In my previous post for Gothic and Dark Perfumes (I), I proposed some compositions that were pleasant to smell despite the gothic soul that I appreciate. On this occasion, I want to delve into daring. In those perfumes that have been created to become a cold and dark slap in the face.

Let yourself be carried away in this new entry and go into the gloom. I will show you those perfumes, during the course of a short story that will serve to emphasise the smell of the perfume.

Join me in the cold of solitude.

I am sorry for the mistakes in translation.

COLD
It’s cold, and I don’t understand the blackness that invades my vision. All is darkness, and I feel a binding around my eyes, causing my blindness.
I feel my hands clutching tightly, because of the ligature that binds them together. They ache, and I feel the horrible tingling of my numb hands, while the throbbing in them, caused by my beating heart, beats loudly as something holds them together.

My mouth, gagged, and inside it a tight cloth, chokes me and denies speech. My legs, immobile and tied to the legs of the chair I’m sitting on, if that’s an appropriate term, make any movement impossible.
I hear no sound except my own moans.

I wish it was a dream, and not what I imagine. I had always believed that kidnappings were for the wealthy or people with something to offer in return, and not for people like me, who consider myself humble, and with money, I have enough to make ends meet without committing any crime.

But there is no doubt, someone wants something from me. I don’t know how long I’ve been here, minutes go by, since that’s what I imagine, I don’t want to think about hours.
My eyes, in the dark… close… until I fall asleep.

Overwhelming, claustrophobic, and with a strong dose of heaviness, I want to talk to you about Inibur by Gothica. An opulent and not at all easy concoction that requires patience if you don’t give in to its evilness at the first time. With a schizophrenic start, multiple well-defined personalities and really over the top notes, it will blow your mind. Behind it is a development by Pasqualina Rubini and Flavius Calaj, shaping a very powerful fragrance with an overwhelming personality.

The part of the story works very well to convey the uneasiness of the protagonist (you ? ) in the voluptuousness of the perfume.

I invite you to visit Inibur here.

I wake up suddenly, due to the sound of a door slamming shut, possibly with the intention of waking me up, but only that; a door, no footsteps, no voices.

Nothing.

The terror I feel begins to externalise in my body, drawing out the symptoms. I can’t help it, I’m peeing myself. I don’t remember where I was or what I was doing before I got here.
Just when I thought no one was with me, I hear the first words in a long time.

-I’m sorry for what you’re going through, but it’s necessary, you’ll understand soon enough.

My body, sitting on the chair, pushes it with what strength I have left, while tears wet the blindfold over my eyes, and I shake my head from side to side, refusing to be here.

A newcomer to Daring Light is Hora de la Verdad by Senyokô with perfumer Euan McCall. A spectacular composition, where animalic and leather notes are effectively combined with fruits, flowers and spices. A fragrance with great strength and feeling. The macabre poetry of impossible love, between the murderer and the victim.

I invite you to visit Hora de la Verdad here.

Another option that works very well, and is really gothic and strange at the top, with a strong dose of Indol, is Out in the Open by A13 Niche with perfumer Miguel Matos. A new dose of olfactory agoraphobia, which requires preparation when smelling it, or not. It all depends on your personal taste.

I invite you to visit Out in the Open here.

This person comes closer and closer to me, until I feel his hands on top of my head, stroking my hair. Strangely, I don’t feel repulsion at the contact, but am reassured and relieved of my grief. I am surprised at my reaction.

His hands run over my cheekbones, my lips, until they reach the blindfold, which he unties and removes from my eyes. The light blinds me, I can’t make out anything but silhouettes around me. But what really surprises me is that I can’t see the person next to me, but I do feel his hands, now approaching my mouth and removing the gag.

“Now I can talk,” I think to myself.

But it’s no use because of the pain I feel in my mouth, the pressure of having it open for so long, and the dryness I feel.

Now it’s the turn of my hands, to feel them free again, because that’s what this being does… it frees me. A waterfall of blood rushes through them. I stand up, and start to make out these silhouettes around me, and what a surprise, they are people in the same situation I was in a few moments ago. Their bodies prostrate on chairs, motionless, and with a strange glow of black light above their heads. Very strange.

I move my arms, trying to get the attention of these people, some with their eyes covered, and others without, but I get nothing, and they don’t even notice.

I don’t understand anything.

The story begins to show luminosity, and so Fuoco Infernale by Linari, is a good exponent for those who like fragrances that are easier to wear but with a very special charisma. With a dose of frankincense of olibanum prominent in the top notes, spectacular in this fragrance, it must be said, it will serve to open the door to the rest of the notes that await in its composition.

Warm and embracing, it is a fragrance with a huge personality, perhaps one of the easiest in this article.

I invite you to visit Fuoco Infernale here.

Another option is Dilema by Adi Ale Van. An Extrait de Parfum, with a strong presence of myrrh and delicate liquorice at the top. It will become warm and woody on the drydown. Of great power and longevity. Anguish in the place of the story smells of wood, leather and darkness. Just like Dilema which exploits its darkness on the drydown.

I invite you to visit Dilema here.

We enter the final part of the story.

A door opens, with a blinding white light, which attracts me… an arm emerges from it, drawing me in. I can’t refuse, my body is pushed to the call, and even though I refuse, I walk towards the door, until I enter it.

As I walk through, I meet an older person, who seems to be waiting for me. My face shines with tears still running down it, and I force my mouth to try to say a few words.

-I thought I was going to die in there…
– Aren’t you?” the old man replies.

A chill runs through my body, and I begin to walk into the light, relaxed and at peace.

What will be on the other side? Humanity’s belief and desire to alleviate death?

No one has brought hard proof of the existence of the other side, so let us let our imaginations and lucubrations amuse us.

For this ending, full of light and unease, The Dark Side by Francesca Bianchi is ideal by title and conception. Sweet and very spicy. A delight where the earthiness of patchouli is smeared with incense, giving The Dark Side the personal stamp of Francesca Bianchi. And it is none other than a safe bet if you are looking for complex, powerful and highly versatile fragrances.

I invite you to visit The Dark Side here.

And finally, we will bring out the wolf in us with Wolf by Wolf Brothers. The fragrance of night, fear and silence, as the brand’s slogan says. And I assure you that it is absolutely true. It is not difficult, nor dark like others here, but they have created a very successful olfactory representation of the night and the wandering of wolves. This brand surprised me when I discovered it and I wanted to bring it to you because of the potency of its fragrances.

Moist and earthy, try it and let me know what you think.

I invite you to visit Wolf here.

I would show you many more proposals, but I will leave them for future posts.

Without further ado, thank you for reading this post.

Health and strength!

Sergio Martínez Anaya.