The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Like the Very Gods arrived as part of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab's Lupercalia collection. The fragrance channels an ancient current, the moment when bodies heat and boundaries blur, rendering it in olfactory form rather than narrative verse. Elizabeth Moriarty Barrial, listed as Brand owner and Perfume maker, treats the perfume oil as a vehicle for story rather than a separate object. Each release earns its place inside the catalog, and this one sits firmly in the lineage of BPAL scents built around the body's own chemistry, where human warmth is the binding agent between raw material and wearer. The composition leans into the visceral, refusing to disguise its more animalic elements behind polite euphemism.
What makes this composition distinctive is its refusal to disguise the animalic. The accord list names sweat and skin alongside the more conventional perfume materials, and the composition treats those elements as essential rather than incidental. The orris butter brings a powdery, rooty depth that's centuries old in perfumery, grounding the lighter materials with something mineral and substantial.
The evolution
The opening is immediate: honey hits first, but not the clean, golden variety of pantry shelves. This is darker, almost resinous, buoyed by olive blossom's green-honeyed whisper and the pearly lift of orris root. Cedar is there from the start, sitting underneath like a wooden floor. As the composition settles, the sweat accord begins to register as warmth rather than note, a sensation more than a smell, and the line between applied scent and body chemistry starts to dissolve. The orris blooms fully into its powdery iris-petal register, dusting everything in soft mineral chalk that catches against the warmer elements behind it. The vanilla arrives quietly, never sweet, more like the ghost of vanilla absolute left on warm fabric, a memory rather than a presence.
Cultural impact
This composition has earned a quiet devotion among BPAL wearers who gravitate toward scents built around the body's own warmth rather than dramatic projection. Wearers describe it as the scent of being held rather than the scent of being admired, and that distinction tends to draw a particular kind of collector, one who values intimacy and closeness over spectacle and compliments from across a room. Because the format is a perfume oil applied directly to the skin, the experience is tactile and personal, the kind of scent you rediscover on your own wrist rather than one that announces itself to everyone nearby.
The House
Black Phoenix Alchemy LabBlack Phoenix Alchemy Lab (BPAL) emerged in 2002 as an independent house that blends mythic narrative with olfactory craft. Based in Philadelphia, the brand offers a catalog of perfume oils that range from the darkly poetic "Perversion" to the whimsical "Snow, Glass, Apple." Each scent arrives in a small, refillable vial, inviting collectors to explore a library of more than two thousand fragrances. BPAL’s reputation rests on its willingness to experiment with unconventional themes, from gothic literature to occult symbolism, while keeping production small enough to maintain a personal touch for each batch.
The Creator
Elizabeth Moriarty BarrialBarrial favors perfume oils applied directly to the skin—a format that allows for concentrated, intimate scent experiences. Her creations often feature rich, resinous bases layered with herbs, resins, and botanicals drawn from herbalism and aromatherapy traditions.
