Cherry communion wine, hot metal, melted candle wax, smoldering incense, and the smoky remains of an extinguished wick come together in Clue Perfumery's With the Candlestick Eau de Parfum, a dark and atmospheric fragrance inspired by the sensory experience of church communion.

Rather than creating a conventional incense fragrance, Clue explores the entire environment surrounding the ritual. Cherry Communion Wine and Cinnamon Leaf open the fragrance with a combination of dark fruit and aromatic spice. The sweetness quickly encounters Labdanum, Melted Wax, and Burning Church Incense, creating the impression of resinous smoke curling through a candlelit interior.

As the flame disappears, the fragrance moves into its most unusual territory. Extinguished Candle and Hot Muskrecreate the warm, smoky aftermath of a freshly snuffed wick, while the composition carries a subtle metallic quality suggestive of wax spilling against a heated iron candlestick.

Clue summarizes the image behind the fragrance with a striking scene: communion wine flowing as wax spills down hot iron. It is sacred and physical at once, transforming wine, incense, candle wax, smoke, heat, and metal into an evocative olfactory portrait.

Created by independent fragrance house Clue Perfumery, With the Candlestick exemplifies the Chicago studio’s fascination with overlooked sensory experiences and its ability to transform familiar places, objects, and memories into unconventional yet wearable perfume.

Why You’ll Love It

• An atmospheric interpretation of church communion and candlelit ritual
• Cherry Communion Wine creates a dark, fruity opening without turning into a conventional cherry fragrance
• Cinnamon Leaf introduces aromatic warmth and spice
• Labdanum and Burning Church Incense create a smoky, resinous heart
• Melted Wax adds an unusual warm, textural quality
• Extinguished Candle recreates the distinctive smoky aroma of a freshly snuffed wick
• Hot Musk and metallic nuances give the fragrance a warm, physical character
• A distinctive choice for lovers of incense, smoky, resinous, spicy, and conceptual niche fragrances

Fragrance Profile

Top Notes: Cherry Communion Wine, Cinnamon Leaf

Heart Notes: Labdanum, Melted Wax, Burning Church Incense

Base Notes: Extinguished Candle, Hot Musk

Character: Smoky, Spicy, Metallic, Hot

With the Candlestick opens with the dark fruitiness of cherry communion wine illuminated by the aromatic heat of cinnamon leaf. The effect is immediately warm and evocative, establishing the ceremonial setting without becoming overtly gourmand.

Labdanum brings resinous depth as melted wax and burning church incense begin to fill the composition. Together, they suggest candles burning alongside curling trails of incense smoke in a warm interior.

Then the flame goes out.

The base captures the distinctive aroma of an extinguished candle, when hot wax and a glowing wick briefly release a darker curl of smoke. Hot musk extends the sensation of warmth against skin, leaving behind something smoky, resinous, spicy, and subtly metallic.

The Story Behind With the Candlestick

With the Candlestick is, in Clue’s words, “a perfume about church communion.”

But rather than concentrating only on incense, the fragrance examines the physical details surrounding the ceremony.

There is cherry communion wine in the cup. Cinnamon lends heat and spice. Labdanum and church incense fill the air with resinous smoke. Candles burn nearby as wax softens and runs down their holders.

And eventually, the candles are extinguished.

That final moment becomes one of the fragrance’s defining sensations: a recently snuffed wick releasing smoke above still-warm wax and metal.

The result captures something characteristic of Clue Perfumery’s approach. A recognizable experience is dismantled into its individual smells, textures, temperatures, and materials, then reconstructed as fragrance.

With the Candlestick is not simply a church incense perfume. It is wine, wax, smoke, spice, metal, heat, and ritual, rendered through scent.

Product Details

• Brand: Clue Perfumery
• Product Name: With the Candlestick
• Size: 30 ml (1.0 fl oz)
• Format: Eau de Parfum
• Top Notes: Cherry Communion Wine, Cinnamon Leaf
• Heart Notes: Labdanum, Melted Wax, Burning Church Incense
• Base Notes: Extinguished Candle, Hot Musk
• Scent Character: Smoky, Spicy, Metallic, Hot
• Fragrance Style: Smoky, Resinous, Spicy, Atmospheric
• IFRA Certified: Yes
• Production: Formulated, designed, and produced in Chicago
• Authenticity: Official Clue Perfumery product

Smoky, resinous, warm, and wonderfully evocative, Clue Perfumery's With the Candlestick transforms the sensory details of communion into fragrance, from cherry wine and burning incense to hot metal, dripping wax, and the final curl of smoke rising from an extinguished candle.