Failmingo

Sorry for the short notice, but TOMORROW there will be a Bloodmilk market event at Sphinx & Snakeskin in Philly, and we've created a new scent that will only be available to those attend! 

LEKYTHOI

"Rivulets of myrrh and pelanon clinging to ancient clay, remnants of thyme, moringa, spikenard, and hyssop."

Tipping you off a day early! This year's 4/20 perfumes are litttttt

https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-category/limited-edition/black-phoenix-doob-lab-2023/

Our latest Lunacy release also includes the WATER RABBIT Lunar New Year scent, and the remnants of our recent HEARTSHOW collaboration with Jinxed. Fun! 

https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-tag/april-2023-lunacy/

I was scared of this scent when I first smelled it. Reminiscent of my great-grandfather's toolshed, full of mysteries I wasn't old or experienced enough to solve. In the bottle it's really dark, and dry, almost sweetly astringent? Seconding the pitch called out by MamaMoth. Very foreboding, like the cologne of a bad, bad man, who drives a bad, bad car — like Stuntman Mike in Death Proof. In fact, it kind of smells like the interior of a car: dusty, oily, well upholstered, full of hidden compartments.

So if that was the whole ride, I was gonna be kind of bummed, because while that is a cool and VERY specific thing to smell like, it was just too much masculine swagger for me. I craved just a wee bit more sensitivity from this scarecrow, even though I've been burned before buy guys like that and should know better by now.

After a few moments on the skin though, I really want to be in that car. I start to detect these teasing incense notes that suggest this guy actually does take pretty good care of himself, he's not a total brute. That sticky resinous quality and the sweet earthiness of the hay note are selling something pleasantly old-fashioned, giving me something warm and almost human to snuggle up to. The most intensely forbidding aspects of this fragrance in the bottle are just a suggestion now, framing the scent but no longer dominating it. So like yeah, we ARE in an evil guy's car, he IS driving a bit too fast, but I've got my seatbelt on and I have to admit: I'm thrilled to death. 

I'm a huge fan of the Lab's guava note, and basically groveled for it to be included in this scent. During the scene in the film when the tongue wall appears, and all of its orifices start belching forth strange substances, something that appears to be fruit salad spills forth from one of them. It really might be fruit salad! So it seemed pre-ordained that Tongue Wall would be a sassy, fruity scent.

Firstly, it's worth noting that most of the bottles I've seen contain a separation of oils: look for little red blobs floating around in there! How appropriate! I like to give mine a good shake, because whatever that is, I want it evenly dispersed throughout use.

In the bottle: guava first thing, and then what I think is grapefruit, probably to give that "acidic" kick that will read as digestive juices. A hint of berry from the lip gloss, as well as that oleaginous note that I Nobodies Watching Wrestling, which I consider the most epic strawberry lip gloss perfume of all time. (I'm obsessed with the word "oleaginous" lately because it describes so many of my favorite scents, particularly within this collection. Apparently I like wearing oils that smell oily!)

So yeah, mainly gourmand in the bottle, but just enough of the musk and gloss there to suggest that... maybe don't eat this. For kissing, not for eating! Just delightfully fruity and sweet/tart but soft and musky around the edges.

On the skin:

It smells pink, soft, and wet, in the most appealing way. I love that the guava is tempered with these other scents, it draws an eerie sophistication out of what would otherwise be... fruit salad, I guess! The gradient from guava to musk is so smoothly blended, it's hard for me to tell where one ends and the other begins. There really may be dragon's blood resin in this, hence the "blood-tainted", but it would similarly compliment this brew so seamlessly that I don't trust myself to call it. Thanks to the musk asserting itself a little more, you really do get a sense of the Tongue Wall's overall immensity, not just the pulpy lips and tongue. She's a complex lady, with complex needs. There's something salivary about it, and I know that sounds gross, but it isn't. Just... a slickness, a warm humidity. It's really nice! Hard to tell which phase I like more, the "juice is loose" fruity stage when fresh out of the bottle, or this warm, easy-riding, fruit-stained musk. Fortunately I don't have to choose, I can just keep re-applying! 👄 

From the very beginning this one has been a real head-scratcher for me. In the bottle I get that nice foodie cherry scent full blast, floating up on a cloud of cake. Like perhaps there's a hint of citrus there at first, but I'm just blurring it into the tartness of the cherry? It totally smells like some kind of syrup that you can drink.

On the skin the cake warms up and I can detect a separate buttercream note, thick and oleaginous. The cake reminds me of the note from Pink Lovebird! And the lemon sharpens quite a bit, actually pushing cherry to the side and making it less syrupy. So yes, overall it's a frosted lemon cake with a layer of cherry filling, just yeasty enough to impart that risen quality; a grownup palate dessert, not a kid-palate one. Although, some might associate this combination of scents with opening a box of fruity cereal? But my eyes read "cake," so my nose says cake.

It doesn't smell ominous! I kept waiting to see if something dark and unbidden would spring forth from the center of this scent, and at times I psych myself out and think I detect something more sinister emerging (like an oudh?) but I'm pretty sure it's just cake.

In the bottle: 

Both sharp and creamy/powdery, it really has that aldehyde sparklefizz but then also this deeper musky scent I associate with an 80s housewife's vanity and toiletry kit. It's clean and bright but not too cheerful, winsome without being too sultry, infused with a kind of vivid, hectic energy ("high-pitched" indeed) where one might expect to find modesty or tranquility. This fragrance really does seem connected to that perfect ideal of womanhood we grew up seeing in TV commercials: eyes shining, teeth gleaming, hair hairing, performing a heightened version of everyday life. In the film, this character wears bright yellows and warm pinks, which I swear I can smell in this blend, although that may be my own mental projection.

On the skin: 

One of those musks that I swear to god smells like an actual living person, a kind of forced intimacy which is very apt in this case. The aldehyde is less intense, and what remains is a compromise between this powdery, glimmering sweetness and a ripe, lightly savory animalic quality that I think relates to secretions somehow: the perfect homemaker transforming into a sex-crazed animal. It's kind of breathy and light, but laced with evidence of carnal knowledge.

I can't imagine this appealing to anyone who isn't into aldehydes, musks, and/or powdery florals, but there are definitely some interesting subtleties floating up from beneath those more obvious notes. 

Come to the Botanical Fair this Saturday in Philadelphia! We will be contributing the following scent as an IN PERSON event exclusive:

OIL OF FLIGHT AND VISION
“Inspired by witches’ flying ointments, this is a deep, rooty perfume flecked with grave soil: sweet, tar-like 7-year aged patchouli, henbane bell accord, smallage, opium pod accord, cinquefoil, mugwort, and soot.”

We've created a new perfume to accompany the latest Century Guild Art Nouveau print release on Kickstarter! 💚

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/centuryguild/absinthe-robette-rare-vintage-1896-art-nouveau-poster

ABSINTHE ROBETTE
Radiant emerald rivulets of sugared absinthe and lemon leaf draped with sheer lemon blossom.

Howdy, all! I'll be traveling to NYC to sell our licensed Dr. Caligari (1989) perfumes at the Metrograph screening on March 4th, which will be the premiere of the film's full restoration. We'll have a little table in the lobby to vend before and after the screening.

Tickets are available here:

https://metrograph.com/film/?vista_film_id=9999003137

Due to our split with the house, we'll be selling these scents for $40 per bottle; later this spring they will debut on our website for $30. I figured at the very least, folks could come and test them all if they wanted to, so they know what to buy later on. If anyone has any questions about any of this in the meantime, please hit me up!

Here's the full list of perfumes: 

Hello, everyone. You may have noticed in the Luper launch that the prices have been modestly increased to $29. A quick note about that!

Please prepare for this to be the new standard. We're going to have to raise prices on a bunch of our existing licensed collaborations as well, since so much has changed since those original financial arrangements were made.

As I wrote elsewhere yesterday: in a world where the prices of basically everything else go up, ours need to as well. Maintaining the quality of our product demands it, paying and insuring our employees demands it, and neither of those are negotiable expenses for us. 

Every time BPAL's prices have gone up, it's been long overdue and only as a last resort. It's terrible to imagine losing customers as a result of choosing to stay in business, but we've already dramatically cut expenses wherever possible, including fully uprooting and moving families and employees to a more affordable location (very expensive in the short term, but truly the Lab's only hope for continuing to exist). 

I recognize that just as we have to keep our heads above water, so do our customers, and so even small price increases may ripple through other folks' budgets and leave them with some difficult choices. Fragrance is a luxury product, and everyone will have different estimations of what that's worth. We want to keep our products accessible to as many folks as possible, for as along as possible, and for those products to be as pure and trustworthy as possible, and to contain as much artistry as possible. The figures associated with those goals rule our lives. I'm sure many of you can relate in your own way.

Hopefully as a result of the move we'll be able to reorganize in ways that save money and forestall further price increases. But we gotta do what we gotta do, and will just keep trying to be worth the $$.

I apologize for not informing you earlier, we were very deeply embedded in Luper land last week, and I wasn't aware until launch day that THIS was the time when the change would be taking place. If you see anyone asking about it, you're welcome to refer them to this post.

TB

It's that time of year when BPAL fans collectively tilt their phones and monitors away from others' view so they can browse the Lupercalia collection in its full glory. This year's release is swollen to the point of bursting with scents crafted to stir the senses and awaken dormant desires.

Here's everything that's included in the launch:

🫀 LUPERCALIA GENERAL CATALOG - A mix of classic Lupers and brand new enticements fresh from our laboratory https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-tag/lupercalia-main-2023/

🫀 SILK FLOWER BOUQUET - A romantic bundle of hyperchromatic fantasy florals which are realer than real https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-category/lupercalia-2023/silk-flower-bouquet/

🫀 CHERRY BOMB - A series of scent-note suitors lining up to meet-cute with variations on the cherished cherry https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-category/lupercalia-2023/cherry-bomb-2023/

🫀 BOX OF CHOCOLATES - Let your fingers wander over the shiny surfaces of these rich, sweet scents, selecting just the right one (or all nine) https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-category/lupercalia-2023/box-of-chocolates-2023/

🫀 RAUNCHY HEARTS - These aggressively explicit variations on candy heart messages are sure to start a few conversations — or perhaps abruptly end them! Gutter sweets aren't for everyone.

https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-category/lupercalia-2023/raunchy-hearts/

🫀 SHUNGAS 2023: NOVEL IDEAS FOR SECRET AMUSEMENTS - Each year our fondness for historical Edo-era erotic art overflows into a massive perfume collection highlighting our latest faves. This year we've managed to include some Hair Gloss blends as well! https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-category/novel-ideas-for-secret-amusements-2023/

Hi everyone, we've been invited by local Philly folks at Jinxed to contribute to their Heartshow art event, which is also a fundraiser for Lutheran Settlement House! The event is this Saturday evening, Feb 11th, from 5-9pm.

Naturally there will be a perfume oil crafted exclusively for that night — 100% of the proceeds from this scent will be donated to the aforementioned cause. Here's what we've got for the crowd that night:

HEARTSHOW

Cherrywood, red amber, and red musk with a smidge of vein-blue cotton candy.

Hallo, here's our latest attempt to get back on schedule: the elusive November Lunacy scents, plus the latest iteration of 13. Are you feeling lucky, punks?

https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-tag/november-2022/

https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/limited-edition/13-perfume-oil-6/

"Help steel your nerve in the upcoming year with this earthy blend of 13 symbols of luck and stability steeped in smoked cacao: purple sage, lavender bud, patchouli, Irish moss, thyme, ambrette seed, chocolate mint, rice milk, vetiver, hazelnut, barley, tobacco, and cedar."

This one sneaked up on me, y'all. I haven't given all the Snows a proper sniff yet, and history has shown it's not a scent type I'm particularly predisposed to love, but I'm always keeping an open mind.

In the bottle it's cool without being minty exactly, fresh without being too mineralic or zesty, and the sweetness of the musk stands out perfectly. I have a hard time tracking musks sometimes, I don't think my nose always receives what they're broadcasting, but this one is framed so well by the other elements that it's unmistakable. Lilac is another of those notes that I'd have a hard time picking out of a lineup all by itself, and it's a delicate part of this brew -- the perfume doesn't read as "floral" but the lilac element definitely contributes to my overall enjoyment of this blend in a delicately balanced way.

I don't know whether "citron" refers to the evergreen plant or its fruit, but there is definitely some kind of evergreen property to this. The citrus is dryyyyy, the only sense of juiciness or humidity seems to come from something cold and lushly green. My mental picture is of appraising an overnight snowfall early the next morning: the delicate stillness, the softness of the color palette, the vapors exhaled by the trees as the first light hits them.

Overall the blend smells very fancy to me, and reads even less like a masculine cologne than the original Whitechapel did. Something about dragging it out into nature (thematically) and letting it freeze overnight has lent it an especially otherworldly charm, like a forest fairy prince who can't be counted on to ever fully warm up to you -- and might imprison you in a hollow tree if the two of you ever really hit it off.

It lasts quite a while on me, and the scent remains pretty stable from first dab till the last gasp, though I'd say it's the musk that dies last, and that harder edge of frostiness is what melts away first. Still though, a total triumph and complete surprise -- upon first reading the list of stuff that got Snow-ified, this was not the one that leaped out at me. 

Hallo hallo, we have gone ahead and done something rather rash and reckless: we just launched a little NYE perfume series inspired by weird old cards! And ALSO added a Strawberry Buttercream Sufganiyot scent to the Yules (as we originally intended to). Happy New Year from our strange little workaholic family, may these provide some fond winter jollies during the cold months ahead.

https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-category/new-years-creepers-oddments

https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/yule-2022/strawberry-buttercream-sufganiyot-perfume-oil/

Hey y'all, we managed a quick and dirty (read: unplanned) restock of the recent SCHRODINGER'S CHECKMARK release, just in time for Cyber Monday, which means you can access our Free Gift imps if you order it today. Kablam!

https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/shop/limited-edition/schrdingers-checkmark-perfume-oil/

We've whipped up something special for Black Friday weekend! Anyone who spends $15 or more at BPAL from Fri. Nov. 25th through Mon. Nov. 28th will find the following trio of 1/32 oz. perfume oils tucked into their order:

🥧 BLUEBERRY BANANA CREAM PIE

🥧 CARAMELIZED PECAN RUM CAKE

🥧 GINGER CAKE WITH QUINCE AND ORANGE ZEST

These perfumes are impossible to obtain any other way, will be given out while supplies last, and should under no circumstances be tasted, nibbled, or otherwise ingested. Thanks for supporting a small business during your holiday shopping, it means the world to us!

Hello,  very pleased to announce that it's Lunacy time once more. And to thank everyone for being so marvelously patient and supportive during our move (which is still ongoing!) we've made sure to sprinkle this launch with some special standalone Limited Edition stuff. Enjoy!

https://blackphoenixalchemylab.com/product-tag/late-october-2022