B-Spot by Benefit has become my new poison, though I still wear RL's Romance from time to time.

I picked a bottle of Harjuku Girls Music for my teenaged cousin for Xmas. Then I bought one for myself. Gwen Stefani annoys the hell out of me what with her little human Japanese pets & all, but I do like the perfume & the packaging is cute as fuck.

I have the Japanese Cherry Blossom spray and love it. I also just got their new fragrance Black Amethyst. It is by far my favorite scent ever from B&BW. Didn't hurt that I got a free red gloss when I bought it. LOL I'm all about some free gifts.

I've also got a few other scents from them but mostly wear the Amethyst. Its pretty 'sensual' I think.

Much like my addictions/issues with shoes, handbags, & bling, I also have a love of the stinkum. I'm one of those women that likes to turn heads, so I usually go for something old or weird. I was on a Piguet kick for the first half of the year, wearing Bandit, Fracas, & Baghari.

I've been loving Tokyomilk products. I'm wearing #16 Ex Libris right now & can barely keep my own nose out of my cleavage! It's fig leaves, magnolia, bronzed musk, & cardamom. The cardamom really gives it a pepper-y sort of pop.

I also found the Perfumed Court which decants pricey prefumes into smaller, sterile bottles so you can really get a nose for something without spending $$$$$ out the wazoo on a giant bottle.

L'Occitane en Provence has a really nice cherry blossom scent. It's not japanese cherry blossom though but they have 2 versions of it, Cherry and Cherry Blossom. I am obsessed with the Nuit de Mai scent they have. It is rose, blackberries vanilla cinnamon and some other woods. It smells really sensual, my guy says its the best perfume I have ever worn. Not too strong and he says i still smell like me with it on.

I lurve L'occitane's Ambre scent. They discontinued it a few years ago, but it's back now. It makes me smell like the sexiest headshop in the world.

Incanto Heaven by Salvatore Ferragamo is my favorite scent at the moment!

I have G and Music and I love them both!

For ages, LeBoy and I have been looking for a new scent for him, and I think we found it tonight: Blue Mark by Jack Black (no, not that Jack Black!)

We were in a hipster kitschy gift shop (where I also bought this greeting card for my office manager at work whose birthday is in a couple of weeks) and they had lots of fragrances. I sprayed this one on LeBoy and immediately, I knew it was the one. LeBoy didn't want a scent that screamed masculinity, but wasn't girly, either. It smells so good- juniper and ginger....humanist detected a little anise in there, too.

We bought some off eBay just now, for $20 less than anywhere else.

That sounds sesi, Polly. The bf took my bottle of Ex-Libris for himself. I think it smells better on him than me even, that sesi, sesi man!

I know there are a lot of BPALers here & I was wondering if any of you knew how long they took to ship something. I ordered a bottle of perfume from them on 11/13/09, their website said they ship twice a week, but I've yet to receive a shipping notice. I was just hoping I'd receive it before I leave this week so I can have my neighbor keep an eye out for it as I'd rather not leave it exposed to the elements too long.

Hey! I JUST received a shipping notice this weekend for the order I placed 19 days ago. I really hope the package arrives Monday or Tuesday so I can have an olfactory orgy. You'll probably be okay to go away for a while without missing its arrival.

OMG, thank you so much, Raisin! This is my first time ordering as I don't usually like to buy things without smelling them first. I ordered some Sybaris because a reputable source advised me that it smells like my beloved, but discontinued, Lush Skinny Dip.

I was wondering how many signature scent girls there are compared to the perfume fiends with too many bottles. My mom was a signature scenter (Estee Lauder's Beautiful. Smelled like nauseating pink in a bottle), as was my grandmother (Halston). I have perfume like I have shoes or clothes; I want to smell like whatever I feel that day, so I have a wide variety. Today it's Lush Black Pearl. It's main notes are lavender, black currant, & chamomile.

You're so welcome. It's my second order ever with them, and I really, really, REALLY can't wait until the loot arrives. I hope I made good choices. You do know that they throw in some free imps (with each order? I think), right? (Where's Quantum when you need her?) So you're going to get even more than what you ordered. I used to have "signature scents" up until recently, and then I felt like branching out. I wouldn't call myself a fiend just yet, but there's still time for that to develop. Right?

I was feeling nostalgic and there was a sale, so I recently bought a bottle of Benetton's perfume for $8. <--- probably something for the Sin Bin, really.

I know what you mean. I still associate Lancome's Tresor with one of my cousins (I haven't seen her in years, so I don't know if she still wears it) and it's jarring to smell it on someone else.

The problem with signature scents is that your own nose gets used to what you're wearing, so what's the point of wearing the same scent several days in a row? Things I wish I had learned earlier in life.

It's really amazing how scent is so close to memory. I still want to barf into my handbag whenever I smell Poison because of the person it makes me think of. Well, that & the fact that is so cloyingly, sickeningly sweet.

that's exactly why i can't stand full-sized bottles. i have scents that remind me of bad shit from YEARS ago, and when i smell them now all that psychic toxin comes back so vividly (conversely, there are 2 or 3 scents i like because they remind me of, ahem, fun times).

i'd much rather have sample-sizes (speaking of, i just bought a sephora sampler kit with atomizer... i am way more excited about that than i should be.)

my favs right now:
very hollywood, michael kors
lola, marc jacobs

both light and clean, but with a sensual edge.

I dunno if you saw this, COCL, but it sound slike it would be right up your perfume alley, the Perfumed Court. You can get almost any perfume decanted into a nice tiny bottle.

Did you go for the deluxe sampler box, COCL? One of the things I dig the most about Sephora is the perfume samples. I have a whole little basket full of them in my bathroom.

Just FYI, Kat Von D's Saint smells like pineapple. That's all I smelled, pineapple.

Sample sizes are very useful for those of us who change our minds often!

I finally found a perfume that I really like and wear almost every day (Chanel no. 19). I think it's the first time that I used up the whole bottle before it started to go funny.

I can't say I've ever had a scent go funny. I'm a HUGE fan of Intense by Hugo Boss, Lacoste Pour Femme and Contradiction by Calvin Klein.

how did i not know about the perfumed court? that is the best idea evah. and yes, i did go for the deluxe sampler. i also picked up 3 more as the 'free gifts', of which kat von d's saint was one. it smells like kat von d to me. (which is to say, day-old beer and a musty thrift store.)

I'm a signature scent woman. I like the idea that a certain scent will remind people of me when they smell it elsewhere (ego, much?). Also I am really really picky about perfume so I wouldn't change my scent often anyway.

I've been wearing Jo Malone's Grapefruit for a few years now; I find her perfumes retain their original scent on the skin better than a lot of brands. If I was loaded I'd probably switch to something by Annick Goutal though.

AP, I got the goods today.

I don't think it's ego, Sybarite. I think you're aware of just how much power there is in scent to stir memory. So you use the "signature" scent like an accessory.

My only problem with this would be how would I choose one over all the others? I love so many of them.

One woman I know has been wearing a simple, clean perfume with the essence of Vetiver for years--it's a scent that reminds her of her home. The effect this has is so subtle, every time I smell that particular vetiver I know she's around. I think it would actually be a bit distressing to see her and not sense the perfume! Also, every time I smell that fragrance anywhere I'm reminded of being in her presence. It's not just a little bit of memory the perfume conveys--it's more like it conveys a kind of knowledge; a kind of knowing about that person.

I don't know anything else that would accomplish that.

Beautiful.

Oh, say it ain't so, Seven.

Ah, yes. Isn't it amazing how a scent can throw you back in time?
Olfactory impulses don't get routed through the thalamus like all of the other sensory impulses do, and since the thalamus actually filters out a lot of the information that goes to it, you have a very strong elicitor of memory in scent. Isn't that fascinating?
So if you know how to use scent to its greatest advantage, use it

ha! that would explain why i have certain, er, fuck me scents

Yeah? What are they? Curious minds want to know

COCL, I'm with you on that. I like subtle scents that you have to get close to me to smell, and they are sexy and seductive.

i notice that most of them have some sort of musk-y undertone.

bcbg girl's metro.
and
french connection UK for her ("fcuk her")

seem to get me the most action


damn, i wish i could link this.

Links are back!

Great googly moogly. I do think a monster has been created. I got my package from BPAL today. Sybaris is the strangest thing I've smelled in a good long while. I love it, but it's just weird. My imps were of Brusque Violet, which is straight up fucking genius & Egle.

Are you new to bpal, AP? If so, lemme know. I can always throw some imps together and send them your way...it is an addiction. Fo sho'. I haven't ordered anything in awhile, but have been feeling very tempted by some of the new limited editions...

I was a BPAL virgin until today. I knew a lot of you were into it & after checking them out, I knew that it could turn ugly fast if I joined in. And it has. I've been surfing BPAL the past couple hours & am afraid I am totally hopeless. MUST. HAVE. PERFUME. I want imp after imp after imp!

Hello. My name is AP. And I am a perfume addict.

I gotta say, their customer service is topnotch. I was concerned since it had been nearly a month since I placed my order, the invoice from CCNow said my order had been shipped. I contacted BPAL, they apologised for the error & my shit was here two days later. AWESOME! Lovelovelove these people!

Yep, the addiction comes on fast, that's for sure! It does take a few weeks for orders to ship, and I think the anticipation of waiting for the package makes me love the sniffies even more!

See, I'm just learning the lingo. Had you mentioned "sniffies" to me yesterday, I'd have been mystified.

I really think Brusque Violet is me in a bottle.

Seven, if you are really into Beautiful, I have a bunch of Beautiful schwag I could send you.

And my cod, Turbo, it's not like you don't already contribute a grip to my every day life. Imps are way above & beyond. If you have some you think are stinky, though I would most happily take them off your hands. I've been checking out Quantum's MB & peeping the swaps.

AP, send me your address, woman! Somewhere down the line when you've acquired too much BPAL for it to make any sense at all (trust me, that time will come), you'll be able to pass a few imps along to a newbie. Now, it's my turn. So give up the deets.

Squee! I won a delicious bottle of DORIAN on ebay!! 10mLs!! Whoo hoo!

dang jsmith - you are killing me. i had plum forgotten about dorian, and now i'm gonna have to hunt. i just got the 2007 rose red in (for some reason i always fall for the limited editions - true in life as in perfume!), and it's just gorgeous. so lush.

I love Dorian. It used to be my 3rd favorite after Wanda and Snake Oil, but now that my imp of it has aged, it has become extremely YUM! It's now my #1 favorite, and it has excellent throw when I put it in my scent earrings.

YES!!!!!! We are still talking about BPAL! Haven't talked shop about it in years!!!! Catch me up ladies!!

My Dorian finally came! Ooooo, I wish they still did 10mL bottles!

I have 12 imps coming my way!
6 from the lab, and 6 from a BPAL forumite.
Cockaigne
Blood Countess
Seance
Rapture
The Temptation
Skuld
The Hanging Gardens
Gluttony
Hell's Belle
Anathema
Mouse's Long and Sad Tale
Eat Me

I wasn't even buying when they had tens & wish they still did them. I got a bunch of lovely imps from Turbo, she said BPAL aged really well. Which I dunno if I'll find out with my Brusque Violet because I can't stop using it! People must think I'm mad the way I walk around huffing my wrists or with my nose buried in my own cleavage.

Any of those imps I passed along are at least 2 years old....so all of those are good and aged. Dorian is my go-to comfort scent. If I'm feeling at all down, or ill, that's what I want to wear. They did an LE in the Carnivale series called Theodosius the Legerdemain that is like the macho Dorian, and I love that one as well. The scents I wear most often are Snake Oil and her cousins - Snake Charmer and Mme. Moriarty. Mmmmmm.

I bought a 5mL of Grog from a BPAL forumite, and got Gluttony as a frimp, so I didn't have to wait til I got my lab order to try it.
It is so. freaking. YUM. I couldn't stop snurfling my wrist last night.
I'm so glad I have another imp on the way

I just bought a 5mL Lust from another forumite. I don't even know what it smells like. I've never done that before, I really hope I end up liking it!

[img]http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_2Vj6Fqz0Zeo/SoIxtcIlCmI/AAAAAAAAAcM/mkhqxGhPJiI/s320/Prada.jpg[/img]
I love the look of Prada's perfume.
Seriously, atomizers make me swoon.
I've smelt it in perfume ads however, I can not discern how vegan it is, and being a vegan I won't buy it till i've got it figured out.

Your link, she does not work, Slodki. I am assuming you meant to post Prada. Simple, sleek design. Lovely scent. I actually ordered a decant of the new Ambre scent to see if it lives up to all the hype.

How hard is it to find out whether a big name perfume is vegan or not? I always thought most places kept their recipes under lock & key. I suppose you'd probably have to write to them directly to see what was what or else find a web resource that gathers that info like they do for vegan makeup & the like.

I just ordered a bunch of imps. I don't usually buy without trying, but hey, it's BPAL, if I don't like it, I can pass it along.

Crap. I was hoping to like Lust, since I bought a 5mL before I even sniffed it. But I don't like it.