Umbral Cinder

The umbra is the core of a shadow, the part in total darkness where the light source is blocked completely, as distinct from the softer penumbra around it. A cinder is what survives the burning. Pluto rules the underworld. This is the tightest fit between name and smell in the line, because there is no floral and no sweet material anywhere in the blend to argue with it.

Patchouli is nearly a quarter of it, damp and earthen. Palo santo gives the smoke, cedarwood the dry wood, and labdanum a leathery underside that nothing else on the bench can supply. Black pepper is the spice that cuts across it and carrot seed the trace of root and earth. Bergamot and a little spearmint sit at the top, which is the bright opening over dark resin that Gulf perfumery has used for centuries.

The heaviest blend in the line and the one with the longest drydown, because nearly all of its weight sits in the base. 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.