Hey Posse Peps! Yes, another from Surrender To Chance. When you start going through doing Decant Demolition 2025 it’s amazing what you’ll find. I must have bought With the Candlestick because of the name. This is what I found on the brand, “Established in 2022 by childhood friends — perfumer Laura Oberwetter, and designer Caleb Vanden Boom —Clue is an independent perfumery finding delight in unexpected sources… With a close group of friends and collaborators, Clue develops everything in-house. Every product produced has been designed, composed, formulated, bottled, assembled, and shipped by hand from Clue’s studio and lab in Chicago.”
With the Candlestick by Clue Perfumery 2022
Clue Perfumery gives these featured accords:
Top: Cherry Communion Wine, Cinnamon Leaf
Heart: Labdanum, Melted Wax, Burning Church Incense
Base: Extinguished Candle, Hot Musk
With the Candlestick is meant to conjure “The Blood of Christ pours as wax spills down hot iron.” So describing the wine and eucharist experience at Catholic Church. This is something I’m completely au fait with, albeit decades ago. Let’s see if it lives up to expectations.
The opening is all bitter cherry wine and quickly warms through with weird green spicy waxiness, bed head and smoke. If you are into the strangeness of fragrance where scent stops being about beauty and starts feeling like art then With the Candlestick could be right up your alley. It’s not exactly what I was expecting but then this is not Demeter. They really nailed that acrid smoke and hot wax of extinguishing a candle. It’s so real.
While I really love what the Clue Perfume crew have done here it’s probably not something I want to smell like regularly. This is more for when perfume peeps come around and we bring out the crazy weird shit and all enjoy it on card. Maybe some brave person gives up some skin real estate and we all spend the next hour or so luxuriously sniffing them.
Just as an aside: Clue Perfumery does US$140/30ml. A little expensive but not stratospheric. Their Sample Set is US$35 and you get a $35 voucher for full bottle purchases. Currently Sold Out but a bloody good deal.
Do you like the sound of Clue and/or With the Candlestick?
Portia xx
I actually do like the sound of it. Even though the marketing drivel makes me roll my eyes clear back in my head.
HA! Yep.
I like that they’re doing their thing all close to home though. Obviously though they bottle there some of the packaging would have to be outsourced, it’s a little too perfect for backyard glassblowers and plastic formers.
Portia xx
Huh. I would absolutely try a sample set of this. That hot wax smell and what Emily said below about Warm Bulb, that dusty/hot radiator smell… will keep an eye out for a sample set restock. Of course it’s all a wild card with what I can actually smell. Re the design for Clue, I couldn’t have told you what that label said lol. Cure? Clwe? (insert eyeroll emoji)
HA HA HA HA HA! Yes March I was a little non plussed at their choice of font too but then I remembered how important it is to be part of the IYKYK crew.
Portia xx
I purchased their Warm Bulb after trying it at Merz in Chicago. I admit to liking weird scents, but it has this addictive topnote of dust burning off (like when you start the heat for the first time in winter) combined with a wearable vanilla-adjacent drydown.
OHHH! Emily, this sounds fabulously kooky! Thanks for the heads up.
Portia xx
I do love a voucher with sample set situation.
Yeah AnnieA, a full refund on investment is so unusual these days. Very cool.
Portia xx
Hi, darling!
1. That is so cool, that they’re Chicago-based. And
2. What Neva Said
( though it can be fun to do a Sniffa with perfumista pals on esoterica like this)
Musette,
I was torn between wearing it ALL or keeping some for next time a crew came over to sniff stuff. It’s gone, I wore it to the dregs.
They bloody would have loved it though.
Portia xx
I think this sounds fascinating, but in a sample — something to play with, as you said. I can’t imagine any circumstance where I’d fork out for it (though never say never).
Yeah, having had a sample and seriously enjoyed this queer fish I don’t feel the need for a bottle. Ten years ago it would already be winging its way to me. We change.
Portia xx
Oh no, I don’t think I’d like that. Recently I’ve had too much of the conceptual perfumes smelling like blood, metal, credit cards, snow…there’s a hype for that sort of perfumes here in my perfume community. I’ve reached the point of saturation and now I’m longing for soft flowers, fruits, woods and leathers 🙂
Neva, we did our weird and wonderful time. It was a gas. I’m solidly in teal lovely now too.
Portia x
I doubt that I would like this at all, plus the cherry top note that I can’t smell makes it a no. You did get me very curious so I checked out Clue further. Their perfumes seem weird like The Point, described as “A cup of jasmine tea, brewed with ocean water.” I can’t imagine that smelling good. They have some high ratings though and good reviews. It seems to be divided between those that say it’s true art but not wearable and others who love to wear it.
Maya, I think “The Point” perfume is an olfactory homage to the old Harry Nilsson animated movie of the same name. There’s a song in the movie called, “Think About Your Troubles” that talks about tear drops, the ocean and cups of tea. Lovely song but not my cuppa as a perfume. Wonderful movie, though.
OOOHHH! Thanks for that info MzCrz. Fabulous.
Portia xx
MzCrz, I think you’re right! I have no memory of the song or film, but I just listened to the song. I love it. I’m going to see about finding and watching the movie. Thanks! And I definitely agree on the perfume.
I went and listened too. not really my thing but it’s cute and weird, a bit like the fragrance (I imagine)
Hi Maya,
I feel like there’s a new wave of brand new perfumistas who are ready for some clever, beautiful, unsettling and boundary pushing fragrances.
It’s exciting to have it happen because it felt like that had kinda died in us oldies.
Portia xx
Maybe it’s been there, done that. The older you get, the more you get to say it. Of course it doesn’t mean that you can’t do it again anyway.
HA! Truth