feline.by.design

When I first opened the little imp bottle, one word popped up in my brain: METALLIC! I was worried I was going to smell like aluminum foil the whole day. Once I put the fragrance on, though the metallic smell faded and cinnamon stole the show. The amount of Mercury put on my neck did actually burn, due to the potent punch the cinnamon packs, and keep in mind that I'm not really one who would consider myself a victim of sensitive skin. My wrists and elbow nooks were unaffected by the scent. This had a lasting power of about a couple hours on me. I don't know if I would buy a bigger bottle or not, since I don't do much ritual work, and I don't know how often I would want to smell like a walking cinnamon stick (once or twice, maybe). It's nice, though, and I will keep the imp. -doreen

As fairywingmaker noted, definitely a summer scent. I tried this freebie from the Lab a few days ago. In the imp, the smell of Bon Vivant reminds me of strawberry shampoo. The champagne notes probably make the smell bubblely, and shampoo, in its way, is also "bubblely." Am I spelling that right? Anyway, I wore it a while, no drastic changes on my skin from the strawberry smell. I can see why a young girl would like this so much, and I really have to emphasise how well-crafted this fragrance is. But there aren't that many times where I really want to walk around and smell like Strawberry Shortcake. It's nice to have the option and all, but seriously, I don't think this fragrance will get much wear on my skin. I bet it would make a good scent to have wafting around in one's house, though. -doreen

I received this as a freebie in the order I received last week. I was going to order the scent as an imp anyway, so I was glad that it was included free. Thanks, BPAL! So, how do I like it? Well, I've already placed an order for a larger bottle. Yeah, I'm pretty pleased with it. The cinnamon is just enough to give the rest of the scent a nice kick in the pants. Absolutely delicious. Hamadryad brings to mind a thick forest during the daytime, with its little secrets that aren't so scary, and the sunlight pokes through the canopy. It also brings to mind an autumn scenery, with yummy cinnamon and nutmeg baked goods in the oven. It's wonderful in the bottle and on the skin for me, and it seems like it would make a fantastic room scent as well, but I think I'll be too greedy to use this on anything else other than my skin. -doreen

Ave Maria was a freebie in the order I received last week, hats off to the Lab. Hmm... sniff sniff. This is a scent that smells okay on me. I'm not very entrhalled with it, probably just because it's not fully my cup of tea. It's a very feminine, floral scent. I actually don't get the imagery of "white" flowers at all with this one. On the drydown, I actually get something that smells a little like deoderant, which is weird. I'll try and blame that on body chemistry, since I've been at work all day. I like wood scents, I like jasmine, I like sage... but something holds this back from being a scent I absolutely must have. I might pass the Ave Maria imp on to someone else, or I may keep it, but this is a scent that seems more suited to a mature woman, like my mother or my boyfriend's mother. Although the fragrance didn't fit me, I must admit that it's a very well-crafted fragrance that would likely make someone very happy. Alas, that someone just isn't me. -doreen

I received this as a freebie imp (thanks, oh Lab dieties) yesterday, the day before Hurricane Charley was to hit. Apt. I'm trying it today and I really think this scent is gorgeous. The scent is crisp, practically juicy. This wasn't something I would've normally picked out, but man, I'm glad they stuck this in my box! It's fairly long-lasting as well, I can still smell this on my wrists after applying the fragrance three hours ago. All in all, I'm really happy with this scent. -doreen (Postscript: I've just placed an order for a 5 ml bottle, since I liked the scent so much. The morning after Hurricane Charley went through Orlando, my boyfriend and I walked around our neighbourhood. Many huge oak trees had fallen over, and there were tree limbs and branches scattered about. The scent of the broken wood is spot-on the "tang" described in the BPAL scent. Which makes me wonder how in the hell did Beth and the gang get this so dead-on living in California.)

I was getting what I'm guessing to be a rose scent from the bottle and when I first applied, very sexy and assertive. After about ten minutes or so, the scent changed a little to something a bit spicy, maybe the ginger that people are smelling? Reminds me more of cinnamon. There is some sort of resin-y scent also, similar to some incense I have burned before. All in all, I quite like the scent. It's a bit familiar. Red Devil is sweet, but not too sweet, floral, but not too floral. I recommend this to those of you who liked Seraglio and Delight. -doreen

Okay, this is it. This is proof that my nose is seriously broken. In the bottle, and on my skin, all I smell is.... MR BUBBLE! Why oh why has Megaera, the Jealous One, been transformed by my nostrils into a big pink bathtime blob I am absolutely at a loss at even trying to fathom. It's very fruity and fun. But I can't help feeling I should be in the tub. I'm reluctant to let go of the imp just yet, since I really don't think Mr Bubble reeks or anything, plus I want to see if I can try this on my skin in another week or so, in case my body chemistry is seriously kicking Megaera out of whack. I mean, it smells very clean. As it stands, I'd love to wear this if I wasn't feeling especially fresh. Okay, gals, you can banish me from the Reviews pages now that I've blasphemed BPAL by compairing a scent to Mr Bubble. -doreen

This was a freebie sent along with my order, and to be honest from the site's description, I was never keen on it. Delight sounded too floral for me, and I always associated the scent of rose with the scent of Eau de Old Lady With Too Much Perfume On. So I didn't think I would be too delighted with Delight. This is one of the last ones that I've tried in my batch that I received, and you know what? I am quite surprised. Out of the bottle I was like, "eh," but upon actually taking the plunge and putting some on my wrists, I found a long-lasting, potent scent that evoked incense and mystery. Although this one is very floral, the scents that my skin brought out had a bit of a spicy edge to them to counteract the rose, which was the note I noticed the most, so this wasn't something I felt was particularly "flowery." I really like this, and I look forward to eventually purchasing a 5 ml bottle. It's not something I would wear every day, because I think Delight is a very complex and intense fragrance that would be perfect for evening tea dates or walks by the moonlight. It reminded me a little bit of the bottle of Tresor my mother has, but I think Delight smells much better. Although it smelled nice on me, keep in mind body chemistry has a lot to play in the dictation of the scent. A guy at my job liked it so much he tried on some of Delight on his wrists, and then wailed "Oh no! I've made it smell like English Leather!!"

As of now, I've found my niche in light, citrus, crisp scents. Here are the ones I've tried and liked: Baoban Sith - crisp apples galore Jabberwocky - a tricky scent but one I really enjoyed Cheshire Cat - made me purr Hakkotsu - the first scent I fell in utter love with Succubus - very orangy, loverly! Kumiho - this scent is very green and sharp Embalming Fluid - sweet lemony tarts Hope this helps. -doreen

Seraglio was one of the few oils in my order that didn't have a citrus element to it, unless you count orange peel. For all I know, I might have when I was placing the order. It smelled a lot spicier in the bottle than on me, and in my opinion, better. When wet, the sandlewood and nutmeg and cloves were doing a merry dance on my skin, and I was feeling good about this scent. Then the Bulgarian Rose was all, "Wait a minute, y'all, I'm in this oil, too!" So she proceeded to knock all the other scents out of the way about twenty or thirty minutes after application. Although it smelled pretty, reminiscent of rose incense from shops, this didn't suit me. I'm chalking Seraglio as one of the scents that would make a good room scent for me, but on my skin I just didn't feel up to carrying that much rose. -doreen

If I could tattoo this scent onto my body, I might just do it. This, as well as a few others, was something I really was looking for, and I can't believe that I found something so gorgeous in my first order (granted, I ordered 18 imps, but still). The oil smelled delicious in the bottle, orgasmic on me, and it lasted for about two hours, though I would get little hints of it here and there in the three-or-so hour mark. The orange blossom and bergamot was a match made in heaven, and I couldn't stop smelling myself to save my soul. From this last order, I've determined that citrus oils work lovely on me, though they don't last as long as I'd like them to (um... that being forever). If you're noticing a trend in that direction, Succubus is definitely something to give a sniff. If not, well, then stay away, because this precious baby is going to be MINE, MIIIIINE in a bigger bottle!! Oh yes. -doreen

I think I have found my arch-nemesis in Vice, or rather, in an element of Vice: cherry oil. Cherry oil is too sweet for me, even black cherry oil. I like to eat cherries, but I don't think I care to smell like them. The sweet smell was obnoxious, blending with the other two elements to make this kind of otherworldly vanilla scent (I don't like strong vanilla much, either), and it was the predominant scent until two hours later, when the chocolate finally made its way into the forefront (which smelled yum). This was a long-lasting scent, but in the end too sweet for me. I may keep the imp to try and turn it into a home fragrance, but I think I may be more attracted to citrusy smells, at least from what I've experienced with the twenty-odd imps I've gotten in my first order. -doreen

I had my roommate try this on first. "Here, be my guinea pig." He slathered on a good amount, and he said he "smelled like candy." I didn't really get close enough to smell him (don't want him thinking anything funny), but even though he smelled like "red hots," he liked the scent enough to want to reapply later. The scent did last on him a good while, considering we went to a bar and a theatre and a pizzeria and he could STILL smell it on his wrists. Not bad. So I give it a go. In the bottle it smells very cinnamony, not quite as intense as fireballs, but maybe "red hots." But once I put the oil on my skin, there's this maraschino cherry smell I do NOT find appealing. It's reminiscent of the plastecine smell that I detected in The Hesperides that appeared on me when I tried that on. Ugh, I don't want to smell like a bright red cherry!! I scowl for a while.... ....until I notice that a full two or three hours later the scent has done a serious turnabout and now all I smelled was CHOCOLATE! Good heavens, where did that come from? The chocolate smell was dandy, but in the end, I decide that it's not worth the three hour wait for my body to process cherry goo into chocolate bliss. I'll likely pass this onto the roommate if he does dishes at any time this week or takes out the trash. Which means I'll likely put this in the swapola pile. -doreen

Unlike Miss Ambrosia, citrus scents seem to like me, and Embalming Fluid is no exception. I've been trying on at least one different scent every day, rather than smearing eight or nine scents on my body at a time, and a few people I work with in the basement know of my recent trials. However, Embalming Fluid is the only one thus far that I received an unsolicited compliment from. She was quite surprised at the name, but she said it smelled "really good." I did get a good portion of the lemony scent, but it wasn't a sharp lemon at all, it was like a lemon cookie. I am all for scents that make me want to bite my wrists. And this actually lasted pretty well for a citrus scent, clocking in at around three hours. This is a very light, "green" scent, perfect for spring and summer, as someone has mentioned in a previous posting. Originally I wasn't going to get a larger bottle of this, but I think I'll have to since it was such a lovely fragrance. Maybe not my next order (I only have so much dinero!), but definitely before the year is out. -doreen

Kumiho is a very sharp scent for me. Upon application, I received a goodly amount of the ginger. It wasn't very long-lasting for me, but it did smell nice, and a couple people from my job who know about my recent "experiments" with BPAL scents (every day I wear something different) said that it smelled "pretty." And it does. Kumiho is a very pretty scent without needing to be overtly feminine. It sort of reminded me of Embalming Fluid; if you like Embalming Fluid, you would enjoy Kumiho. I'm not sure if I will go for the bigger bottle, but I'm going to keep the imp for now to enjoy. -doreen

In the bottle and on me, I didn't detect too much of the lemony smell. There was something I couldn't put my finger on that I smelled, until someone who sniffed the bottle mentioned it: licorice. When I put it on my wrists, I had a strong desire to bite into my skin. It smells like candy, which I would later associate with licorice candy. Although some people might wrinkle their nose at smelling like a candy store, I think this is a wonderful scent. It grew on me throughout the day as I would reapply (the scent hung in there until about the second hour or so), and I think I dribbled a good bit alongside the imp bottle (oops). All in all, I wouldn't mind getting another larger bottle of this, but it's not something I absolutely must have in the next month or two. It would probably be best suited for the fall or during the winter, but it's a pretty tasty scent in a Florida July as well. -doreen

I don't share the cinnamon spicey feeling that others who've reviewed Cordelia, rather the powdery scent mentioned by RogueFeenix. This, although it's a pretty scent, is not something I would wear. The lilac and wisteria blend smelled too heavily flowery for me, and I felt like some 89 year-old in a shapeless flower-print dress who drives too slow and has to "raise the roof" to fix my permed hair. However, I think this would make a brilliant room scent, diluted. -doreen

In the bottle, I found this one to be absolutely gorgeous, so I went a little kooky and put on quite a bit of the Cat. I needed to, since it wasn't as strong as some of the other scents I had tried on, possibly due to the grapefruit. The grapefruit, chamomile and lavendar do a wonderful job in charming me out of my socks. The Cheshire Cat was gorgeous, and I received a lot of (fished) compliments around the office ("Here, smell me!"). It's a lovely scent I'd love to have in a larger bottle, which I would need since this doesn't have much staying power (my only grievance). All in all, I really loved this fragrance. Another one I'd like to marinate it, please. -doreen

In the bottle - Oh how pretty. Smells all right. First on - I touched the applicator on my wrists, neck and the insides of my elbows as per usual. Oh MAN! This scent is gorgeous! So gorgeous that I proceed to reapply for the hell of it five minutes later. Ten or so minutes later - Still going strong. I'm showboating this fragrance around to a few people I know. The lily of the valley scent is strong, but the bergamot and sandlewood temper it so that it's not something too flowery. I'm not keen on "sissy smells." Thirty minutes later - I catch whiffs of the scent on and off, so I know that the fragrance is still eminating. Not much change, except that it's gradually getting fainter. The fragrance took about two or three hours until it got to the point where I had my nose smushed into my wrist in order to catch a hint of the scent. I brought the imp with me to work, and I was hitting the bottle for re-apps like it was CRACK!! This is definitely something I want a biggiehuge bottle of. I want to MARINATE in this oil!! It's that good!! If anyone gets this as an imp and decides they don't like it, I will GLADLY trade imps, clothes, body parts for it!! This scent made me feel like a lady. It's an absolutely gorgeous sniff that was feminine without being too flowery. Lovely, lovely, lovely!! -doreen

I received my first BPAL order today, and I was able to pick out The Hesperides first, since I think this was one of the ones I was really interested in seeing how it would work with me. I grabbed the little vial as I dashed off to my evening classes. In the imp - Eh? It smells sweet, very apple-y, but... plastecine??? My word, I thought to myself, this smells like apples under Saran Wrap! Undaunted, I do my usual perfume spots. Wow! That baby's strong (but then again, this is my first contact with BPAL). On me: first contact - Still very sweet, I think I lost a bit of the smell of plastic. I don't get any of the sharpness or tartness that others have mentioned, but rather like friend the girl's experience. The apples were very fruity, and I guess they were "sparkly." I would venture that that sparkle was due to the dew scents. It smelled nice, but I felt kind of odd smelling like it. On me: after five or so minutes - The sweetness is wrassled down by a spicy note that smelled like cinnamon or nutmeg to me, which could probably be the oak manifesting itself. I really liked it at this stage. Unfortunately, it didn't last too long, although this would probably be a good scent to layer with clove oil or something with a bit of a bite. On me: after thirty minutes - The sweet, ubergirly smell of liquid sugarapple is back, just not as strong as it was when I first applied, and missing a good part of the plastic scent. The scent stayed on me for a decent while, though I did reapply after an hour and a half, when I could only smell it when I got my wrists close to my nose. I reapplied among a few of my classmates outside when we were seated during break, and one of them noted the sort of plastic-y smell as well, and she named the scent spot-on: "It smells like those Strawberry Shortcake dolls with the scented skins!" Maybe not exactly Strawberry Shortcake, but once she said that, I thought of scratch n' sniff dolls and My Little Ponies. All in all, the scent was a nice scent, but it's not something I would see myself buying a bigger bottle of because I was hoping for something a bit more tart and a little less feminine. Since I LOST THE @#$!! IMP somewhere between my last class and home, I won't be able to give it another go or try and use it to scent something else, like pillows or something. It's a shame, because I didn't *dislike* the scent at all, but it's just one of those that I probably wouldn't wear. Oh well, at least I got to write the review, right? -doreen

I have no concerns about the bottle colour, either, so long as they do block out some of the light. If there are ever red bottles, though, *that* would really tickle my fancy! -doreen

http://www.m-w.com/ The Merriam-Webster Online site has a little button you can click after entering a word in, and it will have someone saying the word. I did this with "eidolon." -doreen (ed: My attempt to hyperlink failed.)

I've placed my first order via CC Now on the 21st, but now I see that Beth and Co are looking to sever ties with the service. Works for me since I've never heard of CC Now before anyway. What I want to know is the best way to pay for an order. When I mean "best," here are some factors I'm looking at: fastest order processing, more money for BPAL (CC Now charges a premium or something?), most convenient for BPAL staff, etc. I'm thinking of using either PayPal or a check for the 2nd July, but I'm leaning more towards the check. It looks like the mailing time to get from me to the Lab takes about as much time for the Lab to "harvest" my credit card payment. And if CC Now is charging a lot for their service, I'd rather send my payment through the post. PayPal... I've used it, and I still have an account with it, but it kind of creeps me out in a weird way. I don't know... it's just creepy. My main concern is my bank account security (which is why PayPal creeps me out), followed by more money/convenience for the BPALers and then the quick fill-out of my order. Any thoughts or suggestions on this? I'm also curious what the Lab plans to replace CC Now with, if anything. -doreen

As someone who has put up her first order not even a week ago, I would like to say that I knew what I was getting into in terms of the wait period from reading various posts in the group. Although I am anxious to receive the items I ordered and douse myself silly with scents, I made the decision not to send "Where's my order" messages until after it's been at least a month. For now, I shall contemplate on what to get with the Red Moon order on the 2nd of July, which, from what I understand, cannot be combined with the order I placed on the 21st. Fine and dandy with me. I wouldn't think to ask otherwise, but then again, I'm a fairly low-maintenance person. I live in the south. I'm used to people taking things slow. Or, if you like, a quote: "Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly." I believe that's Marlene Dietrich. Forgive my spelling errors, if any, it's a wee bit late here. -doreen

Okay, so this is an old thread, but I wanted to post anyway. Nyah. When I first heard about custom scents on the site, I thought it was a matter of "Give me something with bergamont, lavender and lime" or something of the sort. I didn't realise that there was such a process as being described on the thread. It really blows my mind that so much effort is being put into a little bottle. Me? I don't think I'd put Beth through the headache until she's hired on a few more slaves to help her do her dirty work. I'd worry that I'd be too enigmatic on some questions (ie "What colors do you like?" Me: "Kittenfur.") or I wouldn't like any of the prototypes or anything... Plus, at the moment, I don't feel like I'm *ready* for a custom scent. That seems like something I'd treat myself to after I've stopped relying on the generosity of my parents (visit = free food), achieve some financial stability (no more dreading the mail), magically managed to figure out how to wear stockings without ripping them, moved out of this damn bachelor pad I'm in (two messy boys and a poopy cat vs me), find a job I really enjoy enough to be at longer than a year, finished my Bachelor's and maybe wear skirts more. Or at least one or two of the above. Okay, I had originally wanted to compare getting a siggie scent to getting married, but then I sort of checked myself and realised I have been on this message board for entirely too long.... I must go now and do something. Like clean.