The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Clue Perfumery emerged from a collaboration between perfumer Laura Oberwetter and designer Caleb Vanden Boom, two creators drawn to the tension between mystery and materiality. The brand name alone suggests a puzzle waiting to be solved, and every release is conceived as an invitation to look closer. With the Candlestick was built around the idea of revelation: a single object holds the power to change everything, and the fragrance traces that moment of discovery from first glimpse to final understanding. The materials chosen for each phase reflect the brand's commitment to unexpected combinations that feel both ancient and entirely fresh on skin.
Laura Oberwetter builds With the Candlestick from materials that carry weight beyond their aromatic properties. Cherry wine and cinnamon pair in the opening not for their obvious sweetness but for the tension between fruit and spice, a contrast that sets the stage for the deeper materials to come. Church frankincense and labdanum were chosen for their shared ability to evoke space and ceremony, the sense of standing somewhere that matters. Smoke and musk in the drydown complete the arc by grounding the delicate quality of the heart into something physical and lasting. The result is a fragrance designed to be studied, each layer revealing the next, with no single moment serving as the full picture.
The evolution
The scent opens with cherry wine, a darkly sweet and slightly fermented material that captures the moment before something is understood. Cinnamon follows immediately, threading warmth through the fruit and preparing the nose for what lies ahead. As the minutes pass, church frankincense enters the composition, shifting the character from domestic to liturgical, replacing sweetness with the quiet weight of something sacred. Labdanum deepens this atmosphere, its sticky resinous quality amplifying the ceremonial mood established by the frankincense. By the time the drydown arrives, smoke has become the primary voice, not harsh but persistent, carrying the memory of candlelight long after the flame has gone. Musk rounds the composition, ensuring the smoke never becomes acrid and that the fragrance remains intimate against the skin rather than atmospheric in the room.
Cultural impact
Since its 2023 launch, With the Candlestick has attracted wearers who want fragrance to mean something. It's not a safe blind buy or an office-appropriate crowd-pleaser. It's a statement: gothic, atmospheric, built for the cold months and the evening hours. The divisive cherry wine opening, some read it as medicinal, others as deeply evocative, has made it a talking point in niche fragrance communities. Enthusiasts who gravitate toward it tend to describe it as the scent of a church at night, candles burning down, and no one left but you.
