there on the natural vs. synthetic question since many people give contradictory answers and the lab remains totally mum on the subject. I'm getting annoyed with being picked on just because I want a straight answer. What kind of world do you live in where a consumer asking if a product is all-natural is the same as harassment? you are most likely not getting a direct answer because you are NOT in fact asking the right people who would have that information. it has been suggested numerous times that you contact the company directly, and you seem to be more interested in asking people who, while perhaps being deeply involved in this comm, are not actually working with the oils. the lab may be 'mum' because they have, quite frankly, better things to be doing with their time than scoping the boards for random customer service questions that pop up. the fact that the owner of the company herself gave you an exceptionally through answer to the vast majority of your questions is telling in and of itself. the fact that you continue to press the issue and look for things to question is telling as well. and yes that question has been answered on that thread. in short: beth made a line of protos once with synthetics. she didn't release. she doesn't use the term all natural anymore because of that line. however the blends since then have been, to my knowledge after reading that thread, all natural in that they are not created chemicals. a customer asking a question is not harrassment. not approaching the appropriate people repeatedly will in fact raise red flags for people.

in the imp: musk and powder wet: skin musk, slightly sour, and powdery dry: the same. but the throw scent is much better than up close- not nearly as sour. something underneath the sour white florals. not really my thing, it's getting better the longer it's on and it's loosing its sourness. maybe i'll try layering it with something.

Exactly! But now we know without a doubt that the lab makes all its own accords, so we can bask even further in their awesome 1337 skillz. (And I guess you haven't run into too many crazy quilt artists! Some of those people act like you're a total hack if you don't harvest the berries to craft your own dye and do everything short of weave your own fabric. ) oh no i have. today's part of this thread actually is tame compared to some i've seen go on on other sites about SOCK YARN of all things....

that's actually part of what's been bugging me about this all day. even if they were pre-blended, they aren't just being dumped in a bottle. it's like being upset with someone for using pre-packaged dyes or pre-prepped blanks for indie dyed yarns...it's what you do with it that matters*. *i am and always will be a fiber nut if the fact that i keep gravitating towards those comparisions are any suggesting.

i think that may be the most epic response to any internet thread i've read, anywhere...

i actually did this weekend. i thought it was cool. my boyfriend was less than impressed.

and this is exactly why i stick with bpal. beth does use oils which appeals to me and works better with my wonky skin- but beyond that, i don't like wearing what other people are wearing. i knit for the same reason. i know that i'm not wearing a completely unique blend (i could go to strange brews down the street, get my own oils, and mix them myself if i wanted that) but it's a lot less common than the stuff that i can smell on five seperate people walking through the student union at the local campus. I realize I'm not the only person wearing Snake Oil in the world, but I'm the only one wearing it in MY world.... oh i can't even argue that at this point, most of my friends have the same blends that i do...lol.