snapesbabe

Jam roly-poly and custard!

Like the advert says: Smells just like Malibu, and therefore has the association of a Caribbean evening on the lash for me. As such, Black Pearl always makes me smile

In the bottle, I was unsure, but knowing how BPAL scents can morph on me, I put it on anyway... It disappeared almost completely, and the little bit that did linger was... fresh sweat? Not stale BO stink, but fresh from exercising, hot, tired and pumped with endorphins sweat. One for the swap pile, sadly.

Treacle toffee and parma violets, with something a little boozy in the background. Dark rum? This has shot straight into my love list. YAY for forum swappers!

Cocoa completely disappears in short order, and this becomes very very male on me; luckily, it's our anniversary soon, so I can give it to the other half for an anniversary present

Oh, this is terrible. I LOVE the smell of inferno. Love it, love it, love it. It's just such a shame that it makes huge burnng red welts come up on my skin

Hot sweaty leather with overtones of smoke. It smells like the gimp mask of a heavy smoker. Really, really, really NOT me. Might try it on the boy, but as he's vegetarian he might not take to the smell...

Eccles Cakes. Or maybe my dad's home-made mince pies. Rich, sweet, butter-pastry comfort food. I think it's possible Cockaigne may be my favourite oil; it's certainly in the top ten. And it lasts FOREVER.

Cherry Garcia ice cream. I can't eat it because it's got chocolate in, but this is what it smells like.

The first sniff of this was really artificial and disappointing; I needn't have worried. After a few minutes it settles down to rich cherry and vanilla in almost equal amounts, with a dusting of powdered sugar on the top. The powdered sugar really does come through and is really evocative. Am going to have to obtain a bottle of this, somehow.

I vote glass wand! But there are lots of other great suggestions in this thread

I ordered this at the beginning of the year when I was really unhappy in my old job. I made a mojo bag for myself lit by a green candle (sewing by candlelight is FUN LOL) and with various herbs and talismans in it, and then anointed it with the oil. Used it with the intent of getting a specific job; didn't get it, but got lots of other (serious) offers within a couple of days of using the oil; I am now in the happiest job I have ever had. The pay's not great, but I'm happy and that's what counts. Oddly, the talismans I used that were specific to the job I was going for have turned out to be applicable to the job I ended up getting. Just for context, I'm not a believer in any God(desse)s, but I do believe in the power of ritual to affect one's own attitude, and of aromas to affect the mood of anyone who can smell them. Oh, and the smell? Clean, spicy... reminds me of my friend Sandeep's mum's kitchen.

IAWTC leik whoa! I'm not sure that I will wear this a huge amount myself, but any man wearing it anywhere near me is NOT SAFE. In fact, I foolishly wore it outside the house tonight, and any man near me when *I'M* wearing it is NOT SAFE. I love it, I love it, I love it. It changes every sniff. Sometimes the lime is on top, sometimes the rum, then a waft of smoke wafts over you, and then something like ginger biscuits, and then muscovado sugar, and then back to the lime. It's amazing. I think Monsterbait: Underbed has finally been toppled from his top spot.

Lavender, Jasmine... lilies? It's not something I would EVER wear as perfume, but it put me to sleep like nobody's business. Also, I have been struggling with a particular writing project for almost a month. When I woke this morning it was fully formed in my head and all I had to do was spew it forth onto the page. Also also, this is the first morning in a week when I haven't woken with a headache. As a perfume? Ugh, not for me. As a sleep aid? I am going to go through BOTTLES of this stuff.

I, too, had an moment when I first applied Shub and it went through the very lemony phase. There was an unfortunate undercurrent of vomit (which I also got with Shango). However, I'm glad I didn't go to the bathroom and wash it off, because once it dried it magically transformed to gingersnap biscuits. I'll just have to hold my nose for ten minutes after I put it on, I guess.

Incensey cakey goodness with a hint of Rose and a dab of cinnamony-sweet-spice. Can't stop sniffing my wrist. I agree with ilona: "Comforting and inviting, and somehow wise"

In the bottle: slightly masculine, very aquatic On skin: WTF? It's Yardley Freesia! One sniff of my wrist and I'm back in the house of the scary lady who used to live next door when I was a kid, and she used to SMOTHER herself in Yardley Freesia. Powdery and floral and ick ick ick. WOE!

I thought I might be some help here, since I'm also a UK BPALler (fairly new and currently awaiting second order with baited breath). So, I placed my first lab order on the 7th of November. I got the C 'n' S notification email on the 21st November, which said that the order had been shipped on the 17th of November. Ten days from order to shipping made me absolutely ecstatic, given everything I'd heard on the forum LOL. It actually arrived on Tuesday the 28th of November, although my friend, also in the UK, who ordered hers on the same date, and got exactly the same C 'n' S on the same date as I got mine, recieved hers on Friday the 24th of November. So, you know, four days difference just from the UK postal system there. BUT about three weeks from order to arrival, for me, and slightly over two weeks for my friend. I would think that given the fact that there's just been a big update, and there's going to be a Carnaval Update in a few days, and Yule and all, that things will be a bit slower if you order on the 22nd December. But I wouldn't necessarily give up hope of getting your order before the end of January.

In Bottle: dark Bounty bar (for those not in the UK, a bounty bar is basically a cake of creamy grated coconut covered in chocolate) On Skin: the coconut fades and is replaced by something almost almondy. So I have almondy coconut, covered in dark chocolate. Drydown: gains a bit of vanillaness and the barest hint of cinnamon into the mix Lasts for AGES. I applied it in the morning after my bath and it was still smellable the following morning before I got in the bath again. WHY did this have to be a limited edition? WHY??? I would bathe in it if I could.

In the Bottle: Marzipan On skin: Rose-flavoured Turkish Delight Drydown: Rose and Lemon flavoured Turkish Delight I quite like it. Not getting any cloveyness or sandalwood, though.

This one doesn't like me. I had to wash it off. My mum used to have a magnolia tree in the garden of her old house; on me, this smells like when all the flowers had gone brown and dropped off and you trod on one on your way up the path. * sticks it in the swap pile *

Well, as it's my first BPAL order, I'm just anxious for it to get here LOL. I have resigned myself to the fact that it might not get here for a while, but it's still hard to avoid fretting. Thank you very much for the clarifications, though. I'll try not to watch my inbox QUITE so obsessively

* adds addresses to whitelist * Thanks, everyone!

Yeah, I'm in the UK. I thought it would be something that would have been asked before, but I did spend a good fifteen minutes searching without any luck before I gave up and posted...

What email address do order confirmations and/or CnSs come FROM? I've seen a few people saying that their emails from the lab went into junk/spam folders, and now I'm paranoid. If I knew what address the email was coming from I'd be able to whitelist it...