Franny Report post Posted February 26, 2016 Labdanum incense, wild plum, and pink pepper with smoky vetiver, red clover honey, and saffron. On me this smells like dark and beautiful plum incense. It's not too dark but couldn't rightly be qualified as sweet either. It feels so balanced. I'm not familiar enough with vetiver or labdinum to pick out which is which, but they don't feel too dark or grungy like I was worried they would. The pink pepper and saffron and red clover honey balance it all out.What results is something just about perfect. It's another scent that I love and is going to age beautifully. I'm very happy with my bottle purchase. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Little Bird Report post Posted March 10, 2016 This is a warm, glowing, peppery incense scent with a nice, honeyed sweetness to it. The red clover honey smells clean and sweet to me, which mixes nicely with the darker incense and spicy tones. I'm not getting much vetiver from it at all, and the smokiness here isn't a sharp woodsmoke, but more of a sweet, plush, incense smokiness. I have so many great incense blends that I don't know if this one is going to be a keeper, but I do like it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
zankoku_zen Report post Posted April 28, 2016 Warm, peppery incense with a touch of honey. I definitely get pink pepper, smoky vetiver, incense with just a touch of plum and honey. It's like a nice manly incense blend. Very mellow. Low throw, good wearlength. This is such a warm blend. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
theseagrows Report post Posted April 30, 2016 this starts off with a dry incense mixed with some pepper, honey and labdanum. later on i get hints of plum but it's not super fruity. i don't seem to get any vetiver here, or it's just extremely subtle. i like this but there is something in this that's a bit too animalic on me, other than that it has nice elements, and i do like some animalic notes but whatever is giving that impression here is just a little too funky for me. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oh_the_horror Report post Posted October 21, 2016 I had to jump in and review this because there are so few here. This is such a nicely balanced perfume. So sexy in a way that isn't giving itself away. It starts as a dark brown incense, which is kept fresh with the plum and spicy with the pink pepper. I love pink pepper. It dries to a really interesting musk, it reminds me of an old church, the secrets contained in religious texts. The contrast of formal rituals and how you get so close to the workings of earthly life in those moments. Dang it's good. I get a dry dark brown beeswax thing, some really good resiny vetivery powder, but in the best way. Powder can become cloying and this is not. The throw is strong and gorgeous. More incensey in the air, up close almost sticky. It needed some time to settle down and age, I wasn't too interested when I first got it. This is going to be great this winter, wear under layers of black fabrics and long skirts. I may track down a bottle of this. I want to see this age over the years, I think it's going to be phenomenal as time goes on. Nice to have something special to reach for other than snake oil or Bakeneko. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lucchesa Report post Posted October 5, 2019 Pillar of Flame isn't nearly as dark as I expected it to be. I'd never tried labdanum incense but it's lovely -- imagine the almost fizzy quality of labdanum as an incense. To me it's not dark brown but more of the color of a piece of translucent amber. I read through the notes and felt like I could smell them all. The wild plum is less sweet than a cultivated variety; the vetiver is gently smoky, not the charred terror of Malediction. The pepper and saffron and vetiver counter the sweetness of the other notes; the late stage is mostly clover honey, always a lasting note on me, but with enough spice and incense to keep it interesting. I know this is a Luper but it's perfect in crisp fall weather, channeling the brilliant colors of autumn foliage more than the pastels of spring. I will definitely use my decant and be on the lookout for more! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites