kwsix

I was going to post an entry about why I've been MIA, but really, I just don't feel like it. I'll just say that I'm ok now, but I wasn't for a while. I'm really sorry if I let anyone down or made anyone angry. I'm doing what I can to fix things, so pm me if I can do anything for you. I hope everyone is managing to enjoy the holiday season. It's been snowing here, finally, so I'm starting to get in the holiday spirit. So far everyone has been so incredibly nice and understanding. I wonder, what is it about BPAL and this forum that attract such wonderful people?

WORK IN PROGRESS Here are the blends I either need to test or re-test. Most of these I've had in hand and even tested on my skin, but swapped or frimped away before I could form a good opinion. I really need to take better notes. The ones that are actually on my active wishlist are starred. Bewitching Brews Belle Epoque Bess Black Forest Blood Amber Brimstone Cathode Calico Jack Chimera The Coiled Serpent Delirium Epherma Event Horizon Fae Grand Guignol Grog Hamydryad (looking for non-wintergreen kind) I Died for Beauty Intrigue Kubla Khan La Bella Donna Della Mia Mente La Bella Dame Sans Merci Leanan Sidhe Lightning Lurid Mary Read Morgause Ode on Melancholy Omen Ozymandias Penny Dreadful Phantasm Poisoned Apple The Raven Schrodinger's Cat Seance Shattered Tempest Ulalume Ultraviolet Veil Wilde Yggdrasil Zephyr Ars Moriendi Danse Macabre Darkness Epitaph Eternal The Ghost Haunted House of Night Les Fleurs du Mal Midnight Nocturne The Phantom Wooer The Reaper and the Flowers Sheol Shroud Thanatopsis Twilight Wings of Azrael Dark Elements Burial Hurricane Sin and Salvation Envy Greed Lust Sloth Death on a Pale Horse Anathema Black Dahlia Dorian Fallen Faustus Hymn Languor Les Infortunes de la Vertu Magdalene Nero Oblivion Penitence Roadhouse Rose Cross Seraphim Tzadikim Nistarim Love Potions Ave Maria Gratia Plena Bathsheba Bien Loin D'ici Brisingamen Debauchery Depraved Desire Forbidden Fruit Golden Priapus Jezebel La Belle Au Bois Dormant La Petite Mort The Lady of Shalott Le Serpent Qui Danse Libertine Lilium Inter Spinas Loralei Maiden Muse Nefertiti O (This was one of the first BPAL scents I tried, and it failed horribly. I'm curious to re-test it.) Psyche Rapture Ravenous Saturnalia Satyr Sed Non Satiata Siren Succubus The Temptation Suspiro Vicomte de Valmont Wanda Wanton Whip Diabolis A Countenance Forboding Evil Baobhan Sith Black Annis Blood Countess Bloodlust Bluebeard Catherine Dracul Goblin Hell's Belle Horreur Sympathique Incubus Kitsune-Tsuki Loup Garou Maenad Malice Marquise de Merteuil Masabakes Medea Nephilim Nocnitsa Nosferatu Pain Phantom Phantom Queen Phobos Rage Serpent's Kiss Szepasszony Troll Wicked Neil Gaiman/The Carousel Spider* Mad Tea Party The Caterpillar Cheshire Cat Croquet The Dodo The Dormouse Drink Me Jabberwocky The King of Hearts The Knave of Hearts The Lion The Mock Turtle's Lessons Mouse's Long and Sad Tale The Pool of Tears Queen Alice The Queen of Hearts Tiger Lily Two, Five & Seven The Unicorn White Rabbit Illyria Antony The Apothecary Caliban Cordelia Goneril Helena Hermia Juliet Katharina Lear Lysander Oberon Ophelia Othello Regan Robin Goodfellow Rosalind Titania Titus Andronicus Viola Wanderlust Île de la Tortue Windward Passage Ars Draconis Dragon's Reverie Ladon Rappaccini's Garden Asphodel Belladonna Black Hellebore Black Lotus Black Rose Blood Lotus Blood Rose Cobra Lily Death Cap Dian's Bud Devil's Claw Hairy Toad Lily Hemlock Love-in-Idleness Love-Lies-Bleeding Moon Rose Opium Poppy Shadow Witch Orchid Slobbering Pine Squirting Cucumber Strangler Fig Sundew Voodoo Lily Wolfsbane Yew-Trees

I've only ordered through CCNow one time, and my experience was that I got a shipped notice when the order went to the lab and my credit card was not charged at that time. The lab's TAT was pretty slow at the time, so it was weeks before the order actually shipped. My credit card wasn't charged until the order actually shipped, but I didn't get a CnS or any other notification of shipping. I'm not sure if my spam filter ate it, or if there just wasn't one. Anyway, what you're describing isn't necessarily odd, IMO, but I think you should e-mail the lab just in case. If you don't get a reply in a few days, e-mail again. eta - I don't think there's any way your 11/25 order would be shipping yet, btw. The lab is much faster now, but they aren't that fast. The shipping notice you got must have just been the wonky one from CCNow that always comes when the order is sent over to the lab.

In the bottle, Fairy Wine is currants in honeyed wine. It smells deep red and delicious. On my skin, the dandelions somewhat take over, and the other beautiful notes fade into the background. It still smells lovely, but I'm a little disappointed that the currants and wine aren't more prominent. Fairy Wine is a heady yet fresh scent that is poised between seductive and playful. Don't pass this one by if you like dandelions!

Even in the bottle, Lady Una was love at first sniff for me. On my skin, it doesn't disappoint. Unless I'm looking at the description, I have a hard time picking out the individual notes in the blend, probably because my brain turns into a big slobbering lump of happiness when I smell it. It's the perfect amount of sweet for me. Despite all the honey and vanilla, it really is too clean to be classified as a foody scent. There's something in the blend that nibbles gently around the edges of my consciousness and reminds me of my beloved original, white-labeled 13. It also reminds me a little of Florence, but Lady Una is much more smooth and delicate. I will need gallons of this beautiful scent.

This is such an unexpectedly fabulous scent. Personally I would classify it as gender-neutral. It's a little less masculine than Crowley, which I also classify as gender-neutral. I can detect all of the listed notes on my skin, and they add up to an incredibly well-balanced blend. On me, the frankincense takes the lead by a small margin, which gives the blend a warm and resinous edge. The tobacco leaf stays sweet and mellow and the musk is soft and clean. The tea is dark without being bitter, and I love the fresh wisp of lilac at the top end. There is a certain similarity to Crowley, and I agree that Famine is more refined and subtle. Famine is full of beautiful contradictions: sexy but reserved, warm yet chilly, dark and light, sweet but dry. It will definitely be a multiple bottle purchase for me. I suspect my Mom, who is devoted to Crowley, will love it also. If you have the slightest suspicion that you might like Famine, don't hesitate to give it a try.

Random observation: On extreme drydown, Dana O'Shee smells very, very similar to Snow White. Strange but true.

This may be a stupid question, because I've never tried the scent, but what about The Reaper and the Flowers? It has lily, rose, carnation, and chrysanthemum.

Sorry - I don't know the perfumes you're looking for similarities to - but I very much recommend Tweedledee! Love it, love it, love it. Smelt the imp - HAD to have a bottle right away. I love Tweedledee! It's such a bright, sweet scent. It reminds me of Fruit Loops and Orange Pez. Akuma is very nice too. I love the orange-raspberry combination. I don't wear it that often, though, because it goes very floral on my skin. I guess I amp neroli, unless there's another floral component that isn't listed in the description.

Wow! That is one gorgeous ring. Congratulations!

What is "this"? It sounds fabulous to me.

What have you tried that didn't work? Almost all aquatic scents seem salty to me. What about F5, or maybe Shanghai Tunnel (it had a nice salty wet stone quality on me)? Shanghai Tunnel might be hard to find, but even though F5 was a forum-only LE it's usually pretty easy to find. R'lyeh was salty grapefruit on me. I've read that The Deep Ones is very salty, but I haven't tried it. The City in the Sea is also supposed to be salty.

This is a breathtakingly beautiful blend! The tea rose in particular is to die for. I'm typically not a floral lover, so I would never have guessed that this would be one of my favorites of the Halloween blends. I'm not very good at describing florals, so I apologize for not doing this scent justice with my review. I can tell you that it isn't sharp, cloying, or overly sweet. There's nothing artificial smelling in this blend. It's sugared fresh flowers over a clean, slightly woodsy base. I agree that it's reminiscent of Antique Lace plus light florals. The notes are well balanced, and the scent is delicate, soft, and feminine from first application through the drydown. I absolutely love this scent. It's an instant top 10.

Wow, Hunger is far more lovely on me than I ever would have thought. I'm not a Snake Oil girl. Snake Oil smells great in the bottle, and definitely gets better with age, but it just doesn't work on me. On my skin, Hunger smells like aged Snake Oil smells in the bottle. It also reminds me of Eat Me to a certain degree, which makes sense, because I described Eat Me as smelling like I wish Snake Oil smelled. Out of the three, I definitely prefer Hunger. On me, Hunger is all deep spicy musk, sweet smokey vanilla, a dab of citrus, and a delicate endnote of soft honeyed blossoms. Could this be another example of red musk behaving well on my skin? I'm not a musk expert, but it sure smells like red musk to me. As it dries, Hunger gradually becomes less spicy musk and more sweet smokey vanilla, similar to a good quality vanilla candle (like the vanilla in Dragon's Milk). I really like how the softer floral and citrus notes linger on my skin. They give an innocent, flirtatious edge to what otherwise would be a very come-hither type of scent. Hunger is going straight to my bottle wishlist. It's a lovely mix of seduction and innocence that comes on strong at first but settles into a beautiful rich skin scent after it dries.

Bordello and Lampades are two of my favorite scents, and they both have excellent throw and staying power on me. Jailbait does not - it's light and tends to fade very quickly from my skin.