

Perfume oil blends. Presented in an amber apothecary glass vial. Because of the nature of this project, imps are unavailable.

400 bottles of each scent will be crafted.

Ghosts are real, that much I know. I’ve seen them all my life…

In a groundbreaking departure from past film tributes, Black Phoenix Alchemy presents a series of scents, jewelry, and more inspired by Guillermo Del Toro’s sumptuous gothic romance CRIMSON PEAK.

As audiences are already discovering, CRIMSON PEAK is more than mere ghost story or cinematic spectacle: it is a director’s love letter to the dark tales which formed his childhood sense of wonder, nudging him toward becoming the visionary artist he is today. For contemporary viewers this serves as a gateway to an entire form of storytelling — one which may seem as outdated as whalebone or laudanum, but retains its power to shock, arouse, and illuminate.

Perhaps it’s fitting that in the 21st century, the gothic romance genre has itself become a wandering ghost — one which, not unlike the film’s heroine Edith Cushing (Mia Wasikowska), certain among us can still hear, see, and even smell. What is it so desperately trying to tell us?

Set in the late Victorian era, Del Toro’s film explores the terrible power of doomed relationships, of love struggling to bloom in a world fraught with death and suffering. Stalked since childhood by the specter of her mother, Edith stubbornly chases the dream of becoming an author, fantasizing about becoming the next Mary Shelley and delicately resisting the advances of her childhood love, Dr. Alan McMichael (Charlie Hunnam).

Edith inadvertently steps into the pages of her own haunted love story when she finds herself being wooed by the dashing Sir Thomas Sharpe (Tom Hiddleston), a baronet seeking investors to help salvage what’s left of his crumbling birthright. A series of tragedies put Edith front and center in the lives of Sir Thomas and his brooding sister, the Lady Lucille Sharpe (Jessica Chastain), and confine her to Allerdale Hall — a decaying British manor that veritably breathes, bleeds, and screams under the strain of the elements, not to mention the spirits of those who’ve perished within.

Unraveling the mystery of these strange events, Edith is forced to confront her fears of communing with the dead, gradually coming to appreciate her dead mother’s warning — Beware of Crimson Peak — as the line between life and death grows ever fainter in the snowfall in and around Allerdale Hall.

While the ghosts of CRIMSON PEAK are far more than “just a metaphor,” Del Toro’s film is unabashed in its emphasis on the uniquely human experiences of loss, grief, and remembrance, painting the supernatural as a realm where pain (as well as love) can linger long after death.

Thanks to the director’s artistic vision and penchant for practical effects, the world of these characters (living and otherwise) is astonishingly tangible — an orgy of bold colors and rich fabrics, of flesh both livid and sanguine. Those who feel at home in such a lavish world may consider it an invitation from Del Toro himself: return to Allerdale Hall as often as you dare, and feel welcome to stay a long, long time.

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Crimson Peak mementos | Crimson Peak nail lacquer | Crimson Peak atmosphere sprays

Crimson Peak: © Legendary 2015. Used with permission, all rights reserved.