“A Pantomime of Deviltry and Debauch in Seven Acts” has made its debut at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab in thirteen limited-edition perfumes. Served in apothecary bottles, each scent is named for a shadowy carny figure, depicted in sinister portraiture not only on the label but on a tarot-style trading card to match. Black Phoenix is a site that has never rested on the laurels of their success, not only dreaming up seemingly infinite fragrance concoctions, but putting their money right back into making a more exciting product – and their time into writing some of the most baroque catalog copy ever, often sounding straight out of a bawdy fantasy novel. And it was a wonderful cosmic coincidence to end up doing this review right after reading A.W. Stencell’s Girl Show: Into the Canvas World of Bump and Grind.

This current crop of scents is particularly food-heavy, with lots of inspiration pulled from fairground sweets. Midnight on the Midway is a confection of “sugared incense and night-blooming flowers,” yum. The Candy Butcher swirls chocolate and cream, and Xanthe the Weeping Clown features an unusual union of white pepper and spun sugar. Tea also makes an appearance in the minted honey of Gennivre L’Artiste du Diable and the musky vanilla of Theodosius the Degerdemain. The Phantom Calliope darkens cherry with patchouli and earthiness, and Mme. Moriarty Misfortune Teller features pomegranate and wild plum. The masculine scents include The Organ Grinder, which blends tobacco smoke with white pine and almond milk, and Doc Constantine’s heady mix of leather, black amber, and wood. Pulcinella & Teresina is a bold brew of labdanum, woods, and rose, and Antonio the Carny Talker is heavily lavender sweetened with fig, coconut, and plum. The florals of the bunch are Melisande The Puppet Mistress (has someone been reading Jacqueline Carey? ;), a violety little cauldron, and the signature Carnaval Diabolique, a bouquet of opium-smoked flowers.

The Carnaval Diabolique is scheduled to run until September 2007.