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Happy Sixth Anniversary, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab!!!

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab (BPAL) has been pleasing the noses of their fans for six years. Congratulations! And rather than asking us to send them flowers, they have made us some phenomenal perfume oils.

It's their anniversary, and they made us prezzies! Amazing.

So, in light of their six yummy years, I happily introduce to my readers six Phoenix scents celebrating the keys of Alchemy (and one really fun party scent!). And, as if that weren't enough, we get two ridiculously popular scents from the past, resurrected for your sniffing (and hoarding) pleasure!

All of the Anniversary and ressurected scents are availablefor a short time only, so make sure you buy before they disappear (January 15th, 2009). While I'm on the topic: If you need your order by Christmas Eve, place it soon! US customers must order by Dec 13, and international customers must order by Dec 6th. So get to gettin'!

Let's start with Alchemy... that magic that makes it all happen at BPAL! The keys: the four elements, wood, and metal. The scents: Metal Phoenix, Wood Phoenix, Water Phoenix, Fire Phoenix, and Earth Phoenix. Oh, and the extra Phoenix: Candy Phoenix! Wanna know what they smell like? Keep reading... METAL PHOENIX | Tenacity, force, strength, stability, and determination: Chinese musk and gleaming white metal with honeysuckle, rose mallow, verbena, and carnation. WOOD PHOENIX | Flexibility, cooperation, expansiveness, and altruism: Chinese musk and five woods with newly budding bamboo shoots, hyssop, chamomile, pink clove, magnolia, walnut, and fig. WATER PHOENIX | Compassion, eloquence, introspection: Chinese musk and rain, with salty oceanic notes, frankincense, juniper berry, lily of the valley, lavender, cinquefoil, and sweet pea. FIRE PHOENIX | Enterprise, adventure, restlessness, impulsiveness, and dynamism: Chinese musk and red musk with hyacinth, cactus flower, cubeb berry, galangal, tobacco, pink pepper, and sarsaparilla. EARTH PHOENIX | Hard work, patience, and harmony: Chinese musk, dark musk, and moist soil with black cherry, opoponax, night-blooming jasmine, plum, woodland tobacco, snakeweed, and cypress. CANDY PHOENIX | A dusky, yet effervescent mix of pomegranate and black currant candies, with a dusting of sugared pear and white apple.

And because they love us, they have brought back two ridiculously popular scents. These scents were topping the lists I saw while people were waiting/hoping for resurrected blends in celebration of BPAL-iversary. To call them "popular" is an understatement, in fact. You can bet people will be placing multi-bottle orders of these two oils... BEAVER'VERSARY | Cheesecake and cupcakes, yo! This is Beaver Moon 2005 resurrected! SNAKE CHARMER: RESURRECTED | Sensual, sibilant, sexual and hypnotic: Arabian musk and exotic spices   slinking through Egyptian amber, enticing vanilla, and a serpentine blend of black plum, labdanum, ambrette, benzoin and black coconut. To learn more about these two scents, since they have been released in earlier carnations, visit the reviews on the BPAL forums: Snake Charmer and Beaver Moon.

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As always, I share with you my shopping list:

• Let's start with the resurrected scents, since I've been hearing so much about them! I will need a Beaver'versary / Beaver Moon Resurrected, even though I'm not a rabid fan of "foodie" scents. But this seems like just the right party oil, and I will bust it out proudly at every cupcake and cheesecake event I attend!
• The reverence and awe used to refer to Snake Charmer has me convinced I will need multiple bottles. Thank the gods I have 'til January to order! I will start with one bottle, just to make sure I love it as much as I suspect I will considering the ingredients. But I'll probably end up with three. Or four?
• I've heard so much about BPAL's water scents, but haven't tried one yet. So Water Phoenix is on the list for sure!
• I will be eagerly awaiting reviews of Earth, Fire and Wood Phoenixes to see if they warrant a bottle. Keeping the eyes on the review forums, I will be...

What catches your fancy, friends!?!

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(Snake Charmer icon by minilux,Beaver Moon icon by naeelah,phoenix icon courtesy of ctate, pretty poison icon courtesy of azhure)

BPAL Review: The Grindhouse and The Ladies of the Grindhouse | 15 - Parthenope

BPAL Review: The Grindhouse and The Ladies of the Grindhouse |

15 - Parthenope

Folks - if you aren't clicking on the images in this series to take an up-close look, you're missing out! Jennifer Williamson is A-MA-ZING.

The description of the scent:

Honeysuckle, orris, moss, musk, benzoin, oakmoss, and star jasmine.

Initial impressions:

Light green. (Yes, sometimes the best reference I can come up with for a scent is a color!)

More thoughts:

Parthenope was one of the three Sirens in mythology. She tossed herself in the sea when Ulysses didn't return her love. However, this isn't a straight-up marine or water scent. This oil is a light green floral, heavy on the honeysuckle.

Don't worry, though. The honeysuckle isn't so heavy as to take over! It's got all of that lovely moss, which makes me think of a spring forest. I'd have easily believed that Parthenope was a woodland fairy, from scent alone!

The star jasmine comes out after a bit, which is nice because often jasmine takes over on my skin. Here, it stays light without getting super-sweet and sticky, or heady.

This scent is nice, and I'll hang onto it. But it's a slightly strong one on my skin, so I won't be wearing it to meetings or anytime I have to sit right next to someone else! It's a great girly scent, though, without being sugary. A keeper, but not a Top 10 scent.

BPAL Review: The Grindhouse and The Ladies of the Grindhouse | 14 - Marianne

BPAL Review: The Grindhouse and The Ladies of the Grindhouse |

14 - Marianne

Folks - if you aren't clicking on the images in this series to take an up-close look, you're missing out! Jennifer Williamson is A-MA-ZING.

The description of the scent:

Red musk, bergamot, black currant, mimosa, orchid, patchouli, and lotus root.

Initial impressions:

Red musk and currant.

More thoughts:

In BPAL land, some folks like to leave scents untouched for awhile, while some of the ingredients ripen and bloom. This is a scent that I really like, but I think I'll like tons more after a few months of aging.

What a spectacularly complex scent this is! I get blasts of red musk, then a citrus splash (small, but there) from the bergamot. The black currant is always there, but the mimosa, orchid and lotus root can all be picked out at various times.

The patchouli in this oil is deep and woody, but not dirty. How could it be, surrounded by such beautiful flowers?

This is a keeper, and I'll try to remember to do an update review once it has aged. I bet it's a Top 5 scent by February!

BPAL Review: The Grindhouse and The Ladies of the Grindhouse | 13 - Marguerite

BPAL Review: The Grindhouse and The Ladies of the Grindhouse |

13 - Marguerite

Folks - if you aren't clicking on the images in this series to take an up-close look, you're missing out! Jennifer Williamson is A-MA-ZING.

The description of the scent:

Rose, rose geranium, myrrh, ylang ylang, French gardenia, tuberose, red sandalwood, and palmarosa.

Initial impressions:

Floral, and at first almost soley rose.

More thoughts:

I'm not a ginormous fan of rose, mostly because when I smell rose I can't smell too much else. That problem is apparent when I work with Marguerite. I smell something green and fresh behind the rose, though, and that's what makes me give this scent a second chance. Maybe it's the ylang ylang and gardenia? It gives this a zest that keeps it from being "just another rose" to my lowly nose.

I think rose lovers will enjoy this a lot. It seems to be well-blended (as always with BPAL), it's just my broken nose that can't seem to pull other scents out of the thorns.

BPAL Review: The Grindhouse and The Ladies of the Grindhouse | 11 - Inez

BPAL Review: The Grindhouse and The Ladies of the Grindhouse |

11 - Inez

Folks - if you aren't clicking on the images

in this series to take an up-close look,

you're missing out!

Jennifer Williamson is A-MA-ZING.

The description of the scent:

Golden amber, vanilla musk, myrrh, cedar, carnation and red sandalwood.

Initial impressions:

Deep, musky amber.

More thoughts:

This skyrocketed directly to my Top 5 list, and that's saying a lot! Spectacular. The carnation, red sandalwood and musk remind me of Morocco, my favorite scent of all time, but it's not the same perfume at all. This one is richer and deeper than Morocco and the cedar and myrrh give it a different twist. But as far as it goes, this is the same family of scents and it's now a cherished bottle in my collection.

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Kid in a candy store: Quick! Sweep these goodies into your shopping cart!

When I was younger, companies used to have contests where someone could run through a store tossing as many things she wanted to into a shopping cart in a certain amount of time. Once time was up, she got to keep what was in the basket. I seem to remember these usually being conducted at toy stores, but maybe those were the only stores I payed attention to? I was a kid, after all!

So my idea is this: what if we had the opportunity to do that at Sephora!?

How much fun would that be?  Let's pretend...

Disclaimer, of sorts: my imaginary Sephora has everything that you can find online. Are all of those brands at my local store? Not necessarily, but this is my game! Also, in my little game I'm only shopping for personal items - not for items for my artistry kit. If this were a professional spree it would be a completely different trip. Maybe we'll play that "imagine if..." game one day soon...

What's the first area of the store you'd run to? Me? I'd go directly to Make Up For Ever, first.

• AquaEyes are mine! I'd get one of each (one handful, that is!). These are amazing and long-lasting and complete perfection. Strip lashes-- just randomly grabbing and sweeping into my basket. You can't go wrong, and even if they're a bit on the bizarre or dressy side, there's always an opportunity to use them at some point, right?
• The Danny Sanz Limited Edition Palette, which is ridiculously lovely. Danny Sanz is the Creator and Artistic Director of Make Up For Ever, and she's gone and picked 20 eyeshadows and blushes and 10 diamond shadows. (Admission: this product is an online-only exclusive, and it's $390....but again - it's my game)
• Graphic Glitter and Strass. I have no idea what reasonable excuse I have for "needing" these, as they don't really fit in my mom-of-a-toddler-incubating-a-new-baby life, but I've always loved them and I'd grab a fistful! Maybe I could do some inspired, artistic Face-of-the-Day look swith them.
  

Yu-Be. Haven't heard of it? This glycerin-based ointment/cream/miracle absorbs quickly and heals a myriad of complaints. It's the top-selling medicated, vitamin-enriched skincare cream in Japan, and has been around for 50 years. I'd grab a few tubs and a few pocket-sized "to-go's". I haven't tried the lip balm, but I'd sure grab a few of those, too! My skin is so dry, what with the weather changing and these damn pregnancy hormones! I can use al lof the help I can get...

Oh, I love Urban Decay!

• I'll sweep the whole entire new lipstick collection right into the cart, thank you very much. If you haven't tried these fantastic lipsticks, you're mising out. There are a few different finishes and some amazing shades. Yup... I'd sweep and scoop until the rack was empty!   

• Imagine having a liftetime supply of Primer Potion! I, like everyone else, hate the packaging, but you really can't argue with the results of the product itself! Sweep, sweep - into the basket it goes.

• 24/7 Glide On Eye Pencils are must-haves. Yes, I love the Make Up For Ever Aqua Eyes for their lasting impact, but I tend to use them on the waterline because they just don't budge there. The 24/7's are great for the upper and lower lashlines, and for most people's waterlines (unless you're magic like me and can wash away almost anything there!) and since there are so many colors there's no limit to what can be done with them! 

Note: the only reason I'm not sweeping up the eye palettes is because I already own them! If you're planning a real or imagined shopping spree at Sephora or anywhere else Urban Decay is sold, don't miss out on their shadows - whether in a palette (recommended) or purchased singly. You won't be sorry!

To be continued...

Meanwhile, what would YOU dive for first in this imaginary game at Sephora!?