Salem
Sixteen92 (2014)

“Small towns have long memories and pass their horrors down ceremonially from generation to generation.”

Salem starts off more Christmas-y than expected, mainly due to a big wallop of a quite sweet clove on the first sniff, giving this a semi-cheerful vibe. It smells like a Yankee Candle store, to be honest. Patience is a virtue in life and a necessity in perfumery, so I wait to see what unfolds.

Slowly but surely the sweetness in the clove, and then the clove itself, begins to fade and I pick up wisps of what's listed as "bonfire smoke," though it smells more like standard, wood-burning fireplace chimney smoke, in my opinion. Less Christmas, more early-mid November at this point. The birch wood note becomes more apparent, reminding me of old homes I've been in; those that were made in the 19th century. That really old, unfinished wood smell. The scent doesn't really evolve any more beyond that, and just starts to fade from then on.

I didn't pick up on the leather, but I did pick up some of the church incense. This brings me to real the crux of the issue I have with Salem: I think this would be a wonderful fragrance except for the fact that the clove note is just chewing up the scenery here. If that clove was dialed back enough to give the other notes the room to sing, this could be really good.

As is, I'll give it a neutral. It's almost there.

On mercy! The dead, damp leaves of early and mid winter. Incense, with an underlying animal skank. Ancient leather from the covers an old Hymnal's time-worn use. Old birch trees swaying in a cold wind. Clove, from a secret spell. Smoke, from a lazy fire. An almost maple sugar note, later on. Well done!