Limited Edition

LIMITED EDITION BLENDS
No imp’s ears are available for Limited Edition scents.
Presented in an amber apothecary glass vial.

Note: only 5ml bottles are offered in our limited edition scents. Please check the BPAL forum for stock updates. No samples can be requested for any limited edition scents, as they are not taken into consideration or assimilated into stock when the limited edition oils are made. Simply put: there are none to give. If you request a sample of a limited edition scent, we will swap for a random “permanent” scent.

Limited Edition

LIMITED EDITION BLENDS
No imp’s ears are available for Limited Edition scents.
Presented in an amber apothecary glass vial.

Note: only 5ml bottles are offered in our limited edition scents. Please check the BPAL forum for stock updates. No samples can be requested for any limited edition scents, as they are not taken into consideration or assimilated into stock when the limited edition oils are made. Simply put: there are none to give. If you request a sample of a limited edition scent, we will swap for a random “permanent” scent.

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    Fuck This Heat Perfume Oil

    What global warming? Slivers of ice to cool things down, lavender and hops flower to soothe the nerves.

    Proceeds benefit getting the goddamn AC fixed in the front parlor at BPAL so Teddy and Claire don’t sweat to death and we don’t roast people alive at Lunacy.

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  • naughty or nice

    Naughty or Nice 2024 Perfume Oil and Coin Set

    How decent were you this year? Don’t bother to lie… the coin knows all, the coin tells all.

    We’re releasing an extremely limited quantity of this collectible coin and perfume set, just in time for a last-minute redemption arc. The bearer of each hefty diestruck 2” coin is officially qualified to diagnose niceness or naughtiness (their own, or others’) within a 0.0001% margin of error. Just spin it, flip it, or toss it for nearly instant results.

    We’ll even help you leverage the outcome: proceeds from the sales of this set will be split between Feeding America and Philabundance.

    So if it still comes up NAUGHTY… you know you really blew it somewhere!

    Art and coin design by the inimitable Tanya Bjork!

    NAUGHTY
    Solve. No judgment from us: whatever you did, you surely had your reasons! Instead we’ll simply break down your stubborn resistance to virtue with a dose of black leather, patchouli, and sweet oud, dissipating any lingering angst with a volley of lemon peel, dried plum, opium pod, cardamom, hazelnut, almond, and dates.

     

    NICE
    Coagula. Let us join together in smug benevolence! The rewards will be plentiful for those gathered up in our aetheric cloud of sugared vanilla musk, candyfloss, and ruby chocolate warmed with a hint of clove. 

    Select Options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
  • Please Scream Inside Your Heart Perfume Oil

    Select Options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page
  • Please Scream Inside Your Heart Sticker

    Please do not stick these on or inside your heart.

    Illustration by Drew Rausch for Black Phoenix!

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  • Please Scream Inside Your Snake Oil Perfume Oil

    Tying in with our experimental work in fear: we have screamed into our Snake Oil… and we can’t stop sniffing ourselves! BPAL’s signature scent — deep, rich earthy notes swirled with vegetal musks, sugared vanilla bean, and dark spices — has been polluted by the funnel cake frenzy that is our Please Scream Inside Your Heart perfume blend. The results are so comforting, we almost forgot why we started screaming in the first place. (Almost.)

    Note: This product DOES NOT come with the limited edition sticker that was included with Please Scream Inside Your Heart. Just one more thing to scream about! (Elizabeth clearly has a possum bias. -Ed)

    Label art by Drew Rausch!

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  • Revenant Rhythm Perfume Oil

    A tousled, sexy mix of patchouli, vanilla, and hemp.

     

    Label artwork by José Guadalupe Posada (1852 – 1913)

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  • Illustration of blue social media bird with three daggers in it that reads Schrodinger's Checkmark

    Schrödinger’s Checkmark Perfume Oil

    A  hubristic statement fragrance that says: You are valid, you are official, you are VERIFIED… or are you? Guess you’ll have to shell out for it first, try it on, and then see how you feel (an experience that old-school indie fragrance fans are already well accustomed to).

    Anyway, we haven’t market-tested this product or cleared it with any investors. We just rushed it into production with the intention of fine-tuning later based on reactions online. So… what do you think? Would you pay for it as-is? How about now, if we claim to have made subtle improvements? We definitely made them. Wait, come back!

    The scent of questionable clout: airy, sticky marshmallow fluff, oily benzoin, and blackened, slick patchouli.

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    Snake Oil: 2009 Vintage Perfume Oil

    Back in 2009, we bottled a hooch-jug of Snake Oil and put it aside in a cool, dark nook. We’ll be selling the fruits of our labor and patience in 100 bottle increments.

    We will be making announcements prior to each hundred-bottle release.

    By far, our most popular scent! Magnetic, mysterious, and exceedingly sexual in nature. Our signature scent, deep, rich earthy notes swirled with vegetal musks, sugared vanilla bean, and dark spices.
    .

    Out of Stock
  • snake oil vintage 2014

    Snake Oil: 2014 Vintage Perfume Oil

    Two years onward from our great cross-country move, we’re still opening boxes we forgot we’d packed, unearthing many oily treasures — for example, a hooch jug of Snake Oil bottled in 2014, aged to perfection in the temperature-controlled darkness of a West coast warehouse, and then an East coast one.

    We’ve chosen to break up this limited quantity of bottles into smaller batches to be released gradually over time, in hopes that it will help more folks stand a chance of acquiring them; today’s is the first such release. Once our own private well of 2014 Snake Oil runs dry, that will be it forever!

    Snake Oil: By far, our most popular scent! Magnetic, mysterious, and exceedingly sexual in nature. Our signature scent, deep, rich earthy notes swirled with vegetal musks, sugared vanilla bean, and dark spices.

    Out of Stock

Limited Edition - Summerween

Summerween

Limited Edition - Propaganda

  • english

    Immigrant Rights Cards

    We have printed Red Cards (though ours are black ink on white stock), courtesy of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, and are providing them for free with any order while supplies last. The languages we have available through our site are English, Arabic, Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. To download or order in other languages, please visit the ILRC’s website.

    “All people in the United States, regardless of immigration status, have certain rights and protections under the U.S. Constitution. The ILRC’s red cards give examples of how people can exercise these rights in real situations, such as when ICE agents go to a home. However, they do not provide individualized legal advice. Community members are encouraged to check in with a trusted legal service provider for questions about their situation.”

    Limited to 5 per customer.

    Select Options This product has multiple variants. The options may be chosen on the product page

Limited Edition - Lightning Strikes

These perfumes were created in collaboration with PS Publishing to celebrate the release of their new Electric Dreamhouse book The Bride of Frankenstein, a companion of collected writings exploring the history and legacy of the classic horror film. Edited by Emma Westwood, contributors to this book include: Jez Conolly, Jon Towlson, Sally Christie, Dr. Dan Golding, Dr. Eloise Ross, Scott Essman, Stephen A. Russell, Lee Gambin, Dr. Andrew Nette and Cerise Howard.

It also contains a biographical essay about Elsa Lanchester written by the Lab’s own T. Bloom, who helped nudge the actress’s out-of-print 1983 memoir back into publication.

The book is released this Halloween with a foreword by none other than Sara Karloff, and is available to pre-order now!

To honor the occasion, we’ve concocted three new variations on BPAL’s original  LIGHTNING perfume oil to showcase how elements of Mary Shelley’s original vision have continued to evolve over time, illuminating imaginations around the world.

  • Lightning Strikes Cinema Perfume Oil

    The scent of sitting in a darkened theater in a rainstorm circa 1935, marveling at the alchemy that transforms scribbled words into specters of light, shadow, and sound: dripping umbrellas, a nicotine haze clinging to musty velvet curtains, camphorous vapors rising from strips of hot celluloid.

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  • Lightning Strikes Literature Perfume Oil

    The incendiary moment when a human hand snatches fire from the gods of creativity and channels it onto the page: a lightning storm stirred with beeswax candle smoke, yellowing notebooks, and pools of India ink.

    Out of Stock
  • Lightning Strikes the Future Perfume Oil

    Iconic images that ripple through decades of culture and counter-culture, forming an exquisite corpse of horror, glamour, intellectual discourse, and feminist rage that rises to meet the challenges of humanity’s increasingly uncertain fate. The ultimate lab experiment: streaks of feral red musk twining in a double-helix around a pulsing, electrified core of fossilized amber, erupting from a glimmering pool of reactor coolant.

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Limited Edition - Fire Down Below

A collection of sea chanteys, hauling and pulling shanties, sailor’s songs, and sea chants.

On Halloween 2007, Ted and I got married. Our wedding was pirate-themed: pirate invitations, pirate garb requested of all guests, pirate everything. The guy who designed and constructed our wedding clothes was one of the people from the costume department on the original Pirates of the Caribbean film (the perks of living in LA?); my wedding dress was loosely modeled on Tia Dalma’s outfit in At World’s End. I didn’t walk down the aisle to the Wedding March – the violinist played the song from the Pirates of the Caribbean ride for us while Brian – in privateer finery – escorted me to the altar. During our reception, there were nonstop pirate shanties, sailing songs, and nineteenth-century drinking songs on rotation.

Thirteen years later, I’ve got a tween that is tiktok obsessed, so of course I heard ALL about the resurgence of the sea chantey. I was saving these scents for our thirteenth anniversary – which was in 2020 – but we were drowning in pandemic horrors and the nightmare of creeping authoritarianism, so our anniversary was spent quietly and with too-little fanfare. Well, better late than never! Maybe I can talk Lilith into doing covers of some of these?

(Lilith, please – cover some of these as a favor to your ma, but maybe not the ones with the filthy lyrics til you’re a wee bit older. Actually, never mind. Let’s put a pin in this until you’re eighteen.)

Surely, the Sea Shanty (Chanty, Chantey) Renaissance is a sign of brighter times ahead! Happy (belated!) 13th Anniversary, Teddy!

  • A Hundred Years Ago Perfume Oil

    Well a hundred years on the eastern shore
    Oh yes, oh
    Oh, a hundred years on the eastern shore
    A hundred years ago

    Well its Bully John from Baltimore
    Well I knew him well on the eastern shore
    Well it’s Bully John’s the boy for me
    He’s a buckle on land and a bully at sea
    Well its been a long time and a very long time
    Well its been a long time since I made this rhyme
    Well my old mother she wrote to me
    Me darling son come home from sea
    Well I thought I heard the first mate cry
    That bleeding top main sheave is dry
    Well I thought I heard the old man say
    Well it’s one more pull and then belay

    Well a hundred years on the eastern shore
    Oh yes, oh
    Oh, a hundred years on the eastern shore
    A hundred years ago

    A woody, sea-crisp scent, sun-blasted and creaking: green vetiver and ocean mist with a blast of elemi, verbena, and wild bergamot.

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  • A-Rovin’ Perfume Oil

    In Amsterdam there dwells a maid
    Maid of Amsterdam

    In Amsterdam there dwells a maid
    Mark well what do I say
    In Amsterdam there dwells a maid
    And she is mistress of her trade

    I’ll go no more a-rovin’ with you fair maid
    A-roving, A-roving, since roving’s been my ruin
    I’ll go no more a-roving with you fair maid

    A perfume for mistresses and masters of a very specific trade: sultry red musk, heady jasmine, tobacco leaf, red sandalwood, hay sugar, golden honey, sweet carnations, and warm leather.

    Proceeds from the sale of this scent benefit Decriminalize Sex Work, a national organization pursuing a state-by-state strategy to end the prohibition of consensual adult prostitution in the United States. “We work with local organizations, advocates, and lobbyists to build community support and convince legislators to stop prostitution-related arrests. Evidence shows that decriminalizing sex work will help end human trafficking, improve public health, and promote community safety.”

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  • Asleep in the Deep Perfume Oil

    Many brave hearts are asleep in the deep so beware! Beware!
    What of the storm when the night is o’er? There is no trace or sign!
    Save where the wreckage hath strewn the shore, peaceful the sun doth shine.
    But when the wild raging storm did cease, under the billows two hearts found peace.
    No more to part, no more of pain, the bell may now toll its warning in vain.

    Loudly the bell in the old tower rings
    Biding us list to the warning it brings.
    Sailor take care! Sailor take care!
    Danger is near thee, beware! Beware!
    Beware! Beware!

    A hymn to all who sleep beneath the waves. Sailor beware! A lightless abyss of black plum, sea salt, opium tar accord, labdanum, and indigo benzoin.

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  • Boney Was a Warrior Perfume Oil

    Boney was a warrior
    Way hey ya
    A warrior a terrier
    John Francois

    Boney fought the Russians
    Way hey ya
    The Russians and the Prussians
    Jean Francois

    Moscow was a-blazing
    Way hey ya
    And Boney was a-raging
    Jean Francois

    Boney went to Elba
    Way hey ya
    Boney he came back again
    Jean Francois

    Boney went to Waterloo
    Way hey ya
    There he got his overthrow
    Jean Francois

    Then they took him off again
    Way hey ya
    Aboard the Billy Ruffian
    Jean Francois

    He went to Saint Helena,
    Way hey ya
    There he was a prisoner,
    Jean Francois

    Boney broke his heart and died
    Way hey ya
    Away in Saint Helena
    Jean Francois

    A brief and succinct biography of Napoleon jumbled with the French shanty, Jean François de Nantes. Relevant to our shared interests: Napoleon was a fragrance connoisseur, and he kept a standing order with his perfumer for a delivery of fifty bottles per month.

    A fresh, light Napoleonic-era cologne with hints of rosemary, almond, oakmoss, and jasmine.

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  • Good Ship Venus Perfume Oil

    The third mate’s name was Morgan
    By God he was a gorgon
    From half past eight he played till late
    Upon the captain’s organ

    The rest of the lyrics are too bawdy for me to post outside of a Lupercalia warning.

    Salt-crusted wooden planks warmed by cardamom, 7-year aged patchouli, tonka bean, mace, and black pepper.

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  • Hanging Johnny Perfume Oil

    They call me Hanging Johnny
    Away, boys, away!
    But I never hanged nobody
    So hang, boys, hang!

    They says I hanged my graddy
    And then I hanged my family

    They says I hanged my mother
    It is they and my brother

    I hanged a rotten liar
    But I hanged a bloody friar

    They tells I hang for money
    But hanging’s so bloody funny

    We all will hang together
    It’s all for better weather

    I’d hang to make things jolly, I’d hang all wrong and folly, we all will hang together: hemp rope, red sandalwood, and white cedar.

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  • Haul on the Bowline Perfume Oil

    Haul on the bowlin’, the bully ship’s a-rolling,
    Haul on the bowlin’, the bowlin’ haul!
    Haul on the bowlin’, Kitty is me darlin’.
    Haul on the bowlin’, Kitty comes from Liverpool.
    Haul on the bowlin’, it’s a far cry to payday.

    A short-haul shanty for getting the job done. A thumping chant of patchouli, tobacco absolute, black cedar, and cocoa bean.

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  • Leave Her, Johnny Perfume Oil

    Oh the times are hard and the wages low
    Leave her, Johnny, leave her
    Oh the times are hard and the wages low
    And it’s time for us to leave her.

    Oh my old mother she wrote to me
    ‘My dear son, come home from sea.’

    It was rotten meat and weevilly bread
    ‘You’ll eat or starve,’ the Old Man said.

    I thought I heard the Old Man say
    ‘You can go ashore and collect your pay.’

    It’s time for us to say goodbye
    For the old pierhead is drawing nigh.

    Leave her, Johnny, leave her
    Oh, leave her, Johnny, leave her
    The voyage is done and the winds don’t blow
    And it’s time for us to leave her.

    A sailor’s love song to her ship: Laotian oud, white cedarwood, sweet black patchouli, spiced rum, blackened fig, and coconut.

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  • Roll the Old Chariot Perfume Oil

    Oh, a drop of Nelson’s blood wouldn’t do us any harm,
    Oh, a drop of Nelson’s blood wouldn’t do us any harm,
    Oh, a drop of Nelson’s blood wouldn’t do us any harm,
    An’ we’ll all hang on behind!

    So we’ll ro-o-oll the old chariot along!
    An’ we’ll roll the golden chariot along!
    So we’ll ro-o-oll the old chariot along!
    An’ we’ll all hang on behind!

    It is said that after Horatio Nelson’s death at the Battle of Trafalgar, his body was preserved in a cask of rum (or in some tales, brandy) in order to preserve it for transport back to England. When the cask arrived, though, it was empty of spirits, and a hole in the cask was found where the sailors had been sucking the booze out with a straw.

    Oak planks, iron, brandy, and spiced rum.

    The remains of Vice-Admiral Nelson have been omitted from this fragrance.

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  • Row Bullies Row Perfume Oil

    The boardinghouse masters came aboard in a trice
    A shouting and a promising all that was nice
    Til one old crib took a liking to me
    Says he you’re a fool, lad, to follow the sea

    And it’s row, row bullies row

    Says he there’s a job as is waiting for you
    With lashings of liquor and beggar-all to do
    Says he what you say lad, will you? – or two?
    Says I you old bastard, I’m damned if I do

    And it’s row, row bullies row

    But the best of intentions they never goes far
    After thirty two days at the door of the bar
    I tossed off me liquor and what do you think
    That rotten old bastard had doctored me drink

    And it’s row, row bullies row

    Next I remember I woke in the morn
    On a the three skysail yarder bound south round Cape Horn
    With an old set of oilskins and two pair of socks
    And an IOU nailed to the lid of my box

    And it’s row, row bullies row

    Honeyed rum, a whiff of almond, and a hint of something suspiciously soporific.

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  • The Wellerman Perfume Oil

    There was a ship that put to sea,
    And the name of the ship was the Billy at Tea
    The wind came up, her bow dipped down,
    Blow, my bully boys, blow.

    Soon may the Wellerman come
    And bring us sugar and tea and rum.
    One day, when the tonguin’ is done,
    We’ll take our leave and go.

    She had not been two weeks from shore
    When down on her a right whale bore.
    The captain called all hands and swore
    He’d take that whale in tow.

    Before the boat had hit the water
    The whale’s tail came up and caught her.
    All hands to the side, harpooned and fought her,
    She dived down below.

    A line we dropped all in pursuit
    She raised her tail, a last salute.
    But the harpoon lodged there’s no dispute
    She dived down below.

    For six long days and six long nights
    She drove us south with all her might,
    Until we were too tired to fight,
    Then we let her go.

    The line was cut, the whale was freed;
    The Captain’s mind was not on greed.
    He belonged to the sailor’s creed
    And he let that whale go.

    Sugar, tea, and rum.

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Limited Edition - The City of Angels

The City of Angels

Over 180,000 people have had to evacuate their homes in Los Angeles due to the horrific fires that began on January 7th. At least five lives have been lost, and the destruction of homes, businesses, and landmarks is widespread. The devastation is unimaginable and the depth of loss is crushing.

Please keep my home town and all those who live there in your thoughts.

The Mutual Aid Los Angeles Network is maintaining a list of resources for those affected by the fires

Please consider donating to these organizations that have boots on the ground in Los Angeles right now —

DIRECT RELIEF
Distributes emergency medical aid, hygiene kits, respirators and other critical supplies.

CALIFORNIA COMMUNITY FOUNDATION’S WILDLIFE RECOVERY FUND
Distributes money to local organizations that aid in long-term recovery efforts.

CALIFORNIA FIRE FOUNDATION
Provides critical support to surviving families of fallen firefighters, firefighters, and the communities they serve.

“PASADENA HUMANE SOCIETY
Though they appreciate donations of supplies, monetary donations go the furthest right now.

If you want to help feed people in need:
LOS ANGELES REGIONAL FOOD BANK

WORLD CENTRAL KITCHEN

Proceeds from the sale of this series will be donated to Direct Relief and the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank. Please consider donating to these organizations—and the organizations mentioned above—directly.

  • fire poppy

    Fire Poppy Perfume Oil

    A rare wild herb that only grows in California, primarily where fires have recently erupted.

    A scent of renewal, a vibrant cascade of crimson, orange, and russet: tangerine, scarlet musk, honey absolute, red amber, pink peppercorn, and champaca.

    Please note: this oil is not vegan.

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  • lace lichen

    Lace Lichen Perfume Oil

    Everybody knows their state flower and state animal —but do you know what the official LICHEN of your state is?

    Ramalina menziesii—the lace or fishnet lichen—is an unusually sexy bundle of algae and fungi. Fashioned into elegant, delicate patterns up to a meter long, it is a nest-making material for birds, a vital food source for California’s deer, and is considered to have sorcerous properties that protect against the ravages of lightning.

    A pale green filigree: oakmoss, orris absolute, ylang ylang sap, green patchouli, ambergris accord, and sheer vanilla.

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  • poppies and lupine

    Poppies and Lupine Perfume Oil

    Memories of my lifetime in Los Angeles are entwined with California poppies and lupine. In late winter, the hills near my home would be covered with swaths of orange and lilac—of sunbeams and the shadowed colors of dusk. Then in spring it would all die away as quickly as it appeared.

    When I first moved to Philadelphia, I brought a ton of seeds with me so I could start a small California garden and bring a little of my state’s magic with me.

    King mandarin, orange, coconut, lilac blossoms, lavender tar, and amber musk.

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  • valencia orange hair gloss
  • wild sweet pea

    Wild Sweet Pea Perfume Oil

    A stunningly lovely flower that only grows in California. It is integral to the health of recently burnt areas: its roots spread rapidly, anchoring the soil and preventing further erosion.

    Vanilla-soaked sweet pea, white sandalwood, and almond milk.

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Limited Edition - The City of Angels - Genius Loci: Bats of Los Angeles

To further help raise funds for Direct Relief and the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, we are bringing back a selection of SoCal bats from our 2018 Genius Loci line!

The baby bat
Screamed out in fright,
‘Turn on the dark,
I’m afraid of the light.

– Shel Silverstein

Illustrated by Drew Rausch, scented by Elizabeth Barrial, and inspired by our local furry flighted fuzzballs.

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    California Leaf-Nosed Bat Perfume Oil

    The California Leaf-Nosed Bat prefers the desert. They’re homebodies and do not migrate, and they’re also definitely Type A bats, as they don’t hibernate. Go go go!

    Nightfall in the desert: Mojave yucca, creosote bush, saguaro, dusty clove, and sacred datura.

    Out of Stock
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    Ghost Faced Bat Perfume Oil

    A venerable and well-respected bat, Ghost Face Bats can trace their ancestry to the late Pleistocene era.

    Sugared coconut meat, vanilla pods, condensed milk, white honey, and benzoin.

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    Pallid Bat Perfume Oil

    I want my rooftop filled with Pallid Bats. Not only are they cute as hell, but their favored meal is the Arizona bark scorpion, whose sting is the most venomous to be found in North America.

    Bats > Scorpions
    (Sorry, Scorpios!)

    Tea leaf, bourbon, a sting of white ginger, and Italian bergamot swirled in amber incense smoke.

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