This was a week to get stuff in the mail. One package was expected: it was my ink order from Goulet Pens. The other was somewhat of a surprise because though I knew i had placed an order with Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs, one never knows how long it will take for them to ship it out. (The price one pays for dealing with a really small company ( Read more... )

Today BPAL posted on their FB page that they are discontinuing about 50 of their General Catalog scents. Of the list there is only one that I like, Dragon's Eye, but it's one that I really, really like. Now I'm conflicted over stocking up before it goes away forever (it is supposed to be available until March 18th) or surrendering gracefully to ( Read more... )

Still have to fix computer. It's being delayed by various things, like polar vortexes and sick employees and whatnot. Meanwhile I've been busy doing important things like cleaning my kitchen, doing laundry, and playing with the ereader my best friend got me for my birthday. I never particularly wanted one before, but having one now I admit it ( Read more... )

BPAL news: they have a shiny new website, with a search engine that works (!), the ability to search by scent tags, and a wish list function. I spent last night searching through all the various roses listed (Damascus, red, absolute, etc) and now have a really long list of things I either need to get a new bottle of because I'm running out (Rose ( Read more... )

I came home from work and laid down for an hour. This is a bad habit I'm trying to break, on the principle that I could get more accomplished if instead of laying down I sat down and did some crochet or read a book, but I'm getting cranky with myself over how much stuff I need to get done each week and how I should be productive every single ( Read more... )

This afternoon I was running around trying to scare up enough clear plastic containers and seed-starting mix to plant seeds in and I discovered that I had five--count them, FIVE--Jiffy mini-greenhouses. I'm not sure if that's what Jiffy calls them, but that's what they are: dark plastic trays with clear plastic dome tops and 25 little peat pellets ( Read more... )

So the last day of 2012 has been weird ( Read more... )

I got an amazing number of packages in the mail this week. It wasn't due to any organized plan on my part, that's just the way things happened. A few weeks ago I had placed an order for some perfume from BPAL and then made myself forget about it, because hand-blended perfume oils take time and there's no sense being anxious about it. Then Helen' ( Read more... )

I'm on my third perfume for today; all three were free imps from my BPAL order last winter. First I tried Les Bijoux, which lasted about a half-hour before I had to wash it off: It had a fruity tone about it that I just couldn't stand on me. So then I tried Wings of Azrael, which didn't smell fruity in the bottle and (reassuringly) didn't develop ( Read more... )

I should really dig up my perfume icon and upload it. On the other hand, my L'Oreal icon is amusing and not inappropriate. Recent BPAL scents I've tried:
Euphrosyne:Gardenia, tea rose, vanilla, jasmine--On paper this seemed like it couldn't miss, as each of these scents do well on me. What I did not realize before trying this is that vanilla ( Read more... )