Day 152 – BPAL’s Snow White

Tags

BPAL, flower, limited edition, night-blooming flowers, snow, wind, yule, yule 2011

Scent Name: Snow White 2011

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Limited Edition:  Yule 2011

Scent Description and Notes: “A chilly, bright perfume: flurries of virgin snow, crisp winter wind and the faintest breath of night-blooming flowers.” -BPAL

Oil Color:  Clear, but with the lightest green cast possible without registering as a color.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz). This is an imp with small hand-written label with the name of scent, the release year, and the company abbreviation.

Scent: 

• ITI: Odd.  It smells like plastic and freshly cut flower stems.  There is a little bit of an almond note in there as well. 
• Wet: It still smells like light cut flower stems and a something reminiscent of Lush’s snowcake.  Every now and then, it gets just a little plastic-y, but then I smell the flower stems and I like it again. 
• Dry: It smells like  white chocolate on my skin after 13 hours, which is really odd as none of those notes are present. 

Other Impressions:  It smells like berries and coco butter to my husband.

Day 151 – BPAL’s Fuwu Bansaku in Ruined Temple With Black Monster on Umbrella

Tags

black coconut, black currant, BPAL, coconut, currant, event exclusive, limited edition, Malasian oude, oude, sakura-con, Tonka, tonka bean, vetiver

Scent Name: Fuwu Bansaku in Ruined Temple With Black Monster on Umbrella

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Event Exclusive:  Sakura-Con Exclusive, 4/10

Scent Description and Notes: “Black coconut, red sandalwood, black currant, tonka bean, vetiver, and Malasian oude. ” -BPAL

Oil Color:  A rich amber color.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz). This is an imp with a taped label with part of the name on the taped portion.  This is a 1/4 imp someone sent me in a trade.

Scent: 

• ITI: It smells just a little artificial in the bottle, like coconut or tropical air freshener with plenty of vanilla-y tonka and some woodsiness. 
• Wet: Blackened coconut really is a good name for the initial note. Thankfully, the artificial note I got in the bottle translates into rich, authentic coconut on my skin.  It reminds of roasted coconut with pepper, tempered with vanilla bean and tonka.  There is also a slight astringent quality to the scent as an undertone, which I think is the vetiver and just a little woodiness from the oude.
• Dry: While coconut is the the dominant quality, I get oude and tonka as the final supporting notes.  It’s a nice, warm scent overall. 

Other Impressions: Meh, just powder for my husband.

Day 150 – BPAL’s House of Night

Tags

ars moriendi, blooms, BPAL, flowers, funeral boughs, green, In Memoriam

Scent Name: House of Night

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Ars Moriendi: In Memoriam

Scent Description and Notes: “And by that light around the dome appear’d
A mournful garden of autumnal hue,
Its lately pleasing flowers all drooping stood
Amidst high weeds that rank in plenty grew.

The Primrose there, the violet darkly blue,
Daisies and fair Narcissus ceas’d to rise,
Gay spotted pinks their charming bloom withdrew.
And Polyanthus quench’d its thousand dyes.

No pleasant fruit or blossoms gaily smil’d,
Nought but unhappy plants or trees were seen,
The yew, the myrtle, and the church-yard elm,
The cypress, with its melancholy green.

There cedars dark, the osier, and the pine,
Shorn tamarisks, and weeping willows grew,
The poplar tall, the lotos, and the lime,
And Pyracantha did her leaves renew.

The poppy there, companion to repose,
Display’d her blossoms that began to fall,
And here the purple amaranthus rose
With mint strong-scented, for the funeral.

And here and there with laurel shrubs between
A tombstone lay, inscrib’d with stains of woe,
And stanzas sad, throughout the dismal green,
Lamented for the dead that slept below.

A sorrowful graveyard bouquet of somber blooms, funereal boughs, dismal green and laden with grief. ” -BPAL.org

Oil Color: A hazy yellowed orange.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz). The label wrapped around the bottle features an Art-Deco inspired Phoenix with the the name of the company at the bottle of the image. On the other side, the title of the scent written in large, clear black font outlined with red on the front.

Image from https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/House-Of-Night.jpg

Scent: 

• ITI:  It smells strongly of light, almost powdery florals, like carnation and perhaps faint lily. On second sniff, there is a faint greenness to the scent, like fern or something along those lines. 
• Wet: Hmm, not what I was expecting.  Carnation, daffodil, some heribness and just a touch of medicinal green notes.  It’s rather pretty. 
• Dry: Sweet, light floral.  There is nothing sinister or foreboding about this scent in my skin.  Perhaps I would liken it to Ophelia’s flowers if I had to stretch, but the scent is innocent and unassuming.  

Other Impressions: It’s a powdery, rosy smell according to Tony.  However, he does like it.

Day 149 – BPAL’s The Harpy Celaeno

Tags

bergamot, black clove, BPAL, clove, horseradish, orange, orange flower, patchouli, the last unicorn, tolu balsam, vetiver

The imps from The Last Unicorn line are always a draw for me, both because of their notes and because of my positive association with the movie and novel from my childhood.

Scent Name:  The Harpy Celaeno

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – The Last Unicorn

Scent Description and Notes: “The unicorn began to walk toward the harpy’s cage. Schmendrick the Magician, tiny and pale, kept opening and closing his mouth at her, and she knew what he was shrieking, though she could not hear him. “She will kill you, she will kill you! Run, you fool, while she’s still a prisoner! She will kill you if you set her free!” But the unicorn walked on, following the light of her horn, until she stood before Celaeno, the Dark One.

For an instant the icy wings hung silent in the air, like clouds, and the harpy’s old yellow eyes sank into the unicorn’s heart and drew her close. “I will kill you if you set me free,” the eyes said. “Set me free.”

The unicorn lowered her head until her horn touched the lock of the harpy’s cage. The door did not swing open, and the iron bars did not thaw into starlight. But the harpy lifted her wings, and the four sides of the cage fell slowly away and down, like the petals of some great flower waking at night. And out of the wreckage the harpy bloomed, terrible and free, screaming, her hair swinging like a sword. The moon withered and fled.

The unicorn heard herself cry out, not in terror but in wonder, “Oh, you are like me!” She reared joyously to meet the harpy’s stoop, and her horn leaped up into the wicked wind. The harpy struck once, missed, and swung away, her wings clanging and her breath warm and stinking. She burned overhead, and the unicorn saw herself reflected on the harpy’s bronze breast and felt the monster shining from her own body. So they circled one another like a double star, and under the shrunken sky there was nothing real but the two of them. The harpy laughed with delight, and her eyes turned the color of honey. The unicorn knew that she was going to strike again.

Clanging metal, smouldering hatred, and terror: vetiver, myrrh, patchouli, tolu balsam, black clove, bergamot, orange flower, and horseradish.” -BPAL

Oil Color:  A dark honey color.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz). The label wrapped around the bottle features an Art-Deco inspired Phoenix with the the name of the company at the right-hand side of the label. The other side is a bit different since this is an imp specifically from a special collection.  It features the words in a grey color that read “Peter S. Beagle’s The Last Unicorn” at the very top.  Just below that in a warm mandarin orange field box is white text that features the name of the scent.  Along the outermost side, written down the side is the web address of BPAL.  The image is a beautifully rendered drawing of an off-centered harpy with wing outstretched.

Label art was created for us by Renae De Liz, the artist on IDW Publishing’s six-issue comic miniseries of The Last Unicorn. Renae worked on The Last Unicorn comic with her husband, colorist Ray Dillon.

Scent: 

• In the Imp (ITI):  Ooh, that’s horseradish right there.  It reminds me a little of the wasabi scent in Velvet Cthulhu, which is one of my all-time favorite scents.  There is also a lovely greenness underneath (from the vetiver I imagine) that makes me think of a jungle for some reason (or Lush’s Jungle)
• Wet: I get chills when I sniff this.  I think The Harpy Calaeno is the first scent since I started testing 149 days ago that has evoked a visceral, positive response such as this.  The spiciness of the horseradish and the wonderful combination of bergamot, vetiver,  and orange I guess make my nose extraordinarily happy.  I tested out the wet scent again, and yes, I’m still getting chills every time
• Dry: Yum!  Spicy horseradish, patchouli, balsam, and clove-infused orange.  After a couple hours, the horseradish calms down and I’m left with a wonderfully resiny scent of patchouli, clove, orange, and just a little vetiver.

Other Impressions: This is lovely and I’m contemplating purchasing a bottle.  

Day 148 – BPAL’s An Appraisal of Sensual Pleasures in the Four Seasons

Tags

BPAL, Frankincense, honeysuckle, lemongrass, limited edition, lupercalia, novel ideas for secret amusements IV, plum, teak, wild plum

Scent Name:  An Appraisal of Sensual Pleasures in the Four Seasons

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Lupercalia: Novel Ideas for Secret Amusements IV (1/18/11-3/21/11)

Scent Description and Notes: “Wild plum, lemongrass, frankincense, honeysuckle, and teak. ” -BPAL

Oil Color: It looks like some of the darker notes have started to separate out.  What’s left is a yellow champagne color.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz). This is a decant from ralenth, who tries to match the bottle art to the art she provides on the imp.  On the back, she has the notes of the scent in large font.  On the side, she has her decanting name, while the front features the name of the collection and the name of the scent framing the image associated with the scent. The image is a shunga woodblock print of a man of status and an orian holding hands intimately while gazing at a scroll depicting erotic behavior.

Warning: The following link contains a not-safe-for-work image. By clicking this link, you agree that you are over 18 years of age:  An Appraisal of Sensual Pleasure in the Four Seasons

Scent: 

• ITI:  Honeysuckle is very clear as the top note, but it isn’t impressively overpowering like orchid or lilac are.  When I inhale deeply, the smell of teak creeps around the lemongrass, which is just under the honeysuckle.  It’s a surprisingly soft and delicate scent.
• Wet:  On my skin, the lemongrass nearly meets the honeysuckle, reminding me a little of a hot toddy. There is a touch of fruitiness, I think this time it is the plum, and a very slight contribution fro the teak.  However, when I reapply, the teak is much more prominent. 
• Dry: The scent is very close to the skin after 8 hours, so it doesn’t have the lasting power of the more resinous scents.  However, what is left is a very  charming combination of frankincense, lemongrass, and teak, although I get some plum on my other wrist.

Other Impressions: Flowery and musky, according to Tony.  He gave me a very emphatic, “I like it!.”

Day 147 – BPAL’s Mme. Moriarty, The Misfortune Teller

Tags

Act II, Act II: Fiat Nox, BPAL, carnival diabolique, Fiat Nox, Musk, patchouli, patchouli leaf, plum, pomegranate, red musk, vanilla, vanilla bean, wild plum

Scent Name:  Mme. Moriarty, The Misfortune Teller

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Carnival Diabolique,  Act II: Fiat Nox

Scent Description and Notes: ‘A colorless woman bursts from an elaborate gold and ruby tent and faints dead at your feet. Soft laughter emits from the dark entrance to the tent, and the scent of musk, black fruits and incense touches your senses. Looking up, you see that the sign hovering above the unconscious woman is adorned with images of the Major Arcana’s Tower and reads:

“Mme. Moriarty, Misfortune Teller.
No fate too grim, no future too bleak.”

A tiny woman with floor-length black dreadlocks walks out of the tent, stepping over the prone body. She is clothed in deep red wrappings, and is bedecked in golden ornaments bearing alchemical symbols and charms representing eternity, chance, and wisdom. She pauses, looks you over slowly, and then flicks a tarot card at your feet.

Red musk, vanilla bean, pomegranate, patchouli leaf and wild plum. ” -https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/carnaval-diabolique/carnaval-diabolique-2015/mme-moriarty-misfortune-teller/

COPYRIGHT: ©2008 Jennifer Williamson

Oil Color: It looks like antique cherry wood.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz). This is a decant from ralenth, who tries to match the bottle art to the art she provides on the imp.  On the back, she has the name of the scent and her credits in a rusty red.  On the front is a gypsy-looking woman in  burgundy clothing holding tarot cards against a green incense-infused background.

Scent: 

• ITI:  Vanilla and sweet musk are the first notes I can discern.  When I inhale deeper, I can get a little of the patchouli.  It’s beautiful, and I hope it stays this way on my skin.
• Wet:  Ooh, vanilla, plum,  incense, musk and pomegranate are all evident at this stage.  It’s delicious and intoxicating.  
• Dry: After 18 hours, the scent is faint vanilla, with a touch of musk and just the lightest hint of incense.  It’s lovely.

Other Impressions:  Antonio says it’s good; it’s like a powdery berry.

Day 146 – BPAL’s The Caterpillar

Tags

bergamot, BPAL, carnation, Incense, iris, iris blossom, jasmine, mad tea party, moss, neroli, patchouli, vetiver

I first reviewed this scent nearly two years ago.  As such, this imp has had some time to mature.  I’ve included my original estimation in blue and my new  review in black.

Scent Name:  The Caterpillar

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Mad Tea Party

Scent Description and Notes: ‘Heavy incense notes waft lazily through a mix of carnation, jasmine, bergamot, and neroli over a lush bed of dark mosses, iris blossom, deep patchouli and indolent vetiver. ” -BPAL

Alice Meets the Caterpillar, Illustration from Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Oil Color:  A slighter darker teak wood color.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz). The label wrapped around the bottle features an Art-Deco inspired Phoenix with the the name of the company at the bottle of the image. On the other side, the title of the scent written in large, clear black font outlined with red on the front.

Scent: 

• ITI:  Very heavy neroli and patchouli, with perhaps a little jasmine following.  Ah, now I smell the jasmine tinged with neroli.  There is almost a musky quality to this due to the incense. 
• Wet:  Still very heavy on the neroli and patchouli, but I’m smelling a little vetiver beneath. Jasmine, incense, neroli, and patchouli.  It’s as intoxicating as I imagine the smoke descending from the caterpillar would be. 
• Dry:  (2.5 hours later) It has softened considerably. Patchouli and neroli are still the prominent notes, but I can now smell some carnation and just a little vetiver. I just wished the jasmine was more evident. Thick incense with dashes of nerloi and patchouli, and perhaps the faintest hint of vetiver; however, I can smell little of the florals.

Other Impressions:  Smells like sponge docks to my husband.  Odd.

Day 145 – BPAL’s The Pool of Tears

Tags

aquatic, BPAL, floral, floral perfume, mad tea party, salt, tears

Scent Name:  The Pool of Tears

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Mad Tea Party

Scent Description and Notes: ‘I wish I hadn’t cried so much!’ said Alice, as she swam about, trying to find her way out. ‘I shall be punished for it now, I suppose, by being drowned in my own tears! That will be a queer thing, to be sure! However, everything is queer to-day.’

A sea of salty tears drowning out Alice’s light floral perfume. ” -BPAL

Alice in the pool by tears by polygonkings from http://polygonkings.deviantart.com/art/Alice-in-the-pool-of-tears-33900207

Oil Color:  Clear, through and through.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz). The label wrapped around the bottle features an Art-Deco inspired Phoenix with the the name of the company at the bottle of the image. On the other side, the title of the scent written in large, clear black font outlined with red on the front.

Scent: 

• ITI:  Strong aquatic with an overarching note of salt.  The undertone is a slightly more exotic floral.
• Wet: I smell like salt and aquatics with florals underneath,  lily or iris specifically.  There is a little greenness to the aquatic, like a touch of juniper, but the salt really throws me off and makes me almost nauseous.
• Dry: Salty sweat after 15 hours.  That’s a nope for me.

Other Impressions:  Interesting is all I got from my husband.  It’s musky florals when I asked him if he could classify them.  Then he mentioned something about flowers having certain pieces male anatomy.

Day 144 – BPAL’s Helena

Tags

Amber, BPAL, calla lily, illyria, jasmine, lily night-blooming jasmine, Rose, rose amber, water lily, white rose

Scent Name:  Helena

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Illyria

Scent Description and Notes: “I’ll follow thee and make a heaven of hell,
To die upon the hand I love so well.

Rose amber, calla lily, night-blooming jasmine, water lily, and white rose. ” -BPAL

Oil Color:  Slightly golden yellow.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz). The label wrapped around the bottle features an Art-Deco inspired Phoenix with the the name of the company at the bottle of the image. On the other side, the title of the scent written in large, clear black font outlined with red on the front.

Scent: 

• ITI:  Strong lily and rose are most prominent, although there is a dark undertone of the jasmine. All together it reminds me of the thick petals of a magnolia.
• Wet:  The rose is sweet and innocent and the amber melds nicely with it.  There is an aspect of the amber and rose combination that turns just sweet enough to remind me a little of Loli.Goth.  While Helena is warmer, there is the same “tone” to the scents.  As it begins trying, the jasmine peeks out a little, but the lillies are oddly absent. 
• Dry:  After 15 hours, a faint, powdery, slightly floral scent remains.  It reminds of of lightly scented baby powder.

Other Impressions: Sadly, my husband doesn’t like it as it smells like heavy roses.

Day 143 – BPAL’s Dragon’s Heart

Tags

ars draconis, black currant, black musk, blood, BPAL, currant, dragon's blood, dragon's blood resin, fig, Musk, red musk, resin

Scent Name:  Dragon’s Heart

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Ars Draconis

Scent Description and Notes: “A scent pulsing with vitality, warmth and insurmountable strength: dragon’s blood resin, red and black musks, a throb of fig and a sliver of black currant.” -BPAL

Oil Color: Deep resin with a faint hint of red.  It’s a lushious color.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz). The label wrapped around the bottle features an Art-Deco inspired Phoenix with the the name of the company at the bottle of the image. On the other side, the title of the scent written in large, clear black font outlined with red on the front.

Scent: 

• ITI:  Musky is my first impression.  There is a little bit of the dragon’s blood underneath, but I can also smeall a lovely earthiness of fig.
• Wet: So delicious!  The dragon’s blood here is well balanced on my skin with the various musks.  Fig and currant are pleasant as undertones underneath the resinous and musky overnotes.  It’s just lovely and I feel elated to wear it.
• Dry:  After a 16 hour work day , the dragon’s blood has become mellow and merged with the musk.  It’s beautiful and I would consider getting a bottle of this.

Other Impressions:This was the most complimented I have ever been on a scent.  Pimrarily, the comments were from my male students who exclaimed anything from “soap” to “it smells good, like someone burnign scented candles.”  Often, they mentioned something without me saying anything after they had just walked into my classroom.  The occured from about the time I applied it to four hours after.

Day 142 – BPAL’s Mandrake

Tags

BPAL, discontinued, general catalog, In Memoriam, mandrake, rappaccini's garden

This is the last imp in my imp box.  While it only holds 81, it has taken me 142 imps to find 81 that I’ve liked.  I’m happy to finally file this box away and start my next set.

The first completed imp box.

Scent Name: Mandrake

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Rappaccini’s Garden: In Memoriam

Scent Description and Notes: “Also called Djinn’s Eggs and the Weed of Ill Omen. Distinctive bifurcations shape this magickal plant into the form of human men and women. It is believed that mandrake grows where the semen of a hanged man has fallen onto the earth, and that when it is plucked from the earth, the plant itself shrieks in agony:

Alack, alack, is it not like that I,
So early waking, what with loathsome smells,
And shrieks like mandrakes’ torn out of the earth
That living mortals, hearing them, run mad.

A plant of true arcane power, mandrake has been used in a multitude of ways by witches, magicians and thaumaturgists for eons to many, many vastly different ends. Whole pieces are carried for protection, or are used in poppet magick. Ground herb can be utilized in spells for money, lust or defense.

The lore of the mandrake does not limit it to magickal use. The root was chewed as a simple anasthesia, and it has been widely employed as a sleep drug:

CLEOPATRA: Ha, ha!
Give me to drink mandragora. 

CHARMIAN: Why, madam? 

CLEOPATRA: That I might sleep out this great gap of time
My Antony is away.” -https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/in-memoriam/general-catalogue/mandrake/

Oil Color:  Entirely clear.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz). The label wrapped around the bottle features an Art-Deco inspired Phoenix with the the name of the company at the bottle of the image. On the other side, the title of the scent written in large, clear black font outlined with red on the front.

Image from https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/in-memoriam/general-catalogue/mandrake/

Scent: 

• ITI:  Green, just a little bright, but that is made much more subdued due to the earhty notes surrounding it.
• Wet: Dark, earhty mandrake with thick loam underneath.  There is also just a little spice that comes out as well.
• Dry: It’s super faint, even after reapplying 4 hours ago.  There is a faint, sweet greeness to it, but I have the strain to smell it.

Other Impressions: It smells like an 80’s scratch and sniff sticker to my husband, not quite peppermint, though.

Day 141 – BPAL’s The Harlot’s House

Tags

Angel's Trumpet, angelica, balsam, bewitching brews, BPAL, copaiba balsam, oakmoss, olibanum, oude, sandalwood, tea, violet, white sandalwood, white tea

Scent Name: The Harlot’s House

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Bewitching Brews

Scent Description and Notes: “We caught the tread of dancing feet,
We loitered down the moonlit street,
And stopped beneath the harlot’s house.

Inside, above the din and fray,
We heard the loud musicians play
The “Treues Liebes Herz” of Strauss.

Like strange mechanical grotesques,
Making fantastic arabesques,
The shadows raced across the blind.

We watched the ghostly dancers spin
To sound of horn and violin,
Like black leaves wheeling in the wind.

Like wire-pulled automatons,
Slim silhouetted skeletons
Went sidling through the slow quadrille.

The took each other by the hand,
And danced a stately saraband;
Their laughter echoed thin and shrill.

Sometimes a clockwork puppet pressed
A phantom lover to her breast,
Sometimes they seemed to try to sing.

Sometimes a horrible marionette
Came out, and smoked its cigarette
Upon the steps like a live thing.

Then, turning to my love, I said,
“The dead are dancing with the dead,
The dust is whirling with the dust.”

But she–she heard the violin,
And left my side, and entered in:
Love passed into the house of lust.

Then suddenly the tune went false,
The dancers wearied of the waltz,
The shadows ceased to wheel and whirl.

And down the long and silent street,
The dawn, with silver-sandalled feet,
Crept like a frightened girl.

The dead are dancing with the dead, the dust is whirling with the dust:angel’s trumpet, violet, white sandalwood, oude, copaiba balsam, angelica, white tea, olibanum, and oakmoss.” -BPAL.org

Oil Color: A very faint, cloudy yellow.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz). The label wrapped around the bottle features an Art-Deco inspired Phoenix with the the name of the company at the bottle of the image. On the other side, the title of the scent written in large, clear black font outlined with red on the front.

Scent: 

• ITI:  Sharp white florals, either the angelica or white trumpt seem to dround out everything else.I can smell a little bit of the tea and oakmoss if I concentrate, but none of the resionous notes are apparent.
• Wet:  The sharp flowral has been replaced with an almost lemony quality.  The tea and violet I think could make this combination, perhaps with a little oude.  I can barely discern the sandalwood underneath the angel’s tumpet and the angelica.  It reminds me of a garden tea party with lemon curd treats.
• Dry:  It’s gone a bit soapy now, but it’s a floral soap with a bit of powder. However, it’s not unpleasant and it does read as feminine.

Other Impressions:  That’s a first.  I think this is the first overtly flowery scent that my husband likes.

Day 140 – BPAL’s The Grave-Pig

Tags

BPAL, fig, marchen, mushroom, mushroom caps, orakmoss, patchouli, the elfin hill

I’ve had this imp for at least two years, so this would be the aged version of the scent that I’m reviewing.

Scent Name: The Grave-Pig

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Marchen: The Elfin Hill

Scent Description and Notes: “Fig, oakmoss, mushroom caps, and patchouli.” -BPAL

Oil Color: It’s an odd combination of very dilute peach and yellow.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz). The label wrapped around the bottle features an Art-Deco inspired Phoenix with the the name of the company at the bottle of the image. On the other side, the title of the scent written in large, clear black font outlined with red on the front.

Scent: 

• ITI:  Patchouli and fig are the most evident, although there is some faintly astringent greenness, which I think is the oakmoss.  So far, I like it better than I thought I would as I wasn’t sure how much mushroom there would be.
• Wet:  Strong fig and light patchouli now, and there is just a touch of earthiness is I inhale deeply from the oakmoss and the mushroom.  It’s still a very foresty scent with a bit of Fae due to the fig.
• Dry: A very even blend of fig and patchouli with the most subtle hints of moss and just a touch of earth.  It’s rather nice.

Other Impressions: While at the doctor appointment, the receptionist said she loved my perfume to the extent that she wrote it down and looked it up while I was still checking out. My husband also really likes this scent.  He can smell the patchouli and fig the most, and smells like some of the squishy bath oil things he claims.

Day 139 – BPAL’s Centzon Totochtin

Tags

bittersweet Mexican cocoa, blood, BPAL, cocoa, dragon's blood, excolo, Mexican cocoa, red wine, rum, wine

Today marks a significant day for my testing.  I finally had to reach into my second imp box in order to fill the four remaining space in imp box number one.  Mind you, each one holds 81 imps. I’m looking forward to retiring this box and officially placing box number two on the place of honor – my desk.

Scent Name: Centzon Totochtin

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Excolo

Scent Description and Notes: “The Four Hundred divine rabbits of the Aztec pantheon that preside over parties and drunkenness. Bittersweet Mexican cocoa with rum, red wine, and a scent redolent of sacrificial blood.” -BPAL

By Stevyn Colgan from http://stevyncolgan.blogspot.com/2009/01/odd-gods-mythological-sods.html

Oil Color: It reminds be of the light yellow found in some white wines.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz). The label wrapped around the bottle features an Art-Deco inspired Phoenix with the the name of the company at the bottle of the image. On the other side, the title of the scent written in large, clear black font outlined with red on the front.

Scent: 

• ITI:  The notes are thater clear here.  The cocoa is a darker variety infused with rum and the winee is a dark almost merlot.  I normally don’t like foody scents and wine notes are hit and miss, but this does smell promising.
• Wet:  Milder red wine and cocoa.  It’s sweet and boozy.
• Dry:  The staying power of this scent is rather minimal.  I applied it last 4 hours ago and I can barely smell slightly boozy chocolate, but I have to concentrate to really smell it.

Other Impressions:It smells spicy and warm to my friend Brad.  He likens it to the jungle after the rain and had a very positive response to it.

Day 138 – BPAL’s Kurukulla

Tags

BPAL, excolo, lotus, Rose

Scent Name:  Kurukulla

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Excolo

Scent Description and Notes: “The Tibetan goddess of love and wealth. Her scent is a harmonious, sweet, enchanting blend of three lotus blooms and three roses.” -BPAL

From http://vajranatha.com/teaching/Kurukulla.htm

Oil Color: a satsuma orange color.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz). The label wrapped around the bottle features an Art-Deco inspired Phoenix with the the name of the company at the bottle of the image. On the other side, the title of the scent written in large, clear black font outlined with red on the front.

Scent: 

• ITI:  Red roses, exotic lotus are both clearly here, but there is a warmness to the scent that I would not normally attributed to each note.  It smells as if there might be amber in here somewhere.
• Wet:  It’s a bit overtly sweet here with the lotus, but I can smell both white and lush, red rose underneath.  At this point, there is a hint of candy to the scent, which makes me a little unsure about whether or not I like it enough to keep it.
• Dry: After a number of hours, rose holds on to my skin the most, but it is only a faint impression.

Other Impressions: Old lady according to Tony.

Day 137 – BPAL’s Leanan Sidhe

Tags

aquatic, bewitching brews, BPAL, dew, flowers, Gaelic mist, herb, Irish herbs, Lilac, mist, nighttime dew, orchid

Apparently, I have two versions of this.  One is an aged version in the older cobalt bottle, while the other is a lab fresh imp.  The older version will be indicated by blue, while the newer version will be indicated in regular font color.

Scent Name:  Leanan Sidhe

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Bewitching Brews

Scent Description and Notes: “Most of the Gaelic poets, down to quite recent times, have had a Leanhaun Shee, for she gives inspiration to her slaves and is indeed the Gaelic muse — this malignant fairy. Her lovers, the Gaelic poets, died young. She grew restless and carried them away to other worlds, for death does not destroy her power. – W.B. Yeats

The name translates to “fairy, love of my soul”. A vampiric spirit and a dark muse, the love of the Leanan Sidhe is both a gift and a curse. These eerily beautiful Irish spirits drain the sanity and lifeforce of the men they inspire to artistic greatness. Her kiss infuses a man with depth of vision and feeling, otherworldly passion, and a sudden and ineffable understanding of the unending sadness that plagues mankind.

Her perfume is a crush of Irish herbs and flowers, Gaelic mists, and nighttime dew.” -BPAL

Oil Color:  Nearly colorless save for the slightest tinge of yellow.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz). The label wrapped around the bottle features an Art-Deco inspired Phoenix with the the name of the company at the bottle of the image. On the other side, the title of the scent written in large, clear black font outlined with red on the front.

Scent: 

• ITB: Rather sharp smelling, to the point of being off-putting. I smell something that is a little dew-ish, some sharp, bitter herbs, and a little light floral on top. It reminds me of a rather manly scent at the moment.  Still sharp and aquatic with strong notes of pungent flowers like lilacs and orchids.
• Wet: Wah, still strong. Very masculine herby scent, with what could be lily or something along those lines. I’m smelling a bit of the dew. I do hope this mellows down. Slightly soapy. Oh no!  Yep, it smells like an ocean car freshener with orchid and lilac overtones.  There is just a hint of herb, but not enough to tone done the aquatic or floral aspects of this scent.
• Dry: (+5 hours) It’s very light at this point and much different. I’m smelling powder, but in a good way. There is a very faint hint of flowers like rose and a bit of carnation – not so much lily now. Much more of a wearable scent after it’s been on for a while.  There isn’t much of a change here between new and aged. It’s still floral and powdery, although the lilac is a little stronger in the newer version.

Other Impressions:None.

Day 136 – BPAL’s Scarecrow

Tags

barren fields, bewitching brews, BPAL, hay, hot wind, wind

Scent Name:  Scarecrow

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Bewitching Brews

Scent Description and Notes: “An agricultural gargoyle. Though he is the Guardian of the Crops and Keeper of the Fields, his visage is still the stuff of nightmares. The scent of a hot wind blowing through desolate, scorched, barren fields.” -BPAL

Oil Color:  It’s a light, hazy, creamy color, like whipping cream that has just started clotting.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz). The label wrapped around the bottle features an Art-Deco inspired Phoenix with the the name of the company at the bottle of the image. On the other side, the title of the scent written in large, clear black font outlined with red on the front.

Scent: 

• In the Imp (ITI):  Yep, that’s hay and something that is overly perfumey, like car freshener scent.
• Wet: On my skin, it smells like hay and carpet cleaner.  Hmm, not what I was expecting.
• Dry:  The hay scent has vanished and all I’m left with is the light scent of used dryer sheets. That’s a nope for me.

Other Impressions:  He likes it.  It smells like a brand new sandal to him, specifically the kind that has straw in them.

Day 135 – BPAL’s Elli’s Song

Tags

ash, ashes, black moss, BPAL, moss, olibanum, patchouli, the last unicorn, vetiver

This is an imp my mother traded me for The Midnight Carnival since I bought myself a bottle.  She also bought herself a bottle of this scent, so I get to have her imp.  Joy!

Scent Name:  Elli’s Song

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – The Last Unicorn

Scent Description and Notes: “Most shows,” said Rukh after a time, “would end here, for what could they possibly present after a genuine unicorn? But Mommy Fortuna’s Midnight Carnival holds one more mystery yet – a demon more destructive than the dragon, more monstrous than the manticore, more hideous than the harpy, and certainly more universal than the unicorn.” He waved his hand toward the last wagon and the black hangings began to wriggle open, though there was no one pulling them. “Behold her!” Rukh cried. “Behold the last, the Very End! Behold Elli!”

Inside the cage, it was darker than the evening, and cold stirred behind the bars like a live thing. Something moved in the cold, and the unicorn saw Elli – an old, bony, ragged woman who crouched in the cage rocking and warming herself before a fire that was not there. She looked so frail that the weight of the darkness should have crushed her, and so helpless and alone that the watchers should have rushed forward in pity to free her. Instead, they began to back silently away, for all the world as though Elli were stalking them. But she was not even looking at them. She sat in the dark and creaked a song to herself in a voice that sounded like a saw going through a tree, and like a tree getting ready to fall.

What is plucked will grow again,
What is slain lives on,
What is stolen will remain –
What is gone is gone.

“She doesn’t look like much, does she?” Rukh asked. “But no hero can stand before her, no god can wrestle her down, no magic can keep her out – or in, for she’s no prisoner of ours. Even while we exhibit her here, she is walking among you, touching and taking. For Elli is Old Age.”

The cold of the cage reached out to the unicorn, and wherever it touched her she grew lame and feeble. She felt herself withering, loosening, felt her beauty leaving her with her breath. Ugliness swung from her mane, dragged down her head, stripped her tail, gaunted her body, ate up her coat, and ravaged her mind with remembrance of what she had once been. Somewhere nearby, the harpy made her low, eager sound, but the unicorn would gladly have huddled in the shadow of her bronze wings to hide from this last demon. Elli’s song sawed away at her heart.

What is sea-born dies on land,
Soft is trod upon.
What is given burns the hand –
What is gone is gone.

The horrors of entropy, death, and decay: desiccated black mosses, vetiver, olibanum, patchouli, and ashes.” -BPAL.org

Oil Color:   Amber honey.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz). The label wrapped around the bottle features an Art-Deco inspired Phoenix with the the name of the company at the right-hand side of the label. The other side is a bit different since this is an imp specifically from a special collection.  It features the words in a grey color that read “Peter S. Beagle’s The Last Unicorn” at the very top.  Just below that in a warm chestnut brown field box is white text that features the name of the scent.  Along the outermost side, written down the side is the web address of BPAL.  The image is a beautiful eerie pencil drawing of someone (an older hag type character) words of death and description, as smoke and skeletons seem to spill out into the air surrounding the mouth.

Label art was created for us by Renae De Liz, the artist on IDW Publishing’s six-issue comic miniseries of The Last Unicorn. Renae worked on The Last Unicorn comic with her husband, colorist Ray Dillon.

Scent: 

• In the Imp (ITI):  Smoldering patchouli and olibanum sitting in a pile o f ash, brightened only bits of vetiver.  I’m not smelling the moss at this point, but it may show up on my skin after I apply it.
• Wet: The ash and smokiness is prevalent as the foremost note.  Following is smoky olibanum and hints of earthy patchouli.  However, the green notes are not present at all while wet.  I’m not minding, through, because the scent is a lovely resinous scent.
• Dry: After 14 hours, there is only a faint hint of something resinous.  On second reapplication, the olibanum, patchouli, and ash are in harmony.  I smell a touch of vetiver, but no moss.

Other Impressions:  Overly powdery according to Tony.

Day 134 – BPAL’s Rivet Goth

Tags

bat's day, bat's day 2010, black leather, BPAL, event exclusive, gritty musk, Leather, limited edition, machine oil, Musk, oil, opium tar, retail exclusive, rust, tar, tobacco, tobacco absolute

This is another imp I swapped for in the hopes of determining if I should add it to my collection.  I hope I like it as this is what I would have classified myself when I was younger. Aside from that, I do like leather notes.

Scent Name:  Rivet Goth

Manufacturer:  Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Event Exclusive – Bat’s Day 2010

Scent Description and Notes: “Black leather, tobacco absolute, rust, gritty musk, and machine oil.” – BPAL

Oil Color: A golden yellow, like over saturated daffodils.

Bottle Design and Artwork:  This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz).  The label wrapped around the bottle is hand-created.  It features the name of the scent, the the decanter (snowwhitemoon), the company’s name, and the notes. The original bottles feature black labels with red and black font that feature chibi gothic characters dressed in all the sub genres of goth.

Bat’s Day 2011, courtesy of aliciadabney.blogspot.comgoth-tropesl

Scent:

• In the Imp (ITI):  i get a chemically smell, like machine oil, something slightly metallic and rust on top of a stiff black leather background.  It’s rather masculine.
• Wet: Machine oil with some sweetness from the opium tar and hints of tobacco.  The leather starts to come through as it dries, and it’ s more of a well-worn and oiled leather smell.
• Dry:After about 6 hours, I get machine oil, leather, and a hint of rust.  It smells like my father’s vintage Mercedes.

Other Impressions: It reminds my husband of Tarpon Springs’ sponge docks.

Day 133 – BPAL’s Sri Lanka

Tags

BPAL, Cedar, discontinued, gum mastic, Incense, Indian sandalwood, myrrh, olibanum, patchouli, sandalwood, smoke, wanderlust

Scent Name:  Sri Lanka

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Wanderlust, discontinued April 2012

Scent Description and Notes: “Indian sandalwood and cedar, and the dry incense smoke of olibanum, gum mastic, patchouli and myrrh.” -BPAL

Oil Color:  A yellow with just a touch of copper.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz). The label wrapped around the bottle features an Art-Deco inspired Phoenix with the the name of the company at the bottle of the image. On the other side, the title of the scent written in large, clear black font outlined with red on the front.

Scent: 

• In the Imp (ITI):  Oooh, woody and resinous.  This shall be good.  I can pick out the earthy patchouli, the sandalwood, and the olibanum, flanked on all sides by older cedar.
• Wet: Delicious resins burning in a wooden pagoda.  Myrrh now is melding well with the sandalwood, incense, and the olibanum, while the cedar hangs on the periphery, enclosing everything in a lovely, well-rounded scent.  Okay, I’m sad this was just discontinued.
• Dry:  It’s  beautifully warm in its incense-based qualities.  Sandalwood and myrrh harmonize with the patchouli and olibanum perfectly.  The cedar isn’t evident anymore, but I’m okay with that.  I wish I had a bottle!

Other Impressions: It smells a little like Old Spice to my husband.