Outer Realm

Rising from the turbid recesses is the lotus, seemingly immaculate, its purity a promise of hope that we may all surface from the depths of suffering and achieve transcendence. The allegory of spiritual journey may be far more than one seeks from a perfume, yet in a world aching from such discord, why not? Why not lean into the possibility of ritual through scent? After all, incense is a key component of Buddhist practice—to purify. Today is a time for purification, for fostering awareness, and to traverse the physical to the spiritual world. There is that liminal space between where one is and where one is meant to be. The stark beauty of this space is reflected in Outer Realm, lightly grazing the surface of the transcendental with its beautiful sparseness. Is this what it smells like beyond the broken path? It is a thin, still plume of incense smoke in a secluded cabin, surrounded by both scrappy, low-lying juniper and the tallest and most ancient cedar trees on earth. No noise, no stimulus overload, no needles pricking the ego. It is a reflecting pool for the spirit. So Jungian. The impression of lotus is here: watery and gentle, green and petal soft, yet somehow waxy and firm. Pristine on the surface it sits, having once been immersed by murky waters of uncertainty and chaos. The beautifully aqueous quality of Outer Realm is well worth noting, not at all "aquatic" in the typical sense of fragrance, but more bearing the resemblance of the ionic quality of running water, like a stream or a small waterfall alongside a path. Cool, cleansing, yet still offering morsels of the grit and complexity from the branches and boughs, Outer Realm is remarkable.

The opening reminds me so much of the scent of freshly crushed cedar leaves — the citron and pepper are used brilliantly to achieve that. There’s a sort of floral and cedar shaving moment mid dry down and then it evolves to a really beautiful light foresty incense. Overall it gives a more wearable and contemporary IMO, more gentle, more sunny CDG Zagorsk vibe. Not too dissimilar to Epichron Night Child and indeed I was deciding between the two and opted for Outer Realm

Very nice, and a little similar to what I remember Night Child from Epichron smells like as BlueGreenpoint mentioned below. They share a piquant...tartness? That reminds me of cistus, warm cedar, and clean-resinous, slightly lemony frankincense. I also like alphairone's description of "ionic" water, as there is some kind of fine static or electric "fuzz" that sits on top of the transparent freshness of juniper. It almost feels like a cologne, but taken in minimal, metallic, mildly herbaceous direction. Not exactly aquatic but it does give the impression of that cold minerality you might imagine coming from water flowing over rocks in a shallow stream. There's also a glimmer of smoke, where saffron may come in to texturize and harmonize the woody herbal tones into something a bit more complex, closer to dried hay or chamomile. Overall it's quite relaxing with a muddled cleanliness which I enjoy. Good longevity but not much throwing power (I think). Kinda reminds me of Molecule 01 + cistus as well. Will need to try Rising Sun soon.