++ C2E2 2013
Inspired by the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893!

THE COURT OF HONOR
A marble-white blend of sandalwood, pearlescent orris, white amber, blonde tobacco, and chilled crystalline musk.

THE GREAT BASIN
The White City by Night: white musk, a drop of violet leaf, and sheer, luminescent vanilla that has been gently illuminated by a spark of electricity.

LITTLE EGYPT
Honeyed myrrh and sweet flag.

THE PALACE OF ELECTRICITY
The scent of progress: dynamos and motors, electrical sparks and ozone.

THE TURKISH VILLAGE
Thick Turkish coffee, cardamom pods, Damascene roses, and buhur.

++ BATS DAY 2013
DYSOPES TENUIS
Blackcurrant bud, crystallized rose, inky musk, and tonka bean.

GREATER HORSESHOE BAT
Rosewood, beeswax, labdanum absolute, blackened tea leaf, and dark fuzzy musk.

MOPSFLEDERMAUS
Brown sugar and ginger root with smoky clove, bourbon vanilla, cardamom, and Indonesian musk.

NOCTULE BAT
Haitian vetiver, licorice root, wild plum, immortelle, and white sandalwood.

SEROTINE BAT
Bourbon vanilla, Arabian amber, ylang ylang, peach blossom, sweet freesia, and strands of vibrant saffron.

$25 each! The World’s Columbian Expo scents will only be available at C2E2 in Chicago, and the Bats Day scents will be available at our booth in the vending area of the Anaheim Bats Day event!

(I have no idea if that last sentence made sense! I have the flu derps!)

Black Phoenix Trading Post’s exclusives will be announced soon’ly!

C2E2
April 26-28th
West Building at McCormick Place
Chicago, Il
www.c2e2.com

Bats Day Black Market
May 4th, 3 to 10pm
DoubleTree Guest Suites Anaheim
2085 South Harbor Blvd Anaheim CA, 92802
Bats Day Black Market

Proceeds from the sales in the Tremulous Song series will be donated to First Book, an organization that distributes books and educational resources to programs and schools serving children from low-income families throughout the United States and Canada.

All images were named by Lilith, with the exception of a few, like Cykranosh, Yaksh, [Redacted] Dragon, Rapunzel in Ballpoint, the self-portraits, and the Summoning Stone Play Structure. All quotes came straight from the artist’s mouth, and all scents were guided and approved by the Littlest Alchemist. The [Redacted] Dragon scent is a little bit of a joke – Lil drew a pic (and told her version of the story) of a very specific dragon that I can’t name out of respect for another entity’s trademark rights. Those of you that are friended to me on Facebook might know who this fiery fella is. Much love to Emzebel for being the inspiration for the revised scent name!

A Tremulous Song will be live until the June full moon! I hope you have as much fun with this set as we had making it!

A mix of oak leaf, sultry bourbon vanilla, almond husk, and black leather accord darkened by a 13-year aged patchouli.  Available in limited quantities.

Purchase here.

And so does Fashionably Geek.

Thank you Amy Ratcliffe and Jill Pantozzi for being ahead of the curve.

PEONY MOON 2013
In these spring days,
when tranquil light encompasses
the four directions,
why do the blossoms scatter
with such uneasy hearts?

Ume blossoms and pink peony against a pale backdrop of white sandalwood, Japanese apricot petals, lotus root, and spider lily.

Art by Mariah Huehner.

This month’s single note is:

AMBERGRIS
Sperm whale intestinal glop, oh how the fragrance world adores you. Ambergris is born from a sticky, black bile secretion that gloops forth from the intestines of sperm whales. When fresh, it possesses a rank, seaweedy fecal odor, but once it has been embraced by sea and sun, it transforms into a uniquely intoxicating perfume fixative. This precious substance has been used in cosmetics for ages untold, and is said to be a potent aphrodisiac with the power to increase psychic sensitivity and induce prophetic dreams.

Our ambergris accord is lightly balsamic, slightly woody, almost tobacco-like marine musk, and possesses a distinct salty animalic note that borders on sweet. The scent is extraordinarily versatile, and adds depth and complexity to a wide swath of fragrance families.

No whales were harmed, fondled, scraped, prodded, or offended during the creation and production of this accord. It is 100% vegan, and has never seen the inside of a whale’s tummy.

Also, we are thrilled to announce five new additions to our Coraline series.

CORALINE JONES
“What should I do?” asked Coraline.

“Read a book,” said her mother. “Watch a video. Play with your toys. Go and pester Miss Spink or Miss Forcible, or the crazy old man upstairs.”

“No,” said Coraline. “I don’t want to do those things. I want to explore.”

Dry grass, clean skin, and a little bit of mossy berry.

Miss Spink and Miss Forcible lived in the flat below Coraline’s, on the ground floor. They were both old and round, and they lived in their flat with a number of ageing Highland terriers who had names like Hamish and Andrew and Jock. Once upon a time Miss Spink and Miss Forcible had been actresses, as Miss Spink told Coraline the first time she met her.

“You see, Caroline,” Miss Spink said, getting Coraline’s name wrong, “both myself and Miss Forcible were famous actresses, in our time. We trod the boards, luvvy. Oh, don’t let Hamish eat the fruitcake, or he’ll be up all night with his tummy.”

“It’s Coraline. Not Caroline, Coraline,” said Coraline.

MISS SPINK
A grand, over-the-top tuberose gardenia.

MISS FORCIBLE
A classic vintage musk.

Both Miss Spink and Miss Forcible scents have a bit of tea splash and biscuit crumbs.

MR. BOBO
“Mister Bobo?”

“The man in the top flat. Mister Bobo. Fine old circus family, I believe. Romanian or Slovenian or Livonian, or one of those countries. Bless me, I can never remember them anymore.”

It had never occurred to Coraline that the crazy old man upstairs actually had a name, she realized. If she’d known his name was Mr. Bobo she would have said it every chance she got. How often do you get to say a name like “Mr. Bobo” aloud?

Cooking herbs, pickles, and mouse fur.

THE CAT
There was a polite noise from behind her.

She turned around. Standing on the wall next to her was a large black cat, identical to the large black cat she’d seen in the grounds at home.

“Good afternoon,” said the cat.

Its voice sounded like the voice at the back of Coraline’s head, the voice she thought words in, but a man’s voice, not a girl’s.

“Hello,” said Coraline. “I saw a cat like you in the garden at home. You must be the other cat.”

The cat shook its head. “No,” it said. “I’m not the other anything. I’m me.” It tipped its head to one side; green eyes glinted. “You people are spread all over the place. Cats, on the other hand, keep ourselves together. If you see what I mean.”

“I suppose. But if you’re the same cat I saw at home, how can you talk?”

Cats don’t have shoulders, not like people do. But the cat shrugged, in one smooth movement that started at the tip of its tail and ended in a raised movement of its whiskers. “I can talk.”

“Cats don’t talk at home.”

“No?” said the cat.

“No,” said Coraline.

The cat leaped smoothly from the wall to the grass near Coraline’s feet. It stared up at her.

“Well, you’re the expert on these things,” said the cat dryly. “After all, what would I know? I’m only a cat.”

Sleek, black, dark, and clever: benzoin, honey, cedar, and dark musk.

Over at Black Phoenix Trading Post, in addition to the Peony Moon shirt, there’s a new Our Lady of Pain tee, and a new candle is available on the Illumination page.

GRAVE MOSS AND UPTURNED SOIL
The scent of an ancient, long-abandoned churchyard: weed-choked crumbling tombstones under the shadows of midnight and thick black soil disturbed by inhuman hands.

—

Also, a reminder that our west coast will call event is this Sunday, and our Seattle and Vermont will call events are next weekend.

The west coast will call event will be held on Sunday, March 24th from 4 to 7pm at Dark Delicacies.

Dark Delicacies
3512 W. Magnolia Blvd
(1 block east of Hollywood Way)
Burbank, CA 91505
www.darkdel.com
___

New England Will Call will be held at Healthy Living Market on Sunday, March 31st from 4:00 to 7:00pm, in the Learning Center.

Healthy Living Market
222 Dorset Street,
South Burlington, VT, 05403

___________

Seattle Will Call will be held at Bedlam Bedlam on Saturday, March 30th from 6:30 to 9:00pm.

BedlamBedlam
613 East Pike Street
Seattle WA 98122
http://bedlambedlam.com/

As always, if you have any questions about will call, please email us at willcall@blackphoenixalchemylab.com.

The west coast will call event will be held on Sunday, March 24th from 4 to 7pm at Dark Delicacies.

Dark Delicacies
3512 W. Magnolia Blvd
(1 block east of Hollywood Way)
Burbank, CA 91505
www.darkdel.com
___

New England Will Call will be held at Healthy Living Market on Sunday, March 31st from 4:00 to 7:00pm, in the Learning Center.

Healthy Living Market
222 Dorset Street,
South Burlington, VT, 05403

___________

Seattle Will Call will be held at Bedlam Bedlam on Saturday, March 30th from 6:30 to 9:00pm.

BedlamBedlam
613 East Pike Street
Seattle WA 98122
http://bedlambedlam.com/

If you have any questions, please email us at willcall@blackphoenixalchemylab.com.

THE MAZE OF GAMES
Colleen stepped forward to within the figure’s reach. “Excuse me, Sir Skeleton? Who exactly are you?”

As the door slammed shut, the figure reached down to touch Colleen on the forehead. She recoiled from the cold.

“Why, child, I am the Gatekeeper,” he said with a forbidding smile, though in truth his skeletal face nade it hard to tell. “You unlucky children are about to enter my world. And if you keep your wits about you, you might make it out alive.

“So welcome,” he said as the Quaice siblings’ world went black. “Welcome, my young charges, to The Maze of Games.”

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab is proud to debut THE GATEKEEPER, a haunting, puzzling scent in commemoration of The Maze of Games, which is currently debuting on Kickstarter now.

The Maze of Games is an upcoming interactive puzzle novel written by Mike Selinker and illustrated by Pete Venters. It contains over 50 puzzles and a deeply engaging story, all woven together in a “solve your own adventure” style which will keep you jumping from page to page.

The main characters are teenagers Colleen and Samuel Quaice, who live in England in the year 1897. During a visit to the Upper Wolverhampton Library, they discover a musty book called The Maze of Games. This summons a mysterious skeletal guardian named the Gatekeeper, who plunges them into dangerous mazes rife with monsters and bizarre puzzles. Only by solving their way through the mazes will the Quaice children find their way home.

In honor of this enchanting novel, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab is pleased to debut a limited-edition potion that will keep you guessing for days on end.

THE GATEKEEPER
A dry perfume, solemn and riddled with ancient, whispered secrets: brittle bones, the well-worn leather spines of forgotten books, crumbling papyrus, and the warm, strange scent of yellowed, crumbling manuscripts.

The Gatekeeper will be available in Summer 2013 at $26.00 per 5ml bottle.

All purchasers of any Maze of Games book will receive a coupon for $5 off a bottle of The Gatekeeper when it becomes available.

Black Phoenix loves Lone Shark Games! Mike is a phenomenal puzzle-twister and a game designer beyond compare, and he is one hell of a good guy. We are thrilled to be a part of this amazing project!

- Elizabeth Barrial, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Carnaval Diabolique backstock is live on Etsy.