It's that time again. It's time to talk about BPAL.
"What's BPAL?" you ask.
Tsk tsk: you haven't been paying attention to FCH, have you?
BPAL is Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, and it is a wonderful universe of scented pleasures. Please go do some reading and come back to the class when you're all caught up. Start here, then go here, then here. Heck - just go over to the search feature on yon blog sidebar [thataway <--------------] and put in BPAL.
At last count, there were 24 posts on FCH that mention BPAL. Can the class all say "obsession"?
AT ANY RATE... the BPAL catalog has changed again (YAY!) with additions to one of my favorite themes: Carnaval Diabolique.
At the Carnaval, well... I'll let the official words of Beth (BPAL genius) explain for you with the Carnaval's prologue:
Tattered and stained parchment signs lead you through a maze of dark woods and damp leaves; a curl of opium smoke, black musk and floral perfume compels you through the darkness towards the firelight in the distance. The faraway wailing of a phantom calliope grows louder as you approach the isolated clearing, and creaking gates announce your arrival. Massive crumbling statues adorn the gates, depicting a surrealistic scene of cavorting imps, grinning demons, and heavy-lidded succubi. A huge neon sign hums and sparks, marking the entrance:
It flashes, “Carnaval Diabolique”.
It is midnight on the midway, and in the air, the scent of nighttime rain, ozone, and heavy summer blooms mingles with thick incense, and a disconcerting blend of sugar and brimstone. Black and orange banners flutter in sinister gaiety, snapping weirdly in the chill breeze as lightning slashes through the sky. In the gloom, the Carnaval thrums with life and unlife; the murmuration is low-pitched, punctuated by gasps, soft cries, and moans, and the smooth, resonant voices of the carnaval talkers, grinders, candy butchers, and pitchmen carry over it all.
If that doesn't set the mood, I don't know what will!
In the earlier Acts of the Carnaval, we were introduced to the smells and characters of the Midway including the Midway itself (Midnight on the Midway), The Phantom Calliope, and the sweets-bearing Candy Butcher. In and amongst the tents are many strange and curious people: Mmme. Moriarty, Misfortune Teller (one of my favorites, what with her musky, pomegranate-y goodness and eerily familiar appearance and name!), Antonio, The Carny Talker, Xanthe, The Weeping Clown and others. Said Carny Talker beckons you further to what the ignorant would refer to as "a freak show" but we know to be The Parliament of Monsters - a collection of some of the most wonderous, depraved, spectacular beings ever seen in one tent, not the least of which are Faiza, The Black Mamba, and her serpentine friends (13 in all, called The Snake Pit - all scents being based on the much-loved BPAL scent Snake Oil), Priala, The Human Phoenix, and Isaac, The Living Skeleton.
Now, for the new stuff: welcome Act IV: The Interlude.
Experienced after the flames of Priala, The Human Phoenix, this Act begins as you stumble out of The Parliament of Monsters. A storm is brewing, and you notice Stormclouds Over the Midway, then just as you get your bearings you catch glimpse of a terrifying game of Knucklebones. Rattled, you peek in a green tent to witness the debauch that is L'heure Verte. Opium, absinthe, and loosened inhibitions- why do you leave? But you do... (narrowly avoiding Jean Lanfray, but that's neither here nor there). Walking past The Blockhead, happily drumming nails into his skull, you trip past The Chapel (you don't like what you saw there!) and on to ...
...The Grindhouse, featuring Dead or Live Girls, depending on your preferences. Once you've wandered back to the Midway, you're only somewhat disappointed to see that The Illustrated Woman and The Torture Queen are on a smoke break. You spot The Blood Garden and the suspicious pale beings inside, sipping those thick, deep red drinks. Did that guy have fangs!?
Unsettled, you are startled by a sound behind you and you are introduced to Act V: The Wunderkammer:
The Carny Talker sidles up to you, and puts his thickly-muscled arm across your shoulder. He smiles his crooked smile and says, "You've seen some of our Astonishing Anatomical Wonders - now, come witness an extraordinary, exotic exhibition of hellish and heavenly contraptions and creatures gathered from around the globe! Astounding artifacts abound! A Museum of Miracles and Monstrosities such as the world has never seen, so stupendous that it defies even your most feverish and fanciful imaginings! This, in itself, is a Microcosmos of the Marvels of the Multiverse, an Awe-Inspiring Account of Natural and Unnatural History!
You will see the Bezoar, The Hand of Glory, a Two-Headed Goat and other atrocious but spellbinding items that you aren't quite sure are "of this world" - and are certainly not of this Era.
I summarize the Carnaval here just as I would post the colors of a new MAC collection - but please know that simply reading this post in lieu of the BPAL page is really ripping yourself off....
Note: I have not experienced Act IV or Act V, yet, but plan to, starting with The Grindhouse (and many of the girls inside). I've flagged the scents I'm interested in with an *asterisk* - not that you care, but it is my blog... Tell us in the Comments which ones tickle your fancy!
Summarizing Act IV:
Stormclouds Over the Midway | Thunder-charged ozone, plum-colored incense smoke, opium tar, and wormwood.
Knucklebones | Black musk, bay rum, lime fougere, orange blossom water, gin, and tobacco.
*L'heure Verte | Spilled absinthe, scorched sugar cubes, opium smoke, lilac blossoms, and rose water.
The Blockhead | Rusted metal, leather, and a pop of pink bubblegum.
The Chapel | Black incense, bitter wine, brimstone, and blood.
*The Grindhouse | Florentine iris, red musk, mimosa, magnolia, Damascus rose, clove, and vanilla bean.
*AERONWEN | Fig, dark myrrh, amber, redwood, nutmeg, tarragon, black musk, and sweet orange
*AGRAT-BAT-MAHLAHT | Amber, cream accord, white honey, apple blossom, skin musk, caramel, and teak
*ASHLULTUM | Babylonian musk, vanilla tea, tonka, tobacco, coconut, hyssop, and lilac
*CLÉMENCE | Patchouli, Kashmiri tea, cardamom, black pepper, carnation, and clove
*CYTHEREA | White sandalwood, patchouli, white amber, orris, bourbon vanilla, champaca flower, and kush
*DIONYSIA | Wild plum, pomegranate, raspberry, Siamese benzoin, plum blossom, patchouli, frankincense, and mahogany
DAIYU | Moroccan jasmine, chrysanthemum, tea leaf, white musk, and acai berry
*EISHETH ZENUNIM | Honey, ambergris, neroli, white peach, patchouli, and cocoa absolute
GWYNETH | Rose otto, tonka, orchid, Calla lily, skin musk, coconut, and Spanish sage
*INEZ | Golden amber, vanilla musk, myrrh, cedar, carnation, and red sandalwood
MARCILLA | Blue lilac, lily of the valley, golden musk, beeswax, white ginger, bergamot, green tea, and nectarine
MARGUERITE | Rose, rose geranium, myrrh, ylang ylang, French gardenia, tuberose, red sandalwood, and palmarosa
*MARIANNE | Red musk, bergamot, black currant, mimosa, orchid, patchouli, and lotus root
PARTHENOPE | Honeysuckle, orris, moss, musk, benzoin, oakmoss, and star jasmine
Summarizing Act IV:
Bezoar | Copaiba balsam, Tolu balsam, hay absolute, cardamom, and hiba wood
*The Blasphemare Reliquary | Ethiopian myrrh, Damascus rose, boswellia, galbanum, and copal
Faeu Boulanger | Mushroom gases, swamp mist, green mint, and bog violet
The Contract of Theophilus of Adnana | Parchment, Siamese benzoin, infernal incense, red musk, brimstone, and daemonorops
The Grand Inquisitor's Heretic's Fork | Coppery dried blood, metal, vetiver, and bonfire smoke
Hand of Glory | Beeswax, dry leather, black pepper, saltpeter, nutmeg, Mysore sandalwood, and oak bark
Licwiglunga | Hemp paper, frankincense, dried pomegranate juice, lavender, gum mastic, verbena, fennel, star anise, and Dittany of Crete
The Maltese Cross of Sanctus Germanus | Golden amber, blood orange, ambergris, lilac, frankincense, and agarwood
*Pickled Imp | Cinnamon, clove, vanilla, and pine sap
Shrunken Heads | Leather tanned with the pulp of Amazon ferns and rainforest herbs
Sir Hugh Ockram's Winding Sheet | Rotting linen, white sandalwood, hyssop, and dust
Tabula Smaragdina | Rosicrucian incense
The Two-Headed Goat | Dark musk, pimento berry, oakmoss, birch wood, and petitgrain
See the entire Carnaval here & pick your poison!
I know you were wondering - or at least I know I wondered when I first met BPAL :
Artwork for the Carnaval Diabolique is done by Jennifer Williamson and Alicia Dabney. Check 'em out!
Again, it is worth mentioning: I am not affiliated in any way with BPAL. Sadly.
I am trying to think of a way I could be of some benefit just so I could join the team. Do you think they need a makeup artist, blogger, or American Sign Language Interpreter? Or maybe just someone to mother them and make sure they're eating balanced diets and that their sippy cups are clean and filled at all times? *sigh* I don't have a lot of talents to offer, so I'll have to be satisfied being yet another rabid fan...
