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bpalgeekgirldiva

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  1. bpalgeekgirldiva

    West Coast Will Call

    For each individual toy (no plush, please) valued at $10 or more that you bring, you will receive a limited edition .5ml (Scent TBA). Toy must be brand new, unopened, and in its original packaging. The blends that will be available for purchase include those that went live on the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab website up to and including the Yule updates. Our Lunacy events are held on the night of the full moon and are always free. The West Coast Will Call event will be held on Friday, December 5th from 6 to 9pm at Dark Delicacies. Toys will be given to Spark of Love, the Los Angeles County Fire Department’s toy collection campaign. Dark Delicacies 3512 W. Magnolia Blvd (1 block east of Hollywood Way) Burbank, CA 91505 www.darkdel.com
  2. bpalgeekgirldiva

    The Yule Scents Are Live!

    The Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab winter scents are live! The Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab winter scents will be live until 5 February 2015. Black Phoenix Trading Post’s winter update will be live soon! Also – Visit the BPAL site on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, or Cyber Monday and place an order to get this Limited Edition imp: SEVEN HERBS CHARM Inspired by Southern Conjure, this imp was crafted with herbs and flowers that are traditionally used to stimulate a burst of good fortune and a shower of prosperity. Let’s keep passing tokens of shining luck and good cheer forward! Lift each other up, and brighten our futures together! ++Please take note the Lab’s shipping cutoff dates to receive items by Christmas. These cut offs are for shipments you need to receive by Christmas only and do not affect scent availability for purchase. Saturday Nov. 29th 12:01am PST for international orders. Sunday, Dec 7 12:01am PST for domestic orders. Gift Certificates are not subject to the same cut offs as they’re sent by email, so you can also get those for BPAL and for the Trading Post. These dates apply to the Lab only. BPTP cutoffs will be posted separately. Happy Holidays, all! May you outwit the Mari Lwyd, and may Krampus go easy on you with the switches! Want to keep up to date on all the BPAL news? Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, join our mailing list, visit our Forums, or follow our blog The Black Phoenix Gazette.
  3. Visit the BPAL site on Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, or Cyber Monday and place an order to get this Limited Edition imp: SEVEN HERBS CHARM Inspired by Southern Conjure, this imp was crafted with herbs and flowers that are traditionally used to stimulate a burst of good fortune and a shower of prosperity. Let’s keep passing tokens of shining luck and good cheer forward! Lift each other up, and brighten our futures together!
  4. With the holidays fast approaching, please take note the Lab's shipping cutoff dates to receive items by Christmas. These cut offs are for shipments you need to receive by Christmas only and do not affect scent availability for purchase. Saturday Nov. 29th 12:01am PST for international orders. Sunday, Dec 7 12:01am PST for domestic orders. Gift Certificates are not subject to the same cut offs as they’re sent by email, so you can also get those for BPAL and for the Trading Post. These dates apply to the Lab only. BPTP cutoffs will be posted separately. Thank you!
  5. The next New England Will Call will be December 21st. We have updated the event to reflect the change. Thanks! https://www.facebook.com/events/332227356956948/
  6. Pre-Sales are currently open until Friday, November 14 for the exclusive fragrances by Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab for Haute Macabre. Worn separately or layered together, each scent is sultry and mysterious. Reserve yours now for an early December shipment. http://hautemacabre.com/shop
  7. From Brian: Final shot of the west coast food drive haul, the entire bed of my truck stacked two high, amazing! Thanks to everyone who participated and a special thanks to Sara Robey, Viviene Zehr Benjamin , Grace, and Lisa for helping to control the chaos!
  8. Quick announcement: The BPAL Liliths have been extended until December 8th. BPTP's Lilith's will be live until the evening of November 9th. Halloween scents and Ligeia are live until December 8th as well. This year, we are ringing in the return of autumn by celebrating the life and undeath of one of our most cherished friends, Ligeia. Artwork by Ivonne Carley and Harry Clarke. And the will therein lieth, which dieth not. Who knoweth the mysteries of the will, with its vigor? For God is but a great will pervading all things by nature of its intentness. Man doth not yield him to the angels, nor unto death utterly, save only through the weakness of his feeble will. THE RADIANCE OF AN OPIUM-DREAM There is one dear topic, however, on which my memory fails me not. It is the person of Ligeia. In stature she was tall, somewhat slender, and, in her latter days, even emaciated. I would in vain attempt to portray the majesty, the quiet ease, of her demeanor, or the incomprehensible lightness and elasticity of her footfall. She came and departed as a shadow. I was never made aware of her entrance into my closed study save by the dear music of her low sweet voice, as she placed her marble hand upon my shoulder. In beauty of face no maiden ever equalled her. It was the radiance of an opium-dream --an airy and spirit-lifting vision more wildly divine than the phantasies which hovered vision about the slumbering souls of the daughters of Delos. A haze of tuberose, pale jasmine, vanilla orchid, and lily, with a faint jagged edge of opium tar. SOME STRANGENESS IN THE PROPORTION Yet her features were not of that regular mould which we have been falsely taught to worship in the classical labors of the heathen. "There is no exquisite beauty," says Bacon, Lord Verulam, speaking truly of all the forms and genera of beauty, without some strangeness in the proportion." Yet, although I saw that the features of Ligeia were not of a classic regularity --although I perceived that her loveliness was indeed "exquisite," and felt that there was much of "strangeness" pervading it, yet I have tried in vain to detect the irregularity and to trace home my own perception of "the strange." Rich vanilla sandalwood elegantly distorted by oudh, labdanum, scarlet saffron, and pink pepper. THE TUMULTUOUS VULTURES OF STERN PASSION Of all the women whom I have ever known, she, the outwardly calm, the ever-placid Ligeia, was the most violently a prey to the tumultuous vultures of stern passion. And of such passion I could form no estimate, save by the miraculous expansion of those eyes which at once so delighted and appalled me --by the almost magical melody, modulation, distinctness and placidity of her very low voice --and by the fierce energy (rendered doubly effective by contrast with her manner of utterance) of the wild words which she habitually uttered. Of such passion, I could form no estimate: sanguine red musk, red benzoin, wild plum, vetiver tar, and Indonesian patchouli beneath a still pool of sheer white musk and vanilla-gilded lily. VERDANT DECAY Ligeia had brought me far more, very far more than ordinarily falls to the lot of mortals. After a few months, therefore, of weary and aimless wandering, I purchased, and put in some repair, an abbey, which I shall not name, in one of the wildest and least frequented portions of fair England. The gloomy and dreary grandeur of the building, the almost savage aspect of the domain, the many melancholy and time-honored memories connected with both, had much in unison with the feelings of utter abandonment which had driven me into that remote and unsocial region of the country. Yet although the external abbey, with its verdant decay hanging about it, suffered but little alteration, I gave way, with a child-like perversity, and perchance with a faint hope of alleviating my sorrows, to a display of more than regal magnificence within A claustrophobic thicket of yew, cypress, and drooping oak grown wild with dense mounds of bittersweet nightshade, gleaming white foxglove, creeping black ivy, clusters of marshy false morel and fly agaric, and a smear of crushed, overripe baneberries. INCIPIENT MADNESS Alas, I feel how much even of incipient madness might have been discovered in the gorgeous and fantastic draperies, in the solemn carvings of Egypt, in the wild cornices and furniture, in the Bedlam patterns of the carpets of tufted gold! I had become a bounden slave in the trammels of opium, and my labors and my orders had taken a coloring from my dreams. A thunderous passion, conceived in obsession and nurtured in the bowels of delirium, that grasps in desperation through the darkest shadows of the ether. An unwholesome smoky musk, dark and sweet, laced with Virginia tobacco, honeyed black currant, red patchouli. FETTERED IN THE SHACKLES OF THE DRUG In the excitement of my opium dreams (for I was habitually fettered in the shackles of the drug) I would call aloud upon her name, during the silence of the night, or among the sheltered recesses of the glens by day, as if, through the wild eagerness, the solemn passion, the consuming ardor of my longing for the departed, I could restore her to the pathway she had abandoned --ah, could it be forever? --upon the earth. Sweet opium smoke, neroli, yellow bergamot, and piquant, strange star anise. A BRILLIANT AND RUBY COLORED FLUID It was then that I became distinctly aware of a gentle footfall upon the carpet, and near the couch; and in a second thereafter, as Rowena was in the act of raising the wine to her lips, I saw, or may have dreamed that I saw, fall within the goblet, as if from some invisible spring in the atmosphere of the room, three or four large drops of a brilliant and ruby colored fluid. If this I saw --not so Rowena. She swallowed the wine unhesitatingly, and I forbore to speak to her of a circumstance which must, after all, I considered, have been but the suggestion of a vivid imagination, rendered morbidly active by the terror of the lady, by the opium, and by the hour. A spectre's poison: unknowable strange toxins dribbled into warmed red wine. A TREMOR UPON THE LIPS I listened -- in extremity of horror. The sound came again -- it was a sigh. Rushing to the corpse, I saw -- distinctly saw -- a tremor upon the lips. The stirring of another's heartbeat within your chest, the vacuum of a stranger's breath within your lungs: Laotian oudh, carrot seed, white orris, and bitter raw frankincense chilled by elemi and eucalyptus blossom. BEWILDERED IN A DREAM The greater part of the fearful night had worn away, and she who had been dead, once again stirred --and now more vigorously than hitherto, although arousing from a dissolution more appalling in its utter hopelessness than any. I had long ceased to struggle or to move, and remained sitting rigidly upon the ottoman, a helpless prey to a whirl of violent emotions, of which extreme awe was perhaps the least terrible, the least consuming. The corpse, I repeat, stirred, and now more vigorously than before. The hues of life flushed up with unwonted energy into the countenance --the limbs relaxed --and, save that the eyelids were yet pressed heavily together, and that the bandages and draperies of the grave still imparted their charnel character to the figure, I might have dreamed that Rowena had indeed shaken off, utterly, the fetters of Death. But if this idea was not, even then, altogether adopted, I could at least doubt no longer, when, arising from the bed, tottering, with feeble steps, with closed eyes, and with the manner of one bewildered in a dream, the thing that was enshrouded advanced boldly and palpably into the middle of the apartment. A disorienting eddy of French lavender, black tea, orange blossom, sharp green tea leaf, pink flowering thorn, and a blot of inky resins. BLACKER THAN THE RAVEN WINGS OF THE MIDNIGHT Shrinking from my touch, she let fall from her head, unloosened, the ghastly cerements which had confined it, and there streamed forth, into the rushing atmosphere of the chamber, huge masses of long and dishevelled hair; it was blacker than the raven wings of the midnight! And now slowly opened the eyes of the figure which stood before me. "Here then, at least," I shrieked aloud, "can I never --can I never be mistaken --these are the full, and the black, and the wild eyes --of my lost love --of the lady --of the LADY LIGEIA." The scent of Ligeia reborn: black tea leaf fougere with black sandalwood, opalescent vanilla, osmanthus, 18-year aged Indonesian patchouli, and the suggestion of ancient incense smoke. [/size] Want to keep up to date on all the BPAL news? Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, join our mailing list, visit our Forums, or follow our blog The Black Phoenix Gazette.
  9. Will Call news and reminders! West Coast Will Call is Thursday Nov 6th from 6 pm - 9 pm at Dark Delicacies. Event details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/346219712225391/ Dirty South Will Call is Sunday Nov 9th from 4 pm - 7 pm at Hammond Park. Event details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1992676520873074/?ref=5 New England Will Call is Sunday, Nov 16th from 4 pm - 7 pm at Healthy Living Market and Cafe Event details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/332227356956948/?ref=22 We look forward to seeing you there!
  10. The Haute Macabre scents are available for another round of pre-orders at their site! They usually sell quickly, so it's a good idea to get your orders in early. http://HauteMacabre.com/shop
  11. A quick update: The Lilith scents are live until November 8th. Weenies are live until December 8th. Love, The Lab.
  12. bpalgeekgirldiva

    A note from Beth

    We've been short-handed, unfortunately, due to a virus hitting the lab. When you're running a (very) small business, a couple of sick days really knock things back! We're getting everything out as quickly as possible. If there are any questions, please shoot them to answersATblackphoenixalchemylabDOTcom. There's a slight delay there, too, though, as our customer service is helping us pack orders so we can close the gap! Thank you so much for your patience.
  13. Discontinuation alert: there is limited stock of Aeval, and when it's gone off of the site, it will be permanently discontinued. http://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/bewitching-brews/aeval/ Also: Just got a stock alert from Del at Dark Delicacies: Pumpkin Lace is out at Dark Delicacies. No update on a restock. Papa Monster is getting low so we suggest you order as soon as possible if you want that scent. Remember you have to order on the Dark Delicacies site. http://www.darkdel.com/bpal.htm
  14. Two new Dark Delicacies scents have gone live and you can get them now at the Dark Delicacies site for $23 a 5ml. PUMPKIN LACE A smoky, dark pumpkin scent, inspired by Victorian Halloween postcard illustrations: a cascade of cobwebby white sandalwood threaded through vanilla bourbon, sharp green cognac, Virginiamtobacco, and caramelized sugar, all draped across a freshly carved jack o’lantern. PAPA MONSTER A growling good time: the scent of grape and red cherry swirl ring pops, licorice whips, and a touch of vanilla cupcake frosting. Want to keep up to date on all the BPAL news? Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, join our mailing list, visit our Forums, or follow our blog The Black Phoenix Gazette.
  15. bpalgeekgirldiva

    East Coast Halloween Will Call

    Will Call is back in Vermont and just in time for Halloween! We will have -all- of the Halloween 2014 LEs, Select Only Lovers Left Alive scents, Kabuki, a few special GCs and our amazing selection of our usual GC scents. Recently added were the Halloween Trading Post Hair gloss and room sprays! The East Coast Will Call event will be held on Sunday, October 26th from 4 to 7pm at Healthy Living Market. Healthy Living Market 222 Dorset Street, South Burlington, VT, 05403
  16. bpalgeekgirldiva

    New Lunacy: Insula Ventorum

    This cycle, we're changing up the Lunacies a bit. From Aries to Aries, we'll be sailing through the dreamstuff of the lunar mare on a voyage that transverses the surface of Luna by way of your subconscious. Continuing with Tabula Selenographica’s trip through the lunar landscape, we are thrilled to present: INSULA VENTORUM The Island of Winds: chilled white tea leaf, astringent white musk, and eucalyptus petals biting through ragged osmanthus blossoms, crystallized white amber, and ice-limned cedarwood. Want to keep up to date on all the BPAL news? Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, join our mailing list, visit our Forums, or follow our blog The Black Phoenix Gazette.
  17. Autumn has touched down at Black Phoenix Trading Post and Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, though the weather in Los Angeles still hasn’t pulled itself out of Endless Summer Mode. Though it is still in the 100’s here, we’ll be creating our own faux-autumn through our scents! Illuminate those gloomy evenings with Trading Post’s autumn candle selection -- ++ BPTP HALLOWEEN: CANDLES $23 BLACK PINE AND PALE INCENSE Pine needles, black pitch, and golden-red pine sap with Oman frankincense, champaca absolute, and styrax. CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN Belgian chocolate filled with pumpkin butter. DEAD LEAVES AND DARK INCENSE Fallen leaves against a backdrop of myrrh, smoky opoponax, and labdanum. PUMPKIN SPICE EVERYTHING Literally everything. PUMPKIN TOBACCO Dried pumpkin rind and tobacco absolute. SAMHAIN 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. And if you’d like to really up the ante, atmosphere-wise - ++ BPTP HALLOWEEN ATMOSPHERE SPRAYS $24 BONFIRE SMOKE Woodmoke, glowing embers, drifting ash, and the memory of bones. CHRYSANTHEMUM TEA A brew for the dead: dried chrysanthemum petals, black tea leaf, and black poisonwood bark sweetened with honey. MIDNIGHT IN A SILENT GROVE Black pine and crooked oaks draped with Spanish Moss, dimly lit by flickers of juniper. ON HALLOWEEN Some folk in courts for pleasure sue, An’ some ransack the theatre: The airy nymph is won by few; She’s of so coy a nature. She shuns the great bedaub’d with lace, Intent on rural jokin An’ spite o’ breeding, deigns to grace A merry Airshire rockin, Sometimes at night. At Halloween, when fairy sprites Perform their mystic gambols, When ilka witch her neebour greets, On their nocturnal rambles; When elves at midnight-hour are seen, Near hollow caverns sportin, Then lads an’ lasses aft convene, In hopes to ken their fortune, By freets that night. At Jennet Reid’s not long ago, Was held an annual meeting, Of lasses fair an’ fine also, With charms the most inviting: Though it was wat, an’ wondrous mirk, It stopp’d nae kind intention; Some sprightly youths, frae Loudon-kirk, Did haste to the convention, Wi’ glee that night. The nuts upon a clean hearthstane, Were plac’d by ane anither, An’ some gat lads, an’ some gat nane, Just as they bleez’d the gither. Some sullen cooffs refuse to burn; Bad luck can ne’er be mended; But or they a’ had got a turn, The pokeful nits was ended Owre soon that night. A candle on a stick was hung, An’ ti’d up to the kipple: Ilk lad an’ lass, baith auld an’ young, Did try to catch the apple; Which aft, in spite o’ a’ their care, Their furious jaws escaped; They touch’d it ay, but did nae mair, Though greedily they gaped, Fu’ wide that night. The dishes then, by joint advice, Were plac’d upon the floor; Some stammer’d on the toom ane thrice, In that unlucky hour. Poor Mall maun to the garret go, Nae rays o’ comfort meeting; Because sae aft she’s answered no, She’ll spend her days in greeting, An’ ilka night. Poor James sat trembling for his fate; He lang had dree’d the worst o’t; Though they had tugg’d and rugg’d till yet, To touch the dish he durst not. The empty bowl, before his eyes, Replete with ills appeared; No man nor maid could make him rise, The consequence he feared Sae much that night. - Janet Little The scent of chatty witches gossiping with neighbors at midnight: ripe red apples, honey mead, poppy seed cakes, a trickle of sweet 7-year aged patchouli, and bundles of dry herbs. PUMPKIN SPICE EVERYTHING Literally everything. RED ROSES AND OLD BONES A smattering of red rose petals scattered atop a pile of yellowing, ancient bones. TREE ROOTS, FALLEN LEAVES, AND TOMB MOSS The solemn twilight of the year. When we say we’re going to Pumpkin Spice Everything, we aren’t joking. For your consideration, we present pumpkin’d up eschatology - ++ BPTP HALLOWEEN ATMOSPHERE SPRAYS: THE FOUR PUMPKINS OF THE APOCALYPSE Pumpkin-Spicing the Apocalypse: the Pumpkin Patch at the End of All Things. $24 THE GREAT PUMPKIN OF WAR A furious scent, powerful and scorching, running red with fire and blood: pumpkin with red musk, pimento, red pepper absolute, red vetiver, rose geranium, and crushed red poppies. THE PUMPKIN OF CONQUEST Grey pumpkin husk and bruised violets blanketed by creeping white mycelium, black mosses, and toxic subterranean mushrooms. DEATH ON A PALE PUMPKIN And I looked, and behold a pale gourd: green patchouli and white pumpkin with yew berry, black cypress, white sandalwood, spectral niaouli, eycaluptus petal, and dry white mint. THE GOURD OF DEPRIVATION The scent of fallow fields, faraway conflagrations consuming dry, parched grasses, and crops failing under the relentless heat of a dying sun. Submerge yourself in the scents of the season - ++ BPTP HALLOWEEN BATH OIL $25 CHOCOLATE PUMPKIN FLUFF Pumpkin whipped with milk chocolate syrup and dark chocolate shavings. CACAO-DUSTED SUGAR SKULLS White sugar and meringue sprinkled with cacao. PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE Graham crackery and cream cheesy! Cinnamon brown sugary! This year’s is a bit more carroty! (But not too carroty!) PUMPKIN SMORES Pumpkin marshmallows smushed into brown sugar-dusted graham crackers with melted chocolate and a hint of campfire smoke. And add a touch of the macabre to your mane (fur / scales / horns) - ++ BPTP HALLOWEEN HAIR GLOSS $30 AUTUMN LEAVES AND HAITIAN PATCHOULI Smoke-touched and dusky. BOO Eerie billows of spun sugar, fluttering white cotton, and sheets of cream. BLACK CLOVE, TOBACCO FLOWER, AND GRAVE SOIL Siste viator. PUMPKIN SPICE EVERYTHING Literally everything. TRICKSY Patchouli, aquilaria aguillocha, and Manuka honey.
  18. Join us for our Lunacy events for your opportunity to meet the lab staff (California only), purchase the latest scents, and get a sneak preview of what’s coming soon. The blends that will be available for purchase include those that went live on the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab website up to and including the Lacus Mortis update. Our Lunacy events are held on the night of the full moon and are always free. The West Coast Will Call event will be held on Sunday, October 5th from 4 to 7pm at Dark Delicacies. Come in costume and get free imps (trick or treat)! Preview Yule (prototypes), Vampire Tears or Pumpkin Hard Candy. Dark Delicacies 3512 W. Magnolia Blvd (1 block east of Hollywood Way) Burbank, CA 91505 www.darkdel.com ___ We're holding a Dirty South Will Call event Sunday, October 5th from 5 to 8pm at Hammond Park. 705 Hammond Dr. (In the Community Room located off of Glenridge Rd. NE) Sandy Springs, Georgia 30328 Oils available at DSWC include the Lunacy, Weenies, Liliths a smattering of GCs and some yet-to-be-determined Trading Post goodies. If you have any questions, please email us at willcall@blackphoenixalchemylab.com. Remaining Will Call Dates for 2014 West Coast: Thursday, November 6th Friday, December 5th *************** NYCC Update: We will be vending at New York Comic Con on Oct 9 – 12, 2014 at booth #2759 We've had so many inquiries about what we'll have for sale at NYCC that we've made a general list of what we'll be bringing with us. NYCC 2014 BPAL & BPTP Exclusives Halloween 2014 Lilith 2014 Metamorphosis We'll also have the following collaborations: Clive Barker’s “The Forbidden” Dawn The District The Dark Crystal Fraggle Rock Gris Grimly Hellboy Kabuki Labyrinth The Last Unicorn Neil Gaiman’s: American Gods Anansi Boys Coraline Good Omens The Graveyard Book Lemon-Scented Sticky Bat Neverwhere Stardust ParaNorman Pretty Deadly Witchblade Only Lovers Left Alive VILF Plus a good number of GC scents, including the RPG scents. Hope to see you there! Want to keep up to date on all the BPAL news? Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, join our mailing list, visit our Forums, or follow our blog The Black Phoenix Gazette.
  19. bpalgeekgirldiva

    The BPAL Halloween Update Is Live!

    ++ HALLOWEEN 2014: THE PUMPKIN PATCH No imp’s ears are available for Limited Edition scents. Presented in an amber apothecary glass vial. All limited edition scents are $23! Last year, we held a pumpkin carving contest; the winning gourds are featured on this year’s Patch labels. A million thanks to everyone that participated! It was an absolute joy sharing in your artistry! PUMPKIN I Pumpkin artwork by Amy Kinard! Pumpkin cream with cardamom, black tea, allspice, and ginger milk. PUMPKIN II Pumpkin artwork by Asenath Waite! Blackened pumpkin with clove, tobacco absolute, aged patchouli, and oakmoss. PUMPKIN III Pumpkin artwork by Messy Nessie! Pumpkin with Atlas cedar, black fig, Laotian benzoin, bourbon vanilla, and copal. PUMPKIN IV Pumpkin artwork by Neal Segler! Warm pumpkin with three honeys, oudh, sweet frankincense, and champaca resin. PUMPKIN V Pumpkin artwork by Ruby Velez! Pumpkins, pumpkin vines, and wild mushrooms with white sage, cade, sweetgrass, and vanilla-infused rosewood. ++ SEVEN VISIONS OF AUTUMN Autumn is my favorite season. Though it harbingers the onset of the death of the year, it rings in a peculiar melancholy, a bittersweet life of its own. The harvest ensures the strength of the community, the leaves fall to give renewed life to the earth, and the winds and wildfires cast away the detritus and make way for new growth. Autumn is equal parts grief and compassion. It is the soul’s twilight: the dusk of reflection before the solitude of winter. I don’t remember the last time we had a proper autumn in Los Angeles. I know that sounds melodramatic—I’m a Pisces; we thrive on internal melodrama—but the weather has been so consistently hot for so long that autumn, and certainly winter, seem like a distant memory. I’ve been daydreaming quite a bit about how autumn makes me feel—I miss it so much!—and these daydreams gave birth to seven visions of autumn. I started playing with perfume without the desire to interpret a specific concept other than the drifting idea of Fall: a story in scent without words or images, just a winding path of memory and longing. VISIONS OF AUTUMN I White cedar, black pepper, golden amber, bay leaf, and 4-year aged oudh. VISIONS OF AUTUMN II Gurjum balsam, rose geranium, opoponax, violet leaf, brown leather accord, and patchouli. VISIONS OF AUTUMN III Bourbon vanilla, aged patchouli, honey, and Ceylon cinnamon. VISIONS OF AUTUMN IV Somalian myrrh, orange blossom, champaca flower, and verbena. VISIONS OF AUTUMN V Haitian vetiver, tea leaf, Himalayan cedar, and apricot rind. VISIONS OF AUTUMN VI Oakmoss, lavender absolute, petitgrain, rockrose, white patchouli, and sage. VISIONS OF AUTUMN VII Tobacco absolute, myrrh, opoponax, black sandalwood, and black pepper. ++ HALLOWEEN 2014 ALL SAINTS 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 martyrs of the Church. ALL SOULS A day of remembrance and intercession. Without the prayers and sacrifices of their families and loved ones, the faithful departed may not be cleansed of their venal sins, and thereby cannot attain beatific vision. On November 2nd, prayers are sung and offerings are made to aid lost souls in transcending purgatory. An incense blend that invokes the higher qualities of mercy and compassion, mingled with the soft, sugared currant scent of offertory soul cakes. AUTUMN CIDER Fermented apple juice, brown sugar, spice, lemon zest, butterscotch liquor, and orange slices. AUTUMN – OVERLOOKED MY KNITTING Autumn — overlooked my Knitting Dyes — said He — have I Could disparage a Flamingo Show Me them — said I Cochineal — I chose — for deeming It resemble Thee And the little Border — Dusker For resembling Me For my knitter posse! A warm scent, as delicate as lace and as soft as cashmere, and as cozy as wool, punctuated with red currant for the blazing red of cochineal and surrounded a border of soft grey ambergris and a swirl of autumn leaves. DEVIL’S NIGHT Devil’s Eve, Devil’s Night, Gate Night, Trick Night, Mischief Night; whatever your name for it might be, the chaos is still the same. Contrary to popular belief, this festival of pandemonium isn’t unique to Detroit. Falling on October 30th, it is an evening of mayhem and destruction. On the gentler side, it may be celebrated by practical jokes, an egging, Ding-Dong-Ditch, or enthusiastic TP’ing of your most hated neighbor’s trees, and on the more violent side, arson and vandalism. This is the scent of autumn night, fires in the distance, with a touch of boozy swoon, playful sugar and thuggish musk. FEEDING THE DEAD A barrel of beer, a pyramid of cakes, and three sticks of incense. HALLOW-E’EN, 1914 “Why do you wait at your door, woman, Alone in the night?” “I am waiting for one who will come, stranger, To show him a light. He will see me afar on the road And be glad at the sight.” “Have you no fear in your heart, woman, To stand there alone? There is comfort for you and kindly content Beside the hearthstone.” But she answered, “No rest can I have Till I welcome my own.” “Is it far he must travel to-night, This man of your heart?” “Strange lands that I know not and pitiless seas Have kept us apart, And he travels this night to his home Without guide, without chart.” “And has he companions to cheer him?” “Aye, many," she said. “The candles are lighted, the hearthstones are swept, The fires glow red. We shall welcome them out of the night— Our home-coming dead.” - Winifred M. Letts A welcome for the home-coming dead: an incense of dried ivy and maple leaf with honeyed fig, black cypress, and grave dirt. MAGNIFICENT AUTUMN By what a subtle alchemy the green leaves are transmuted into gold, as if molten by the fiery blaze of the hot sun! A magic covering spreads over the whole forest, and brightens into more gorgeous hues. The tree-tops seem bathed with the gold and crimson of an Italian sunset. Here and there a shade of green, here and there a tinge of purple, and a stain of scarlet so deep and rich, that the most cunning artifice of man is pale beside it. A thousand delicate shades melt into each other. They blend fantastically into one deep mass. They spread over the forest like a tapestry woven with a thousand hues. Magnificent Autumn! He comes not like a pilgrim, clad in russet weeds. He comes not like a hermit, clad in gray. But he comes like a warrior, with the stain of blood upon his brazen mail. His crimson scarf is rent. His scarlet banner drips with gore. His step is like a flail upon the threshing floor. The scene changes. It is the Indian summer. The rising sun blazes through the misty air like a conflagration. A yellowish, smoky haze fills the atmosphere; and A filmy mist, Lies like a silver lining on the sky. The wind is soft and low. It wafts to us the odor of forest leaves, that hang wilted on the dripping branches, or drop into the stream. Their gorgeous tints are gone, as if the autumnal rains had washed them out. Orange, yellow, and scarlet, all are changed to one melancholy russet hue. The birds, too, have taken wing, and have left their roofless dwellings. Not the whistle of a robin, not the twitter of an eavesdropping swallow, not the carol of one sweet, familiar voice! All gone. Only the dismal cawing of a crow, as he sits and curses, that the harvest is over, - or the chit-chat of an idle squirrel, - the noisy denizen of a hollow tree, - the mendicant friar of a large parish, - the absolute monarch of a dozen acorns! Another change. The wind sweeps through the forest with a sound like the blast of a trumpet. The dry leaves whirl in eddies through the air. A fret-work of hoar-frost covers the plain. The stagnant water in the pools and ditches is frozen into fantastic figures. Nature ceases from her labors, and prepares for the great change. In the low-hanging clouds, the sharp air, like a busy shuttle, weaves her shroud of snow. There is a melancholy and continual roar in the tops of the tall pines, like the roar of a cataract. It is the funeral anthem of the dying year. A scent that wanders through the Ages of Autumn, from the last green leaf to the first breath of winter. OCTOBER Ay, thou art welcome, heaven’s delicious breath! When woods begin to wear the crimson leaf, And suns grow meek, and the meek suns grow brief And the year smiles as it draws near its death. Wind of the sunny south! oh, still delay In the gay woods and in the golden air, Like to a good old age released from care, Journeying, in long serenity, away. In such a bright, late quiet, would that I Might wear out life like thee, ‘mid bowers and brooks And dearer yet, the sunshine of kind looks, And music of kind voices ever nigh; And when my last sand twinkled in the glass, Pass silently from men, as thou dost pass. Dry, cold autumn wind. A rustle of red leaves, a touch of smoke and sap in the air. SAMHAIN 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. SONNET D’AUTOMNE Ils me disent, tes yeux, clairs comme le cristal: “Pour toi, bizarre amant, quel est donc mon mérite?” - Sois charmante et tais-toi! Mon coeur, que tout irrite, Excepté la candeur de l’antique animal, Ne veut pas te montrer son secret infernal, Berceuse dont la main aux longs sommeils m’invite, Ni sa noire légende avec la flamme écrite. Je hais la passion et l’esprit me fait mal! Aimons-nous doucement. L’Amour dans sa guérite, Ténébreux, embusqué, bande son arc fatal. Je connais les engins de son vieil arsenal: Crime, horreur et folie! – Ô pâle marguerite! Comme moi n’es-tu pas un soleil automnal, Ô ma si blanche, ô ma si froide Marguerite? - They say to me, your eyes, clear as crystal: “For you, bizarre lover, what is my merit then?” - Be charming and be still! My heart, which all things irk, Except the candor of the animals of old, Does not wish to reveal its black secret to you, Whose lulling hands invite me to long sleep, Nor its somber legend written with flame. I hate passion; intelligence makes me suffer! Let us love each other sweetly. Tenebrous Love, Ambushed in his shelter, stretches his fatal bow. I know all the weapons of his old arsenal: Crime, horror, and madness! – pale marguerite! Are you not, like me, an autumnal sun, O my Marguerite, so white and so cold? – Charles Baudelaire, translated by William Aggeler Tenebrous Love: a shivering white musk with vanilla-infused white cocoa, amber incense, and dead, dry leaves. SUCK IT A vampiric good time. Sexy and suckable: black cherry brandy and a whisper of red wine. SUGAR SKULL Vibrant with the joy and sweetness of life in death! A blend of five sugars, lightly dusted with candied fruits. TATTIE BOGLE (Now in 5ml!) Alane upon the field she stood, The tattie-bogle, tall an' prood. But certie, she wis smairt an' braw, A bonnie lass, tho' made o' straw. Her gowden hair wis made o' oo. Her dentie goon when it wis new Langsyne, hid been the guidwife's best. Sae trigly wis the bogle drest! The beasts they cam' frae a' the airts. (The tod ran tours frae furrin' pairts.) They cam' by day, they cam' by nicht, To see a maist byordnar sicht. An' craws an sparras by the score, A wale o' burds, mair nor afore. The fermer roared an' raged aboot. 'A'll cast yon tattie-bogle oot!' Pair tattie-bogle, she wis wae. 'Eh!' said the houlet, 'Whits a dae?' He flew doon frae the elder tree. 'Noo, dry yer e'en an' herk tae me. 'See, lassie, tak ma guid advice. There is nae yiss ye bein' nice. Can ye nae glower an' skreich an' a' Tae sen' thae cooardie burds awa'?' The bogle grat nae mair: instead 'A'm much obleeged tae ye,' she said 'Ma voice is lood - jist like the craik!' 'Then sing,' he said, ' for ony sake!' It chilled the verra bluid tae hear The bogle's sang : frae far an' near The burds rose up, a' frichtit sair An' nivver cam back ony mair. Sae should ye pass at skreich o' day Alang the road frae Auchenblae, An' hear a strange uncanny soun, That scares the burds for miles aroon, A soon like pincils on a sclate, Be on yer way an' dinna wait. Ye can be shair as onything Ye've heard the tattie-bogle sing. Hay, gunpowder, patchouli, a sliver of bark, autumn herbs, and sun-baked wood. THE WHITE WITCH O brothers mine, take care! Take care! The great white witch rides out to-night. Trust not your prowess nor your strength, Your only safety lies in flight; For in her glance there is a snare, And in her smile there is a blight. The great white witch you have not seen? Then, younger brothers mine, forsooth, Like nursery children you have looked For ancient hag and snaggle-tooth; But no, not so; the witch appears In all the glowing charms of youth. Her lips are like carnations, red, Her face like new-born lilies, fair, Her eyes like ocean waters, blue, She moves with subtle grace and air, And all about her head there floats The golden glory of her hair. But though she always thus appears In form of youth and mood of mirth, Unnumbered centuries are hers, The infant planets saw her birth; The child of throbbing Life is she, Twin sister to the greedy earth. And back behind those smiling lips, And down within those laughing eyes, And underneath the soft caress Of hand and voice and purring sighs, The shadow of the panther lurks, The spirit of the vampire lies. For I have seen the great white witch, And she has led me to her lair, And I have kissed her red, red lips And cruel face so white and fair; Around me she has twined her arms, And bound me with her yellow hair. I felt those red lips burn and sear My body like a living coal; Obeyed the power of those eyes As the needle trembles to the pole; And did not care although I felt The strength go ebbing from my soul. Oh! she has seen your strong young limbs, And heard your laughter loud and gay, And in your voices she has caught The echo of a far-off day, When man was closer to the earth; And she has marked you for her prey. She feels the old Antaean strength In you, the great dynamic beat Of primal passions, and she sees In you the last besieged retreat Of love relentless, lusty, fierce, Love pain-ecstatic, cruel-sweet. O, brothers mine, take care! Take care! The great white witch rides out to-night. O, younger brothers mine, beware! Look not upon her beauty bright; For in her glance there is a snare, And in her smile there is a blight. Love pain-ecstatic, cruel-sweet: gold-flecked honey amber pulsating with red musk, patchouli coeur, bourbon vanilla, inky vetiver, pomegranate rind, myrrh, blackened violet leaf, and blood red rose petals. THE WITCH-BRIDE A fair witch crept to a young man’s side, And he kiss’d her and took her for his bride. But a Shape came in at the dead of night, And fill’d the room with snowy light. And he saw how in his arms there lay A thing more frightful than mouth may say. And he rose in haste, and follow’d the Shape Till morning crown’d an eastern cape. And he girded himself, and follow’d still When sunset sainted the western hill. But, mocking and thwarting, clung to his side, Weary day!—the foul Witch-Bride. (Aw, c’mon, Allingham. Foul is a pretty strong choice of words, dontcha think?) Pale and lovely, with eyes belladonna-wide: hemlock blossoms and ghostly nightshade veiled by wisteria, white frankincense, black amber, and narcissus resin. ++ SINGLE NOTES: HALLOWEEN Black Phoenix's cheeky interpretation of the iconic scents of the season. No actual single notes were harmed in the creation of these blends. BONFIRE FOG MACHINE JUICE GRAVEYARD DIRT REDUX LAST YEAR’S STALE CANDY CORN PILE OF FALLEN LEAVES PUMPKIN SPICE EVERYTHING STAGE BLOOD
  20. bpalgeekgirldiva

    BPAL and BPTP NYCC 2014 Exclusives

    We will be vending at New York Comic Con on Oct 9 – 12, 2014 at booth #2759/#2761. Here’s the list of our exclusives this year: ++ BPAL NYCC 2014: EVE’S BIG APPLE But one pale woman all alone, The daylight kissing her wan hair, Loitered beneath the gas lamps’ flare, With lips of flame and heart of stone. There are a few false origin stories regarding New York’s nickname, “the Big Apple”, including a rumor that the expression was inspired by a 19th century New York madam named Eve. While that tale is false, it sure does tie in well with our brothel-themed offerings! ONE PALE WOMAN Apple and white mint layered with tobacco flower, pink pepper, white jasmine, bourbon vanilla, orange blossom, and champaca flower. DAYLIGHT KISSING HER WAN HAIR White pear, honeyed apple, ambrette seed, star anise, and a drop of clove. THE GAS LAMPS’ FLARE Glistening red apple and a drift of dark, smoky black copal, saffron, galbanum, sweet orange rind, and myrrh. LIPS OF FLAME AND HEART OF STONE Red musk and red apple with bourbon vanilla, tobacco absolute, Indonesian red patchouli, black clove, and khus. ++ BPAL NYCC 2014: THE GENTLEMAN’S DIRECTORY, VOLUME 2 Nothing extenuate, Nor set down aught in malice. The visitor, on passing the doors, finds himself in a spacious room, the fittings of which are of the most costly description, while brilliant gas illuminations, reflected by numerous mirrors, impart a fairy-like aspect to the scene. The company is, of course, mixed. Many of the men resorting to such places seek no doubt the opportunity of indulging their vicious propensities; but the majority of the better class go merely to while away an idle hour. (All grammatical and spelling deviancies within are sic erat scriptum.) THE BEAR IN THE CELLAR No, 127 W. 26th street is a ladies boarding house of the second class, kept by Madame Buemont. There is a report of a bear being kept in the cellar, but what reason may be inferred. There is nothing else attractive about this place. Whiskey, tobacco, and incensed bear musk. MRS. EMMA MARSH The establishment No. 66 West Houston St is conducted by the fun loving Mrs. Emma Marsh, whose stock of good humor is inexhaustible. She has six lady boarders, who do credit to her taste, and receive the encomiums of the most fastidious admirers of feminine loveliness. Vanilla-infused jasmine with honey, Bulgarian rose, white frankincense, and a cascade of lush gardenia blossoms. LITTLE MAGGIE No. 104 West 27th St. This house is kept by Miss Maggie Pierce, (better known as Little Maggie of 30 12th St.) The house is well furnished, and fitted up in elegant style. The landlady is good-looking and very entertaining. She has 7 young lady boarders of pleasing manners and ready wit. This is a first class house and is very quiet and orderly. Tahitian vanilla flower and white sandalwood with honeyed patchouli, cacao, and mallow flower. MISS FANNY PHIPPANY House at 36 West Fifteenth Street. There are six lady boarders. The landlady is of a very selfish disposition, and the servants are very disagreeable to visitors. A dark scent, sultry but sullen: tobacco absolute, birch tar, blackened clove, whip leather, and spiced rum. All limited edition oils are $24. ++ BPTP NYCC 2014 ATMOSPHERE SPRAYS – $23 DEW DROP INN On the opposite side there are three more concert saloons, which are conducted in a quiet and an orderly manner. They are called “The Dew Drop Inn” “Eureka” and “Palace Garden”. A quiet and orderly concert saloon: sweet rum with two spoonfuls of cream. HOTEL DE WOOD #105 West Twenty-fifth Street is kept by Mrs. Woods, better known among the aristocracy as Hotel de Wood. This is a 3 story brown stone house, furnished throughout with the most costly and newest improvements. Her gallery of oil paintings alone cost $10,000. Rosewood furniture, immense mirrors, Parisian figures etc. The house is furnished at the cost of $70,000. She keeps three young ladies of rare personal attractions, and her house receives gentlemen from foreign countries. This is the best house in 25th st. Oiled leather, a splash of bay rum and Italian bergamot, rose water, patchouli, and black tea. TAMMANY FREE AND EASY The Tammany Free and Easy is kept next door, No. 27, where nightly concerts are given, and fun and frolic prevail. Crisp, effervescent champagne bubbles drifting over a cluster of white carnations. ++ BPTP NYCC 2014: EVE’S BIG APPLE HAIR GLOSS – $28 GREEN APPLE, BERGAMOT, VANILLA ORCHID, AND TIARE RED APPLE, BLACKENED HONEY, AND OPOPONAX ++ BPTP NYCC 2014: EVE’S BIG APPLE BATH OIL – $25 HONEYED APPLE
  21. bpalgeekgirldiva

    New Lunacy is live!

    LACUS MORTIS The Lake of Death: narcotic indole, pale asphodel, and bone-white sandalwood plunged into in an impenetrable sea of black patchouli, labdanum, castoreum accord, and oak moss.
  22. Join us for our Lunacy event for your opportunity to meet the lab staff (California only), purchase the latest scents, and get a sneak preview of what’s coming soon. The blends that will be available for purchase include those that went live on the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab website up to and including the Lacus Solitudinis update. Our Lunacy events are held on the night of the full moon and are always free. The West Coast Will Call event will be held on Tuesday, September 9th from 6 to 9pm at Dark Delicacies. Dark Delicacies 3512 W. Magnolia Blvd (1 block east of Hollywood Way) Burbank, CA 91505 www.darkdel.com If you have any questions, please email us at willcall@blackphoenixalchemylab.com. Hope to see you there! Remaining Will Call Dates for 2014West Coast: Sunday, October 5th Thursday, November 6th Friday, December 5th Want to keep up to date on all the BPAL news? Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, join our mailing list, visit our Forums, or follow our blog The Black Phoenix Gazette.
  23. Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab and Black Phoenix Trading Post are thrilled to announce our con exclusives for DragonCon! Black Phoenix will be vending at DragonCon 2014 at booths 1206 & 1208 in AmericasMart, building 1, floor 1. Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab DragonCon Exclusive Perfume Oils. Presented in a 5ml amber apothecary glass vial. $24 each. ++ GEORGIA STATE MUSKS A line inspired by Georgia's official state... stuff. No birds, bass, sharks, or square dancers were harmed during the creation of this line. BROWN THRASHER Sweet rum distillate with tobacco absolute, white sandalwood, and warm brown musk. LARGEMOUTH BASS Salt, seaweed, and white mint with a hint of star anise, birchbark, and lemon peel. PEANUT MUSK Roasted peanuts, peanut leaves, and dark musk. SHARK TOOTH Pale, stony ambergris with oudh, patchouli, white cedar, and ambrette seed. STAUROLITE A gritty mineral musk with tonka bean, labdanum, oakmoss, and a drop of vetiver bourbon. STAR PROMENADE Sloe gin, peach blossoms, banjo strings, hay bales, and apple pie. ++ THE PEACH PIT PEACH VI Peach and blackcurrant with aged patchouli, red sandalwood, benzoin, and blue musk. PEACH VII Dried peach, black musk, and North African spices. PEACH VIII Whipped jasmine cream and peach blossom with vanilla orchid and white frankincense. ++ BPTP DRAGON*CON PEACH'GASM GOLDEN PEACH AND BERGAMOT HAIR GLOSS - $28 With patchouli, white jasmine, and glimmering golden musk. PEACH NECTAR AND VANILLA ORCHID HAIR GLOSS - $28 Plus a touch of hay absolute and dried rosebud. HONEYED PEACH BATH OIL - $25 With peach bark and oakmoss for a hint of earthiness. PEACH BLOSSOM INCENSE ATMOSPHERE SPRAY - $23 Peach blossoms, olibanum, myrrh, and white sandalwood. PEACH CANDYFLOSS ATMOSPHERE SPRAY - $23 Spun-sugar peaches! Attention Cosplayers: this year, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab / Trading Post will have a Cosplay Repair Station at our booth! Assembled by our beloved Chrissy Lynn Kyle and sponsored by BPAL, we'll have everything you need in case of cosplay'mergency - free of charge. Here's a list of some of the items we will have to repair items: Scissors Safety Pins (various Sizes) Hand sewing needle and thread (in at least black and white) Hot glue gun + sticks Super glue E6000 adhesive Hairspray Wig cap Bobby Pins Clear nail polish Double sided fashion tape Electrical tape Duct tape Eyelash glue Stain remover (tide to go) Heat and bond Beacon Fabric Tac (fabric glue) Spirit Gum / Liquid Latex Stapler We look forward to seeing you there! Want to keep up to date on all the BPAL news? Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr , join our mailing list, visit our Forums, or follow our blog The Black Phoenix Gazette.
  24. If you're on the BPAL mailing list, usually emails go out when there's an announcement of Lunacy, Will Call or new scents. We're hearing that some people may not be getting their emails, so here are a couple of suggestions: The emails may be going to your spam folder or have been blocked by your provider. You may want to whitelist the email address it comes from: bpalmailinglist@blackphoenixalchemylab.com If you want to make sure you're signed up, you can sign up here: https://www.facebook.com/BlackPhoenixAlchemyLab/app_141428856257 However, anything sent through the mailing list gets posted to: The BPAL FB page, the Forum, Tumblr, Twitter, and The Gazette. So, it's pretty likely you're seeing it somewhere. Hope that helps!
  25. bpalgeekgirldiva

    Metaphorphosis Update: Live until 10/17

    Just a quick update: The Butterflies will be live on the site until October 17th.
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