saralaughs

This is really good. I'm happy it worked on me. It's been a while since I've purchased a lunacy and liked it enough to keep it. Anyway, it goes on and is very floral. But it is also windy. For real. It's weird. I think it's the musks, oakmoss, and that frosty note that is sometimes used in the Yules. Combined they make this really airy feel that is joined by a beavy of floral accents. As said above, I can't really pick out an flower individually and it isn't a smack you in your face floral either. It's actually quite unisex. And OMG. The amber in this is just YUM. It reminds me of Ded Moroz a bit, in the feel of it. That amber that doesn't go to powder but is warmy and snuggly yet still a bit cold? Yes. Lovely. Glad I took a chance and got a bottle.

This is gorgeous. I think this one even surpassed my expectations. :love!: When first applied, the balsam is very green smelling, I will say that. It quickly deepens into a rich resinous scent that is joined by vanilla. But not foody vanilla. No, not at all. It's a vanilla that gives something age and quickly lends that ancient feel. It's kinda creamy but not. More smooth than creamy is the feel I get. It's very deep, brown, and slightly dusty but smooth. The leather is there as well but not as a star runner. It's not in your face, it is more a "part" of the scent. Like a leather book cover is part of the book, as a whole. That's kind how this scent is. Very, very well blended and comforting to me. I think it would smell awesome on a man but it is very woman friendly as well. Not really a sexy scent, per se but very comforting and casual.

I'm the one that brought charity into it. I apologize for that. But I did it to make a point. A point about The Lab's goodwill and integrity and why I choose to support it instead of some commerical perfumer with fancy-pants on (besides the awesomesauce that is the actual product I buy). While jayne could go look on her favorite perfumers website to see which charitable causes they have donated to, I don't have to do that and didn't. Puddin let us know exactly how much was raised for Haiti last month. I didn't need to search out the info, it was shared with us, down to the last penny. How much more of a sense of community can you get?

That's awesome. There is a difference though. If you don't get it, that's ok. I do and that's all that really matters. I hope you saw my list of recs on the last page? I'm a huge amber lover as well so hopefully you find one that works on you.

And you will only uproot it by giving the product a fair chance and allowing yourself time to experience it. I think you've hit the crux of what makes folks around the forum so defensive (and make them suspect trolling) -- I don't think most of us give a rats ass about whether anyone likes the product. It's no concern of mine what you do and don't like. But BPAL really is a community. Beth and the other lab staff are active forum members. They hang out with customers every month at will-call. We are well acquainted enough with the people who make the product to know their motivation and their passion for what they do. And they're incredibly warm and giving people to boot, so we feel protective. Whether you like the product is entirely up to your own tastes. Whether you think the business owners are cheating you is something else. If you do spend some time around here, I think you'll learn better. THIS........and we stand by a company that operates with integrity. Exactly. I can tell you that my favorite perfume house has donated at least $1,100 towards relief efforts for Haiti this month. How about any of the big houses? Any of the "fancier" houses? How about them? Can you tell me that off the top of your head? It's called community. And caring. Beth & Co. do it all. ETA: I'm done now. I'll behave.

Ok, ok. Fair enough. I suppose we can both stand a bit of honest from the other side, however misinformed we think each other are. Thanks for keeping it civil. Notes that I like? Hmm. Amber, incense, smoke. Grass and woods (sandlewood, cedar, cyprus). Vetiver. Cardamom. Vanilla. Lavender. Citrus, but not too heavy. Even though this should go into the reccomendations sub forum, but since I asked, I'll tell ya... TKO for your lavender and vanilla love. Lyonesse for amber/vanilla Sol Invictus 09 (it is limited edition and is coming down Feb 2 and no...you can't get samples of it) for amber/citrus/resin Liz (out of the Hellboy collection) for your vanilla and smoke cravings. It also has leather. It's beautiful and one of my favs. Inez out of the Carnavale Diabolique collection for amber as well MME Moriarity Misfortune Teller (which is a representation of Beth herself) out of the CD as well for musky/plummy/resinous goodness. Amsterdam for a sweet wet grass with a bit of "not-in-your-face" floral. I'm not big on sandlewood (it hates me), vetiver, or cardamom (I hate it).

I'm sorry but that sentiment makes me really angry. Here. Have a grilled cheese. It's ok. I was a bit pissed when you posted what you did. I just didn't go to your "home base" and post my thoughts there. No, I was polite enough to do it here. Seriously though, I didn't mean to offend but I was expressing myself in a true fashion and how I feel just as you did in your first post. No hard feelings. Maybe you should tell us a bit about your favorite notes and we could possibly point you in the right direction as far as blends to try. The ladies here are extremely helpful and very lovely when it comes to enabling. May you enjoy whatever floats your boat and refrain from stepping on my grilled cheese while doing it. I mean that in the friendliest way possible.

Bpal isn't for everyone and to some...it may be like grilled cheese compared to filet mignon, say. For me though? I've found more perfume oils that Beth has made that work on me and that smell better on me than any supposed fancy house, commerical perfumes. They are the grilled cheese of the perfume world to me. I spit on them. Phoowee. Besides, I can not stand how they are mass marketed with little to no real inspiration. You want unique? You want inspiration? Go through *just* the general catalog for Bpal. I dare you not to be inspired by at least one blend. Double dog dare. Anyway, I hope you like your samples. Everyone should know the magic that is Bpal at least once in their lives.

Again, thank you to sunshinedaisybliss for being a wicked enabler! This goes on very buttery and slightly boozy. Like there is a lot of scotch in this butterscotch or something. After a while I do pick up a slight chocolate smell but no nuts or anything. It's very bakery/foody-ish and rich. Nice but not me.

I got to try a bit of this thanks to the lovely sunshinedaisybliss. It's a rich chocolate that isn't dark but isn't light. It's somewhere in between. It goes on very creamy and stays that way. No weird notes that I usually get with cream, which is surprising (and bittersweet, considering). After a bit into the drydown, there is a light hint of spice, perhaps nutmeg? and I swear I get musk. This almost reminded me of the Yule BTBT and how it smells after drydown on me. For a minute, I even got the tobacco. Then it went away. I'm left with a very creamy chocolate that is beautiful and I like but don't NEED. Thank the might Bpal gods for that one.

This is very pretty. I wish I loved rose because I would snap up a whole vat of this scent. First applied, I get the honey and sweet orange but mostly the honey. The orange is very subdued and just makes it feel fresh, not citrusy. The apricot comes out quickly as well, adding a bit a sweetness to the honey. About 10 minutes later, I'm getting the rose. It's center stage but is very calm and smooth. A bit into the drydown (like a couple hours) I start to get some amber and a *bit* of patchouli...I wish there were more of it. Never thought I'd say it but I want more patch-u-stinky. Like I said, I wish I was a rose lover...

Verbena. Yeah, I get lemon in this. When first applied, it's WHOA lemon. After a bit, it calms down to just regular lemon. The amber is getting in here and warming things up a bit. Those that have issues with amber going powdery on them will probably encounter that here. Slightly powdery yet resinous. About 15-20 minutes later, I'm starting to get helitrope and frank, which means a bit of sweet powder (heli) mixed in with the amber and lemon. The lemon is still front and center in this. NOT what I wanted. I may keep the bottle to see how it ages and because the label art is fantastic.

Liz.

Ha!! I'm so glad I'm not the only one that got bubblegum. Yes, I get bubblegum but it's not just any bubblegum and it doesn't stay that way for long. I'm getting some lovely fruity stuff from this and it does go bubblegum-ish for a bit during drydown but then I get something that drags it deeper. It's not a yucky something but a beautiful bit of dark that makes this bubblegum somehow sophisticated. It's light but very bright in a weird way. I have no idea if I like this or not.

This seriously is GORGEOUS after drydown. It's not bad on its way to absofuckinglute prefection but at times it can be really dry, sharp, and really powdery. First applied, I get the cacao, straight up. Not sweetened but fresh and just ground cacao beans. This is soon joined by the musk which starts to sweeten it up *just* a bit without it becoming foody at all. It is then that it gets a bit sharp. The musk actually starts screaming at me! It settles fast and gets powdery. But even then (when it is ALL powder, all the time) it's a good powder. I never thought I'd say that. I hate the powdery-like smell and avoid it in all my Bpal. Anyway, after about an hour, the powder goes away. At some point, I'm sure the tobacco snuck in and calmed everyone down. I'm left with this magical cacao that is just sweet enough, tied down with this awesomesauce of BROWN. Yes, it smells brown and yummy, sexy yet comforting. Wearing it you could be the vixen with the leather and whips that likes to cuddle after. Finally, this is what I wanted Boomslang to be. Bottle. At least.

First applied, I get this wet wood smell. It's frosty but not snow. It's also wood. Definitely wet. After a bit, I get the leaves and the camellia petals. It's lovely here. Gorgeous wood mixing with frost, leaves and a bit of a floral to sweeten it up *just* a bit. Lovely. Then the musks come in. Those change everything. Everything starts to go a bit moldy, almost, on me. Instead of anchoring the scent, the musks almost blow it apart. It's jumbled. Too jumbled for me. I love the one part but that is very short lasting. Interesting, different, but not for me.

This is really nice. The chocolate is realistic and rich. I get a lovely spice that isn't nutmeg (not my favorite) and it really warms the chocolate. The coffee is there but isn't overpowering. I don't get any brown sugar, which is good. It's so well blended that it really does smell like one scent. It's lovely. Not something I'd wear but I'm still glad I got to try it.

I had hopes for this one. On, it immediately goes to a nutmegy plastic prune. Then it got boozy. Lemony boozy. I ended up with a plastic mug of nutmeg lemon ale. I wanted it to work but my skin had different ideas. Obviously it wanted some booze, of the plastic variety.

This is pretty gorgeous on me. With Snow White I get this powdery almond thing. Not pleasant. I don't want powder on my almond, k? Thanks. Pink Snowballs solves that problem. I just get this creamy almond with a light, pink, soft, fresh rose. It doesn't morph and lasts awhile. Very pretty but simple blend. I'll probably get a bottle before Yules go away.

First applied, I get mint. Not a hugely minty mint but mint nonetheless. After a bit, that is joined by wood. Yes, wood like woody the woodpecker. Only not birdlike. But wood. Those two mingle for awhile and then the mum pokes out. Of the snow. Like just poking. As in I can barely smell it. I get amber as well but only for a bit. Then everything disappears, like it was never there. As in presto-chango-re-arrang...GONE! Ah well. There are others...

This is beautiful. It reminds me of a really high end perfume that doesn't smell commercial at all (Stella by Tocca, if you're curious). First on, you get that sharp lightness from the citrus, specifically the yuzu. It's a bit cold feeling at first, due to the overwhelming citrus. That quickly fades and it starts to mellow out. I start getting this round, pink feeling. It's creamy and yummy. The citrus is still there to add a bit of lightness but the tonka, Tuberose, and Peony have come to play. I smell a bit of the frank but it's not strong and overwhelming (which frank tends to do on me). It just adds a bit of *darkness* into all this light these notes are making together. In the end, it all just melds together to make this wonderfully light (it's throw is decent so that's not what I'm talking about) roundness made up of citrus and florals. They just go together so well that the meld into one smell. LOVE.

Please know that I have an aged bottle (about 1.5 years) In bottle: Shampoo. Specifically Pert Shampoo. On: Right after application the green scent of grass gets sharper and more prominent for awhile. Water, flowing water to be specific (I know...Beth is a damn genius), joins it shortly afterward. After a bit, they join together and the sharp freshness of the green grass goes away, leaving a pretty fresh aquatic smell behind. The peony (LOVE) springs (ha! like that?) forth and intertwines with the other scents to smell just like a fresh bloom, a bloom that just woke up after winter while the melt is still on the ground. It's a beautiful evenly balanced scent.

Not being a huge fan of Dragon's Blood in the first place puts a damper on my even liking this scent. I get a lot of the Blood and it amps to high hell on me, giving it this medicinal cherry smell. Ugh. SCRUBBED off.

Ok, I'm surprised but I'm getting more than just caramel. And what I'm getting is pretty damn good. I dunno. I'm gonna have to retest a bit later to give a better review. I will come back and edit. Ok, here goes...I may have to come back and edit more later. In bottle: caramel. On: Immediately I'm blasted by caramel and something...sharp. Possibly petigrain. It doesn't take long to smooth out though. The caramel slowly recedes as well but leaves this deep sweet smelling sugar that I wish caramel was like on me all the time. The petigrain continues to shove its head up though. Definitely a bit of a sharp citrus. It goes away again. Morpher. Further in the drydown I start getting beautiful champaca. Ylang Ylang is in there somewhere as I have a tickle in the back of my throat...it's not too prominent though. This is light on the vanilla-infused red musk and heavy on the caramel/honey still. Yet there is this lovely floral that peaks through all this and melds with that warm sugary base. It's beautiful. It's also backed by this barest hint of patchouli. I like it, but still too much caramel for me. Lovers of Red Latern on the other hand will rejoice.

2009 Version: First applied this is a hugely citrus scent. I get sweet citron and tangerine right off the bat. This is shortly joined by bitter orange. They are sugary sweet and tart but they are also a bit powdery on me too. After a few minutes (ok, maybe ten), the citrus backs down to something that I can actually handle instead of blowing my nostrils off. The powdery scent resolves inself as well...it becomes this gorgeous floral that is creamy, sweet, and a bit heady/tropical in nature. Frank joins the party and lends a very smooth softness that grounds all the other notes. It isn't very prominent but is like the sky that this sun is rising into. It just gets better from there. A half an hour or so into the drydown, the amber and saffron come into play. They aren't dominate players either but I think they warm everything up. It creates this beautiful ray of light that you can actually sniff. Pretty cool.