Knucklebones

Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab has expanded their Carnaval Diabolique line of fragrances, which now includes dozens of twisted midway treats. Whether you're into candy floss or you're more of a freak-show, there is something here that will astound, amaze, or entertain.

Other than free samples I'd gotten with other stuff, I'd avoided the Carnaval so far. But I could tell right away when I saw the new ones that I'd be ordering Knucklebones:

"You hear a clatter on the ground, and a small bleached bone smacks against your foot. Cloaked in shadows between the tents, three men crouch playing knucklebones. Distress clouds the face of one of the men, while another bursts into a wicked smile and the last one sighs in relief. Scooping up his winnings and shaking his head, the victor makes a soft 'tsk' noise as he reaches towards the loser's chest, positioning his hand over the man's heart. Pressing forward, his hand moves through cloth, flesh, muscle, and bone to extract the beating organ. Tossing the heart onto the ground, he says to you, 'Mind handing me those bones, buddy? I've got a game to run here.'

"Black musk, bay rum, lime fougere, orange blossom water, gin, and tobacco."

It's the actual elements of the fragrances that I weed through, looking for exactly what I want; The creepy little blurbs that accompany them are just something extra to flavor your impression, and let you know that somewhere, someone has a job that's way more fun than yours. My bottle arrived today, and I'm excited to find that this perfume oil blend smells exactly the way I hoped. Well... I'd have loved it to have a slightly stronger hint of orange blossom. But really, it's the ideal summer counterpart to the Black Forest I'd purchased for winter. Both have that black musk and juniper combo, but Knucklebones is airier and spicier.

And, I got to spend time learning about the actual game called knucklebones. Which I will not play when I go to Coney Island tomorrow, because I'd like to keep my organs right where they are, thank you very much.