GypsyRoseRed

For some reason, the notes in Hellfire just never appealed to me which is bizarre because three years after passing it by, I tested my frimp of it from the Lab and just fell in love with it. Usually, any hint of tobacco smells like cigarette smoke on me, but this is delicious, like exotic incense or a hint of expensive pipe tobacco. It's also slightly creamy and resinous, and though it wears close to the skin, I can see myself using a lot of this. Sex-ay!

vultureguy - Basically, the Chaos Theory blends are all labelled only with a number and there is only one bottle of each scent. That is, no two bottles are alike. The possibilities are endless, and since every bottle is unique which I think is cool. On the downside, though, if you get something that's truly wonderful, you know you'll never get more of it. So every time I get something, I hope I don't love it enough to crave more, and if it doesn't work for me, I'm always able to swap it.

No, it's not every year. I don't *think* we had Chaos Theories last year. It happens whenever it happens, and in the spirit of the whole thing, sometimes people buy one bottle, sometimes many. It's so random. I personally love that about Chaos Theory and tend to buy several bottles and decants. The idea of having something totally unique is really cool. With the price of everything going up (gas, and therefore everything from the Lab's raw materials to packaging stuff I'm sure), we can't be sure how much the next round of CT's will be, but I'd venture a guess at around $18. Hope that helps!

I'm not a lover of mint in fragrance, but somehow, this Elixir gets away with it. The rose geranium is *so* pretty, and overall, this is a very soothing, soft and cooling blend that managed to take the heat out of my irritation and stress the two times that I've tried it. I usually don't like the scent of therapeutic blends as a perfume, but this and TKO break that rule.

I initially reviewed the Ressurected version of this scent a few pages back, but I recently got my hands on some of the original 2004 formulation and I have to say there's a definite difference. I can't compare them directly since I ended up swapping my 2006 bottle, but my new-old bottle is so much better. The lotus (always slightly reminiscent of pink bubblegum) softens and sweetens the pear, which on the dry-down, makes for a kinda honeyed fruit that still manages to be light and somehow sophisticated. Yes, a fruit fragrance that smells sophisticated . It's still not my usual kind of fragrance, but original Glitter still rocks.

Aaah. Gorgeous. This has such a pretty softness to it! Honey usually kills a scent for me, but thankfully the honey musk here does nothing but hint at sweetness, blending with the vanilla bean and balancing out the blackberry leaf (which by the way is NOT the usual BPAL blackberry on me, the note that always turns into OMFG jelly explosion) and spices. It's not strictly foody, but there's a pleasing prettiness that just doesn't fall into any other category. THIS is foody in a wearable way, for someone who doesn't just want to smell like something on a bakery or diner menu. *This* is the kind of foody that makes other people think you smell good enough to eat. *nod*

Fruitcake is a work of genius. Seriously. Overly foody scents (as in, foods that smell like food items) really aren't my thing, but this is so evocative of my childhood memories of Christmas, how could I *not* love it? My mother has always baked her own fruitcakes for Christmas from an old family recipe, and as soon as I was old enough to hold a wooden spoon she'd let me help mix the giant bowl of ingredients. As soon as I sniffed the vial of the Lab's Fruitcake, I could smell the contents of that bowl again - the spices, butter, cherries, and fruit. It is perfect.

I agree with the previous reviewer, but my skin amped the vanilla musk and the florals equally until the dried scent was very reminiscent of Pink Moon 2007 plus a hefty shot of Tiger Lily. For about thirty minutes, this is really soft, smooth, warm and pretty but further into the drydown, a soapy note appears. Still, it's worth it for that awesome thirty minutes!

Huh. I've only tested one of my bottles, but on my wrist, Black Lace is mostly tobacco - read cigarette smoke - with a touch of musk. For about thirty minutes, it was pretty weird-smelling until it softened up which I think was the vanilla and cotton coming through and actually ended up smelling quite vanilla-booze-incensey. Very nice!

This is leather blend is interesting partly because it comes across as white leather, whereas Perversion, Quincy Morris and Dead Man's Hand were much darker. That's probably the lavender/lime at work, but hoo boy, it's hard for anything to get past the leather here. I keep sniffing my wrist and I can't decide whether I smell like a new car or the inside of a dominatrix's closet.. Either way, this fragrance has it's place, though I doubt it'd make it into my every day rotation, so it's off to the swap/sale pile it goes..

I double-checked with the Lab to see if it was okay for me to do will call pickup the way I usually do it (with me placing one large order and organizing it all myself) and was told that's fine.

Exactly, andrabell. Also, I'm pretty sure that third parties picking up orders violates Paypal's ToS which dictate the exchange of goods or services for payment. Hypothetically, if something went missing in the mail on a third party pickup and the Lab had to be involved that's not only a huge PITA for them, but Paypal would try to obtain a refund from the Lab which is just wrong. This is just the right thing to do from the Lab's standpoint because it's protecting themselves and their customers.

I *think* you guys are interpreting it correctly. When you think about it, paying for something and having a third party collect/ship it has the potential for badness which is why I've always been against doing will call pickup that way. Also, say someone's picking up for a bunch of people and those people all send the incorrect total or pay for things that aren't available.. It means A LOT of extra work for the Lab that's unneccessary.

Unscented, alcohol free wipes have always worked well for me.

It'd probably be nicer if you wore something else. The Swan Maiden sounds perfect for a bride, though. If I'd had BPAL on my wedding day, I would have worn Snake Charmer for sure. I ended up being bridesmaid at a friend's wedding wearing that and got tons of comments!

I was confused as well when Shelldoo posted that. I thought that I could call Le Pink and order it by phone until I saw your post saying otherwise. If that's the case, I'll have to either order from NPE or have someone pick up some bottles at will call and send them to me. Or, I could just bribe my ex-husband to go to Silverlake and pick them up for me. I'm just wondering whether they'll be available from NPE via mail order, because if so, that's probably how most people are going to get their hands on the product. Le Pink is a lovely little shop, but it'd be infintely more convenient for me to save the $5 bus fare and pay that for shipping. Edited to make sure I'm not giving the impression I'm trying to arrange a swap outside of the swaps forum.

Do we know for sure that it won't be mail order? I'm confused, because I was under the impression that Nail Polish, Etc will be taking payments for bottles and shipping them out. I was surprised, because I thought it said that the exclusives won't ever be available online which I took (probably wrongly) to mean no mail order. But if Nail Polish, Etc is selling and mailing 'em out then that kinda does put Le Pink at a disadvantage because I spoke to the owner and she said they're just not able to do mail order at all. It was great to be able to go to her store and see the other products she stocks, but since I don't drive, it meant I had to take the bus over there and back. So instead of making the trip to Silverlake to get the scents from her, some people on the west coast may just order from NPE (me included). So I wonder what the policy is and whether NPE will be selling by phone/Paypal and shipping out?

Fans of lemon verbena and cool scents will probably like this one, but it's not my bag at all. Predictably, my chemistry amped the dreaded dusty rose note to the nth degree, and I ended up having to shower it off.

I was hoping for more lily of the valley, iris or jasmine out of La Vague, but instead the fruit steals the show! The note I think is strongest here is the white grape followed by peach. It's very pretty, and fruit lovers will covet this but it's just a bit too sweet for me.

This is a tough one to describe. Haloes is light sugared vanilla with sandalwood, ginger and hints of fruitiness without being particularly sweet - by that I mean that it's not foody. Overall, it's very smooth and warm and may make my top five of vanilla based scents!

Hmm. Vetiver does not equal bad. For some reason, I'd always had a negative association with vetiver and avoided scents that I knew contained it, but I'm so glad I took a chance on Lucifer. The oil itself is a deep reddish brown color and as soon as I applied it, I would smell the amber and vetiver, grounded by the sweetness of honeyed figs and dark woods. This wears close to the skin, but it is sexy - when it dries down, you're left with mostly amber and hints of something deeper and darker.. If I were to be going on a date anytime soon, I'd reach for Lucifer for sure.

I know that scents are largely irrelevant with the Twilight Alchemy Lab oils, but to me, Lionheart smells like strong earl grey tea with a drop of milk. Since I'm originally from England, that's a really positive association for me. I've had a lot of success with this oil giving me courage and comfort and I sent an imp to a friend of mine with social anxiety disorder. He says the oil has really helped him to overcome the creeping dread he gets the day before any social event. This is definitely a winner!

Wait, I've never reviewed this? I had a FANTASTIC experience with this oil, so I've been remiss in not reviewing it. To cut a very long story short, someone who I used to know well was spreading lies about my husband and I. Turns out she'd been bitter and broadcasting it for four years and had just gotten progressively nastier. Mutual friends told us when they thought things were getting out of hand and I decided it was time to just lay it all to rest. This girl was a *complete* headcase and I didn't want any further personal contact with her, so I decided a ritual with STFU and White Light would be more productive than confronting her. I used a photograph and a candle in my ritual, using the oils to dress the candle and some WL on myself. I drew lines over her mouth on the photograph using the STFU on a glass rod and basically told her to... well, you know. Then I burned the photograph using the candle and completed the ritual. Almost immediately afterward, I felt like a burden had been lifted off my shoulders (the White Light really did the trick) but I wasn't sure whether it had worked. Two years on, and that girl hasn't bothered us or our friends since. I'd say that's a positive result!

This is beautiful, but I didn't need two bottles of it. I should have known better because aquatics hardly ever work out for me, but because it was *Pirate* Moon, I just had to get a backup. Now they're both taunting me with the fresh, natural beachiness that turns to potpourri on my skin, thanks to my crappy body chemistry.

I hate aquatics. Hate 'em, and they usually hate me right back. The Phoenix would be the exception to this rule for me, and I'm not sure what to make of it because ordinarily ozone/sea scents just aren't my bag - that's what I get for being such a hardcore earth sign. When it's first applied, it does have a very strong salty, freshy breezy scent but on the drydown it warms up and mellows out.. It's evocative of a sunny day laying out on the wooden deck of a ship, with the smell of the sea in your nose and the wind in the sails above your head. I'd *love* this on my husband, if only I could trick him into trying it.. Got to find a way!