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The Decay of the Angel
£164.00
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A meditation on desire and the ephemeral.
Inspired by Yukio Mishima’s 1971 novel, The Decay of the Angel (天人五衰, Tennin Gosui) is a story of desire and a meditation on the passing of time. Buddhist scripture describes this descent as the withering of the floral crown, sweat beading on the skin, robes becoming soiled, dissatisfaction taking root - until, at last, the plunge into darkness.
A fragrance caught in that moment, where splendour tips into decay. A bouquet at its height - opulent, hypnotic - just before it turns. The air is thick with petals bruised by desire, their perfume clinging to warm skin, laced with the salt of sweat and the musk of longing. As the scent deepens, the sweetness darkens, touched by earth and embers, leaving behind the ghost of something once exquisite, now consumed by fire.
Like the novel, this fragrance lingers between decadence and innocence, birth and rebirth. It captures the inescapable beauty of life in all its forms.
This is beauty held in tension.
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- Top
- Mandarin, Neroli, Rose, Ylang Ylang, Frankincense
- Heart
- Sambac Jasmin, Acacia, Cade
- Base
- Oudh, Cedarwood, Patchouli, Tonka, Labdanum
This is a 99.8% natural perfume set in an organic grape alcohol base and does not contain any animal by-products. It uses a nature identical and ethical substitute for both musk and hedione (see Ingredient Philosophy below).
SMELLING NOTES
Inspired by Yukio Mishima's final 1971 work of the same name and published as the fourth and final novel in the Sea of Fertility tetralogy, The Decay of the Angel is about the incarnation of our humanity that encourages us to find the beauty in the failings and the frailty of flesh - it is ultimately a story of birth and more importantly rebirth.
The fragrance is based on the 5 stages of a falling angel:
STAGE 1 | Decay
STAGE 2 | Diaphoresis
STAGE 3 | Dirt
STAGE 4 | Dissatisfaction
STAGE 5 | Darkness
These 5 Stages are reflected throughout the fragrance which turn a traditionally rich and exotic floral built around Sambac Jasmine, Ylang-Ylang and Rose into an intense hedonistic experience. The result is a powerful scent composed of the sweetness of flowers on the edge of waning coupled with hints of natural Oudh, Atlas Cedarwood, Frankincense and Spanish Cade to confer a distinct and unique impression of charred wood. Musk and Hedione bring a dark and dirty edge of desire. This is bound together with Hedione, the only known fragrance ingredient to induce arousal1, and musk to evoke the dark and dirty edge of desire and the fulfilment of a fallen angel.
THE NOVEL INSPIRATION
The Decay of the Angel (天人五衰, Tennin Gosui) is a novel by Yukio Mishima and is the fourth and last in his Sea of Fertility tetralogy.
It is the 1960s and Honda, now an aged and wealthy man, discovers and adopts a sixteen-year-old orphan, Toru. Honda believes that the boy is the reincarnation of the tragic protagonists of the three previous novels, each of whom died at the age of twenty. Honda raises and educates the boy, he makes him his heir, and watches him, waiting. But Toru is also watching Honda...
'A surpassingly chilling, subtle and original novel' - New York Times
'Mishima's ritualistic suicide in 1970 will always overshadow his work, but his dark saga of 20th-century Japan is mesmerising' - Guardian
We have collaborated with vintage books to bring you a special edition of The Decay of the Angel available to buy in our online shop.
THE ARTWORK / DESCENT
Descent is a piece by Timothy Han. A single rose, lush yet solitary, lingers in the fading grandeur of a once-opulent hotel—a place where time has settled into the walls, where beauty and decay exist in quiet tension. The rose, suspended in its final bloom, speaks to impermanence, to the moment before splendor fades. Like The Decay of the Angel, this piece captures the fleeting nature of desire, the inevitability of decline, and the haunting elegance of what remains.
THE ARTIST
Based in London, Timothy is a multi-hyphenate creative working across various disciplines from photography through to perfumery.
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