PLEASE READ BEFORE POSTING - Guide to the Recs Subforum

[ivyandpeony]

Have you ever wondered what the deal is with the Recommendations subforum? What's a duplicate topic, what isn't? Where those topics from the

newbies go when the newbies aren't new anymore? This post should answer those questions for you, but if there's anything else you are wondering about, let me know. I will answer your questions and add it to the FAQ here.

 

When to add to an existing thread

This subforum has lots of wiggle room for unique, tailored-for-you topics. But I would ask that you please use the search engine in the following cases BEFORE you start a new thread, and bump the existing thread to continue discussion if you find one.

 

1. Looking for recommendations based on a specific note (rose, lilac, vanilla, etc.) - even if you are looking for a unique combination, like vanilla + smoke

 

2. Looking for scents similar to a non-BPAL perfume - search for the name of the scent AND the name of the company

 

3. Looking for the best BPAL scent for a particular purpose, like studying, seducing someone, feeling brave, falling asleep... you get the idea. We've covered a lot of ground already.

 

4. Looking to invoke a specific feel, mood, season, place - you may have a unique request, but please check first.

 

5. Looking for a scent that smells like "something" - most often it's a food or beverage, but you're a creative bunch. Just run it through the search engine first.

 

*I highly recommend doing a search that's limited to titles only and to the Recommendations subforum. You can highlight the subforum you want to search at the bottom left of the search form, and there are radio buttons on the right that allow you to choose between searching titles only or titles and complete text (as well as the mode of display: as posts or topics).*

 

If you're in doubt as to whether your topic overlaps with an existing one, just PM me and I will be glad to figure out whether we should continue discussion in the existing thread or start a new one.

 

If you remember seeing a thread in the past and you are having trouble finding it now, please do not start a new thread asking for its whereabouts. PM me and I will help you find it.

 

When to start a new thread, no questions asked

And here are some good examples of when it's fine to go ahead and start a new thread. Keep in mind that these topics are usually considered "temporary" - when I see that no one's posted in them for 30 days or so, it's off to the archive, unless the discussion has taken an unexpected turn so it's worth keeping or merging with an existing topic.

 

1. Looking for recommendations for a first order or your next order. However, if you decide a few days after you start this thread that you want to get some more recs for things you didn't mention at first, PLEASE add to the discussion in your first thread instead of starting another one. You can do that by adding a new post to the thread or editing your first post, or both. Your thread isn't going anywhere until no one's posted in it for a month, and you will quickly find that people are quite helpful and are interested in your morphing tastes.

 

2. Looking for recommendations for a gift for someone specific, like your mom who hates vanilla but loves tonka or your roommate who is stealing your Dana O'Shee and your Snake Oil. (We have threads covering some categorical recommendations like all-purpose enabling, young children, etc. so please use those when appropriate.) Please be mindful, if you just want recs for tobacco, or rose, or a single type of scent for someone for which a thread exists, it is most likely going to be merged into that thread, so in those cases you should probably just bump the existing thread with your requests. Don't worry, you will get lots of help from this crowd, we aren't prejudiced against older or longer threads!

 

3. Looking for the right scent for an occasion or event that's coming up - but please search first even though it seems very special and specific to you, since we have threads like Bridal BPAL, best blends for performing in front of an audience, job interviews... we are a chatty bunch and we have covered a lot of ground.

 

 

The best rule of thumb is search first - and I am always happy to help you with any search issues. If you find a thread and you aren't sure if yours would be a dupe, just drop me a PM. I would much rather discuss it with you then, than have to hash it out via PM after I have issued a reminder or warning about your topic. It makes me feel like you didn't care enough to search or to ask my opinion and it makes you feel like an evil nun is coming after you rapping your knuckles with a ruler. Neither is a pleasant feeling.

 

The big "similarities" threads

These are all pinned for your convenience at the top of the forum. There's one for finding good substitutes in the general catalog for your favorite (scarce) Limited Edition scents; one for similarities between GC scents, and this does include discussion of discontinued GC scents; and because there are so many Lush fans who are also BPAL fans, a thread to help you find BPAL blends that smell like your favorite Lush products.

 

There is a very easy way to search these threads without having to read through all those pages. Scroll down to the bottom of any page of the thread and you'll see at the bottom left a box with the words "Enter Keywords" and a box that says "Search Topic." This mini search engine allows you to search within the thread for the specific Lush scent, discontinued BPAL blend or whatever it may bee that you are seeking. It's self explanatory - enter keywords and search the topic!

 

If you aren't finding what you want using that method, another method that takes a little longer is to go through the topic, page by page, using your browser's "Edit: find" function to find the term you're seeking on each page.

 

Finding BPALs that smell like other perfumes

Check for threads by company name as well as product name - a few threads are combined by the company (Bath & Body Works, The Body Shop, Victoria's Secret, for example). There's also a thread compiling the most common comparisons where you are welcome to discuss and ask questions - but you can start a standalone thread if one doesn't exist for what you are looking for.

 

 

A few general comments - I do leave a lot of topics live as you can see, even ones that never got any responses - just in case someone does come along and look for similar recommendations in the future. I merge stuff when I see a logical combination of topics to keep things tidy, and I also edit thread titles to make them more searchable (although I do try to keep the OP's humor & personality evident whenever possible, sometimes our inside jokes ultimately have to go so I can include utilitarian search terms ). I've also gone through the subforum periodically and edited vague titles to reflect their content a bit more accurately, so I hope that will be helpful to all of us.

 

Thanks to all of you for your enthusiastic participation in Recommendations!

[ivyandpeony]

Due to the increase in the numbers of members - and new members - I am going to archive threads a little more quickly than I had been. Once you've had a topic up for five weeks and it hasn't been active for a while, it's subject to being moved to the Post Cemetery, although it may not be moved immediately.

 

The topics that are most likely to get moved directly there are the ones where you're seeking specific recs for a specific person (you, mom, a friend, etc) based on past likes and particular notes - something that's not likely to be of use to other forum members in the future.

 

If you started a new topic that's relevant to others and/or of general interest, chances are it will be left here - although I do reserve the right to merge it with another topic down the road.

 

And it goes without saying, but I will mention it - if you start a duplicate topic, it will be merged and you will receive a warning. We've worked very hard to compile the information in this pinned section for you, so please look it over first - it might answer some of your questions! And of course, use the search engine before you start a new thread.

 

If you have any questions or problems, feel free to PM me.

[ivyandpeony]

I absolutely hate when I have to warn people. But I hate duplicate topics too, especially when there are links sitting in the "Short Guide to Common Recommendations." In the past two or three weeks, I have had to issue four or more warnings for this most basic and easily avoidable misstep! I don't know if everyone has spring fever or something - relatively new members are doing it just as much as old-timers.

 

Before you start a thread focusing on a particular note in Recs, please double check to see if one has already been started! You can check the short guide, and you should also do a search by thread title. If you have any doubts or any questions, I am only a PM away (but please do give me time to respond).

 

Feel free to PM me with any links that you think should be added to the short guide as well.

 

Thanks everyone... sorry to be a kvetch, but it's been a problem lately!

[ivyandpeony]

Just a quick note about searching.

 

If you are looking for a thread that you know you have seen and are having trouble finding it, please do the following.

 

First, try a search by topics only. Also limit your search to the subforum where you think you saw it by highlighting that subforum in the search form. Try Recommendations, of course, but sometimes you will have seen a thread in BPAL Chatter that covers a similar topic that doesn't exist here. Anyway, limiting to topics only will definitely help keep your results to a manageable number and limiting to subforums narrows it even more.

 

If you still cannot find the topic, please do not start a new thread asking where it is located. PM the moderator(s) for the subforum where you expected to find it for assistance.

Edited July 27, 2010 by ivyandpeony

[ivyandpeony]

Just a periodic bump to get some attention in case there are some folks out there who haven't read this thread...

 

Since we've had a lot of new members join over the holidays and therefore more "Help me, I'm new" threads (in addition to lots of "help me with a gift idea" threads) I'm trying to stay on top of archiving those when no one's posted for 30 days to keep the place as uncluttered as possible.

 

If you find your thread's been archived and you want follow-up recs, you have 2 choices: you can PM me and I can resurrect it, you post a reply at the end to update and continue discussion. Or you can start a new thread for yourself.

 

Just don't start a new thread for yourself if your first thread is still alive and well in Recommendations!

 

*This applies to the topics that are oriented very specifically to one person, you or your mom or your sister types of threads. The first post in this topic explains how Recs works, when you should be bumping old topics for discussion and when it's OK to go ahead and start new topics.

[ivyandpeony]

I've noticed that people are recommending non-BPAL perfumes in their posts here a little more often lately. This really isn't appropriate here, and I'd like to ask you all to keep such discussions of other brands in the subforum designated for them, Retail Therapy, from now on. (This does not apply to posts seeking BPAL scents that are similar to a favorite perfume from another source - those continue to be welcome, of course.)

 

Recs is part of the section of subforums dedicated to Lab discussion, and its intent is for members to be able to seek others' advice about BPAL blends they aren't familiar with themselves. For another member to respond to a request by recommending a scent from a department store line, another e-tailer, or any source other than the Lab is a bit disrespectful of this subforum's purposes, the Lab, and the original poster, who came here looking for BPAL recs.

 

Please feel free to PM me if you have any comments or questions about this or other issues in Recommendations. I don't feel like this is a huge problem yet, and I'm certainly not angry with anyone who may have done this previously. However, since we now have over 6000 members and are adding new members every day, I felt that spelling this guideline out was important.

 

Thanks, everyone, for your enthusiastic participation in Recommendations!

 

I'm bumping this because this has been happening a little more than I'd like lately.

 

With the increased size of the catalog and the huge increase in membership, I think it's important that this area remain devoted to BPAL only. If members are interested in recommendations for other brands, we have Retail Therapy for that. It's hard enough to navigate the longer threads about more popular notes (vanilla, patchouli, etc) and keep track of the BPAL recs, and I don't like the idea of turning this General Perfume recs subforum for that reason and the reasons I stated in my first announcement.

 

The one exception that I think may be appropriate is when there truly is no BPAL scent that can be recommended - for example, the recent thread about cilantro or the bakery scent earlier this year, where someone wanted something that smelled like bread. You can also visit this thread, where there's ongoing discussion of other products members have discovered that remind them of favorite BPAL scents.

 

So if you are looking for recommendations for general vanilla scents or what have you, by all means visit Retail Therapy, it's there for you to enjoy and the sky is the limit there. This subforum needs to be limited to BPAL questions and recommendations. Thanks, and as always I welcome any questions or comments - just drop me a PM!