BPAL (Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab) discussion

[laylalovesmac]

Well, this sucks.

I ordered some imps from a BPAL user and ended up paying her more than I should have, and now she hasn't responded to any of my messages. Silly me, I just realized that the total she quoted me for my imps was incorrect to begin with ($ per imp X 4 imps + $ for shipping did not add up/was more than it should have been). In my excitement I fired off my payment, she's received it and the transaction is now complete. I'd sent her a message right after I payed asking her to confirm that she'd received payment, and then another this morning when I realized the payment amount snafu. Although she's logged in several times since I sent her the first message, she has failed to respond to them. I feel like I'm being blown off and it's pissing me off. I have already talked to Paypal about the issue and plan on giving it a few more days, particularly to see if she even sends me my imps. If I see that she's still logging in to BPAL and is obviously ignoring my messages, then I plan to open a proper Paypal dispute. I could kick myself.

Awwww MAChostage I'm so sorry.....

I've never had a bad experience buying off the forum... Does the user have good feedback? I really hope this gets solved.


Sorry to abruptly change the topic, but the hints Beth has been giving us on Twitter are getting me SO excited!!! Freaking Frankenstein scents? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Yeah. I won't be buying any makeup for a while.... I NEED BPAL Frankenstein anything. XD <3

 

[MAChostage]

Well, I finally heard from the seller and got a refund. But the other purchase I made on the same day, which I have confirmation made it to my town, somehow has disappeared and never made it to me. My carrier admits that she never scanned it a final time (at supposed delivery), but says that everything she had out was delivered. Riiiight. I'm highly disappointed by that one, it was one of the limited edition apples! Only had a Delivery Confirmation, no insurance. What luck.

I don't Twitter so I haven't heard anything about Beth's hints. Frankenstein? Wow! Tell more as you find out!

Awwww MAChostage I'm so sorry.....

I've never had a bad experience buying off the forum... Does the user have good feedback? I really hope this gets solved.

Sorry to abruptly change the topic, but the hints Beth has been giving us on Twitter are getting me SO excited!!! Freaking Frankenstein scents? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Yeah. I won't be buying any makeup for a while.... I NEED BPAL Frankenstein anything. XD <3

 

[laylalovesmac]

Well, I finally heard from the seller and got a refund. But the other purchase I made on the same day, which I have confirmation made it to my town, somehow has disappeared and never made it to me. My carrier admits that she never scanned it a final time (at supposed delivery), but says that everything she had out was delivered. Riiiight. I'm highly disappointed by that one, it was one of the limited edition apples! Only had a Delivery Confirmation, no insurance. What luck.

I don't Twitter so I haven't heard anything about Beth's hints. Frankenstein? Wow! Tell more as you find out!

Oh my god- that sucks honey! What a bad run of luck. At least you got a refund on the first one, right?

I would call and scream my little head off at the post office and your carrier. NOT okay.

Yes- Frankenstein!!

This was her tweet:

Working. #BPAL http://twitpic.com/79h80m

Squee!!!!!

 

[MAChostage]

Yes, I did get my refund. And don't think that I didn't call the Post Office's 1-800 number and report this. They've opened an investigation. It's not a large amount of money, but it's the principle to me. Just the fact that the mail carrier didn't scan the package a final time, and admits this, reeks of just plain WRONG.

Oh my god- that sucks honey! What a bad run of luck. At least you got a refund on the first one, right?
I would call and scream my little head off at the post office and your carrier. NOT okay.

Yes- Frankenstein!!

This was her tweet:

Working. #BPAL http://twitpic.com/79h80m

Squee!!!!!

 

[MAChostage]

GREAT news! My package containing The Green Apple of Venus, missing in the mail since October 31st, arrived in the mail out of the blue today!! I'm so happy! I love this scent! And the icing on the cake is that my new bottle of Hygeia also arrived today and I am absolutely in love with it!

<-- me today!

 

[martiangurll]

What have you gotten lately, martiangurll? (Not that I need encouragement to buy!)

Sorry I just saw this. I have not bought BPAL in a few years, just recently found some stash and I have been wearing Lucretia a LOT. With Lupercalia coming up, I am sort of afraid to go look at hte site!

 

[MAChostage]

Go look, go look!

I got some decants of the Phoenixes and I really like them. I wasn't as crazy about Leather Phoenix as I thought I'd be. I'll have to see if I have an imp of Lucretia lying around.

Sorry I just saw this. I have not bought BPAL in a few years, just recently found some stash and I have been wearing Lucretia a LOT. With Lupercalia coming up, I am sort of afraid to go look at hte site!

 

[MAChostage]

Where have all my BPAL buddies gone? I miss hearing about your hauls and recommendations. I received a sample of a CCCF (cookie cutter commercial fragrance) in my latest Sephora order so I spritzed some on this morning before leaving for work. Ugh, I really regret it. It seems like it's ALL I can smell today and I'd love to be able to shower right about now. Gives me an even better appreciation for my oils!

 

[laylalovesmac]

I know!! I can't even use commercial scents anymore- my oils have me so spoiled! All I can smell is the alcohol in, as you would say, cccf scents. :/ hurts my head like crazy.

I'm currently pretending that BPAL doesn't exist outside of my fragrance stash. If I think about the fact that other oils are in existence, I'll be on the streets in a matter of days, nothing to keep me warm but my 5 mls.

 

[makeba]

Where do you begin looking in this site. It always confuses me. I like lemon vanilla and amber but dang what's good?

 

[MAChostage]

Hi, makeba,

Yes, the BPAL site can be completely overwhelming, lol! There is also a site called http://www.bpal.org/ that is a BPAL community site like Specktra is for MAC. There you can find forums about the specific scents, receive recommendations for scents you might be looking for based on their notes or any number of other factors. It can be really helpful. As for the actual BPAL site, you just kind of have to take some time with it and explore it to understand how it's set up. I tend to go strictly to SHINY AND NEW to see the absolute latest the Lab is up to. LIMITED EDITION, which overlaps the SHINY AND NEW section a little, covers the current limited edition offerings that you have a chance to experience before they go away forever. Every heading below ALCHEMISTS LOCAL 93 is an individual "class" of scents. My favorite scents mostly fall under the BEWITCHING BREWS, although I have others I really like under others as well.

Sit down with your favorite beverage and just take your time looking it over. Order some imps (IMPS EARS), which are small vial samples, of various scents, that's the best way to start. Their catalog contains loads of vanilla and amber scented oils! You can go to the top of a page of scent listings and do a FIND in your web browser and just type in vanilla or amber and every scent with that note will be highlighted for you. That's what I do when I'm looking specifically for red musk in a scent.

Dorian might be a scent that you like, as it has both lemon and vanilla notes, I believe. It's under SIN AND SALVATION, I think.

Be sure to come back and let us know of your progress!

Where do you begin looking in this site. It always confuses me. I like lemon vanilla and amber but dang what's good?

 

[makeba]

Hey Mac you helped me before! Red musk hmmm sounds sexy I am feeling for a grape scent that does not smell syrupy or like a teenager. Lol

 

[ladymeag]

I'm new around these parts but have been buying BPAL since 2003. (Well, I've been buying MAC longer but that's a different story. ) For the curious, BPAL has totally revamped their site and brought right on up into the modern age with tags and everything. I'm a decanter, so I'm always sniffing the new stuff and there's been so much of it in the past few months. Right now I'm huffing up this year's version of Chanukkiyah - it's like pomegranate shisha and I can't get over it.

 

[MAChostage]

Hi ladymeag, it's nice to see someone come around and revive this thread! I've got so many BPAL oils that I've not purchased any for a minute. I think the last BPAL oil I purchased was Red Moon 2013. I also discovered Alkemia oils (on Etsy) and I really enjoy a lot of those as well. Thanks for the heads up on the revamped site. I heard it was coming and I just went and looked at it, it's really nice.

 

[ladymeag]

My personal collection stays pretty small - I've got weird skin chemistry and prefer "masculine" scents, which aren't quite as common in the BPAL line up (and have an issue with most florals and don't like foody scents, it makes it a pretty manageable addiction. )

The lunar blends never wind up working out for me. They're in the middle of a Black Moon (all month! Three incarnations!) that's got a lot of people very excited, though.

I'll check into that other brand. I've tried a few others (Arcana, Haunt, Blooddrop, Haus of Gloi, Possets, Violette Market, Nocturne Alchemy/VApothecary) with no luck - either I have an allergic reaction to a carrier or the scents just aren't right for me (usually too sweet.)

 

[martiangurll]

Quote:Originally Posted by ladymeag

My personal collection stays pretty small - I've got weird skin chemistry and prefer "masculine" scents, which aren't quite as common in the BPAL line up (and have an issue with most florals and don't like foody scents, it makes it a pretty manageable addiction. )

The lunar blends never wind up working out for me. They're in the middle of a Black Moon (all month! Three incarnations!) that's got a lot of people very excited, though.

I'll check into that other brand. I've tried a few others (Arcana, Haunt, Blooddrop, Haus of Gloi, Possets, Violette Market, Nocturne Alchemy/VApothecary) with no luck - either I have an allergic reaction to a carrier or the scents just aren't right for me (usually too sweet.)




Recommend Bathed and Infused, they're great. Also check out Heaven and Earth Essentials.

 

[ladymeag]

Thanks for the recommendation! There are a few things I'd love to have that as much as I love BPAL, they haven't been able to supply in over a decade of purchases (for one: a great non-foody vanilla that's general collection so i don't have to worry too hard about hoarding bottles.)

 

[martiangurll]

B&I has a good non foody designer vanilla dupes. Roll on is the only oil medium product though. I like their purse spray for sampling.

 

[sarahsharkbait]

I like the layout of their site I've always wanted to try from there
And I;m so happy that they have vanilla scented perfumes- I have been struggling to find one for a little while.

 

[ladymeag]

I like the layout of their site I've always wanted to try from there
And I;m so happy that they have vanilla scented perfumes- I have been struggling to find one for a little while.

They have a few different kinds of vanilla - so you've got some options! My favorite is the woodsy-vanilla of Antikythera Mechanism. Lots of people love the food-y vanilla of Eat Me, though.

The new site makes it _so_ much easier to find things!