Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab Perfumes

After my disappointment at hearing that the Black Baccara was permanently closing down, I decided to try out some samples from Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab. I was overwhelmed by both how close the samples were to the descriptions on the website and how many I genuinely loved the smell of. 

One particular scent called The Chicken Legged Hut, based on the tale of Baba Yaga, intoxicated me so much that I bought the full 5ml bottle of it with the second lot of samples I ordered. I just can't get enough of it (and my husband says it really suits me so that's always a good thing).

I have done a little review below of each sample, but do bare in mind that they will smell different on different people and that my descriptions are also really weird since I'm a synaesthete and mainly judge smells by their shape and colour rather than their actual smell sometimes! 


Baba Yaga - I can't quite make up my mind about this one as it's a really strange scent. To me, it smells floral and medicinal (like a chemical smell) with something sharp and fresh poking through. 

Black Lotus - A very strong, almost overpowering scent on me. Darkly sweet and little fruity. 

Black Pearl - A very strange scent which I can't make up my mind up about either. I definitely get the coconut and hazelnut that's meant to be there as well as a neutral soap scent. The only bad thing is that I think I'm allergic to it. I get an itch wherever I put it on my skin. I've always said that I was allergic to coconut, but no-one believes me!

Bliss - Smells like sugar cookies in the bottle and rich milk chocolate on my skin. I like the smell although the constant smell of sweet chocolate can put me off food when I'm wearing it which isn't very good. Maybe a good scent to wear if you're on a diet! Haha.


Blood Lotus - Smells dark, floral and electric in the bottle and, on my skin, gives of a light but strong nostalgic smell which is very fruity and sweet, almost like a child's fruit drink. 

The Chicken Legged Hut - My absolute favourite so far. Both in the bottle and on my skin, it's smells like strong spices perfectly mixed with the heavy smell of honey. The 'sun-dried thatching' is definitely there too in the form of a burnt, woody aftersmell. It's a decadent, indulgent, almost ticklish scent.

Djinn - A strong, masculine scent. I love the initial smoldering smell, but the scent turns soapy after a minute on my skin which I'm not too keen on. Also, people think you're saying that you smell of 'Gin' unless you spell it out!

Event Horizon - I mainly bought this because of it's name (I love the film with the same title and a science fiction themed perfume was too fun an idea to pass on). To me, it's a strong, purple and red  smell. It's quite close to the smell of a traditional perfume for my usual taste, but it's very pleasant; dark and fresh. It's not very strong on my skin unfortunately.


Fire For Thy Stepmother's Daughters - A really nice burning scent. A good replacement for Black Baccara's Ancient Fire although not quite the same obviously. 

Lightning - A fresh cool scent. Very clean and light. 

The Lights of Men's Lives - A strong, fleshy smell with a tiny bit of something sweet like vanilla or spice. There's a hint something smokey there too. 

Rumpelstilzchen - My second favourite BPAL scent I've tried so far. A manly, foresty smell with hints of spice and wood. It goes really well on my skin.

The Sea Foams Blood - Does what it says on the tin: a fresh, strong ocean scent with a hint of metal aftersmell. Very pleasant.

Yorick - I really like this one. Fresh, floral and mossy, but somehow almost a bit foosty and musty. A sad, blue smell.

Parceling Orders

Parceling up etsy orders before going to the post office today. I've been blown away by how many orders I've had in just the last couple of days. Thanks to everyone who bought any of my prints, books or accessories. For anyone else who is interested, my etsy shop can be found here.


Also, a special mention definitely needs to go out to my very first customer, and one of my favourite bloggers, Therese. Please do go and check out her blogs.

Hand-Painted Skull Pouches For Sale In My Online Shop

My etsy shop is now up and running so I thought I would do a little series of blog posts showcasing some of the things I made that you can buy. First up is this hand painted skull print bag/pouch. I made it with my own hand painted skull fabric. You can read more details about it on the etsy page.