Newbie Guide to BPAL and BPAL.org (add your tips)

[mgcady]

Hello… I was wondering if there was a one stop forum post/thread on "So you're new to BPAL and BPAL.org" with useful things like the BPAL specific abbreviations, what makes something a rare, links to the 101 posts, how long do limited editions run and how often are new ones released…

 

Basically a newbie guide.

[AEris]

I looked real quick and didn't see anything that stuck out to me - the forum FAQ and BPAL FAQ sections have answers to more specific questions, but I don't see a Newbie Guide. (I bet there is one - or several! - but I didn't find it quickly.)

 

Some abbreviations:

LE = Limited Edition

GC = General Catalog

DC = Discontinued

(D)ISO = (Desperately) In Search Of

 

Limited Edition scents are typically around for a couple of months. Some great giant annual updates include Lupercalia (near Valentine's day), Anniversary scents (in the fall), Weenies (near Halloween), and Yules (near the Winter holidays).

Lunacy scents come out once a month and celebrate the full moon. They are only available for purchase for a couple of days.

General Catalog scents are available at all times, but occasionally GC acents have to be discontinued due to things like component availability issues.

Forum-only LE scents are sneaky hidden scents that come out on a whim. When one comes out, the secret link is typically at the bottom of an Announcement in the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab section of the forum. There hasn't been one for a little while.

 

Scents become rare when they are Limited Edition scents that people really love, and therefore they become hard to find after-the-fact; and GC scents that are popular but become discontinued (such as Antique Lace - that scent now has a cult following, it has been DC'ed for over a year now and its value is skyrocketing).

 

New LE scents (outside of the annual usual update times) come out periodically and are kind of unpredictable and glorious. They are insanely creative and wonderful and fabulous.

[kaberett]

One of the things that really confused me was "BNNU" - seems to mean "bought new, never used"!

 

Also, if a name is given as e.g. "Katharina v7", that means it's the seventh version of the prototype of that scent, rather than the scent as released in the catalogue.

 

So if we make up a guide (... I, uh, have a bunch of spare time this summer? If it would be useful I'd be happy to sling together a draft?) those are things I'd like in it.

[AEris]

BNNU = brand new, never used.

 

Lets keep adding to this!

[Mellifluous]

HTF= Hard to find

HG= Holy Grail

Tarted imps= Really old imps whose labels are handwritten and were tied on with black raspy twine.

Event Exclusive= Perfume(s) that are/were only sold at a specific event (ie Comic-Con, or Bats Day, etc..)

Retail Exclusive= A scent blended for a specific ®etailer, which is only available from them (ie Haute Macabre, Think Geek, etc..)

WC= Will Call, which is an event at a brick-and-mortar store that has bpals to test and buy.

WCWC or NEWC= West Coast Will Call (at Dark Dels) and New England Will Call (at Healthy Living) respectively.

Wandcap= a cap for your bottle that has a glass rod attached, and is used for easier application.

 

Also, "cobalt" bottles signify the scent is at the latest from 2008 ( it think?), since it was during that year the lab switched to the current amber bottles.

Edited May 3, 2013 by Mellifluous

[ReallyZeb]

TOL - Top of label

SN - Single note

Edited May 4, 2013 by ReallyZeb

[vthesiren]

I'm a n00b who's been trying to absorb everything in the past week, but I would love a newbie guide. In particular, I'd like clarification of the following terms:

• Amp - this is short for "amplify", right? As in "my skin amps this certain note, so it overpowers everything else"?
  
• "Death note" - does this mean a note that dies immediately on the skin, a note that smells horrible upon application, or does it vary depending on the person using it?
  

 

Oh, and why is it that when I look in some sales threads, there are posts with periods spaced throughout the names li.ke t.h.is?

 

Thanks in advance!

Edited May 4, 2013 by vthesiren

[kaberett]

Oh, and why is it that when I look in some sales threads, there are posts with periods spaced throughout the names li.ke t.h.is?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

Because then they don't show up when you search! So it means that if you're searching the forum, you don't land up getting every post where someone is listing the scent you're after as "already sold", or "I'm willing to swap for this", in addition to the people who are actually able to sell you the thing you're after.

 

(Amp: yes! Death note: seems to generally mean "smells horrible", with "notes of death ;_;" used in opposition to "notes of love <3", but v happy to be corrected!)

 

OH, and "TOS" == Top Of Shoulder

Edited May 4, 2013 by kaberett

[Saffrin]

"Death note" can also mean a note that gives you a headache (these can get pretty massive)/skin irritation, etc. Silly notes that do their best to try and kill the wearer.

[mgcady]

What's a frimp?

[allidavie]

What's a frimp?

 

It's a free imp (get it?). The Lab will sometimes include them in orders, as will forumites sometimes when they swap or sell you something.

 

If you place a huge order with the Lab, Frottles have been known to occur.

[kaberett]

CD = Carnaval Diabolique

DC can also be "delivery confirmation"

[mgcady]

What's a frimp?

 

It's a free imp (get it?). The Lab will sometimes include them in orders, as will forumites sometimes when they swap or sell you something.

 

If you place a huge order with the Lab, Frottles have been known to occur.

 

I'm probably going to be a while before I order enough to get a frottle. *eyes bug out*

 

Thank you for the explanation!

[heyjjudette]

This is so helpful! I felt a little lost as a newbie at first...

[aphrodite]

What's a frimp?

 

It's a free imp (get it?). The Lab will sometimes include them in orders, as will forumites sometimes when they swap or sell you something.

 

If you place a huge order with the Lab, Frottles have been known to occur.

 

I'm not a newbie, but I was searching for "frottles" and this is the thread with the most relevant convo it seems...

 

It seems like generally every six imps come with about two frimps. I know it can vary, but that's been the average for me. Is there an average for frottles? Or a certain number (20, 30, 50?) of bottles that seems to be guaranteed to include at least one frottle?

[sunshinedaisybliss]

It seems like generally every six imps come with about two frimps. I know it can vary, but that's been the average for me. Is there an average for frottles? Or a certain number (20, 30, 50?) of bottles that seems to be guaranteed to include at least one frottle?

 

You're right - it does seem that there is a proportionate amount of frimps with orders - around 2 x frimps per bottle... generally (of course, this varies). However frottles seem a bit more random. I've received a frottle with large orders, but also with not-so-big orders.

 

I really don't think there's any such thing as "guaranteed to include" - free *anything* is to be appreciated, not expected. I don't mean that as a personal thing aimed at you, aphrodite, but I just felt it's important to remember this

[Finny]

HTF= Hard to find

HG= Holy Grail

Tarted imps= Really old imps whose labels are handwritten and were tied on with black raspy twine.

Event Exclusive= Perfume(s) that are/were only sold at a specific event (ie Comic-Con, or Bats Day, etc..)

Retail Exclusive= A scent blended for a specific ®etailer, which is only available from them (ie Haute Macabre, Think Geek, etc..)

WC= Will Call, which is an event at a brick-and-mortar store that has bpals to test and buy.

WCWC or NEWC= West Coast Will Call (at Dark Dels) and New England Will Call (at Healthy Living) respectively.

Wandcap= a cap for your bottle that has a glass rod attached, and is used for easier application.

 

Also, "cobalt" bottles signify the scent is at the latest from 2008 ( it think?), since it was during that year the lab switched to the current amber bottles.

 

Amber and cobalt bottles were both used as far back as 2004.

[aphrodite]

It seems like generally every six imps come with about two frimps. I know it can vary, but that's been the average for me. Is there an average for frottles? Or a certain number (20, 30, 50?) of bottles that seems to be guaranteed to include at least one frottle?

 

You're right - it does seem that there is a proportionate amount of frimps with orders - around 2 x frimps per bottle... generally (of course, this varies). However frottles seem a bit more random. I've received a frottle with large orders, but also with not-so-big orders.

 

I really don't think there's any such thing as "guaranteed to include" - free *anything* is to be appreciated, not expected. I don't mean that as a personal thing aimed at you, aphrodite, but I just felt it's important to remember this

 

No, I know that of course, and I doubt I'll ever make an order big enough for a frottle. I was just getting curious / awestruck by the number of BU GC bottles on the sales pages of people that run circles.

[kittsu]

This is a great idea because as someone who lurked for awhile before joining I seem to spend a lot of time searching for definitions or descriptions of lingo. For example, I know what it means to decant something, but in regards to BPAL I don't know what the expectation or standard is for decants. Also the do this, don't do this / report this, don't report this makes me super nervous to ask any questions anywhere. So I basically spend all my time reading reviews, occasionally responding on the tv show discussions and making a few purchases in sales. The search function doesn't have all the answers, but a newbie guide section would go a long way to making some of us feel more comfortable navigating this vast board.

[deadgirldeviant]

Thanks to all who posted tidbits on this thred...helped this forum newb too!

[Ina Garten Davita]

This is a great thread. Add your tips and I will set up a list or a doc for newbs to refer to.

[Soshoni]

Things that caused me a few head scratches:

 

Sniffie/Empty - An imp or bottle that doesn't have any usable amount of oil left in it. Just enough to get a whiff or teaser of the scent.

 

Cleanly tested - A toothpick or other disposable implement was used to test instead of applying directly to the skin from the bottle or cap. Some people have concerns about contamination/eventual spoilage of the perfume by skin oils, or the transmission of germs from swapping perfume that hasn't been cleanly tested. YMMV - this thread goes into more detail.

 

Aged - Some perfumes develop and deepen over time. You'll occasionally see people looking for older bottles of their favorite scents, even if those scents are still available brand new.

 

Unimpable - Refers to a perfume only available as a bottle from the Lab, such as Limited Edition scents and special series like the Neil Gaiman scents, etc.

 

Imps vs. Decants - Some people use imp only to refer to the sample size perfume vials direct from the Lab. Decants are similarly sized sample vials created by individuals who purchased a bottle and decanted it into smaller vials at home. Imp is also sometimes used as a general term to refer to any sample sized vial. Decants are usually from unimpable offerings.

 

Xxxxxxx 20## - When a year is listed after the name of the Perfume, it's usually a LE scent that has been re-released year after year, like some of the Halloween and Yule scents.

[Laura Lee Smith]

Is there a list somewhere of "yearly" scents that return? I know they have Weenies, Liliths, Yules, Moons, Carnival, but what I want to know, what scents return each year? I know Snow White does in the winter, are there certain other scents that are available yearly?

[aphrodite]

Is there a list somewhere of "yearly" scents that return? I know they have Weenies, Liliths, Yules, Moons, Carnival, but what I want to know, what scents return each year? I know Snow White does in the winter, are there certain other scents that are available yearly?

 

I'm not sure if anyone has compiled a list like that, but if you google the scent name, sometimes you'll find multiple bpal.org results for the same one, or you can just tell by browsing a category in the reviews and noticing which LEs have a ton more pages of results. It's tricky because there are many scents that are recurring, but not necessarily every year - for example, this year we have Rose Red and Peacock Queen which are recurring popular scents, but no sign of Pink or Yellow Snowballs, which are also fan favorites that come back a lot. And Lick It in some incarnation has seemed pretty much guaranteed, but this year it didn't come back, so even for the really recurring ones there's always a chance it won't be back around. Then there are scents like Sonnet d'Automne which first appeared in 2011 and didn't come back until 2014, but now it's come back for two Weenies in a row. I guess the short answer is that it takes some investigation to figure out which ones are recurring, which ones come back the most often, etc.

[Laura Lee Smith]

Thanks! That was helpful, I know a couple now that I can try(I'm afraid to get attached to something I'll never see again).