allamanda

Once upon a time Chanel No. 19 and Coco were staples for me, along with Diorella. BPAL-wise I love: Dragon's Heart Old Glasgow Spellbound Dragon's Blood Queen Mab (this ties as top favourite along with Snake Oil) Of the others on your list; Twilight, Dragon's Eye and The Caterpillar don't work with my skin chemistry (I can't wear Chanel 5 either). Ouija is nice, but I haven't worn it enough to really comment and the others I haven't tried yet. Oils not on your list that I can't be without: Snake Oil Dragon's Milk (this is just behind Snake Oil & Queen Mab on my loves) Hemlock (whilst not the same as Ch 19, it has a similar feel although not quite as soft. I applied them side by side on my arm, unfortunately my Ch 19 is 20+ years old) Kali Pele Blood Rose Szepasszony Kumiho (this is very green on me, I think you would like it) The description for Chanel 19 is: Floral-Green Top Notes: Greens, galbanum, bergamot Heart Notes: Jasmine, May rose, iris, ylang-ylang Base Notes: Sandalwood, oakmoss, vetiver A search leads me to suggest trying Taurus, I haven't tried it yet but will now!! Taurus - oakmoss, rose, sandalwood, ylang ylang One thing I have learnt since trying BPAL is not to write anything off. Although I can now make a reasonable prediction about what I will like, I still sometimes fall in love with oils I thought I would hate. Plenty to try I reckon you are going to have fun here. I forgot!!! Welcome to the madness.

Eclipse and Ulalume bit me, Mercury was *horrendous*, very rapid and violent skin reaction and that was on my lower, outer arm area so on pretty weathered skin. I know Eclipse contains cinnamon, am pretty sure Mercury also does but I have no problem wearing Chimera or Three Witches. I avoid the cleavage area like the plague, but as others have suggested diluting the oils may work for you. Has anyone else reacted to Ulalume?? ETA: Just remembered, Alecto bit me too.

In my limited experience the Lab usually advises if something is back ordered. I would suggest you email and let them know you haven't received it.

Psyche Lavender and incense, soft, comforting and peaceful. This didn’t change from start to finish and no matter how hard I tried I couldn’t detect rose or musk. Another larger bottle on the way.

Dragon's Heart Dragon’s blood and musk when wet, then almost a leather-note until the fig and blackcurrant appear; not fruity on me but an interesting movement across sharp and sweet. As this dries the Dragon’s Blood becomes more obvious. Now I can only smell dragon’s blood and (if I sniff hard) musk. Gorgeous and addictive.

Very strong cinnamon smell when first applied joined almost immediately by the clove. Mmm clove balls!! As this dries I start to smell the pepper and the clove and cinnamon are blending more together; for a long time I could only smell the clove. Once completely dry I can mainly smell the pepper; the clove is just detectable in the background and the cinnamon has disappeared. My wrist is slightly pink; Beth was right as usual, I must have a slight sensitivity to cinnamon oil, I just wish I could still smell it in this perfume!! After an hour or so this smells like cinnamon spice biscuits Gorgeous! I’ll either use a carrier oils or use it in a burner but I really like the smell of this. Oh yeah, and the pinkness has gone

Resinous and spicy when wet with a slightly scorched note that often indicates myrrh on my skin. As this dries I can smell nuts, but to me they smell like pistachios, not almonds. I’m guessing but think I can smell cardamom and perhaps saffron and clove, very complex scent. This is making me think of an eastern spice market, Spices and nuts roasting and all manner of scents combined. I’m 90% sure about the saffron I keep thinking barley sugar, it must be saffron! I find the smell of this oil fascinating, but whilst I want to be able to smell and enjoy it I’m not sure I want to wear it. I think this needs a burner trial.

Ulalume I love the way this starts, not sure if it is the green cypress as I suspect, but it really is lovely, green and a bit astringent. As this dries I start to smell the lilies and then dry leaves, at the moment, as sometimes happens on my skin, the lilies smell stale and unpleasant. My skin is reacting to this oil; I have a red welt across my wrist and a red patch below my nose where my wrist must have touched my face when sniffing. I can’t smell cinnamon in this blend and it isn’t listed; I’d be grateful for any suggestions about what I’m reacting to. I tried the oil twice and had the same reaction both times. As I was testing other oils at the same time I didn’t remove Ulalume and some hours later was rewarded with a lovely smell, sadly the early stages and especially the rash mean this one is not for me. I’ve just seen jj_j has mentioned cinnamon and Mercury. I can’t detect cinnamon here (but then I can’t always smell it) however I reacted extremely badly to Mercury. I sometimes react to cinnamon, but not always, I guess I can’t win.

Wrath When first applied I am immediately aware of the Dragon’s Blood and then my brain drifts to the Doctors’ surgeries of my youth and the smell I associate with Polio serum. I think it must be a combination of sugar and cherry. It takes quite a few minutes before I can smell the cinnamon. The pepper I can feel on my eyes rather than smell it! Usually with Dragon’s Blood I recognise it but this is the first time I have really felt I was smelling a resin. Finally I can smell the clove. The application is still wet, but it has taken ages before the clove arrived. They’re all here… and touch wood my skin isn’t burning I love the cinnamon with the sweetness of the Dragon’s Blood. Interesting to see that roisnoir and Nadirah have also had the Doctor reaction

When first applied I smell smoke, possibly some myrrh in here? Then I think cardamom, eucalyptus and after a while lavender. There is something else that could be mint or sage or possibly a combination of both. I’m getting a sage note but it seems fresher and greener. I can also smell incense and as I am hooked already I am guessing Frankincense. As this dries it is harder to pull out any individual notes and I am left with a wonderfully rich, but dry, smoky incense. I ordered a bottle on the spot; I am totally smitten with this one.

When first applied; grapefruit but my nose thinks it can smell apple too. I am just catching the lavender when I concentrate. This is drying to a spiky floral, I can still feel the grapefruit, but the redcurrant hasn’t yet appeared. After about 45 minutes I start to smell the redcurrant. Weird how this has gone from floral to fruity; I still love it though. Cheshire Cat didn’t stick around for long; how true to character disappearing bit by bit. This perfume is lovely and amused me immensely.

Blood Lotus When first applied this is very sweet; I can smell the Dragon’s Blood and I think cherry and musk. As this dries it becomes less sweet and the cherry smell is no longer so obvious. I’m getting Dragon’s Blood and musk. For quite some time I felt this was pleasant enough, but not terribly distinctive and then Beth worked her magic. The warm, sensual smell grew on me; it isn’t flashy but somehow melds and grows on you.

Darkness This smelt like very classy alcohol when first applied and then the myrrh appeared giving weight and depth. As this dries I can smell the narcissus, this perfume is gorgeous. Final thoughts: Very dark and smoky, I think Beth bottled an opium den. I have already ordered my larger bottle!

Cathode When first applied mint and citrus. Electric? Definitely. This starts off very citrussy but the mints soon start to take over. Bitingly crisp (that’s good) when wet but mellowing as it dries. This keeps morphing, but whichever form taken it is lovely. It can be warm and golden, then crisp and cool, a bit herby and I love it!

Arcana When first applied my nose tingles with the lavender then I can smell neroli. The lemon verbena is giving this a slight tang with the rosemary adding a herbiness, very nice. This has been dry for a while before I manage to detect the frankincense, just faintly in the background. The other notes are still there, but difficult to separate now; this is so well blended. This is a very relaxing and calming blend. It reminds me of massages and being barely awake, definitely not an oil for when I need to be alert, but perfect for a gentle wind-down.

Alecto When I first applied this I got the green, sharp, herby smell of raspberry leaves that I love. Sadly cedarwood and I have a love-hate relationship and in this blend the cedarwood and vetiver were too much with my skin-chemistry. After about an hour this had such an unpleasant sharpness I have marked my notes not to apply again!

Aizen-Myoo When first applied I get a slight tinge of grapefruit which rapidly turns to cherry blossom, getting sweeter as it dries. Once dry I can smell the tea giving depth to the cherry blossom; this is lovely. After a few hours this is still beautiful. The sweetness of the cherry blossom is enlivened by the crispness of the tea. For Lush fans this is perfect applied after a Sakura bath.

My last delivery was two orders combined. My 3 June order had been delayed due to Pikaki being back ordered (it still is sadly). I placed another order 17 June and received both orders together on 11 August

I use and enjoy Snake Oil and The Star (not at the same time) in my burner. I must try some of the other suggestions in this thread, they sound really nice.

Kabuki, Kali, O, Lust, Spellbound and Vixen. Not quite as random as they look. Several contain Red Musk, as does Hollywood Babylon, which I usually means I will like the scents. Kabuki even has Cherry as well as the Red Musk. O and Vixen have a similar 'feel' to me as Snake Oil. They are all wonderful in my opinion. Hope this gives you some ideas.

I'm glad to asked this Summer, I wanted to investigate further too. The book I am working from, Chakra Healing by Liz Simpson, gives the following: Crown - Lavender, Frankincense and Rosewood Third Eye - Hyacinth, Violet and Rose geranium Throat - Chamomile and Myrrh Heart - Rose, Bergamot and Melissa Solar Plexus - Vetivert, Ylang ylang and Bergamot Sacral - Jasmine, Rose and Sandalwood Root - Cedarwood, Myrrh and Patchouli. Now we can have fun matching the above to BPAL oils. I'd be interested if anyone has additional suggestions too?

A lady after my own heart. If space allows I would agree.

In addition to Libra and Venus: Dragon's Milk Hymn Imp Old Shanghai Pain Snake Oil The Star Wanda Water of Notre Dame Quite a few calming and refreshing scents in there as Europe can be unpleasantly humid in August. Have a great time.

I was about to suggest Libra or Venus. ETA: Good Luck, I hope the exam goes well.

When first applied I can smell patchouli and then myrrh. My nose thinks it can smell musk mixed in with the cloves. When dry this smells pretty much the same as it did when wet except my skin-chemistry means it has developed a faint curry tinge. I never did detect the ylang ylang. Not compatible with me unfortunately.