Errant Vesper

The wandering star at evening. Mercury never climbs far from the horizon and shows itself only briefly, at dawn or at dusk, close to the sun it orbits. Vesper is the evening star, and errant means wandering, which is the root sense of the word planet: the one that strays while the fixed stars hold their places.

Geranium carries the blend, rosy and slightly green, and the spice sits right on top of it. Clove and nutmeg are both held at a few drops each, which is all they need and in clove's case all it is allowed. Ho wood softens the edges, sweet orange lifts the opening, and benzoin builds a warm resinous base underneath the whole thing. The structure is the old rose and spice over resin pairing that has carried warm perfumes for seventy years.

It pairs with Opaline Dusk across the line: one star at evening, one hour at twilight. Poured by hand in Calumet into 7 ml black glass. Beeswax, tallow and jojoba have different melt points, which gives the balm its three-phase slow release.