Madame Mew

Hello my Witchy friends! I SO love all of these titles! I hope all of the rough situations work out for you @VetchVesper and @Amazonia 🖤 Good news over here... the husband and I foraged about 6 lbs. of mushrooms. On top of the chanterelles and few lobster mushrooms, we found 3 giant porcinis! We made some steak with mushroom sauce and it was glorious. I found some chanterelles as large as my hand. It was about 4 hours of hiking, so I felt a great sense of achievement on Friday. I don't think I had any perfume on!? I haven't worked out since Friday, so I'll be doing at least 30 mins of yoga today and will report back tomorrow with today and tomorrow's updates!

I freaking love Death Adder, so does the husband soooo you're onto something @Amazonia I would love to dole out a black eye to a creeper. I love that your husband likes your new friends! My husband calls ya'll (BPALers) my witchy friends. So cute IMO. 😹 Also, boxing sounds super fun. I will have to look into a bag for the garage. The garage now has a pullup bar, mat for jump rope, a weight bench and select tech weights, courtesy of the other half. I bet he'd be into it! @Lucchesa I've never had a fitbit, but do you recommend them (even with yours being on the fritz)? @Kelthara Don't stress yourself out... we know how life goes and support you!!! ❤️ Good job being a non-potato! Today was a potato day for me. It seems that my rest day is trending on Thursday, not by choice but by my body's choice. The hamstring needs love and I just had no motivation and a super busy day at work. Tomorrow, we head to the OR coast for some mushroom foraging. Looking for chanterelles and lobster mushrooms. This will involve much hiking, but at a slow pace. Hoping for a good haul! Non WOSOTD was a layer of Banshee Beat with Strawberries, Red Musk and Bourbon Vanilla which was inspired by one of my faves on the FB BPAL pages. It was lovely. How could it not be, though? In other exciting news, I have just received my Lilith shipping notification from the lab which will arrive on Tuesday. Huzzah!

@Amazonia be sure to check behind you for creepy doctor.... LOL Seriously though, glad the husband is ok. Good job getting outside in that heat! I would wilt. WOSOTD: Fake News. I have never hated another human being in my life as much as the orange clown. I am actually having trouble grabbing it because I get so angry BUT I am using that as workout fuel. Beautiful blend, starring patchouli! I really love patchouli, especially while working out. I've noticed the trend already. I used to wear Revenant Rhythm for yoga and I miss it, but now I can add this to the mix and preserve the precious that is RR. 30 minutes of yoga - C2 (intermediate vinyasa flow in CorePower Yoga code) and I was kinda struggling with the damn hamstring again. I think I'll do some jump rope after work today. Maybe tomorrow I will do something with Pumpkin!?

hey hey! I’m sore. WOSOTD: Limitations. So somber and beautiful! Today was almost an hour of intermediate yoga. my favorite part was practicing for a forearm stand. I didn’t get there but I loved the journey. Can’t wait to hear from y’all!

@Kelthara Happy to share! ❤️ I found the post in the BPAL Parlour on FB: 1. Pull three cards 2. The center card describes the main theme/notes/elements to your scent 3. The cards on either side of the center give additional details, nuances and descriptors to the scent the cards are guiding you to Today I opted to wear The Coiled Serpent: A potent yogic oil that stimulates the kundalini, provokes spiritual awakening, and releases the energy seated in your root chakra. It's not my style in general, but the mention of yogic oil drew me to it. Today I did... you guessed it... yoga! 30 minutes with a core focus. I was a bit disappointed with today's video. It was not the most cohesive flow, because the transitions were just awkward and I think they forgot a whole flow on the left side. I think I am just cranky today. My brain just kept going back to a call I had just gotten off of and I could not shake it! The tone of the person and the news they delivered did not match, and I was just replaying what I should have said and didn't. Shake it off!!! I look forward to hearing what all of my BPAL peeps wore/did today! 😁

@Kelthara <3! The tarot card scent thing was to just shuffle and pull three. The first card I n the middle and then one to the right , one to the left that add to the first card. Subtleties I guess! I’ll circle back with the post I found when I find it! @Amazonia You’re not alone! I too have a somewhat attention hogging husband. What time am I off, how long is my workout, what time am I done? lol! I just keep standing my ground and point out that he gets his time to workout when I am actually working. He seems to need many reminders... WOSOTD: Death Cap. I was inspired by destroying angel a few days back. I did 30 minutes of yoga and walked my dogs, I think about three miles. I can’t say I noticed it at all while I worked out, but that’s fine with me. One thing I realized just now is that I’ve always layered it and never really wear it solo. After a shower, I wore Boo and went on my walk. I’ve probably worn four scents today.

I am ashamed, I have not been on my reports! Wednesday, I did jump rope and squats as active recovery, but I ended up hurting myself. I was wearing some crappy old sneakers that I put on to jump rope (my husband says you're supposed to wear shoes) and when I was doing squats, I tweaked my knee. It started to hurt more and more as the evening went on and got kinda swollen. Thursday morning, my knee was still pissed. I have been nursing a hamstring pull on my other leg, so I took the advice of my bestie and took a rest day. I wore the Menage A Trois - Dried Strawberries, Red Musk and Bourbon Vanilla. So stunning. It's one of my absolute favorites. Got one for my mom and I immediately ordered a backup as soon as I smelled it! Friday, I pulled tarot cards to choose my scent, on the advice of someone in the BPAL Parlour on FB. LOVED the idea. I ended up wearing Eostre of the Dawn. It was a really beautiful day yesterday, perfect for a "sunny" scent. This one always makes me feel feminine and sexy. My workout was a Yoga Sculpt - 1 hour with weights. The husband got select tech weights from Bowflex, and he came it to me using them (set at the minimum option of 5 lbs) while doing some donkey kick thing where you are in table top position and put a weight behind your leg and make a motion like you're stamping the ceiling. Great glute exercise! He was like "oooohhh nice" lol. I was feeling myself. My husband and I ate clam pizza and had some chenin blanc at the pizza places' patio. Extra fun evening, but I ended up drinking a little too much later... Saturday morning (today) I awoke with a hangover. It was a doozy. I did a yoga body weight sculpt class which was an hour. I figured sweating it out was my only option. Glad I did it, because I was pretty much right as rain by noon. Usually, I would be in bed until 5 pm with the hangovers I get, so now I KNOW that sweating it out WORKS! I did not put on any BPAL, cause if I don't feel well, I don't want to end up associating the precious with nausea. After I was feeling better, I put on Rapture Pig. I'll be doing another hour tomorrow, since my rest day was on Friday this week. Great job to all of you and welcome to the newcomers!

Great job, @Lucchesa ... you sly one! @VetchVesper hell yeah, you can do 5 days! Great job. I gotta try Machu Pichu! Re: the debate... YES. I think it counted. I also broke my no weekday drinking for a martini to deal. LOL. Good thing I did an hour yesterday! Re: roses... I'll keep you posted and look up yours! Also, joints wise, I had a physical therapist and building core strength along with doing your very best to not hyper or overextend is mucho important now and forever. ❤️ @Supertrooper Omni woo! Welcome! I've always wanted to try a pilates class. Tomorrow is my 1 hour day, so maybe tomorrow!? Lust is not my jam either. For anyone I left out... keep kicking ass and thanks for keeping me accountable! WOSOTD: Paper Phoenix. One of my faves. I only have one bottle, and last summer I wore it almost daily. It's great in the heat, kinda just a perfect perfume IMO. I need more. I think by the time I finally worked out, it was mostly gone. I put it on about 8 am and didn't work out til 1pm. No matter, it's still a fave. I'll have to retest at the end of this! Today I did about 25 mins of jump rope, to the best of my ability. Added in active recovery squats and high knee marches. WOOWEEEE it's hard to jump as an adult. I was sweatier than a whore in church! LOL. No offense to whores, they cool. Anyway, it's quite the workout and it was really fun to set some music with a good cadence and bounce around. I tried some tricks I did back in grade school and ended up whacking my shins. I then took a bath with some Boo oil and then gave myself a chemical peel. My face stayed flushed for hours after the jump rope. I will be adding this exercise every day. It's fun! ETA: I love hay moon 2020!

@Seajewelwelcome! I have stumbled upon some of your reviews and they’re great! Great job today, all! I don’t have much left in me today (brain-wise) after watching the debate..ugh. I almost forgot to check in! Today I wore Snake’s Kiss for my workout. This one’s in my top 10, and I honestly almost didn’t put anything on because I was supposed to be working. It was a quiet afternoon, so I just went for it while keeping an eye on my computer which has multiple screens. I rushed into it but paused the class and put it on. Glorious as always! Today’s class was an hour of body weight yoga sculpt. Hella hard, lots of planks and my abs are feeling it. ‘‘Twas a good one! Forgot to use my jump rope today, so I’ll add it to tomorrow’s efforts. 🤘

Welcome @a_bear!!! Great to have more inspiration and accountability. @VetchVesper my Cecilia Brunner climbing rose bush has blackspot, and I only got a few blooms from her after the spring which was so sad! I will just have to wait until spring to work on that bush though. We planted some sage, thyme and oregano. The sage is hearty and in a nice big pot solo, as we use a lot of sage for brines and other things. The oregano and thyme are together, and we'll be able to bring that longer rectangular bed inside if necessary. We already had some rosemary in it's own pot, since it tends to take over. Gardening was fun yesterday, but I remembered the workout was sweeping the front and back yards due to squirrels taking all of our walnuts off of the tree and chewing off the fruit. They made a huge mess! Re: Yoga workout suggestions- I do Corepower Yoga On Demand. I think it's $20 per month, but my friend has the membership and she lets me use her login. Maybe you could split yours with someone? There are several options of types of yoga, but all based on vinyasa (breath to movement). They offer levels 1, 1.5, 2 and 3 so you'll definitely get your ass kicked with anything 2 and higher. There's also body weight sculpt yoga and sculpt which is the one with weights. They may offer some restorative stuff, but I just do some on youtube if I want something gentle. I am also naturally flexible, bordering on overextension which as I age is causing me some issues along with scoliosis. The teachers are great and walk you through the micro adjustments so you can really stay true to being in the muscle instead of the joint. I used to do their live classes, which were in 90 degree heat rooms. I have to say, I like doing it at home without heat so much more. You can also choose your class length! 30 or 60 mins and I love that option. @Amazonia OMG with that COVID crap at your husband's work!!! GRRRRR. Hope he is ok! ❤️ @Lucchesaso relieved for you guys! Glad he is clear of the vid! Today I wore some 10 year old Snake Oil. WOWEEE it was strong. It almost made me sneeze a few times after I built up some heat during my yoga body weight sculpt class. That was 30 mins. This class had a lot of squats and lunges, and it was really good! I was super restless so I took my lunch break a bit early to workout. My husband bought me a speed jump rope which arrives today, so I'll be trying that too! I'm extra grateful for this community, and to now have workout buddies is AWESOME! 😍

Yoga sculpt is a blast! You hold free weights and modify the moves a bit. Once you're in chair pose or crescent moon, horse, warrior 2, or any other pose you add some flys or bicep curls for example. Yesterday, the husband and I worked on the yard. We planted a few herbs that we can eventually move inside, and in general just soaked up some sun (not me) and drank wine. I DID break a sweat, so that's good for a rest day. Will be back after my minimum 30 minute lunchtime workout!

This smells like SO with extra vanilla and musk. I actually feel like this is how snake oil smells on me once it's aged a few years. I'm not a gourmand lover in general, and the PSIYH didn't even make it onto my skin. It was a big nope for me. This one is just extra vanilla SO which is a big yes! 😁

@Amazonia Woo! It's you! You sold me my RR, so now we know who each other is on FB! So cool that we are all working out "together"! Nice work, and nice choice on the Lady Death Savage. Badass name and sounds like it was made for a badass workout! @Lucchesa Hope your air is clearing up quickly! Great job getting out there. ❤️ @VetchVesper Loving this challenge! Got me feeling accountable. I feel like I actually worked out super hard today! Today I wore Revenant Rhythm, and it's glorious to work out in. I smell like a sexy hippie eating vanilla ice cream. I dunno, it's a vibe? LOL. I did a yoga sculpt class with 3 lb. weights. It was one hour. This was my first time using legit weights, albeit small, but they really level up the vinyasa flow. Tomorrow being Sunday is my rest day, but I'll pop in to state what my SOTD was if I get my ass moving. Hugs to all and happy Saturday!

The teak and vanilla together are rich and heady, loving how much the tobacco comes through, and the oak barely keeps it from too sweet. This is a good one for fall and winter,-cozy, rich, and just sexy! I'd say this is quite unisex, but my husband would consider the vanilla too sweet.

So into this! How FUN! Thank you for the motivation and starting a challenge. 💪 Wanda sounds like a good one for me to move up to the "hurry up and try" list of imps. It's been in my position for three years. I have been doing some corepower yoga classes online since March, and prior to that some local studios that offered yoga and HIIT heated classes. My best friend and I started working out together in December, so she has been keeping me virtually accountable and sometimes we even do videos together at the same time. How great to have online friends with the same interests such as BPAL to add another level to the experience! This came at a perfect time, because I am losing motivation to finish my full workouts since I pulled my hamstring a few days ago. My goal will be: Tuesday, Thursday and either Saturday OR Sunday, 1 hour yoga flow or mixed with HIIT/Tabata or some kind of more generally intense yoga with cardio class. Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday at least 30 minutes of class or one hour of walking (depending on the weather). My rest day will be either Saturday or Sunday, whichever is clever. Ultimately, the goal is to get my ass moving every day. Sometimes I just sit at the computer ALL day. I work from home and am more sedentary than ever during the day than ever before. Today I did a 30 minute virtual vinyasa yoga class. I wore one I have had for years but never have worn, The Antikythera Mechanism- Teakwood, oak, black vanilla, and tobacco. I really enjoy this! The teak and vanilla together are rich and heady, tobacco is gorgeous and one of my favorite notes, and the oak keeps it from smelling almost too sweet. I think working out in this did take it to a bit of a cloying level, so this would not be one I recommend working out in. It's PERFECT for fall and winter, cozy, rich, and just sexy! I have several imps of this, so I will be moving one over to my favorites stash to rotate through daily wear options.

I am back to proclaim my love for this! I now have a bottle of TKO, untested as it’s resting from the mail from last week, and a backup bottle of this on the way. I just love the frostbitten series and this does not disappoint. I just realized I should have edited my initial review. Ooooops.

Dark, ripe cherries with a kind of hot topic goth vibe as the patchouli is not the aged, chewy kind I’m used to going for. BUT, I love this. It’s giving me flashbacks to my days of working there (HT) a lonnnnng time who and it makes me happy! The husband can’t stand it. I have worn it 3x and each time, went down from 4 spritzes to only two, and he was still yelling from the other room how strong it was and “what is that!?” ... Not in a good way. I know this sounds negative at this point but I really like it and it is now my “self love” or house to myself HG. It’s a ceremonial HG, if you will. It is reminiscent of the pomegranate smoke HG, but less smoke. Happy I got a full bottle for myself, even if it will take me a decade to use it all 🤪

This is my favorite HG I own, and I have been grabbing this at every time of year. It’s so perfect! The throw is pretty strong, it lasts and sometimes I can smell it even after I wash my hair! I purchased this as a decant in the bottle and loved everything about it that I immediately bought a bottle and now I fear that will not be enough even with what I have to rotate through. I just keep coming back to it! As for the actual notes, the leather is really what makes this just SO sexy and sultry. It’s got just enough sweetness and earthiness to balance out the leather for me, since it’s not usually a note I seek out in general. All of the honey notes from the Lab I’ve tried are great on me but this one is just, unf.... amazing. Gorgeous artwork on the bottle too! 10/10

Sweet, buttered rum. Not something I want on my skin, but smells like it would be a lovely holiday season cocktail or great for someone that wants to smell like hot buttered rum.

Based on the notes, not something I would test or buy, but got this imp for free and why not?! It's uplifting and calming at the same time, perfect yoga/summer oil!

This is so pretty! It's a beautiful rose scent, low throw which works for me as rose goes to 11 on me. The lily it there, but not too there. A soft, floral blend that to me is white rose dominant. After more time on the skin, it's just a sn white rose. The imp will be enough, thank the gods, since it's DC and I have other rose blends that scratch the white rose itch.

This is definitely a nice opium musk blend, but not something I would see myself wearing often. Quite green, strong on the tobacco leaf with a good amount of smoke. I don't really smell any plum, but I think it's a tad to masculine for my taste. It smells like a fancy, masculine perfume from a department store. Not a bad thing!

Oooohhhhhh yaaaassss. This is very much a BPAL classic vibe IMO. "Bottled gloom; the essence of oblivion. Blackest opium and narcissus deepened by myrrh" ... glorious, wee bit of a smokey (myrrh) purple floral incense. It's reminding me of something I can't put my finger on! I keep hearing mysterious in these posts, so I'll have to agree. It's super sexy, quite goth, and just such a surprise hit on my skin. My skin just seems to like white florals in general, and this along with the opium and smoke are just amazing.

Dragon's Hide (dragon's blood, leather, and a hint of smoke) I don't think I have really ever tried anything with dragon's blood, since I was always under the impression I did not like it and it was too incensey. Gorgeous scent! In the imp, it's a strange and lightly smokey scent. Wet on the skin, it's like a light and beautiful incense. As it dries, the smoke and leather blend beautifully. It's got pretty low throw. It may be a gateway to Dragon's blood to for me. I am definitely going to end up with a bottle, as I may be able to share this one with my SO!

Disclaimer: I did not rest this very long, two days to be exact, so I will come back with more details eventually. In the bottle, taking on a very menthol twist on Le Lethe Wet on the skin: Holy mint! Most of the frostbitten versions don't read as mint on my skin, but this sure does. This is going in my aging spot for a few weeks. ETA: I waited 5 more days, opened it, sniffed, WOW. Whole different creature, and what I had hoped it would be... a slightly less intense Le Lethe. I almost can't believe it but I can, as I've heard time and again that you have to rest from the mail. I didn't listen, and almost swapped this away. What a fool! It's beautiful. I tried just a smidge on my arm before bed and it smelled like a mellower, softer version. I bet some more age is going to take this to a favorite.