suki
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Posts posted by suki
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In the Bottle: a sweet and beguiling swirl of resins.
Wet On Skin: the frankincense, wood and sugared honey all start to assert themselves as individuals now. So far, the myrrh is behaving admirably- I pray that continues!
Dry Down: Someone else mentioned this scent being "chewy" and I concur! Although it's different, there IS a chewy aspect similar to french tobacco notes. The frankincense and polished wood are coming together beautifully and it's all very rich and good for cold, blustery days!
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A heart beating with anxiety and longing: rose musk, benzoin, and red sandalwood.
In The Bottle: The reaction I got just from sniffing the bottle is a visceral stab to the heart, a rose of holidays passed, worn by my grandmother and her sisters in a by-gone era. Not "old lady" perfume, but rather the stuff that women of a different era favored considerably.
Wet On Skin: It's weird, there's no myrrh listed in the notes, but the rose comes across as powdery, just as if myrrh were in the mix. Very perplexing!
Dry Down: The musk is mellowing upon dry down, and a sweet, creamy aspect has emerged, reminding me of cold cream from the 40's.In All: a sweet and lovely rose scent. Not sure it's for me, but floral lovers will be very, very happy!
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The discomforts of royalty: a pearl as large as a spinning wheel. Golden rose oudh and saffron swirling over opalescent orris root and a twinkle of translucent petals.
In the Bottle: the dusty rose of the oudh and the sweet-spice of the saffron come through quite strongly!
Wet On Skin: The rose gains in intensity, but I get a faint dust from the orris root in the background.Dry Down: A lush dried rose incense.
I don't do many florals, but this is pretty compelling. And the oudh has given it a lovely incense quality that just might win me over
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Cassiopeia
in Yules
In the bottle, behind a healthy bit of the same red wine note found in my beloved Glühwein, I, too, pick up on the odd undertone of coffee. It's rich, like a turkish coffee note, but far more subtle.
Once it's wet and warming up on my skin, it shifts, the coffee essence disappears and is replaces by the sweet oudh. Oudhs are shape-shifters on my skin, morphing differently depending on the supporting players. In this blend, the oudh gives a kind of rich support that brings to mind myrrh, without the terrible baby-powder that afflicts me with that unfortunate note.
The end result is a decidedly sophisticated scent that's somewhere between a debauched night involving sherry spilled on a crisp linen nightdress and a nod to a no-longer-available perfume that Betsey Johnson debuted in the mid-90s.
I'm hoping the oudh will age as well as the wine, and something might transform to become a little more heady and perhaps incense-y. Right now, I like it enough to keep, but not enough to start wearing in regular rotation. :/ -
Joulumuori
in Yules
At first sniff, I mostly get a spicy plum. Though others mentioned cinnamon specifically, that's not what I'm getting. More of a spice *mix* as one might find in spice cake.
As it begins to bloom, wet, on my skin, it's becoming more and more spicy, sultry. It reminds me a little of Kyphi incense with a bit of plum wine dashed in for good measure.
In all, it's a strong, sweet, rich spice scent. I sadly get no rice pudding, which I was very much looking forward to. However, I think this has the potential for loads of sexy wearings and am hopeful a bit of aging will do it some good.
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In the Bottle: Straight up Dorian. No footsie-ing around about it!
Wet On Skin: the fougere aspect is particularly strong in this version, at least at this stage. Unlike Frostbitten Bliss, which I got equal measure of Snow White and Bliss, this, at least for now, is ONLY the strongest, most cologne aspect of Dorian and nothing more.
Dry Down: Alas, it's stayed the same.
In All: I've enjoyed the recent forays into Dorian exploration that have come out this year that I've tried (Spinning on Graves, Paper Phoenix) but the frost note in this has had the effect of taking the delicate balance of Dorian's components and, unfortunately, amping the ones that make me smell like a dude-bro out at a bar on a Saturday night
I'll give it a chance to age, but I have a feeling this will go off to the swap pile in the end...
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No additional description provided. Scent description for Bliss is here.]
In The Bottle: Bliss and Snow White, in equal measure.
Wet On Skin: Same. It's what I imagine it would be like to eat a fluffy snowball, if it was dusted with cocoa mix
Dry Down: Yes, this is chocolatey Snow White!
I was a little worried this would have a water or ozone note to it, since those go horribly wrong on my skin. But this is just a soft, sweet, snowy Bliss. It's a really nice, gentle daytime scent. Glad I got a bottle! -
In The Bottle: lots of creamy, light almond milk and some Snake Oil. YUM!
Wet On Skin: GOODNESS! A yummy mix of faint Snake Oil, the almond milk holding its own, and now the addition of the cotton blossom I recognize (and ADORE) from Kwamie Cotton with a little marshmallowy goodness tossed in to add a sweet finish.
Dry Down: This might be my favorite scent, ever. Ahead, even, perhaps (just perhaps), of my all-time favorite beloved, Dragon's Milk. It's all the notes I already mentioned, but settling into proper proportions to each other, so that nothing overpowers anything else. It all gets acknowledged for how gorgeous it is- both as individual components, and more importantly, for the exquisite way they all play together.
I am head over heels in love.
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On our second anniversary, the Lab moved from the Far Land of Spare Oom (gratuitous C.S. Lewis reference) to its first real location in Atwater Village. It was small, it was weird, and we all shared one space, but it was home.
In 2004, our real unreal home, bpal.org, was founded by slythwitch, and later that year, shrieking violet took over the helm. Bpal.org has been the source of so much love and joy in my life since its inception, and because of .org, my family bound by love and spirit expanded to include some of the finest human beings I have ever known. The community that grew from .org is incomparable, both on the internet and in the so-called real world; it is a safe haven of wise, witty, kind, compassionate souls, and without it and without the people that I met through it, my life would be so much darker.
2004 also heralded our first press mention (thank you, Bust Magazine!), our first Chaos Theory series, and the first Lunacies. Our first Blue Moon came out in July of 2004, launching the Lunacies that weve been doing ever since. Red Moon was our official first Lunacy blend, followed Harvest Moon, Hunter Moon, and a bajillion other Lunacies over the next eleven years!
(Ok, maybe not a bajillion, but Im not in the mood to do the math!)
Prior to September of 2004, we dressed our Imps a bit differently. We wrapped synthetic bull sinew around the vials and used handwritten parchment labels. Honestly, it looked amazing, but it was an incredibly time consuming process, and left me with a couple of imp-related battle scars. As of autumn, we switched to the paper labels you see today.
Our first activism scents also debuted in 2004: Cerberus (Animal Assistance League of Orange County), Chiroptera (Bat Conservation International), Corazon (Safe Haven for Donkeys in the Holy Land), Oisin (Comic Book Legal Defense Fund), and Thunderbird (the Adopt-a-Native-Elder Program), kicking off over a decade of fundraising, advocacy, and charity work.
In 2004, Antique Lace first appeared and we introduced our first forum-only blend (Formula 54!). And on December 21, 2004, Dorian a hymn to my love for Ted went live.
A memory of Antique Lace, Formula 54s pink pepper, and a splash of Dorian's white tea and lavender fougere.
In the Bottle: Good lord- it's Dorian and Antique Lace, together at last!
There's also a bright rind of that pink pepper (never had the pleasure of sniffing Formula 54 but I have liked the pink pepper note in other blends. Here's it adds a nice bright bite!)
Wet On Skin: The Dorian aspect is strong with this one! But that's not the totality of this scent. The vanilla of Antique Lace is adding a layer of softness and warmth.
Dry Down: If you're among the masses that have wept bitter tears at the absence of Antique Lace and also of Dorian, then this is the scent for you. It takes the most beautiful and strong elements of each of those and combines them for a scent that is sweet and lovely and cuddly. It's a dream.
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In 2007, I married the great love of my life. Teddy and I had dated since 1998, and it seemed that, at last, it was time for me to make an honest man out of him. I had loved Ted since the first moment I smelled him (truth!), and the night that we married was one of the most wonderful nights of my life. At the Lunacy event before the wedding, I was able to celebrate with my .org and local BPAL family, and I cried like a loon. It is a privilege to be part of this family the one that BPAL has gifted to me.
It is one of the great joys and honors of my life to have the opportunity to interpret Neil Gaimans stories through scent, and on January 31st of 2007, our first Neil Gaiman scent series debuted: American Gods.
Neils body of work has been a tremendous influence in my life, and in a sea of authors whose stories have moved and shaped me, his words have been some of the most impactful. I admire his kindness and compassion, his wisdom and eloquence, and the tremendous amount of work he has done for the CBLDF and the UN Refugee Agency. His stories have helped shape my worldview and my dreams, and I will always be grateful.
In 2007, we created the first of many scents in collaboration with our family at Dark Delicacies: the eponymous Dark Delicacies scent. It was soon followed by a series of eerie Lace-inspired perfumes, a scent series dedicated to horror film genres, a celebration of B-movie horror, and a scent series celebrating great duets of horror.
In June of 2007, we ran the first of our clothing drives benefitting Los Angeles womens and childrens shelters.
This Phoenix is a combination of the Snake Oil and Dorian that Teddy and I wore at our wedding, the red wine we bled into and shared during the ceremony, a drop of lucky honey mead, and the heart of Snow Glass Apples lacquered over pale salt-splashed wood, with a hint of the green walnut I could never get quite right. (Im sorry, Neil! Im still trying!)
In The Bottle: A bit of crisp apple with a rind of sea salt.
Wet On Skin: Same, with a slight hint of wood in the background.
Dry Down: An apple peel on a piece of driftwood that's washed ashore, lightly sprayed with an afterthought of Dorian. Despite this description, I should note that this scent is surprisingly light and delicate, and has NO traces of water or ozone notes- this is strictly dried, salt-crusted drift wood I'm talking about here. The longer I wear it, the more the apple fades, leaving this incredibly delicate take on Dorian worn whilst walking on a sand bank. In other words: swoon-worthy.
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On January 7th, I announced that I was preggers to the forum, and pregnancy scents like Irrelevant and Disturbing Surreal Crawdad Dream soon followed. While I was giving birth to Lilith, Brian pulled the trigger on her two birth scents Lady Lilith and Lilith Victoria so they could come to life just as she was entering the world. This began our annual tradition of commemorating each year that we spend with Lilith with a scented scrapbook. We love you, Lilith. More than you can possibly know.
The Shunga debuted for the first time, including Dream of the Fisherman's Wife, Men Ringing Bell With Penises, and Glowing Vulva at Ryogoku Bridge.
This year also marked the first time that Frederic inspired by Gilbert & Sullivan began appearing every February 29th, and hes been our Leap Year guest ever since!
At the December Lunacy event, we began the first of our annual toy drives.
In 2008, Black Phoenix Trading Post hosted the Miskatonic Valley Junior Baseball Associations Spring Training Teds vision of little league in Lovecraft Country which ushered in a decade of our ridiculous Lovecraft-meets-Norman Rockwell serials and rotating exhibits in Arkhams Pickman Gallery. I don't have words for how much I love working on our campy Miskatonic Valley scents; how else could I experience a life filled with pancake breakfast summoning circles, demonic art openings, pre-pubescent softball-loving fish people, suave cultist tailors, and goat-headed burlesque dancers?
Lilith's beloved lavender coated with sugar crystals, crawdad-bright grapefruit, and a pop of iridescent, loathsome Mi-Go musk.
In The Bottle: Sugared lavender. Like TKO's daytime sibling!
Wet On Skin: Same, but with the slightest edge of juicy, tart grapefruit. But only slight!
Dry Down: Same. This scent stays true from first sniff to dry-down. It reminds me of Lilith's Hair Gloss and also Daybreak, from this year's batch of Lilith scents. As such, I am happy to have it! If you're a fan of those others, or if you're looking for a daytime equivalent to TKO that won't put you to sleep in the middle of the day, this scent is for you!
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This is the year that we first presented our Labyrinth and Fraggle Rock lines! Visiting Henson Studios was one of the greatest thrills of my life. How often do you get to meet a Skeksi in person?
In 2012, we made our first pilgrimage to DragonCon. While so many incredible memories stand out, the one that is most vivid is us watching in horror as a full-to-capacity elevator (including a Transformer in full-transform) at the Marriott took over two hours to descend 30 floors. Its a fantastic convention, and we are thrilled to make it our Labor Day weekend home every year.
A fraggle-shaggy bright scent with a sinister goblin shadow: red currant and King mandarin with a white musk fougere, sweet dried fruits, and smoky myrrh-infused oudh.
In the Bottle: Bright and fruity! But there's also an unsettling undercurrent that I can't quite name, like...ammonia?
Wet On Skin: Yay, the ammonia has left the building! At this stage, mostly I'm getting sweet, dried sugary fruits and the slightest age of the white musk fougere in the background, which prevents this from just being a silly-kids-games kind of scent.
Dry Down: It's funny, I like having fruit notes in things, but I don't like when it's the *only* thing. I need my scents to have some kind of depth, something to hang on to, and this scent DOES that, but not ion any way I've encountered before. If one were to layer Kingdom of Sweets with Red from the Fraggle Rock series, and then tossed in a little of Jareth, minus the leather...you would get Aluminum Phoenix. This isn't one I was sure about, but I'm really, really happy I got a bottle now. -
In 2015, it was our overwhelming honor to interpret Legendary Pictures Crimson Peak through scent. The entire process was thrilling, from the first moment we saw concept sketches before production on the film even began, through the crafting of the scents, attending the screening, and finally seeing our Crimson Peak scents and jewelry go out into the world. It was an incredible project that I will never forget.
After many long years of labor, the sideshow was back! Carnaval Diabolique returned to town with breathtaking artwork by Julie Dillon, and Black Phoenix made its first sojourn to 221B Baker Street.
Inspired by the Supreme Courts Sick Burn Champion and his blistering command of the English language, we created a fragrance set the Collected Poetic Works of Antonin Scalia whose proceeds benefit the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Trevor Project, and the National Center for Transgender Equality. In the same year, we created Palmyra, a charity scent benefiting the UNHCR.
This year, we joined forces with our beloved friend, Audra, at Loved to Death in San Francisco.
A cursed carnival camped in the foothills beneath a haunted estate: a curl of fortune tellers incense and spun sugar drifting past a crumbling manor.
In the Bottle: A very, very faint, sweet, light, wispy scent. It's so light and wispy, that I cannot, at this stage, pick out any notes! All I can say is that it smells "clean" and faintly sweet, but not foody.
Wet On Skin: There's a faint lemon aspect that has entered the picture, like a memory of lemon sugar, would be the best way to describe it. I also am getting a hint of a stone note, which I haven't encountered in a very long time! I assume this is the "crumbling manor" aspect that I'm picking up on. So far, this scent is very wistful- it's probably not a coincidence that this is for the Lace year, because there's already a nostalgic quality that puts this firmly in the camp of the Lab's "Lace" scents.
Dry Down: Oh. My. Goddess. This is just...heartbreakingly beautiful. The curl of incense is now showing itself. I anticipated it was going to be a sort of heavy, church-y incense like many of the Lab's incense notes of the past. But this, this is something else. It's become like a light, powdered (NOT powder-y) blue lotus incense I had many years ago. It's sweet and soft and nostalgic and just GORGEOUS.In All: Hoard-worthy. I am going to need SEVERAL more bottles of this.
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Fifteen goddamn years. Were impossible to kill, and we have kept on fighting the good fight with a panoply of scents benefiting environmental, constitutional rights, and reproductive rights causes, including Lordy, Alternative Facts, Fake News, Nevertheless She Persisted, Theoi Nomioi, and Take A Knee. We released several single notes benefiting those affected by 2017s natural disasters, and introduced Spiced Rum Buttercream Coffee and Irish Coffee Buttercream, which benefit the National Center for Transgender Equality.
To celebrate the premiere of Starzs American Gods TV series, we revamped and expanded Neil Gaimans American Gods perfume line with brand new scents, a range of nail lacquers, and brand new artwork by the inimitable Julie Dillon.
In June of 2017, Black Phoenix Alchemy Labs Brian Constantine got hitched! The ceremony and reception were held at the Mountain View Mausoleum, and was the most beautiful wedding that I have ever seen.
The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. An earthy scent, with deep, deep roots, bringing stability and security in tumultuous times: 15-year aged patchouli, bourbon vanilla, oakmoss, Himalayan cedar, tobacco leaf, birch tar, tonka bean, and leather accord.
In The Bottle: I get the rich, chewy tobacco straight away, followed by the deep, earthy-dirty scent of the patchouli, with an edge of the tonic bringing up the rear, softening the other two and making the scent just slightly sweet.
Wet On Skin: The tobacco is CRAZY strong. For those that are interested, this is very similar to the French Tobacco SN that came out about 5 years ago. at this stage, the tobacco is so overpowering that I'm not getting anything else.
Dry Down: Upon dry down, the tobacco eases back somewhat, to my relief, and the earthy aspect of the patchouli comes back. There's even a slight smokiness that I attribute to the birch tar. Sadly, I'm not getting anything else right now, but I know that often scent with so many deep rooty notes need some time to age to become truly glorious, so I will tuck this one away and revisit in a month or two -
In The Bottle: A warm almond scent, with a slight backdrop of indiscernible spices.
Wet On Skin: The almond disappears entirely, which I'm sad about. The warmth of the scent continues, and as it warms on my skin, I'm able to pick out strands of lotus, amber and saffron. The myrrh, to my relief, seems to be behaving- a rarity, as it usually amps and turns to terrible baby powder on me. So far, so good!
Dry Down: This...wow. I can't believe I went ten years of BPAL without this. I feel like Bastet is a cousin to Morocco. Both scents share that warm, spiced, sultry aspect, and considering both are influenced by a related culture and continent, its no wonder. The more she settles into my skin, the more enamored I become. This scent is heady, though sticks surprisingly close to the skin. (I wouldn't start out by altering this, though- definitely see how she does with you before diving into the eep end of the pool, as it were.)
In All: I was interested in obtaining a bottle of this because I've been doing some workings with Bast lately and it seemed appropriate. And she is! I will certainly wear this scent, and also anoint candles meant for her with this scent as well.
I can't wait to see how this ages!
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Golden-brown and sugar-dusted, plump with sweet blackcurrant jelly.
Full disclosure: I am an enormous fan of the Sufganiyots of Yules past, so I blind-bought two bottles of this year's Black Currant variety, because I felt *certain* that I'd want backups of this one, too.And I was NOT wrong.
In the bottle, and when first applied, this has the familiar -and delicious!- strong fried-dough scent of its siblings. And, as with raspberry and strawberry before her, black currant starts to come into her own within the context of the scent as it warmed on my skin. This years' version is perhaps a little sweeter than its predecessors, which I believe has everything to do with the chosen fruit. Both raspberry and strawberry have a bit of a tangy undertone. But black currant is more of a pure sweetness with nothing tart to counteract. It's not cloying, don't misunderstand. This is the epitome of a full fried doughnut stuffed to the gills with thick and sweet black currant jam. It's delectable!If you loved the other two, you'll be delighted to add this one to your collection. If you missed out on previous years, definitely give this one a try. I would only say proceed with caution if you're a foodie that only likes your food scents to have a little edge- you might need to tread lightly with this. Or possibly layer with a rich non-food, like sandalwood or vetiver, or layer with a spice, like the newly released Indonesian Clove SN.
Now to decide if I need *another* backup bottle...
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In The Bottle: Warm, buttery salty popcorn and juicy blue raspberry slush, in equal measure.
Wet On Skin: The popcorn starts to pull slightly into the lead, which I'm personally grateful for, because I love popcorn scents and that's why I took a chance on this.
Dry Down: Popcorn and sweet tarts!
This scent is the perfect companion piece to last year's Vampire Night At The Movies. They both share a surprisingly subtle foodie aspect, making them both good "introductory" food scents for those less familiar with that genre and also are both eminently wearable for daytime use -including a good slather- by those of us that are more foodie-obsessive. This dries to a warm, slightly sweet, extremely cozy scent. Instant favorite! -
[No additional description provided.]
In The Bottle: Gorgeous, rich clove. Sometimes clove notes go slightly acrid or bitter for me, but this does neither. Here's hoping that aspect holds out!
Wet On Skin: Glorious, glorious, glorious.
Dry Down: This. Is. Wonderful. This exceeds my expectations by a considerable margin. I used to be in love with the Smiling Spider for its clove-y goodness, but even that was a little acrid on me. Wednesday's Child is Full of Woe is less so, I assume because the clove is sugared, though traces of the sharpness remain (don't get me wrong, I love the scent, but it's still there just the same.) This pure Indonesian Clove has all the rich spice and not a *hint* of that acrid / sharp / bitterness.It's wonderful.
I am SO relived I got my bottle soon enough test, because I will *definitely* be needing a backup bottle or two!
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I am SO thankful for the full decant gifted to me because I have been *dying* to try this scent since it originally emerged.
In the vial, and when first applied it was almost all fresh Snake Oil, all the time, with a slight juicy-fruity edge under all the Indonesian spices. Within short order warming up on my skin, though, it bloomed, gloriously, into super-yummy-fried-dough-and-juicy-raspberry-jam-goodness.
This is everything I'd been hoping it would be. It's basically like a cross between Raspberry Sfyugiot, Australian Copperhead and straight up Snake Oil.
I really, really, absolutely NEED to find a bottle. -
In the bottle and wet on my skin it's mostly straight up fresh Snake Oil. As it dries, the spices start to come out to play. Even at full dry-down, the SO overpowers most everything else. HOWEVER, I know the importance of aging SO, and my bottle of Gingerbread Snake from4 years ago started off very much like this- I've no doubt that given some aging, this scent will be a classic in its own right, eventually.
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In The Bottle: Hi cardamom! I've been waiting for you!!!
Wet On Skin: Lordy. This might prove to be the cardamom scent I've been searching for all my life! Sweet, spicy, with a slight hint of chai spice- I hope it stays this way!
Dry Down: Yep: pumpkin cake with cardamom dusted on top. I get NO cinnamon from this, but it's a nice addition to the cake / cupcake scents that have popped up this year.
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In The Bottle: Pumpkin spice and gooey chocolate! Swoooooon.
Wet On Skin: More of the same.
Dry Down: Oh, HAI PUMPKIN! The buttery pumpkin note we all love hath finally made its appearance and it's great! This is a well-balanced blend of pumpkin, pie spice, and a light dusting of dry cocoa. The Lab has really perfect the dry cacao note, it's shown up a lot in the last year or so, and I could;don't be happier, because Beth just keeps making scents that I adore and the dry chocolate note is a great base to use when we get tired of woods and resins. I wish the cocoa was a little heavier on me (it IS supposed to be brownies, after all...) but I can layer it with Bliss if need be, and be just delighted by the whole thing!
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In The Bottle: All (very) lightly spiced cupcake, all the time.
Wet On Skin: The cupcake aspect is reading more like raw cookie dough, and it's all but overshadowed the rest of the notes.
Dry Down: The cupcake note reminds me of the pancakes in Brunch Witches- just a nice, clean simple sweet batter scent. Don't underestimate that- it's comforting and warm and lovely for crispy sun-bright autumnal days. There's a sliver of vanilla extract in the mix, too. I'm sadly not getting any of the chai- I keep searching for cardamom scents and they keep hiding from me! So, I'm a little sad at that.
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In The Bottle: Yummy, yummy espresso and dry cocoa. Nomnomnom
Wet On Skin: The espresso has downgraded to coffee, but you'll hear no complaints from me about it. Also, I detect a hard-tack crust, which might be the caramel?
Dry Down: An amazing dry cocoa / coffee bean combination. I sadly don't seem to be getting any of the cheesecake aspect, but I'm not complaining: it might come out later through aging, but even if it doesn't I am pleased as punch to have another chocolate-coffee scent in my roster.
Mme. Moriarty, Misfortune Teller Hair Gloss
in Hair
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Full disclosure: I was definitely one of the people voting for this scent in this vehicle, so already, I'm anticipating greatness!
It's been a long while since I've experienced a "fresh" batch of Mme. Moriarty, my current perfume bottle is from the original release, so it's very, very well-aged. There's a "sharpness" to it fresh, just as there is with Snake Oil. Some scents just need a little time to ruminate! That said, all the important elements are here in spades, and as usual, Puddin' -bless 'im- poured in the perfume with a heavy hand indeed. All of which is to say, a little goes a long way!
Even fresh, it's the same yummy scent we've all grown to pledge eternal love for, in a great format- I know that the small amount I spray in my hare today will continue to offer me little wiffs of scent for several days to come- and I couldn't be happier about it!