Desert Water

the juice is very potent and thick, it def stains and is a little sticky on skin.. its not a complaint though. it doesnt overstimulate me, maybe because it feels rightly sticky- like the tree sap it is. absolutley gorgeous and beautiful. the opening reminds me of tyrannosaurus rex by zoologist; or rather its coniferous cousin- ancient & complex. the drydown is fresh tree, not petrichor, rather dry & resinous, freshly cut wood. i adore it. it has a wintery/cold feeling (not just because of the christmas tree association) but im looking forward to wearing it on a summer night. it feels rather linear & natural +since it doesnt project like crazy, i think this can be worn year round.

This smells absolutely amazing. My only issue is the projection is very weak and it is the stickiest fragrance I have ever sprayed. But its one of the best woodsy pine scents I have ever tried and I own quite a few Pinewards.

opened very medicinal and sappy at first with almost a menthol tingle. once it dried down it had a strong, dry wood pine/spruce scent, but overall i feel like this one did not last as long as some other fragrances i've tried from phronema.

I was absolutely taken by the work of Weston Adam under the moniker of Phronema Perfumes late in the year. His work is very visibly marked by his deep faith as an Orthodox Christian, but also takes cues from miscellaneous works of theory, manga, and pop culture. His many rough and ragged scents are made with abundant homemade tinctures, and given names after holy prophets and Continental philosophers alike. My favorite he’s released this year (and, indeed, I have tried many favorites he won’t be releasing until next year) is the austere potion called Desert Water. Immediately, you can tell the color of the liquid is pitch-black, and will obviously leave stains on anything not equally dark in color. This formulation functions less like an eau de parfum and more like an ointment. Centered around crystal clear distillations of fir and frankincense, it smells like the ancient Greek predecessor to Slumberhouse’s Norne or my beloved Fille en Aiguilles. Cracking branches of spruce between your fingers, this smells like pine sap was made into a resin and censed. Spraying this on for the first time, my face lit up at something that might make lesser perfume enthusiasts recoil — this liquid is literally sticky like tree sap. I love moments when perfume can call attention to the nature of its ingredients, and herein the raw tinctures used in its creation feel so unrefined they barely even squeeze themselves out of the bottle. This would certainly be problematic to wear on clothes, but the easy solution is to simply wear this perfume completely naked and run without abandon through the winter woods. Taking its name from the storied life of Father Anthony the Great, arguably the first Monastic, this perfume is requisitely hardcore — but like the monastic life, it yields its beautiful fruit to faithful adherents quietly and gently by the abundant graces of God.