Pepperminx

Most people seem positive to, yet not overjoyed by this scent - I am in absolute love over here! I don't get the marzipan, I don't get cocoa either. Just cupcakes. Maybe a little batter on the side. Sugary, yes, but not overly so. My only complaint is that it doesn't last too long on me. Even if it seems to me that my nose must be missing a slew of notes that other people are getting I'm grateful. I'm adding this to my top 10 of foodie scents.

I haven't been paying much attention to the forums lately, except for checking the odd review or swap page. So, I didn't know there were component issues for the Glowing Vulva bath oil and sent an email wondering if maybe they'd gotten lost (yes, they, as in plural.) I was told to expect a click & ship soon, and I think I got them 24 hours later, or less. And they arrived yesterday! Both orders at once! And I am in scent heaven. But when the packages together contain the following; Glowing Vulva bath oil Red Lantern atmo spray Spanked Celeste Kitty Ninon how on earth do you test it all? You probably don't. Except if you're me. And so there I was with GV, Celeste and Ninon on one arm, Kitty and Spanked on the other. Celeste and Ninon smelled so alike, I decided to do an arm by arm comparison today. And something has been nagging at me regarding Celeste - it's as if I had smelled it before. First off it reminds me a lot of Arcana, just in general, but today it finally clicked. It smells like 'A Perilous Parlor' if someone had taken out the pear. At first, when Ninon goes on next to Celeste I prefer Celeste. But an hour or so in I actually prefer Ninon. It has more dimensions and honestly Celeste starts to get a little too sweet. That isn't to say it's too sweet for a foodie, just that maybe I'm not as foodie as I thought... Anyway, all this to say that Celeste reminded me of a scent and it was bugging me out that I couldn't figure out which one - until I did, of course, and then I just had to share.

So, my husband went in for surgery, removing a polyp in his sinuses, and I spent all my nervous energy before and after the surgery by getting a little organized. (He is fine, if a little fragile and grumpy.) I now have a sales post, linked in my signature. Am also selling over at LJ in sinandsalvation plus bpalmarketplace under the handle invading_space, in a hard effort to get these bottles moving (so I can make space for MOAR bottles, natch!) I have prepared myself this time and ordered 50 little padded envelopes, which should tide me over pretty well. I hate sending a lone bottle in an envelope that could hold 6, such a waste, and the small ones are hard to find here. Yay for internet shopping! The math came out at 0.68€ a piece, so about $1 in space doolars. Not bad! So, all this to say that I finally did manage to get my bottles up and organized. Now I'm eyeballing my hyooge collection of imps and wondering how to get rid of them in a manner that doesn't require me to list each and every single one of them, because UH! That is never going to happen. As far as I'm concerned, all is well in BPAL land!

If that is not a reason to celebrate, I don't know what is (I live in Finland, it's been a long, cold winter, and just the prospect of an early spring? THRILLING!) So, celebrate is what I want to do, and of course I want to do it with BPAL. But I'm seriously lacking in paypalz, so a list of bottles (many, many bottles) will be compiled shortly and prepared for the sell/swap section. I've already stocked up on envelopes, so I'm good to go. Spring Cleaning, here we go!

Oh godses, I'm caving. YET ANOTHER BLOG! WHY NOT? Firstly, I need somewhere where I can squee at updates, plan orders and commence to squee over them until they arrive, then squee some more. Oddly I don't feel comfortable squeeing the gospel of BPAL all over facebook or my other blog. (That isn't to say I never mention it there. Just that I hold back.) Secondly, I need to organize my shizz up. This past year has been.. difficult. To say the least. My husband (and in BPAL terms, MY RIDE) was sick on and off during 2010, and while my son was born in 2009 it wasn't until last year that he started touching all my stuff and I had to start hiding my BPAL (my 4 year old outgrew that phase quickly, bless her!) And my habit hobby (buying, swapping, selling, testing) suffered for it. As a result I don't have a real good grasp on what I have*, what I want to keep and what I need to get rid of. * Having to tell someone that the bottle you sold them has less in it than you presented it as - or worse, doesn't exist at all - is just as horrifying as it sounds. People were understanding, thank godses, but I can't recommend doing this on a regular basis. Having this space will, I think, make life a lot easier when I have the need/time to focus on BPAL. I will add bottles to My Stash, write reviews and hopefully sell some old bottles so that I may have room (and Paypal) for new ones. And thirdly, it's just nice to be part of a community whose one common denominator is BPAL.

Awful boozy mess in the bottle and wet on the skin (where does that come from?), but after about 5 minutes that has evaporated and what is left is a gorgeous soft leather. It smells to me like the coffee is creamy, or it's the hazelnut (I'm thinking the creamyness of Nutella.) Am very pleased, I can't always do leather. I love it, but only a few don't give me a headache and this is one of those few. It feels soft, snuggly and warm. Like a cashmere sweater.

This was added to my last Yule order and just arrived today. I almost has teh sad that I only ordered the one bottle, but it does remind me of Arcana's Frilly Underpinnings, which I have a bottle of, and there are some notes in there that remind me of last summer's moths and butterflies, which I also have a couple of, so I will probably not need more bottles. It's a soft amber and vanilla floral. Not my usual thing, but it's real gentle on my nose and hasn't turned to soap. I like it a lot!

Eeek, can't believe I haven't reviewed this yet. I first got a bottle when the series was live, but years and swaps later I found myself with just a tiny drop or two left. Luckily I found one on eBay.. This is one of my favorites of that series. Smoky ashtray, leather and musk, plus like others I also smell coconut even though it's not listed. Unfortunately I get a headache if I sniff too much for too long, but on my husband it is divine.

I think I recall someone liking this to Playing With a Loaded Gun, of the BPTP inquisition 2009, and I say I opened both bottles and took a side-by-side whiff. It's the exact same zingy/fizzy/fresh ginger note in both. Mother Ginger has some gooey undertones to it that PWALG is missing, but that said this is the first time I've found a true replacement for one of my very beloved scents. I LOVE PWALG, but I am just as happy, maybe even just a little happier, to be wearing Mother Ginger. Am actually quite shocked that it's getting its share of less than stellar reviews as I find this a really likable ginger and not as cloying as Gingerbread Poppet (although I love that one too.) I guess it means MOAR for me.

I was so lucky there was someone to pick up for a whole slew of people on LJ, so thanks! I'm at the tail end of a rough cold, so my sense of smell is not the greatest, but my first impression screams Countess Willie at me. And a little Smut. Wet it's pretty sharp red musk, a little sweetness rounds it out. After 20 minutes or so it goes through a salty phase. I could almost swear I smell bacon, but take that for what it's worth - not a whole lot, not with this cold. I can't wait till my nose clears up and I can try this proper.

I came here just to say the same! Is there a way to buy Paypal gift cards? I'm pretty sure the lab accepts paypal from anywhere, even that they prefer paypal over credit card payments because it costs them less, or something.

Nommy! This years Halloween hit, I think. It's pumpkin and spice, which is automatic win, soft marshmallow, a dusting of flour and powdered sugar. Medium throw, not that long lasting (but they almost never are for me.) Love it!

Oh My Godses, this smells edible! I get nuts, a hint of spice and dead leaves drizzled with maple syrup. I am so glad I got two.

A creamy, sensual, honeyed red musk. I've always been wary of red musk, maybe even avoided a couple of scents because I thought it would be too sharp. Who knows, maybe it was.. But I knew I had to try this, just so I could swear it off once and for all. Either red musk wasn't the horrible offender I thought it was, or my taste has radically changed. I think it might even be patchouli that is the actual offender in most red musk blends that I've tried. On the skin this is a juicy musk. A bit sharp wet, but it quickly dried down to a sweet and bright musk. I can smell the honey! Lovely. Must have MOAR bottles! Talk about surprise success

Eeek, nutmeg! Or is it cinnamon? I smell nutmeg.. I thought for sure that this years hit would be Pumpkin Latte, but for me this one wins the pumpkin award. That is, only after the spices have died down a little. The pumpkin is lovely and warm and the berries juicy. Doesn't last long. Will have to get a backup or two.

This one smells of conserved strawberries when wet, but then dries down to something that smells an awful lot of Zombie Apocalypse and slightly of I Fell In Love With A Floating Brain. It's this spongy cake that has a bit of saltyness to it with just a hint of red berries. Not bad at all, but not one of this years favorites. I would much rather that it kept it's fruity start all through dry down.

This is so close to Bite Me! & Banketstaaf of last years weenies that I'm probably going to keep this one bottle but not get any more - I already have enough stocked up of Bite Me! If you love sweetness, almonds and pastry in general this might sit very well with you. / / EDIT / / Oh lordses. I've tried this a couple of times now, one unfortunate incident where it smelled like acetone when first applied convinced me this is not for me. It also burns. It's way too boozy for my nose, almost sneeze inducing. The almond is nice, but the cherry, oh dear. And the coconut. Double oh dear. It's rare that something so benign sounding turns on me so fiercely. It's nothing like last years weenies, now I don't understand how I could ever have thought so. I don't think any of these notes are of DOOM! really, except me just not being fond of coconut, but this blend really manages to be DOOM! on my skin.

This was one of my big hopes for the weenies this year. Pumpkin, coffee, milk and vanilla - VANILLA! With PUMPKIN! And COFFEE! What can go wrong, right? Applied it is almost sneeze inducing. I think it's the coffee that is particularly dry, or it's the spices. Buuurrrrnnsss! Won't be using it on skin again. The pumpkin is pulpy to my nose. This is not good. While it dries it goes through a crazy nutmeg phase. It's all I can smell. It's awfully medicinal, but as the oil disappears into my skin the crazy spice calms down. I get the milk and vanilla, finally, the coffee is way in the back and the pumpkin has turned almost nutty. This is improvement, but still not the pumpkin/coffee holy grail that I was hoping for. Maybe if I let it rest for a while.. We'll see, the scents I am first attracted to aren't always the ones I end up loving the most later on, so there is still a lot of potential with this. Am definitely glad I ordered a whole bottle because I don't want to chance this one aging to perfection and not having any.

I won this on eBay without checking the reviews first. Then, a couple of days later I decided to take a peek and was a little discouraged, only a few seemed to really like it. It arrived today and I started out with a light dab, fearing the worst. It's chocolate cupcake batter on me, a splash of booze, some cigarette smoke and a hint of musk. Or maybe it's woods, like everyone else is saying, but to my nose there is something musky in there. The initial sweetness wears off quickly, then the booze. It's a lovely cocoa, smoke and musk (alt. woods) on me after an hour or two. I've definitely found a new favorite. Not too foody and still interesting. Love it!

A very sweet vanilla, soft and golden. The leather is quite mild on me. I thought there was some woods in there, but I guess it's the clay and moss playing tricks on my nose. This scent and I were made for each other! Unfortunately I have to slather this one, or it loses its throw pretty quickly.

#86 Oh Em Gee! This is baked resins with a slightly tart background. Sweet, powdery with a little fresh kick of lime. I think I want to keep this one.

#406 There is this faint whiff of vanilla/baked goods and a tiny bit of sugar. Very weak and unforgettable. Too bad!

One of those surprise hits. Although I am a Lavendar ho, with capital L. It's totally related to TKO, but the leather takes it somewhere else completely. It turns really soft and creamy the longer it stays on. I friggin' love this!

When DD put BL back up I was ecstatic, because I only had half a bottle left of the original. I got about 5 bottles just to hoard, and I love them. Then I started hearing about the apple note and I couldn't help wonder if my 5 hoarded bottles smelled like apple, and I just couldn't smell it myself. It's been driving me nuts. I made a DD order a week or so ago and tagged a BL on, just because, and they arrived today. HOLY HELL BATMAN! Now I've got a BL that has apple in it, for sure. It's not a bad smell, but I much prefer (and am relieved that) my stash is mostly non-apply. There are scents blend with my skin so you can't tell what is me and what is perfume. Then there are those that lay on top, but is not in your face. Black Lace, on me, extends from my body. It's very loud and got good throw. It's sweet, creamy and boozy goodness with a hint of smoke and cologne (plus that one bottle that also has apple.)

#38 OM NOM NOM! This is a vanilla, bakery and sugar fest! This is what I've always wanted out of a vanilla scent. Too bad you can only have one of each - this is such a keeper!