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

[azurephoenix]

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).

You'll be missing out on a lot of amazing scents! And just because a scent comes back doesn't mean that there aren't small changes to it... How long a bottle of oil, or even an imp lasts can depend on if you're a slatherer/dauber.. and if you have a lot of scents to rotate through. And the secondary market to find a unloved bottle isn't too bad, unless it's very popular with the masses. Be BRAVE!!!!

[Soupy Twist]

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.

 

I posted this on another thread and people seemed to find it helpful, so I'll repost it here, since this seems to be a good general thread:

 

Re Decant circles: BPAL sells perfume in bottles and samples, called imps. The Limited Editions (LEs), which are seasonal or event-specific, don't come in imps. But not everyone wants to jump in and buy a $23 bottle.... or five or ten... without sampling first. So some kind souls create a decant circle. What this means is that they take orders for bottles, and they will pour out, or decant, samples of each oil into 1ml vials (the standard sample size) so you can test a scent without committing to a whole bottle.

 

The way it works is that you go into the forum http://www.bpal.org/forum/79-decant-circles-group-orders/and find someone who is doing a circle for the set of scents you want to try (like Yules, Weenies, Liliths, etc.). The person will post the bottles she is willing to purchase, and the number of slots available. (I think it's five per bottle.) You post usually in that thread asking for decants of the scents you want. The person confirms your request, and tells you (in a PM) how much it will cost. You send that amount via Paypal. When the bottles arrive, the decanter makes up the samples and sends out packages.

 

Check out the various FAQs throughout the forum for more explanations, and PM the mods with specific questions. They are lovely people.

[russetfox]

Are amber bottles better than the cobalt bottles?

[LizziesLuck]

Are amber bottles better than the cobalt bottles?

 

Everything comes in an amber bottle now. For a few years (maybe 2004-2006 or so? not sure) some items came in cobalt bottles. These are now considered to be rare. I don't think either bottle is better than the other, but since there aren't that many cobalt bottles floating around out there, I think they tend to be coveted. I treasure my few cobalt bottles.

[Deborah Billings]

I am a new BPAL member too and I'm having a ball trying new scents! I recently retired as an RN and after 40+ years of not wearing scents I'm making up for lost time I guess. I have a sort of follow-up question. When a scent like Antique Lace which seems to have great interest and demand goes missing will BPAL bring it back or is it gone forever? This is a very good thread for us newbies.

[LizziesLuck]

I am a new BPAL member too and I'm having a ball trying new scents! I recently retired as an RN and after 40+ years of not wearing scents I'm making up for lost time I guess. I have a sort of follow-up question. When a scent like Antique Lace which seems to have great interest and demand goes missing will BPAL bring it back or is it gone forever? This is a very good thread for us newbies.

 

Hi, welcome!

 

I may be wrong, but I believe Antique Lace was discontinued due to a component issue, and is not able to be made any longer, much to everyone's sadness.

[printf-username]

Can anyone tell me the story of Cake Smash (or any of the much loved DC'd scents that everyone goes crazy for)? When/why did it come out? When/why did it get DC'd? Or, in the case of some of the other scents, will it ever come back?

[LizziesLuck]

Can anyone tell me the story of Cake Smash (or any of the much loved DC'd scents that everyone goes crazy for)? When/why did it come out? When/why did it get DC'd? Or, in the case of some of the other scents, will it ever come back?

 

Hi! Cake Smash was not discontinued, it was a limited edition, meaning it was only ever meant to be available for a limited time. Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab puts out Limitied Edition updates all the time - for instance: Halloween, Motherhood, Yules, Lupercalia and lots of other smaller updates in between.

 

Cake Smash is from 2009, and was released as a "forum only" scent, meaning you had to be a member of this forum to purchase it. If I remember correctly, it was in honour of Beth (creator of BPAL) and Ted's daughter Lilith (I want to say her first birthday? Someone correct me if I'm wrong.). Later on, they began releasing whole updates in honour of their daughter (often called the Liliths, this year they were called Motherhood) each year around her birthday, which were available to everyone and not just the forum. This year's Motherhood line was just taken down not too long ago. Currently, Yules, Anniversaries (Phoenixes) and Weenies are all still available, with the Weens and Phoenixes set to go down on the 14th.

 

Beth has explained that BPAL focuses on Limited Edition runs, because perfume components are often difficult to find a supplier for, long term. So they might make a scent, and a few months later not be able to get all the components. Having set limited edition runs allows them to release the perfumes they want, without fear of ticking people off with it's discon'd a few months down the road. This way everyone knows if something is LE, it's only around for a short while.

 

Most Limited Edition scents do not return. There are a few (mostly Yule, Weenie and Luper) that "re-occur" yearly, or every few years. I have never seen any of the Liliths, or any forum only scents be brought back, so it is not likely that Cake Smash will ever make a return, but not impossible either.

 

Your best bet is to snag a bottle second hand, here on the forum, in one of the Facebook groups, or on eBay. Cake Smash is a bit rare, but not so rare that it doesn't come up sometimes, you just have to keep an eye out for it.

 

Hope that helps! And Welcome!

[printf-username]

 

Can anyone tell me the story of Cake Smash (or any of the much loved DC'd scents that everyone goes crazy for)? When/why did it come out? When/why did it get DC'd? Or, in the case of some of the other scents, will it ever come back?

 

Hi! Cake Smash was not discontinued, it was a limited edition, meaning it was only ever meant to be available for a limited time. Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab puts out Limitied Edition updates all the time - for instance: Halloween, Motherhood, Yules, Lupercalia and lots of other smaller updates in between.

 

Cake Smash is from 2009, and was released as a "forum only" scent, meaning you had to be a member of this forum to purchase it. If I remember correctly, it was in honour of Beth (creator of BPAL) and Ted's daughter Lilith (I want to say her first birthday? Someone correct me if I'm wrong.). Later on, they began releasing whole updates in honour of their daughter (often called the Liliths, this year they were called Motherhood) each year around her birthday, which were available to everyone and not just the forum. This year's Motherhood line was just taken down not too long ago. Currently, Yules, Anniversaries (Phoenixes) and Weenies are all still available, with the Weens and Phoenixes set to go down on the 14th.

 

Beth has explained that BPAL focuses on Limited Edition runs, because perfume components are often difficult to find a supplier for, long term. So they might make a scent, and a few months later not be able to get all the components. Having set limited edition runs allows them to release the perfumes they want, without fear of ticking people off with it's discon'd a few months down the road. This way everyone knows if something is LE, it's only around for a short while.

 

Most Limited Edition scents do not return. There are a few (mostly Yule, Weenie and Luper) that "re-occur" yearly, or every few years. I have never seen any of the Liliths, or any forum only scents be brought back, so it is not likely that Cake Smash will ever make a return, but not impossible either.

 

Your best bet is to snag a bottle second hand, here on the forum, in one of the Facebook groups, or on eBay. Cake Smash is a bit rare, but not so rare that it doesn't come up sometimes, you just have to keep an eye out for it.

 

Hope that helps! And Welcome!

Thanks for such a detailed reply, wow! Thankfully I was able to get a bottle from the FB group (after being lucky enough to snag a decant - what are the odds?). I would pray that it gets rereleased, but...yeah. I've seen a lot of well loved scents get DC'd or never rereleased because of component issues, which sucks.

[sylvis]

I hope this is a good place to ask this. Can anyone tell me more about the Lunacy events? I know the one they had recently was hosted by BPAL, but it seems like the others *might* be held by fans?
I'm in NYC which seems to be sorely lacking in BPAL-ness! Is there something I may have missed? I plan to stop by Gothic Renaissance at some point, hopefully.

[Pave.Gurl]

I hope this is a good place to ask this. Can anyone tell me more about the Lunacy events? I know the one they had recently was hosted by BPAL, but it seems like the others *might* be held by fans?

I'm in NYC which seems to be sorely lacking in BPAL-ness! Is there something I may have missed? I plan to stop by Gothic Renaissance at some point, hopefully.

 

Hey, sylvis! As I understand, Lunacy events are sponsored by the Lab, specifically, though fans may congregate for meet 'n sniff events to sniff/ share/ swap.

 

However, I'm not super involved in the IRL component, so that could be a completely wackadoodle interpretation - please correct me if I'm wrong!

[rachelos]

I would say as far as advice for a newbie, that my experience when I first began ordering was buying too many un-imp-able General Catalog scents, which ended up not working for me, and I became resentful for wasting my money (a lot of money) and being consistently disappointed. That being said, when I first started, I was really most into the stranger more evocative blends, which are always a gamble. At the time I was intimidated by the decant circles and sales on the forum and only bought directly from the lab. I now know this was a big mistake as far as testing scents before buying big bottles. So my advice would be to try out things for cheap before investing in blind bottle purchases! The forum sales are not in the least bit scary once you get into it, and I find everyone on this site to be extremely sweet and caring : )

[Lucchesa]

I would say as far as advice for a newbie, that my experience when I first began ordering was buying too many un-imp-able General Catalog scents, which ended up not working for me, and I became resentful for wasting my money (a lot of money) and being consistently disappointed. That being said, when I first started, I was really most into the stranger more evocative blends, which are always a gamble. At the time I was intimidated by the decant circles and sales on the forum and only bought directly from the lab. I now know this was a big mistake as far as testing scents before buying big bottles. So my advice would be to try out things for cheap before investing in blind bottle purchases! The forum sales are not in the least bit scary once you get into it, and I find everyone on this site to be extremely sweet and caring : )

Super good advice, Rachelos! I love buying imps, either from the Lab or the forums, because I haven't invested a fortune so I'm not devastated if a scent doesn't go my way. And the people here are great. I bought some imps early on and the forumite asked what he could frimp me -- extra imps I might want to try, like the ones the Lab always includes in orders. And I said I was afraid of patchouli, and he sent me samples of some patchouli blends, one of which is now one of my absolute favorites. You never know what the combination of notes is going to do with your skin chemistry. It can be magic! I still buy the occasional bottle untested, especially if it's for a good cause -- I'll be ordering some Covfefe soon...

[Amber713]

I am so sorry! I didn't know what I was really doing when I made a couple of ISO posts . I have been informed we can only have one, which makes total sense. I'm so sorry everyone !! Thanks for being patiend with me!! Are there any other rules that people often break they have to be reported all the time? I would love to avoid doing anything of the sort

[LizziesLuck]

I am so sorry! I didn't know what I was really doing when I made a couple of ISO posts . I have been informed we can only have one, which makes total sense. I'm so sorry everyone !! Thanks for being patiend with me!! Are there any other rules that people often break they have to be reported all the time? I would love to avoid doing anything of the sort

 

These threads might be helpful

 

http://www.bpal.org/topic/85103-newbies-guide-to-the-bpal-galaxy/

 

http://www.bpal.org/forum-7/announcement-65-swapping-101/

 

http://www.bpal.org/forum-7/announcement-70-universal-price-cap/

 

http://www.bpal.org/topic/25934-swaps-etiquette/

 

Cheers! <3

[TwasBrillig]

What exactly does drydown mean? I think I've been using it wrong

[LizziesLuck]

What exactly does drydown mean? I think I've been using it wrong

 

It might be subjective? But I use it to mean when a scent is fully dry and settled on my skin, and is no longer "morphing" or going through different phases, it's in its "final stage" so to speak. HTH

[TwasBrillig]

 

What exactly does drydown mean? I think I've been using it wrong

 

It might be subjective? But I use it to mean when a scent is fully dry and settled on my skin, and is no longer "morphing" or going through different phases, it's in its "final stage" so to speak. HTH

 

I thought that was the 'dry'. I was under impression there's wet, drydown, and dry, in that order.

[LizziesLuck]

 

 

What exactly does drydown mean? I think I've been using it wrong

 

It might be subjective? But I use it to mean when a scent is fully dry and settled on my skin, and is no longer "morphing" or going through different phases, it's in its "final stage" so to speak. HTH

 

I thought that was the 'dry'. I was under impression there's wet, drydown, and dry, in that order.

 

 

Hmm, I think I sometimes use it for both - I might say "during drydown" but I also might say "after drydown". So ha, confusing, and I think subjective. For reviewing purposes, if you're worried you're not being clear, you can just avoid that word and say, "as it dries" and then "once dry"?

[Jamesthesaint]

I don't see any kind of guide about what is considered normal or standard for decants across the board. This might be a silly question but, as far as decanting hair glosses, how are people doing that? I saw someone reference a 1oz bottle with a spray cap. Is that the standard? I have quite a few that I don't use (they just don't work for me,) and I'd like to make sure someone is getting use out of them. I think a guide to decanting in general might be useful.