With the Candlestick

To begin, can we first acknowledge how clever it was for Clue to release a scent that references the similarly named board game and movie? Oh, Clue, you cheeky devils, you've already won me over...although I'll be wildly disappointed if a Colonel Mustard scent isn't released in the near future. Now, on Clue's website, they describe With the Candlestick as "The Blood of Christ pours as wax spills down hot iron." And my God, does the Blood of Christ, along with the heavy incense and the even smokier wax, compel you with this one. Clue's marketing team nailed (errr, crucified...too soon?) the description. This is a scent of gothic and biblical proportions. It's a church scent, alright, but it's definitively more blood-spewing-down-the-pews than it is bring-your-mother-and-wear-your-Sunday-finest. Someone else stated that this fragrance would be appropriate to wear to a murder mystery, and another described it as "bitchy and relentlessly religious." They were both right. With the Candlestick is the burning of carnal desires. It's the gothic musk of a musty, cobweb-filled church that's been passionately lit with blood-red candles dripping wax, while Gregorian chants echo throughout...and a clandestine S&M party rages in the basement with velvet blindfolds, leather whips and metal chains, and revelers bound in black latex. Think American Horror Story: Church. I still haven't a clue (pun intended) where or when l'd wear this scent. But I want it. Naughty, haughty, delicious, and slightly sacrilegious, With the Candlestick could be the vampiric scent of a 70s or 80s giallo horror film. Or, it could be the fragrance of The Crow's Brandon Lee, scaling gothic and rainy rooftops to the sounds of Nine Inch Nails' Dead Souls or The Cure's Burn. But perhaps it most reminds me of the climax of 1980's The Fog, as the damned townsfolk flee to a dark, remote church as they're beset upon by ghosts and the dread-inducing soundtrack score booms with the weight of a ram being pounded against a door. Like the vengeful ghosts in that film, there is something dangerous and foreboding about this scent. The oft-used term to describe obscure fragrances, "challenging," doesn't do this justice. With the Candlestick isn't challenging; it's unforgiving. It's...apocalyptic. There isn't a genie in this bottle - there's a wrathful God instead, with fire and brimstone on His (or Her) mind. The only downside is that, like an apocalypse itself, With the Candlestick burns bright and fast: its longevity is weak and it doesn't outlive the initial blast. Of the three Clue scents I've tried - including Morel Map (cute but unoriginal) and Warm Bulb (unwearable, but original and an oddball creative experiment ) - each one is wildly different than the next, and With the Candlestick is the must-have standout. In five words or less: Sinful.

Holy hell. The smell of a not so pious priest's raunchy late night masquerade party in an ancient cathedral. The smell of dark red wine mixed with cinnamon, cherry, and vanilla liqueurs mixes with the smell of the burning incense and old wooden pews. The guests are either dressed to the nines, or not dressed as all, but it's hard to tell when everyone's only lit by candlelight. It's gonna be one hell of a night. This shit fucks. Smokey incense, boozy cinnamon cherry liqueur, smooth labdanum, and this thick waxy musky backbone. This is one of the easiest incense forward scents, the sweet boozy cherry wine really sweetens it up to give a great contrast between sweet cherry wine and the cooling incense. Then it dries down it has thick and waxy musk, like a thick sweater hug, and old oak wood. First from the house and blown away, can't wait to try the other two. Fall/Winter night to my nose, will be wearing this out during these colder nights. This stuff nukes the room upon first spray, then has strong projection for the first 3-4 hours of the 8-9 hour performance when I wore it. Easy on the trigger. I imagine this would be a compliment beast at a goth bar. 10/10 Song Vibe - Crucified by Army of Lovers Edit: I was right about the goth bar. Ordering a bottle asap. Edit 2: There is definitely a distinct correlation between Dev 2 by Olympic Orchids and this one, but I personally prefer this one as it takes the general idea of the smoky incense, waxy labdanum, and androgynous woods, but leans more into the sweet by adding a cinnamon-cherry liqueur accord. I recommend trying both, but the dumbed down difference is that Dev 2 leans into the smoky/incense-y/churchy aspect more with a slight sweetness while this adds a bit more of sweetness.

Well, I have had the chance to experience With the Candlestick, and now I can confidently say that this house does no wrong. Between Morel Map, Warm Bulb, and With the Candlestick, Clue Perfumery had managed to do what so many niche brands try to accomplish; translating their fragrances description and inspiration precisely to what you experience when wearing them. I am blown away. This: "The Blood of Christ pours as wax spills down hot iron," could not be more accurate. The cherry note blends so beautifully with its other parts that it sets the whole scene. A snuffed-out candle with its lingering aroma of hot wax, communion during a Winters Sunday morning service, the metallic chill of a cathedrals marble floors, the smell of incense that will stay in your hair until your baptism, all served with a side of Catholic guilt. This is dark, bitchy, and relentlessly religious but in a way that I yearn to be draped in its holy elixir. With the Candlestick is so complex that not one domination could define its depth, as the smoke fades the journey continues deeper into a service that will last much longer than morning mass. My prayers have been answered for I found the church scent of my dreams; one that feels like it could be a nightmare yet with no desire to be freed from its dormancy. 100/10.

a true goth perfume. i’m often not impressed by perfumes recommended as “goth” as they tend to be samey and too pungently earthy, and just generally lacking a complexity that truly conjures the feel of “gothness”. this perfume however... there is a photorealism to some of the notes that feels uncanny and off-putting, but i mean that as a compliment. as a general cherry frag hater the cherry note shines here, it’s just so gorgeously blood-red in companion with the candle wax. and the candle wax, WOW! it’s a massive, dripping pillar candle extinguished by the presence of an unholy spirit. speaking of unholy, i know many associate this fragrance with their experiences in a catholic church, but this fragrance is unabashedly blasphemous. there is a roaming darkness inside it that laughs when threatened with a crucifix. paradoxically though it reveals some cozier facets as it develops - the burning candles are a comfort in the dark nights of winter and the cinnamon is... festive? like drinking mulled wine. it’s not a very wearable fragrance unless you are a specific genre of person. this is not for the killstar goths, this is for the real-ass vampires of this world.

spicy, smoky, waxy, sensual, churchy – like the olfactory soundtrack to an erotic catholic vampire murder mystery with an all-drag queen cast. this is freshly extinguished scented candle smell baked deep into an old fur coat. red lipstick kisses and a stake through the heart. the dry down is slightly similar to warm bulb, in the sense that there’s a lingering warmth, a little burnt, dusty and old. warmth is something that clue perfumery do incredibly well. but where warm bulb is contemporary - printer paper fresh off the copier, ps4 air and spinning fans - this is a distinctly 19th century gothic fantasy, oil lamps and carriage horses and all. the modernity has been shed in favour of a murky, smog-tinged 200-year-old glamour. it evokes leather-bound library books and scampering into church straight from the opium den. it works brilliantly as a companion piece - or narrative foil - to warm bulb. the evolution and creation of warmth. i will be wearing this next time a vampire invites me to their coffin, which will hopefully be soon.