Failmingo

Pomegranate is present as an accent in some of my favorite BPAL scents, but I can't think of a pom-forward one I've ever reached for regularly, purely based on personal taste. This one broke through! In the bottle, the juicy sweetness of the pomegranate has the legs effectively swept out from under it by an undercurrent of inky darkness. It is actually reminiscent of ink, as in an industrial product, dry and almost clinical. That was exciting to me, since it's not the fruit juice blast I'm chasing here. So, on the skin it goes! Immediately this becomes a rumbling, deep stormcloud of scent, bleeding purple and red around the edges. The dark side of this scent opens up, revealing several thick resinous layers... but I can understand why folks might have a hard time naming them or teasing them apart. Frankincense? Opoponax? Opium? Black amber? I have no receipts. Whatever it is, it continues holding back the sweetness and juiciness throughout the drydown, keeping the scent heavy and dramatic but allowing just a bit of razzle dazzle -- like rubies TRYING to sparkle against black velvet. Surprisingly mellow underneath the forbidding exterior, like most things goth. I've been wearing it all week! I can't stop.

One last bit of 2023 Lunacy and a sprinkle of NYE magic for ya: https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-tag/november-december-2023

We're very excited to add to Haute Macabre's Apothecary with the following four fragrances, available here: DRAGON’S BLOOD INCENSE • Dark and brooding, a vampiric lovesong. Sumatran Daemonorops draco, fossilized amber, red vegetal musk, and champaca resinoid. SWAMPKIN • a pumpkin floated by, swimming with the alligators in the Louisiana bayou. Amber-touched pumpkin rind and murky oud plunked into a boggy melange of mosses. GOT THE MORBS • The very morbiest: ink-black musk, opium tar accord, clove bud, and myrrh. LONDON SMOKE • the foggy grey of Victorian London. A black tea fougere with tabac flower and grey amber.

We've done it again! The Century Guild's latest Kickstarter book project is now live, and one of the options for backing it includes a perfume that will be impossible to obtain any other way: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/centuryguild/jugendstil-vol-2-art-book-psychedelic-art-nouveau-from-1896 JUGENDSTIL: FALL 1896 "A billowing gown of sandalwood chiffon, pale grass notes, green chypre, ti leaf, sweet oakmoss, shimmering white musk, moss, bourbon vanilla, and green amber." JUGENDSTIL is a book series compiling early German Art Nouveau illustrations that directly inspired psychedelic art of the 1960s. We consider it highly possible that someone in your sphere will appreciate the book, the perfume, or both! 💚

Yule on Yule, Yule on Yule! We're right on time for a change: https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-category/yule-2023/ Here's a glimpse of everything that's included in this massive fragrance collection: ❄️ Main Catalog Yule Fragrances - Some returning friends, some brand new acquaintances! These include a fresh fundraiser for Transanta, our collab with The Cake Boys, and the book tie-in scent Santa Doesn't Need Your Help ❄️ Carved Wooden Holiday Village - Continuing our series of inviting miniature locales for your quaint seasonal display ❄️ The Lavender Kitchen - A series of soporific gourmands to help knit up the raveled sleave of care ❄️ Nourishment Wherever Needed - BPAL's fundraiser for World Central Kitchen, to help with their humanitarian efforts in Gaza and Israel: https://wck.org/ ❄️ Snow On Snow, Snow On Snow - Consider your nose well and truly nipped at! ❄️ Gingerbread Cotillion - To quote an infamous troop of Wilderness Girls: it's cookie time! ❄️ Holiday Vice Duets - Naughty Listers rejoice! Your time has finally come ❄️ Grove of Pomegranates - A rich, red scattering of jewels to beat back the winter bleakness

We know some of y'all have been waiting with ever-so-bated breath for our list of the three 1/32oz samples we'll be tossing into every single order of $19 or more (not including shipping) placed from Friday, November 24th through Monday, November 27th. Well, wait no more! 🥧 DEEP FRIED BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE 🥧 HONEYED PEAR TART 🥧 LAVENDER COCONUT CREAM PIE These perfumes are impossible to obtain any other way, and will be given out while supplies last. Under no circumstances be tasted, licked, chomped, chewed, slurped, or otherwise ingested. Thanks once again for choosing to support small businesses during your holiday shopping! Here's a handy link to help spread the word:

We're doing our best to catch up on stuff before getting waylaid by all the holiday action. Lunacies are LIVE! https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-tag/november-2023-sept-oct-lunacy/ Just in time for holiday shopping, we've also added some new GC Hair Gloss & Beard Oil options, listed below! Note that Tuesday the 28th, we'll be taking down the Pride Monsters collection as well as all the Lunacy stuff associated with the following 2023 launches: ROSE MOON THUNDER MOON HARE MOON PINK MOON ------ ++ GC HAIR GLOSSES AZIRAPHALE "Many people, meeting Aziraphale for the first time, formed three impressions: that he was English, that he was intelligent, and that he was gayer than a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide. Two of these were wrong; Heaven is not England, whatever certain poets may have thought, and angels are sexless unless they really want to make an effort." Ethereal musk, blonde woods, and dusty Bible accord. BASTET Bast, Ubasti, Ailuros, Ba-en-Aset. Represented as both a domestic cat and a fierce lioness, she truly evidences traits of both. She is the Mother of All Cats, Goddess of Sensuality, Fertility, and a guardian and protector of women. She is also one of the Eyes of Ra, and in that aspect is an Avenging Goddess, seeking retribution and punishing enemies of her people. Luxuriant amber, warm Egyptian musk, fierce saffron and soft myrrh, almond, cardamom and golden lotus. BLOOD KISS Lush, creamy vanilla and the honey of the sweetest kiss smeared with the vital throb of husky clove, swollen red cherries, but darkened with the vampiric sensuality of vetiver, soporific poppy and blood red wine, and a skin-light pulse of feral musk. CROWLEY "Nothing about him looked particularly demonic, at least by classical standards. No horns, no wings. Admittedly he was listening to a Best of Queen tape, but no conclusions should be drawn from this because all tapes left in a car for more than a fortnights metamorphose into Best of Queen albums. No particularly demonic thoughts were going through his head. In fact, he was wondering vaguely who Moey and Chandon were. Crowley had dark hair, and good cheekbones, and he was wearing snakeskin shoes, or at least presumably he was wearing shoes, and he could do really weird things with his tongue. And, whenever he forgot himself, he had a tendency to hiss." Infernal musk, red patchouli, lilac cologne, mahogany, lemon rind, oakmoss, leather, and vanilla husk. EAT ME "Soon her eye fell on a little glass box that was lying under the table: she opened it, and found in it a very small cake, on which the words ‘EAT ME’ were beautifully marked in currants. ‘Well, I’ll eat it,’ said Alice, ‘and if it makes me grow larger, I can reach the key; and if it makes me grow smaller, I can creep under the door; so either way I’ll get into the garden, and I don’t care which happens!’ She ate a little bit, and said anxiously to herself, ‘Which way? Which way?’, holding her hand on the top of her head to feel which way it was growing, and she was quite surprised to find that she remained the same size: to be sure, this generally happens when one eats cake, but Alice had got so much into the way of expecting nothing but out-of-the-way things to happen, that it seemed quite dull and stupid for life to go on in the common way." Three white cakes, vanilla, and red and black currants. BPAL’s Eat Me is not for eating. Please use common sense, and remember: hair glosses are for external use only. ++ GC BEARD OILS ANTIKYTHERA MECHANISM Bronze gears spin inside a polished wooden case, and an entire universe dances within. Teakwood, oak, black vanilla, and tobacco. AZIRAPHALE Many people, meeting Aziraphale for the first time, formed three impressions: that he was English, that he was intelligent, and that he was gayer than a tree full of monkeys on nitrous oxide. Two of these were wrong; Heaven is not England, whatever certain poets may have thought, and angels are sexless unless they really want to make an effort. Ethereal musk, blonde woods, and dusty Bible accord. CROWLEY Nothing about him looked particularly demonic, at least by classical standards. No horns, no wings. Admittedly he was listening to a Best of Queen tape, but no conclusions should be drawn from this because all tapes left in a car for more than a fortnights metamorphose into Best of Queen albums. No particularly demonic thoughts were going through his head. In fact, he was wondering vaguely who Moey and Chandon were. Crowley had dark hair, and good cheekbones, and he was wearing snakeskin shoes, or at least presumably he was wearing shoes, and he could do really weird things with his tongue. And, whenever he forgot himself, he had a tendency to hiss. Infernal musk, red patchouli, lilac cologne, mahogany, lemon rind, oakmoss, leather, and vanilla husk. CTHULHU "If I say that my somewhat extravagant imagination yielded simultaneous pictures of an octopus, a dragon, and a human caricature, I shall not be unfaithful to the spirit of the thing. A pulpy, tentacled head surmounted a grotesque and scaly body with rudimentary wings… It represented a monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with an octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore feet, and long, narrow wings behind. This thing, which seemed instinct with a fearsome and unnatural malignancy, was of a somewhat bloated corpulence…" A creeping, wet, slithering scent, dripping with seaweed, oceanic plants and dark, unfathomable waters. +++ RPG BEARD OILS DWARVEN LUSTRE Dwarves have the highest standards in beard care, and we aim to please even the grimmest and grouchiest of the lot. Patchouli root, golden amber coins, jewel-bright red musk, mineral oudh, and sweet ale. LICH, PLEASE Even the undead need to look sharp. Crypt moss and coffin wood, incense smoke and shards of bone. SUPAHWIZARD Are you a famous, gruff, all-powerful sage shacked up in a quaint local village, dispensing advice to adventurers? Have you sent any hobbits on quests? Died battling epic demons, only to rise again? Are you the wisest, most venerable wizard in town? Well, you don’t have to be – but you can fake it with our Supahwizard Beard Oil! Frankincense, sweet pipe tobacco, and the well-worn leather and parchment of ancient tomes.

I'm fond of the Lab's cherry scents but have rarely been able to tolerate wearing them, it's just such a persistently noticeable note that it becomes overwhelming to me. The ones I've tried hardest with have been maraschino scents, because I'm forever chasing that fantasy of the perfect, unnaturally bright, semi-translucent red cherry dripping with artificially colored juice. Even with these, such as Fairy Lobster Foam, I end up feeling instinctively a little uneasy at the idea of keeping something this strong SO close. Some treats are just not meant to linger for hours. VDBM has finally broken me out of these constraints. In the bottle the cherry is just as lustrous as advertised, and one might not assume it would go any differently than the experience I described above. However, on the skin this immediately changes, tempering from bright red to glowing pale pink -- like a maraschino stain seeping into a soft white tablecloth. It's a seductively blushing scent, with the amber immediately asserting itself in ways that drift out of strictly gourmand territory. When I first offered my wrist for Galen to sniff, he was unable to trace the cherry, even after I told him what it was. It was only later, after a freshly-applied slather, that he really got that part of it. Here's a fun experiment: sip some cherry flavored seltzer before smelling this scent on your skin. The seltzer taste will cancel out the cherry part of the fragrance on your palate, and all you'll be able to smell is the other stuff. Also, wearing this side by side with the Witch Blow Mold I have been able to trace which parts they have in common, and whatever's going on here in the amber that makes it "blow mold" is really something special: steady but delicate, glowing without giving off any warmth. Faintest trace of frankincense? Gorgeous. I can't be sure, but I think there is pink pepper in this scent. I've seen other people mention something "fizzy" or "electric" in it, and that's my guess in terms of what they're describing, and if so it's just masterfully blended into the color palette to impart some liveliness without standing out. The pink maraschino stain kind of hovers around this scent like a nimbus as time goes on -- the ghost of an idealized cherry, appetizing but not edible. I don't think the throw is very powerful but it lasts for a long time on the skin, and the oil feels lightly sticky as I apply it -- which I know probably has nothing to do with the cherry aspect but is still very satisfying on a sensory level. There's a luxurious sense of "this experience is just for me" when I wear this... which is almost daily right now! I can't wait to test it out on other people and ask what they think. It's both cheerful and mysterious, feminine without being too girly. From the description alone I wasn't sure how Dracula-esque this would really be, but the result certainly is hypnotizing!

I've had some very respectful and productive private conversations with folks as a result of this post. It gave me an opportunity to point out that the reason I deleted those comments (in addition to that being an inappropriate place to have that conversation) is because I'd decided to repost my own replies somewhere with greater visibility in the community. If they want to reproduce their own comments/complaints elsewhere that's up to them, but considering the way our community tends to rally to our (especially Beth's) defense, it seemed wise to not name them or make them any further part of it. I will not weaponize our community against itself. I said what *I* said. This morning on Instagram we reposted something from Amnesty International simply asking people to join the movement asking for a ceasefire. I disabled comments because... well, you know. This is the kind of relatively simple signal-boosting I had been wanting to do all along, but then every time I was tempted to repost something I'd take a look at the comments under it... because that's what I would be inviting by sharing that org's material. And it would be up to me to manage it all, decide how/whether to respond, and so forth. And every single time, I chickened out. Naturally, as a result of that repost today, our inbox is flooded and there have been other posts from people voicing their disappointment in us because of this specific post, tinged by the overall inadequacy of our response. Some of it is aimed specifically at me, because of how I responded the other day. This was not unexpected, and I'm not sharing it for sympathy. I'm just illustrating what it's like to engage with this even a little bit. I'm not particularly worried it will affect business, but there are definitely people who followed us because of our activism and progressive ideals who are frustrated that we aren't echoing the messages THEY want to hear. I've been there before, in other fights! I understand. But this level of reactivity is different than anything I've ever seen before. Not all these reactions were angry and unfair. Some are constructive DMs from well-meaning people who would like to steer us toward a better message, a better organization, more effective forms of help. But that's also not the kind of conversation I can handle with just anyone right now. Eleven different people will steer us in eleven different directions. I can't stake our outward position on what any random onlooker says, no matter how well-informed they seem, or how good their intentions may be. That is not a responsible form of engagement; there would be no confidence behind it. People would sense that and point it out, and they'd be right. Nor do I consider online activity like this to be "activism." Being wise enough to say nothing is actually useful at times, as "self-centering" as that may seem. And this is just one repost, from one organization, with no commentary from us added. When we share something raising funds for DWB, there will be more of the same, and I'm bracing myself for that. Every single organization, public figure, and news source has their own history, their own problematic layers to unpack. Elsewhere, Tray referred to DWB as a diplomatic choice, which I know is a compliment, but lots of people are fed up with diplomacy, and crave a stronger statement. People can tell we're playing it "safe" and that just makes them angrier than if we said nothing at all. So look, I want to signal early on that we are simply not going to be taking all comers in these situations. Nor will it help much for people to dry and defend us, so there's no use in going to the mat with anyone over it in the comments or whatever as days/weeks wear on. You do not need to fight these fights over us. If someone finds our response inadequate, disappointing, or embarrassing, that is acceptable. They might be right! If you want to help, share something positive, act out on your own according to your beliefs and convictions. Defending us against every criticism, no matter how unfair, won't help anything. Making enemies of other people in our community won't ease the pressure on us one bit. I've been fighty online (as BPAL) in past years because the targets were broader, the issues were relatively clear, and I was educated enough to speak with conviction. At times that was definitely tinged with my personal urgency and desperation to see things change, to see ANY change, so I know how people out there are feeling. Their anguish is real, their anger is righteous. But this... is different for us. And I just ask for your patience as we do our best.

Hi, all. Just wanted to let folks know here that we are indeed going to be releasing some kind of product to benefit those suffering from the devastating violence in the ongoing Israel/Palestine conflict. Proceeds will go to Doctors Without Borders, who have been mobilizing to address humanitarian concerns and provide life-saving care. I don't know the timeline for this, but if you'd like to donate in the meantime, you can do so here: https://doctorswithoutborders.org/ I know the Lab's relative silence about this has probably seemed unusual considering how outspoken we've been in the past. I'm very grateful to those who have accepted this or understood the difficulty in reacting publicly to the enormity of this conflict. There have been times when we've looked past immediate concerns in our personal lives in order to rush forward and voice support for this or that cause -- Black Lives Matter, Ukraine, Roe v. Wade, and so forth. There have been many other times when we wished we could do something, but it just wasn't possible due to miscellaneous factors. It's a huge vote of confidence that in times of crisis, many in our community look to us early on for wisdom, for action, for solace. But we are also just a very few people working under our own unique challenges (and some all-too-general ones) and we're simply not always going to be able to lead the charge. That's why we've worked so hard to inspire and encourage activism in others. Yesterday, on Halloween, a couple of customers attempted a public call-out asking us to take a "hard-line stance" in the recent Israel/Palestine conflict. This happened in the comments of one of our Instagram posts selling Halloween products. I see this as an extension of the many attempts made by folks reaching out to the company -- and to Beth personally -- asking about fundraiser products and how BPAL intends to use its platform to confront this important ongoing matter. I'm not sure many folks realize what it's like to cope with that additional demand while a disaster is unfolding in real time. As a Jewish woman and business owner, Beth has been dealing with a level of grief and anxiety since early October that I (a non-Jewish person) can scarcely comprehend. Part of that comes from feeling like she's under a microscope in terms of forming an adequate personal and professional response to something that just... should not be happening, and is likely to continue happening for... months? Years? Forever? I was on vacation for over a week during the Hamas attacks on Israel, and unable to do anything bit sit back and watch in horror along with everyone else. Anything I might have said from the Lab's accounts would have been seen as an extension of Beth's personal reaction, and I was not about to rush her through that process, no matter what my personal opinions were or how important it seemed to be to respond. Returning to work in the midst of the Halloween season, I did the only thing that it seemed to make sense to do: keep the business going and the spirit of the season alive. I recognize how jarring it may have seemed for us to go about "business and posting as usual" when folks' feeds were flooded with bloody images, news reports, and calls to action. There have been times when we have suspended "business as usual" in order to join efforts like these, but for reasons mentioned above this could simply not be one of those times. It was not reflective of our indifference, or a lack of engagement on the personal side of things. Posting online can count as activism, but it is not the ultimate expression or test of it. Neither is a retail product that raises funds for charity. Again, I'm extremely grateful to those in the community who have given us (especially Beth) this time and space to cope and feel our way through this. As for those comments yesterday, I replied to them from my personal account to try and explain why there had been no response to date, and why no "hard-line" position would be forthcoming. I did not shield them from my personal feelings about how inappropriate and unfair it is to extract these kinds of responses from people (we are a business, but we are definitely also just a few people) on a particular timeline while bodies are still being counted, new atrocities are being committed every day, and reports of anti-Semitism in the US are actively soaring. I underscored the basis of our position -- BPAL stands against murder, genocide, authoritarianism, and terrorism. As for anything more detailed, or a fundraising campaign, we will get there when we can. Since the Lab had yet to make any official outward statement, I went ahead and shared my response in the Parlour FB group so folks would know that I stood by it, even if we ultimately ended up deleting those comments from the Instagram post (which we did). Predictably, those commenters deemed my response inadequate and unacceptable. Additionally, it was characterized as bullying, childish, sociopathic, and self-centering. I saw this as a perfect example of why it had been wise for us to hold back from any official response all this time: this is not the kind of discourse that either Beth or myself should have to engage with vigilantly, around the clock, day in and day out, reacting with patience and nuance for every bad-faith interpretation of our action (or inaction, as the case may be). I'd taken all this on in the days immediately following the end of Roe v. Wade, and can honestly say that it trampled my mental health at a time when I was already struggling. I hadn't wanted to, but Beth had already looked down the road and prepared a series of products to release in the event of that ruling, so I voluntarily took the hit. Having watched Beth go through a comparable low point in the wake of this recent violence, I feel extremely protective of her. The idea of pushing her for a stance or a retail product just to satisfy the expectations of some folks whom we barely know, or don't know at all -- many of whom are dealing with their own grief and anxiety spiral, possibly exacerbated by the accelerated rate of updates being shared online -- seems preposterous to me. So if you have read any churlishness into the response I shared yesterday, that's where it comes from. If neither myself or Beth are currently up to taking something on, for literally any reason, then BPAL is simply not capable of meeting the moment online. I guess next time we'll have to coordinate better with nefarious world leaders to make sure this kind of thing happens on a timeline that better suits our production schedule and personal mental health! Please trust this: I know that not everyone who is curious about BPAL's absence from this conversation is asking in poor faith, or from a place of entitlement to Beth's voice and labor. It's completely understandable to want to know what we are thinking about all this, or to anticipate a customary fundraising effort. I know how much this community values Beth's insight and creative vision. We have received many messages of support, solidarity, and care. I also know that when people are very freaked out, they might not behave as their best selves. That includes me! What we're dealing with here is kind of a perfect storm, and sometimes all one can do in a storm is weather it. I'm sharing this here for greater accountability because I know that not everyone is part of the Facebook group, and yesterday's moment was worthy of more explanation and reflection, even if a certain amount of unpleasantness is still inevitable. I don't feel that apologies are owed for how I responded: BPAL is a perfume laboratory that sells perfume, and we reserve the right to sell Halloween products on Halloween without being needled for a specific response to emergent global tragedies. We are not a rescue aid society, or a non-profit agency, or an education center, or experts in geopolitics (well, I'm not, but Beth is damn close). We make fragrances inspired by plastic yard decorations. We might seem like a big deal to some folks, but let's all please try to view things at the proper scale. We promise to keep trying. We love our community and are very proud of those we see speaking out. We are grieving alongside those who are grieving. We are panicking alongside those who are panicking. We are taking care of our friends and loved ones during THEIR crises. None of this can be seen online, or condensed to a pithy social media campaign. Some moments are just not About That. Trying to make everything About That can actually make other things worse. Anyhow, today I'll be sharing stuff related to Doctors Without Borders. I welcome others to do the same, if they're up to it. When Beth is ready, there will be a fundraiser scent. We will continue doing our best to meet the moment. Thanks for reading, TB tom@blackphoenixalchemylab.com Here's the substance of what I posted yesterday, for those who may not be in the Facebook group: ------------ I'm going a bit off the rails here and sharing some personal comments I aired on the Lab's Instagram in response to folks criticizing the company's lack of a direct response to the Israel/Palestine crisis. This isn’t an official statement from the company — we have been laboring over one for a while, but it keeps slipping through our hands as fresh atrocities are unveiled like… hourly? It turns out that connecting our business presence to every new monstrously evil act that arises in the world can take a serious personal toll, and is not always healthy or sustainable. This has become clearer over past years; in order to keep it going we are going to have to be very honest about our limitations in terms of how/when to engage. That comes FIRST, because if we don’t protect the individuals involved in keeping this company running, we are truly lost. Often we have managed to collectively stagger down a cohesive creative path or toward a particular call to action, but we are just a handful of folks who are doing our best to cope, while also keeping a business running. So far, the idea of turning this particular crisis into yet another product launch strikes me as beyond inadequate; it is personally sickening. So I understand the confusion and dismay, since we have tried to be Right There as various tragedies have unfolded. But I reject the idea that anyone is owed a particular response to this on a particular timeline, and the suggestion that it signals some onerous change in who we are as a company strikes me as distinctly unfair. We stand with oppressed people everywhere. We stand against murder, genocide, authoritarianism, and terrorism. This has always been the case. Why would there be any doubt now? There is no “hard line” hard enough or a specific charitable cause that will satisfy everyone, and we are not going to wrestle through these matters with folks in public as a consequence of trying to ease our own conscience. We simply don't belong at the forefront here, and in the meantime will continue to just privately watch, learn, rally, donate, etc. along with everyone else. The fact that folks would notice our relative silence and think anything other than “Boy, I sure hope those folks are okay”, and then even publicly clamor for a response, strikes me as profoundly off-putting. And the notion of us appearing to capitulate to this kind of pressure makes me feel even more protective of our need to process grief and horror in our own way, and to privately pursue the forms of activism that make the most sense to us as individuals. If this response is disappointing to you, that basically underscores my point. This isn’t a game to us. We aren’t going to additionally trouble ourselves with trying to score political points in someone else’s. If folks are interested in helping those who are suffering, we would be happy to provide a list of reputable organizations who are actively addressing it. But also, fortunately, the public outcry is so immense that we have been able to take a breather to just cry and fret and cry again while others push this to the forefront of everyone’s attention. But additionally, (and I did not include this in the comments on IG) I would love it if people would stop pestering Elizabeth personally to make sure she is hard at work on some kind of "Stop bombing children" commemorative perfume. How do you imagine YOU would function, whether creatively or as a human, under those conditions? That was a rhetorical question, I'm asking Reen to disable comments. Let's just get through the day and try to have a happy Halloween and enjoy whatever personal sense of peace we can muster. Thanks for listening.

Boo! We’re keeping the spooky season rolling with a One-Page Story Contest, challenging all who enter to select story prompts from Drew Rausch's 15 label artworks for our recent Nightmare Novellas fragrance series. Submit your chilling tales between now and December 1st! The winner will receive their choice of five free products from the Halloween 2023 fragrance collection, plus a bottle of the Nightmare Novellas scent referenced by their story. Three runner-up prizes will also be bestowed. How you incorporate the imagery into your story is up to you. Will you include the wisp of story prompt we included in each scent description? Will you reference the title of the scent, or elements mentioned in the scent notes? We’d love to see it, but it’s not required. Blow us away with your creativity and your non-AI-assisted talents! Multiple entries are permitted. Please read the full Rules & Regulations linked here before entering. Happy haunting! 👻

I was gonna just link you to the BPAL portion of Scarleteen’s raffle prizes, but honestly there are so many wonderful things in there, so here’s the whole pile! We're contributing any three Weenies, plus a TOMIE. https://scarleteen.betterworld.org/

It really IS crinkly and crunchy! In the bottle I was bowled over by just how dry and leafy this is, the orange doesn't leap right out to me but there is something "bright and shiny" about it which is definitely the orangey stuff creeping through. This is the scent of that moment in The Nightmare Before Christmas when Jack Skellington is walking through the woods at sunrise, right before he discovers the holiday doors for the first time. On the skin the juiciness and candiness of the orange notes assert themselves more and blend with the leafiness, and the overall effect reminds me of the Under the Maple Boughs hair gloss I fell in love with back in 2017. I agree with @DisguisedSuperhero who observed how subtle and fleshy the pumpkin is -- lending oomph to the color palette as well as the seasonal associations, but if someone wasn't made aware of it, I don't know that they'd be able to pick it out. The longevity is good; and my skin seems to hang onto the neroli longer than anything else, but mellowed out with a little pumpkiny softness in a way that helps it remain distinctly autumnal. This is a wonderful late-summer, warmer weather scent, and I'm excited to wear it in colder months to tap into those bright and shiny feelings again.

Wow, @WoolyBee didn't lie. This is a smooth, fuzzy (yes, somehow both!) fruity-floral with surprisingly dark undertones. An evil butterfly! It hints at the possibility of sweetness but then pulls back from it at every possible turn. As it dries I'm getting more recognizable violet and musk notes bathed in orris, grimly accented with a lovely grapefruit pith. It's mysterious and dramatic, giving A Midsummer Night's Dream vibes. A malevolent fairy approacheth! Strikes me as being perhaps somewhat comparable to The Caterpillar from BPAL's GC, except... with all different notes? Egad.

BOO! A second wave of Halloween scents has arrived simultaneously with our customary Friday the 13th fragrance. https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-tag/halloween-october-13-2023/ 13 will only be available through the weekend, but the additional 'Weenies will stay through the entire season! That includes SNOOTY BAT — a bestseller from earlier in 2023 that we've revived to accompany a wave of batty new bat-themed blends.

Hear ye! At this weekend's Sphinx & Snakeskin event, you may sniff and/or obtain our latest fragrance collaboration with blood milk jewels, entitled DREAM SKIN: "The remnants of a dream laying softly on your skin: somnambulant lavender and orchid incense suffused with red labdanum, champaca orchid, patchouli root, champignon, Italian bergamot, and white oakmoss."

Hi all, our friend and Halloweenie collaborator Drew Rausch is currently a finalist in the online Face of Horror competition, and our votes could help take him all the way! If you have a sec, vote here: https://faceofhorror.org/2023/the-halloween-cowboy-drew-rausch You must verify your identity via Facebook for your vote to be counted. Or you can pay to cast additional votes, with proceeds benefiting B+ Foundation -- the largest provider of financial aid to families dealing with pediatric cancer. Thanks very much, we're always looking for chances to support the artists who have worked hard in support of our own diabolical efforts.

Giving a head start to all the BPAL folks by popping it live a day early. Enjoy! https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/collaborations/junji-ito-collection/tomie-perfume-oil/

Not only did we do it... we did it in MID-SEPTEMBER! BPAL is officially here to haunt up your house with the following perfumes and Trading Post products: https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-category/halloween-2023/ 🎃 HALLOWEEN MAIN CATEGORY - Some returning friends, some brand new acquaintances! 🎃 DUSK IN AUTUMN - Five perfumes breathing scented life into Sara Teasdale's timeless poem 🎃 HUMAN ANIMALS - An fragrant wander through historical accounts of lycanthropy, shapeshifting, and demonology 🎃 MONSTER MILK - You might think twice before dunking anything in these colloidal expressions! These creamy scents are perfect for layering with gourmands -- including the Monster Gingerbread Cookies we released a few Yules back! 🎃 NIGHTMARE NOVELLAS - As olfactory inspiration or prompts for spooky stories, one can scarcely do better than this series of mysterious illustrations by Drew Rausch 🎃 PUMPKIN PATCH HAPPY HOUR - An epic pub crawl through a passel of pumpkin-spiced spirits 🎃 HELOISE & ABELARD'S SPOOKY DUETS - We were dared by last year's puppet pals to release these as-is 🎃 We finally got our rear in gear: Halloween Hair Gloss, Linen & Atmosphere Sprays, and Bath Oil are on the menu again this year!

We're in the home stretch! Here's something while we busy ourselves with finishing up this major launch.

Just sent this out over email, and I'm a-postin' it here as well! The crew is bringing some fun surprises to the convention -- some will also be available online and some will not. All the info is included below! ++ CONVENTION SURVIVAL KIT OILS Some of the most common requests we field during convention appearances, especially from BPAL newcomers, relate to aromatherapy — a field of knowledge which informs our scent creation process, and may inform how folks react to certain fragrances, even when therapy (aroma- or otherwise) is not specifically the intent. This year we’re arriving at Dragon Con with a dedicated series of aromatherapy oils blended in anticipation of these queries, available only for the duration of the event (both in person and online!) and in extremely limited quantities. Let the great recomposure begin! These products are $32 apiece. Disclaimer: BPAL's aromatherapy blends are purely for your personal enjoyment. Our recommendations are not medical advice, and these products are not intended as medical treatment or as a replacement for medical treatment. For external use only. If you have questions about how particular components may affect those with specific illnesses or interact with certain medications, please seek the advice of a medical doctor. BLACKOUT BLINDS A convention-inspired goodnight blend crafted to help you get the sleep you need in order to be refreshed for the next day on the floor: lavender, palmarosa, sandalwood RECOVERY ROOM Take the edge off when dealing with crowds and other con stressors: patchouli, blue tansy, tangerine, lavender, and ylang ylang. UNCLENCH For a helping hand in headache relief, particularly tension headaches: eucalyptus, peppermint, and lemon. UNWIND Geared to help you decompress and recharge yourself between events or before heading out to any nighttime activities: ylang ylang, geranium, and helichrysum. HALLOWEENIE PREVIEW?! Our massive Halloween 2023 fragrance collection won't be available online until sometime after we're all safely home from Dragon Con... but we've decided to reward event attendees with a taste of what's to come! The following two *brand new* series of scents, plus a handful of returning 'Weenie faves, can be purchased in person at our booth for $29 per bottle. ++ HALLOWEEN 2023 Anyone could see that the wind was a special wind this night, and the darkness took on a special feel because it was All Hallows' Eve. Everything seemed cut from soft black velvet or gold or orange velvet. Smoke panted up out of a thousand chimneys like the plumes of funeral parades. - Ray Bradbury BONFIRE TOFFEE Our spin on a traditional Guy Fawkes Night treat: treacle toffee soaked in rich, dark bourbon. DIA DE LOS MUERTOS A joyous celebration of La Catarina, La Flaca, La Muerte… Glorious, Beautiful Death. In Mexico, death is not something to be feared or hated; She is embraced, loved, and adored. La Muerte is fêted, as the celebrant “…chases after it, mocks it, courts it, hugs it, sleeps with it; it is his favorite plaything and his most lasting love.” This is a Mexican paean to La Huesuda: dry, crackling leaves, the incense smoke of altars honoring Death and the Dead, funeral bouquets, the candies, chocolates, foods and tobacco of the ofrenda, amaranth, sweet cactus blossom and desert cereus. 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. – William Cullen Bryant Dry, cold autumn wind. A rustle of red leaves, a touch of smoke and sap in the air. PUMPKIN SPICE EVERYTHING Literally everything! Pumpkin spice it all with this traditional brew of cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, and clove. PUMPKIN LATTE Espresso, pumpkin syrup, smoky vanilla bean, milk, raw sugar, and a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg. 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. SUGAR SKULL Vibrant with the joy and sweetness of life in death! A blend of five sugars, lightly dusted with candied fruits. ++ MONSTER MILK For Yule 2021 we dreamed up GHOST MILK* as the perfect beverage to dunk your Monster Gingerbread Cookies into. But since then we’ve found ourselves wondering: presuming they could be ethically derived, what other Monster Milks might one find at a supernatural supermarket? And what unholy combinations might be created by layering them with different Monster Cookies or other BPAL goodies? The mind reels, the stomach tilts… but the imagination simply will not be deterred. (These spooky, creamy fragrances are 100% vegan, and no monsters were harmed in their creation!) *GHOST MILK will not be available at Dragon Con, though it will be returning to join the others when the series is released online. INVISIBLE MAN MILK Sheer musk and an exhale of evaporated milk. MUMMY MILK Condensed milk wrapped in coconut shavings and tea-stained linen with a hint of bitumen, myrrh, and embalming resins. VAMPIRE MILK A creamy coagulation of clove bud and goat's milk. WITCH MILK Honey-infused goat milk, incense smoke, yew boughs, black pepper, mandrake root, ambrette seed, red currant, kitchen herbs, and fly agaric accord. WOLF MILK Crunchy leaves, well-worn black leather, cardamom pod, moonlit yellow bergamot, woodmoss, molasses, and buttermilk. ZOMBIE MILK Grave-dry rice milk, black moss, hemp fibers, bone-white sandalwood and orris root, and bog osmanthus. ++ DUSK IN AUTUMN The moon is like a scimitar, A little silver scimitar, A-drifting down the sky. And near beside it is a star, A timid twinkling golden star, That watches likes an eye. And thro’ the nursery window-pane The witches have a fire again, Just like the ones we make,— And now I know they’re having tea, I wish they’d give a cup to me, With witches’ currant cake. - Sara Teasdale Illustrations by Jenny Harbour for My Book of Favorite Fairy Tales A LITTLE SILVER SCIMITAR Foamy orris and ambergris accord pierced by a sliver of white fir needle, moonflower, and cypress. A TIMID TWINKLING GOLDEN STAR Tuberose and sweet amber. THE WITCHES HAVE A FIRE AGAIN Smoldering spiced oak boughs and pine pitch crackling with golden sap. WITCHES' TEA Blackberry thorn tea. WITCHES' CURRANT CAKE Red currant and rosewater gooseberry cake with a sugar-dusted gingerbread crumble topping.

NOTE: This post has been edited to reflect an error on my part! The Felis Silvestris collection is NOT coming down with the rest of these. I repeat, the kitties aren't leaving us. We giveth and we taketh! The day after Dragon Con, when we're takething away all of the event perfumes, we will also taketh the following: Limited Edition categories: 🙀 THE SINGULARITY II 🙀 BLACK PHOENIX DOOB LAB Lunacy Stuffs: PINK MOON AN ORCHARD IN SPRING AND THE FAIRIES RAN AWAY WITH THEIR CLOTHES GIOCO DEL VOLANO LA PLUIE D'OR LÉON LE BOIS SACRÉ CHER AUX ARTS ET AUX MUSES THE PARCA AND THE ANGEL OF DEATH THE QUEEN AND THE PAGE THE WITCHES GO TO MARKET 🥉 LEMON PEEL, GARDENIA, AND CARNATION 🥉 MUGUET, TEA ROSE, AND YLANG YLANG 🥉 OSMANTHUS, BENZOIN, AND BOURBON VANILLA 🥉 MANDARIN, BLACK VANILLA, AND PATCHOULI 🥉GHOST LILY, WHITE SANDALWOOD, AND AMBERGRIS ACCORD So, you've got till around Tuesday? Brian will be tired from work and doing this ASAP once the event is over.

Our latest scent collaboration with Haute Macabre has launched! Available exclusively in the HM Apothecary. MOLDAVITE "Royal Hojari frankincense, 7-year aged raw patchouli, oakmoss, Yemeni myrrh, green fig, omubiri resin, blackberry syrup, and a sprig of crushed mint."

We are, in fact, vending at Dragon Con this year! And once again, our "event exclusive" perfumes will, in fact, be available online for the duration of the convention! We'll launch these on our site early Friday morning (9/1), and they'll remain available online through the following Monday (9/4). We will be including convention booth swag in these orders while supplies last, but keep in mind we have a VERY LIMITED amount of swag this year, and it's first come, first served. ++ PEACH PIT PERFUME - $29 Apiece BOURBONED PEACH AND APPLE COBBLER DRIED PEACH INCENSE PINK PEACH BUBBLEGUM PEACH & KUMQUAT SUGARED PEACHES AND BLACKBERRY WINE LEMON PEEL, WHITE PEACH, AND WHITE MUSK IMPORTED CALIFORNIA PEACH Climate change is real. This is the scent of Bonita peaches, matilija poppy, citrus rind, hummingbird sage, chaparral currant, and California lilac. Proceeds from the sale of this scent benefit Evergreen Collaborative, a US policy advocacy group comprised of policymakers and scientists who have dedicated themselves to advancing environmental justice through improved climate policy. Utilizing both their expertise and networks, Evergreen Collective has effectively lobbied for significant climate legislation, successfully advocating for many parts of the Inflation Reduction Act including $369 billion in climate provisions. ++ PEACH PIT HAIR GLOSS - $31 Apiece PEACH BELLINI JILLIONS OF PEACHES ++ PEACH PIT ATMO SPRAY - $28 Apiece PEACH ORCHARD ++ HERE BE DRAGONS DRAGON BELL Z I can care less what you think I need no permission, did I mention Don't pay my dragon any attention If you liked it then you shoulda put a bell on it: dragon’s blood and frankincense resins, sugared violets, blackberry pulp, and blackcurrant. (I'm so sorry.) DRAGON WITH A PENIS HAT Is that a penis on your dragon.... or are you just happy to see me? Dragon’s blood and champaca thrusting into a blorp of red musk and bourbon vanilla.

Even though we'd only launched the ROSE MOON/THUNDER MOON Lunacy last week, we decided to go ahead and launch our BLUE MOON(s) in time for the actual calendar event -- thus keeping us incredibly on track with our intended schedule. Here are those four new scents! BLUE MOON The spirit of the full moon is capricious, intense and passionate, yet still distant, aloof and cold. Luna herself governs glamours, bewitchments and dream-work, innocent wonder, transient pleasure and delight, the Moment, impulse, mystery and veils. The Blue Moon is one of her rarest manifestations, and this scent is formulated to encapsulate her most complex and profound nature: Mugwort and bay, for psychic sensitivity... Juniper, for divination through dreams... Lavender and almond oil for clarity and relaxation... Orchid and purple sage for complexity, wisdom and noscere... ...with a potent lunar-charged blend of exquisite woods, moonflower, Madagascan ylang ylang, Florentine iris, starry bergamot, elemi, green tea absolute, palmarosa, cucumber, Clary sage, lettuce leaf, melilot trefoils, and wood aloes. BLAUER MOND Brian's interpretation. A whisper under the moonlight: blue musk, and indigo amber, myrrh, moonlit oudh, opoponax, terebinth, and tobacco leaf. LUNA AZUL Ted’s interpretation. The ephemeral romance, the fleeting affair: frankincense and blackcurrant, caramelized black amber, and motia attar. BLUE COTTON CANDY MOON Lilith may be a teenager now, but her love of sweet scents has not dimmed at all. Blue cotton candy, crystalline white flowers, and moonlit white musk.