this is what my summer smells like...

(having actually received my order, i had to delete my last post and start all over. i did not feel that i truly did this topic justice.)
you know how they say that scent is the sense most closely tied to memory? for me, that idea explains a lot. i have a hard time letting go of my memories and i often use scent, in a very personal way, to re-create moments that would otherwise be lost. like for example, i started wearing the escada summertime line (rockin' rio, sunset heat, etc.) during one of those times in my life when everything was giddy and ecstatic and meaningful. i subsequently made a connection between the smell of escada and my own happiness, which eventually turned into a morbid superstition that my life would turn to shit if i did not wear escada. (have i mentioned that i can be a bit dramatic at times?)
these days i do my best to avoid irrational superstitions. i have still however, maintained a great fascination with the concept of fragrance, and have continued to search for scents that make me swoon. so when i stumbled on the website for black phoenix alchemy lab it was pretty much infatuation from the gate.
black phoenix alchemy lab, or bpal as it's affectionately referred to by it's devotees, is a company that hand blends scented oils to create fragrances like no other. with names that run the gammut from the mystical to the taboo to the downright creepy, and scent descriptions that read like softcore porn, they go beyond the world of perfume and into that creative territory known as art. what can i say? i'm weak for this kind of this shit.
apparently, i'm not the only one who feels this way. there is an entire forum dedicated to discussing and analyzing the intricacies of these unique scents, complete with reviews, reccomendations and bottle swaps. at first glance, it may seem a bit obsessive to some folks, but considering that i make a respectable living off sniffing an entirely different kind of bottle, it makes perfect sense to me.
it's been said that each blend changes depending on the body chemistry of the person who's wearing it, in addition to numerous other factors such as time of the month and bottle age. i think perhaps, that this is what attracts me the most; the idea that each scent is highly personal and completely unique. i've tried a handful of scents, and i don't love them all. but the ones that i do love smell like they were made specifically for me. (so far, to my nose, bon vivant, shattered, and queen mab smell like a fucking orgasm in a church.)
these fragrances are so much more than just pretty smells. they're scents that tell a story, that have something to say, that evoke an emotion or a memory and isn't that what we're all looking for in a perfume? a scent that defines who we are, that sends a message to those around us? these are scents that make people feel something.

love always