Wwindy

Natural ingredients aren't homogeneous like synthetic ones are, they can vary a lot with the location or the particular conditions of the time in which they were grown. It's like with wine. The same grape varietal can be grown in the same plot of land year after year, but the 2010 vintage will inevitably taste, smell and possibly even look different from the 2011 vintage. It doesn't matter if the same winemaking process was used on both, made with the same equipment, same hands. The nuances of the grape are shaped by the conditions they are grown in, and different weather and soil conditions can wildly vary the output of a particular harvest. Maybe it was colder one year, maybe there was less rain. Those variables will make a difference in the final product, and you'd be silly to expect two years' crops to produce identical wines. So why would you for perfume made from organic material?

 

I agree with the basic philosophy here: in a way it's one of the charms of BPAL that you can never step into the same scent river twice. To be fair, though, winemakers use a very elaborately detailed system of nomenclature so that buyers know exactly what vintage they're purchasing and can do the research to determine what the characteristics of any given vintage are likely to be. I understand and am fine with the idea that no two batches of a blend will ever be exactly the same -- but given that, I think a lot of people would really appreciate it if the Lab would acknowledge when there are extreme variations and give us a little warning when scents come out as "the apple-y version" or "the really sharp patchouli version" or whatever. It's *understandable* that it happens, but it's also understandable that it comes as a huge shock to most people who are accustomed to more traditional perfumes -- or, really, any consumable product where you're pitching a particular esthetic quality.

 

Sure, I know the Martin Codax Albarino 2009 is going to be different from the 2006, but how would I be able to decide which I would enjoy drinking with my dinner if they didn't have dates on the label or the maker hadn't released flavor profiles for the respective vintages for me to compare?

Thanks, guys! It's been ages since I pulled out Morocco and I hadn't even thought to try that one... and Seraglio sounds fantastic!

All Souls for me! Why have I never tried this before? It's delicious...

Mothballs. This smells like mothballs.

 

I have *no* idea. Will let it sit for a while and see if it decides to play a little more nicely...

#occupywallstreet -- One of the recent reviews mentions cocoa globs in the bottle. Mine is entirely clear, as far as I can tell -- no separating globs at all. And I'm not the only one. I ordered mine the day it was released; I wonder if more recent bottles have more cocoa?

 

I ordered mine about three days after it went live, and mine is also clear. I can smell cocoa in the scent, but not particularly strongly.

Samhain '08 here!

 

(Also, did anyone besides me wear Diwali on Diwali? I'm looking forward to All Souls, too... Nothing I like better than situationally appropriate BPAL! )

Ooh, nice suggestions, all! Thanks so much...

I picked up a bar of the Bee Folks' Eastern Spice soap, which is "ylang ylang, sandalwood, nutmeg, and cinnamon" (plus the honey they use to make the soap, I guess), and *love* the scent -- but I haven't had much luck finding a similar BPAL yet. The ylang ylang isn't really the strongest note for me, just a nice little hint of creamy floral on top of the gorgeous spices and wood.

 

So far I've tried Baghdad ("Amber, saffron and bergamot with mandarin, nutmeg, Bulgar rose, musk and sandalwood"), which was all amber and rose on me and not enough of the other stuff, and Aeronwen ("Fig, dark myrrh, amber, redwood, nutmeg, tarragon, black musk, and sweet orange"), which was too musky and herbal/citrusy. I do like both of them, they're just not the perfect match for this soap! Anyone have any good suggestions?

I feel really stupid, but I've only ever ordered imps so far from Bpal.

 

I hear everyone talk about "decants" of the Halloween scents and I really, really want to try some out before spending $20 on a bottle. How do I purchase decants? I did a quick search of the FAQs and didn't see anything.

 

 

Thanks for any help!

In the Swaps section, there is a forum called Decant Circles and Group Orders. Most decant circles are posted right after an update, and it can be very hard to find spots in bottles that you want if you don't jump on them right away. Good luck finding what you want!

 

There are also several LJ communities where decanters post announcements for their circles, and I've noticed that often (not always!) those circles are larger and thus easier to get into. YMMV, and not everyone wants to go outside the forum, but at least you have the information if you want to try that.

On me this is basically all sandalwood all the time -- but fortunately, it's a sandalwood note that I particularly love. Dry, woody, very yummy. I only get a tiny hint of warm musk and maybe just a touch of beeswax; I can't pick out tea or oud here at all. After drydown this reminds me a lot of the sandalwood soap that Ten Thousand Villages carries.

 

ETA: I'm currently having a rather dramatic chemistry shift due to some medication changes, and all of a sudden I understand where people are coming from with the "patchouli" comments! This never used to smell like patchouli on me, but it sure does now...

As others have said, this is a gorgeous, luminous, red-gold smoky haze of a scent. It reminds me a little of Virginia, but this is... uh... more warm and glow-y than Virginia (hee, it's so hard to write anything that makes sense about scents!); it's also a little reminiscent of Scheherazade, but more refined, more elegant, not at all head-shoppy.

 

Red musk sometimes gets almost cloying on my skin -- here it's staying under control, which is nice. The overall impression is of a lovely warm cloud of incense-y but surprisingly sweet (temperament-wise, not necessarily actual sugariness) and gentle musk.

Scent-wise, I'm getting lemon balm, frankincense, and something dusty-herbal that reminds me of chamomile. The overall impression is of a slightly citrus-y herbal tea with a bit of sharp, clean frankincense underneath.

 

I applied this with intent both yesterday and today for Rosh Hashanah (seemed like the perfect time for "serious and profound reflection," confronting self-delusion, and starting out on a new path); I haven't noticed any major effect yet, but am wondering if I might be misusing this blend...

 

Regardless, much like Triple Benevolent Conjunction, this is a definite mood-lifter.

This is definitely the L'Autunno bath oil scent -- I've got both and they're identical, at least on my skin.

 

In the bottle I get an initial blast of buttery foodiness, but that burns off almost immediately. What's left is a *gorgeous* combination of grassy, slightly smoky hay, a bit of sweet molasses, and faint hints of the rich patchouli/myrrh combination lurking in the background. The sage and cedar come out a little more after drydown, increasing the autumnal dry woodiness factor.

 

I love this, and it combines *really* well with the L'Autunno perfume oil. The two together are quintessential Fall!

 

ETA: Great throw and nice long duration on this. I have to be a little careful to get the proportions right when I'm wearing this together with L'Autunno, as the throw is noticeably stronger on this blend.

If you're willing to branch out into TAL, you could also try Charisma...

I started liking it because of all the BPAL oils that I really, really liked they all had frankincense in them. All of them were resiny, deep scents so I assumed frankincense was an incense smelling resin, along the lines of a musk, or an amber, or a sandalwood ( I know those aren't resins but I am trying to get across what I thought frankincense was supposed to smell like). Well I decided to find straight up pure frankincense. The first store I found had it but when I smelled theirs it was like a floral smell. So today I went to the flea market and the guy that I buy oils from didn't have any but he also said frankincense was a floral type smell (because I told him that I had found some but it was florally and if he had the one that was the deep smelling frankincense).

 

So I am confused as all get out. Is frankincense a deep scented resin or is it florally. I am going to have to read all the ingredients again on all my faves to see if there is another scent in all of them besides the frankincense if it IS a floral smell!

 

I don't know what happened with that store, and the guy who told you that was smoking something! frankincense is a tree resin, and it doesn't smell anything like flowers. Here's one description of the scent: "characterized by a balsamic-spicy, slightly lemon, and typical fragrance of incense, with a slightly conifer-like undertone." And here's another: "At first, it is reminiscent of freshly ground black pepper, with a twist of lemon peel in the background. As the oil dries down, it reveals its dry woody character, which lies halfway between balsamic richness and flinty mineral crispness."

 

At the store, were they selling lumps of resin or something else?

You could also look for a decant of Gunpowder ("Carrot peelings, hay, chaff, molasses, maple oats, red apples, stable wood, and musk") -- I think that one might depend a lot on your skin chemistry, but maybe worth a try? On me it smells almost exactly like oatmeal cookies.

Hello! I've just inherited some BPAL oils over the weekend. I'm thrilled with them (and with the forum!) and I'm trying to put together my first order.

 

I intend to buy three or four imp packs, and I was hoping I could get some suggestions based on what I like so far. The oils I've been given tend toward the dark and/or incensey. Love 'em!

 

I love Samhain, Sin, Scherezade, and Spellbound. Are there more like these? I like incense, musk, patchouli, sometimes mixed with dark sweetness like vanilla. I don't like fruity florals or light scents, I just can't pull them off.

 

Thank you for any help!

 

Hooray for dark incense-y scents! In keeping with your S theme, I recommend Sri Lanka ("Indian sandalwood and cedar, and the dry incense smoke of olibanum, gum mastic, patchouli and myrrh") and Scales of Deprivation ("lemon peel, white sage, frankincense, lavender fougere, sandalwood, vetiver and labdanum"). You might also like Anne Bonny ("Indonesian red patchouli, red sandalwood, and frankincense"), Oblivion ("Dark musk, wood spice, labdanum, patchouli, dark African woods, and saffron"), and Dance of Death ("Dry, bone-white orris, black musk, serpentine patchouli and our murkiest myrrh").

 

ETA: Oh, I forgot Snake Oil!!! "Magnetic, mysterious, and exceedingly sexual in nature. A blend of exotic Indonesian oils sugared with vanilla." It's a must-try -- some people love it and some hate it, but give it a go.

This is *so* strongly evocative of a rack of belts in a department store, but in a really good way! I can't stop smelling myself. This oakmoss note works better on my skin than any other BPAL oakmoss I've tried yet -- ages ago I used to love The Gap's Oakmoss scent (one of the ones they meant for layering), and the oakmoss here reminds me of that. Unisex and intriguing, with good throw and duration.

Wow, this is a tough one -- these notes are difficult to pin down!

 

I definitely smell artemisia or wormwood of some sort here; I just spent a bunch of time pruning the giant overgrowth of artemisia southernwood in my garden, and that scent is unmistakable. It comes out more strongly on some applications than others, though -- sometimes I barely get it at all. I also agree that there seems to be a good amount of lemon balm present. I'm *not* getting true rose at all, but maaayyyybe tentatively I'll agree with the rose geranium? There's also something slightly cream and spicy underneath here; magnolia does seem a likely candidate given its association with Venus.

 

Overall scent-wise, this is a bracing, vigorous herbal blend with a pleasant smoothness underneath.

 

In terms of its effectiveness, I have to say the blend does seem to be very supportive -- I'm finding myself reaching for it when I want to feel strengthened and reinforced (a lot of what I do relates to communication, creativity, and inspiration, so that makes perfect sense!). I'm very glad to have my bottle.

 

ETA: Gum mastic! Could there be gum mastic here?

Soap soap soap. In fact, this smells remarkably like Ivory on me. In the imp I can just barely pick up on the green edge, but once applied this blend goes straight to clean white soapy death on my skin. If I let it dry down thoroughly, it might be more of a toss-up between Ivory and Irish Springs, but... still not working for me.

Hey, nobody's mentioned Pyramus! It's lighter and fresher than you might think from the list of notes -- the tea really comes out on my skin.

I'm so glad I got to try this before the discontinuation takes effect!

 

I agree with previous reviewers that it is on the perfume-y side -- it does read as poised and upscale to me, although not aggressively so. What I *don't* agree with is the "chilly" some people are talking about, but possibly that's because my skin loves patchouli and thus is warming the scent up. It's coming across almost like a cleaner, lighter, still elegant but wearable-all-the-time version of Romanti.Goth, which is a fantastic idea as far as I'm concerned!

 

The duration and throw aren't great right now, but given that this is the height of summer and *none* of my BPALS are holding on my skin at all, I'll reserve judgment on that front until we hit cooler weather...

Apples and the barest whiff of cologne -- that's it. Clearly this is the apple-y revised version and not the original. Very, very disappointing.

Ahhh, I know exactly what this is. It's either a prototype of or else *very* close to Pomegranate III (Pomegranate, Tamil Nadu sandalwood, lavender, tamarind, hazelnut, Atlas cedarwood, sugar date, bitter clove, and Arabian myrrh). On my skin SDPU1 is a little more sweet-fruity in the upper notes and a bit more powdery overall, with something darker lurking underneath (I agree that possibly it's a very, very faint hint of vetiver or something else smoky -- not obtrusive, though). In the bottle and on initial application SDPU1 also has that odd buttery note I sometimes get from the 'Weenie pumpkin blends, but that aspect goes away fairly quickly.

 

After drydown, the two are *very* similar. Pom III is a little brighter and tarter overall, SDPU a little darker and deeper.

More Virginia love here!

I should note that my oil is *definitely* not opaque -- it's a mostly clear bright gold. Looking at this color, I'm not convinced that there's really any red musk... but yes, the scent note does resemble it.

I don't really notice the caramel here at all (and I disliked the caramel in both Red Lantern and Now Winter Nights Enlarge, for whatever that's worth). What I do notice is a drop-dead glorious slightly floral incense scent that gets me more compliments than virtually any other BPAL blend I've ever worn! Seriously, this shot to the top of my "unsolicited compliments" list the first day I wore it. The overwhelming reaction from other people was "Beautiful incense smell!"

There's something about this that reminds me a little bit of Panther Moon after drydown, honestly -- it's a very hippie kind of musky scent -- but elegant and slinky nonetheless. And I couldn't tell you what it is to save my life, but there's *one note* here that makes my nose/brain/something go absolutely bonkers (in a good way!). I keep sticking my nose in my arm and being very, very happy.