Scents By Alexis- Requiem For The Immortal

When I think of the various immortals and undead beings in Buffy The Vampire Slayer (still my favorite supernatural/superhero show of all time), I doubt any of them smelled that great. I mean, just look at this guy:

Mark Metcalf as The Master, Buffy Season 1. Copyright Mutant Enemy.

 Glory (Clare Kramer) and minions on season 5 of Buffy. Copyright Mutant Enemy.

Of course, there was also Glory, a straight up deity, but you know she must have had some kind of  a sinister arrangement with Roja Dove:

Roja Dove via rojadove.com

All kidding aside, we all have different ideas of immortal beings, good and bad. Perfumer and artist Alexis Karl created her Requiem For The Immortal based on  artist Ken Weaver's painting of the same name, and his take on Faust's Mephistopheles in all his dark seduction. The painting may be viewed here, but I want to talk about the perfume as a standalone work of art, its honesty, and , yes: its dark seduction.

Alexis Karl is a Brooklyn-based perfumer, artists, and teacher (you can read more about her on IndiePerfumes). Her perfume sensibility goes beyond the goth aesthetics. These are raw, rich with life and emotion fragrances. The austere bottles almost feel like they're pulsating in your hand, mostly thanks to the materials used in creating them. Alexis sources her ingredients from all over the world, buying them in small amounts and creates small (often limited) batches of perfumes that smell like nothing else one comes across. The uncompromising vision of exactly how each particle needs to smell and behave in the final blend can cause frustrations. Body Made Luminous, the perfume I consider as the best chocolate fragrance I've ever smelled, is on hold until Ms. Karl can get her hands on the next shipment of a very specific fossilized amber she uses in Body. The wait list for that one is getting longer, and with a good reason. It's that brilliant.

But we're here to talk about Requiem For The Immortal, a perfume that represents the allure of darkness. On my skin it's mainly a honey perfume, but with a dangerous edge. The temptation starts from the very first whiff. It projects to high heavens and down towards the inferno, announcing its intentions without masking them with any light or airy top notes. You are encircled with dark and raw honey, unpasteurized yet warm. My skin amplifies this effect to the n-th degree, allowing me to revel in its shocking sensuality. Each and every one of my nearest and dearest who got to smell Requiem For The Immortal on my skin had to comment on its sexy vibe. I guess I'm not wearing it to the next family Seder, but who knows?

But Requiem is not all debauchery. It might be made mainly of base notes, but they do develop and create their own dance routine on skin. The fossilized amber is black, brown, and red, very dense and otherworldly good. It's a gift to even be able to smell it and of it. The fragrance is obviously sweet, though not in a commercial sugary way. The immortal flower is less pancaked than one might expect. The syrupy aspect is confined to the trickling  honey, while everything else moves between light to dark: the white batiste cotton of the maiden woken up at night because of a suspicious noise. She walks into the darkness, holding a small beeswax candle that's flickering in the drafty air and almost disappears in the dark room she enters. The girl smells of fresh flowers and the fragrant sachets hidden between her linens; she's ripe and bursting with youth, completely irresistible to the creature lurking in the shadow, waiting to embrace her, seduce her with his powers and show her what lies ahead, if she only says "yes".

Notes: fossilized amber, dragon's blood, honey, frankincense, myrrh ,immortelle.

Scents By Alexis- Requiem For The Immortal is available from the perfumer's Etsy store. A generous 1 dram roll-on tester costs $25, while a 2 oz full bottle is priced at $200. Smaller bottles may still be available, but you'll need to inquire with Alexis.
The link above is provided solely for your convenience. I'm not affiliated with the perfumer in any way.

Top artwork: Illustration by Harry Clarke for Goethe's Faust, 1925.