The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Chapter 1 of Sorce's Love Story Collection begins here, with desire, but not the romantic kind. This is the wanting before the wanting. The perfume asks: what if you cast a spell and you were the one under it? Caitlin Hayes built this around a simple idea, the moment you choose something before you know why. Blueberry jam as the opening is deliberate: sweet, domestic, almost innocent. Then the violets creep in and the name clicks. "Chapter 1: Desire", this is the before.
The combination sounds like a kitchen experiment. What makes it work is the restraint. Most fruity florals rush to sweetness, this one lingers in the green. Ivy and lavender add an aromatic layer that pulls the fruit away from obvious territory. Star anise appears late, just enough to remind you that not everything in this perfume is soft. It's the aromatic counterweight that keeps the jam from becoming syrup.
The evolution
The opening hits thick, blueberry jam, sweet, immediate. Violet arrives within minutes, more powdery than fresh. Ivy keeps things green and the sweetness from tipping into syrupy. Lavender and sugar carry the heart. Then star anise appears around the two-hour mark, anise, slightly bitter, unexpected. Vanilla settles last, pulling everything into a warm close that holds for another four hours on skin. The drydown is quieter than the opening but not weak.
Cultural impact
The Love Story Collection arrived in 2024 as part of a quiet moment in indie fragrance, a push toward storytelling over note-count, toward emotional resonance over complexity. Sorce sits in a niche space between art and accessibility, and This is Not a Love Spell is the collection's opening statement. It's the fragrance for someone who wants the story before the scent.
