imaginepageant

Thank you! (One day I would love to spend over $500... one day...)

Not sure if this is the best place to ask this, but here goes. On USPS's Track and Confirm page, does the status of your package actually change? Mine has been Electronic Shipping Info Received since I got my CNS on May 14. Does this ever change to something like Shipped or Delivered, or is that it? If it makes a difference, I'm in Canada.

If anyone's still wondering about the Steamworks imps... I can verify that Aelopile and The Antikythera Mechanism both have the black cogs also. Edited because I can't make a single freaking post without a typo!

In the Vial: Very green and floral. And wet. It makes me think of Bayou and Goneril. It's like being in an incredibly fragrant and steamy greenhouse. Wet: That wetness is drying out, but it still has an aquatic feel to it. This smells very feminine and sophisticated. And it's getting more perfumey... but not necessarily in a bad way. Dry: Ah, now the rose that so many others have mentioned is starting to come out, but not too vigorously. The other notes, whatever they may be, are getting a little sharp and sour, and just... weird and unpleasant. I may be crazy, but it's making me think of salsa. Is there lime in this? An Hour Later: Um... yuck. There is definitely something funky in here. It's pretty sour. Funky, sour rose. Overall: Yeah, so I'm going to be swapping this one.

In the Vial: Pear! But the floral notes make this a perfumed pear, as opposed to an actual bitten-into pear. Pretty, soft, and slightly aquatic. Wet: Rose. Seriously? It's never amped quite this quickly before. Okay, it is still slightly fruity and perfumey. But yeah, rose. Dry: Rooooooose. Sweet rose. Perfumey rose. But rose. An Hour Later: Still sweet, perfumey rose, but not quite so ROSE! as before. If I try really hard, I can kind of imagine the pear poking its nose back out. It's soft, sweet, and very pretty. Overall: I wish this had been more pear than rose. It ended up quite nice, but it's just not my thing.

In the Vial: First and foremost, eternal thanks to mxtine for frimping me some Banshee Beat to try! I am so excited right now! Okay. This is exactly what the description promises: patchouli, vanilla, and hemp. It's gorgeously sweet and earthy. A little reminiscent of Snake Oil, but without the spices. Wet: Yep, yep, mmhmm. MUST HAVE A BOTTLE OF THIS IMMEDIATELY. This is so perfectly balanced. The vanilla is without a doubt the star, but it's not all up in your face. I'm not a fan of strong patchouli, but the patchouli here is calm, soft, and mellow. And the hemp is giving it a solid foundation of warmth and earthiness. They all blend together unbelievably well. Dry: Another amazing thing about Banshee Beat is that it doesn't really morph, like 95% of blends do on me. The patchouli has gotten a bit stronger, but otherwise, it's still the same incredibly warm, sweet, earthy, woody scent. I freaking love this. An Hour Later: My nose and hand have been intimately attached this past hour. There was a brief phase where the patchouli flared up and got somewhat sharp and smoky, but then the vanilla stood up and was all, "Hey, settle down now, let's all be friends," and then it was perfect again. Overall: So damn good. No, SO DAMN GOOD. This is by far the best patchouli blend I've tried, and I'd recommend this to anyone who doesn't have the best relationship with patchouli. Banshee Beat is the sweeter, mellower, cleaner cousin of Urd - both absolute hippie scents, but each has its own distinct texture and feel. I love Urd, and I love Banshee Beat even more. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go hunt down a bottle.

For the Lost fan in your life! There are so many ways you could do a Lost theme pack... Favorite Characters Using my favorites as an example! - Tombstone (Sawyer) - Urd (Locke) - Whitechapel (Ben) - Lady Macbeth (Juliet) - Wolf's Heart (Desmond) - Schrodinger's Cat (Daniel) ...Completed with items specific to the gift recipient's favorite characters, ie. a handmade replica of Sawyer's letter, a backgammon game, a copy of Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens. The Oceanic Six - Dee (Jack) - Anne Bonny (Kate) - Ophelia (Sun) - Othello (Sayid) - Eat Me (Hurley) - The Little Wooden Doll (Aaron) ...Completed with a toy airplane, Oceanic Airlines buttons, a package of airline peanuts, and a barf bag. The Others - Whitechapel (Ben) - Lady Macbeth (Juliet) - Alice (Alex) - Magus (Richard) - Aureus (Jacob) - Djinn (Man in Black) ...Completed with a plush white bunny with the number 8 drawn on one side, a copy of Carrie by Stephen King, a slingshot, a small model ship, and one black and one white rock (BONUS: include brass scales). (The rest of my GC-only suggestions for character scents are here and here if anyone's interested!)

MOAR LOST. These ones were tougher. I didn't know what to do with Lapidus. BENJAMIN LINUS Whitechapel: A gentlemen's blend, possessed of dignity, charm and refinement, but in truth masking a corrupted, hideous, soulless core. White musk, lime, lilac and citron. JULIET BURKE Lady Macbeth: The essence of ambition, covetousness and manipulation: sweet Bordeaux wine, blood red currant, thyme and wild berries. ALEX ROUSSEAU Alice: Curiouser and curiouser. Milk and honey with rose, carnation and bergamot. DANIELLE ROUSSEAU Mania: The personification of insanity. Her scent is roiling chaos and churning madness, but her perfume also bears an underlying gentleness, and, like madness, a strange sweetness. Screeching white musk collides with a howl of red musk, with sharp white grapefruit and pale strawberry leaf. AARON LITTLETON The Little Wooden Doll: Gently carved wood warm with a maternal love that reaches beyond death: rose-infused amber and soft golden sandalwood. DESMOND HUME Wolf's Heart: Grants courage under extreme conditions, helps overcome fear of death. PENNY WIDMORE Cordelia: The essence of faith, love and devotion: lilac, lemon, green tea, wisteria, osmanthus, white cedar, and Chinese musk. ANA LUCIA CORTEZ Mary Read: Salt air, ocean mist, aged patchouli, sarsaparilla, watered-down rum, leather-tinged musk, and a spray of gunpowder. MISTER EKO The Lion: The dry, glorious warmth of the Savannah. A golden, spiced amber, proud, regal and ferocious. LIBBY SMITH Delirium: A contrary, conflicted scent, bubbling with merry madness. Contains apple, rose, and lemon. ROSE NADLER Dove's Heart: A gentle, healing love blend, often used to help mend a broken heart. Brings peace of mind, soothes the sting of loss, and aids in finding closure. BERNARD NADLER Nostrum Remedium: Revitalizes the spirit and balances the humors. Prolongs life indefinitely. Black tea leaf, invigorating wasabi extract, sweetened by honey. DANIEL FARADAY Schrodinger's Cat: A paradoxical scent experiment! - tangerine, sugared lime, pink grapefruit, oakmoss, lavender, zdravetz, and chocolate peppermint. CHARLOTTE LEWIS Ephemera: The scent of loss, love and the echo of time without end: sorrowful violet and chamomile with muguet, white geranium, calla lily and tea rose with a hint of autumn leaves. MILES STRAUME Haunted: A mournful, poignant scent, thick with foreboding. Soft golden amber darkened with a touch of murky black musk. FRANK LAPIDUS The Robotic Scarab: Pinpoints of red light beaming from its eyes scan the room, and in a flutter of leather wings, it scuttles across the wooden floorboards. Polished metallic notes, glossy leather, frankincense, star anise, and thin lubricating oils. CHARLES WIDMORE Iago: Malevolent, dark and shadowy: sinuous black musk, wet leather and vetiver. ELOISE HAWKING Crossroads: The forks of the road: an in-between place, sacred and tangibly magickal in innumerable cultures and faiths. This scent is dark with mystery, taut with power. A chill twilit garden of blooms over dry earth and mosses, heavily laden with incense and offertory herbs. RICHARD ALPERT Magus: An ancient blend, swollen with arcane power: galangal, high john essence, frankincense, cedar, and sandalwood. JACOB Aureus: True, perfect golden light, refined into an incomparably glorious scent. THE MAN IN BLACK Djinn: The scent of black smoke, of crackling flames, and smoldering ashes. ETA Danielle, Alex, and Aaron. How could I have forgotten them!

I would've said Gluttony for Hurley, if it weren't discontinued.

In the Vial: I hate the taste of beer, but I love the smell of it, so I was really interested in this blend. But I don't get a whole lot of beer from this, just a hint of the dry, foamy foundation of beer. Mostly, this is freaking green. A lot of grass and weeds, maybe some soil, and tart, bitter berries. Wet: Warms up right away. The berries sweeten up and come out a bit more, while the freaking greenness calms down. And then... it starts to smell somewhat boozy, though still not exactly like beer. Dry: Hmmmm. Hmmmm! I'm liking this more than I'd expected. It's closer to beer now, although not beer in a bottle but beer I've spilled on myself and has dried on my clothes. The berries are still there, and the grass and weeds smell more floral now. The only issue is, it's a little plasticky. An Hour Later: Yup, I've spilled beer on myself. Yay! That's what I was hoping for (yeah, I'm strange). Still oh-so-slightly plasticky, and vaguely green and berryish, but I think I can live with that. Overall: Pretty cool! It certainly doesn't smell like the beer I know, though. The green and berry notes give it a very earthy, natural edge, and I can definitely see this being a beer brewed by a marsh woman (...whatever that is), as opposed to being a bottle you get at a bar. I like it, and will keep the imp, but probably won't need a bottle. I can see myself wearing this to bars or while camping.

Since April is Black Phoenix's Month of Absurdity, we present a melding of Victorian Grotesquery and springtime fecundity: mold-crusted dirt, decomposing organic matter, coffin wood, drooping funeral flowers, congealed blood, gloomy lunar oils, cuckoo flower, and a gruesome burst of overripe red fruits. In the Vial: Dirt, roses, dry wood, and something green and medicinal. It's no surprise that this reminds me of Zombi, but what is surprising is that I like Worm Moon better - I usually don't like sharp green notes, but it really works here. I know it's going to turn into single note rose on me in a few minutes, but I like this enough to give it a go anyway. Wet: The wood note gets stronger and a little spicy. The blend smells extremely wet for a few seconds before drying out. Something midly sweet is starting to come out... and then it goes away. Ah, and here is where the rose starts to bully everything else out of the way. Dry: A rose garden, or perhaps just potted roses. Primarily rose, but the soil is hanging on in the background. There's something perfumey about it, too - the lunar oils, perhaps. An Hour Later: The same, but softer and smoother. Overall: One of the nicer rose blends I've tried. I really like the dirt note, somehow more than I did in Zombi. Still, I wish rose notes didn't amp on me. Not sure if I want to keep this or not.

LOST! Just the original castaways at the moment. I'm sure there are a lot of LE blends that would work well here, but I stuck with available GCs for now. Any other suggestions? JACK SHEPHERD Dee: Master of science, alchemy and magic. His scent is soft English leather, rosewood and tonka with a hint of incense, parchment and soft woods. KATE AUSTEN Anne Bonny: Wicked, cruel, beautiful, intelligent, resourceful and dangerous: a true role model. A blend of Indonesian red patchouli, red sandalwood, and frankincense. JAMES "SAWYER" FORD Tombstone: A rugged, warm blend of vanilla, balsam and sassafras layered over Virginia cedar. JOHN LOCKE Urd: Fate. Muscadine, black and red patchouli, cereus and nag champa. HUGO "HURLEY" REYES Eat Me: Three white cakes, vanilla, and red and black currants. SAYID JARRAH Othello: Arabian musk with two roses and a bevy of Middle Eastern and Indian spices. SUN-HWA KWON Ophelia: Wistful and vulnerable: lotus, water blossom ivy, stargazer lily and white rose. JIN-SOO KWON Kuang Shi: This scent honors the zombies of Chinese lore. Mandarin orange, white musk, mango, and white sandalwood. CLAIRE LITTLETON Yemaya: Yemaya is everlasting, She is motherhood, the universal drive for the survival of a species, the procreative urge, the instinct of a mother protecting her young, and She is the governess of all life on Earth. Her ofrenda is a bounty of melons and grapes, strewn with the petals of the flowers of motherhood, draped with sea mosses. CHARLIE PACE Vice: Voluptuous and indulgent! A deep chocolate scent, with black cherry and orange blossom. BOONE CARLISLE Lysander: The course of true love never did run smooth. Lilac musk, tonka, wood violet, and urbane lime rind, with a Venus-kissed tangle of myrtle, blackberry leaf, and benzoin. SHANNON RUTHERFORD Vixen: Lascivious, flirtatious, and vampy as hell. A true heartbreakers perfume. The innocence of orange blossom tainted by the beguiling scents of ginger and patchouli. MICHAEL DAWSON Calico Jack: Sea air, driftwood, waterlogged kelp, and the memory of plundered spices sprayed over worn leathers, rough musk, and the salty wooden floorboards of the Revenge. WALT LLOYD Arcana: The essence of magickal enigmas and long-forgotten esoteric mysteries. Frankincense, rosemary, lavender, neroli, and verbena.

OH. I am going to be giving so many BPAL theme packs for Christmas this year, methinks. You guys have come up with some incredible ideas! How about a REPO! The Genetic Opera theme pack? (Pared down from my way-too-extensive REPO! set.) - Nyx (Shilo) - Whitechapel (Nathan) - Veil (Marni) - Al-Shairan (Rotti) - Hell's Belle (Amber) - The Lady of Shalott (Blind Mag) - Zombi (Graverobber) - Bloodlust (Luigi) - Masquerade (Pavi) - Gomorrah (GeneCo) - Grand Guignol (The Genetic Opera) - Absinthe (Zydrate) Completed with the REPO! DVD and/or soundtrack, a blue glowstick, a (fake) bug in a jar, a medical mask... and for the hardcore fan, a framed REPO! art print from Terrance Zdunich's website. Edited to replace a couple of unimpables.

In the Vial: Saaaaaaassafraaaaaaas. Glorious, sparkling sassafrass! Exactly what I was hoping for! It's all I smell. Well, okay, no, I'm sure I'm smelling the tonka as well, because this is deliciously sweet. And if I try really hard I think I can smell the black tea. Really, this is just perfect root beer. I'm a little nervous about putting it on because I don't want it to go bad on me like Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener did. Wet: Hmmm. I'm not sure what's happening here. I think the champaca is coming out - I'm unfamiliar with it, but Google tells me that it's native to India and resembles anise, and this is definitely striking me as Indian, but it's hard to describe how. Kind of like an Indian market, maybe? It's earthy and spicy, and on the drydown it gets a little woodsy as well. Dry: The sassafras is just barely still there. It's much more Indian market than root beer now - wow, I never thought I'd say that. Reminds me a bit of Scherezade. Okay, I put some on the back of my hand to compare, and the sassafras is holding up much better there, just getting warmer and a little spicy. An Hour Later: Nooooooo! It's all Indian market now, both on my wrist and hand. Maybe with just a hint of sassafras holding on for dear life. Basically, this is everything I didn't like about Scherezade. Overall: Why! Why! Whyyyyyyyy! Okay, it is that time of the month so there is still hope. I'll retest it in a couple of weeks. If all else fails, I'll keep this for a scent locket or to use in my hair or SOMETHING.

In the Vial: "Sweet" and "green" were the first words that popped into my head. Upon second sniff, I get a very wet, heavy floral, and smoky musk. Then I looked at the blend's description, which prodded me into smelling the orange blossom (and feeling utterly confused as to how I'd missed it before). Not even a hint of coconut, though. Wet: I keep waiting for something to change. For the amber and musk to come out, or the orange blossom to get brighter, or... something. But no, this is pretty much staying the same - and I don't get to say that very often. Dry: Aaaah, there's the coconut. It's steathily sidled up to the skin musk, and together they make the blend smell a bit like sunscreen. Definitely sunscreen as opposed to coconut oil - it's a little plasticky, and still floral. An Hour Later: Pretty much the same. Maybe a little more floral. Overall: Meh. Something about the way this ended up doesn't jive with me. I'm one of the few that actually likes the smell of tanning oil and tanning lotion, but this is just a little too... off. It's that strange plastic quality that's doing it, I think. Not for me.

In the Vial: I've been putting off testing this one for a couple of weeks, hoping that letting it settle would resolve the issue I had with it upon first sniff. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case. This smells like cough syrup. Like Buckley's freaking cough syrup. I have more reservations in putting this on my skin than I did with Gore-Shock. BUT! I'm a trooper, so here goes. Wet: Hmm. Okay. Okay, this isn't bad. It's becoming floral, and sweet, and powdery, and sort of like... plastic? But a good-smelling plastic. Like a Cabbage Patch Kid's face. Dry: Yup. A Cabbage Patch Kid. I can definitely get the clean baby smell others have mentioned, but there's something distinctly plastic about it to me. I'm surprised that I don't smell the brimstone at all, because it's one of the few notes I always recognize right away. An Hour Later: OKAY WOW YEAH BABY POWDER. And not the sweet talcum scent I get from some blends, but actual Johnson's baby powder. Freaky. Overall: I'm relieved that the cough syrup quality didn't last (and curious as to why I smelled that in the first place), but... well, if and when I want to smell like Johnson's baby powder, I'll go to the drugstore and buy some. It's cheaper.

In the Vial: So, there are a lot of notes in this. I get the plum and mandarin first and foremost, and it's kind of a weird mixture. I'm also getting the vanilla, black amber, and a bit of red musk and patchouli. Overall it's a dark fruit scent that's juicy and smoky at the same time. Wet: Oh hello, red musk! I'm glad you decided to come out and play! The vanilla quickly flares up as well. After a minute the floral notes start to come out and make it not only floral, but a bit herbal as well... and a little powdery. Dry: Wow, I cannot believe how much this has morphed. I mean, most blends morph quite a bit on me, but this is a total turnaround. All I get now is a soft, smoky musk. It's closer to skin musk than red musk, I think; it's missing that... well, redness, that bright, sexy edge. If I try really hard I can still recognize the plum and vanilla in the background. An Hour Later: Mostly the same, but perfumey, and... it's veering towards rancid butter territory. Overall: I'd expected this to be a little like Mme. Moriarty, Misfortune Teller, with the combination of red musk, plum, patchouli, and vanilla. But nope, not at all. This morphed way too much for my liking, and that it's going sour on me seals the deal. Giallo is not for me.

In the Vial: Oh, this brings back memories! I adored Body Shop's Fuzzy Peach oil when I was young, and this is exactly what I remember of it. A bright, syrupy, tart yet sweet peach. Actually, it's more like the juice in canned peaches than the actual peaches. The amber and musk blend together really well in the background. Wet: Goes sticky sweet for a few seconds, and then the wine part of the peach wine comes out to give this a slightly boozy feel. Dry: I'm not exactly sure what myrtle smells like, but I think I'm smelling it, because this has gotten a little floral. And creamy. An Hour Later: Pretty much the same: creamy, syrupy peach. Just hints of amber, wine, and myrtle in the background. Overall: Nice, but I think I prefer the candy sweetness of Tamora when it comes to peach scents. I think I might have my first official deathmatch with these two!

Ah, good to know. Seeing that she got hers so quickly had me a bit worried, but I feel better now. Thanks guys, this was my first Lab order in years so I'm oblivious as to what's typical for international shipping.

In the Vial: I can smell all the notes in Dee (well, I'm not entirely sure about the parchment, but I can kind of see it), and they all blend together so well. Warm, spicy woods and leather. The incense is a little sharp, but the tonka keeps the entire blend fairly soft. Wet: The woods and incense flare up for a quick second, and it gets an almost an evergreen feel, but then the tonka kicks them in the face and makes this very sweet. On the drydown, this is reminding me strongly of Verdandi - I'm even imagining a phantom apple note. Dry: Mmmmm. No, wait: MMMMM. This is 25% clean, 25% sweaty, and 50% PURE SEX. It still has a very Verdandi feel, but it's like Verdandi's older and much more morally depraved brother. It's masculine, without a doubt, but sweet enough to be worn well by women. I hope I'm not speaking too soon, but neither the rose nor the leather are amping, as they usually do on me - everything is still really balanced. An Hour Later: This is the scent of being at the cottage at the end of autumn, curled up on the couch with your lover, wood piled up beside the woodstove that's keeping you warm. It's warm, woodsy, rugged, smoky, just a little sweet, and oh so sexy. Overall: LOVE. I've already tried this on the boyfriend and it was amazing on him, and although I really like it on myself, too, the image and feeling it evokes tells me that it's a better blend for him than me. If I can convince him to wear it (he never wears cologne aside from me slathering things on him), this will be a bottle purchase!

Just wondering if any Canadians are waiting on orders that were CnS'd around May 14? I noticed in the I Got My Order thread that someone else got a CnS on May 14 and received the order on May 19. I got my Cns the same day, but am still waiting on my order on May 26.

In the Vial: Sweet, creamy tangerine - but not quite a creamsicle. It's not vanilla enough. Plus, the sandalwood and ambergris are making it a little earthy. So, maybe a creamsicle trampled in the dirt. Wet: The benzoin and tonka get stronger for just a few moments... and then it gets warm and musky. Dry: It's definitely cooled off, but it still isn't screaming creamsicle to me. It's still too earthy. And it's kind of perfumey, too, like something you'd find in a department store. An Hour Later: A little sweeter, and more fresh than earthy now. Overall: I was hoping for a more creamsicle-like scent, but it's nice regardless. This is a pretty, youthful scent I could see teenage girls wearing. Not quite for me, though. Aaaaaaaand I just went to put it away and realized it's separated - there's a distinct orange bit sitting at the bottom. Drat.

In the Vial: I wasn't expecting this to smell green and herbal, but there you have it. It's like standing in an herb garden beneath a tree from which hangs a beehive dripping with honey. There's something metallic way in the background. Wet: The herb garden flares up for a few seconds, but then calms back down and balances out with the honey again. It's starting to get just a little warm and woodsy. I've just put more on and realized that it's not an herb garden, it's dandelions! You know when you just pick one and the stem is kind of juicy? That's exactly what this smells like in the wet stage. Dry: I am so confused! I'm somehow getting lilac out of this now, especially in the throw. I'm unfamiliar with honey (it never used to work on me and I'm just starting to give it another chance), so I suspect my nose is mistaking the honey as lilac. In any case, it is a golden, almost watery honey. I still get hints of the green and metallic notes. An Hour Later: The same - a light, green, watery honey. Overall: I am shocked that this didn't turn disgusting on me - it looks like my issues with honey are no more! Well, hopefully, and it's not just the combination of notes that's keeping it from going bad. In any case, I do like this, but I think it might be a little too green and watery for my taste. I'll have to wear it a few times before deciding. ETA: This is looooooong laaaaaaasting. I slathered last night at around 7:00, and I can still smell it quite strongly now - fifteen hours later. This almost never happens with my oil-eating skin. ETA, again: Still there, twenty-four hours later. And I tried washing it off.

In the Vial: The first thought that popped into my head: man. This is an beautiful masculine scent, but it's soft enough that I think it just might work on me. The cedar was the first note I noticed, followed by the white musk, leather, vanilla, and lavendar. Wet: The leather amps up right away, but the vanilla keeps it sweet and creamy. The lavendar's holding strong, while the cedar and white musk are still in the background, but faint. The carnation's starting to come out to give it all a slight floral spiciness. Not sure I'm getting any sage. Dry: Leather, vanilla, and lavendar mainly, and the latter two are making this smell much more feminine than masculine. The other notes have kind of melted into each other and aren't identifiable individually, but are giving the blend a solid, vaguely woodsy foundation. An Hour Later: I'm starting to think I amp leather. It's pretty much all I smell now, though it is a smooth, sweet leather. Somehow, it kind of reminds me of bubblegum. Go figure. Overall: I like leather, but I wish the rest of the notes had stuck around. This is a beautifully complex blend, but I don't think it works on my skin. Will be trying it on the boyfriend.

In the Vial: Oh, this is glorious. Smooth, sweet amber and woods - and yes, this is downy. This smells like a warm, cuddly animal. It's velvety, that's the best word to describe it. Wet: Immediately it gets even smoother and warmer. There's something spicy and foody about this - like cinnamon sugar, maybe. It fades on the drydown, though, as the musk starts to come out. And the grasses; it's starting to smell green, particularly in the throw. Dry: Not much of a change; the sweetness is ebbing just a bit, but that's it. About fifteen minutes in, it starts to smell a little... milky, somehow. An Hour Later: That phantom milk note is still lingering in the background, but it's not too obtrusive. Mainly, it still smells like it did before. Overall: I really like this, but I'm not sure it's for me; that phantom milk note is a little odd. I can't wait to slather it on the boyfriend, though; I think it'll be amazing on him.