Hello, for the time being I am going to pause with the daily update posts. This includes Indies of the Day and Weekly General Discussion. There isn't enough page interest at this time to continually post. Feel free to make your own topics, and I will still be occasionally active. I just don't see the need for daily topic posts at this time. Thank you!
10/26-Today is Solstice Scents Black Mallow (Bold notes of anise and licorice root, a touch of sweet fennel, fluffy marshmallow and vanilla. Simple, sweet, chewy and spicy.). This one starts off a bit strong with the licorice/anise. But it dries down into a beautiful spiced marshmallow. I picked this one up in swaps even though I've not a licorice fan, and I'm glad I did!
Today is Osmofolia 24 hour drive (Warm tonka bean, a suede jacket slung over the headrest, a half-rolled spliff spilled all over the backseat, a melted cone of cinnamon vanilla ice cream, and fleeting landscapes illuminated by the sun). This quickly became a favorite in my rotation this summer. It translates well for fall as well, it's spicy and cuddly suede.
Today is BPAL Secret Donuts (Glazed donuts, chocolate frosted donuts, and maple bars). Apparently I'm in a donut mood lately. I picked this one for today and promptly spilled half of the bottle. My bedroom smells like donuts but now I'm down half of a LE bottle. Boo, this is a first loss for me.
I have an interview this week! And a potential offer coming from the job I thought I didn't get. The lab director reached back out asking if I was still interested in moving forward with the hiring process. Plus I have the day off to do fun things with my husband for my birthday tomorrow! Shaping up to be a better week. Work stuff has been dumb for my husband and I lately, so some good news is refreshing.
These topics don't need to be indie related, just whatever you want to share with the community
(Is it really only Wednesday? I swear it should be Friday already). Today I'm wearing BPAL Snake Oil Sufganiyot. I am a sexy doughnut today, that is all.
Today is Strawberries crave nyx (Drunken honey, lavender-laced mallow, soft amber, night musk, and hints of strawberry and nectarine). This is a sexy dark strawberry scent, really enjoy this one.
These topics don't need to be indie related, just whatever you want to share with the community
I finished up my new Weenie reviews, so I'm returning to a favorite from last year. Today is BPAL Dead Leaves, Vanilla Bean, Pink Fig, and Brandied Dates. I absolutely love this blend, it's earthy fruity and sweet. Just a touch of booziness from the dates. It's a sexy dead leaves blend.
Hello All! I am a hopeless BPAL addict and stalked their shop page and forum waiting for the Weenies release. My wonderful husband bought me my first round of choices as an early birthday gift. I'm already planning my second purchase with the new releases, but for now I have a review post for the scents I finished up testing this week! I know BPAL can be a complicated house to explore, so hopefully someone finds these useful.
Resting Disclaimer -These all rested a minimum of 2 days up to a week for the last few I tested. I find BPAL definitely needs several days out of the mail.
My Scent Preferences:
Likes: Gourmands, spices, soil/earthy notes, lavender, wood notes, beeswax, smoke, incense, basically anything sweet or dark and moody
Dislikes: most florals, aquatics, too much greenery, tea notes, sharp cologne type scents
Samhain (damp woods, fir needle, and black patchouli with the gentlest touches of warm pumpkin, clove, nutmeg, allspice, sweet red apple and mullein.) Thoughts- This is earthy apple spice, it's warm and packed with roasted spices. There is a crisp sweetness from the apple. It's like drinking hot spiced cider in the woods on a cool fall day. I could instantly see why this is a yearly reoccurring fan favorite. It's truly the essence of fall in a bottle. Throw was high, and lasted 12+ hours off one application. I could smell it clearly on my sweater the next day 24+ hours after applying. (10/10 will wear this consistently)
Witch birds (Blinding-white mallow and vanilla sandalwood streaked with indigo opium pod accord, velvet black violet petals, wild plum, and opoponax.) Thoughts -So my husband kind of laughed at me with this one, because I told him I wanted it because it sounded purple! I'm not much of a floral fan, but I've fallen in love with BPAL's dark florals. Friends I was right in my prediction, purple it is! I have a few other "purple" blends from this house and this fits perfectly. It's a slightly sweet and dusty floral, with a lovely creamy vanilla sandalwood dry down. The "purple" background notes stick around but take a bit more of a backseat. Moderate throw, lasted 12+ hours still detectible on my wrists after my morning application. (8/10 will wear when I'm feeling my goth fantasy self)
Slumber ghoul (Sleepy lavender bud, the memory of warm milk, a splinter of bone dust, and a clawful of upturned grave loam) Thoughts- The Lavender starts out very sharp and herbal when wet, but dry down brings out the creamy milk notes. There's a slight sharp almost stone like note to the background that doesn't quite go away (bone dust?) but is faint. I get no loam/dirt note at all (sad, I love dirt). Softer throw but I couldn't resist to keep sniffing my wrists. Really nice soft cuddly lavender after dry down. Last 5-6 hours before fading. (7/10 creamy lavender cuddly goodness, but wish I got a hint of dirt)
Is he, you know? (Sweet 13-year aged patchouli, peru balsam, white oakmoss, French lavender, spikenard, bourbon vanilla, and sugar cane) Thoughts- This is quite strong and sharp. It's slightly less punchy with dry down, but it's primarily patch and lavender. Stays fairly sharp, and I'm not getting much sweetness from the vanilla or sugar cane. Softens a bit after a couple hours of wear, but still not sweet. Some of the sharpness fades after about 5+ hours and the sweetness is a bit more present, but still not what I expected. Lasted my full 8 hour shift. (5/10, on the fence with this one. I wanted more balance between the notes)
Ghost milk (Goat’s milk, marshmallow, vanilla cashmere, honey dust, and white chocolate) Thoughts- This is so soft creamy and sweet! There is a slight tang from the goats milk. The silky soft cashmere comes out after some wear time. I knew I wanted to try this as it's a returning fan favorite. It is a lower throw, I have to put my nose to my wrist to smell it. Lasts about 6 hours. Very faintly there afterwards. (6/10 perfect for a cold cuddly day on the couch, wish it had more projection)
Pumpkin trash bag (orange blossom, blood orange, and orange hard candy with pumpkin pulp and smushed leaves) Thoughts- I let this one rest about a week before testing. Fresh from the mail my experience sniffing was all wet musty peppery leaves. Pleased to say that after testing and on the skin the orange comes out beautifully! As soon as it hit my skin there is a bright burst of juicy orange, it's sweet but not artificial. The musty leaves goes away almost completely after it dries, it settles into a slightly earthy background note. I don't know if I'm tricking myself into smelling pumpkin, but underneath the orange I get a smell slightly reminiscent of pumpkin guts. I'm glad I gave this one a longer rest before testing, because it scared me right out of the mail box. Give it a healthy rest before writing this one off! Not surprisingly, the orange has a shorter lifespan, I got about 4 hours out of this one. Worth reapply for the lovely juicy orange notes. (8/10, wonderful juicy orange with some earthiness)
Melancholy of goths (Clove smoke, champaca incense, plum velvet, and hairspray) Thoughts- This starts with sharp hairspray, but quickly dries down to a heady slightly smoky incense. The plum gives it a purple feel, but not as purple as Witch Birds. It settles into a really nice velvety spiced incense with a slightly fruity background. The clove really comes out after several hours of wear time. Stays strong for 8+ hours. This is a very BPAL scent and I knew I would love it, it ticks all the boxes for me. (10/10, tickles my little goth heart).
Overall these are mostly winners! I'm familiar enough with BPAL at this point to be comfortable picking scents based on their notes. I usually will take a risk on one or 2. I went with more atmospheric scents this year, as I definitely went more gourmand last year. I am eyeing several of the round 2 releases and will update when I pull the trigger on those!
Today I'm continuing my Weenies test with BPAL Ghost Milk (Goat’s milk, marshmallow, vanilla cashmere, honey dust, and white chocolate). So far these have been mostly hits. There's one I'm unsure about but this is an instant winner. Soft sweet and cozy. I have 2 more to test and I'll update with a larger review post.
Products:
Basecoat: ORLY Bonder
Polish: Mooncat Emo for Life, 2x coats Monarch Lacquer Eerie Embers (Sept. PPU) on ring finger
Topcoat: Essie Good to go and Mooncat Matte Made in Hell
I live for Halloween and finally did another spooky season Mani. If I could ever get all of my nails to be the same length that would be great! Featuring a sneaky lap cat, Maple Syrup.
I haven't ventured into Alkemia yet, but I've heard good things! I'd love reviews after to test them out.
Today I'm testing another new weenie from BPAL Witch Birds (Blinding-white mallow and vanilla sandalwood streaked with indigo opium pod accord, velvet black violet petals, wild plum, and opoponax.) My husband laughed when I picked this one out because it sounded purple. But purple it is! I have a couple other BPAL "purple" scents so I figured this one would be a hit. It's sweet and powdery floral with a sweet creamy dry down from the vanilla sandalwood. I'm not sure I can pick out notes individually, but it blends to a wonderful sweet purple scent.
These topics don't need to be indie related, just whatever you want to share with the community
10/7-I'm breaking my usual rest before test rule and trying out BPAL Samhain (damp woods, fir needle, and black patchouli with the gentlest touches of warm pumpkin, clove, nutmeg, allspice, sweet red apple and mullein) that I received yesterday. I can see why this is a reoccurring staple/fan fav! It's truly fall in a bottle. I get the spice, apple, and atmospheric leaves. Even fresh from the mail this is gorgeous!
I'm super happy with this one, and the formula was super easy to use!
10/6- Today I'm wearing one of my favorites Arcana Vanilla Craves Terror (Creamy vanilla with Arcana Wildcraft’s legendary Holy Terror (burning frankincense, sandalwood, deep myrrh, and dusty beeswax candles)). I love the combo of rich vanilla with Holy Terror. It's sweet and smokey/incense-y.
Products:
Base: ORLY Bonder
Polish: Red Eyed Lacquer- The Blair Witch (x3 coats)(Sept.PPU)
Topcoat: Essie Good to Go
This is spooky cookies and cream! I love the lavender gray base on this one, it's very buildable. The combo of black and iridescent flakies is super fun!
10/5- Today is back down in the 60's and rainy, so more fall perfumes! I'm wearing BPAL Every day is Halloween (Skin-warmed sandalwood and toasted pumpkin settle into a gentle blend suitable for all 365 days of Halloween). This is one of my favorites. It's soft creamy pumpkin with a hint of spice, with a lovely clean sandalwood finish.
Hello! Indie makeup is basically anything owned independently, it stands for “independent” and is used to described companies that produce products independently of outside control or mainstream/commercial companies. It's anything from makeup, perfume oils/EDP, bath and body products, nail polish, jewelry and home goods. I've found products organically through recommendations mostly! There are so many indie beauty companies. I can happily make some recommendations to check out as a jumping off point. When looking around just make sure to do some research before purchasing. With small business there is a bit more risk, and some companies operate with less than savory business practices. I always look into reviews or other customers experiences before purchasing from a new company.
Today is SugarMilk Co Strawberry Milk (Sweet strawberries blended with whipped cream and milk). This is one of my favorites and eerily accurate. Smells just like Nesquik Strawberry Milk powder.
Today is Arcana Wildcraft's Puck (A rich amber accord (labdanum, benzoin, and sweet Tahitian vanilla) is warmed with velvety plum, ripe fig, layers of incense, cedar resin, incantations on old parchment, and soft woods.). I loved this when I received it earlier this year, but I love it even more for fall. It gives an almost apple cider vibe. Super rich and woodsy with a dark fruitiness underneath.
These topics don't need to be indie related, just whatever you want to share with the community
Today is Osmofolia Lovers Leaving Hell (Woodsmoke from a dying bonfire, a pair of lit cigarettes under a starry sky, two warm bowls of vanilla rice pudding, and sweet, yearning kisses of cardamom). I'm so happy that this one made it to the general catalog. It's such a nice blend. I get the slightly smokey wood fire, creamy rice pudding, and some spice at the end. This one is fall without being overbearing, not too sweet or heavy either.
DisguisedSuperhero @lemmy.world Michigan based lab rat who loves all things beer and food. Lover of indie makeup and art.