SevenSins

In the bottle: Cheesecake - sweet, creamy, decadent cheesecake! Wet: Ditto. It does not lose it's sweet creamy cheesecake at all! Drydown: Cheesecake smell fading in and out now, something vanilla-y and slightly spicy coming out. Sorta like cinnamon graham crackers. Later: Lasts forever! And stays with the graham cracker/cinnamony/spicy/vanilla. Nice! Verdict: I am not a foodie, but this one is pretty and complex! And fun! I'll probably keep an imp and let the bottle go. Nice scent though!

In the bottle: Very berry. Not sweet, fruity berry, more green,herbal, feels "full" and abundant and juicy. Wet: Clean, herbal, dark berry scent. It smells poisonous and compelling - it invites you to pick that juicy ripe berry and take just a little taste. But there's a darkness there that tells you maybe not such a good idea. Nice! Drydown: A little softer, green herbal slightly floral coming through, more like smelling the whole plant rather than just the berry. Berry is a little sweeter, but still dark and juicy. Later: Still nice! Throw has diminished a bit, the scent has softened overall, but maintains its original promise. I am consistently surprised at Beth's ability to create scents I wouldn't otherwise dream of trying. Berry is just not my thing - but this is now the third berry scent I've tried of Beth's that I do like! I will probably get a bottle of this one. Labbies - you are so amazing and talented!

In the bottle I smell tobacco. Wet, it smells foodier. Maybe a little sweeter, no tobacco. Drydown - foody gone. Still slighty sweet - but now sweet like pipe tobacco. A little smoky. Not sure about this one yet. Maybe I'll be more sure after a trip to atlantic city? or Vegas? Or...? I only have an imp, but I'll hang on to it for now.

Creamy sweet. Just got an imp of this, so it's definitely been aged. Smells to me like a white cake mix. VERY creamy sweet with a hint of nutmeg. No booze at all. Stayed true to the in the bottle scent through both wet and drydown stages. Didn't last very long - maybe an hour to 90 minutes, then gone. Interesting, but I am not a foody. This has more of a comfort factor for me. Definitely a childhood holiday/birthday (mine is a week after Christmas) smell to it.

In the bottle this is a dark, musty scent. Wet, more of the same. I wasn't sure I liked it. Definitely dark, lonely, musty/dusty smelling. Drydown was much nicer. The dusty/musty has faded and there's a faint whiff of something lighter, something brighter - maybe the lemon? But it's almost like it is a memory you can't quite grasp - far away and lingering in the depths - hard to reach. Interesting. Not sure how much I'll wear it, but it certainly is unique and has a place in the collection.

In the bottle: Sweet. Very sweet. With something....not sure what. Wet: Very sugar-y/caramel-y booze. Like a not-very-apricot brandy kinda smell. Or a subtle whiskey smell. But very sweet. Drydown: Nice! Slightly smoke-y sweet. Have I mentioned this is really sweet? Later: Still sweet, not as boozey. Still a little smokey. Burnt sugar with sugar on top maybe? Nice if you like sweet. Jury is still out for me. Not a bad scent. I don't normally do very sweet stuff, and I am not a big foody. But this is a very adult candy kinda scent. I have one bottle - that's enough. I may just take an imp and swap the rest.

In the bottle: Sharp, herbal/green floral. Wet: This is gorgeous! A little strong, but well blended. Drydown: Softer now. Jasmine is coming through, so is the poppy. And the rosemary has mellowed. Nice! Love the musk! Later: Fades quickly, but only to a point. It fades down to a subtle scent without losing anything, just softens. This one is a keeper! It's on my list to buy more! Thank you Beth

I really wanted to like this one. But it went the same way Depraved did on me. I think the blend of patchouli with any kind of fruit just doesn't work for me. Either that or my chemistry is changing and I can no longer wear what I love In the bottle: Dark patchouli - which is great! I love patchouli! Wet: Something is not right with this. The patchouli no longer smells like patchouli, it has turned into a sour, dirt-y, vomit-y smell on me. WAY overpowering. Dry-down: It has softened somewhat, but the ugly smell is still there. No spicy, no fruit, no floral, just dirty vomity something that died kinda smell. Really sad, I wanted this one to work! Later: Not bad. A little spicy, but getting here is way too painful. Sadly this one is not a keeper. I'll try again in a different place in my cycle, but I have a feeling menopause is messin' with the old body chemistry. ::sigh::

In the bottle: A little fruity, a lot floral, light! Wet: Love this one when it goes on! Very light, very floral. Very nice! Drydown: Stays light and floral with an undertone of something sweet and fruity. Hour later: Doesn't change much at all. I like this one! I was surprised to find out it had honey in it. Honey and I generally don't get along. But here it's just enough to lend a sweetness to the blend while allowing the florals to shine through. Bright, strong without being overpowering, sweet without being cloying. Almost bubbly. This one's a keeper!

In the bottle: Orange. Blood orange. Sharp! Nice! Wet: Something burnt? Something doesn't smell right and it's very strong. Smells burnt. With citrus underneath. Drydown: Burnt smell is fading to the background. Rose and something else - geranium maybe? coming to the forefront. Complex, smells are blending in a way that is hard to describe. Citrus/orange is gone. Hour later: Something musky, dark, old flowers. Don't know. I don't think I like it much though. Slightly burnt smell sitting in the background. I much preferred the heavy citrus. I think this one is not for me. Something about it doesn't sit right. Maybe it's the toasted vanilla? I'll try again during a different part of my cycle - sometimes that changes things. But right now, this one is not my favorite at all!

In the bottle: VERY pumpkin. Buttery. Sweet. Almost cloying. I am not a huge pumpkin fan, but I learned to try it on before I judge. Not too sure about this one even though I LOVE LOVE LOVE both sandalwood and orris! Wet: Still very pumpkin, although now it's a little smokey. But still cloying. I hope this changes a bit on drydown. I really want to like this! Drydown: Still sweet, pumpkin fading into the background a bit and a more smokey/incense-y sandalwood is coming to the forefront. MUCH better. But still not sure. Hour later: Okay, this is nice! Sandalwood is prominent with violet-y orris and a mild buttery pumpkin playing tag - running in and out behind the incense-y, smokey sandalwood. Very nice! Complex and fun! Several hours later: Not as strong as it was, but definitely sandalwood goodness with a touch of something sweet. Throw: Strong at first, but settles down quickly. After about 4 hours the smell is very subtle - but not gone! You just have to be close to catch it Verdict: I have two bottles, one will go, the other will stay. I won't wear it all the time, certainly not one of my favorites, but definitely a nice sandalwood scent. Warm, upbeat, not too foody, definitely a comfort scent for me.

Thank you Valentina. Raven - I don't know that that is the case. The date you placed your order is your order date. Not the date they harvested the order from CCNow. Now I don't work for the lab, and I certainly don't have any inside information AT ALL, but my guess (and only a guess based on the wording on the site) is that come November 15, they will harvest all the orders placed (and not yet harvested) and that will be the cut off for orders they will attempt to deliver before the holidays. Look at it this way. They are using Christmas (Dec 25) as their holiday date for simplicity's sake. If they use November 15 as a cutoff, then all orders placed by November 15 can be harvested on Nov 15 and that gives them 5 weeks to get the orders filled and delivered. As long as you place your order before that cutoff date, you should be fine. I woudn't fret too much, 5 weeks is a long time for turnaround from harvest (in my experience) and they will most likely have a few extra folks helping out in the lab during this busy time. Now - place the order ON November 15 or after? Well, then it's a crapshoot. But I wouldn't worry about it if you placed your order already. I am sure they have it figured out. (and again - this is all guess on my part - but I do have quite a bit of both retail and e-commerce experience so it's a semi-educated guess).

From my work in e-commerce, it's my understanding there are three dates that mean something. Date your order is placed is the date you actually went onto a website and ordered. That order may sit in a queue - electronically or otherwise, until such time as it's ready to be filled. The second date is the date processed. In this case it seems that the date "harvested" (the date the lab actually goes into the software queue and pulls the order for processing) is that date. The third date is your shipping date. At that point, your product is packed and ready to go, and it's sent out for shipping. The date your payment is taken can either be the date harvested or the date shipped. If the lab was using a real merchant account and processing the credit cards/debit cards themselves, they would be legally bound to process payment when your order is in stock. Once payment is processed, they would have a certain amount of time to ship. With PayPal, your payment is processed right away because the lab is not controlling the transaction, PayPal is. They are a money transfer company, not a merchant account. They have a merchant account which allows them to process your credit or debit cards, and they have EFT set up which allows them the ability to take money from your bank account. But the way PayPal works, you give PayPal money. Then you can use the money you've given PayPal to buy things or pay for things either online or using a debit card offline. That's what pre-funding an account is by the way. You tell PayPal to take money out of your bank account and then let it sit as a balance in your PayPal account. When you purchase through PayPal, the money always comes off your PayPal balance first - if you have a PP balance, they will not charge your card or your bank. So with PayPal, you are always going to make your payment to the lab on your order date. I believe with CCNow, the payment is made on the processing date - or when the lab harvests the order. CCNow is a third party processer. It's not a merchant account in that the lab processes the credit or debit cards, it's similar to PayPal in that they collect the money from you, take out their fees, then the lab gets what's left. The difference being that you cannot have a balance with CCNow. Because they aren't a merchant account gateway, they can hold your order in a queue for the lab and the lab can pick up the order when they are ready to process it. So CCNow doesn't charge your card until the order is picked up by the lab. Their system does automatic status updates based on the activity between them and the lab - so they are a misleading indicator of when things are or are not ready to be shipped. So your payment to the lab through CCNow is the harvest date. It's also my understanding (and I could be wrong - this is just experience/educated guess here) is that the lab harvests orders in order to determine what their immediate needs are (weeks?) in terms of blending and stock and what not. So there is still a wait time between harvest and shipment while they get all the goodies together to go out. It's not like they have hundreds and hundreds of bottles made up ahead of time just in case someone orders something. My guess would be things are done in batches, and there may be some stock laying around. But some batches are probably only blended based on demand. So the short answer is yes, that is normal and I always know when my order is in the lab's processing queue by the date the charge from CCNow hits my account. Generally about 2 to 3 weeks after that I start watching the CnSs here, depending how things are going. And I am sure that's all clear as mud now, right?

In the imp: This smells very green, a little dusty, but definitely green. Not a green/herbal kinda gal so I wasn't sure I'd like it. But I learned a long time ago to try it on first. Wet: Okay, this isn't so green! Sweet, a little citrus maybe? A wee touch of something slightly minty? Touch of spice? Nice! Dry down: This is a warm, bright, scent. Definitely sweet, definitely with some sort of tangy bite. Spice and floral coming in stronger now, minty is gone. I like it! Throw is not overwhelming, don't know how long lasting it is yet, but certainly something I can wear anywhere. This one is a keeper.

I'm curious as well. I always wonder when I see via the CnS thread that orders ordered days after mine are on their way and I am still waiting. It's a curiosity. I've tested the PayPal vs. CCNow thing - and that doesn't seem to matter. And of course eBay wins tossed in make it all kerfluffled! So I haven't been able to figure out any rhyme or reason how the queue is determined or what puts one order ahead of another.

In the bottle: Very plum Wet: The plum is less overpowering and orchid comes through very strong Drydown: Everything balances out and the smell is a wonderful sweet (but not cloying), fruity (but not overbearing) floral (but not old-lady), light and bright scent. Wasn't sure I'd like this, smelled a litte fruity in the bottle. Not a big fan of plum. But on it's delightful! Just the right balance of fruit, floral and musk. I'll probably keep a bottle of this on hand for spring/early summer. A fun scent!

That's normal. PayPal is actually doing two transactions. The first transaction is taking the money out of your bank account (or charging your credit card or whatever) to fund your account, then the second transaction is taking the funds from your account and sending it on to the recipient. For legal reasons they have to show both transactions. The only time you will only see the one outgoing transaction is when you have a PayPal balance - then you'll see the "To" transaction as coming from your balance. But somewhere in your history, there's going to be a "From" transaction that will offset that "To". There always has to be a zero sum. Your "From"s have to equal your "To"s plus any PayPal balance.

After my horrid experience with Depraved, I had to try more apricot-y scents since I know it's not the patchouli that was horrid. Well - I am happy to say it's not the apricot either! This is a yummy apricot - not too sweet, not too boozy, although the brandy is certainly there! Nice! In the bottle: Tart,slightly boozy apricot - not sweet like Katharina or earthy like Depraved Wet: Yummy! I don't like boozy scents much, and this one was just the right balance. Nice apricot with a touch of the booze. Fresh and adult - not syrupy or stale. Drydown: A little waxiness come through, but not much. After an hour: This is nice. The waxiness has disappeared and it's mellowed into a nice apricot brandy smell. Very nice. Throw: Initially pretty strong, but it fades quickly. I would say overall the throw is less than average, although up close the scent is strong. No cloud following me though

In the bottle: VERY sweet - almost like orange marmalade with a touch of apricot Wet: Not as fruity, but sharp and sweet at the same time. Nice! Drydown: I really like this one, very soft with a sharp bite. Nice blend of apricot and orange with a hint of musk coming through to soften the sharp edges. 3 hours in: Sweet has faded and left a soft musk. Throw: Average about the first hour. After that, it fades quickly.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE patchouli. And generally like apricot. I was excited to get this one. In the bottle it was all slightly sweet earthy patchouli. Wet it was strong patchouli with just a hint of earthy sweetness. Not too bad, but I've learned that I have to wait for drydown before I really know for sure. Drydown - couldn't wait to get it washed off. This turned so bad on me I can't even describe the smell. Think composted fruit gone bad mixed with some unknown sickness. I couldn't wait to get it off - and had to really scrub then slather something else to get rid of it. How disappointing. I love good patchouli - always have! But this makes even the worst really bad dirty hippie patchouli smell like heaven.

I was a little nervous about this one. I don't generally like fruity scents, and in the bottle this was VERY fruity - plum/berry/winey fruit. But I put it on anyway. On drydown, the strong plum/wine mellowed out and the spicy-apple-fall floral came in. This is gorgeous! Perfect autumn scent - makes me think of warm days and crispy night air, golden leaves and spicy cider and a dusty undertone of something - dying summer maybe? I don't know - I just know this one is definitely a keeper. Great balance between floral fruit and spice. Throw is definitely more than average. Really - a teeny drop is enough for the day for me! This one really lasts! I am glad I got more than one bottle of this one! It's now 9pm - I wanted to edit to come back and say I've had this on for over 12 hours now, and it's still beautiful! About 4 hours or so in, it mellowed into a nice soft spicey apple scent and stayed there all day - with just a hint of background floral. Absolutely stunning! I now wish I had more than the 2 bottles I have - it's that good!

Ahhh...yeah - I hear ya there! I don't do as much coding as I used to, I mostly just manage people nowadays so I miss playing with it.

MySQL works too! I've been contemplating the same thing. I am determined to update my database skills anyway, and this is the perfectly complex kinda thing to do it on! My problem is finding the time.

Add me to the very interested list! I have been debating if I should do this in Access or do this in MySQL myself. But I'll wait until this is done! Fantastic!