Ashes
Designed for perfume enthusiasts seeking true atmosphere over conventional sweetness, this unisex blend suits thoughtful individuals who enjoy cold soil and damp greenery. The composition balances green grass shoots and clover against sheer gardenia petals, resting on a base of Haitian vetiver and white musk. It captures the quiet stillness of a damp forest floor thawing under morning mist. Spring and fall offer the best conditions for its fresh, earthy accords, providing an intimate scent cloud that never overwhelms small offices or quiet home environments. If you want botanical realism without heavy perfume weight, it is an intriguing wear.
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Performance Metrics
143 VOTESOpen Performance Breakdown 1 TAKE
Community votes characterize Ashes as a moderate performer across both projection and longevity. Longevity polling shows 10 votes for moderate wear (typically 4 to 7 hours) and 6 votes for long lasting, with only a single vote for weak. Sillage is similarly polite, capturing 10 moderate votes and 2 intimate votes against 4 strong votes. It maintains a gentle personal aura without overwhelming shared rooms.
Notes Pyramid
Search these notesChoose where each note belongs.
Ashes opens with a realistic burst of damp earth, freshly cut green grass, and cool clover. The fragrance quickly evolves into an ethereal bouquet of sheer gardenia and transparent jasmine, avoiding dense creaminess in favor of humid, watery clarity. Grounded by Haitian vetiver, frankincense, white patchouli, and clean white musk, the resulting profile is dominantly green, earthy, and fresh.
Main Accords
6 MAPPEDThe scent progression is driven by a green accord that commands the initial minutes before merging with earthy soil tones. Within half an hour, the white floral accord expands, lifting the mineral dampness with crisp gardenia and jasmine. Over several hours, the floral freshness softly recedes, leaving a dry, clean base where earthy vetiver and subtle sweet white musk linger quietly on the skin.
Community Data
348 TOTAL VOTESCOMMUNITY SENTIMENT
OWNERSHIP STATS
GENDER APPEAL
REVIEW SENTIMENT
When to Wear
TAP TO VOTETIME OF DAY · TAP TO VOTE
OCCASIONS · TAP TO VOTE
It looks easiest to wear in spring and fall. The vote picture leans most toward daytime.
Pros & Cons
Quick take before you sampleWHY PEOPLE MAY LIKE IT
Hyper-realistic petrichor and damp soil opening
Translucent gardenia avoids cloying or heavy floral thickness
Crisp green grass and clover provide natural freshness
Balanced unisex character that wears well on all genders
Polite moderate sillage won't choke out small spaces
Clean drydown of Haitian vetiver and sheer white musk
Unique atmospheric profile unlike typical designer florals
Ideal contemplative daytime wear for cool spring rain
WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR
Earthy compost and soil notes can feel somber or funerary
Polarising scent profile with several negative associations
Moderate longevity may require reapplication after 5 hours
Zero sweetness or warmth for fans of cozy perfumes
Not suited for formal parties or romantic date nights
Intimate projection may feel underwhelming for bold scent lovers
Limited cold weather appeal with few winter votes
Must be sampled first due to avant-garde damp earth accord
Fragranxe Review
EDITORIAL“Clandestine Laboratories Ashes Editorial Review: Earth, Petrichor, and Sheer Gardenia”
Ashes by Clandestine Laboratories makes an immediate statement that smells unlike conventional retail perfume. The first spray reveals the sharp, hyper-realistic scent of drenched earth, cool mineral stones, and crushed green grass shoots. It captures the damp petrichor of a forest floor after an unrelenting downpour. A touch of crisp clover adds botanical freshness, keeping the soil from feeling suffocating or stale.
As the initial rush of damp compost and wet soil recedes, a sheer floral heart begins to surface. Gardenia is the primary floral presence, yet perfumer Mark Sage strips the flower of its usual buttery weight and heady thickness. Joined by a transparent jasmine note, the blossoms smell dewy, airy, and slightly wilted, like white petals floating on cold rainwater. In the late drydown, clean Haitian vetiver, gentle olibanum incense, white patchouli, and pale white musk form a quiet, contemplative bed.
Throughout the wearing, the dominant accords perform an intriguing dance between earthy realism and green floral brightness. The green accord leads early on, bolstered by wet grass, before settling into an equal partnership with the white floral heart. Earthy notes never disappear entirely; instead, they sink beneath the translucent gardenia and re-emerge in waves as body heat shifts. The fragrance retains a humid, fresh character from start to finish, with only a mild mineral sweetness peeking through the base musks.
Performance is moderate and polite, matching community feedback where 10 voters report moderate longevity and 6 find it long lasting. On skin, wearers generally experience between 4 and 7 hours of consistent scent presence. Sillage leans moderate, with 10 votes indicating a polite arm's length sillage and only 4 voting strong. This gentle radius makes it wearable for quiet daytime tasks, solo walks, and relaxed creative workplaces, where a booming projection would feel intrusive.
This fragrance belongs on the shelf of niche enthusiasts, gardeners, and lovers of true botanical petrichor. If you appreciate atmospheric scents that evoke rain-soaked soil and crisp woodland trails, Ashes delivers an evocative experience. On the other hand, shoppers seeking sweet, creamy white florals, warm amber bases, or crowd-pleasing club scents should skip this entirely. Anyone unsettled by descriptions of funeral greenery or grave soil will likely find the composition too somber.
Ashes by Clandestine Laboratories succeeds as a challenging yet wearable piece of olfactive art. It manages to balance raw earthiness with ethereal gardenia clarity, producing a soothing, melancholic beauty. Sample this first to see how your skin handles the soil accord, especially if you want a distinctive spring and fall signature.
FAQs
What does Ashes by Clandestine Laboratories smell like?+
Ashes by Clandestine Laboratories smells like damp potting soil, wet grass shoots, and sheer gardenia petals. The scent opens with a vivid impression of rain-soaked earth and crushed green clover. Over time, translucent white florals emerge to brighten the petrichor, finally resting on a clean, mineral foundation of Haitian vetiver, olibanum, and soft white musk.
How long does Ashes by Clandestine Laboratories last?+
Ashes by Clandestine Laboratories provides moderate longevity, lasting between 4 and 7 hours on skin. Community voting shows 10 wearers rating it moderate (3 to 6 hours) and 6 rating it long lasting (7 to 12 hours). Because its base relies on light vetiver and clean musks rather than heavy ambers, it stays relatively close throughout its life.
Is Ashes by Clandestine Laboratories suitable for men or women?+
Ashes by Clandestine Laboratories is completely unisex and wears easily on anyone. Out of 21 community gender votes, 14 classify it as dead unisex, while 5 lean slightly feminine and 2 lean slightly masculine. The floral gardenia core is kept crisp and airy, while earthy soil and Haitian vetiver provide a grounded, neutral balance.
What is the projection and sillage of Ashes by Clandestine Laboratories?+
The sillage of Ashes by Clandestine Laboratories is primarily moderate, creating an intimate arm's length aura. Community polling reflects 10 votes for moderate sillage, 2 for intimate, and 4 for strong. It produces a soft, personal scent trail that wafts naturally with body movement without dominating enclosed rooms or small offices.
When is the best season to wear Ashes by Clandestine Laboratories?+
Spring and fall are the best seasons to wear Ashes by Clandestine Laboratories. Community seasonal voting gives spring the clear lead with 20 votes, followed by fall with 13 votes, while winter receives only 6. The fragrance's wet earth, green grass, and cool floral tones harmonize perfectly with cool, rainy, transitional weather.
What are the best occasions for Ashes by Clandestine Laboratories?+
Ashes by Clandestine Laboratories is ideal for casual daytime outings, solitary walks, and quiet creative work. Its damp, introspective nature makes it feel out of place at noisy parties or formal celebratory dinners. Instead, it shines during quiet mornings, outdoor strolls, or whenever you want a calming, natural botanical scent.
Is Ashes by Clandestine Laboratories a safe blind buy?+
No, Ashes by Clandestine Laboratories is definitely not a safe blind buy. The hyper-realistic wet earth and petrichor opening can be polarising, with some reviewers finding it melancholic or reminiscent of cemetery soil. You should always order a sample vial first to test how its realistic soil note develops on your skin.
What perfumes are similar to Ashes by Clandestine Laboratories?+
Ashes shares conceptual similarities with Demeter Dirt, Zoologist Bat, and Hermann a Mes Cotes Me Paraissait Une Ombre. Demeter Dirt provides a simpler soil note without florals, while Zoologist Bat is far fruitier and darker. Ashes remains unique due to its delicate pairing of damp potting earth with transparent, dewy gardenia.
How does the opening of Ashes differ from its drydown?+
The opening of Ashes is intensely earthy and green, whereas the drydown is clean, airy, and softly woody. The first hour highlights intense wet soil, green grass, and clover. As it dries down, the earth recedes, allowing sheer gardenia, jasmine, Haitian vetiver, and subtle white musk to form a luminous skin scent.
Is Ashes by Clandestine Laboratories good value for money?+
Most wearers consider Ashes to be a fair to good value purchase. Among community reviewers who voted on price, 9 rated it as ok value and 6 rated it as good value. Given its handcrafted niche construction and highly realistic botanical materials, buyers find the pricing justified for such an uncommon composition.
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Dupes & Alternatives
COMMUNITY DUPESCOREFor alternative takes on damp earth, Demeter Dirt offers a simpler, single-note potting soil aroma without any floral refinement. Zoologist Bat presents a much denser, darker profile focused on fruit, cave stones, and wet soil rather than crisp greens. Etat Libre d'Orange Hermann a Mes Cotes Me Paraissait Une Ombre also captures petrichor and geosmin, but steers toward peppery rose and metallic woods instead of the delicate gardenia found in Ashes.
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