portalkat

Here is part of my review from 2006 - "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." It doesn't have the benzoin and vanilla from EM and I haven't tried layering them yet. On its own, it's very different from EM, but it is one of my top 10 BPALs.

Nothing smells like Encens Mystic IMO. I love that stuff and I'm glad that I have a couple of tubes of it, but I have never found anything that smells similar. There is just something about EM that smells more like church incense, or incense period. The notes are similar to a lot of blends that I have, but the proportions make it smell so different. I think that I may need to try some layering to see if there are any combos out there that come close. I haven't really tried before, because I had the real thing, but those won't last forever. my last tube is running woefully low. i thought i'd just be able to buy it forever! it was so popular at sephora. i wondered what happened to the company. i was going to write them directly about encens mystic, but the websites are down. so the two alternatives i was given are: +bpals 'ave maria gratia plena' +comme des garcons 'avignon' any opinions? is there any way we can send a sample of encens mystic to bpal and see if they can maybe create a viable likeness? do they do that? seriously, i need my encens mystic. In answer to your last question, no, BPAL does not do customs. I saw a review for Encens Mystic where someone mentioned Avignon, so I might order a sample from Luckyscent so that I can try it. I think that it is not as sweet, so it might need to be layered with something. I am testing Ave Maria Gratia Plena right now and I'm really finding it to be mainly a floral. I'm wondering if some of the woodier blends layered with something might work. I will start playing around with things tonight. Maybe Aureus or Cathedral layered with something with vanilla or a sweeter resiny blend. Ugh, so sad that Encens Mystic is gone. I bought a couple on line for $5/ea, but I didn't realize that they were disc, or I would have gotten a lot more. =(

Nothing smells like Encens Mystic IMO. I love that stuff and I'm glad that I have a couple of tubes of it, but I have never found anything that smells similar. There is just something about EM that smells more like church incense, or incense period. The notes are similar to a lot of blends that I have, but the proportions make it smell so different. I think that I may need to try some layering to see if there are any combos out there that come close. I haven't really tried before, because I had the real thing, but those won't last forever.

LOL, I think that I could have written filigree_shadow's review word for word. Every single one of the notes in this blend is a favorite of mine, but the result is something so odd that, although I am slightly repulsed, I find myself sniffing my wrist repeatedly. I'm not sure which combination is making this weird for me, it's possibly the currant, orange flower and the pepper. Whatever it is, the result is a sort of jarring, sour, sharp note that I have never really experienced before. I'm thinking that aging will not really do the trick, since it is already 3 years old, but I have not really opened this bottle that often and sometimes the air and oxidation will help to mellow out a blend. Short of that, I dunno.......maybe layer with Banshee Beat? That might be the ticket!

When this is wet, I get mostly the banana leaf, a hint of the coconut and mostly the candle wax. When dry, the banana leaf note recedes and I'm left with the candle wax and a hint of the lilies. This is mostly candle wax on me with just a hint of the other notes. That said, it is very evocative of a room where candles have been burning and vases of lilies and banana leaves still stand. It reminds me of BPAL's Manila, not in the notes, but in the images and feel. I'm actually quite liking this.

So sad.....Some of my huge favorites are from the Salon. I have always been meaning to get bottles of The Smiling Spider and Cleopatra. Favorites that I do have bottles of are Carceri D'Invenzione, Love and Pain, Madonna, and Philosopher in Meditation. I should also probably think about Arrival of the Sabbath, The Great He-Goat and Satan and Death. I love deep dark resiny blends and the Salon has a lot of those.

The lab uses honey. This is from the FAQs page: "Are your oils vegan? Do you test on animals? With the exception of our honey-based products, everything that comes from BPAL is vegan, and we abhor animal testing. Black Phoenix does not test on animals, and we do not work with companies that utilize animal testing. Black Phoenix is entirely cruelty-free, as our four dogs, many fish, and resident cat will attest. All products are tested on staff, family, and friends."

Ah, missed this the first time, sorry about that. I'm worried about the shellac, but I'll give it a shot. And I love your sig quote. Meanwhile, I think Cathedral is a winner, kids. Yay! That is one of my top 10 BPALs and the one that I would have suggested if I had actually taken the time to post here........I know, after the fact, huh? I'm kind of a girly girl who gravitates towards wood, smoke, incense and resins. I discovered Cathedral early on and it has remained a favorite of mine. I'm glad that you like it.

Ok, I love Carnival Wax and I love Dreabilly and wear it often. I also love Sassafras Strengthener and I love Dorian. So, do what you will with that little bit of information.

Any reason why I can't find White Peacock in the list of perfume titles when attempting to add a new perfume to my wishlist/inventory? I don't think I will be forgetting this gem, as it sounds right up my nostril alley, but it would be nice to add it, just in case.... Am I missing something obvious here? White Peacock is here on the Limited Editions page......is this what you meant?

I had to quote this review because this is spot on. I bought a bottle of this when it was first released, but I never really wore it. I was testing it tonight and it seemed so familiar to me, but I could not place it until I read this review. This smells so much like Temple Incense perfume oil from Song of India, maybe a little more of a wood note, but pretty similar. I love Song of India and I am happy that I found a BPAL to fill my nag champa needs.

If it's just a skull and crossbones on the label with no writing, it might be Jolly Roger No, I'm pretty sure that it is the forum only scent that I linked to above. It was made in honor of Beth's and Puddin's wedding - Pirate Moon. LOL, you're probably right, I forgot that Pirate Moon didn't have the scent name on it either but the date is there! I know! I always end up looking at my bottle and wonder what it is!

If it's just a skull and crossbones on the label with no writing, it might be Jolly Roger No, I'm pretty sure that it is the forum only scent that I linked to above. It was made in honor of Beth's and Puddin's wedding - Pirate Moon.

I think that you are referring to the Wedding scent for Beth and Puddin, Pirate Moon. That review is here. It does have a pirate flag on the label and it came out around that time, so I think this is the one that you are looking for.

First of all, thank you to my Faery for allowing me to get a bottle of this. This had an initial blast of the cedar, which is a favorite of mine, but within a minute, it gave way to the benzoin. After it dries, it reads primarily benzoin and amber. I know that the balsam and pepper are giving it the brightness and that the wood notes are providing grounding, so what seems like a simple blend is really much more complex. This had good throw and staying power on me. I put some on before I went to bed and in the morning, it was still going strong. I'm glad that this is the bat that was first choice on my list.

i've been wondering that too. since the day i got it! Me too. I was going to review it and didn't see the new thread. I was just going to tack it on to an older "13" and report my post so that a mod could put it into its own home. Then, I got busy and didn't do anything.

There was an 06, but it didn't have the green squiggles, I don't think. I'm at work, so no access to my bottles right now.

If you go into the gallery section (look at the top of your page for the buttons) on page 5 of that section here, down near the left hand corner, you can see some of the pumpkin labels. I think that if you look around the galler, you can find the older ones as well. I just happened to think of these since they had the green squiggles. Hope it helps. OMG, cute little baby turtle!!!

I love Sri Lanka and Kathmandu and wear both of those a lot.

Thank you everyone for your input on Erebos and thanks to Gwydion for starting this thread. I would never have thought to go to Erebos, given all of its other notes.

Yes, I agree with getting in touch with customer service. The lab does not send out partial shipments......because they would go crazy!

This is not something that I would normally go for, preferring dark, woody, smoky and resiny scents, but I am a sucker for anything with apricot and candied fruit notes, so I decided to order a bottle. This is a bright fruity scent. The jasmine is combining with the tonka and fruits and is not really the star player here. I always think that quince is a strong fruit note as it is here and I think the dominant one. I will wear this a lot in the warmer months. It is bright and pretty and a cheerful blend and a definite keeper for me. I love it a lot.

I need to hunt down my imp of Bread and Butterfly tonight after work to see what it might layer nicely with. Mme. Lapin smells like toast to me with creamy honey and a background of cedar. Since the description of Bread and Butterfly mentions toast, I thought that it might work. Cockaigne does not smell the same on me at all, but that's chemistry for you.

I love that candle scent. The first time that I smelled it, I was so disappointed that there was not a perfume in that scent. I actually thought about just getting a small candle so that I could huff it. I think that I need to run over to Whole Foods and smell it again so that I can compare it to some of the BPAL scents that were mentioned, since I have a few of them. It is so frustrating to fall in love with a candle scent when there isn't a perfume to match. I've done that with a D&S candle before.

Blackbear Moon is gorgeous. I love the lab's black cherry note and in this blend, it is deep and rich and smooth. I think that this is how I always wanted the berry blends to smell. I do smell the pine in this, but it is blended with the berry notes and not off on its own, and for those of you who do not like pine, it is only a supporting player along with the honey. I think that the cherry, berries and musk are the star players here. This is a beautiful blend and I'm glad that I came to my senses and ordered a bottle.