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Happy Midwinter's Eve! This night is my Tedwin's favorite evening of the year, and to celebrate, the following has been added to the permanent collection: + SIN AND SALVATION DORIAN -- The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself. Inspired by and created for my beloved Tedwin: my eternal, beautiful, wicked Dorian Gray. Refined, elegant, and lovely, with a noble bearing and seemingly gentle air. This blend is an artful deception: a sweet gilded blossom lying over a twisted and corrupted core. A Victorian fougere with three pale musks and dark, sugared vanilla tea.

In case anyone didn't see the other related posts, Nella is no longer our customer service angel. She has taken a position in her chosen field, and we wish her all the luck in the world! Teddy [aka Puddin here on the boards] will be possessed by the BPAL Customer Service Demon for the next few months. As before, please do not PM him with inquiries. Send all questions, comments, love letters and rants to: answers@blackphoenixalchemylab.com and our beloved Puddin will get back to you as quickly as demonically possible. Thank you!

Lunacies will now be live for 24 hours, rather than 12. Happy Thanksgiving!

I will be pulling the LE's from the site on 11/15. Any orders that need to be received by Christmas must be placed by tomorrow evening [11/14] at the latest.

We don't have any cucumber scents at the moment, but we're working on two for future updates.

SV, what an AWESOME THING to come home to!!! THE NEW FORUM LAYOUT IS GORGEOUS!!!!!!!! Have I told you lately how much we love you?

I know that I’m going to get razzed by some for posting the update while Halloween is still cranking out, but I’m sticking with our schedule, damn it, and that’s that. I want to make sure that the Yule scents go live with enough time so we can ensure they get out by the holidays. Two scents are being offered to BPAL Forum members only: The King & Queen of Diamonds. They will be available until November 15th, 2004. KING OF DIAMONDS Blindingly handsome, imperious, and gleaming with crystalline light. The perfect mate to the Queen’s shimmering hauteur: a white chypre shot through with shards of translucent musk. QUEEN OF DIAMONDS A glittering icicle of a woman, regal, proud and cold: shimmering white grapefruit, pale flowers and lemon bark with orchid, rose and a dash of mandarin. You can pick these puppies up here. The rest is verbatim from the Shiny & New portion of our site: Site update: 27 October 2004, 12.20am. First, a notice: BPAL will be silent from 10/28 til Election Day. Four of the Lab rats will be travelling to New Orleans for Halloween, so we will not be answering emails during that time. You will be greeted by a friendly autoresponder goblin during our absence. Orders will still be processed, packed and shipped, as the Lab itself is not closed. This trip only affects communication. Thanks to everyone for their patience! Surprise! The Frost Moon update is live. Due to circumstances way, way, WAY beyond our control, the update had to go live just under twelve hours ahead of schedule. The Lunacy blend will vanish at midnight. Quite a few changes have occured this month, and, as it is late and I am borderline babbling, I will commence with a stream of consciousness: there are two new Lab Rats, Julie and Alan, who we truly adore, who have been Heaven-sent to help your harried, frazzled narrator and crew get the holiday orders out as quickly as possible. Black Broom of Noth Hollywood, California and The Apothecary's Cat in the UK will be carrying BPAL blends in the very near future. I have a metric [blarp!] ton of new links to add, but those will have to go up when I have time to catch my breath! Two categories have been added: Ars Draconis and Oblation, which I'll blather about in detail later in this posting. An aesthetic choice was made, and the 'Old' has been taken out of the Wanderlust altogether. You will still be receiving bottles and imps with the old labels [OLD! GET IT!?] while we phase them out. Single Notes and Celestials have been discontinued along with the following blends:  Allegory  Arkham  Azazel  Bacchanalia  Banshee  Bat’s Blood  Bruja  Cabaret  Calliope  Carnivale  Chypre  Circe  Crucible of Courage  Damnation  Deimos  Despair  Dissipation  Entropy  Erato  Feu Follet  French Creole  Glasya  Goona Goona  Haitian Lover  Hakkotsu  India Bouquet  Juju  Ligeia  Lobban  Melpomene  Morella  Mystery  Naiad  Pandora  Phobos  Puck  Pulse Points  Sepulcher  Silentium Amoris  Spectre  Storm  Swallow’s Blood  Tears  Three Jacks  Torment  Typhon  Yuki-Onna It was akin to cutting off a limb, but it had to be done. RIP, my smellies. Now, let's go with our usual nose-dive into the new scents: Starting this month, Black Phoenix is introducing Oblation, a section devoted to our most beloved causes. A portion of the profit from each 5ml bottle sale goes to the scent's corresponding charity. More will be added as resources become available. We are starting with... OBLATION: SCENTS WITH A CONSCIENCE • CHIROPTERA -- Proceeds go to Bat Conservation International. A bat-friendly bouquet! Evening primrose, night-scented stock, moonflower, night phlox, lemon balm, lavender, honeysuckle, sweet sage, salvia and thyme. • OISÍN -- Proceeds go to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. A legendary warrior bard from Irish lore and a renowned member of the Fianna. His saga is detailed in two of the four great Cycles of Celtic legend: the Fenian and Ossianic Cycles. A lyric, wistful blend of summertime Irish blossoms and herbs, glistening with vibrant white musk. • THUNDERBIRD -- Proceeds go to The Adopt-A-Native-Elder Program. Wakinyan, Hohoq, Kw-Uhnx-Wa. With eyes of fire, its glance is lightning, and thunder erupts as the great, sacred bird claps its mighty wings. A willing guardian and protector of mankind, a wise and benevolent teacher, and the creator of life-giving storms. The sharp tang of ozone and the deep bass growl of thunder over mountain trees. • CERBERUS -- Proceeds go to the Animal Assistance League of Orange County. Cerberus, the Three-Headed watchdog that guards the gate to Hades. Loyal, dutiful and ferocious to its master’s enemies, but possessed of a distracting fondness for honey cakes and the song of the lyre. A deep, rumbling scent, warm, soft and as cozy as a dog by a hearthfire, but with a fierce and feral soul: deep chocolate, deeper musks, with a dash of fig, bittersweet walnut, and the wild essences of juniper berry, cubeb and rum. The Yule Limited Edition scents have also whirled their way into this update to ensure that we are able to get them out in time for the holidays: LIMITED EDITION: YULE BLENDS • EGG NOG -- Sweet brandy, dark rum, heavy cream, sugar, and a dash of nutmeg. • GINGERBREAD POPPET -- Warm, cozy gingerbread spiced with nutmeg, clove and cinnamon. • HEARTH -- Sweet pipe tobacco, cherry wood, the warm, worn leather of an easy chair and a pleasant, subtle waft of fireplace smoke. • ICE QUEEN -- A majestic blend of precious pale musks, brittle winter blossoms, spruce, and frozen winter fruits. • MIDWINTER'S EVE -- A melancholy, deep scent, poignant and brimming with nostalgia. The perfume of sugared plums over a breeze of winter flowers. • MISTLETOE -- The plant of peace in Norse tradition. If enemies met in the forest and came upon a sprig, they laid down their arms and observed a truce until the next sunrise. • ROSE RED -- The perfected winter rose, dew covered and freshly cut. • SKADI -- The Snow-Shoe Goddess, Giantess, the Norse embodiment of winter. Frost-rimed winter berries, crisp pine needle, and a slush of bright snowy notes. • SNOW WHITE -- A chilly, bright perfume: flurries of virgin snow, crisp winter wind and the faintest breath of night-blooming flowers. • SUGAR COOKIE -- Affectionately nicknamed 'The Devil's Bake Sale'. • YULETIDE -- The juice of ripe, bursting, blood red holly berries. More new stuff has also been squeezed into the General Catalogue... BEWITCHING BREWS • ANTIQUE LACE -- Nostalgia encapsulated. A soft, wistful blend of dry flowers, aged linens, and the faint breath of long-faded perfumes. • ARACHNE -- A victim of her own arrogance, conceit and hubris, Arachne, the greatest mortal weaver, had the temerity to claim herself superior to Athena. Arachne was truly gifted: not only was her art astoundingly beautiful, but the vision of her in the act of weaving was a joy to behold. When one observer commented that her skill was so great that she must have been trained by the goddess Athena herself, the proud woman scoffed: she was insulted, and proclaimed aloud that the goddess could do no better than she. Athena heard this, and, as she is not a vindictive or jealous goddess, gave Arachne the opportunity to redeem herself. Disguised as an elderly woman, she came to Arachne and warned her against hubris. She laughed at the old woman and declared that she would welcome a contest with Athena. The goddess accepted the challenge. Athena wove a stunning tapestry depicting her victory over Poseidon, thus gaining patronage over the city of Athens. Arachne, who couldn’t leave well enough alone, wove a vulgar piece that depicted Zeus’ dalliances with Leda, Europa and Danae. Appalled at the woman’s audacity and blasphemy, Athena tore Arachne’s tapestry to shreds, crushed her loom, and bonked the mortal on the head, forcing her to feel remorse for her actions. In guilt and grief, Arachne hung herself. Again, because the goddess is merciful, she took pity on the woman and, after sprinkling aconite upon her corpse, transformed her into the first spider. A gossamer scent, as light as a spider’s footfall, touched with sighing mists: pallid flowers, dusty woods and soft herbs. • BASTET -- Bast, Ubasti, Ailuros, Ba-en-Aset. Represented as both a domestic cat and a fierce lioness, she truly evidences traits of both. She is the Mother of All Cats, Goddess of Sensuality, Fertility, and a guardian and protector of women. She is also one of the Eyes of Ra, and in that aspect is an Avenging Goddess, seeking retribution and punishing enemies of her people. Luxuriant amber, warm Egyptian musk, fierce saffron and soft myrrh, almond, cardamom and golden lotus. • BELLE ÉPOQUE -- “The Pretty Era”, France’s Golden Time: an age of beauty, innovation and peace in France that lasted from the 19th Century through the first World War and gave birth to the cabaret, the cancan, and the cinema as well as the Impressionist and Art Nouveau movements. Sweet opium, Lily of the Valley, vanilla, mandarin and red sandalwood. • CENTZON TOTOCHTIN -- 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. • EOS -- The Rising Sun. She is Ostara, Easter, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of fertility and the dawn. She is a protector and friend to all children. Her scent is that of softly glowing skin, jasmine, buttercup and honeysuckle. • GRANDMOTHER OF GHOSTS -- Mania, Roman Goddess of the Dead, Matron of Madness, Governess of the Ancestral Spirits, Bestower of Divine Frenzy. Her scent swirls with a high-pitched tumult of laurel, stargazer lily, splintered woods, peony, mandarin and white musk, and is spiked with pale pepper. • GROG -- Arrr! Avast ye, matey! This be the scent of pirate rum! • HIGHWAYMAN -- A brace of loaded pistols He carried night and day; He never robbed a poor man Upon the king's highway; But what he'd taken from the rich, Like Turpin and Black Bess, He always did divide it With the widow in distress. Stand and deliver! Vetiver with gardenia, blood red rose, night-blooming jasmine, a dash of cinnamon and a faint hint of leather. • IAMBE -- Daughter of Pan and Echo and dear friend to Demeter. When Demeter was mourning the abduction of her daughter, Iambe was the only creature in heaven and earth that was able to lend cheer and laughter to the grieving mother. Her scent is one of comfort, beauty and joy: Sudanese amber, patchouli, rose, gardenia, gladiola and white tea. • MANTIS -- Crushed herbs and sweet amber resin with a streak of patchouli, neroli and golden musk. • NIFLHEIM -- The House of Mists, a land of icy fog, shadowy darkness and soul-chilling cold. Dark, damp blossoms winding through an impenetrable, murky gloom. • SOPHIA -- The Gnostic goddess of Wisdom. A solemn, deeply profound draught of lavender, soft musks, star jasmine, black rose, delphinium, and gentle spice. • YGGDRASIL -- The World Ash. Nine woods, nine leaves, and three herbs each for Ratatosk and Vidofnir, with three final herbs to placate Nidhogg. FUNEREAL OILS • ANUBIS -- He Who Counts the Hearts, Jackal Ruler of the Bows, He Who Is In the Place of Embalming. Jackal-headed guardian, protector and psychopomp of Egypt’s dead, he guides souls to the underworld and holds steady the scales upon which the deceased’s heart is weighed against Ma’at’s Feather of Truth. He is the creator and master of funereal rites, He Who Opens the Mouth of the Dead, and is the sentinel that watches over the sanctity of tombs and the virtue and privacy of his charges. His scent is a blend of holy myrrh, storax, balsam, and embalming herbs. SIN AND SALVATION • FALLEN -- Better to reign in Hell than serve in Heav'n. This is our song to Lucifer, Lucis Ferre, Heosphoros, the Morning Star, the Brilliant One and the Son of the Morning. He is equated with Samhazai, the Heaven-Seizer, and Azazel, one of the 200 Fallen Angels of Enoch. The essence of overweening pride and unearthly angelic beauty. A regal scent, glowing darkly, elegant and patrician, but unfathomably desolate. Cherubic white sandalwood and golden musk with a dark halo of amber, a breath of imperial florals, unbending woods, and the shadow cast by vetiver and violet. LOVE POTIONS • BATHSHEBA -- The Seventh Daughter, Daughter of the Oath. She was King David’s lover, and the mother of King Solomon. Her scent is breathtakingly lovely, exotic and powerfully sensual in its innocence: carnation, sensual plum, and Arabian musk. • KURUKULLA -- The Tibetan goddess of love and wealth. Her scent is a harmonious, sweet, enchanting blend of three lotus blooms and three roses. • NEFERTITI -- “The Beautiful One Is Come”. Egyptian iris and olibanum with red and white sandalwood, soft myrrh and a breath of North African herbs. • WHIP -- Agony and ecstasy: black leather and damp red rose. DIABOLUS • BLOOD COUNTESS -- Elizabeth Báthory, also called Erzsébet Báthory in Hungarian and Alžbeta Bátoriová-Nádašdy in Slovak, was the Bloody Lady of Hungary. In order to preserve her youth and loveliness, the brutal and incomparably savage countess captured, tortured and slaughtered innumerable young women and bathed in their blood as part of her beauty regimen. Ah, vanity. Corrupted black plum, smoky opium and crumbling dead roses covered by a deceptive veil of Hungarian lilac, white gardenia and wild berry. • MARQUISE de MERTEUIL -- Stately, bold, aristocratic and cruel. Opulent galbanum and amber, glistening peach, and a bouquet of French florals, with a merciless undertone of jonquil and heartless vetiver. WANDERLUST • DELPHI -- The smoke of Sacred Incense of Apollo twined through laurel branches, bay, and honey wine. • FLORENCE -- The pearl of the Italian Renaissance. Elegant iris, bright berries, gilded amber and velvety spices. • MANILA -- A tropical, humid, lush scent, with a faint echo of Pacific breezes, jungle blossoms, and deep wet woods. Sampaguita blossoms, banana leaf, palm, and narra. • TENOCHTITLAN -- The greatest of all Aztec cities, and capital of their empire. Amber, hyssop, coriander, epazote, Mexican sage, prickly pear and Mexican tulip poppy. Ars Draconis has been added so that we can consolidate the Dragonny smells!

Four of the Lab rats will be travelling to New Orleans for Halloween, so we will not be answering emails during that time. You will be greeted by a friendly autoresponder goblin during our absence. Orders will still be processed, packed and shipped, as the Lab itself is not closed. This trip only affects communication. Thanks to everyone for their patience!

Eek

I've received a few PMs from people re: emails they've sent to me that I haven't received. It seems my email monster is back. If you have sent an email to me at my cupcake addy, please hold off for about three days and resend. My poor, beaten-down computer has finally had it, and is being replaced this week.

There are no blends that contain tomato leaf. =) Honestly, at this point, I still don't have a clue what to do with it! Everything I've attempted smells like marinara.

BPAL Public Service Announcement: If you have any doubts about whether or not you'll have an allergic reaction -- no matter how mild -- please do not use the scent.

Please use paypal[at]blackphoenixalchemylab[dot]com for all future PayPal purchases. This is effective as of 5 June 2004. If you have made a PayPal payment to the email addy cupcake@papow.com in the past week please email Nella to confirm that we received it. The papow.com email address was spontaneously bumped off of our PayPal account, and as we had the URL pirated out from under us, there is no way for me to retrieve anything from that email at this time. Thanks!

As of noon today, the following remain: All Saints: 77 Dia de los Muertos: 23 Samhain: 14 Sugar Skull: 56

The following BPAL oils are only available for purchase through Black Broom in North Hollywood, CA: Abramelin Anointing Fiery Command Flame of Desire Helping Hand Lucky #20 Money Draw Seven African Powers The following Orisha oils are also available exclusively at Black Broom: Ellegua Babalu Aye Chango Obatala Ogun Orunla Oshun Yemaya The following BPAL loose incenses are being stocked at Black Broom this week: Abramelin Amber Banishing Black Candle Tobacco Cleansing Consecration Dragon’s Blood Fast Money Healing Hecate High John the Conqueror House Blessing Isis Lotus Love Lust Protection Reversing Rose Sage Seven African Powers Uncrossing Sol Luna Mercury Venus Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto Earth Air Fire Water Many oils and incenses are being added to the repertoire in the beginning of October. During the month of October, Black Broom will also begin stocking the full [yep, all of them] line of BPAL oils. Towards the end of 2004, we will be collaborating on incense sticks [in addition to the aforementioned loose incense], scent lockets, and a heap of other goodness. To recap, Black Broom’s address is: 5050 Vineland Ave North Hollywood, CA 91601 Hours: Tues-Sat 11:00am-7:00pm Phone: (818) 985-2944 Black Broom’s fledgling Yahoo group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BlackBroom/ Their web site is on its way, and I'll be posting updates as they come.

CcNow erroneously sent out cancellation notices to many of our customers today. We have no idea why; however, we did receive a notice from CcNow stating the following: - - - Dear CCNow Client: You may have recently received inadvertent e-mail notification(s) from CCNow that order(s) within your account have been cancelled. Please rest assured that your order(s) HAVE NOT been cancelled. All pending orders within your account are still active and awaiting shipment by you. If you have any questions regarding the status of your orders, please use the "Contact CCNow" form in your account. We apologize for any issues this may have caused. Regards, CCNow - - - As far as we can tell, the orders have not been cancelled on our end. If you have any questions about the status of an erroneously cancelled order, it will be best for you to contact CcNow directly: http://www.ccnow.com/cgi-local/inquiry.cgi Thank you very much!

Due to brain-death, this is copied verbatim from our Shiny & New page -- Surprise! The Halloween update is live! First things first. Introducing this year's Halloween scents: LIMITED EDITION: HALLOWEEN ALL SAINT'S -- Based on a venerable French pontifical incense blend: monastic frankincense and myrrh, Damascus rose, Russian gardenia, cassia, and lily of the valley wafting on a chill Autumn wind. A celebration of the glory and suffering of the saints and matryrs of the Church. DIA DE LOS MUERTOS -- A joyous celebration of La Catarina, La Flaca, La Muerte… Glorious, Beautiful Death. In Mexico, death is not something to be feared or hated; She is embraced, loved, and adored. La Muerte is fêted, as the celebrant "…chases after it, mocks it, courts it, hugs it, sleeps with it; it is his favorite plaything and his most lasting love." This is a Mexican paean to La Huesuda: dry, crackling leaves, the incense smoke of altars honoring Death and the Dead, funeral bouquets, the candies, chocolates, foods and tobacco of the ofrenda, amaranth, sweet cactus blossom and desert cereus. SAMHAIN -- Revisited! Truly the scent of autumn itself -- damp woods, fir needle, and black patchouli with the gentlest touches of warm pumpkin, clove, nutmeg, allspice, sweet red apple and mullein. SUGAR SKULL -- Vibrant with the joy and sweetness of life in death! A blend of five sugars, lightly dusted with candied fruits. We have made 313 5ml bottles of each scent, and when they're gone, they're gone. Supply updates will be available on the BPAL forum and the BPAL LJ community. On October 1st, Black Broom in North Hollywood, CA will be carrying a very limited amount of these Halloween blends. Information will be posted as it becomes available. FOR EVERY ORDER TOTALLING $150 OR MORE THAT CONTAINS A PURCHASE OF A 5ML OF SAMHAIN, THE SAMHAIN WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY UPGRADED TO A 10ML BOTTLE. That is, the total must be $150 before shipping, the order must contain at least one 5ml of Samhain, and only one bottle per order will be upgraded. Vouchers cannot be used to redeem this 10ml offer. It's our way of saying thanks! This does not apply to purchases made at Black Broom: only orders placed directly through BPAL. Did that last bit make sense? Loopy! More new stuff... The first of the Great Alchemists Collection, Saint-Germain, is now live in Bewitching Brews: SAINT-GERMAIN -- "A man who knows everything and who never dies." Said to have lived for centuries, the Comte de Saint-Germain is truly a man of legend and mystery. He was an aristocrat, master alchemist, adventurer, magician, artist, and seer with a lust for exquisite jewels, and was reputed to have attained knowledge of the Elixer of Life. His knowledge was so vast and all-encompassing that his claim to have lived hundreds of years - he allegedly knew Jesus and was present at the Council of Nicea - was widely accepted as true. He is a Hermetic Magician's hero for the ages, and his scent is an elegant, timeless, truly refined cologne, bold yet classic: gilded amber, hypnotic lavender, brash carnation and deep mosses. And in Diabolus, the first of the Hags of Winter, Black Annis: BLACK ANNIS -- Vast talons, foul with human flesh, there grew In place of hands, and features livid blue Glar'd in her visage; while the obscene waist Warm skins of human victims close embraced. The blue faced hag of the British Hills. She lives in the Dane Hills, Leicestershire, in a cave called Black Annis' Bower Close, which she dug out of rock with her own iron-strong claws. Dozens of huge cats prowl the Bower with her, and it is guarded by a great pollarded oak in which she hides so that she may catch lambs and small children to eat. She carries her victims back to her cave, where she flays them alive before devouring them. She drapes their skins on her guardian oak to dry. Her skirt is fashioned from the skins of her prey, and her bed is a high-piled bed of their bones. Black Annis' perfume is a mixture of damp cave lichen and oak leaf with a hint of vetiver, civet and anise. Liber Somnium: the Dream Collection is now part of Bewitching Brews. The first five are being introduced now, and the remaining Dreams will be added over the next few months. Oneiroi, now Dream Formula I, has been recategorized into this Collection, but the formula remains the same. BEWITCHING BREWS: LIBER SOMNIUM: THE DREAM COLLECTION DREAM FORMULA II: BAKU -- Our Nightmarebane. Named after the Baku, benevolent Japanese spirits that eat nightmares. In Japanese tradition, nightmares are gifts from malevolent spirits; when you wake up from one, you may call, "Baku, please eat my dreams!", and if you are virtuous and merciful in spirit, the Baku will devour the evil, transforming it into a blessing of good fortune. DREAM FORMULA III: TEMPLE OF DREAMS -- For use when working with the many Gods of Sleep, Dreams, and Nightmares. DREAM FORMULA IV: NANSHE -- The Babylonian Goddess of Dreams, who bestows the power of Oneiromancy onto her priests. This blend opens up psychic sensitivity during sleep and aids in the understanding and correct interpretation of portents and symbols. DREAM FORMULA V: SOMNUS -- Named after the Roman God of Sleep. This blend helps bring on deep, restful, natural sleep. Also in Bewitching Brews, the Stations of the Sun, scents that evoke the God-essence of Egyptian solar deities as they mark the passage of the Sun through the Heavens. BEWITCHING BREWS: THE STATIONS OF THE SUN RA: THE RISING SUN AHATHOOR: THE MIDDAY SUN TUM: THE SETTING SUN KHEPHRA: THE MIDNIGHT SUN A full set of the Stations of the Sun [the Solar Collection] is available for $40.00. Also new throughout the site: BEWITCHING BREWS BLACK PEARL -- Evocative of the sea's unplumbed mysteries. Gentle and lovely, but menacing and profound. Coconut, Florentine iris, hazelnut and opalescent white musk. BLOOD AMBER -- Slivers of warm, pulsating blood forever crystallized in golden amber resin. BLOOD KISS -- Lush, creamy vanilla and the honey of the sweetest kiss smeared with the vital throb of husky clove, swollen red cherries, but darkened with the vampiric sensuality of vetiver, soporific poppy and blood red wine, and a skin-light pulse of feral musk. THE COILED SERPENT -- A potent yogic oil that stimulates the kundalini, provokes spiritual awakening, and releases the energy seated in your root chakra. MORGAUSE -- Earth sorceress and mother of Mordred, she is, in essence, the harbinger of King Arthur's doom and the downfall of Camelot. She is a sister, or sister-self, to Morgan Le Fay. A bouquet of five night-blooming flowers deepened by dusky violet, purple fruits and the barest breath of medieval incenses. FUNEREAL OILS PENTHUS -- The Greek God of Tears, Patron of Mourners, who dictates and accepts honors paid to the dead. He is the personification of grief and the sorrow and emptiness that comes from loss. Weeping is his hymnal, and this is his perfume. Salt tears over white roses, the fumes of thin funereal incense and the hollowness of calamus. SIN AND SALVATION LEX TALIONIS -- The law of retaliation and perfect reciprocity: an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, an arm for an arm, a life for a life. The essence of blunt justice: dark myrrh, vetiver, cardamom, violet, black pepper, sage, cedarwood and black patchouli with a clarion note of sharp white grapefruit. NEMESIS -- The whip-wielding Goddess of Divine Retribution, Justice and Vengeance, and is the force that balances the scales of Tyche's fortune. She is also called Adrasteia, 'she whom none can escape', and Erinys, 'implacable'. Nemesis is the executrix of Olympian justice, and her primary duty is to punish hubris and mankind's offenses against the natural order with inflexible, remorseless and raging fury. Her symbols are a sword and scourge, a measuring rod and scales. Cypress, ginger, fig, dried rose, red patchouli, tonka bean and cyclamen. SEA OF GLASS -- Upon the Sea of Glass, glowing with the perfection of spiritual union and the radiance of true wisdom, rests the throne of God. A scent of inimitable purity, crystalline grace, and limitless light. LOVE POTIONS THE LADY OF SHALLOT -- Heard a carol, mournful, holy, Chanted loudly, chanted lowly, Till her blood was frozen slowly, And her eyes were darkened wholly, Turn'd to tower'd Camelot. For ere she reach'd upon the tide The first house by the water-side, Singing in her song she died, The Lady of Shalott. The scent of calm waters just before a raging storm, limned with achingly-beautiful blooms, an icy scent, but somehow warm, and mirror-bright: bold gardenia, crystalline musk, muguet, water blossoms, clear, slightly tart aquatic notes and a crush of white ginger. LIBERTINE -- Like a puffed and reckless libertine, Himself the primrose path of dalliance treads. Rosewood and chamomile with bergamot, violet, red sandalwood, primrose and Arabian musk. SALOME -- And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and chief estates of Galilee; And when the daughter of the said Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give it thee, unto the half of my kingdom. And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And she came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked, saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry; yet for his oath's sake, and for their sakes which sat with him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought: and he went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the damsel gave it to her mother. And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb. A scent that is both coquettish and sinister. Exotic and lush, brimming with grace and viciousness: almond with star jasmine, oakmoss, red sandalwood and Egyptian musk. DIABOLUS DRACUL -- Named in honor of Vlad III, Tepes, of the Order of the Dragon. Black musk, tobacco, fir, balsam of peru, cumin, bitter clove, crushed mint, and orange blossom. GAUEKO -- The Basque God of Night and all the perils of the darkness. Though he is the God of the Danger that Lurks in the Gloom, he is kind to men and warns them against the nighttime hazards and sets rules of conduct for both the living and the dead as they travel through his domain. It is said that since the warm, vibrant daylight is for the living, the abodes of night are reserved for the dead. All who heed his counsel are protected, but woe be to any man that disobeys the laws of Gaueko: he is swift to punish those that would scorn his advice. Blackened sandalwood and misty lavender, with curling wisps of smoky tobacco, nag champa, and labdanum. HELL'S BELLE -- Sweet, smoky and sensually wicked. A thick, steamy scent, truly sinister in its voluptuous sexuality. The perfume of a demon's favored consort, or of the devil herself. Oleander with wet, sweet mandarin, lush magnolia, a rush of deep musk and a touch of spice. MEDEA -- Granddaughter of Helios, Hecate's chosen: Medea was one of the greatest sorceresses of the ancient world. She is the embodiment of ruthless power, indomitable will and furious vengeance. Night-blooming cereus, black orchid, black currant and myrtle leaf enshrouded in the incense of Hecate's cypress and myrrh, and the dark rage of magickal labdanum and intoxicating poppy. NOSFERATU -- We've finally caved in to years of requests for vampiric scents. As soft as grave dust and as dry as a breath drawn within a long forgotten crypt, this is Nosferatu: desiccated herbs and gritty earth brought to life with a swell of robust and sanguineous red wines. NYARLATHOTEP -- And it was then that Nyarlathotep came out of Egypt. Who he was, none could tell, but he was of the old native blood and looked like a Pharaoh. The fellahin knelt when they saw him, yet could not say why. He said he had risen up out of the blackness of twenty-seven centuries, and that he had heard messages from places not on this planet. Into the lands of civilisation came Nyarlathotep, swarthy, slender, and sinister, always buying strange instruments of glass and metal and combining them into instruments yet stranger. He spoke much of the sciences - of electricity and psychology - and gave exhibitions of power which sent his spectators away speechless, yet which swelled his fame to exceeding magnitude. Men advised one another to see Nyarlathotep, and shuddered. And where Nyarlathotep went, rest vanished; for the small hours were rent with the screams of a nightmare. Brooding, yet electric: the scent of buried secrets, roiling nightmares, the essence of the Crawling Chaos, the Father of Knives and Locusts, the Hunter in the Dark. This is the blackest of ritual incenses charged with flashes of ozone. RAGE -- Black amber erupting with a dark volcanic surge of fiery dragon's blood and a burst of melati, rose geranium, mandarin and black currant. WANDERLUST OLD DUBLIN -- The scent of misty forests, damp alder leaf, and the gentlest touch of white rose. OLD YEREVAN -- Brimming with native fruits and flowers, but also imbued with the power of native earth magicks: apricot and pomegranate with deep plum, wild roses, two Middle Eastern pale musks, white orchid, iris and sweet roots. R'LYEH -- Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn. The sunken city of the Great God Cthulhu. A hellishly dark aquatic scent, evocative of fathomless oceanic deeps, the mysteries of madness buried under crushing black waters, and the brooding eternal evil that lies beneath the waves. VINLAND -- The legendary site of the Viking colony in Newfoundland founded circa 985 BC. Crisp northern wind blowing over loganberry, wild roses, prairie crocus, iris versicolor Linné, mountain avens, yellow birch bark, mayflower and maple leaf. CELESTIALS URANUS NEPTUNE PLUTO A few more scents will go live with the September 28th Full Moon update, links will be added, bios will be updated, and a heap more will be accomplished, but for now, I need to collapse!

Because Mabon, Wildfire, F'54, Harvest Moon, and the King & Queen of Spades came out in such quick succession, we're on a slight delay. They will start to ship out in the middle of this week.

Quick funny story. Ted's boss is male, straight and married. Ted has a habit of walking into the Lab and putting on whatever takes his fancy that day. About a month ago he picked Scherezade... Ted's boss followed him around all day. ALL DAY. "What are you wearing?" "Oh my God, what is that scent?" All day. Ted just kinda blew it off. Finally, at the end of the day, the boss says, "That's one of Beth's perfumes. Can you bring in a bottle? I *need* my wife to wear this. And I'd appreciate if you didn't wear it in the office any more. It's giving me strange thoughts." He was only half-joking.

I'll second the cooler. The oils don't need to be cold, but they'll stay stable longer in temps up to 85. Neko and lixolux, are you guiys fuckall miserable, too? I've felt like CRAP ever since the end of last week.

Harvest Moon is now live, available from noon - midnight, PST: The Harvest Moon, by definition, is the Full Moon that falls closest to the Autumnal Equinox, and thus, it shares some of that Sabbat’s characteristics. This Full Moon was thus named because it rises within half an hour of the sun’s setting, in the Northern Hemisphere, and at this time farmers are able to work longer into the night by the light of this Moon. As the year draws to a close, the Full Moon rises an average of fifty minutes later each night, with the exception of a few nights surrounding the Harvest Moon, which only rises 10-30 minutes later. This moon is also, to the human eye, the fullest and largest of the year’s Moons, hanging gloriously huge, yellow and low in the night sky, and many Moon Illusions trick our eyes at this time. The Harvest ushers in many celebrations in magickal work, including the Equinox and the Festival of Janus, God of Doors. Janus is the Roman Lord of Gateways, beginnings and endings, and transitions. Thus, the Harvest Moon is a time for blessing new undertakings, the onset of new and progressive phases in one’s life, and rites of passage into adulthood. This time of year also marks one of the Festivals of Dionysus, Lord of Ecstasy and the Vine. The autumnal blooms of clematis, chrysanthemum, narcissus, sunflower, sage and lily twined with Dionysus’ sacred grapes and ivy, a bounty of apple, pumpkin, and ripe berries, and the amaranth and lingum aloes of Janus, all touched by a gentle breath of festival woodsmoke and sweet wine. - - - Also, new to the catalogue proper... In Sin & Salvation, Jailbait: Innocence defiled. Sticky pink bubblegum and the thick, sweet scent of orange and cherry lollipops smeared over a breath of heady womanly perfume. In Bewitching Brews, Sudha Segara: Named after the primordial ocean of milk where Lord Vishnu reclines upon the thousand-headed Naga. Sweet milk and warm, healing ginger with a touch of golden honey and our blend of Ambrosia.

Our beloved Michelle [Hexe here on the boards] is visiting Berlin in two weeks. I think she's going to make a post about this tomorrow, but I'm beating her to the puch a bit. If any of our German friends wants her to bring out samples or wants to hang out or any of that stuff, please poke her! =)

These oils were offered as limited edition scents in winter of 2003. Just over 100 bottles were made, and this is the last of the lot. They were unearthed during our move to the new Lab location. Pristine, never opened. ROSE RED: The perfected winter rose, dew covered and freshly cut. SNOW WHITE: A chilly, bright perfume: flurries of virgin snow, crisp winter wind and the faintest breath of night-blooming flowers. Please refer to the reviews section of the BPAL forum for comments on these scents.

If you are international, make sure you check the post below by snow white. Your order *could* have left yesterday. Thanks .Brian.

We're out of stock on Jack, due to a pumpkin oil issue, so all orders containing Jack will be on a slight delay. There is a chance we might have to revamp the scent if we can no longer get the primary component. Just a head's up.