Failmingo

I love the more woody or incense-y Snake Oil variants but there are still like a million ways in which this might not work for me. In the bottle I wasn't entirely convinced -- I could detect the familiar Snake Oil scent kind of straining to break through or sneak past the heavier intrusion of these wood notes, which to my nose smell like actual boards, or some kind of varnished surface. Not bad but I was hoping for more harmony between the old and new aspects of the blend. On the skin, however, it immediately became clear that I'm dealing with a boosted patchouli presence, and THAT got my attention. Possibly sandalwood also, or cedar, or incense components I can't trace. There's a dry raspiness to it, which really does harmonize very beautifully with the classic blend's gleaming oily-slippery-muskiness. It also smells darker and rootier to me than regular Snake Oil. It's quite different than the impression I got in the bottle. That dry sharpness definitely sells the idea of tiny wooden bottles and cardboard packaging. I'm trying to recall the most patch-forward Snake Oil variants, because possibly this is the one? Before long it stabilizes and settles into this modestly restrained mellow, rooty crackle accompanied by a faint gasp of vanilla, which did remind me a bit of sarsaparilla from time to time -- but then when I leaned in for a deeper sniff, that sweetness gave way to darker, woodier aspects. It has a pleasantly old-fashioned vibe for sure; if they made it as a Beard Oil, I might grow a beard! I found that I could still smell it after several hours.

I dunno who needs to hear this, but the amber in this scent has aged REALLY nicely. This feels so warm on the skin that I've been tempted to guess cinnamon is involved somewhere. And in fact it reminds me a bit of Elizabeth's Imps from last Halloween, although this one is less sticky-syrupy dark amber, more glowy and transcendent. The mental mood board for this scent involved snapshots of Vivian Leigh in A Streetcar Named Desire or Elizabeth Taylor in Suddenly Last Summer. -- women shattered by tragic circumstance, clinging to mementos and recollections of more glamorous days, deserving of kindness but ultimately confined to institutions and subjected to primitive treatments. There's a poof of smoky frankincense at the beginning which mostly subsides, giving way to a sheer white amber that's lent some sparkle by the mandarin and some gentility by the orchid. The amber/bergamot/orchid situation is impressively gauzy and serene, flirtatious even, but a faint edginess persists -- like finding cigarette burns on a lovely white summer dress.

Hello! Sorry this was not specified before when we announced the down date for the Yules and NYE scents, but our fundraiser series Nourishment Wherever Needed, which launched alongside the Yules back in November, will be staying up indefinitely. I expect these scents will move over to the Activism category where most of our other fundraisers live. So, there's still time to serve yourself some pie! While helping WCK feed displaced, injured, and/or impoverished people in Gaza and other locations (such as Ukraine) where civilians are unable to access basic necessities. To learn more about their work, or donate directly, visit here: https://wck.org/

Hoping to drastically alter the course of at least one person’s weekend with this news: the freshly restored 1989 cult classic Dr. Caligari is now streaming on the horror streaming platform SHUDDER! Since the film was virtually inaccessible in any quality before last year's Blu-ray release, this is big news. Much easier for practically anyone to check out! BPAL's licensed perfumes and enamel pins live here.

Note that we're also introducing a couple of brand new GC Hair Gloss blends: BELGIAN CHOCOLATE, and BOURBON VANILLA! For ease of searching, these are included under the May 2024 tag along with all the Lunacy stuff we just launched: https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-tag/may-2024-lunacy/ And as promised, the Pride 2024 fundraiser scents: https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-category/kotinos/

We're in the process of finalizing our Flower Moon Lunacy launch! Once it's live, you've got one last week to order the following scents before they vanish: WOLF MOON Duet: GRASS & MOONLIT DEW Duet: BEESWAX & PINE NEEDLE Duet: BALSAM & LEATHER Duet: GREEN FIG & CEDAR Hair Gloss: LUPINE MUSK & AMBRETTE SEED WOODEN DRAGON A WINTER SCENE WITH SKATERS PORTRAIT OF PRINCESS MARTHE BIBESCO TRAUM NORTHERN LIGHTS MONASTERY GARDEN IN THE SNOW We also now have an official down date for Yules and the New Year's releases: June 28th!

If you can find A Summer Night -- a Lunacy scent from 2022 -- this might be exactly right.

Hi frens! I'm here to tease the Lab's Pride Month fundraiser because I just can't hold it in anymore. This year we'll be donating to Athlete Ally, a wonderful org striving to help improve LGBTQI+ inclusivity in sports and athletics programs for all ages. They provide resources and curricula for students, teachers, coaches, and teams. https://www.athleteally.org/ To symbolize this effort, we've created a series of four scents inspired by the classic olive wreath (kotinos, or κότινος) bestowed upon winners in the ancient Olympic games. These will go live at some point ahead of June 1st. We'll be very grateful for help with getting the word out, as (per usual) our reach can be quite limited on social media when sharing "political" content. Thank ya, thank ya! ++ KOTINOS OLIVE WREATH The prize historically awarded to victors in the ancient Olympic games: an anointed circlet of leafy branches cut from the sacred wild-olive tree near the temple of Zeus. LAUREL WREATH Crown of Apollo, instrument of Pythian divination, symbol of higher learning: bay laurel and calamus gilded with fossilized amber. MARBLE WREATH Fear not, for even judgments which seem written in stone will succumb to the passage of time, softened by persistent exposure to the tireless elements, gradually ceding ground to monuments of the new age. A memorial garland of white sandalwood streaked with lapsang souchong, chilled vanilla, and benzoin. CAKE POP WREATH Hera advised us to include this one, in hopes of our fundraiser appealing to as many tastes as possible. Work hard, play hard, cake pop! Spheres of faintly lemony olive oil cake, coated in vanilla frosting and crowned with a scattering of rainbow sprinkles.

Happy to inform you that Spiritus Arcanum launched this year's Walpurgisnacht collaboration on Friday, and everything (including some terrific products from other creators) is now available to pre-order in their shop. Below are the Limited Edition perfume oils we've contributed: ++ APIARY Each of these scents, inspired by the bee and the bounty of the hive, is offered in 5ml bottles. TELLING THE BEES "Inspired by the John Greenleaf Whittier poem. A red and white scattering of clover, pansy petals and crushed daffodils, a clutch of wild roses, and buzzing hives draped with velvety black musk." WAXEN IMAGE "Inspired by beeswax poppets, votary effigies, and wax cast funerary masks. Beeswax, ashes, and blood." MELISSAE "A fragrance inspired by the buzzing prophesies of nymphs, the devotions of ancient priestesses, and the bounty of honied hives. Wildflower honey, frankincense, olive blossoms, and cinnamon." ++ BOOK OF SECRETS Inspired by books of everyday magic, prayer, talismans, and lore which often found their place in practical folk magical traditions throughout the world, the Book of Secrets collection is a collaboration with the legendary Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab intended as an olfactory homage to these books of wondrous things. SECRETS OF THE PSALMS "A compound of frankincense, galbanum, onycha accord, and Balm of Gilead. An homage to Secrets of the Psalms by Godfrey Selig." BOOK OF SECRETS OF ALBERTUS MAGNUS "Inspired by the fantastical collection of botanical, animal, and mineral lore spuriously attributed to Albertus Magnus which was widely popular throughout Europe and the Americas throughout the Middle Ages. Date palm, luminous fossilized amber resin, bay laurel, and frankincense." LONG-HIDDEN FRIEND "A perfume devoted to John George Hohman's Der lange verborgene Freund or Long Hidden (Lost) Friend, a work published in 1820 which collects a selection of spoken prayer and written charms such as the SATOR square. Hohman's work draws upon earlier works such as Egyptian Secrets of Albertus Magnus and also offers practical remedies for everyday concerns. Mulberry, pumpkin molasses, and sweet clove dashed with sonnen-werbel to ensure that people speak to you with pleasant words and a sprinkle of caraway to keep you safe from frights and fantasies." EGYPTIAN SECRETS OF ALBERTUS MAGNUS "Capturing the essence of another Pseudo-Albertine book Egyptian Secrets. A title intended to evoke exotic origins, Egyptian Secrets collects remedies for fevers and burns, alongside protective magics against witchcraft, dog bites, and thieves. Myrrh resin, green cardamom, golden saffron, and honeyed fig." THE SIXTH AND SEVENTH BOOKS OF MOSES "When these great princes do not appear immediately on the foregoing Citations, or if they hesitate in their obedience, then take frankincense and myrrh, and cast them upon burning coals, and when the smoke arises, place the spirit-seal thereon… Ink-scratched parchment suffused with the smoke of Oman frankincense and Yemeni myrrh." SATOR "A scent dedicated, not to a book, but to the ancient and enigmatic amulet known as the SATOR square. Night-black musk and scorched wood polished with ambrette, suffused with sweet flag, olibanum, vetiver, styrax, and red labdanum."

A fresh wave of General Catalog restocks! Here is everything that's returned: LOUP GAROU “The wild, untamed essence of lycanthropy. Primeval in its raw power and insatiable hunger: juniper, cypress and galangal with the barest touch of eucalyptus.” MONK “Sandalwood incense, ti leaf, and honeyed saffron.” SHOGGOTH “An amorphous, radiant, incandescent scent. Ever changing, protoplasmic and primordial: white amber, green coconut meat, iris, palmarosa, Chinese peony, lime, water lily, snowdrop, muguet, lemongrass, osmanthus, wisteria, glassy musk, and hinoki.” SPELLBOUND “Perfectly enchanting! An irresistibly sexual, utterly rapturous blend of three roses, radiant amber, and sensual red musk.” VILLAIN "A classic Victorian men’s cologne: a lavender fougere, with hints of lilac, lime, and citrus musk.” AMBER IMP PACK

Hurrah! We were set to launch these later in the week (and not back-to-back with Hexennacht) but with everyone fretting about last-minute Halloween picks, we just went ahead and dropped 'em to increase the window of time needed to make GOOD, SOUND, TOTALLY DEFENSIBLE decisions. Today's releases spanning Lunacy, Ars Anni, Activism, and LE categories can all be browsed together via this handy April 2024 product tag link: https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-tag/april-2024/ ++ APRIL ART: A MOMENT OF JOY April is a moment of joy for those who have survived the winter. - Samuel Johnson DIE WUNDERBLUME Alexander Rothaug Thick blankets of moss embracing river-smoothed stones, a cascade of shimmering amber, and heady white petals. L’AURORE Adolphe-Alexandre Lesrel A softly glowing floral aldehyde streaked with somnolent lavender, ambrette, purple rose, vanilla bean, pink cognac, violet leaf, woad, muguet, black currant bud, and sheer musk. LOVERS AMONG LILACS Marc Chagall Soft, sweet bourbon vanilla and sensuous benzoin nestled in a haven of lilac blooms. THE NAIADS’ HOUR Norman Lindsay Pearlescent ambergris and salt musk, white bergamot, elemi, white lemon peel, champaca, and seafoam. THE TRUTH LIES IN OLD BOOKS Marian Wawrzeniecki Cracked leather binding and aged, yellowing, blood-soaked paper, clove bud, green silk, sandalwood incense, agarwood, black sesame, and thorns. ++ A LITTLE LUNACY PINK MOON 2024 While previous incarnations of our Pink Moon have been a celebration of the first blooms of spring, this year’s scent is a strawberry smackdown: sugar-swirled strawberry milk with frothed marshmallow cream. Art by Drew Rausch! PINK MOON STICKER A 3” x 3” high-quality die-cut vinyl sticker for sticking on all stickable things. Art by Drew Rausch! ++ LUNACY DUETS 2024’s duet scents are designed to flatter, compliment, or enhance different aspects of the Lunacy blend that they are born from. They can be worn alone or layered with their siblings and their parent Lunacy. PINK MOON: Sugar Crystals and Mandarin PINK MOON: Wild Strawberries and Patchouli PINK MOON: Ylang Ylang and White Musk PINK MOON: Pomegranate and Merlot ++ LUNACY HAIR GLOSS MARSHMALLOW AND CANDYFLOSS COSMIC CRITTERS Wild fig, buttercream honey, bourbon cream sweetened with a bit of condensed milk, and warm, snuggly russet patchouli. Proceeds from the sale of each bottle will benefit Cuddly, who assists rescue organizations and animal-focused non-profits. Imps for Cosmic Critters were circulated by BPAL’s own Chrissy Lynn (Vex) at Neotropolis! SWARMAGEDDON The cry of the cicada Gives us no sign That presently they will die - Matsuo Bashō, translated by William George Aston This year, the forests of the eastern United States will be abuzz (pun intended) with the concurrent emergence of two separate broods, the 17-year-old Brood XIII and 13-year-old Brood XIX. A cicada extravaganza like this one hasn’t been seen since 1803! A scent fit for a Swarmageddon: soft, dark soil, black pepper, tonka bean, decaying leaves, licorice root, ambrette seed, sweet vetiver, bourbon vanilla, oakmoss, brown labdanum, elm bark, vegetable leather, clary sage, 13-year aged patchouli, 17-year aged patchouli, and two bright red specs of dragon’s blood resin. Art: Kingfisher, Cicada, and Willow Tree, Qing Dynasty, China

Here ya go, witches! https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/limited-edition/hexennacht-2024-perfume-oil Our Spiritus Arcanum collaboration will be happening later on in May.

For he seemed to me again like a king, Like a king in exile, uncrowned in the underworld, Now due to be crowned again. A sinuous leather variant of BPALs Snake Oil. Only side-by-side with Snake Oil can I tell the difference between these in the bottle. It really was appropriate to name this after the snake's skin -- the leather wraps around the familiar blend like a sheath. And it's a grower, constricting slowly until it just might become the thing someone notices about the scent if they just happened to catch it in passing. It also nicely amps the woods in Snake Oil, which probably don't get enough love. If you have a man in your life who loves Snake Oil but it's too sweet for him to wear, he will probably be unstoppable with this.

To celebrate a decade of Only Lovers Left Alive, we have a couple of exciting restocks for ya: EVE and AVA. https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-category/only-lovers-left-alive/

They had a good run! Here's a list of the '23 Lunacy stuff that's coming down on May 1st when we finally bid adieu to the Halloweenies: ++ A LITTLE LUNACY OAK MOON BEAVER MOON ++ ARS ANNI DEATH: MY IRONY SURPASSES ALL OTHERS! EVENING READING IN THE STUDIO THE CONTEMPLATOR AT THE FIRST TOUCH OF WINTER, SUMMER FADES AWAY DER TOD IM BAUM IRIS IN A VASE ++ MENAGE BERGAMOT, HIMALAYAN CEDAR, AND LEMON PEEL MYRRH, BLACK AMBER, AND TEAKWOOD JUNIPER BERRY, PINE NEEDLE, AND HEMP STRAWBERRIES, SUGAR, AND LIME ROSE BUDS, MUSHROOMS, AND MOSS POMELO, MANDARIN, AND PINK GRAPEFRUIT BLACK PEPPER, PALO SANTO, AND VETIVER TONKA BEAN, BLACK TEA, AND LEATHER

Can't believe I didn't review this last year. Over time my appreciation for really dark musks has deepened, but I still tread carefully. This one is so exquisite, beautifully mellowed into something goopy and mysterious by the amber and labdanum. And yes, as others have pointed out, the scent (both in the bottle and on the skin) is fiercely, defiantly animalic. I think just the imagery from the name and art was enough to mentally conjure some kind of shaggy horned/hooved situation; there is something hot in it that faintly reminds me of the weird burning bone smell from the dentist. I'd entirely forgotten that charred sandalwood was included in the brew, so re-reading that once I had it on the skin made all the sense. That's where this truly infernal quality comes from, which I'm addicted to. So it's not an idyllic, pastoral goat scent at all; there really is that sense of ancient curses and old-world superstitions. I've found this enjoyable year-round; in colder seasons it's like memories of heat from a dead hearth, in warmer seasons it advertises a kind of foully hypnotizing animal lust. It broadcasts that attitude problem that folks are counting on goths to provide, and which some will find sexy. The forbidding aspect of the charred bony stuff feels like a statement of plausible deniability: "Sure, I may seem appetizing now... but you were warned."

Our WORM MOON Lunacy has landed, accompanied by this bonus collection called Surely You Jest — eleven silly little perfumes inspired by memorable fools and jesters in classical artwork. We’ve also added five fabulous new Beard Oils to our growing collection. We’ll post about those soon! And here’s one more reminder that the Halloween ‘23 collection will be coming down on May 1st.

I know we've had bready scents before and lavender baked goods aplenty, but a lavender bread scent? The idea seems so obvious, and yet it took this long. The Lab also doesn't do many rosemary scents, so I'm curious to see how detectable that is. In the bottle the lavender is strong and tinged sweet. Possibly there is vanilla involved, but what the sweetness really reminds me of is Japanese milk bread. That being said, there is a robusst crustiness and saltiness poking up from under that, and I think the rosemary would have to be screaming its head off to be detectable through all that, and it's not, so it isn't. Fresh on the skin I do get like a light, savory olive oil sheen over the whole thing. And that's also when the rosemary seems the strongest, enriching the herbal tones. Perhaps because of the contrast, the lavender in this strikes me as the flowering kind, like an actual bit of floral lavender standing out against the savory and gourmand notes. And over time what lingers longest on me is that pale, sweet, milk bread-esque pastry note wrapped in lavender vapor-trails. Faintly beneath that I can still detect the crusty/salty aspect but that is such a neutral tone, almost a skin tone itself when you think about it, that it doesn't arouse much attention. While I think almost anyone can appreciate a bread scent (even if they don't care to wear it), the lavender really does seem to impart an emotional or fantastical quality that makes this a true comfort scent, instead of just a comfort food scent. flowery

In the bottle this is rich and dark, and the combo of earthiness and fruitiness really could tilt toward the stench of decay -- but this only nods to it, as a faint gesture of acknowledgement. There's a stillness and coolness to the bottled scent that's suggestive of the absence of life's creature comforts, although it's quite vivid in other ways. While this is quite a bit different than my all-time fave BPAL, The Great He-Goat, there is enough overlap with the pomegranate and vetiver combo to point my brain in that direction... and I love that! The crackling smokiness of the vetiver blooms on the skin, lending a brash warmth to the oakmoss, but then -- lest all this like spread out of control like a brushfire -- the pomegranate stickily enfolds and grounds the other notes, imparting an sullen infernal hue, like a scene viewed through a deep red stained-glass window. Very seductive! To me this is a lustrous fall scent, hinting at mysteries and reveling romantically in notions of death and decay, the way we play at embracing the darkness while it's still relatively comfortable -- before the full reality of winter's desolation sets in. I could almost swear I smell the "smoked ginger" from the He-Goat scent in this, in Worm's dying gasp; whatever that is, it's worth sticking around for.

Is this the right place to review the 2024 version? I didn't see a separate entry for it. Having enjoyed this one a great deal in its first run, I can say with confidence that the new one is exactly what I was expecting: the fluffy sweetness and warmth reminds me of standing over the cotton candy machine as the heated sugar filaments are wound around the stick, perfumed with just a breath of rosy elegance. It's a real mood-lifter for me! I have no proof of this, but would swear there's an unlisted pale musk element as well -- a nod to the fuzziness of the cuffs, perhaps. I think that's what keeps it airy and light through all the stages of drydown. Overall this seems to land at a very special intersection: playfully feminine without being cutesy, gourmand without going full foodie. So happy to have it back in rotation!

Hello, I am happy to announce that the PS Publishing book Bride of Frankenstein -- which contains an essay by yours truly, and inspired the Lightning Strikes scent series -- has been nominated for a Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award, in the category of Book of the Year (Non-Fiction). These awards are a fan-driven affair, which means voting is open to everyone. This can be as simple as emailing taraco@aol.com to say you’re voting for Bride of Frankenstein for Book of the Year (Non-Fiction), or you can review all of the categories/nominees contained in the link above and include votes for those as well. Just one vote per person, and the email must include your name to be counted. I'm sincerely grateful to anyone who supports us with a vote, or who has enjoyed the book and/or fragrances, all of which were doggedly worked toward during a very bleak time during the pandemic. To be recognized with a Rondo nomination is huge! xoxo TB

Scent-wise, each of these new Blow Molds go in totally different directions than the previous Halloweenie ones. So while there is some overlap in terms of the glowing amber component, it expresses itself differently in most of these; some of these are sweeter than others, or remain foodier, or involve more of a "plastic" quality, etc. In the bottle, lemon is the star of VWMBM. It reminds me of something from The Fool's Journey, probably one of the Fool or Magician scents: bright and golden and creamy thanks to the lift from the amber, which blurs out the freshness and sharpness. It's like... actually uplifting to smell it, reminding me of gleaming halos and rays of light in religious paintings. Here is the comfort and joy we are supposed to be receiving tidings of. I can't pick out any of the incense notes specifically quite yet, but I BELIEVE. Fresh on the skin that lemon's got a bit more of a zesty zing, but the amber's got a broader range too, bringing a surprising sweetness that is not QUITE a slice of the lemon meringue pie they serve in heaven, but it's not NOT that. And I'm very grateful for that part of it, because otherwise I think lemon might go furniture polish on me. Instead they just kind of hum together. Here's where the frank & myrrh start to assert themselves, but not in a dramatic Catholic way. This is one of those small town congregations where people worship Good Times Jesus. For that reason I'd personally say this reminds me more of an Easter scent, with pastel yellows and cheery messages about how He Has Risen. But that seems fitting for a scent inspired by these campy, cheerful Nativity blow mold scenes with their and blue-eyed Wise Men. It's like a serious religious experience that's been puffed out into something bright and shiny and filled filled with warm air. Glowing blow mold decorations have always been about defying the cold with cheerful sights and pleasant fantasies. Over time the freshness of the lemon truly retreats until it's not even particularly associated with real fruit. What's left is just this smooth, amber-glossed memory of something vaguely lemon-scented. It's lovely! Not overly clean or incense-y, just a lovely pale-golden nimbus of good vibes, man.

I'd give Frederic a try! Or in a more floral direction, A-Rovin' from the sea shanty anniversary series.

OMG, @Geminirubyshoes -- I could have sworn I'd written one. Nope! This is THE standout from Luper 2024 as far as I'm concerned, in terms of the realism and lusciousness of the scent as well as the on-theme fantasy it serves up. Indulgent, bordering on erotic! In the bottle it's so strong and joy-giving, precisely the same pastel green sweetness when I get a honeydew milk tea at the boba place. That alone would have been worth the ride for me, and I may put some in a scent locket just to hold on to that stage, when the melon is at its richest -- still ever-so-slightly crisply aquatic, but blended creamy smooth. I have to go hunting a bit for that cake smell in the bottle, because the melon is so robust. On the skin though, the cake poofs out quite noticeably, giving the honeydew something to play against in terms of color and texture. 10/10 would eat this cake! And just as @Geminirubyshoes noted, the whipped cream has startling heft and longevity in this scent, gradually emerging as The Whole Point. Like... I'd cut another slice of this cake just to eat all the whipped cream. Because of that lovely creaminess and perhaps the tropical fruit connotation, I'd say this reminds me somewhat of Noisy Goose Moon, except that one swerves boozier whereas this one is all innocence, sunshine and wholesomeness. It's very mood brightening! Galen hates melon so I have to be careful not to slather in it

Just a reminder about the upcoming Lunacy event in Vermont on Saturday the 30th! Very grateful to Courtney for coordinating and hosting. All the details are here: https://www.facebook.com/events/931224658281816/?