The Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab is pretty much where it's at for offbeat, custom, and rare scented oils and perfumes. The best part of browsing the site is reading the titles of all their alchemical masterpieces, names awash with glamour, good taste and more literary, sci-fi, and comic references than you can shake a swizzlestick at. A few other collection titles you might like? Neil Gaiman, The Mad Tea Party, Ars Draconis, Picnic In Arkham, and Carnival Diabolique. Yes, they are awesome.

Why did I choose the Rappaccini's Garden collection of scents as my standout favorite, when in fact I have yet to purchase an item from it? I recommend it based on the store's reputation, the care to form and function they pay in their art, the fact that all the scents in the collection are named for poisons, and because the short story it's aptly named for, "Rappaccini's Daughter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is freaking hot. Don't believe me? Read it, seriously. Hot.

PS? This is where the people you've envied on the street and at dorky gatherings who wear union style shirts that say "Alchemists' Local" are buying those. Just to let you know. That's right, I say it loud, the genius team behind the BPAL truly rules.

BPAL makes the most amazing perfume oils. I love their stuff.