kebechet

In response to a heap of questions regarding the Yule update, yes, it will be going up this week... either on Big Brown Beaver Day, or just a day or so beforehand. It will include the Yule LE's, as well as a few GC scents.

As of the next update [date undetermined] we will be rotating the planetary blends from the discontinued Celestials series, starting with Sol. How we're going to do this... is still in the works... more info will be made avail once some decisions are made.

Blood Moon is live, a wee bit early. Logistics demanded it. We're doing our best to get the BPTP update and TAL site ready, and putting up Blood Moon a little bit ahead of schedule helps me out today. =/

I know that this seems like a heavily moderated forum to some people. Most forums that I belong to, or have participated in previously, were really quite haphazard: there were infinite repeat threads, trolls were left to run amok, huge images clogged my screen, and irrelevancies abounded. In many cases, it was almost impossible to find the information I went to the forum to find in the first place. On a band’s forum that I frequent, HUGE images are quoted and requoted again and again, dozens of times, in a thread, and not only is it a bandwidth hog, but it is profoundly annoying to read. I posted a question about something the bassist had on his instrument at a show, and even though three people answered it, I saw the same question posted five times after mine. I know this is somewhat nitpicky, but in the long run it ruined my experience there, and as much as I love the band, I won’t be back. All the rules here on the forum were instituted with the comfort, happiness, security and user-friendliness of the participants in mind. If you’re looking for a review, you find it. If you need to know where to get decanting equipment, you’ve got the info. If you want to share the joy of your latest shopping spree, you know people will be able to jump around with you. If there’s someone harassing you, bailing on trades, or exploding your browser with a high-res, two-billion pixel wide image of Stan Laurel eating a banana, you know it won’t be there to make you nuts in a little while. All of this is possible because of the thoughtfulness and consideration of the forum members, and also thanks to the hard work, conscientiousness and care of the mods here. They work their asses off to make sure that your experience here is as happy, stress-free and fun as possible. If something occurs that you are uncomfortable with, be it with another member or a mod, please talk it out with the moderators and administrators, without expletives, insults, or any tone that you wouldn’t use with your own mother. We all, as humans, don’t always see eye to eye, but we’re mature adults and can discus things in a friendly, open, and civilized fashion. This should be a haven, and a home – for all of us – and the mods, and I, have feelings, too. Please don’t bite the mods. This is a labor of love, and we all deserve the same respect you’d want to be shown, yerself. =) So, let’s group hug so I can get on with working.

… will be available on Harvest Moon at BPAL w/c, $15 ea, on a first-come-first served basis. If you are placing an order ahead of time for pick up, you may request an imp. They were distilled in-house by our own Fritz, who is an alchemical genius. They are of the highest quality, and will be at their best if let alone in a cool, dry, dark area for 6-12 months before use. I have a personal stash of 1oz of this patchouli from last year’s batch, and it is orgasm-inducing. More will be made available over time as it is distilled.

Anthony and Sara were in a car accident last night: 3rd car in a very serious 5-car pile-up on the freeway. Both of them are mostly ok, but will be at home recouperating for the next few days. What does this mean for you? Customer service is on hiatus for a day or so, and C&S will go out a bit slower. Thank you for your patience.

If you would like to place an order for pick-up on Harvest Moon, please do the following: Email us at willcall@blackphoenixalchemylab.com with your order. Payment may be remitted by PayPal ahead of time to willcall@blackphoenixalchemylab.com, or you can pay at Pick Up with cash or using one of our computers as a PayPal terminal. When making your payment, please omit shipping charges. You may purchase any current catalogue oils for Will Call pick up on that day with the exception of the following: All Halloween LE’s All ‘A Demon In My View’ LE’s All Pumpkin Patch oils Baneberry Black Hellebore The Hamptons Jazz Funeral Lurid Shadow Witch Orchid Twenty-One We will do our best to accommodate all orders of 5mls and imps, but sales will be based on availability. Imp Packs will be available, but we would prefer that, if you are going to purchase imps, you pre-order them so we can expedite the process. In all cases, its probably best to pre-order anyway, so we can make sure we have the oils allotted, or will be able to tell you beforehand if we’re out of stock. You get the gist. At this time, we cannot accept checks, money orders, or credit card payments for WC. Will call will be open from 12pm-4pm on Sunday, September 18th. Please direct all questions to answers@blackphoenixalchemylab.com. The Will Call address is: 5042 Vineland Ave North Hollywood, CA 91601 … and unfortunately, since we cannot handle direct sales at this time outside of the Lunacy Days, we cannot accommodate anyone coming by at any other time of the month. There’s really no easy way to put it… but we don’t have the staff at this time, and as much as we love hanging out, there’s too much work to be done during the week. We hope to be able to expand the Will Call option in the future, but there’s no way its going to happen until at least the middle of 2006. Thanks for understanding! <-- Happy Sumo Wrestler Guy

Thanks for posting that, my love. =) The power is back, but we've sent everyone home. Life here will resume its course, as usual, tomorrow. A little Yahoo snippit on the incident. The creepy military aircraft flying over the Lab does add a bit to the ambience.

Never worry about emailing us. That's what Sara's there for. =) We're always more than happy to rectify our mistakes, and we can't solve the problem if we don't know that it has occured.

Black Broom will no longer carry as wide a selection of BPAL oils as previously. They will continue to carry their original selection of 93-some oils and a small selection of Twilight Alchemy Lab oils, but they will no longer host LE sales events on the full moon (including sales of the Lunacy oils.) We plan to provide customers with a will-call service on Lunacy days to fill this need. We'll post details just as soon as we've figured out the best way to handle it.

Just to clarify... A Demon In My View is considered a LE collection, and is imp-free. No samples will be manufactured for that series. <--- pointless pharoah smiley inserted to soften the blow

Oh my God, I can't format all that text again in forum'ese right now. Too eyeball-bleary! Hit the Shiny & New page, guys! =)

She lives! This update might as well be dubbed “Beth Flips Out on the Incense and Leather Update”. Consider yourself warned. New in the LE department… LIMITED EDITION BEATRICE -- "Am I awake? Have I my senses?" said he to himself. "What is this being? Beautiful shall I call her, or inexpressibly terrible?" A scent inspired by Beatrice, Rappaccini’s delicate, beautiful, innocent and deadly daughter. A fragile, winsome, poisonous blend of rare, precious and graceful flowers, rich blossoms and spicy perfumes that passes heavily, as a broken heart, across the borders of Time. Carnivàle Revisited, and the whole Carnaval Noir series, will be available until September 1, 2005. Beatrice, also, will be available until September 1st, and when she passes, our new scent category will come to life in the general catalogue: Rappaccini's Garden. There will be a little bit of scent shuffling as we move the black and blood flowers and some of the other flora-themed scents into their new home, and several new scents will be introduced on that day, including Baneberry and Black Hellebore. Also new in the current update: BEWITCHING BREWS DEE -- John Dee: master of science, alchemy and magic, Hermetic philosopher in the schools of Rosicrucian Christian Mysticism and Platonic-Pythagorean doctrine, and Queen Elizabeth’s astrologer, advisor, cryptologist and spy. With Edward Kelly, he created a field of study and work in Angelic Evocation, and isolated the Angelic language: Enochian. His scent is soft English leather, rosewood and tonka with a hint of incense, parchment and soft woods. SIN & SALVATION LES INFORTUNES DE LA VERTU -- A pain-tinged, pleasure-soaked blend of leather, oakmoss, orange blossom, amber, and rose with a breath of virginal French florals and a hint of austere monastic penitential incense. EXCOLO THANATOS -- One of the horrible, painful, cruel, brooding, mocking and malignant children of Nyx, he is Death Incarnate, and is seen as a willowy young man, accompanied by a butterfly, bearing an inverted torch and funeral wreath in his hands. In modern thought, thanks to Sigmund Freud, it is the Death Instinct: love of death, destruction and decay, and the desire to embrace the quiescence, silence and peace of the grave. Dry white sandalwood and soft Siamese benzoin over a lugubrious blend of myrrh, Moroccan rose, mastic, tomb moss and a thin whiff of Greek incense. And that, friends and neighbors, is all you're going to get outta me til September!

I will be going under the knife on Aug 4th, and will be convalescing for about a week. Brian, Tone, Sara and the rest of the crew will be hard at work while I'm incapacitated, so there shouldn't be much of a hold up with anything other than correspondence on my end.

This is what we use to keep track of everything. =) - - - Originally designed for use by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, Apothecary Keeper is a full-featured recipe and inventory management software program designed specifically with the apothecarian in mind. Perfect for storing recipes of incenses, oils, soaps and more, Apothecary Keeper is easy to use and feature rich. Automatic Inventory management is built right in to Apothecary Keeper; press the "Make Recipe" button and the ingredients in your recipe are automatically converted and deducted from the Inventory. Doubling your recipe is a simple task as well; Apothecary Keeper will accurately multiply or divide your recipe by any number! Courtesy of Blue Moon Design! Also available at: The Black Broom 5050 Vineland Avenue, North Hollywood, CA 91601 http://www.theblackbroom.com

... because I am too sick to pull another all-nighter at the Lab. =/ Verbatim from the Shiny & New Page... - - - Happy Thursday, all! My head is foggy from summer flu fun [yes, I'm sick again] and the monstrous weather, so I’m going to make this update on the update brief and to the point. Black Phoenix Trading Post will be introducing a few new tees and a Carnaval Noir poster [images courtesy of the fantastic, the inimitable Jennifer Williamson] within the next few days. We had hoped to have both sites update simultaneously, but due to logistical issues, this is not possible. The elemental blends [Gnome, Sylph, Salamander and Undine] will be live on the BPTP site when the new tees and poster go live. We’ll keep you posted. For reasons too numerous to mention, Carnaval Noir will remain up and whirling until September 1st, 2005. Bad news: Glitter has been discontinued due to a component issue. New at the Lab: LIMITED EDITION FRUIT MOON -- The bountiful, bright and vivacious prelude to the Harvest. A horde of wet, ripe fruits: green apple, apricot, blackberry, black cherry, black and red currants, cantaloupe, English pear, guava, lemon and lime, orange, mandarin orange, kiwi and mango, passion fruit, papaya, Georgia peach, raspberry, plum, tangerine, pomegranate and strawberry over a luminous blend of lunar oils. NUMB -- I don’t know about the weather where you’re at, but here in L.A… it is brain-frying’ly, grr-stickity hot. This icy blend was something that we were saving for the upcoming [not soon enough!] winter months, but since Brian and I watched the thermometer slap 107 today, we decided that there’s no better time than the present to introduce a singularly chilly, delectably ice-rimmed perfume. Revel in the gelid polar frostiness that is Numb, and forget about the heat for a moment. This scent is extremely limited, and will be available until all the bottles are spoken for. BEWITCHING BREWS BLACK OPAL -- A play of geological darkness and jagged brilliance. Soft and luminescent with flashes of black fire. THE BLACK TOWER -- Say that the men of the old black tower, Though they but feed as the goatherd feeds, Their money spent, their wine gone sour, Lack nothing that a soldier needs, That all are oath-bound men: Those banners come not in. There in the tomb stand the dead upright, But winds come up from the shore: They shake when the winds roar, Old bones upon the mountain shake. Those banners come to bribe or threaten, Or whisper that a man's a fool Who, when his own right king's forgotten, Cares what king sets up his rule. If he died long ago Why do you dread us so? There in the tomb drops the faint moonlight, But wind comes up from the shore: They shake when the winds roar, Old bones upon the mountain shake. The tower's old cook that must climb and clamber Catching small birds in the dew of the morn When we hale men lie stretched in slumber Swears that he hears the king's great horn. But he's a lying hound: Stand we on guard oath-bound! There in the tomb the dark grows blacker, But wind comes up from the shore: They shake when the winds roar, Old bones upon the mountain shake. A sepulchral, desolate scent. Long-dead soldiers, oath-bound; the perfume of their armor, the chill wind that surges through their tower, white bone and blackened steel: white sandalwood, ambergris, wet ozone, galbanum and leather with ebony, teak, burnt grasses, English ivy and a hint of red wine. EPHEMERA -- 'Your eyes that once were never weary of mine Are bowed in sorrow under pendulous lids, Because our love is waning.' And then She: 'Although our love is waning, let us stand By the lone border of the lake once more, Together in that hour of gentleness When the poor tired child, passion, falls asleep. How far away the stars seem, and how far Is our first kiss, and ah, how old my heart!' Pensive they paced along the faded leaves, While slowly he whose hand held hers replied: 'Passion has often worn our wandering hearts.' The woods were round them, and the yellow leaves Fell like faint meteors in the gloom, and once A rabbit old and lame limped down the path; Autumn was over him: and now they stood On the lone border of the lake once more: Turning, he saw that she had thrust dead leaves Gathered in silence, dewy as her eyes, In bosom and hair. 'Ah, do not mourn,' he said, 'That we are tired, for other loves await us; Hate on and love through unrepining hours. Before us lies eternity; our souls Are love, and a continual farewell.' The scent of loss, love and the echo of time without end: sorrowful violet and chamomile with muguet, white geranium, calla lily and tea rose with a hint of autumn leaves. FUNEREAL OILS ASPHODEL -- The grey and ghostly flower that fills the fields of Hades. WANDERLUST BENGAL -- A sultry and unruly blend that emulates the ambient scent of the markets in ancient Bengal: skin musk with honey, peppers, clove, cinnamon bark and ginger. VERSAILLES -- Grand, courtly and robust: a glittering, golden scent that would do Louis XIV proud. Gilded red and gold citrus with amber, ruby roses, jasmine and orris. EXCOLO AL-SHAIRAN -- The enemy of God, also named Iblis, He Who Despaired of the Mercy of God. Al-Shairan is the leader of the Jinn, a tempter who whispers false suggestions to men enticing them into evil and perfidious acts, and is the sworn enemy of all of Adam’s children. His scent is fiery, bright and thick with sweet sinfulness: clove, peach and orange with cinnamon, patchouli and dark incense notes. OLD SCRATCH -- Old Nick, the Devil himself, as seen through the eyes of Victorian New England. A jaunty, dapper scent, deceptively genteel: a lavender fougere with tonka, amber, rosewood and a whiff of diabolical patchouli. PANACEA ELIXIR VII: SAFARI -- A travel blend. Calms nerves, alleviates tension, soothes jetlag.

Just a public service announcement: All Carnaval artwork... labels, postcards, and the poster and tee that will be available on the Black Phoenix Trading Post site on the 21st... was done by our own Macha. =) Much love to Macha!

Buck Moon is live, along with Carnivale Revisited and Love in the Asylum.

Since I have been receiving numerous questions regarding this… No, ApCat has NEVER diluted any of our products. I thought that I had made it clear, particularly when I said, “I don’t like the idea of people who are not authorized resellers taking it upon themselves to sell our items in a retail environment.” ApCat was clearly an authorized reseller for a very long time. But to reiterate, this is an issue that has come up with people that have purchased our products from the site, in a retail capacity, with the sole intent of reselling, and a particular customer that has done so AND diluted. It has nothing to do with anyone that has ever been one of our wholesale customers, nor does it have anything to do with those who make bulk group purchases through individuals or through a service like the Imp House. Don’t know how else I can explain this.

In response to the few questions we have received about our relations with the Apothecary’s Cat… simply put, we are freezing our wholesale business for the time being. The Imp House, Black Broom and Alternate Realities will continue to host our oils. We wish ApCat all the luck that they deserve in future endeavors. Now for the nasty stuff… I have not had an opportunity to post much lately, and it grieves me a little that the first post I am able to make in ages has to have such a grim tone to it. It is against our policy to condone the purchase of our oils to those that have the express intent of diluting them and reselling them as an original BPAL product. In addition, it is EXTREMELY uncool to purchase our oils if your only intent is reselling them. We are very particular about who we choose to do business with in a reseller’s capacity, and while I am perfectly happy with most everyone’s LJ, forum and eBay sales, as well as trades, I don’t like the idea of people who are not authorized resellers taking it upon themselves to sell our items in a retail environment. It goes without saying that it is doubly upsetting when the oils are diluted or otherwise altered. I’ve asked for this practice to cease as nicely as I can, and now I have to resort to demanding it.

::|:|| CARNAVAL NOIR ||:|:: ... and now I'm going to sleep!

Oops. I posted this in the wrong announcements section. I'd blame the Nyquil, but I haven't taken any yet tonight! - - - Happy Friday the 13th, all! May black cats avoid you, and your salt shakers remain upright. The Limited Edition blend, 13, will be available until just after midnight on Saturday the Fourteenth. For reasons I’m too exhausted to get into, Chaos Theory II will also be available until that time. 13 will reappear every Friday the 13th, which brings it back to town in January of 2006. On June 1st, Springtime In Arkham will pass into the ether, and will be replaced by Carnavale Noir, a 13-deep LE miniseries. And... well you guys know the rest. I *just* posted the preview a few days ago, so I won't bore you

Popping in before the Nyquil takes effect... Here's a small preview of the scents coming out on Friday the 13th: :: BEWITCHING BREWS Grand Guignol In 1897, a new form of entertainment was presented to the people of Montmartre, Paris: the Théâtre du Grand Guignol. During the course of an evening at the theatre, one would watch several small plays, ranging from crime dramas to sexual farces, a violent, throat-ripping, eye-gouging, acid-tossing good time, which always included shock topics such as infanticide, necrophilia, insanity, murder, paranoia, vengeance and death by common household object. Our Grand Guignol perfume is a shot of sweet apricot brandy; just enough to settle your nerves after a ghoulish, gory brush with the macabre. Penny Dreadful Also called Gallows Literature. A dime novel rife with melodrama, horror, madness and cruelty; a ten cent analogy of vice and virtue in conflict. Soft perfume evocative of noir heroines over rich red grave loam. :: EXCOLO Himerus The God of Sexual Desire, Longing and Yearning; an attendant of Eros and Aphrodite. A passion-rousing blend of juniper, sandalwood, rosewood, red musk, orchid, bergamot and lilac. Pannychis An attendant of the Goddess Venus. She presides over nocturnal pleasure, nighttime festivities, and all the joy and delight that can be found in the darkness. In later ages, it became the name of the all-night festival that closed the Eleusinian Mysteries. Night-blooming jasmine, moonflower, cardamom, sandalwood, black currant, ylang ylang, frankincense and lily. Peitho The Goddess of Persuasion, Seduction and Sexual Wiles. A member of Aphrodite’s retinue, she is also Aphrodite’s daughter and sister to Tyche and Eunomia. Lusty myrtle and jasmine with red sandalwood, stargazer lily, and clove over an opulent, rich bed of warm musk and bourbon vanilla. :: EXCOLO: THE ZORYA THE ZORYA Also called the Auroras. The Slavic Triple Goddesses of the Dawn, Sky and Light, who govern the paths of the day. The guard the constellation Ursa Minor from the chained Hound of Doomsday; should they ever fail in their duty, and the chain breaks, the universe will end. Utrennyaya The Morning Star Osmanthus, Damascus rose, violet, delphinium, white mint, palmarosa and white sandalwood. Vechernyaya The Evening Star Three white musks with poppy and patchouli. Zorya The Midnight Star Spices of the Orient mingle with crystalline musk, midnight flowers and cereus, jasmine, primrose and vesper iris. :: WANDERLUST Baghdad Amber, saffron and bergamot with mandarin, nutmeg, Bulgar rose, musk and sandalwood. Eden At the center of the Garden of Eden stands the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Though modern interpretations of the Bible claim that it was an apple that the Serpent of the Tree offered to Eve, it is widely believed that the true Fruit of True Knowledge was, in fact, a fig. This oil contains the innocence of the Garden, coupled with the Truth and Erudition found in the fruit of the Tree of Evil: fig leaf, fig fruit, honeyed almond milk, toasted coconut and sandalwood. Santa Eulària des Riu Piquant citrus tempered by jasmine, soft Mediterranean herbs, lavender and orange blossom. Sri Lanka Indian sandalwood and cedar, and the dry incense smoke of olibanum, gum mastic, patchouli and myrrh. :: PANACEA Detox Purge, purify, cleanse. :: VOODOO BLENDS French Love A warm, soft, sexual blend. Sweet and alluring. Used to entice new lovers and add an aura of temptation and carnal sin to your environment. In addition, there will be a new LE. - - - Some other stuff... The first 100 orders of oils from the Panaceas were upgraded to 10ml's. =) Just... cuz. Going back to bed now.

Your faithful Lab Rat is sick as hell, so the intro to the mini-update will be brief and to the point. Chaos Theory II: the Butterfly Effect is live. Information can be found on the Limited Edition page, and it will run from today until Friday the 13th. Elegba, the Divine Messenger, has joined Excolo, and we welcome Him with open arms. Two updates are slated for the near future: one on Friday the 13th, the other when Springtime In Arkham passes. The Forum-Only scents are also live. For more information, and to order, please hit up http://www.blackphoenixalchemylab.com/forumscents.html.

Due to unforeseen repercussions of the Florida hurricanes, the following oils will be discontinued until further notice: Baobhan Sith Cheshire Cat Lex Talionis Shattered Megaera is being slightly reformulated. Apologies for any inconvenience, and thank you for understanding; this came upon us quite suddenly.