portalkat

I haven't tried every single Wanderlust scent, but my absolute favorite BPAL scent is Manila. I also love Eden, Gomorrah, Hanging Gardens and Morocco. Oh my, I just think about these scents and I swoon Well, I actually was thinking of a more graceful motion - lol

This reminds me so much of Antique Lace. It's probably only the vanilla that is similar and it has been a few weeks since I tried the other, but they are very similar on me. I mostly smell the vanilla with a hint of spicy carnation and the musk adds more creaminess. It is not very spicy on me because cassia tends to just read earthy on my skin. The sandalwood with the cassia lends a warmth to Morocco. I really love this even though I was imagining something completely different.

I'm not sure that your May 22nd order delivery time has anything to do with CCNow. I think that it is just the usual turnaround time for orders placed around then and the delay in orders because of the problems that the lab had prior to their final move. I received an email from Sara at the lab about the new cart being worked on.

The brand that I use is not really inexpensive. I use the unscented cream from The Body Shop because I really like the texture of their creams and body butters. There are quite a few unscented lotions that you can pick up at your local drugstore or market, although right now the only one that I can think of off the top of my head is Aveeno. I'm going to the store later so I will try and remember to look when I'm there. I know that there is a thread somewhere on the forum about some less expensive brands and I will try to find that for you too. Here's a topic similar to yours. It also addresses the lotion layering thing. http://www.bpal.org/index.php?showtopic=1599&hl= I still haven't located the thread on unscented lotions, nor have I gone out to the store.

What about extending the oils by using them mixed with a bit of unfragranced lotion or cream? I sometimes put a bit of cream in my palm with a few swipes of the oil on the wand, mix and apply. Sometimes the lotion/cream helps to hold the scent longer and that way, you can also cover a bit more area.

This really does smell the way I would imagine a dragon's ossuary to smell. It must be the blondewood that gives it that brittle wood smell. I love Dragon's Blood and wood notes, but this is one that I had to get used to. It is so different from the deeper wood notes, but I think that it is perfect for the name of this blend. I really like this dragon because it does not smell so flowery on me as some of the others do. My skin tends to amp up the floral notes in anything with Dragon's Blood, but the wood notes in this seem to keep that tendency in check.

... The Master of Lightning’s ofrenda contains red apples, banana, chili pepper, coconut, pineapple, pomegranate and sugar cane. I'm drawn to anything fruity, so I knew that I had to try Shango. This is a lush combination of fruits. I smell the pineapple the strongest with the apple and everything else falling behind. On me there is a resiny sweetness and I can't quite figure out where this is coming from, perhaps musk or amber. This would definitely be a summer blend for me. I would try wearing it in the colder months with something with wood notes, now that might be lovely, too. It's most likely going on the bottle list - oh my poor pocketbook!

Oh my, everything that I love in one little imp - fruit, chocolate and wood. The way that it starts out in the imp is pretty much how it smells on my skin. I can smell the fig with the cocoa. I love the way that Beth uses cocoa because it gives this an earthiness and combines well with the fig. I'm drawn to anything with wood and palm so this is a blend that I absolutely could not resist. Another one that goes on my ever growing list.

I could swear that this smelled completely different on me when I tried it last night. Last night it smelled sweeter and more perfumey. This morning the first thing that I can smell is herbs and a wood note. As it dries, I can start to smell the fruits coming through, they combine as one on my skin. I don't smell the fig by itself as I do on other blends with fig, if anything, I can smell the date and currant stronger. Later, I barely smell that wood note that I did when it was wet, now it is all herbs and fruit combining beautifully. Hmmm, every once in awhile, I can smell something sweet and heady popping up, maybe amber...................oh, well, whatever I'm smelling, it's gorgeous. This is going on my list of bottles to buy.

Don't worry, it's not stupid at all to think that shipped means shipped . It's just one of those things, unique to the bpal experience, that you learn the longer you hang around the forum. In all honesty, I'd guess that almost everyone who placed their first order through CCNOW had exactly the same thought. I know that I did! I thought the same thing - and I was sooo excited until I realized that it didn't mean that at all.

It's okay, I did the same thing with my first order. The lab will get the order just fine, but you can read my post at the top of this page to find out the reason for going directly to Paypal. Besides posting my query here, I did get an answer directly from Sara at the lab.

Yum, fruity floral at first sniff of my wrist. This surprises me because usually, if there are florals in a blend, my skin will amp them up initially. I can really smell the plum and the spice is coming from the carnation. There's an interesting sort of green note in the background and I am figuring that this is the chrysanthemum. I'm not really getting too much musk out of this, but maybe it's the musk that is muting the carnation. I awoke smelling my wrist and thinking that I needed a bottle of this.

I grabbed for the imp of Snake Oil because I wanted something with vanilla. Mmmm, strong vanilla wafting around me. It sort of reminds me of the vanilla in Antique Lace. I keep reading the reviews where others mention spices, but I can't smell them. Then I put my nose to my wrist and was so surprised that the fragrance close to my skin was so completely different than the throw. It was spicy, but not sharp and there was something in there that reminded me of marzipan. I could see reaching for a bottle of this quite often, plus it layers well with my first love Manila. For anyone that loves vanilla, it should probably be a staple in their collection. Throw - As I previously mentioned, strong vanilla. This is still going strong after 12 hours.

I love the combination of the tea rose with the lilac. It fills out the rose for me and even though it's sweet, I do not find it unbearably so. I can smell the mosses and the combination smells like roses just freshly picked from the garden. After about an hour, the amber and sandalwood make an appearance and add a creamy smoothness. After awhile, I can smell the lily mixing with the Mandarin. Every few years I go through a rose phase and this would certainly fit the bill. This is a sweet smelling rose.

This smells a lot like my garden in front of my house, the purple sage and the lavender. The musk and the amber give it a smoky creamy note on my skin and it smells a bit like sandalwood. The mango peeks through and gives it a bright fruity note. This is beautiful and earthy and I can almost see those donkeys walking past. This was available long before I discovered BPAL, but I was fortunate enough to locate a bottle. I will be donating directly to Safe Haven For Donkeys in the Holy Land so that I can be part of the cause and also because I just love donkeys.

When I first smelled this on, I thought that it was a bright, fresh, contemporary scent and something that is often referred to as a "spa" scent. The smell was very green with a slight floral note and some fruits in the background. I liked it, have worn similar scents, but it isn't what I'm drawn to these days. That was all the thought that I gave it for a couple of hours. Then I kept smelling something so incredibly beautiful and realized that it was coming from me. Neo-Tokyo had morphed into this wonderful luscious orchid. Oh, I am in love!

Oooh, pretty. On my skin it is soft spring flowers brightened up with the clover. The white musk and the powder notes are in perfect balance with the other notes. I had no idea what to expect, but I'm surprised how light and pretty this is. I was expecting something sharper and angrier from the bunny. A few hours later I sniff my arm (I've been doing a lot of that lately) and it has changed into something completely different. It is no longer light and airy, but deeper from the musk and the floral notes are fuller. It is so gorgeous and I'm sorry that the bunny is not so readily available. My skin absolutely revels in musk. If I could, I would order a bottle.

All of the scents that have Dragon's Blood in them start out very floral on me. This was no exception, however, it was softened up with the musks. Now, I am a musk fan so I love this blend a lot. I also love fruity blends and I could smell the fig and black currant in this. The fig gave it an earthiness and the black currant was like little bright sweet spots along the way. Over everything is a musky resiny warm cloud to smooth things out. Because it has that warm deep feel, I think that I would like this best in cooler weather. I was born the year of the dragon so I probably will end up ordering most of them in bottles. Throw is medium to strong, but it doesn't last as long on me as some of the other BPAL oils.

This opened up as a very strong floral on me, perhaps jasmine and rose. It finally mellowed after about 20 minutes and I could smell the mosses. Finally I could smell hints of the earth note which smells a bit dry, although not dusty dirt. I was hoping to smell the incense, but that never showed up. It ends up mainly as a light herbal floral and reminded me a lot of house of night. With the exception of the initial blast of flowers, this is very light and does not seem to last very long on me, nor does it have much throw.

Mmmmmm, yummy, although I'm not finding it a particularly foody scent. It just smells yummy to me. The combination of the cassia and the powdery cocoa give it an earthy smell and the vanilla in the cake is very soft and smooth and comes across on my skin a bit like vanilla orchid blossom. Once in awhile I catch a whiff of the coconut and I feel as if I'm in a wonderful garden amid all of these aromatic plants. I found this very deep and mellow and very comforting. It has quite a throw and I can smell it rising from the small area on my arm. I don't know how well it works with catching monsters, but it caught me good.

I am one of those that got hit with a strong floral when they tried this - strong, strong hyacinth or lilac. I kept trying to imagine it as cherry/almond, but no, it was definitely floral. I was so confused that I took out another imp and tried it, but same results. A little over an hour later it morphed and became the cherry/almond so I figured that it had done its floral thing and now we could get on with business - WRONG! Now it's hyacinth again! It has changed back and forth for the past 18 hours. Luckily, the wonderful creamy vanilla notes made an appearance pretty early on so whether it was cherry/almond or hyacinth/lilac, it was combined with the vanilla. I am loving this in both the floral phase and the fruity phase. I think that I'll order a bottle of this, after all, it's sort of fun following the dragon back and forth from the orchard to the flower garden. This is still going strong on my skin after 18 hours.

I put this on after my shower before I went to bed and immediately smelled rose geranium! Now, I have only read half of the reviews, but no one in the first couple of pages said rose geranium. It is not strictly floral on me, however, I am smelling sandalwood and resins. After about 20 minutes, the floral notes have settled down and now it smells like incense with wood notes and rose geranium in the background. I love these incense and wood blends and this one is different on me than some of the others.. You wouldn't have to twist my arm to make me get a bottle of this. The throw is average and it still smells very strong after having been on me now for about 10 hours.

My favorite part of High Mass in the Catholic church was the incense. I no longer go to church, but I was at a Catholic funeral recently and they had the incense I absolutely love that smell and Midnight Mass did not disappoint. I could smell the incense and also the floral notes which reminded me of the floral bouquets at the altar. I don't smell the intense wood as I do in Cathedral. This has more floral, although I would never describe it as a floral scent because of all of the other things going on, resinous incense, a whiff of smoke with bouquets of flowers in the distance. Midnight Mass is a beautifully balanced blend and I am definitely going for a big bottle.

This scent brings up so many images and memories. The first thing that I smell is the wood note, perhaps cedar. It reminds me of a church, but not a cathedral. It reminds me of the churches in the missions in Southern California. I can smell the San Juan Capistrano and Santa Barbara missions. It smells old, but not dusty, just old wood, aged old wood. I can smell the incense notes behind it and it conjures up images of monks in prayer in earlier centuries. I also had an image of the woods down along the Little Sur River. I could smell the wood of the trees and the sweet smell of the leaves. The Big Sur area is like a cathedral of sorts. The wood note stayed on my skin the longest and after a few hours it was mainly the incense that I could smell. It's going on my list for a big bottle.

I had been expecting a deep, dark damp earth scent with bitter herbal tones. Instead, I got sweet florals and herbs along with a metallic wine smell. After about an hour, the floral tones settle down, but the herbs are still very green and sweet. Every so often, I can smell very dry old dirt, not earth, but the musty, dusty smell of old dirt. Someone left something buried for a long time. I probably won't be buying a bottle, but it's interesting enough to keep an imp in my collection at all times.