Gloam
Aesop (2023)

Time and again, I will find that fragrances that are consistently lambasted will turn out to be the very ones for which I grow ever so fond. Protests of Gloam include it smelling of sweat and B.O. due to its presence of cumin, a certain medicinal quality that is deemed off-putting, a sharp powder deemed unpleasant. Even its performance is considered middling, which especially puzzles me. But listen: I love a sweaty undercurrent, I live for oddly phenolic medicinal elements, powder is no foe of mine—I revel in it. All these gripes made Gloam sound all the more enticing to me, as if beckoning me to test the limits of decency. In truth, this isn't exactly as transgressive as one might be expect given all the feedback. It's oddball for sure, a sorta dirty, sorta spicy pollen-heavy mimosa shaded with what seems like cuminaldehyde, moored with iris and dusky woods.

When I found that the illustrious Jane Dashley of the podcast Fragraphilia wrote her own review, I was certain to try this out for myself as her taste is impeccable. I agree with her in that there is this licorice-like element that lurks among blooms and twigs and beads of sweat. I also am reminded of just snuffed candles in dusty rooms, the starchy cotton that is stuffed into aspirin bottles, and the smell of a small bouquet of wildflowers that's been pressed into a scrapbook and rediscovered several months later. Saffron is listed in the notes breakdown, and while discernible, it thankfully is not of the excessive Safraleine sort, but it does lend a warm, leathery element to the woody dry down. Gloam's ode to evenfall is a tryst between flowers and body heat in the secret thicket of my imagination.

The note pyramid is deceiving for Gloam. It's peppery, woody with some cumin, slightly incensy, and I don't find it light or powdery. I wouldn't say that it's dark, but it's definitely woody with a bit of florals surrounding it. The florals act more as a supporting note that blends it together. It kind of represents a shadow, and you get some light earthy nuances. There is cumin here, but it's not overpowering—maybe it just adds a bit of intrigue and depth, but nothing offensive or sweat-like to my nose. Good for fall and spring occasions. If you like Comme des Garçons and woody scents, this is worth a sample.