The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Memento Mori, remember you will die. The 2015 film The Witch by Robert Eggers provided a visual anchor: a family in 1630s New England unraveling under forces they couldn't name or control. Liu's interpretation stripped away the witches entirely. What stayed was the question underneath, the shadow each person carries and chooses whether to feed or to transform. The perfume draws from this same unsettling territory, exploring what happens when familiar comfort gives way to something rawer and less comfortable. It's an invitation to sit with discomfort rather than resolve it, to let questions remain open rather than demanding easy answers. The fragrance doesn't moralize about mortality; it simply acknowledges it, surrounding that acknowledgment with something unexpectedly beautiful.
The composition does something unusual with smoky materials. Instead of letting incense dominate from the first breath, cinnamon leaf adds spice without aggression, threading warmth through the structure. Then the heart unfolds: bourbon rose and geranium over apricot, creating a sweetness that softens the edges without becoming dominant. The apricot note feels almost accidental, like a memory surfacing without permission, drifting in and out of awareness rather than announcing itself.
The evolution
The opening arrives in layers. Cinnamon leaf follows quickly, warming the citrus before black pepper introduces itself as a sharp counterpoint. This initial phase creates a negotiation between brightness and shadow, the spices providing structure while the sweeter elements peek through. The heart is where the fragrance settles into itself. Bourbon rose emerges alongside incense, and the apricot adds a soft fruit note that feels almost accidental. Cedarwood and myrrh settle underneath, giving the heart structural weight and preventing it from floating away into abstraction. This middle section holds steady as the incense and rose take turns at prominence, neither quite dominating, both present. The drydown arrives with oud and peru balsam, smoky and resinous, close to the skin but persistent.
Cultural impact
Memento Mori comes from a house built on the idea that fragrance should mean something beyond smelling good. The Witch film reference draws an audience already attuned to atmospheric dread, but the fragrance itself works on its own terms. Some find the rose and apricot heart unexpectedly tender, a softening that catches them off guard. Others appreciate how the smoky drydown develops, the oud and resinous notes creating something that feels both grounded and elusive. It's a fragrance that asks something of you, and what you give back determines whether it becomes a signature or simply an interesting experiment you've moved on from.
