Sidhechaos

Kubla Khan Through sunlit caves of ice, roses unfurl amidst dancing waves of serpentine opium smoke and amber tobacco, golden sandalwood, champaca, tea leaf, sugared lily, ginger, rich hay absolute, leather, dark vanilla, mandarin, peru balsam, and Moroccan jasmine. I was hesitant about trying this particular fragrance as I often amp scents including rose, lavender, jasmine, lily of the valley, and ylang ylang, all tend to amp on me at bullet train level. Florals can be my nemesis. I'm pleasantly surprised however as this started out with a fairly strong floral note but not one of any particular specific floral. It wasn't the old lady rose :ack:that I often get with roses or the throat inching jasmine that often hits me with jasmine. After about 15 minutes of dry down I began to pick up more masculine notes such as the wood tones from the sandalwood mixed with the faint hay fragrance. Shortly after that, a very faint notes of the leather and vanilla start to pop in and out and the whole thing begins to blend to a point where it is difficult to separate the notes. I guess I'm a little odd and that sometimes I prefer scents that are geared more to masculine but my biochemistry tends to amp certain notes and somehow converts the scent to a more androgynous fragrance. This is one of those scents. I am left with a faintly woodsy floral with a mild sweet note to it. It is very pleasant, I wouldn't necessarily associate it with Kubla Khan, but it is still a fragrance I would very much like to keep at hand on a regular basis. It does not seem to have a really strong throw, but as I move about it comes and goes.

Initial application is a lovely blend of the osmanthus, musk, and a faint tinge of the frankincense, just enough to give it a faint incense odor. I got this because of the osmanthus, long ago a very nice Chinese lady who lived in our neighborhood often invited me in to drink tea with her after a shovel her sidewalk. Quite often it was green tea with either osmanthus or jasmine. As this scent dries down on me the lily of the valley develops very faintly but not overwhelmingly. The scent borders between a floral musk and an aquatic on me. This is one of those scents where bpal excels beyond any other perfume company I have encountered. There are many notes that I love dearly but all too often it takes very little of them to become overwhelming or sickening. Perhaps it is just that my skin amps them. Rose, lily of the valley, ylang ylang, jasmine, and a number of other scents require a very delicate touch, the folks at bpal have that touch. Midway through dry down all of the scents are very delicately balanced, I think the combination of the osmanthus and lily of the valley gives it a very faint citrus tang, maybe a tiny bit like litsea cubea (I hope spelled that right) all in all it is a very lovely light floral musk with very good throw and lasting power. I hope this one will stick around on bpal'S sales list for a while. I know it's been out for a couple of years but I have only just now had a chance to try it. I believe it is one I would like to have on hand as a regular.

Copper phoenix Pick this up and a purchase from the forum and am just trying it for the first time. Oh my, I think that I will find myself wishing I had several bottles of this. Starts out with a delicious spicy citrus apricot scent with a sweet subtle floral note. Right off the bat I can literally picked up almost every note listed in this. Not too sure about identifying pink pepper as I've not ever smelled that is a single note before, in fact I don't think I've ever picked up a fragrance with that included in the scent. This is really wonderful I hope it holds true through dry down and will have good staying power. About 4 hours later, the scent has dried down to a soft powdery incense note with a faint floral fruit scent. Basically a very soft powdered version of what it was like wet. I wish it had to longer lasting power but I had not applied much as I didn't know how strong it was. Really will really would love to be able to get another bottle of this, hoping the lab may bring it back at some point in time. Does anyone know if there are regular edition fragrance is similar to this, or a couple of them combine that might produce a similar fragrance?

Chaos theory amber series number 44 I purchased this bottle from a former member wishing I had known when the series had been available. And the huge fan of amber fragrances. Number 44 is a bit of a surprise though, in the bottle the fragrance is almost a pure note of strictly frankincense. It takes several minutes of wear before a faint floral note starts to weave in, something vaguely aquatic perhaps lily. After about an hour the scent of amber start to weave in but the predominant notes remain as frankincense with a mild amber you really have to work at picking up the floral note. I like this, it's not going into the trade pile but I definitely wish it had been more complex as my previous forays into chaos theory fragrances have been.

Three ambers representing common gold, astral gold, and elementary gold, with verbena, angelica, and heliotrope that has been purified by frankincense and Gum Arabic. I received gold phoenix and a purchase from someone on the forum so it is a fairly well aged scent. On initially opening the bottle the verbena comes through very strongly. Indeed it almost seems like a single note perfume I can smell nothing but the verbena. On application the verbena is very strong. Within a few minutes a very faint floral note begins to slip through. Oddly there is a faint metallic note, which I would almost think was my subconscious putting it there considering the name of the scent but no there really is a very faint metallic fragrance for a brief time. The verbena and floral hover strongly for quite awhile close to 1/2 hour, and then a powdery amber begins to slip through. Gradually the amber strengthens and evens up with the verbena as the floral gradually fades back. This fragrance did not have really long staying power but then again I applied very lightly as amber tends to linger on me one of the many reasons why I love it so. Fortunately, I am also very fond of verbena I quite like this fragrance it reminds me of meditating with incense in a garden I used to have. I will be really sorry when this runs out I'm glad that I got it in late spring as this is the perfect time of year to where it.

I've often looked at the scent and hoped I would get a free inp of it to try because it has three of my favorite notes in it. However, all three notes can be quite strong and I knew the scent would have to be very delicately balanced for it to work. While cleaning out from behind my desk the other day found a handful of imps that had escaped to the floor back corner and amongst them was and inp of Lorelei. I quickly tried some on and was thrilled to find that as usual Beth and the folks at bpal had done a stellar job. It neither has the overly bitterness that neroli can develop, nor the musty scent that sandalwood can be known for and the ylang ylang is not gaggingly over floral. Each note is represented at a perfect pitch with not too much nor too little and is blended perfectly. I can very much see this becoming almost a signature spring scent for me.

I'll be quite honest I don't think I've ever owned anything made of linen in my life, but this scent so clearly reminds me of helping my mother and laundry outdoors in the summer. Because of my allergies we always had to use fragrance free dye free detergents so our laundry always had a crisp slightly floral scent because of my mother's extensive flower garden. This is that scent exactly and is absolutely perfect for summer. For that matter this would be perfect for those days when you have a cold or just feel yucky and take a hot shower put a little of this on and climb into bed. I'd definitely would like to add this to my list of would always like to have a bottle on hand.

I suspect my eyes are missing a button or something but I can't seem to get wishlist to work, The list below is mostly scents I've gotten to try thanks to friends and desperate scrimping (there are a few untried but desperately wanteds in there too)You will notice that many of the scents that I have tried and like are discontinued. I've become almost afraid to order bpal because it seems as soon as I fall in love with a scent it winds up discontinued. I placed a small order just a couple weeks ago and ordered Baghdad. When I placed the order it showed as available. A couple days later I'd get an e-mail saying it is discontinued I need to order a substitute. I think I'm cursed. I don't order imps and have to rely on the free imps to try new fragrances or on imps that friends send to me. I list the discontinued fragrances in hopes that someone may have a bottle or imp or something that they would like to hand off or that the lab will resurrect the fragrance. My next list will be of scents that I've not had the opportunity to try but would like to. Of course I would dearly love a chance at limited editions and single notes that are released for limited times but my finances are rarely such that money and a desirable scent are available at the same time. I just don't have funds to gamble on a scent that might make me sick, so as incredible as they are and how much I want to try them, I refrain. now if I win the lottery...... what I've tried, liked, and want more of. Abhisarika Against Idleness and Mischief Antony Athens Ave Maria Gratia Plena Azathoth Aziraphale Baghdad (disc) Bayou Belle Epoque Bilquis Black Cat Black Dahlia (disc) Bliss Blood Countess (disc) Bordello Brides of Dracula Brisingamen Cairo Centzon Totochtin Chimera Copper Phoenix Cordelia Coyote:heart: Crowley Defututa Dirty Dorian Dragon's Bone Dragon's Claw Dragon's Eye Dragon's Tears Dyan Moon Embalming Fluid Eros Fairy Market (disc) Fallen Follow Me Boy Gold Phoenix Haunted Harlot Hecate Hetairae horreur sympathetique Hunger Hymn imperious tiger lily Intrigue Jack Jezebel Juliet Kaiden Kali Katharina Kitsune-Tsuki Kubla Khan Kytherian La Petite Mort Langour:heart: Leanan Sidhe Les Bijoux Lune Noir:heart:(smells so much like shadow witch orchid!) Mag Mell Mantis Marquise de Merteuil Mara Hari mead moon Morgause Moscow Mouse's Long and Sad Tale v5 Namaste Night's Pavilion Nuit (disc) O Oberon Ode on Melancholy Oleander Honey Ophelia (disc) Ouija Ozymandias Pannychis (disc) Peitho Peony Moon Phantom Queen (disc) Philommeides phoenix at dawn Prague Prospero (disc) Queen Gertrude Queen Mab (disc) Rapture Regan (disc) Sea of Glass Seraglio Shadow Witch Orchid (disc) Shadwell Shoggoth Silenti Sin Siren Sleepy Moon Snake Oil Spectre (disc) Stimulating Sassafras Strengthener Succubus (disc) Sudha Segara Tamora Terpsichore (disc) The Apothecary The Caterpillar The Ghost The Lady of Shalott The :Lion The Night-Raven The Raven The Unicorn (disc) The Witch Queen The Vine Tanuki Tisiphone (disc) Titania Titus Andronicus Tristran Urania (disc) Utrennyaya (disc) Vampire Tears Velvet Versailles Victoria Viola Voodoo Yuki-Onna (disc)

some scents require heavier application so I put my finger over the top and then dab inner wrist, elbow, back of neck, behind each ear, temples, cleavage,(couple dabs there, there's a lot of cleavage) just above belly button and behinds knees. I have insanely dry skin however which tends to soak up scent like crazy. I have to rub myself down with nuetregena rainbath and a light exfoliating cloth (salux cloth) every night or I will look like I've got baking soda or something all over me midway the next day. Band aids and medical tape come off in no time because the skin just sheds right off. Pain in the fanny. I've also put a dab on my fingertips and rubbed in my hair then brushed with boar bristle brush. If you have fair hair do NOT do this with dragon blood scents

I have a well aged imp of that sneaked of the and onto the floor behind my computer, so I don't know what a fresh imp of this would be like, but this on initial application was ameretto all the way, the gradually developed to something that is more of a medium almond scent (not sweet but not bitter) with a slightly smoky spice to it. There is also oddly a faint floral afterbite to a good sniff of it, sometimes myrrh does that with me. I could see grabbing a bottle of this from time to time.

oh I wish more people were aware and as polite as you are regarding fragrance. I worked in a very tiny office (it was meant to hold one person, it held FOUR!) and one woman wore Elizabeth ARdens Red Door when she got it for Christmas. it's strong to begin with, and she BATHED in it every day, reapplied it three and four times a day. It made me horribly ill. I very politely told her it was great her husband had gotten her such a nice perfume for the holiday, but asked that she please just put it on in the morning, because it was really bothering my allergies (as in, my eyes were swelling shut, I was sneezing explosively and having to run for the bathroom in the afternoons because by that point the post nasal drip was making me throw up.) She got snotty and started to wear even MORE of it. I tried speaking to the office manager about the problem, she said she wouldn't do anything about it....I finally decided to stop running to the bathroom to throw up and started doing it in the office, once on HER desk. THAT finally got the point across but I wound up losing my job over it. (as if I really wanted to continue working with those kind of people anyway. I enjoyed a summer of collecting unemployment, so there.) Anyway, main point of that all is, thank you thank you thank you for being considerate regarding your perfume!!!