Tituba
Sixteen92 (2016)

Tituba opens with a sweet but dull roar of white honey pulsing under a thick layer of melted beeswax, and a brief appearance of that buttery toast molecule used in indie perfume oils attempting to recreate the scent of baked goods.

What Tituba is going for, of course, is gingerbread (it says so in the description). But it lacks the distinctively dark spiciness that distinguishes the scent of gingerbread from that of other baked goods. Tituba lands instead on a honeyed floral-amber accord that smells very much like the nineties to me. Specifically, this is Gaultier2 crossed with Theorema.

I can feel Tituba straining to make a statement, but beeswax is perfumery’s most effective muffler. Even when applied discreetly, as is the case here, it is like trying to make out the words to a tune played underwater. If Tituba had been described as a honey amber instead of gingerbread, this would work. As it stands, Tituba over-sells and under-delivers.

Tituba was the Indian slave who belonged to Samuel Parris, the minister in whose household the witchcraft erupted; his daughter and niece were the first to convulse. Though likely a South American Indian, her origins are unclear. Those of color were almost never accused of witchcraft and English was clearly not her first language, but hers was the longest of all Salem testimonies. Tituba was specific and vague in her testimonies at the same time. Her accounts and revelations spread incredibly fast, so much like today's internet viral trends - many of the others accused used Tituba's phrases and accounts others adopted her words for their own or lavished more imagery on top of hers.

So to did her identity change and shift over time as the story of her was passed down. Tituba evolved over two centuries from Indian to half-Indian to half-black to black. There is also no evidence she engaged in any voodoo. Tituba was put on trial after 15 months of imprisonment and the jury failed to indict her. The first to confess to signing a diabolical pact, she would be the last suspect released. She appears to have left Massachusetts with whoever paid her jail fees.

Tituba is a sweet, resinous perfume, which has a strong and well done beeswax/honey undertone. The spicy biscuits dominate in the opening and eventually falls away to a nice mild tobacco scent. If you've ever rolled your own cigarettes or smelled a bundle of plain dried tobacco, it's that mild, toasted variety. The best part of Tituba is the beeswax/honey note which clings close to the skin giving it a sweet waxiness.

Tituba starts out strong, almost a gourmand perfume, and nicely eases it's way into that wonderful beeswax scent.