Day 1389 – BPAL’s Carnaval Rat

Tags

absinthe, acai, acai berry, aconite, aftershave, almond, almond milk, Amber, Ambergris, ambrette, ambrette seed, apple, apple blossom, apricot, apricot flower, Babylonian musk, balsam, Baltic amber, bark, bay, bay rum, beeswax, benzoin, bergamot, berry, bhay, bile, birch, birch tar, bitter almond, bitter wine, bittersweet chocolate, black amber, black cardamom, black cherry, black coconut, black copal, black currant, black incense, black lotus, black musk, black myrrh, black orchid, black oudh, black patchouli, black pine, black wine, blackberry, blackberry leaf, blackcurrant, blackened vanilla husk, blood apple, blood orange, blood-creme, blossoms, blue lilac, blue musk, bone, bourbon, bourbon vanilla, bourbon vetiver, BPAL, bread crumbs, brimstone, bubblegum, Burmese oudh, calla lily, candied apple, caramel, cardamom, carnation, carnaval diabolique, cassis, Cedar, cedar smoke, champaca, champaca attar, champaca flower, chaparral, cherry, chocolate, chocolate truffles, chrome, chrysanthemum, cinnamon, cinnamon leaf, cistus, clary sage, coapl, cocoa, cocoa absolute, coconut, coconut hull, coffee, coffee bean, cologne, copal, coral, corsage, cream, cream accord, creme, crushed candies, currant, Damascus rose, dark musk, dragon's blood, dragon's blood resin, dry bone, dry flowers, dust, embalming herbs, English ivy, fig, fir, fir needle, flickering blue musk, Florentine iris, flytraps, fougere, Frankincense, French gardenia, French vanilla, gardenia, ginger, ginger lily, golden musk, green sandalwood, green tea, guava, hay bale, heliotrope, hemlock, henbane, herbs, hibiscus, High John the Conqueror root, honey, honeyed leather, honeysuckle, hot metals, hyssop, ice-cold skin, Incense, Indian resins, Indonesian oil, Indonesian patchouli, iris, jasmine, jasmine sambac, Kashmiri tea, kelp, king mandarin, kush, labdanum, Lavender, Leather, lemon, lemon balm, lemon flower, lemon peel, lightening, lilac blossoms, lilies, lily, lily of the valley, Lime, lime fougere, limited edition, linden, linden blossom, lotus, lotus root, magnolia, mahogany, mallow, mallow root, mandarin, milk, mimosa, Mint, Moroccan jasmine, moss, mucilage, muguet, mushroom, Musk, myrrh, narcissus, nectarine, neroli, netmeg, nicotiana, night-blooming flowers, oakmoss, ocean spray, oleander, olibanum, olive, olive blossom, olive leaf, opium smoke, opium., opoponax, orange, orange blossom, orange blossom water, orange peel, orange pulp, orchid, orris, orris root, osmanthus, oud wood, ozone, Pale bergamot, pale white berries, palm, palm frond, palmarosa, paperwhites, papyrus, passion flower, pastries, patchouli, patchouli leaf, pear, pepper, Peru balsam, pine, pine bark, pine pitch, plum, plum blossom, plumeria, pomegranate, poppy, raspberry, red amber, red currant, red gardenia, red ginger, red musk, red patchouli, red pepper, red rose, red sandalwood, reeds, rice, rice milk, river reeds, rockrose, Rose, rose geranium, rose otto, rosewater, rosewood, rum, rust, saffron, Sage, salt, sambac, sandalwood, sarsaparilla, sawdust, sea moss, seaweed, sheer musk, Siamese benzoin, singed straw, skin musk, Snake Oil, snow, Spanish moss, spun sugar, star jasmine, Sudanese myrrh, sugar, sugar cane, Sugared coffee bean, sugared cream, sugared incense, sugared nuts, sugared violet, sweet oudh, tar, tarragon, tea, tea leaf, tea oudh, teak, teakwood, Tempranillo grape, ti leaf, tobacco, tobacco smoke, tobacco tar, tomb dust, Tonka, tonka bean, trees, tuberose, vanila flower, vanilla, vanilla bean, vanilla husk, vanilla mint, Verbena, vetiver, violet, violet water, wet tobacco, white amber, white carnation, white clove, white frankincense, white hemlock, white honey, white mint, white moss, white musk, white peach, white pear, white pepper, white sandalwood, white tea, wild plum, wine, wisteria, wood, wormwood, ylang ylang

Scent Name: Carnaval Rat

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Limited Edition

Scent Description and Notes: “Derived from the same pseudo-scientific process as last year’s LAB RAT blend, but constrained to the Lab’s Carnaval Diabolique collection. Each bottle contains a slosh of every Carnaval scent currently in stock. The result? An inhalation of the miasma hovering over the midway after a busy, near-endless night of debauchery.

In the interest of peer review, here are our internal notes from the blending process, tracking how the scent evolved as through the collection alphabetically.

A-C: “Chocolate truffles filled with blood-creme, rolled in sawdust.”

D-G. “Two… no, THREE corsaged puppeteers screwing in a hay bale.”

H-L. “Rusty barber’s shears sterilizing overnight in a jar full of rum and rosewater.”

M-P “This is eerily reminiscent of lightning striking a gondola full of off-duty showgirls.”

O-Z “Luminous, opalescent bat wings serving as the bellows for a lunatic calliope, whooshing gusts of wind through blossoms on dying trees, the bark sticky with blood that is, for some mysterious reason, flowing upward. The music! can you hear the music?”

[Sadly, we have been unable to elaborate on these findings as the intern in question abruptly left their post shortly thereafter.]

Eau de Carnaval Diabolique. The cumulative weight of dozens of scents — a cacophony of carnies, haunts, snakes, grindhouse dancers, and other attractions, all simultaneously clamoring for your attention.“ -https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/limited-edition/carnaval-rat-perfume-oil/

Note:  I tried my best to distill all the available Carnaval Diabolque notes into the scent note section.

Oil Color: A beautiful bay colored oil.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard 1/32 ml imp that has been decanted for me by Absinthetics. Her label features the scent notes on the back along with her decanting information and the scent name. The label art is as follows on the front:

Image from https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/limited-edition/carnaval-rat-perfume-oil/

• ITI: What a melange of notes! Thick, aggressive chocolate cherries, cocoa, black tea, hay, reeds, and brittle bone give way to honeyed hibiscus, cinnamon, atop swaying moss and wild herbs and a hint of fiery patchouli.
• Wet:  The most clear impressions are of red patchouli, chocolate cherries, vanilla mint swirled with bourbon musk and a sinuous trail of kush and cedar smoke.
• Dry: After 17 hours, the scent is still present, although now a subdued tinkling of lavender, lemon balm, cocoa, faint, faded white florals, the subtle tang of metal, and a smidgen of fougere.  I’m intrigued to see how this might shift on someone else, but I actually like.

Other Impressions: None

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Day 1375 – BPAL’s Black Putrescence

Tags

attar of rose, black currant, blackcurrant, blackcurrant juice, BPAL, currant, juice, labdanum, limited edition, motor oil, oil, pomegranate, pomegranate rind, Rose, rose attar, sweet labdanum, The Singularity

Scent Name: Black Putrescence

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – The Singularity

Scent Description and Notes: “A vivacious squirt of decay: viscous blackcurrant juice and pomegranate rind with sweet labdanum, rose attar, and a thin splat of motor oil.“ -https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-category/spring-collection/the-singularity/

Oil Color: a light limed yellow.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard 1/32 ml imp that has been decanted for me by Absinthetics. Her label features the scent notes on the back along with her decanting information and the scent name. The label art is as follows on the front:

Image from https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/spring-collection/the-singularity/black-putrescence-perfume-oil/ Art by Drew Rausch

• ITI: I get  pomegranate and black currant syrup over top motor oil.  Hmm, not sure if I like this just yet.
• Wet: Okay, that’s a bit better.  Black currant sings with rose attar while the pomegranate rind pushes the sweet juicy quality of the scent almost to the point of fruity overload. Then, the motor oil kicks it.  It smells just like dirty pavement with jobs of wet oil spills baking in the run.  It fights with the fruits back and forth over top an interesting smokiness that just has me…confused.
• Dry:  Fairly short lived. I’m just getting a very subtle red fruit musk that’s very close to the skin.

Other Impressions: None.

Day 1347 – BPAL’s Low-Hanging Junk

Tags

almond, Amber, amber resin, bitter almond, bourbon, BPAL, fossilized amber resin, labdanum, limited edition, lupercalia, Lupercalia 2019, Lupercalia 2019: Teddy's Junk Tour, resin, Teddy's Junk Tour, tobacco, tobacco absolute, vanilla, vanilla bourbon

Scent Name: Low-Hanging Junk

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Lupercalia 2019: Teddy’s Junk Tour

Scent Description and Notes: “Vanilla bourbon, fossilized amber resin, bitter almond, labdanum, and tobacco absolute.” -https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/winter-collection/lupercalia-2019/teddys-junk-tour/low-hanging-junk-perfume-oil/

Oil Color: The color of apricot jam.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard 1/32 ml imp that has been decanted for me by Absinthetics. Her label features the scent notes on the back along with her decanting information and the scent name. The label art image is a statue of a burly man or satyr with his package handing on the vines below him.

 

• ITI: The bitter almond and vanilla bourbon combine to smell a bit like holiday marzipan to me. There’s a hint of something bright and sharp that streaks through the marzipan.
• Wet: Marzipan almond and vanilla, this time with a stronger splash of bourbon, are strongest on my skin. As the scent starts to settle, the beautiful golden amber resin and intoxicating tobacco swirl over the marzipan, replacing it as the dominant notes.
• Dry: Beautifully radiant amber resin swaths soft tobacco and vanilla bourbon and labdanum, now much fainter when compared to the amber.  As for the bitter almond, I have no idea where that went, but I’m pleased with the final dry-down.

Other Impressions: None.

Day 1331 – BPAL’s Inferior Vena Cava

Tags

blackwood, BPAL, labdanum, limited edition, lupercalia, Lupercalia 2019, Lupercalia 2019: The Hearthstone and the Heat, Musk, oudh, patchouli, red labdanum, sweet oudh, The Hearthstone and the Heat, vegetal musk, wood

Scent Name: Inferior Vena Cava

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Lupercalia 2019: The Hearthstone and the Heat

Scent Description and Notes: “The largest vein in the human body: a torrent of sweet oudh, patchouli, blackwood, red labdanum, and vegetal musk.” -https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/winter-collection/lupercalia-2019/the-hearthstone-and-the-heat/inferior-vena-cava-perfume-oil/

Oil Color: The color of raw honey.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard 1/32 ml imp that has been decanted for me by Absinthetics. Her label features the scent notes on the back along with her decanting information and the scent name. The label art image is as follows:

Image from https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/winter-collection/lupercalia-2019/the-hearthstone-and-the-heat/inferior-vena-cava-perfume-oil/

• ITI: Mmm, the patchouli here smells like it has been glazed with honey and allowed to reduce while the sweet oudh adds some beautiful warm tones that remind me of Tom Ford’s Tobacco Oud cologne. The vegetal musk presents like moss, clean, faintly damp, and simply green just alongside the warmer tones of the other notes.  It reminds me of hiking in the Hoh Rain Forest.
• Wet: The blackwood just shines on the skin once applied, while the sweet oudh, labdanum, and honeyed patchouli flank it before taking the lead, adding a golden resin to the scent, like the sun peeking through the canopy of trees.  The scent turns a bit duskier as it dries as the red labdanum and musk warm, reminding me of cigar smoke and the forest simultaneously.
• Dry: Glorious – warm, sweet resins and woods infused with intoxicating labdanum and a sweeter patchouli.  It has decent wear – about 6 hours – before settling down into a pleasing musk.

Other Impressions: My mother didn’t like the scent of the imp in the bottle, but loved it after it had dried.  She thought the change was dramatic and delightful.

Day 1317 – BPAL’s Snake’s Shadow

Tags

10-year aged patchouli, aged patchouli, black oudh, BPAL, Indonesian oils, labdanum, limited edition, lupercalia, Lupercalia 2019, oudh, Out the Dark Door of the Secret Earth, patchouli, Snake Oil, sugar, vanilla, vetiver

Since the two Lupercalia oils I ordered blind have come in from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, I figured I’ll review those now while waiting on the decanting circle imps from that collection before delving into my substantial backlog of past Lupercalia imps.

Scent Name: Snake’s Shadow

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Lupercalia 2019: Out the Dark Door of the Secret Earth

Scent Description and Notes: “In the deep, strange-scented shade of the great dark carob-tree
I came down the steps with my pitcher
And must wait, must stand and wait, for there he was at the trough before me.

Snake Oil, black oudh, labdanum, vetiver, and 10-year aged patchouli.” -https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/lupercalia-2019/out-the-dark-door-of-the-secret-earth/snakes-shadow-perfume-oil/

Oil Color: A dark resin-y orange color on my skin.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard brown apothecary bottle.  The label wrapped around the bottle features the name of the company in bolded pale ballet pink block font shadowed in black along the bottom.  Above that is the name of the scent in in a larger version of the font, although in a dusky rose color.  The label art is as featured below:

Image from https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/lupercalia-2019/out-the-dark-door-of-the-secret-earth/snakes-shadow-perfume-oil/

• ITB: Yep, that’s the black oudh, stinky and musky, that immediately strikes me.  However, rich labdanum close in on the oudh, lessening the impact of the very…distinct top note. I think I can detect a little bit of the sugared vanilla in the very background, but it’s rather difficult since the oudh is such an oppressive note.
• Wet: Inky, almost feral black oudh once again asserts itself, although the labdanum, faint patchouli, and hints of Indonesian oils add some much-needed sweetness to the scent as a whole. It’s dark, somewhat threatening, and powerful, for sure.
• Dry: When I work up this morning, the scent was so much softer and more pleasant.  I’m getting faded patchouli, sweet labdanum, and a hint of darker oudh, but not enough to sour the pleasantness of the other notes.  It looks like this one just needs a good 8-10 hours to settle, so I’m hoping that aging will tame in oudh during the wet and dry-down stages.

Other Impressions: I actually chose not to wear this in the morning since I feared the strength of the oudh note.  I’m hoping that some aging time will help the other notes to develop and the oudh to mellow out some.

Day 1310 – BPAL’s A Silhouette

Tags

Anne Wagner, In Memoriam, labdanum, lambblack, Liber Amicorum, Liber Amicorum: Anne Wagner, Lilac, limited edition, lupercalia, Lupercalia 2018, Lupercalia 2018:  Liber Amicorum - Anne Wagner, Musk, old parchment, parchment, white musk, yellowing parchment

Scent Name: A Silhouette

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Lupercalia 2018: Liber Amicorum –Anne Wagner

Scent Description and Notes: “Yellowing parchment and lampblack, a drop of lilac, a smear of labdanum, and a splash of white musk.” -https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/in-memoriam/lupercalia/lupercalia-2018/liber-amicorum/a-silhouette/

Oil Color: The color of ice wine.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard brown apothecary bottle.  The label wrapped around the bottle features the name of the company in bolded white block font shadowed in black along the bottom.  Above that is the name of the scent in in a larger version.  The name of the collection is in the same size and type of font as the company’s name.  The label art is as featured below:

Image from https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/in-memoriam/lupercalia/lupercalia-2018/liber-amicorum/a-silhouette/

• ITB: It reminds me of reading an old novel by a bridge near a peaceful pond. The parchment paper certainly is older and slightly fragile, but the lilac is beautifully soft and serene next to the lamblack ink and very light musk.
• Wet: It’s more musky and the ink is just a little clearer on my skin, but there’s still the beautiful lilac floral that gently hums, ascending and descending between the top and the middle.  The parchment is present, but closer to the bottom of the scent.  It’s contemplative, refined, and thoughtful.
• Dry: What a stunning dry-down – soft, white musk, gossamer in the fading sun while subtle tones of  faint florals and books drift hazily in the background.  This reminds me of a softer, more floral, less sticky sweet version of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s Crinoline and Lace.

Other Impressions: None.

Day 1308 – BPAL’s Vital Fluid

Tags

An Evening with the Spirits, angelica, benzoin, betel leaf, BPAL, galbanum, In Memoriam, labdanum, limited edition, mastic, olibanum, red benzoin, red benzoin absolute, yule, Yule 2018, Yule 2018: An Evening With the Spirits, Yules, Yules 2018

Scent Name: Vital Fluid

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Yule 2018: An Evening with The Spirits

Scent Description and Notes: “Modern philosophy has admitted a plenum or universal principle of fluid matter, which occupies all space; and that as all bodies moving in the world, abound with pores, this fluid matter introduces itself through the interstices and returns backwards and forwards, flowing through one body by the currents which issue therefrom to another, as in a magnet, which produces that phenomenon which we call Animal Magnetism. This fluid consists of fire, air and spirit, and like all other fluids tends to an equilibrium, therefore it is easy to conceive how the efforts which the bodies make towards each other produce animal electricity, which in fact is no more than the effect produced between two bodies, one of which has more motion than the other; a phenomenon serving to prove that the body which has most motion communicates it to the other, until the medium of motion becomes an equilibrium between the two bodies, and then this equality of motion produces animal electricity.

—Wonders and mysteries of animal magnetism displayed; or the history, art, practice, and progress of that useful science, from its first rise in the city of Paris, to the present time. With several Curious Cases and new Anecdotes of the Principal Professors, 1791.

The breath and tears and pulse of all life; the fluid that flows through all creation, permeating space and time and spirit: olibanum, red benzoin absolute, labdanum, betel leaf, galbanum, mastic, and angelica.”  -https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/winter-collection/yule-2018/an_evening_with_the_spirits/vital-fluid/

Oil Color: A deeply cherried walnut wood.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard 1/32 ml imp that has been decanted for me by Yowahoshihime. Her label features the scent notes and her decanter information on the back. The front has the name of the  scent and company name along with the label art, which is as below:

• ITI: Golden rays of sumptuous honeyed resins.  Be still my heart!  The combinations of resins – benzoin, sweet olibanum, mastic – are just delightful in their purity and radiance, especially with angelica gently elevating the scent just so.
• Wet: It’s very similar wet, although I can detect the mastic a little more clearly, seconds before it’s subdued by brightly resinous tones.
• Dry: Warm and welcoming, I keep getting beautifully golden whiffs of this delightful scent.  The silage here is excellent – decently long, but not overbearing.  Elevator approved. Honeyed angelica, olibanum, benzoin, and feint labdanum swirl together in a delightful sweetly resinous frenzy.  This is something I could imagine Cleopatra or The Queen of Sheba wearing.  Wow!

Other Impressions: “It smells like somebody rubbed butterscotch on a new car.” -Tony

Day 1272 – BPAL’s Black and Red Candy Canes

Tags

anise, black patchouli, BPAL, clove, clove bud, labdanum, limited edition, Musk, opium pod, opium., patchouli, red musk, star anise, yule, Yule 2018, Yules, Yules 2018

Scent Name: Black and Red Candy Canes

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Yule 2018

Scent Description and Notes: “Every year at BPAL, we put up our tiny black Yule tree in the front parlor. It has red lights, and it’s decorated with whatever we have handy. I don’t remember when we got this little tree, but it’s been a Yule staple here as long as I can remember. There are always black and red candy canes on the tree; I don’t know what they actually taste like, because these things have been with us forever and are a bajillion years old. They are probably lethal by now.

Red musk, star anise, clove bud, labdanum, opium pod, and black patchouli.” -https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/winter-collection/yule-2018/black-and-red-candy-canes/

Oil Color: Colorless on my skin.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard brown apothecary bottle.  The label wrapped around the bottle features the name of the company in pale pink font along the bottom.  Above that is the name of the scent in shadowed and outlined larger white font.  The name of the collection is in lighter pink font along the top of the label.  The label art is as featured below:

Image courtesy of Tiah Schindelheim Rodriguez.

• ITB: Fresh from the bottle, a lovely clove-dusted patchouli emerges, sweetened slightly by star anise.  Ghosts of laudanum and opium fade in and out along the bottom of the scent.
• Wet: The labdanum is much stronger once applied to skin, although the patchouli still resonates close to the top. As it sits, the opium and musk warm, making the sweetness a little more pronounced, but not enough to overtake the strong labdanum and patchouli. The star anise swells a couple minutes after application, evoking images of infernal licorice and clove candy canes.
• Dry:  Sweet, musky opium dusted with clove and dark patchouli and the faintest remnant of star anise remain after 8 hours.  I love how long this lasts.

Other Impressions: None.

Day 1269 – BPAL’s The Cross of Snow

Tags

bergamot, BPAL, clove, clove bud, cypress, Italian bergamot, labdanum, limited edition, moss, Spanish moss, tobacco, tobacco flower, white tobacco flower, yule, Yule 2018, Yules, Yules 2018

Scent Name: The Cross of Snow

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Yule 2018

Scent Description and Notes: ”

In the long, sleepless watches of the night,
A gentle face — the face of one long dead —
Looks at me from the wall, where round its head
The night-lamp casts a halo of pale light.
Here in this room she died; and soul more white
Never through martyrdom of fire was led
To its repose; nor can in books be read
The legend of a life more benedight.
There is a mountain in the distant West
That, sun-defying, in its deep ravines
Displays a cross of snow upon its side.
Such is the cross I wear upon my breast
These eighteen years, through all the changing scenes
And seasons, changeless since the day she died.

– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Cypress, Spanish moss, and clove bud with labdanum, Italian bergamot, and white tobacco flower.” -https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/winter-collection/yule-2018/the-cross-of-snow/

Oil Color: Colorless on my skin.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard brown apothecary bottle.  The label wrapped around the bottle features the name of the company in pale pink font along the bottom.  Above that is the name of the scent in shadowed and outlined larger white font.  The name of the collection is in lighter pink font along the top of the label.  The label art is as featured below:

Image courtesy of Tiah Schindelheim Rodriguez.

• ITB: Immediate, bergamot shines forth, quickly to be bet with deliciously astringent cypress.  The Spanish moss floats just underneath, along with the white tobacco flower. It’s an intoxicatingly evocative blend.  There really is a sense of delightful solitude, nostalgia, and purity to this one.
• Wet:  While the bergamot and cypress are still dominant on my skin, the clove makes its appearance, wrapped in contemplative labdanum.  The tobacco flower is faint in the background, but it keeps the scent from being too much of a cold, feral wood like Shattered Silence.
• Dry: Seven hours later, I can still distinctly pick out the Spanish moss, cypress, and bergamot.  It reminds me less of a snowy landscape and more of the mossy tendrils dripping from trees in New Orleans, partially obscured by the fog.

Other Impressions: None.

Day 1222 – BPAL’s Suffragium

Tags

BPAL, Cedar, labdanum, Lilith, Lilith 2018, limited edition, palo santo, sandalwood, sweet labdanum, white sandalwood

Scent Name: Suffragium

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Lilith 2018

Scent Description and Notes: “When Lilith was three months old, she came with me to the voting booth for the first time. She wore a Little Democrat onesie and a Babies For Obama button, and it was one of the most emotional nights of my life. I know I’ve told this story before, but as the election results rolled in, I wept with relief because Lilith was going to grow up safe. Decency won the day, and my heart was alight with the belief that we were on an upwards trajectory as a nation, and that compassion and hope were leading us to a renewal.

November 8, 2016 was another emotional night for very, very different reasons.

Since that day, the world has gotten darker, but the darkness creates strength and fosters empathy. Lilith is now learning what social justice truly means. She has participated in protests, demonstrations, volunteer campaigns, and walk-outs. She has made protest signs with her own two hands, and has marched against the cruelty, oppression, and tyranny of this current administration. She’s beginning to grasp both civic responsibility and civil disobedience, and she’s learning how much power her voice really has. This is a scent of renewing hope, determination, fortitude, and compassion: palo santo, white sandalwood, sweet labdanum, and cedar.”  -https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/limited-edition/lilith-2018/suffragium/

Palo Santo: It’s a resin from a wild tree native to Mexico and comes from the same family as frankincense and myrrh, which it tends to smell like with hints of sweet spice and sometimes a faint tone of citrus.

Oil Color: The color of straw.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard 1/32 ml imp that has been decanted for me by Yowahoshihime. Her label features the scent notes and her decanter information on the back. The front has the name of the  scent and company name along with the label art, which is as below:

Image from https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/limited-edition/lilith-2018/suffragium/

• ITI: It smells like cedar, licorice root, woodsy resin and something along the lines of wood polish.  It’s interesting, but we’ll see how it does on the skin.
• Wet:  The palo santo is sweet and reminds me of licorice root in its woodiness with a faint tone of orange.  Thee cedar is strong and proud, while the sandalwood swirls between these two notes, creating a lovely oriental, rein, woody scent that is less meditation fodder or forest commune and more alluring and self-assured.
• Dry: Soft, sweet palo santo and woods mingle with the the lovely light, white sandalwood musk and a touch of cedar.  Even after 5 hours the scent is still lovely, although it no longer has much throw.

Other Impressions:  “Mmm, you smell nice.  Myrrh and something.  Sultry.” -Tony

Day 1161 – BPAL’s Monk and Actor

Tags

auburn musk, beeswax, BPAL, brown musk, cashmere, cashmere labdanum, Cedar, clove, clove bud, honey, honeyed patchouli, labdanum, limited edition, lupercalia, Lupercalia 2018, Lupercalia 2018: Shunga, mimosa, mimosa blossom, Musk, Novel Ideas for Secret Amusements, Novel Ideas for Secret Amusements XI, oakmoss, oakmoss absolute, patchouli, Shunga, Shungas

Scent Name: Monk and Actor

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Lupercalia 2018: Shungas

Scent Description and Notes: “Soft auburn musk, clove bud, honeyed patchouli, oakmoss absolute, cashmere labdanum, cedar, and mimosa blossom.” -https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/limited-edition/lupercalia-2018/monk-and-actor/

Oil Color: Faintly  yellow on my skin.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard 1/32 ml imp that has been decanted by Mystery213.  The back of the label has the scent notes and the decanting information.  The label features the label art that would have appeared on the bottle on front, which is a Japanese woodblock print of an older monk and a younger male actor dressed in geisha attire engaged in coitus.

• ITI: Interesting.  On first sniff, I’m met with a lovely, creamy wood with a very subtle and subdued floral musk and a touch of cashmere.
• Wet:  Ah, there’s the slightly more forceful cedar, flanked by almost a fuzzy musk (which must be the auburn and perhaps a touch of the clove bud).  The labdanum emerges, swathed in gauzy cashmere and a touch of warmed patchouli.  Faint honey weaves itself around the heavier notes, yet it isn’t sickly sweet but more of a beeswax note, which is genius with these woods.
• Dry: This reminds me of BPAL’s Scholar’s Tower now that it’s dry, but less resinous and more creamy and musky.  It’s less resinous, though.  On its own, the scent is deliciously warm, musky, and woodsy with very soft beeswax patchouli, and a faint sprinkle of hazy clove and cashmere.  Lovely!

Other Impressions:  “Amber-y, but it also reminds me of those nice Chinese cone incenses, but feminine. And relaxed/chill. It’s really pleasant.” – Tony

Day 1120 – BPAL’s The Mournful Influence of the Unperceived Shadow

Tags

black patchouli, BPAL, Halloween, Halloween 2017, Halloweenie, Halloweenie 2017, Halloweenies, Halloweenies 2017, hot saffron, labdanum, limited edition, Musk, myrrh, patchouli, saffron, shadow musk, The Tell-Tale Heart, Weenies, Weenies 2017

Scent Name: The Mournful Influence of the Unperceived Shadow

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Halloweenies 2017:  The Tell-Tale Heart

Scent Description and Notes:  “I knew what the old man felt, and pitied him, although I chuckled at heart. I knew that he had been lying awake ever since the first slight noise, when he had turned in the bed. His fears had been ever since growing upon him. He had been trying to fancy them causeless, but could not. He had been saying to himself — “It is nothing but the wind in the chimney — it is only a mouse crossing the floor,” or “It is merely a cricket which has made a single chirp.” Yes, he had been trying to comfort himself with these suppositions: but he had found all in vain. All in vain; because Death, in approaching him had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim. And it was the mournful influence of the unperceived shadow that caused him to feel — although he neither saw nor heard — to feel the presence of my head within the room.



Unutterable dread: thick black patchouli, shadow musk, myrrh, and threads of hot saffron mired in sweet, viscous labdanum.”-https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/limited-edition/weenies-2017/the-mournful-influence-of-the-unperceived-shadow/

Oil Color: It reminds me of watered down molasses.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz).  This is a decant which features the  scent information on back and the image that would be on the bottle on front.  The label art is as featured:

Image from https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/limited-edition/weenies-2017/the-mournful-influence-of-the-unperceived-shadow/

• ITI: Dark resins teem with labdanum, aged patchouli, and something that reminds me of cinnamon Neccos while inky shadows pulse in the undergrowth.  I’m excited to skin test this one!
• Wet:  Oddly enough, the myrrh is much less prominent on my skin.  Instead, the shadow musk and saffron  drift forth, soft yet still unmistakably foreboding with the labdanum and patchouli.  I like it, but I wish the myrrh was as prevalent as it was in the bottle.
• Dry: This is even better once dried.  The scent looses much of its Necco sweetness.  Instead, I’m left with a sweetened, resinous and richly beautiful myrrh note bolstered by very faint labdanum light and pleasant patchouli note in the distance. There’s just a touch of musk, but it no longer is inky and dark, but brown and fuzzy, enhancing the gorgeous myrrh note.  I’d say that if you love myrrh, this is something you should try.

Other Impressions: None.

Day 1108 – BPAL’s The Drunkard’s Dream

Tags

American Gods, American Gods III, BPAL, currant, grave moss, khus, labdanum, moss, neil-gaimans-American Gods, opoponax, red currant, sandalwood, vetiver, white sandalwood

Scent Name: The Drunkard’s Dream

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – American Gods III

Scent Description and Notes: “The drunk in the graveyard raised his bottle to his lips. One of the gravestones flipped over, revealing a grasping corpse; a headstone turned around, flowers replaced by a grinning skull. A wraith appeared on the right of the church, while on the left of the church something with a half-glimpsed, pointed, unsettlingly birdlike face, a pale, Boschian nightmare, glided smoothly from a headstone into the shadows and was gone. Then the church door opened, a priest came out, and the ghosts, haunts, and corpses vanished, and only the priest and the drunk were left alone in the graveyard. The priest looked down at the drunk disdainfully, and backed through the open door, which closed behind him, leaving the drunk on his own.

The clockwork story was deeply unsettling. Much more unsettling, thought Shadow, than clockwork has any right to be.

“You know why I show that to you?” asked Czernobog.

“No.”

“That is the world as it is. That is the real world. It is there, in that box.”

Red currant and labdanum with opoponax, vetiver, grave moss, white sandalwood, and khus.” -https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/neil-gaiman/american-gods/the-drunkards-dream/

Oil Color: The color of barrel-aged whiskey.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard BPAL brown apothecary bottle.  The label wrapped around the bottle features the name of the scent in bold, yellow letters along the bottom of the bottle, just above the smaller white block font of the company name.  The name of the collection is in even smaller white block font along the top of the label. The label art is as follows:

Image from https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/neil-gaiman/american-gods/the-drunkards-dream/

• ITB:  Vibrant red currant surrounded by what almost smells like a champagne note make my nose tingle upon first sniff.  There’s some resins just behind that almost champagne note along with khus, which shimmies forth as a mid to bottom tone.
• Wet: If this is the Drunkard’s Dream, I can certainly see why it would be so alluring.  The red currant virtually sparkles against the sandalwood and opoponax, while the  vetiver and khus lift the scent from the base, allowing the scent to be almost festive (red currant) against the resins and subtle darker notes.
• Dry: After 14 hours, this scent is still lovely.  The red currant is soft but still tartly fruity, yet balanced by the sandalwood and opoponax, which are still clear.  There’s a faint khus hint, but the green notes have largely vanished.

Other Impressions: “I’m just getting faint powder and…like clove?” – Tony

Day 1053 – BPAL’s Temple Viper

Tags

Act III, BPAL, carnaval diabolique, carnaval diabolique: act III the snake pit, champaca, Faiza's Companions: The Snake Pit, Frankincense, hyssop, Indonesian oil, labdanum, limited edition, opoponax, Snake Oil, sugar, sugar cane, The Snake Pit, vanilla

Scent Name: Temple Viper

Manufacturer:  Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab –  Carnaval Diabolique, Act III: Faiza’s Companions: The Snake Pit

Scent Description and Notes: “Snake Oil with sugar cane, frankincense, champaca, opoponax, labdanum, and hyssop.”  –https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/limited-edition/carnaval-diabolique-2015/temple-viper/

Oil Color: Copper on my arm.

Bottle Design and Artwork:  This is a 5ml standard brown apothecary bottle.  The label extends just under halfway around the bottom.  This is the redesigned and reworked version of a temple viper, featuring the almost fluorescently glowing titular snake about to bite, venom oozing in anticipation.  The name of the company is at the very bottom in small grey font.  Above that is the name of the scent in white, bold Western-stylized font.  At the very top is the title of the collection,  “Carnaval Diabolique” in grey bold font.

Image from https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/limited-edition/carnaval-diabolique-2015/temple-viper/

Scent:

• ITB:  The scent is murky in its resinous tones, inky from the labdanum and somewhat sharply floral from the hyssop, pulling for attention, directing away from the more subtle notes.
• Wet: I get less Snake Oil out of this one than the previous Snake Pit oils. It’s more of a smoky minty chocolate, which I think might be from the combination of cane sugar, vanilla, and labdanum, although the floral tone still adds a touch of sharpness to the overall feel of the scent. Just under those notes is the serpentine, resinous tones of frankincense and opoponax, which reminds me of the temples hidden away in the mountains of Japan.
• Dry:  Gentle Indonesian oils and vanilla are evident, but it doesn’t have much throw and stays very close to the skin.  I think I can still detect a little bit of the resin, but it’s so faint that I can’t narrow it down to a single note.

Other Impressions: None.

Day 1043 – BPAL’s The Cross of Snow

Tags

bergamot, BPAL, clove, clove bud, cypress, Italian bergamot, labdanum, limited edition, moss, Spanish moss, tobacco, tobacco flower, white tobacco flower, yule, Yule 2015

Scent Name: The Cross of Snow

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Yule 2015

Scent Description and Notes: ”

In the long, sleepless watches of the night,
A gentle face — the face of one long dead —
Looks at me from the wall, where round its head
The night-lamp casts a halo of pale light.
Here in this room she died; and soul more white
Never through martyrdom of fire was led
To its repose; nor can in books be read
The legend of a life more benedight.
There is a mountain in the distant West
That, sun-defying, in its deep ravines
Displays a cross of snow upon its side.
Such is the cross I wear upon my breast
These eighteen years, through all the changing scenes
And seasons, changeless since the day she died.
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Cypress, Spanish moss, and clove bud with labdanum, Italian bergamot, and white tobacco flower.” -https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/yule-2015/cross-snow/

Oil Color: A burnished amber color.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz). This is a decant from Absinthetics.  On the back, she has the notes of the scent, the name of the scent in bold orange font. Her decanting information is in green.  The font of the label features the same label art as the bottle, which iis a graveyard covered in a dusting of snow.

Image from https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/yule-2015/cross-snow/

Scent: 

• ITI: Mmm, herby, pungent, green, and cold – certainly the cypress here is the most prominent note, clean and refreshing. The bergamot and tobacco float effortlessly just below the astringent green, softening it and adding such beautiful depth.
• Wet: Wow, the clove is gorgeous on my skin, rushing headlong to meet the cypress.  The tobacco flower and bergamot are a bit stronger now, adding less softness, but something more akin to  a slightly heady Earl Grey suffused with tobacco smoke. So far, so good!
  
• Dry: Sadly, it doesn’t last as I had hoped.  After 8 hours, the scent is only cypress and tobacco in the far, far distance. 

Other Impressions: None.

Day 1029 – BPAL’s Ketkrókur

Tags

BPAL, clove, dragon's blood, dragon's blood resin, labdanum, limited edition, patchouli, resin, yule, Yule 2015, Yule Lads

Scent Name: Ketkrókur

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Yule Lads: Yule 2015

Scent Description and Notes: “Favorite pastime: collecting meat hooks, sharpening meat hooks, polishing meat hooks. Sleep with one eye open? Labdanum, patchouli, dragon’s blood resin, and clove.

” -http://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/the-yule-lads/ketkrokur/

Oil Color: The color of copper glowing from heat, reddened with iron.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz). This is a decant from Absinthetics.  On the back, she has the notes of the scent, the name of the scent in bold orange font. Her decanting information is in green.  The font of the label features the same label art as the bottle, which is the name in light yellow, shadowed font.

Scent: 

• ITI: Well, hello clove.  The first note from the imp forcibly assaults my nose. It burns and seethes with the dragon’s blood resin and labdanum, under which the patchouli slowly bubbles in below.
• Wet: Gorgeous!  The dragon’s blood resin is still strong, but the clove has mellowed out enough to allow the patchouli to blood, creating a spicy, resinous, light sweet dream for anyone who loves Woody Orientals.
  
• Dry: After 6 hours,  the scent is sweet, resinous, slightly smoky, and just perfection.  The resins meld beautifully with soft, slightly powdery labdanum, the the patchouli and clove and a lovely depth to it.  On my bottle list you go.

Other Impressions: “Uh, soapy and musky…but nice.” -Tony

Day 1018 – BPAL’s Prosperous Flowers of the Elegant Twelve Seasons

Tags

BPAL, honey, labdanum, Leather, limited edition, lupercalia, Lupercalia 2015, patchouli, saffron, Shunga, vanilla, wood vanilla

Scent Name: Prosperous Flowers of the Elegant Twelve Seasons

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Lupercalia 2015: Shunga

Scent Description and Notes: “Patchouli and honeyed saffron with labdanum, leather accord, and wood vanilla.” –  http://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/lupercalia-2015/prosperous-flowers-elegant-twelve-seasons/

Oil Color: I used all the oil before I looked, so no review of color for this one either.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz). This is a decant from Absinthetics.  On the back, she has the notes of the scent, the name of the scent in orange bold font, and her decanting information in green.  The font of the label features the same label art as the bottle, which is a shunga print of a woman engaged in coitus with a cat-masked man under the cover of kimono while another woman gazes down in surprise at them.

Scent: 

• ITI: Hmm, the scent is warmer, in a cozy cabin way, than I hand anticipated.  The spicy patchouli is softened by the vanilla, made rounder by the saffron.  The leather accord note is that of aged but well-tended brown leather, the likes of a grandparent’s beloved sofa.
• Wet: The leather is more pronounced once it hits my skin, but the combination of vanilla, saffron, honey, and patchouli is still gloriously warm and comforting.  I can detect the labdanum as well here, curling faintly between the leather and other notes, added depth and just a little intrigue.
• Dry:  Sweet, honeyed  saffron, delicious woodsy vanilla, and a touch of faint patchouli remain after 6 hours.  Oh, this is beautiful!

Other Impressions: None.

Day 1011 – BPAL’s Upon Man and Upon Beast

Tags

BPAL, cherry, labdanum, limited edition, opoponax, patchouli, Plagues of Egypt, red cherry, sandalwood, white sandalwood

Scent Name: Upon Man and Upon Beast

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Plagues of Egypt

Scent Description and Notes: ‘Take to you handfuls of ashes of the fornace, and let Moses sprinkle it towards the heauen, in the sight of Pharaoh: And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall bee a boyle breaking forth with blaines, vpon man and vpon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt. And they tooke ashes of the fornace, and stood before Pharaoh, and Moses sprinkled it vp toward heauen: and it became a boile breaking forth with blaines, vpon man and vpon beast.

Dry patchouli and white sandalwood oozing with lesions of labdanum, wet red cherry, and opoponax.‘ – http://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/plagues-of-egypt/upon-man-upon-beast/

Oil Color: A coffee liquor color.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz). This was an imp decanted by Strangemodegirl, which features a small partial label with the name of the  scent on top on a stylized font, the name of the collection bellow it in slightly larger font, which is surrounded by ankhs on either side.  The title of the company is in a of the scent below the collection, and the decanting information is at the very bottom of the label.

Image from http://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/plagues-of-egypt/upon-man-upon-beast/

Scent: 

• ITI: The red cherry, sandalwood, patchouli and opoponax are all clearly evident in the vial, although the combination of the three remind me of a sweet Dragon’s Blood.  I do wish the smokiness of the labdanum was a bit more evident because the scent is a bit too sweet for me as it stands.
• Wet: Ah, it’s much more resinous on on my skin, much less cherry, which I’m enjoying.  The laudanum is now thick and pendulous, lending the sandalwood and patchouli a more ominous and foreboding tone.
• Dry:  Ah, this is the thickly resinous scent for which I was hoping. Swaths of patchouli coil around the opoponax and sandalwood, woodsy and intoxicating. The cherry adds just a touch of sweet that keeps the scent from being entirely too earthy.

Other Impressions: “It smells like Nag Champa.” -Tony

Day 966 – BPAL’s Magdalene

Tags

BPAL, discontinued, labdanum, orchid, Rose, sin and salvation, white rose, wild orchid

Name:   Magdalene

Manufacturer:  Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Discontinued: Sin and Salvation

Scent Description and Notes: “A stirring yet gentle perfume. The scent of love and devotion mingled with an undercurrent of heart-rending sorrow. A bouquet of white roses, labdanum, and wild orchid.“ – bpal.org

Oil Color:  The color of honeyed lemon.

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 name of the company next to the phoenix. On the other side, the title of the scent written in large, clear black font outlined with red on the front.

Scent:

• ITI:  I was expecting overtly floral and sweet, but Magdalene is a bit on the acrid/bitter side, like roses and thorns with a touch of labdanum.
• Wet: The rose and orchid more clearer once on the skin, and while the bitterness has died down, a soft powderiness has settled over the top of it. It really does seem to do its name-sake justice.
• Dry: Softy powder, pleasant rose, and a touch of light distant ozone for some reason rain on my skin.  It’s gorgeous and I’m now upset that it has been discontinued.

Other Impressions:  None.

Day 949 – BPAL’s In Templum Dei

Tags

Amber, BPAL, cistus, cistus labdanum, Frankincense, labdanum, limited edition, liquidamber, Oman frankincense, Only Lovers Left Alive, Only Lovers Left Alive Soundtrack

Scent Name: In Templum Dei

Manufacturer: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab – Only Lovers Left Alive: Soundtrack

Scent Description and Notes: ““Oman frankincense, cistus labdanum, white sandalwood, and liquidambar.“ -http://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-category/only-lovers-left-alive/

Oil Color: The color of spiced rum.

Bottle Design and Artwork: This is a standard vial / imp size (1/32 oz). This is a decant from ralenth.  On the back, she has the notes of the scent, the side features her decanting information, and the front features the company acronym, the title of the scent, the collection, and the date, along with a scent-appropriate image.  The label art for the bottle is below:

Image from http://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/only-lovers-left-alive/templum-dei/

Scent: 

• ITI:  Catholic Mass on highly polished wooden pews adorned with glimmering bronze accents -rich and contemplative.
• Wet:  The metal element is still fairly pronounced, while the resins, frankincense, labdanum, and liquidamber warm on my skin, the amber among which being the most dominant.  I find the amber note rather interesting as it has a faint lemony quality.
  
• Dry: It dries down into the most delicious, soft, and sumptuous blend of amber, frankincense, and sandalwood I’ve smelled to date.  Gorgeous!

Other Impressions: None.