The Poison Queen

In order to help alleviate the suffering caused by Typhoon Haiyan, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab is releasing Single Note: Sampaguita a month early. Proceeds from the sale of every single bottle will go to support local recovery efforts through Community and Family Services International and the Philippine Red Cross. SINGLE NOTE: SAMPAGUITA Little sampaguita With the wondering eye Did a tiny fair Drop you where you lie? In the witching hour Of the tropic night Did the careless moonbeam Leave you in its fight? - Natividad Marquez (Ana Maria Chavez) A symbol of purity, strength, and humility, sampaguita is the national flower of the Philippines, my mother's homeland. Heady, yet cool and slightly green: jasmine sambac with a hint of tea leaf. In the bottle: Sweet jasmine. A very very rich and strong jasmine, I love it. Wet: Very much that sweet jasmine scent with just a little bit of that smokiness that I associate with gunpowder green tea! Drydown: Not a lot of morph, this remains a very tropical, sweet jasmine on my skin, and the throw is huge. I love this. I've ordered a backup bottle!

Gird your loins for battle with a cologne that will infuse you with an extra boost of bravery, chivalry, and gentlemanly wherewithal: dapper lavender fougere with white carnation, sweet oakmoss, clary sage, crisp leather, bourbon vanilla, and a hint of armor polish. In the bottle: Reminds me very strongly of Vicomte de Valmont and Windward Passage. Oooh. Wet: Ugh this is exactly what I like my guy to smell like, it's a perfect fougere with just a breath of leather. I think if this is this good on him we will need like 374893743 backups. Dry: A touch of sweetness shows up at the end but remains mostly consistent. It's a beautiful gent's cologne! I LOVE this! Beautifully blended that you get a hint of all the notes but none of them stand out and over-run the scent. The leather definitely comes out more at the end, ugh, this is gorgeous!

Death's Second Self That time of year thou mayst in me behold When yellow leaves, or none, or few, do hang Upon those boughs which shake against the cold, Bare ruin'd choirs, where late the sweet birds sang. In me thou seest the twilight of such day As after sunset fadeth in the west, Which by and by black night doth take away, Death's second self, that seals up all in rest. In me thou see'st the glowing of such fire That on the ashes of his youth doth lie, As the death-bed whereon it must expire Consumed with that which it was nourish'd by. This thou perceivest, which makes thy love more strong, To love that well which thou must leave ere long. - Sonnet 73, William Shakespeare Yellowed leaves, pale frankincense, solemn amber, and ashes. In the bottle: Crumbly autumn leaves. Wet: Crumbly leaves with a hint of sweet amber. VERY pleasant, I like this very much. Dry: Leaves and a touch of amber, with the frankincense peeking through just a bit. This is a keeper!

This is the scent of thick branches of maple, quaking aspen, and willow held together by river mud, a feast of sedge and water lilies, and the first quiet breath of winter's night flowing over warm brown fur. In the Bottle: Fur and snow. Wet: Snow and the scent of freshly snapped branches. The Snow notes dominate on me. Drydown: Snow with just a breath of aquatics. Dry: Aquatic snow! Definitely worth keeping to see how this ages.

Winter Stars I went out at night alone; The young blood flowing beyond the sea Seemed to have drenched my spirit’s wings— I bore my sorrow heavily. But when I lifted up my head From shadows shaken on the snow, I saw Orion in the east Burn steadily as long ago. From windows in my father’s house, Dreaming my dreams on winter nights, I watched Orion as a girl Above another city’s lights. Years go, dreams go, and youth goes too, The world’s heart breaks beneath its wars, All things are changed, save in the east The faithful beauty of the stars. - Sara Teasdale Dreaming my dreams on winter nights: starry blue musk with mugwort, white mandarin, rockrose, and snow. In the bottle: The blue musk really stands out to me with a little bit of mugwort. Wet: Blue musk (it really DOES seem blue) and mugwort, with just a hint of rockrose and snow. Drydown: The blue musk stays the predominante scent. This is a very interesting scent and I've got nothing like it in my collection. Definitely will keep my bottle to see how it ages.

Ozone, white sandalwood, Gum Arabic, crystallized white amber, verbena, oakmoss, clary sage, davana, and a hint of white citrus rind. Hands down, this is one of my favourite lunacies. In the bottle- Sharp ozone-citrus and sweet verbena with just a hint of oakmoss. Wet on skin- A sweet citrus amber, medium sillage. Just really a beautiful scent. Sometimes verbena turns to lemon pledge on me, but in this blend it is just so nice. Dry- Stays very much as it did in the wet stage, only I get a bit more of the ozone and the gum arabic. Just a beautiful scent, I wish I had ordered more of it.


Presently the old man drew back his hood and pointed to the family resemblance in his face, but I only shuddered, because I was sure that the face was merely a devilish waxen mask. The flopping animals were now scratching restlessly at the lichens, and I saw that the old man was nearly as restless himself. When one of the things began to waddle and edge away, he turned quickly to stop it; so that the suddenness of his motion dislodged the waxen mask from what should have been his head. And then, because that nightmare's position barred me from the stone staircase down which we had come, I flung myself into the oily underground river that bubbled somewhere to the caves of the sea; flung myself into that putrescent juice of earth's inner horrors before the madness of my screams could bring down upon me all the charnel legions these pest-gulfs might conceal.
 Perfect and absolute mental collapse: black pomegranate and vetiver with rose otto, rue, red patchouli, petitgrain, myrrh, and cacao absolute. In the bottle: VETIVER! And cocoa. It reminds me of Hershey's easter eggs, oddly. The kind that have the candy shell. Wet: Vetiver and cocoa still. I never thought the combination of those would go together but it's pretty interesting and works well. I wouldn't call this foodie either. Dry: Vetiver. This might as well be SN vetiver on me, I don't get much else at all. Still pretty okay though!

We went out into the moonless and tortuous network of that incredibly ancient town; went out as the lights in the curtained windows disappeared one by one, and the Dog Star leered at the throng of cowled, cloaked figures that poured silently from every doorway and formed monstrous processions up this street and that, past the creaking signs and antediluvian gables, the thatched roofs and diamond-paned windows; threading precipitous lanes where decaying houses overlapped and crumbled together, gliding across open courts and churchyards where the bobbing lanthorns made eldritch drunken constellations.
 Dizzying, swirling, starry madness: eucalyptus sap, white tea leaf, and ambergris foam.
 In the bottle: Ooooh. This is LOVELY, it brings to mind an aquatic Herbert West for me. Oooh! Wet: Strong tea with a hint of reanimation agent. This is a seriously lovely scent, I am so surprised! Dry: definitely Herbert West and tea. This is a multibottle for us!

In dramatic contrast to the soft innocence of Snow White and the dew-kissed freshness of her sister, Rose Red, this is a blood red, voluptuous rose, velvet-petaled, at the height of bloom. Haughty and imperious, vain, yet incomparably lovely to the eye, but thick with thorns of jealousy, pride and hatred. Dear heavens. I cannot get over what a silky, luxurious rose this is. The oil is just gorgeous on my skin but the SCENT is heavenly. I have always been fond of the lab's dark red, heady rose, and it's at my very favorite in Peacock Queen, but I am just RUINED with it in bath oil form- It is a really good thing that I don't have a tub and am using it post shower right now because I would never.leave.the.bath. Thank you SO much Puddin', this is amazing. GOSH I wish it was GC!

Longing and loss: fallen leaves, the memory of pale roses, and long-ago dried tears. In the Bottle: a sweet Aquatic, no rose at all, just soft florals. Wet on skin: Floral aquatic salt, very similar to the Ghosts of the Arroyo Seco, to me, which I love. I thought the tears would wind up being that belovesd aquatic salt note of mine, and they are. Drydown: Very much like the wet stage, only with a hint of that lovely leafy note. Definitely a keeper, and I hope the rose comes out as it ages.

A diadem of narcissus blossoms and pale daffodils. In the Bottle: Sweet and green floral, I smell the narcissus strongly. Very nice. Wet on skin: almost a sort of swampy floral Drydown: The floral is almost gone and leaves me with that swampy scent. My skin doesn't like this much at all, but I hope it ages well because I like it in the bottle!

The scent of petty vandalism: toilet paper wads on damp maple trees, squished pumpkins, raw eggs, beer, pumpkin seed hulls, and soapy glass. In the bottle- Very foody, definitely sweet and maple. Someone mentioned smelling cucumber on this in a different thread? I smell pumpkin, fresh, not gooey, just a little green smelling. I was wary about it, I don't do foody scents, but I am fond of Mischief in all forms, so I gave it a try. One my skin- Gingerbread! Beautiful sweet gingerbread! I actually really like like it, not something I'd wear often, but definitely something for the colder months. A very nice surprise! The throw on this is HUGE, it's the strongest throw I've ever had on a bpal, and the scent remained gingerbread on me all day.

Opium tar, asphodel, and lavender, with tuberose, grave moss, frankincense, and mandrake root. In the bottle: Sharp and almost green lavender. Wet on Skin: Dusty and powdery but pleasant, I smell the tuberose and lavender here. with the lavender losing the sharpness and blending in with the frankincense. This is very pleasant and soft, and I think it really does capture the scent of soft eternal sleep, like a sleep blend spilled on the floor of an old tomb. Drydown: Soft powdery lavender. Very soothing. I might order a backup of this one.

Officially official, they are GC- they've updated so you can get imps and the price is the normal price, thanks so much Kaitlin!

Oh dear. They're 17.50 on the site for me, I put them all in my cart just to make sure- I would email the lab and let them know you were over charged.

They are definitely in Excolo section and not in the LE. I think they just missed the coding on that. I sent Kaitlin a PM and will see what she says!

BPAL no longer is using CCnow, so you're fine to check out. When they updated the website, that was one of the big changes they made.

Almondy sweet snow in the bottle in the bottle but SN Snow on my skin. Off to someone who can love it!

See now I fooled my nose into smelling camphor. I had this all typed out nice and neat and had never smelled camphor before but now my brain got tricked into it. I think they might also have cinnamon or cedar in common but with my mind trying to smell camphor that's the only thing I can get If you LOVE camphor then I totally suggest this scent I just reviewed but can't remember but I will add it in in a second "Like Brooms of Steel", it's totally all camphor/menthol/Vick's Vaporub all the time. "Death Fires Dancing Over the Tombs" has it too, less menthol, more camphor on that one.

This is lovely, and exactly what it says it smells like; cotton candy snow. It's consistent on me from bottle to skin to dry, and very similar to the cotton candy note in Midway. Definitely NOT foodie at all, I am pretty anti-foodie but the lab's cotton candy note is really just lovely. I just adore this and suspect a few more bottles will make their way home before the Yules go down.

Absolutely agree, even basic hormonal changes can affect my sensitivity to scent to the point where scents I've been okay with previously are not okay at all and are nausea/headache inducing. Likewise if you pre-scent a room and it causes the client discomfort/illness that client may forever associate that scent with feeling ill/uncomfortable, so always ask before scenting a room, and I would say personally if someone was attending me for pregnancy or other health related things that I would like them not to wear personal scent at all. Also a pre-scented room would be impossible to get away from, taking the scent out of a room is difficult, especially quickly, so when working with even client requests for scents I would use something like a handkerchief/therapy pillow/cotton ball, or just a nearly empty bottle with some of the oil in the bottom that can be removed quickly should it start to make the client ill. Definitely never apply directly to the client either.

In the bottle: An unsettling floral with just a tinge of green bitterness. On my skin: Crushed nightshade and cloyingly sweet orchid. Drydown: Horribly cloying orchid, in a good way? It's almost headache inducing and certainly creepy, but I like it. This whole set seems to have a HUGE throw to it, this one is almost as strong as "Dream".

CcNow was sold to a foreign company earlier this year and started charging foreign transaction fees. I know it's not consistent in charging that fee, it charged us that once but never again. Totally excited for their new payment system and site though!

A tousled, sexy mix of patchouli, vanilla, and hemp. I was generously frimped a decant of this to try by the lovely Sunshine, I was very excited! In the imp: A strong sourish patchouli-vanilla, and something else, almost like acetone. Uh oh. Definitely NOT what I expected. No headache, always a good sign for me! I almost didn't want to smell it because it was compared to Goblin, which is literally the only scent I've run into that made me physically ill. Wet: Vanilla nailpolish remover. D: D: D: D: This is the worst thing my skin has ever done to a scent since Lady Una and the moldy coffee incident. Drydown: An almost non-existant vanilla with a faint tinge of nail polish remover. Dry: Stale old hotel room. The kind that's been smoked in for a long time but is no longer a smoking room, but you can still catch a whiff of that old unpleasant smoke, though they've tried to cover it up with a nice room spray. Oh well. Probably all the better since it's expensive and hard to find. But with all the hype I was really disappointed.

In the imp: Leathery buttered popcorn. D: D: D: Not going to get a skin test.