I haven’t done one of these in a while! This time, I have generously been given, to review, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s new collaboration with Junji Ito: TOMIE perfume oil, inspired—of course—by the horrific (and brilliant, socially critical, feminist) graphic novel of the same name. The Tomie perfume oil is currently available here, via the Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab website.

NOW–on with a review!

Tomie, Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab

Scent Description: “What’s so precious about a monster?”

A seductive and deceptively delicate blend of rose-tinted white sandalwood, ethereal white amber, voluptuous almond blossom, coeur de jasmin, and a gasp of bourbon vanilla.

Scent Review:

First on, there is an almost-anise quality to this. I suspect it’s the jasmine and almond blossom playing together with the bourbon vanilla. Or, perhaps it’s not anise-y at all, but my brain is making a link between this and those frosted, anise Christmas cookies. That’s not to say that this is foodie… It’s decidedly floral. But it has that chill of an anise cookie to it. That’s what really matters here: it’s a smiling scent, but the smile is cold. Not threatening, but… it is a screen of a smile. It’s hiding something.

A little later on, I have written: metallic floral. And I didn’t know that that could be a thing. But again, it’s that coldness doing it. This isn’t mint-cold. It’s not snow-cold. It’s… aloof cold. Because the chill is coming from multiple notes, I think, what I’m getting is more emotional—or rather, emotionless—than a literal, identifiable cold thing.

Don’t get me wrong: this scent is pretty. Seductive, alluring, and youthful—just like Tomie. But it’s hard, too. It’s got a brusqueness about it. It’s not a soft floral. It’s not a loud floral, either, though. It’s… a scent that says, “don’t fuck with me” without ever raising its voice, or dropping its sweet expression. It’s too youthful a scent to think it could do you any harm… and yet, you are a bit unsettled by it.

My last note, at the oil’s driest, was: “monochrome floral.” Which I think is apt. It’s got a starkness to it, like the black and white comic pages by which it is inspired. It has that starkness of the page. But remember, Junji Ito skillfully wrought those hard lines into Tomie, over and over and over, death after death; despite the harsh medium, the apathetic cruelty of the world around her, she comes through so beautifully. The same is true for her here, in scent.  

Writing Prompts:

Non-fiction: This has me thinking about people and things which look innocent enough, but cause great harm when hapless people get too close. Do you have an experience like that? Were you the not-so-innocent one? Write about it.

Fiction: Write a short story in which the same thing keeps happening, over and over—but each time under different circumstances, so that the middle bits begin to hold a larger meaning.