ivyandpeony

Just a quick mod note - we had several very short threads about different types of sage. So I merged them to make searches a bit easier. Carry on, sage lovers

I love BPAL's tea scents - and I agree that The Unsteady Governess is fantastic! I have also been loving The Chinese Dance. I was initially a little wary because violet has turned on me after a long, congenial relationship, and I didn't know what to expect from the wormwood. But what I get is mostly tea, tea, tea - the wormwood seems to keep the other components from being too sweet, and the violet, blackcurrant and mandarin add this subtle sweetness that doesn't really read as any one of the individual notes. Kind of a purple background, if you will. I have a lot of light, crisp tea scents (like The Unsteady Governess) so I like that The Chinese Dance has this unique feel.

I had almost forgotten about Eggnog Latte, maybe because I just have an imp & it's so hard to find! It is really yummy & I would love to see it show up in the Yules one of these years. And Pumpkin Latte is great, although I don't get as much coffee as I do pumpkin & spice with it. But I think the coffee is tempers the pumpkin for me, because too much of that pumpkin note and I'm out of there (for example, Pumpkin Smash). I have always wished that Misk U smelled great on me, but somehow I amp it into caramel/butterscotch/burnt sugar.

IMO there's nothing that's exactly like Gluttony but I think there are blends in the "if you like Gluttony, you'll like..." vein. I'd look for blends that have caramel, butterscotch, & hazelnut notes because that's how Gluttony worked on my skin (if you get something vastly different, let us know!) Some suggestions that are readily available : Agrat-Bat-Mahlat, Tiresias, Kill-Devil, Grog, Hellcat.

I can't recommend The Arabian Dance enough to anyone who loves coffee scents. It even reminds me of Pinched With Four Aces The coffee, tobacco & spices seem to be what they have in common and those are the notes that seem to dominate on my skin. I love both, but the possibility of finding more Pinched decreases with every passing day. So I've got to pick up another bottle of AD before the curtain falls on The Nutcracker.

I have had this happen, ducky, although none of my packages went as far as Hawaii. And it has happened to packages I personally mailed to someone as well as packages from the Lab. I'd let the Lab know that your package was misrouted and might be on its way back to them - then give it a little while longer to show up. There's a point where it's considered lost & the Lab will work with you on finding it or replacing it, I just don't know how long they like to give it before it's a lost cause. Customer service can also check to be sure the package was addressed correctly and that sort of thing. I haven't had a misrouted package disappear for long so I hope that yours turns up soon - good luck!

Although I've placed 2 orders (I haven't received the 2nd yet, from the 2nd Nutcracker update) I always wonder if I've made the right choices. I haven't been able to make it to one of the GA Will Calls yet to sniff everything like I have with so many of the big updates of the past. So, I was wondering if y'all would share your recs with me for the ones that you'd consider must-haves. I've got a couple questions I've been thinking about: Which one embodies Christmas/Yule the most? Best foody scent from this year's Yules? Best snowy/wintery scent? Best scent that you'll enjoy wearing in warmer weather? What's this year's sleeper scent? And do you have an overall favorite yet? Of the scents I've tried so far, my choices would be: Whoop as the most Christmasy, Yule-season blend. GIngerbread Poppet as the best foody scent (it would probably win this for me every year it's been offered although I love Sugar Cookie too) Waltz of the Snowflakes as the best snowy/wintery scent. The First of The Three Spirits as the scent I'll most enjoy in warm weather although I love it now too. And I don't really have a sleeper hit to recommend yet, so I am especially interested to hear what you think. I'm thinking of the way that a lot of us didn't notice or dismissed The Girl based on its description last Halloween until the "OMG!" reviews started pouring in from will calls and early orders, and now it's one of the most popular & sought-after LEs. I'm also torn on a favorite - especially since I haven't tried that second round of Nutcracker scents yet. So far it might be Klara.

Just ran across this thread and since I posted last, I acquired a bottle of Mother Ginger. The ginger in this is a very fresh-cut ginger root type of ginger on me, green and peppery. It dries down to something more on the creamy & vanilla side, but it seems like other bright ginger blends don't stay super-gingery and bright in drydown either - seems like the fresh ginger note acts kind of like a citrus note, softening and fading a little to let the other notes take over. Also, on a mod note, I altered the title of the thread a little bit because I realized that we actually don't have a thread devoted to ginger. So feel free to continue the discussion on other types on ginger too.

Hi there earlgrey - and welcome to the forum! Hopefully you will get some responses from other Ojon fans - but I thought you might find these threads helpful too: Tobacco scents Incense Scents Sometimes it's hard to find a forum member who's not only tried a lot of BPALs but has also tried the hair product (or perfume, or candle, etc.) that you've posted about, but since you like tobacco and incense notes, you might find some recs for stuff to try in the meantime.

There aren't a ton of scents that specifically have Mysore sandalwood listed - of the ones that do, I think Heavenly Love and Earthly Love is probably my favorite. It isn't predominantly sandalwood but the woody note adds a lot to it.

The Rose (from Marchen) is a very realistic rose scent - it reminds me of Rose Red and vice versa. I'd recommend either of them to get that true rose. Two, Five and Seven is also very realistic, but the grass note makes it go a little weird for me. I actually would prefer it in a diffuser vs. on my skin, since that's where the grass goes odd. With the GC scents, you do have the option of getting sample sizes (imps) first from the Lab before committing to 5 ml bottles.

These are all my takes, so of course chemistry comes into play. The creamiest vanilla to me - pushing a little into the buttery territory, but not so much that I can't wear it - is Detestable Putrescence. Other creamy vanillas: Love's Philosophy, MB Underpants, Waltz of the Snowflakes, MB Bigger Critters, Humbug. Castitas bath oil from the Trading Post is also a super-creamy vanilla that layers wonderfully with vanilla BPAL blends of all types. "Hidden" vanillas, where it isn't listed as a note, but the scent has a vanilla-y quality on me: The Girl, Under The Harvest Moon, Morocco, Antique Lace, Velvet Bandito. Sugary vanillas: Dragon's Milk, Le Serpent Qui Danse (which I would only recommend to floral lovers!), Tamora, Mouse's Long and Sad Tale, O, Regan, Pickled Imp Dry vanillas, which may skew to aquatic, mineral-y or crystalline for me: White Rabbit, Black Opal, Lyonesse, Zephyr, Dolce Stil Nuovo, Kubla Khan, Torture Queen, Ashlultum, Mr. Ibis

Welcome to the forum - I hope you are enjoying yourself so far! There's a topic in Beyond Perfume that may have some more info on the details of using BPAL in your diffuser - you can find it here. I usually put some unscented soy wax (from chopping up a votive, or using a whole soy tealight) in the top of my tealight-powered warmer with the oil because I've had issues with oils smoking, but if your diffuser is specifically designed for oils you should be fine. BPAL oils are a less potent than straight essential oils, but they are pretty concentrated. Some blends will be a lot stronger than others depending on the components. I usually start out with less than I think I'll need, then add a little more at a time. I have used as much as 1 ml (an imp) in one use for light scents, but usually less than that. You may just need to experiment, since the size of your space, the strength you prefer and the potency of the scent are all going to be factors. One scent that I find particularly evocative is Ulalume - it's an earthy forest scent overlain with lilies. Whoso List To Hunt has rose with some resinous and earthy components. Mata Hari is one of the most unusual rose-jasmine blends, there's also vanilla, woods and coffee in that one and I really love the combination. And I second Bengal, Cathedral, and Sin. All are beautiful and comforting to me.

I tend to think that redness without little welts or itching is a sensitivity and not a full blown allergy but of course, I have absolutely no medical training There are a couple of other spices in addition to cinnamon that can make me a little red - cassia, cardamom and pepper notes are the ones that come to mind (Alone and Red Phoenix both gave me a little bit of that redness w/o itchiness or welts and I think they both have cardamom). I've also gotten that redness sometimes if I'm testing something too soon after a shower or if I inadvertently get more active than I thought I'd be. So a lot of the time I avoid my spicier scents in warmer weather just because of that. It could also be the variety of cinnamon vs. the variety in the oils that you haven't reacted to. So many fun factors to consider If you decide to skin-test it again, try the back of your hand where the skin is less sensitive than the inner arms (if you didn't the first time) and apply some unscented lotion beforehand, too. Sometimes it seems like my dry winter skin is more sensitive & soaks stuff up if I don't stay on top of keeping it moisturized. (What's funny is, I have a gorgeous Trading Post locket and I have found that I hardly ever wear it. When I have the experience of something not working on me even though it's beautiful in the bottle, or making my skin irritated, I tell myself "Oh! Scent locket!" But I have so much stuff that doesn't have those issues - and I think that I enjoy applying and wearing my BPAL so much that those high-maintenance blends end up falling by the wayside.)

Coconut isn't a great note on me if the overall feel of the blend is tropical, but when Beth's combined it with unexpected notes it really works well for me and I love the effect. I agree, Roses, Pearls & Diamonds is gorgeous! If you love White Rose (the LE Trading Post blend) RP&D is a great alternative in the general catalog. And if you love RP&D and happen to have a chance to snag a bottle of White Rose in swaps, go for it, chances are you will love it. Most of my favorite coconut blends are LEs. Paduan Killer Swarm - another blend where coconut is combined with unexpected notes (it's tonka, black licorice, amber, golden sandalwood, ginger cream, bitter clove, stinging nettle, cinnamon bark, and coconut shell). And Paper Kite Butterfly is unique among BPAL blends IMO, peppery and coconutty.

If you like that bright, almost-citrusy ginger in Sudha Sugara, you should try Baobhan Sith, Kumiho and The Apothecary. Baobhan Sith is grapefruit, tea + that ginger on me. Kumiho is gingery white tea and Apothecary is the greenest of the three, a little hard for me to describe but very bright and fresh. I'm sorry I'm not familiar with the Origins scent that you mentioned!

Rocza, I would go ahead and e-mail the Lab about it now. You may just hear from them "oh, no problem, we just got one order from you," but if CCNow did screw up and send your order to the Lab twice, they would probably appreciate knowing about it as soon as possible too The earlier they hear about the potential problem, the more they can do to help you solve it. I haven't used CCNow in several years, so I don't know how long they take to respond - but hopefully they will soon!

Of course TAL &/or the Lab will have your final answer, but whether it's a US order or international order, the separate companies under the Black Phoenix umbrella (BPAL, the Trading Post and TAL) have so far been unable to offer combined shipping. As completely separate companies, they have separate bank accounts and bookkeeping; the time it takes each from production to shipping can also vary greatly.

Glad to help! Even with smaller orders, it's hard to work with the 300 character limit.

This is indeed SO Christmassy - yet doesn't make me feel like a holiday candle or a big bowl of Christmas potpourri. I think, at least on my skin, that the amber and honey give it an anchoring element that make it a perfume rather than a straight up, foody-evergreen scent you'd spray all over your house (although it would make a gorgeous room scent if you are so inclined). So I have sort of an amber and honey base with these festive holiday elements wafting over it - the pine, the sweet berries, a hint of pumpkin pie spice. Although I don't get any sort of ozone or "crisp air" note, this isn't heavy or cloying, so there's some sort of magic afoot that kept this from being overwhelmingly sweet and leadfooted. Makes me want to open the windows and shout at everyone in the street, send an urchin down to the butcher for that giant goose in the window, and generally merry-make.

I love this! All the components are really well balanced - I don't amp the red musk like I sometimes do and it sweetens the leather, really making it wearable for someone who often finds that note too dry and masculine. There's just the littlest bit of a sweet buttery note that must be the pie, but it's not overwhelming or sickly for someone who can't wear the buttery notes in Jack or the pastry notes in Knave of Hearts. So the pie note and the pepper note are the lightest ones on me, but they're definitely contributing to the whole. When you just get a whiff, it's almost sasparilla-y. Get closer and the individual elements pop more. I can't wait to actually wear this all day instead of just testing a dab of it to see how that part goes when I apply more.

I was a little afraid of the orange blossom when I ordered, but love the other notes so much that I was willing to take a chance. I got worried again at the first few reviews. But this one has turned out really well for me. I am getting lots of orange blossom, but it's working for me in this blend. I don't know if it's a different variety than that featured in some of the GC blends or if it's the combination of ingredients. This is a sweet combination of vanilla, teas and orange blossom on my skin, different from anything else I've tried in the BPAL-verse. I can smell the sandalwood coming out a bit more the longer I wear it, anchoring the sweeter elements. Really beautiful.

I'm picturing Joel Grey in his sparkly white-elf robes as the Ghost of Christmas Past in one of my favorite versions of A Christmas Carol, the 1999 version with Patrick Stewart as Scrooge - this is what he would smell like and I love this blend! For me, it's in the family of The Girl, The Shadowy and The Sublime, Under The Harvest Moon - it's got that crystalline musk and amber combo that makes it feel shimmery. The vanilla is a supporting player, I get no zdravetz at all (it's usually very resinous & geranium-like on me) and the florals must be adding some sweetness but they aren't dominant. It would be a great spring or summer scent, but I will wear it all year long.

I apparently have the kind of chemistry that makes The Waltz of the Snowflakes predominantly sweet, creamy vanilla. There's a hint of green in the background from the mint and evergreen and I even get a little bit of a waft of something that makes me think of Snow White. I find that Snowblind is much mintier, but the creamy, cold vanilla does remind me of it a bit. I really love this!

Once you've computed your final total, send the paypal payment to the Lab. In the comments box, tell them "Order details will follow by e-mail." Then send an e-mail to answers@blackphoenixalchemylab.com. You can give it a title like "Order Details for Sally Brown" or whatever name is on the paypal account. Be sure to include the e-mail address the PayPal payment came from, the name of the PayPal account owner, the total amount of the payment, the date, and the unique transaction ID number that Paypal assigns to the transaction. Then list the items in your order. Within a day or two, you should receive an e-mail from the Lab letting you know that they've matched up your PayPal payment with your order details. Works for me every time!