Scent of kaisholmes
Last Updated Jan 5 2026
This is a curated selection of fragrances that I find conceptually interesting. Some I own, some I've smelled, some I've only read about. My preferences lean woody. Imagine these scents as you browse through the website.
Death and Decay by Lush
Description from website: the pure scent of rose oil mingles with over-ripe tones of tonka absolute to give this fragrance a pungent, narcotic headiness. Let it transport you to a serene space where the fullness of beauty and its inevitable decay can be contemplated without fear. The message is one of meditation, acceptance and optimism delivered in the floral bouquet scents of jasmine and ylang ylang.
Notes: ylang ylang, tonka, rose, jasmine.
Perfumer: Simon Constantine
What I think: the current number one item on my wishlist. This perfume is inspired by the perfumer Simon and his father Mark going through bereavement. My first impression of this smell is that it evokes the image of autumn leaves rotting on wet ground, but after learning that story, I was also able to imagine funeral flowers decaying in an empty room. It can be an unpleasant smell to some people, but I quite enjoy the uncanny not-quite-floral quality. There's a story in itself to the relieving scent that follows its provocative name, a perfect gothic perfume in my opinion.
Wood Sage and Sea Salt by Jo Malone
Description from website: breathe in the bracing air of the British coast. The windswept shore alive with sea salt and the mineral scent of rugged cliffs. Immersed in wild waters, the sound of breaking waves heightening the senses. The natural beauty of the British Isles inspires a fresh woody scent.
Notes: (top) ambrette seeds, (middle) sea salt, (base) sage.
Perfumer: Christine Nagel
What I think: it would be a pleasantly boring smell if not for the slight sharpness that comes from the sea salt. The sage and woody scent brings a unique Britishness to the water scene they're painting with this smell, which means that instead of being at a lively beach, you're standing by a calm, somber, and contemplative sea shore.
Inexcusable Evil by Toskovat'
Description from website: today I remembered destruction. The pain of life often makes me forget the more disgusting pain of having it taken. Fallen buildings on the news, crying babies, burnt flowers. Memories lost, tears drowned, coffees never shared… At least I have iodine on my wounds and crutches left to use, but what about those that don’t? The next war will decide not what is right, but what is left. Hate all governments & love all people.
Notes: (top) gunpowder, ozone, (middle) blood, bandages, iodine, burning flowers, guaiac wood, copaiba oil, nagarmotha, (base) fallen concrete, rain, incense, sandalwood.
Perfumer: David-Lev Jipa-Slivinschi
What I think: I haven't smelled this one so I can't comment on my personal experiences, but people HATE this one. It seems to smell like rotten meat, like chemicals, and other gag-inducing qualities. But there are many who appreciate its off-putting elements, as it paints a picture of a military hospital, created from the empathy and guilt of knowing that there are people less fortunate than you.
L'Eau Papier by Diptyque
Description from website: as ink soaks into a sheet of white paper, shadows emerge. Worlds are invented...An encounter made perfume, plunging us into the heart of musk and its multiple facets. Musk evolves, changes, expresses itself over time and from one skin to another, just as ink saturates paper, assuming its texture to conjure up dreams and images...
Notes: white musks, mimosa, blonde woods accord, rice steam accord.
Perfumer: Fabrice Pellegrin
What I think: in my opinion, a pretty complex and mature skin scent. The florals are present but simple, coming from basically nothing but the mimosa. It's mostly musk, manifesting in a warm way on the skin along with the rice accord. It smells like when I would stay up late at night, opening my notebook to the smell of paper and glue, refilling my fountain pen and continuing to fill the book with ink in the form of words.
L'Orpheline by Serge Lutens
Description from Fragrantica: (exerpt) how did you recover the road to perfume in this labyrinth? It is the memory, forgiveness and like this, what we have today, it was able to survive: From the dust. It is not only in the feminine but it also has no plural. It is the wake of my life, that which remains when all has disappeared. It is the invisible which, veil after veil, there where it is forgotten, fades into grey.
Notes: incense, musk.
What I think: I haven't smelled this one either, but it is a classic goth fragrance, inspired by Serge Lutens' memories of growing up without his mother. From what I heard, it's melancholic and depressing, like smelling a Victorian ghost or a house that's been abandoned for decades.
November in the Temperate Deciduous Forest by For Strange Women
Description from website: November conjures a cabin in the forest with Lapsang Souchong tea brewing on a wood-burning stove. Fallen leaves nestle into the earth and mushrooms sprout across the damp forest floor. A chord of resins create a sweet aura reminiscent of the air after a cool, rainy morning.
Notes: woods, forest floor, rain, tea, decomposing leaves.
What I think: this scent smells almost completely like burnt black tea. The kind that's completely bitter, and has enough caffeine to make your hand tremble. It has almost zero "perfumey" quality to it, being entirely bitter, smokey, wet like petrichor, and dim like shade under forest trees. It reminds me of my trip to the mountains in Dali, Yunnan, China, going tea tasting in an authentic tea house, the bitterness and the aroma lingers on my tongue as I step out into the cool mountain air.