Aroma Sanctum Scarlet Letter ~ fragrance review

A few years ago, I spent a day in Salem, Massachusetts with my husband. Somewhere between our stops at the town’s historic cemetery, a bookstore or two, and the House of the Seven Gables, we came across a small shop called Aroma Sanctum Perfumes, where I sampled a few “house blend” fragrances and purchased a bottle of perfume oil called Scarlet Letter as a souvenir of our visit.

Scarlet Letter is the creation of Akuura Kulak, the owner and resident perfumer of Aroma Sanctum. It’s one of three scents in Aroma Sanctum’s “Olde Salem” collection, and it includes notes of carnation, Egyptian jasmine, lily of the valley, gardenia, vanilla and musk. When I first apply it, I notice the lily of the valley note, which is a bit greenish. This note fades within a half hour of so, releasing the spicy-creamy carnation heart of the fragrance. At this point, Scarlet Letter is like a sweeter, more casual cousin to carnation classic Caron Bellodgia or more recent carnation fragrances such as Etro Dianthus, so if you love those, you’d probably enjoy Scarlet Letter