#jorum studio

Elegy is an aromatic déjà vu where perfumed flowers swirl over elegantly powdered skin. There are beautiful contrasts woven throughout Elegy, expressing the soaring joys and deep sorrow that life entails. Notes: Bergamot, Lavender, Petitgrain, Heather Absolute, Rose Absolute, Jasmine Absolute / Orange Flower Absolute, Geranium Bourbon, Ambrette Seed, Benzoin, Cedar Absolute, Patchouli Absolute, Hay Absolute, Oakmoss Absolute, Musk, Labdanum Absolute, Ambergris

Elegy is one of the perfumes in Jorum Studio's Mainline Sample Set, and the third fragrance I've tested from that specific set. If you love powdery floral scents, this one's for you.

A comforting embrace captured in scent, a vivid sensory experience. Unspoken Gesture exudes soft skin-like salinity, cocooned around a tender heart of rice and sweetened cardamom, hazelnut, almond. A trail of pollen-drenched mimosa petals precludes lingering memories of musk, sandalwood and ambrette seed. Notes: Cardamom, Hazelnut, Fig, Almond, Canaga, Violet Leaf, Mimosa Absolute / Hay, Malt, Rice, Sandalwood, Cedarwood, Musk, Ambrette Seed

2026 is shaping up to be a reckless and wild year, with not one, not two, but three full bottle-blind buys over the past two (three?) months.

When picking up Jorum Studio's latest spring release last week (Risso), we also treated ourselves to their newest sample pack (Mainline Sample Set). Unspoken Gesture was one of the samples included in that pack.

Nose: Euan McCall

Notes: fig, hazelnut, almond, cardamom; rice, malt, hay, violet leaf, mimosa, ylang-ylang; sandalwood, ambrette, musk, cedarwood

Unspoken Gesture opens with fuzzy white musks and what I initially thought was a buttered popcorn note, but soon resolves into hazelnut.

It's an unsweet hazelnut note, over lots of synthetic musks. Clean, fuzzy, radiant, and resolutely beige.

Nose: Euan McCall

Notes: frankincense, fir, cypriol; sandalwood, pink pepper, saffron; hemlock, labdanum, patchouli

Boswellia Scotia opens with the softest, fuzziest frankincense ever. It's gray and dry as a bone, but it isn't at all scratchy. It's like the most luxuriously cozy wool blanket. And that's pretty much where it stays: fuzzy, soft frankincense, with maybe the barest hint of smoke or resin.

Nose: Euan McCall

Notes: black pepper, cardamom; pimento, shiso, maté, fennel; saffron, white oud, tobacco, nutmeg, castoreum, cascarilla

Fantosmia opens with fuzzy white musks, dense but clean. Something a little like ambrette. It has that feeling of static, or blur, or "my skin but better"; it smells of "nothing", pale and clean, yet legible and rather loud. Kind of like the "neutral blurry" musk in Costume National Scent.

It stays abstract and hard to read, though over time it gets more dusty, tan rather than white. Maybe there's woods in this? Maybe some very dry, muted spices? Hard to say. Still very abstract, blurry, neutral.

Gradually it gets warmer and more distinctly dry-spiced, arguably "peppery." I don't think "white oud" is an actual thing, but insofar as it's supposed to evoke a light woodiness, that's about on target.

Nose: Euan McCall

Notes: black currant, tayberry, violet leaf, mint, artemisia, fireweed; raspberry leaf, loganberry, orris, rose, fern; cereals, balsam fir

Healing Berry opens with a lot of iris and abstract silvery-purple perfumeyness. It's an interesting, cooling version of a "berry" scent.

The purple berries are quite tart, and also backed up with lots of clean white laundry musks. Sometimes I get hints of sweetness, sometimes whiffs of conifer. But always that very clean, synthetic vibe.