This is a post I’ve been meaning to do for a very long time as I’ve been a years long fan (and friend) of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab! It’s definitely one of my addictions. 😀  My friends over at BPAL (as we lovingly refer to it) were kind enough to send me some the Halloween (or Weenies) 2018 perfume oils! This collection is available until January 23rd 2019! So you have PLENTY of time to partake in all the Halloween goodness well after the fact! 🙂 I did plan on doing a spotlight on my entire collection (which is over 100+ bottles) but I thought I’d do a spotlight on this tiny portion instead.  You can find the Halloween 2018 collection here.

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab is not only known for their incredible, unique, and long lasting perfume oils that are cruelty free, but for their activism (which is absolutely wonderful) and also of their support of creators like Neil Gaiman and cult films such as Crimson Peak, Only Lovers Left Alive, Labyrinth, and other fan favorites like Dungeons and Dragons etc. So they definitely support the Goths, Geeks, Witches, Pagans, and other alt cultures alike! The owners are incredible and beautiful people (inside and out) and I’m very proud to call them friends and support their brand. There is literally something for everyone as they have a selection of hundreds of perfume oils to peruse! Once a month, they have what they call Lunacy Events (which are near the full moon) at their shop in North Hollywood where the public can come to meet the owners as well as try and smell all of the perfume oils in person and participate in whatever fun things they have going on.

Halloween 2018

BPAL’s perfume oils are usually between $19.50 – $26.00 a bottle depending on if they’re part of their usual stock, limited, or licensed. The Halloween 2018 collection is $26.00 a bottle and is considered a limited release. Imps (the small sample vials) are not available for this collection, but they are available for the normal stock. BPALs perfume oils are the most potent and long lasting perfume oils that I own. I can put it on at 8am in the morning and still smell it by 6pm when it’s time for me to leave work.

Their perfume oils work in layers, so they start off smelling one way in the bottle, another while wet on the skin, and then begins to transform as it dries down further. It’s literally like wearing a story on your skin that’s being told with your sense of smell! It’s truly wonderful! I highly recommend putting a small bit on your skin first before you write it off if you may not like how something smells in the bottle. It will change once you have it on.

I’m going to start things by listing each perfume oil I was sent along with it’s notes and my thoughts. (Please note that it will react on each individuals skin chemistry differently so what works for me may not work for you or vice versa.)

Dead Leaves Blackberry and Red Patchouli:
The Dead Leaves series are pretty straight forward and have each note listed as the name of the scent. So this one smells exactly like each one listed. Dead Leaves is mostly at the forefront of this with blackberry and red patchouli acting as support. This series of perfume oils tend to be some of my favorites to wear in the fall.

Dead Leaves and Scotch:
This one is probably my favorite out of the two Dead Leaves scents I was sent. I like the musky tones of this one a lot. I like scents that smell earthy and this one has that twist of scotch that dried down to something really up my alley.

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.”
It really is all that and more! This is one of my new favorite go to scents. I’ve probably worn this the most out of all the one’s I received in this batch. It’s very much Autumn, the woods, with a sprinkle of sweetness. When it dries down on me, it’s just warm and cozy Autumn in a bottle. It’s me in a bottle. 🙂

All Hallows Chaos: Samhain:
“This Samhain, we’re reveling in the desecration of a classic blend: “Damp woods, fir needle, and black patchouli with the gentlest touches of warm pumpkin, clove, nutmeg, allspice, sweet red apple and mullein.”
This is the dark sister of  the Samhain scent. It’s like they took the scent, and flipped it upside down into the darkness. This is what Lily smelled like after she got the black dress transformation in Legend. Every note has been deepened from the original. It’s definitely not as bright. It’s more “sexy” and dark. So naturally, it’s my other new go to. 😉

Samhainophobia:
“Menacing Haitian vetiver, patchouli, and clove with a shock of bourbon geranium, grim oakmoss, and dread-inspiring balsams pierce the innocuous scent of autumn leaves.”
I didn’t like this one at all straight out of the bottle.  I put it on my skin, I changed my mind! (Like I said before, these perfume oils smell one way in the bottle and will change depending on the chemistry of your skin and it’s dry down) This one is very similar to Samhain, like it’s other sister, the more mature one. The patchouli and clove stand out more as it dries down even further. Putting it in my go to pile! It smells damn good on me! I really love scents that have an incense smelling vibe to them.

Magnificent Autumn:
“A scent that wanders through the Ages of Autumn, from the last green leaf to the first breath of winter.”
This is my go to scent every Autumn. I have a bottle I’ve been using since maybe 2 Autumn’s ago so I was very glad to get a back up. It literally smells like wet Autumn leaves. Only a small tinge of sweetness on the end of it.

Pomegranate Grove: Snake Oil:
I believe the Pomegrante Grove series takes some of BPAL’s classic/popular scents and pairs it with a bit of pomegrante scent. Here is the description of regular Snake Oil (this one doesn’t have one) “A blend of exotic Indonesian oils sugared with vanilla.” I do have regular snake oil to compare it to, and this one has a smidge more vanilla to it. I’m not smelling any pomegranate at all.

Pumpkin Dust:
“Shavings of white pumpkin rind and honey powder.”
I’m not crazy about this one. I tend to shy away from pumpkin scents as I don’t like most of them. It smells exactly as described, so if you love pumpkin scents, you will probably love this one!

The Scarlet Horror:
“Blasphemous mockery: blood musk and vetiver.”
I hate to say, but I wasn’t a fan of this one either, which is a bummer because I love musk and vetiver. I was hoping I’d like it more on the dry down (it smelled great in the bottle, and was pretty sharp while wet on my skin) but it’s not working well with my body’s chemistry, which is a total bummer. Ironically, when I went to wash it off with the “Jumping in Leaves” hand soap by Bath and Body Works, the combined scent was really nice. Hmmm. I might need to layer this one.

The Witches’ Ride:
“Red roses and vetiver with cashmere incense, rue, and cauldron spices.”
The red roses is what I smelled first once I put it on my skin (and it went a tad bit soapy smelling (like Ivory soap? Like basic soap) which worried me because sometimes scents do that on my skin and I can’t wear them :/) When it started to dry down even more, I started to smell the incense (which was a relief!)  I feel like the incense and spices are fighting with the soapy smell, so I’m not sure how I feel about this one. I’m conflicted for sure!

There Was Beauty, There Was Wine:
“Gushes of black and red wine splattering damask rose and white pear, engulfed in thick clove incense.”
Upon opening the bottle and smelling it “Omg it’s straight up wine! Yum!” It smells like wine and the pear initially on my skin, with a touch of that damask rose as it begins drying down.  The rose started taking over more and suddenly, as it dries down even more, the clove incense starts to come forward which I’m super thankful for, as rose goes soapy on my skin. I still smell the rose, and a little of the pear on total dry down. I feel like all the notes are fighting for their turn, so I’m a bit undecided on this one.

All Souls:
“An incense blend that invokes the higher qualities of mercy and compassion, mingled with the soft, sugared currant scent of offertory soul cakes.”
The incense is the main note here, which means I love it. 😉 The current note creeps in on it and the the soul cakes. It’s a really pleasant experiences on my skin and I’m actually really fond of this combo. It mainly smells of incense and soul cakes with the current as the little accent note. Upon the dry down, it’s incense and current.

Ghoulish:
“Creepy like Creepy and as spooky as Spooky, this is the scent of a black cherry and coconut amaretto confection gently laced with saffron.”
Straight upon opening the bottle and smelling “Omg if this was candy or pastry/cake, I’d eat the hell out of this”.  It smells REALLY good. This is a great gourmand scent, like a boozy cherry desert of some kind. It smells amazing on my skin and as it dries down you start to smell the coconut amaretto (it definitely does not smell tropical if you’re worried about that. This is a more refined coconut smell) and then the dash of saffron and the black cherry is gone. If you like to smell like deserts, this should be at the top of your list. It’s like sexy desert.

Lambs Wool:
“A popular holy day beverage in 18th century Ireland: roasted apples mashed into warmed milk and ale, with nutmeg, sugar, ginger, and clove.”
Smelling it out of the bottle, it smells like yummy apples. On the skin wet, I still smell those roasted apples in the sugar and then all the other spices start to come through. If you love apples and spices, you will love this. It’s just sweet enough for me w/o going over my sweet tolerance. The tartness of the apple really helps with that. For me, for my sweet gourmand scents, I need either tartness or booziness to be paired with them w/o it being too sweet smelling to the point where I can’t wear it. This is a perfect balance of sweet and tart.

Bonfire Toffee:
“Our spin on a traditional Guy Fawkes Night treat: treacle toffee soaked in rich, dark bourbon.”
Right out of the bottle it smells like treacle toffee with a hint of bourbon. On the skin wet is the toffee, but the bourbon is definitely creeping in. Again, for me, if this scent didn’t have the bourbon to balance it out, I wouldn’t be able to handle it. This is also a perfect balance of sweet and boozey. The bourbon is more prominent as it dries down with the toffee being the side dish to it. I really would like this as an actual drink! It smells really good! Again, another great scent if you’re a fan of gourmand scents.

Are you interested in BPAL? Any scents stand out to you from this post or from their site? Let me know!

-Siryn