Scent ramblings

So, I've been thinking...(I know, dangerous, right?)  I'm already getting comments like, "But how much perfume can one person wear?"  and "Do you really wear all that much perfume?" and I was starting to feel bad, especially when I realized...
The perfume thing really never ends, does it? I was thinking that once I got the rest of the BPAL GC's (General Catalog scents, those that are available all the time, barring component issue discontinuations), I want (and there really aren't that many) I'd be "done" except for seasonal updates. Riiiight. Add in seasonal updates from about six other companies and it becomes never-ending. I give, I give, you've got me for life!

Well and there's still GC's from some of the companies too, like Blooddrop, who has a few GC's I want, and the people over in the "Other Perfumes you Love" thread keep trying to talk me into trying Nocturne Alchemy (they have some foodie scents that sound divine), and if something happens with Conjure Oils so the TAT will be reasonable,  there will be a bunch of those I want. And of course there's my never ending attraction to Villainess. And Haus of Gloi, and Haunt, and Moxie Nouveau, and Arcana, and Midnight Gypsy.   Except for Villainess and Conjure Oils, each company only has a few I want, but multiply that between numerous companies and it starts to add up!

I am seriously going to have to save up for that perfume chest, I guess... I wonder just how long perfume oils last if kept dark and cool? I know Snake Oil is good for at LEAST seven years.

You know, though - I'd feel bad if I didn't WEAR them, but I wear everything I have except the bottle of Purple Swallowtail that's up for swap. If I don't love it, I don't keep it. I rotate - usually wear something different every day. And it's now to the point that I don't feel "dressed" without perfume on. Actually no, it's worse than that. Even on days I don't get out of pajamas, I will put on perfume.

I guess when student loans start coming due I'll have to budget differently, but I'm pretty sure I can manage at least one bottle per paycheck.

After discussing the whole issue with Chris, and he is saying that he isn't seeing the problem, I guess I can stop worrying about it. 

Perfume bottle and cap primer

After my last post, it occurred to me, that I may have lost a few people who aren't "into" the perfume oil world, so I thought I'd put together a post about what sorts of alternatives are out there for both closing perfume oil bottles, and applying said oil.

As I mentioned in the last post, Chris nagged me into buying wand caps.  Okay, so what's a wand cap?  Well, pretty much what it sounds like... it's a cap with a glass wand attached.  The glass wand dips down into the oil, and makes it easy to apply without getting too much, or contaminating the oil with your fingers.  There's still a limited amount of skin contact that goes on when using wand caps, but it's a lot less than dipping your fingers in there every time!  This is a wand cap:

Wand caps are great to have (and I got my order today, so now all my bottles except for three are wandcapped).  But there's all sorts of alternatives.  I was using swizzle sticks.  These are actually maybe even better for not contaminating your oils,  because you can throw them away after using them to apply an oil.  If you've got a bottle of oil that you're not sure you want to keep, use a disposable method when testing it, so as to avoid skin contamination for the next person.  Here's the swizzle sticks I was using that Chris threw a fit over - and I guess it would be kind of odd if you didn't know what they were for, to see a package of cocktail swizzle sticks on the dresser of someone who doesn't drink....

Now, what about those three bottles I just said don't have wand caps?  Why don't they?  Well, Conjure Oils packages their bottles a little differently.  They include an insert, called a reducer, with their bottles that keeps the oil from coming out all at once should it get turned over without a lid on.  These are my two Conjure Oils bottles with reducer caps:

The third bottle that doesn't have a wandcap is one of the smaller ones from Arcana.  The 3.7 ml vials have a smaller bottle circumference, so a wand cap won't fit, they're too big.  However, I was thrilled to find that a wand cap fit on my bigger bottle of Pomona from Midnight Gypsy, which is 7.5 ml.

After wandcapping all my bottles today, I have six wand caps left over; but I also have three more bottles of perfume on the way.  So that will leave me three wand caps left over before I need to order another batch.  I'll probably order more when I place my next BPAL order, which won't be too long, because I need a bottle of this year's Pumpkin V, and if I'm already paying shipping, wand caps might as well come along for the ride.

And last but not least, here's the current bottle stash.  This will be increased by three bottles when the rest of my orders get here over the next two weeks.  Currently I am waiting on my Blooddrop order for Smoldering, and my Haunt order for Fates and Palmist.  I have a shipping notice for Blooddrop, which  means I should see it by Monday at the latest,  and according to Haunt's Facebook page, she's shipping orders placed around the same time I placed mine this weekend.

The astute reader will probably have noticed that I had a bottle riding along with the wand caps.  Eat Me v. 6 arrived safely, and I'll get a review up for it (along with the frimps), in a few days.

Wishes....

BPAL and Villainess and Conjure, oh MY!  In addition to my ongoing BPAL addiction, it looks like I've added Villainess and Conjure to the list.  Luckily for me, both of those places have smaller catalogues than BPAL.  I feel like I could go for years and not get through all the scents I want to try from Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs.

I think my next imp pack from BPAL will be:
 Bastet: "Luxuriant amber, warm Egyptian musk, fierce saffon and soft myrrh, almond, cardamom and golden lotus."
Brisingamen:  "A glittering mantle of rich golden notes: five ambers, soft myrtle and apple blossom, myrtle and carnation." (No, I don't know why myrtle is in there twice - it is that way on the site.)
Eat Me: (from the Mad Tea Party collection). "Three white cakes, vanilla, and red and black currants."
Eden: "This oil contains the innocence of the Garden, coupled with the Truth and Erudition found in the fruit of the Tree of Life: fig leaf, fig fruit, honeyed almond milk, toasted coconut, and sandalwood."
Obatala:  "Obatala's offrenda is soft, white, and pure: milk, coconut meat, shea butter and cool refreshing water."
Snake Oil: One of BPAL's cult favorites. "A blend of exotic Indonesian oils sugared with vanilla."
(All above scent descriptions courtesy of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab.)

As I've mentioned, I absolutely fell in love with the Leticia and Criminy oils I got from Villainess.  I was also highly impressed with their turnaround time.  They offer a sampler of six scents for $20.00, and it wasn't too hard to pick out six that I'd like to try.  So now I have a wishlist there for a sampler containing:
Blood:  "Our take on this very vital fluid is a full-bodied spiced Merlot grounded in dry fig and inspired by a ripe bouquet of berries"  I'm hoping the fig and berries overpower the Merlot, or that at the least, the Merlot isn't boozy smelling. Me and my oversensitive nose...
Decadence: "An indulgent vanilla - alcoholic, buttery and bittersweet with delightful undertones of tonka and coconut. Our favourite vice."  Are you seeing a trend in my scent picks lately? Yeah, me too. I seem to be really going for the vanilla and coconut.
Jai Mahal:  " A lesser palace infused with the sweet scent of victory. 4 rich vanillas and tonka, Mysore sandalwood, bourbon and coconut. Expensive woods, incense and imported spices - cedar, amber, myrrh, cardamom and nutmeg."   More coconut and vanilla...plus spices. Yum.
Killer Beez:" Sheer lethal cream and honey and a barely-there touch of nuts. Because you catch more bees with honey..."   Sounds good enough to eat. I'll settle for smelling, though.
Paradise Misplaced:  "Sweetly creamed coconut with touches of mango offset by crisp green tea."  And there's the coconut yet AGAIN.
Silk and Cyanide:  "Almond. Crisp, barely sweet, pervasive and altogether sinister."  Sometimes you feel like a nut...*grin*.
(Again, all the above scent descriptions obtained from Villainess.net.)

And then there's Conjure Oils. I haven't even received the Toby Daye sampler I ordered yet, and already I'm coming up with five new scents I want pips of.  (Pips are what Conjure calls the same 1/32 oz. glass vials that BPAL calls imps.)  I have it on good authority (Vajra, the owner's, via the company's Facebook page), that the Toby Daye oils should ship next week, though.
In addition to those, I've found:
The Light Queen:  "Her perfume is a love song to the Queendom and an ode to the simple things in life that make the ordinary extraordinary:  a long soak in a rose milk bath while sipping chilled champagne"  I'm hoping for light on the champagne and heavy on the milk...
Cyanide Crumpets and Nightshade Jam:  Now, who could possibly resist a name like that? Not me, especially when factoring in the scent description: "Toasted crumpets slathered in almond butter and seeded blackberry and nightshade berry jam."  
The Pernicious Parasol: "A cyanidic-inspired cocktail - cherry, plum and apricot are cloaked in black vanilla and slathered with bitter almond, tart green apple, d'anjou pear and the tiniest tinge of cassava."  I had to laugh reading this, it reminded me very strongly of Gail Carriger's Parasol Protectorate series.
 Bastet: "Egyptian red musk, catnip and warm amber create the perfect perfume for this playful diva"  According to Conjure, Bastet is not only the Cat Goddess, which persona I was familiar with, but also the Goddess of Perfumery. I can't wait to see what the cats do with an oil containing catnip....
Nuit: "She births the sun each morning and reabsorbs it again each night. She holds the souls of the departed as the night sky stars that she holds in her bosom. A blackberry sky sparkling with vanilla stars, a cup full of celestial milk from the Cow, and warm Egyptian musk."  While I'm not attracted to celestial cows,  I am attracted to every note listed for this.  
(And yet again, all above scent descriptions obtained from conjureoils.com.)

If nothing else, I'll be the best smelling customer service representative in town....