Domus Numeni

Stepping into DN starts with feeling of entering my local church on a day I’d selfishly rather stay curled in blankets on my couch. And finishes with zero regrets. As a child, I hated going to the church; the gloomy, incensy scent used to smell marginally better than my neighbors Chanel5 or her husband’s slivovica-induced breath. Memories of funerals and weddings that often felt like funerals used to evoke unsettling feelings. Until many distant years later, and with humble maturity, I realised those unsettling feelings were part of something bigger - deep rooted sense of belonging, sense of community, sense of normality. And this masterpiece of a perfume exactly represents this sentiment: at first I am hit by almost unwanted “raging and overwhelming opening”, like a metal rod slamming against a stone wall, loud AF. Then, about 30 minutes in, a flare of fresh peppercorns and dried cloves settles me into state of curiosity and discovery. After couple of hours I am fully immersed with familiar smells - subtle frankincense, oudy-woody tones, whipped-like wax, more of a drying dumpiness than full on dust, and for some reason some soft-leaning leather lingers through hours later...Victorious smile, when people around me are intrigued what I am wearing... On a strong day, I wear DN neat. On an emotional day, I add one layer of 1907 Muscaccino (snobs will judge!). DN is not for the hurried or the superficial. It is a multi-layered meditation with a gong at the beginning that soon becomes a house of memory and familiar rituals. If you are lucky, it will capture your soul more than your skin.

Domus Numeni smells like some black sludge concoction I'd mix up as a child in the dead of autumn and call it a "potion." Which is to say its stunning and I'd put it on the FB wishlist if it wasn't so fucking impossible to get my hands on and expensive. Wet resinous pine bark, curly strips of birch, mud dug out of the dead garden, pine needles, paper leaves crushed into powder, small soft fruit of landscaping trees and bushes all bittersweet and spoiled, everything ferociously stirred together in a plastic bucket, both hands on the garden trowel. Left out in the rain overnight and inhaled under a full moon. Now I can speak to the divine directly. Wonderful fragrance.

the price is crazy and I can't justify buying a full bottle at all, but I picked up a small decant. it literally smells like the basement of some eastern European church, it's insane. you can smell the burnt incense hanging in the air, the old wooden pews, the moisture on centuries old stone. not something you would wear normally unless the whole gothic vibe is your thing and you want to smell like some priest from the 1700s, but it's an experience and I enjoy the scent and appreciate the art of perfumery on display here.

Really enjoying this one, however, not worth the price. Take Me To Church might be better (well, my wife seems to think so). I would’ve gladly paid $250–300 for this without having to enter some giveaway... Beyond the price tag.. it's a very very very nice scent, performs well on my skin. My 2nd personal favorite from Toskovat, TMTC being #1.

Im absolutely in love with this perfume. From first sniff i felt like i was in church for christmas mass at midnight.its exactly what ive been searching for and wears beautifully as the day goes on. I can smell it on myself all day and it makes me so happy and im already mourning the fact that i dont have a full sized bottle.