#fragrances | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

a-magpie-in-gravesfield · 3 months

Text

Just me nerding out about fragrances

I was asked about the scents I picked for the fragrances I use on my letters/the other sents I came up with, so I decided to make a whole document nerding out about my thought process behind each one XD I might come up with a few more in the future, I'll put a "keep reading" so this post doesn't clog your timeline because it's VERY long XD

EMPEROR'S COVEN

Scent description :

This is what I imagine the castle/Philip to smell like - it's the scent I use for the first couple letters I send with Etsy orders. It’s not too overpowering, it’s fairly calming and reminds me a little bit of scents from old historical buildings.

Thoughts behind the scent :

Incense is often used in churches, which I thought would be pretty fitting for the character, especially considering the castle is, well, a coven ahah. The incense scent also has notes of sandalwood, which according to google "Because of sandalwood's purifying properties, it is believed to help clear negative energy from our surroundings. For this reason, spiritual ceremonies often use it to create a sacred space." Considering Belos says he wants to purify the isles from wild magic, this seemed to fit his vibe too (Obviously I don’t agree with this, but I was trying to pick scents that would be fitting the vibes of specific locations, so I tried my best to represent them the way they were intended to be portrayed, if that makes sense !). "Library" scent was because I can see the castle having a lot of these, Philip seems to be the kind to enjoy books a lot. The scent also has undertones of leather, dark musk and teakwood which I thought were scents that could go well with the castle too. For the "sage and cypress" cents, I found on google "Sage is also a symbol of protection, a guardian that stands sentinel against unseen forces that may seek to disrupt one's state of balance.", and that also fits the way Philip portrays his coven, where everything is always in order etc. The cypress tones were mostly because the castle is surrounded by a forest, but cypress also represents "everlasting life" and is also "used in rituals with the dead", also very fitting for the character ! "Golden Santal" had a really fitting name because of the gold part, cedar also represents "protection, wisdom and strength", lavender is told to have calming properties (and Philip often has a calm demeanour), amber and musk also contribute to those castle vibes.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

GRAVESFIELD

Scent description :

This smells a little like after it rained outside, and has a sort of sad/gloomy vibe to it.

Thoughts behind the scent :

"Rainy Morning" is a scent I wanted to use because rain seems to have significance to Philip, but also because rain scents can give a kind of sad/gloomy feeling, which I thought would be pretty fitting for 1600s Gravesfield "Noble pine" is a scent I picked because the town was surrounded by a lot of forest areas, Incense was used for the same reason as it was in the Emperor's coven scent, because church was very present in Gravesfield at the time. Sandalwood is "Said to bring people closer to the divine, inciting calmness and clearing the mind, it is the most commonly used incense for meditation, prayer, and other spiritual practices across multiple religions.", which also felt fitting for the town.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

PEACEFUL MEMORIES

Scent description :

It smells really really sweet, it has a very “cheerful” and floral vibe to it.

Thoughts behind the scent :

This scent isn't something I imagined a specific area to smell like, but was more meant to represent a certain mood, when I made it I was thinking about the good memories Philip and Caleb would have when they used to play as kids. Firewood is a scent I picked because I imagined this is what they used a lot to cook, and the scent also has undertones of sandalwood and incense. Even tho in that case the religious memories aren't the best for him, I thought that since these scents would have been a huge part of their upbringing, it would still bring memories of home. Moonflower is a scent I picked for two reasons, one of them was that during my research, I found "Moonflower is an essence that supports the heart in healing deep wounds of abandonment, rejection or betrayal.", which is probably what both of them felt when they lost their family (parents), but also being outcast by the town, and then how Philip specifically felt like when Caleb left. But the main other thing I found while looking it up was "Since they bloom in the darkness, moonflowers are also symbols of the ability of beauty to emerge in dark times. They can provide hope for people who are going through tough times and encourage them to seek positivity.", and I thought this was extremely fitting regarding the two brothers trying to make the best of their lives in a dark town like Gravesfield. Red roses can have many meanings, but in that specific context, I was thinking of "On a spiritual level, red roses symbolise passion and sacrifice.", so I was thinking about Caleb sacrificing his own childhood to raise his little brother. Red roses are known to represent love, but in that context I was definitely thinking of it in a familial sense. "Noble Pine" was meant to reference their time playing together in the woods.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

LORD BELOS

Scent description :

It has a strong smell of spices, like if you walked in an old caravan and a lot of spices had been left to dry there.

Thoughts behind the scent :

This scent was specifically thought of in the context of the caravan I designed for Philip's preacher era, aka what I imagined the inside smelling like. "Mountain Mist" was definitely a reference to the outdoors, him travelling through mountains and snow from town to town. Sage and cypress are there for the same reason as they are in the Emperor's Coven scent, I was thinking of Philip seeing his quest as "bringing order", plus this is a very woodsy scent, and the caravan is mostly made out of wood. For Smoked Oud, I read "Eastern culture often uses Oud during moments of prayer with the aim of getting close to God. The extremely intense smell is linked to the sacred, in fact oud is called “the wood of the Gods” in the Old Testament." I imagined Philip burning a lot of incense-like scents in the caravan as if to remind himself why he was pursuing his "holy quest" as he would see it, the general "Lord Belos" fragrance has a very "spicy" smell which I found fitting for that. "Frosted Juniper" is mostly there because I wanted the woodsy sent to be really present and also have a "winter-y" feel because of the snow we see in the preacher era memory flashback.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

PREACHER

Scent description :

It’s definitely not a sweet scent, it’s very citrus-y with a lot of forest type scents (think if you get really close to a pine tree for example)

Thoughts behind the scent :

This one is more of a "vibe" scent than a location scent, I was trying to think of the mood from his preacher era. "Firewood" definitely had to be in there because of the burning cities, "woodland snow" was there for the snowy landscapes. "White Birch" also has Eucalyptus notes which is often associated with winter, and Pine and Cypress both have the same sylbols as mentioned in previous paragraphs, but Philip seemed to travel through a lot of forest-like areas, so wanted the woodsy scent to be very present too. Sandalwood as mentioned above was used a lot in religious ceremonies and incense, it also has undertones of "amber" and "dark musk", and I wanted to make sure this scent didn't really smell "sweet" in any way.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

BEAST

Scent description :

It smells like mossy wet dirt, it doesn’t have any “perfume” type scent to it. It’ll really smell like it just rained and you opened the window very wide.

Thoughts behind the scent :

I know there are a lot of different interpretations of what Philip's beast form would smell like, some think it would be more like rotting flesh and some think it would be more like moss-type scents.

Personally I went with the moss interpretation (I felt like if the smell was as bad as rotting flesh we would have seen characters like Luz react to that when standing close to him, but there was no indication of that), and his curse spreading also seemed very plant/mushroom like. I also didn't want to create a scent that was fully repulsive because no one would want to smell it ahah

But in any case, with that explanation out of the way, the "cut grass" and "rainy morning" scents are there for that exact reason. Cedarwood is there because cedar, at least to me, has a very "dusty" kind of smell - I wanted to have some kind of woodsy scent that wouldn't be too floral in the mix, and Leather is there because I have some leather fragrances of my own, and I wanted something a little stronger that would balance out the other "peaceful" scents like cut grass. (Plus, the leather scent also has undertones of incense, so that was a bonus too ahah)

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

The scents after this one are more of "vibe scents" I created that aren't reflective of a specific moment from the show, so you can see those are more of my own things. (I picked the scents for every category, I meant more in the sense that these are my own original scenes/vibes ideas).

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

HOME

Scent description :

It has a VERY overpowering smoky scent. Think if you just walked in the old Wittebane house but the window had been left opened and there had been fire outside. If you get it in candle form it won’t come off as strong as in pure fragrance form, but definitely think old medieval type outdoor house instead of modern time house.

Thoughts behind the scent :

I wanted to have a scent vibe for what I could "home" smelling like for Philip. Library definitely had to be in there because Philip most likely enjoyed books and writing a lot, "Lush Linen" was because of the other fancy clothes he owns, like waistcoat etc, and I find the smell of linen very clean, enjoyable and calming. (Tho the more peaceful scents are first definitely overpowered by the smoky scent, you can only pick up on those when the scent settles a bit, if that makes sense). It also has undertones of white tea in the scent description, and I can definitely see him as a tea person. Lavender embers is a little different from the lavender scent I used in "Peace" later, but lavender is also calming, and "smoke" is a smell I thought would be fairly present in Gravesfield (mostly referring of people cooking over firewood outside). "Redwoods" is a very woodsy scent, and the outdoors would probably be a very home-y feel as well (more in the sense that it would seem familiar to someone from that time period rather than what a current home would smell like).

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

FREE

Scent description :

It has a very floral and outdoors type scent, but it doesn’t smell as overpoweringly sweet the way “peaceful memories” does, it gives me way calmer vibes.

Thoughts behind the scent :

I was thinking of this as more of an AU type scent of, what if things had never gone bad, the moonflower scent is there for the same reason as it is in "Peaceful Memories" ("Moonflower is an essence that supports the heart in healing deep wounds of abandonment, rejection or betrayal.", which is probably what both of them felt when they lost their family (parents), but also being outcast by the town, and then how Philip specifically felt like when Caleb left. But the main other thing I found while looking it up was "Since they bloom in the darkness, moonflowers are also symbols of the ability of beauty to emerge in dark times. They can provide hope for people who are going through tough times and encourage them to seek positivity.") Incense usually has a church feel to it, but a lot of people also use it for things like meditation, and I find the smell very calming personally. Library definitely had to come back once again ahah

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

PEACE

Scent description :

It’s a very soft and calming scent. When I smell it I really think “peace” ahah. You can definitely smell the lavender, it also has a very clean and fresh type smell.

Thoughts behind the scent :

That one was more of a vibe scent as well. I'm guessing that back in Gravesfield, Philip had some moments to indulge in his hobbies such as writing, drawing, creating things in general. I was picked a lavender based scent because lavender has calming properties, tho the lavender scent doesn't feel too present to me. Library is there because I definitely picture him as a bookworm. The scent is super calming as a whole and something I love having around when I draw, probably one of my favorites actually ! Cedar and wood are also some undertone scents I could see him have in his old house.

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------

WITTEBANE

Scent description :

It has a very soft scent, very outdoors-like. You can smell some floral smells, it has a very mossy undertone.

Thoughts behind the scent :

I know Violet can seem like a strange choice of scent, but I didn't want to re use too much of the other previous scents, and in my research I found a lot of little facts : Violets have a symbol of "faith and spiritual passion", there are also superstitions that "Carrying violets keep malevolent spirits at bay". Another interesting thing I found was "The ancient Romans gave the violet flower a sombre interpretation. They perceived the deep colour of the flower as an image of spilt blood while its soothing scent lent a peaceful aura to proceedings.".The color of (blue) violets also feels very similar to the Wittebane coat (my interpretation of that is that it belonged to their father, was then passed down to Caleb and then Philip). Saffron was also a scent undertone of the "Violet" fragrance, and saffron has a lot of spiritual meanings such as "being closer to the divine". Another meaning of saffron is "courage and sacrifice", which Caleb would have definitely went through for his brother. But even tho we know Philip didn't make the right choices, he probably saw himself as doing those exact same things for Caleb when he went after him to "save" him (since well, going to the demon realm was probably the same as going to actual Hell to someone from his era). Saffron is also a very expensive spice, and I felt like it was fitting to the vibe the Wittebane statue gives off (considering the clothes they are represented with, even tho we know they had a very difficult upbringing). Leather is another scent that I liked being used as an undertone, because it balances out the floral sweetness a little. "Redwoods" is there mostly because growing up surrounded by the forest is a big part of the characters, so I wanted a woodsy smell to be very present. Cedar, Moss and Embers also balance out the rest of the scents.

#philip wittebane #emperor belos #belos #candles #fragrances #scents

91 notes · View notes