Pilgrim

Completely unexpectedly, this is not only my favourite from a bunch of Chapel Factory perfumes I sampled, but also one of my favourite things I’ve EVER smelled. It’s giving five thousand year old mermaid who converted to Catholicism. It’s giving church pews that have been flooded with sea water countless times. It smells ancient and magical, religious beyond a human life span, and slightly feral. It manages to be timeless and transcendent but also very much of the earth (rather, of the sea) at the same time. If your favourite religious/ mythological figures are John the Baptist, Shiva and Enkidu, you’ll appreciate this perfume a lot. The opening is intense and heavier on the marine side, but as it settles the more calm and churchy side takes centre stage. Longevity is good, I can still notice it at the end of the day, and it seems to have a lighter, almost playful energy then that I also really enjoy. I feel like there’s two categories for perfumes I like: 1) perfumes that smell nice and beautiful, pleasant and inviting, that are worn for and appreciated by other people- to connect with the outside world and others, and draw them towards you. 2) perfumes that you wear to envelop yourself in an aura, to create a protective boundary filled with a strength, beauty and focus of your own choice. For me, Pilgrim is the ultimate example of the second category.

i feel like all my tears are now in a bottle melted with some incense and i think it's amazing very dry and salty scent (makes me oddly thirsty) ; it's giving earthy mystical ocean, we walk from a sad and lonely forest to a path of sand paved with drying seaweeds and crushed bigorneaux, probably while recitating l'apocalypse selon Saint-Jean en latin i 100% get the story of the pilgrim on his way to the Mont-Saint-Michel not suitable for anyone, very unique (i didn't know i was looking for that but now i do) edit: very "Les Chants de Maldoror" de Lautréamont ma star pages 35-36 kind of shit

on me the marine notes are present but tamed by the religious incense notes surrounding them. erwan roussel who co created this with anais biguine said he was inspired by his natal bretagne & mont saint-michel. i am excited to bring my sample with me while i walk along le sentier des douaniers this spring <3

Finally a truly acurate sea/ocean perfume. Unfortunetly the insence DNA of this brand turns into a fish note in humid weather so i will need to wait until summer to enjoy it.

Top incense essence, Cade wood, silt, algae, ambergris & leather. Middle Brown Algae, Maritima Base Ambergris, moss, leather 🌫️ This smells of pure seawater. The requisite chapel factory incense note is labeled “incense essence” for this release because it’s nearly undetectable. The Cade wood, silt, algae & leather come to the front on my skin. It’s smells as if I washed up on a cold northern Atlantic beach. As a pilgrim would. 🐚 Totally successful in its execution and story telling... but not a safe blind buy. I find it to be cold, metallic and “masculine” leaning. I do like it. As with most scents the more I wear it the more I’ll grow accustomed to it. IMHO the dryness & salinity make a great base for experimental layering. But I’m a freak who blind buys ocean water perfume based on typography & storytelling.