Your Mama Wants BPAL

Even though I’ve studied aromatherapy extensively and generally shy from perfumes and fragrances, I have a soft spot for Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab.  I first learned about BPAL (pronounced Bee Pal) through friends on Livejournal.  Being a collector of shiny things, I ordered my first round of imps (little sample vials) and immediately got hooked.  I started learning about fragrance notes and ways to describe smells and what worked on my body and what didn’t.  I amassed a ridiculous stash of imps.  (Excuse the shitty cell phone photography.)

Many people have heard me bitch about synthetic fragrance chemicals in the past.  I was recently pleased to find this information on the BPAL FAQ:

We do everything in our power to ensure that our products please our customers while maintaining a high standard of quality and safety. To that end, we employ components that contain essential oils, CO2s, aroma compounds, pomades, concretes, absolutes, solvent extractions, accords, and bouquets in our fragrances. We do not use any nitro musks, polycyclic musks, or any other synthetic material that can be considered potentially harmful. With the exception of the mineral oil in some Trading Post products, we do not use anything that is petroleum based. Our products are as natural as possible without compromising the safety and health of our customers. We will not use any component, natural or synthetic, that is deemed harmful to either the environment or the individual.

BPAL has a huge cult following.  You can find sets of imps on e-bay and dozens of active forums and blogs devoted exclusively to reviewing the hundreds of custom perfume blends they carry.  Be careful, you can get seriously sucked in to this stuff.

I love the lab’s fun gothic-poet theme and literary nerditude and amazing word-of-mouth following.

So what does your mama want?  My imp of Lyonesse (from the Wanderlust set) is all empty. Golden vanilla and gilded musk, stargazer lily, white sandalwood, grey amber, elemi, orris root, ambergris and sea moss. The vanilla is really strong in this one, but not in a candy/sweet way that makes me gag.  It’s gorgeous.  I have been putting off buying a 5ml bottle for over three years so I think I’ll pick it up for my birthday.

(BIRTHDAY ALERT, Andi and I share the same birthday, April 15.  I am turning 30. Therefore I childishly demand a FESTIVAL.  Or something.)

If you’re thinking about an imp order, some of my favorite scents from BPAL are Zombi (roses, dirt), Fae (peaches, hard candy, porn) and Smut (musk, leather, smoke, sex). Try to get a wide variety so you can figure out what works for you.  (Florals vs. citrus vs. green scents vs. resins vs. musks, etc.)

About the author:  Maria is surrounded by boys. She gets all aflutter when she finds good deals, new episodes of Gossip Girl, and big bold bottles of red wine. Read more from this author.