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The moon is rising, solemn and silent, over Black Phoenix: LACUS SOLITUDINIS The Lake of Solitude: a scent of introspection and introversion. Meditative white sandalwood with rosewood, Roman chamomile, white lavender, marjoram, Himalayan cedar, and oudh. ***************** This month, we revisit the Metamorphosis: The Metamorphosis series is dedicated, as always, to my daughter. Lilith, you are my light, my love, my heart, and the sweetness of my soul. Sword-Wielding Storybook Princess, Valiant Superheroine, Bold Adventurer, Make-Believe Misunderstood Fairy Tale Villainess: it is a privilege to watch you grow, and it is an honor to be your mother. I love you with every drop of blood in my body, and every breath. The sweetness of your heart, the depth of your compassion, and the razor of your wit are all an inspiration to me. Your laugh is my joy. I love you, Little Lady Butterfly. “Just living is not enough,” said the butterfly, “one must have sunshine, freedom and a little flower.” METAMORPHOSIS Lo, the bright train their radiant wings unfold! With silver fringed, and freckled o’er with gold: On the gay bosom of some fragrant flower They, idly fluttering, live their little hour; Their life all pleasure, and their task all play, All spring their age, and sunshine all their day. - ” To Mrs. P——–., With Some Drawings…”, Anna Laetitia Aikin The grace, beauty, and complexity of butterflies and moths have permeated myths all over the globe. The symmetry and elegance of their form and the coquettish rhythm of their dance inspires visions of fleeting romance: The dawn is smiling on the dew that covers The tearful roses; lo, the little lovers That kiss the buds, and all the flutterings In jasmine bloom, and privet, of white wings, That go and come, and fly, and peep and hide, With muffled music, murmured far and wide. Ah, the Spring time, when we think of all the lays That dreamy lovers send to dreamy mays, Of the fond hearts within a billet bound, Of all the soft silk paper that pens wound, The messages of love that mortals write Filled with intoxication of delight, Written in April and before the May time Shredded and flown, playthings for the wind’s playtime, We dream that all white butterflies above, Who seek through clouds or waters souls to love, And leave their lady mistress in despair, To flit to flowers, as kinder and more fair, Are but torn love-letters, that through the skies Flutter, and float, and change to butterflies - ” The Genesis of Butterflies”, Victor Hugo Though in some myths – notably, China’s Butterfly Lovers, Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, and Japan’s tale of Takahama and Akiko – butterflies are symbols of eternal love and devotion. Most often, butterflies and moths represent change, transition, and metamorphosis. Butterflies are also seen as personifications of the soul, and symbols of mankind’s desire for spiritual evolution. They are harbingers of both love and death, and some believe that errant souls manifest in this form. Moths and butterflies are, to some, symbols of blind desire and madness, perilously drawn to the splendor of light and flame. This mad desire is also portrayed, at times, as transcendence: Tell it none except the wise, for the common crowd defames: of the living I shall praise that which longs for death in flames. In the love night which created you where you create, a yearning wakes: you see, intoxicated, far away a candle burning. Darkness now no longer snares you, shadows lose their ancient force, as a new desire tears you up to higher intercourse. Now no distance checks your flight, charmed you come and you draw night till, with longing for the light, you are burnt, O butterfly. And until you have possessed dying and rebirth, you are but a sullen guest on the gloomy earth. - ” Blissful Yearning”, Goethe, translation by Walter Kaufmann This series, though seemingly simple, is a complex narrative in scent. It was created with the intention of illustrating the beauty of transformation and transcendence, the sweetness of romance, the joy of freedom and personal liberty, and the perpetuity of true love. Wake, butterfly - It’s late, we’ve miles To go together. - Matsuo Basho This year’s series is inspired by our family’s annual pilgrimage to New Orleans: the Butterflies of Louisiana - BLACK SWALLOWTAIL Licorice bark with freesia, jungle orchids, elemi, Bulgarian rose otto, and jasmine sambac. EASTERN COMMA Sweet orange with tobacco absolute and hay. GOATWEED LEAFWING Tonka bean, orange blossom, ambrette seed, and brown sandalwood. LITTLE METALMARK Nagarmotha and sweet musk. PHAON CRESCENT Italian bergamot and neroli with marigold, white jasmine, Himalayan cedar, lemon peel, and a drop of tobacco absolute. QUESTION MARK Blackened vanilla absolute with tobacco leaf, Ceylon cinnamon, orange-bark myrrh, and orange blossom. RED-SPOTTED PURPLE White thyme, yuzu fruit, hinoki wood, blue cedar, white carnation, plum rind, white mandarin, and lime-tinted white musk. SOUTHERN CLOUDYWING Cardamom tea, orange peel, mate, oakmoss, tonka bean, sweet cedar, and costus. WILD INDIGO DUSKYWING Black saffron, frankincense, Florentine iris, blackcurrant, white pepper, black clove, vetiver, and smoky honey. YUCCA GIANT-SKIPPER White patchouli, oudh, vanilla absolute, copaiba balsam, pepperwood, and champaca flower. Butterflies have also descended onto the ‘Post: CHORION HAIR GLOSS A gossamer armor: seemingly delicate, but as strong as adamant. Opalescent vanilla-infused benzoin with silvered iris, white patchouli, mimosa blossom, and white musk. CHORION ATMOSPHERE SPRAY A gossamer armor: seemingly delicate, but as strong as adamant. Opalescent vanilla-infused benzoin with silvered iris, white patchouli, mimosa blossom, and white musk. NECTAR HAIR GLOSS Honeyed camellia and bergamot with sweet honeysuckle and sugared columbine. NECTAR ATMOSPHERE SPRAY Honeyed camellia and bergamot with sweet honeysuckle and sugared columbine. The Earth laughs in flowers. FLOWER CONSTANCY I BATH OIL: AN AFFINITY FOR PASSIONFLOWER FLOWER CONSTANCY II BATH OIL: AN AFFINITY FOR PHLOX 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.

We're so thrilled to be supporting the amazing Julie Dillon's Imagined Realms Kickstarter project with a scent called “Scholars’ Tower”. "Imagined Realms" is the first in a series of books of fantasy art by award winning artist Julie Dillon and features all new illustrations of faeries, mermaids, dragons, elves, several cats, and a variety of ladies exploring and having adventures. SCHOLARS' TOWER Gleaming amber spheres, polished cedar and mahogany, sweet parchment, inks of frankincense ash, and soft plumes of incense. The "Scholars' Tower" perfume oil is presented in a 5ml amber apothecary vial, and is available on Kickstarter backer rewards as follows: $45: BPAL "Scholar's Tower" perfume oil blend + one 11x14" print of Scholar's Tower (plus digital rewards) $60: BPAL Scholar's Tower" perfume oil blend + one copy of Imagined Realms: Book 1 (plus digital rewards) $65: BPAL Scholar's Tower" perfume oil blend + one Signed copy of Imagined Realms: Book 1 (plus digital rewards) (Note that the books and artwork will ship separately from the perfume.) Note: This scent is not a part of Kickstarter or affiliated with Kickstarter. Julie Dillon has been working with Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab for many years, doing labels for several series, most notably the Phoenix Steamworks collection, the Vampires Don’t Sleep Alone Collection, the RPG series, and upcoming re-release of Carnival Diabolique." You can support Imagined Realms on Kickstarter, see more of the artwork, and donate here.

First up, we'd like to announce that the BPAL forums are back and looking better than ever. We thank you so much for your patience while we made this change and we send so much love to the transition team who worked so tirelessly to make it happen. The website is still bpal.org and we hope you'll be patient with us as we work out any little gremlins that might be hiding. Love everyone at The Lab! ***************************** 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 Oceanus Procellarum 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, August 10th from 4 to 7pm at Dark Delicacies. Dark Delicacies 3512 W. Magnolia Blvd (1 block east of Hollywood Way) Burbank, CA 91505 www.darkdel.com ___ The East Coast Will Call event will be held on Sunday, August 10th from 4 to 7pm at Healthy Living Market. Healthy Living Market 222 Dorset Street, South Burlington, VT, 05403 If you have any questions, please email us at willcall@blackphoenixalchemylab.com. Hope to see you there! ************************ Remaining Will Call Dates for 2014 West Coast: Tuesday, September 9th Sunday, October 5th Thursday, November 6th Friday, December 5th East Coast: (TBD) 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.

PLEASE NOTE: The BPAL Displays won't be up at Dark Delicacies from Thursday, May 15th through Tuesday, May 20th. We apologize for any inconvenience, but we hope you'll come sniff us at Bat's Day or after the 20th back at Dark Delicacies.

The formatted version with all the links and what not are on the Tumblr, the Blog and the site ;-) ++ A LITTLE LUNACY: TABULA SELENOGRAPHICA 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: PENINSULA FULMINUM The Peninsula of Thunder. A rolling, booming scent, heavy with foreboding and bristling with peril: scorched ebony wood, raw myrrh, blackened benzoin, Tunisian black musk, bourbon vetiver, black copal, and a sharp, yellow-white blast of cognac and chaulmoogra. This scent will be live until May 16th **************** Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab is proud to announce a new series of scents based on Image Comic's Pretty Deadly by writer Kelly Sue Deconnick and artist Emma Rios. The Summary: PRETTY DEADLY is a mythic western, a tale of retribution and redemption, that begins at the gallows and ends in Death's domain. It is a story told by a dead rabbit to a butterfly, that you are invited to quietly overhear. The Scents: LILY, The Prostitute Heady blossoms of jasmine, white gardenia, and magnolia sharpened by neroli, given a voluptuous depth by red patchouli, oakmoss, and cedar. GINNY, The Reaper of Vengeance Sharp tobacco flower and white cognac, a thin layer of smoke, and dusty black pepper pierced by the amber of her eyes. ALICE, The Reaper of Cruelty Bourbon geranium emboldened by the rich scent of aged patchouli, the sweetness of peach, raspberry leaf, and bourbon vanilla, surrounded by a butterfly swarm of spicy carnation and Italian bergamot. BEAUTY, The Aggrieved A white rose draped by a delicate, pale, sheer veil of vanilla, the depth and darkness of her black lace embodied by tobacco absolute, Indonesian patchouli, Bulgarian oakmoss, frankincense, white sandalwood, and myrrh. SISSY, The Ascendant Sassafras and smoke for black vulture feathers, and King mandarin and red musk for the deep red-orange of the vulture's face. Blue lilac and chamomile / opoponax and vetiver for the blue and black of her eyes. Vanilla bean and fig represent her innate goodness and instinctive kindness. SARAH, The Mother Bear Practical scents - warm, nurturing, wise, and strong: tonka bean, soft brown leather, myrrh, white sage, gurjum balsam, Ceylon cinnamon bark, red sandalwood, sweet tobacco, and a touch of gunsmoke. MOLLY, The Reaper of Justice White lime with lily of the valley, oudh, Himalayan cedar, nagarmotha, and tobacco for the sheen of raven feathers, and saffron, white honey, and amber for her fierceness, strength, and courage. Perfume oil blends, $26.00 per 5ml bottle. Because of the nature of this project, imps are unavailable. Where You Can Read More About Pretty Deadly: Visit the Pretty Deadly website. Buy Pretty Deadly on Amazon or through Image Comics.

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 Palus Nebularum 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 Wednesday, May 14th 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 Click here to RSVP or invite friends to this event. ___ New England Will Call will be held at Healthy Living Market on Sunday, May 18th from 4 to 7pm, in the Learning Center. Healthy Living Market 222 Dorset Street, South Burlington, VT, 05403 Click here to RSVP or invite friends to this event. If you have any questions, please email us at willcall@blackphoenixalchemylab.com. Hope to see you there! ************************ REMAINING WILL CALL DATES FOR 2014 West Coast: Friday, June 13th Saturday, July 12th Sunday August 10th Tuesday, September 9th Sunday, October 5th Thursday, November 6th Friday, December 5th East Coast: Sunday June 15th Sunday July 13th (more to come) Want to keep up to date on all the BPAL news? Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, join our mailing list, or follow our blog The Black Phoenix Gazette.

Lots of new additions to our Etsy shop. Trunk show and LE's abound. http://www.etsy.com/shop/alchemylab

This year’s Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Bats Day exclusives were inspired by Thomas Moore’s song of love and death. Here's a link to the Tumblr post

We have new goodies up on eBay ;-) http://www.ebay.com/sch/blackphoenixalchemylab/m.html

New Lunacy and new pics of David Mack's Kabuki and Kelly Sue DeConnick's Pretty Deadly scents! Link at our Tumblr.

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 Peninsula Deliriorum 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, April 15th 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 ___ New England Will Call will be held at Healthy Living Market on Sunday, April 20th from 4 to 7pm, in the Learning Center. Healthy Living Market 222 Dorset Street, South Burlington, VT, 05403 If you have any questions, please email us at willcall@blackphoenixalchemylab.com. Hope to see you there! ************************ Remaining Will Call Dates for 2014 West Coast: Wednesday May 14th Friday June 13th Saturday July 12th Sunday August 10th Tuesday September 9th Sunday, October 5th Thursday November 6th Saturday December 6th East Coast: Sunday April 20th Sunday May 18th Sunday June 15th Sunday July 13th (more to come)

We recently did an exclusive fragrance line for Haute Macabre and wanted to let you know that HM is currently taking pre-orders for the newest scents As Above and So Below over on their website. As Above leather drenched with white patchouli, oak bark, bourbon vanilla, bitter almond, and Moroccan jasmine. So Below amber and black copal with black coconut, Sumatran red patchouli, green cardamom pod, and golden musk. You can also order The Original Haute Macabre scent . oak leaf, bourbon vanilla, almond husk, and black leather accord darkened by a 13-year aged black patchouli. Want to keep up to date on all the BPAL news? Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, join our mailing list, or follow our blog The Black Phoenix Gazette.

Kelly Sue DeConnick has the prototypes for the upcoming Pretty Deadly scents at her table (C-12) at Emerald City Comicon. Stop by to give them a sniff and check out Kelly's work. We are so glad to be working with her!

Four new scents from Gail Potocki's Fragmented Alice line are now live on the Century Guild site! CURVED SKY Pink grapefruit, white lime, ambergris accord, and opoponax. I WONDER IF I'VE BEEN CHANGED IN THE NIGHT Cement, sewer moss, black patchouli, myrrh, violet leaf, green tea leaf, and immortelle. WHEN I? Flue gas, smoke, oil, and tears. WORMWOOD FACTORY Absinthe, pink lime, yuzu fruit, and thyme flower with creosote and tar. Want to keep up to date on all the BPAL news? Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, join our mailing list, or follow our blog The Black Phoenix Gazette.

The Emerald City Comicon stock list is up for review at the Gazette ;-) http://www.blackphoenixgazette.com/?p=2336

Havana will be discontinued when the remaining stock is gone.

++ A LITTLE LUNACY: TABULA SELENOGRAPHICA 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. The cat went here and there And the moon spun round like a top, And the nearest kin of the moon, The creeping cat, looked up. Black Minnaloushe stared at the moon, For, wander and wail as he would, The pure cold light in the sky Troubled his animal blood. Minnaloushe runs in the grass Lifting his delicate feet. Do you dance, Minnaloushe, do you dance? When two close kindred meet, What better than call a dance? Maybe the moon may learn, Tired of that courtly fashion, A new dance turn. Minnaloushe creeps through the grass From moonlit place to place, The sacred moon overhead Has taken a new phase. Does Minnaloushe know that his pupils Will pass from change to change, And that from round to crescent, From crescent to round they range? Minnaloushe creeps through the grass Alone, important and wise, And lifts to the changing moon His changing eyes. Black Phoenix is proud to present our Lunacy for the this month -- PENINSULA DELIRIORUM The Land of Insanities. Shrieking white tobacco flower and geranium pepper streaked by high-pitched wails of orange blossom, neroli, and elemi, all obscured by a disorienting veil of orris and violet root.

Whether you're East Coast or West Coast, the Will Call info is the same: Sunday March 16th 4-7pm. Hope to see you at Dark Delicacies or Healthy Living Market and Cafe this weekend.

Quick announcement: We will be extending the Lupercalia, Box of Bonbons and Ballad of Death collections until April 17th (when the Shungas come down). On to Will Call! 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 Worm Moon Update. This includes the new Ragnarok scents, Clive Barker scents,general catalog scents, and Lupercalia 2014. 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, March 16th from 4 to 7pm at Dark Delicacies. Dark Delicacies 3512 W. Magnolia Blvd (1 block east of Hollywood Way) Burbank, CA 91505 www.darkdel.com ___ New England Will Call will be held at Healthy Living Market on Sunday, March 16th from 4:00 to 7:00pm, in the Learning Center. Healthy Living Market 222 Dorset Street, South Burlington, VT, 05403 If you have any questions, please email us at willcall@blackphoenixalchemylab.com. Hope to see you there! ************************ Remaining Will Call Dates for 2014 West Coast: Sunday March 16th Tuesday April 15th Wednesday May 14th Friday June 13th Saturday July 12th Sunday August 10th Tuesday September 9th Sunday October 5th Thursday November 6th Saturday December 6th East Coast: Sunday April 20th Sunday May 18th Sunday June 15th Sunday July 13th (more to come)

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 Hunger Moon Update. This includes the new Clive Barker scents, general catalog scents, and Lupercalia 2014. 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 Saturday, February 15th from 4 to 7pm at Dark Delicacies. Dark Delicacies 3512 W. Magnolia Blvd (1 block east of Hollywood Way) Burbank, CA 91505 www.darkdel.com ___ New England Will Call will be held at Healthy Living Market on Sunday, February 16th from 4:00 to 7:00pm, in the Learning Center. Healthy Living Market 222 Dorset Street, South Burlington, VT, 05403 If you have any questions, please email us at willcall@blackphoenixalchemylab.com. Hope to see you there!