lilirose

I can't believe nobody's mentioned Spinning Multicolored Metallic Pinwheel from last summer. That, to me, is the fizziest fruity BPAL ever.

The BPAL page says "Terms used on this site such as 'brimstone', 'saltpeter', 'opium', and the like are intended as descriptive copy, and are not literal translations of the ingredients of our scents. Srsly.", so I expect that means no real opiates are harmed in the process of making BPAL.

I've been on a bit of a nail polish kick for the last few months, collecting OPIs and Essies and Orlys like a mad thing, but Hell's Belle is one of my very favourite polishes ever. The colour is pretty much unique, in my experience. With my skin, it looks like a seashell-pink with lots and lots of gold- far more pink than beige. It has an amazing gorgeous shimmer, especially in sunlight. It's subtle, classy, and neutral, but it's also one that makes me catch sight of my nails and go "ooooh". It looked really good when my nails were short, and it looks just as good now that my nails are getting longer. It is sheer, but for me three medium-thickness coats makes it pretty much opaque. I don't have any drying problems when using a quick-dry top coat over it. My only complaint is that its wear length before tip wear and chipping is medium at best- it has a tendency to chip a bit faster than some of my other polishes, though not as fast as others. Even so, I've finished about a quarter of my bottle (which I've only had for about two months) and I will definitely order more when it's gone.

On skin, wet- straight-up molasses with a dirty kind of note which is probably patchouli, though patchouli doesn’t usually smell dirty to me. Drydown- loses some of its overwhelming sweetness and goes definitely mossy. Not getting any vanilla or fruit. I’ve got a mental picture of taking a bottle of molasses and pouring it down the trunk of a tree. This is certainly unique, but I'm not sure it's very “me”. I love aged patchouli, though, so I’m going to hang onto it for a while and see how it ages before I decide whether or not to swap it away.

This was a rarity for me- I bought a 5ml unsniffed despite it being GC, and I’m glad I did, because I think I’ll be wearing it a lot. It’s mint chocolate, yes, but it’s the first BPAL chocolate that isn’t overwhelmingly “super-rich foody” to my nose. Upon drydown I detect something that is almost, just almost, aquatic in nature. The cedar is there, but behaving itself (even though I usually amp it like crazy). The vanilla also doesn’t overwhelm. My general impression: clean, sweet but not overly so, well-rounded, and very pleasant.

Wow. Oh wow. In the bottle it smelled like very faint sandalwood and I wasn’t sure I was impressed, but I decided to try it on anyway. So very evocative. I don't even want to try to break down the notes because it's just too perfectly blended. On skin it’s…exactly as Neil Gaiman described it. It smells like a dry, hot, sandy, spicy desert. Not “hot” as in cinnamon or pepper (though I think I do detect a touch of cinnamon) but “hot” as in “115 degrees Fahrenheit and climbing”. And the sandy bit is not like dirt or earth but like pure, clean sand. I felt guilty as soon as I bought it, and thought “oh well, if nothing else it’ll be good for a swap one day”…but no, I shall keep this, and treasure it, and probably hoard it as well, since I’m unlikely to ever find a second bottle, no matter how much I want one.

Er, there is- see the little box just under the thread title that says "Enter Keywords" with a button next to it that says "search topic"? You can enter a keyword there to search the thread. </end minor hijack>

I got a bottle of this from a lovely forumite (schackjj) who did a prototype contest and apparently read my mind! As others have said, this version is more lavender and less sugar than the released TKO, though the sweetness is still there in the background- it's just not nearly as "in your face" as in the released version. I also think it's a slightly different lavender- I'd say it's the same as the one in Lilith Victoria, which is a bit smoother to my nose than the one in the released TKO. Actually, this almost reminds me more of Lilith Victoria in general than it does TKO, though it's not as spicy and complex as LV. I love it- but I'm going to put myself to sleep if I keep sniffing.

Any of the Velvet Painting series. Noir, of course, if you can get your hands on it. From the GC, Black Rose, Desire, and Haunted have also always been "elegant black" scents to my nose.

Spinning Multicolored Metallic Pinwheel, which is an LE that's available until the beginning of September, is pure mixed fruits to my nose and lasts forever on me. I think it's my favourite fruity BPAL ever.

Siberia- late response, but could it possibly be the clove in Blood?

I almost didn’t buy this one, because sweet and fruity and I usually don’t get along. I had a hunch, though, and I’m glad I listened to it, because I’m in love. It is perfectly evocative of its namesake and of other wonderful summery things. It’s the smell of a Sno-Cone van, the scent of fruit punch at a child’s party, the smell of Sangria. It’s summery and playful, sweet without being cloying at all. Plus, it’s stuck around for a good six hours now and has just the perfect amount of throw. I know it’ll be a favourite for years to come and I’m thinking I might need a second bottle.

You can ask for your order to be shipped to a friend, if that's an option...otherwise, since you're ordering GCs, I think it'd be better to wait. The Lab are pretty speedy this time of year, as others have said.

I love Desire. Love it. It's sweet and sexy on me- rose and incense and fruit with a dark musky heart. Bergamot usually doesn't work on me, nor does neroli, but this is so perfectly blended that it doesn't scream "bitter citrus" at all. It's definitely magnetic, as the description says. My husband's immediate reaction, even after being jaded by being asked to smell hundreds of different BPALs, was "That is gorgeous". Desire is the first scent in ages that I couldn't just put on my wishlist after trying the frimp- I ordered a 5ml the same day.

Pronunciations of Irish words can vary depending on the part of Ireland you're in, but I'd either pronounce it "Ee-nack Doon" or "Ee-nuck Doon". The second word is definitely "Doon", though.

I’ve had a bottle of this for a while, but when I first got it, the scent seemed very faint, so I’ve let it do some aging before reviewing. And now? OMG, this is a scent for sure. It’s a gently floral, sweet smell- not “screaming in your face” floral, but a “bluebells and mist” floral, with a heady soft incense base that makes it to die for. Somehow I’m not picking up the lavender- and I do love lavender- but that’s testament to how skilfully blended this is. It’s still quite soft and doesn’t have the longest staying power, but it’s such an amazing, evocative scent, perfectly capturing its namesake.

It sounds to me like you need to be patient and give the Lab a chance to respond to your email. It can take them a few days, especially over weekends- if you first emailed them two days ago, that would have been Friday, so it's not at all surprising that they haven't had a chance to answer you yet. I've never had a PayPal order cancelled without good reason (like accidentally paying in the wrong currency). I'm sure there's a good reason yours has been cancelled, too...but only the Lab can answer a question like this, and they generally don't respond on the forums to questions about specific orders.

ancilla, could you be a bit more specific? Exactly what kind of problems are you having with making orders? The Lab hasn't changed their PayPal policy- the only change that is (relatively) recent is that PayPal has limited their comments field to 300 characters, so if you're making a huge order you have to email it to the Lab separately. But that's a PayPal policy, not a Lab policy, and it only affects you if you can't fit your order in 300 characters.

On me, this unfortunately smelled like a touch of chocolate dripped into an ashtray. The smoke was unpleasant and way too strong, and honestly more "stale tobacco" rather than pepper. It's one of the few BPALs I've had to wash off, though I gave it a couple of hours in hopes it would morph. I'm really sad, too, because it was the one of the Chocolate Box that I was absolutely sure I would love.

Cheesecake and cupcakes, yo! This is Beaver Moon 2005 resurrected! This is a delicious bakery smell with just a hint of strawberry and maybe even a touch of graham cracker crust. It reminds me of the smell when I'm baking a cheesecake, but the cream cheese note isn't strong enough to be off-putting (who really wants to smell like cream cheese, really?). This is a perfect scent for foody-scent lovers. It thankfully lacks the heavy butter note I find in other BPAL cake blends. It's quite sweet but not nauseatingly so. Throw is excellent, and staying power is amazing- I'm still smelling it eight hours after applying. Verdict: 5 out of 5. I bought two bottles- one to keep and one to swap sometime down the line- but I have a feeling I'll be keeping them both for myself.

stellans, the list on the TAL site is current, but there are also a bunch of "unreleased but available" TALs which can be ordered by forum members (one of which is La Flamme). The thread which lists these oils is a sticky on the TAL board, but here's a direct link: http://www.bpal.org/index.php?showtopic=25516

kyaatje, I was wearing On Darkness yesterday and was thinking it's very similar to Ooh La La (which I'm currently using as hand soap in my bathroom). If you want to compare them, better hurry as On Darkness is only available for a few more days!

This is an intensely beautiful, creamy, rich scent- the kind that makes my want to inhale my own arm. I definitely get “orange” along with the beeswax, but it’s not a sharp orange but a smooth, sweet one. The smoke comes out later in the scent’s development. It also has excellent throw and staying power. I almost didn’t buy this, and I’m so glad I did. It’s the surprise star of the Yules this year.

For a power scent I really like Queen...it makes me feel strong and beautiful, though my husband doesn't care for it.

To me the vetiver is the lead note, with a tang behind it that’s a bit spicy. Vetiver and tamarind. I’m usually a fan of vetiver but this one kind of bugs me- it’s almost foody, but not in a pleasant way..sort of like leftover curry that's been left in the refrigerator too long. Verdict: Not for me.