Stone & Wit - Blame, Etc.

love it or hate it, coriander may be a polarising herb when it comes to scent and taste, but its incorporation into niche perfumery has yielded one of the most interesting results that i've ever had the opportunity to experience.

Blame, Etc. by Stone & Wit is the first perfume that i've tried which showcased the best of this unique herb, in a manner that was both realistic as well as an elevated demonstration of how well it complements other different scent components. with notes of coriander, pink pepper, saffron, rose, incense and wood, this somehow manages to be floral yet earthy, smooth yet sharp, and soft yet smoky all at the same time.

while coriander is one of the early leading stars of the scent, the entire experience is comfortingly reminiscent of having a plate of chicken rice garnished with coriander - a rollercoaster of appreciating each component for itself, and watching how they all come together beautifully at the end, as the original main character gracefully lifts others up to its place in the process of retiring from the limelight.

with the first sniffs from the bottle, the coriander immediately takes the dominant role in all its herbaceous glory. the scent starts out strong and sharp, realistic and 100% on point to the sensation one gets when (accidentally) eating a large spring of coriander on its own. it's not an unpleasant aroma though; in fact, i'm surprised by how soft and sweet this coriander is, especially when enhanced with the tartness of the pink peppercorn in the opening.

on my skin, the perfume really blooms and develops. having enjoyed its solo performance, the coriander contentedly allows the pink peppercorn to share a growing part of its limelight, as both lend a spiciness to a luxurious combination of leather and saffron, counterbalanced with a soft rose. even as the coriander begins to fade as an individual note, its impact on bringing out the best of the supple leather, rich saffron and light floral notes cannot be overstated, just like how coriander as a garnish doesn't seek to stand on its own but significantly enhances the components that it's cooked with.

after about fifteen minutes of wear, the coriander has all but disappeared into the background, and the scent takes on a sweeter and smokier character with additional notes of incense, honey and warm wood joining the leather-saffron-rose trio. without the contrasting bite of the coriander, the perfume mellows significantly; at this point i'm particularly enamoured by the rich yet otherworldly combination of the saffron and smoke, which lingers as a smooth layer over the soft leather while the rose takes a final bow and exits stage right. the honey lends an overall sweetness to the scent without taking it into gourmand territory, while the wood grounds it firmly and provides a good foundation on which the saffron and smoke continue their duet.

Blame, Etc. is one of those scents that is an enigma in itself - it contains components from so many different fragrance families (fresh and herbal, floral, spiced, woody, earthy, smoky...) and yet its evolving and dynamic nature means that it belongs in none of these at all. in some sense it does create a journey not that far removed from its unique name - just like with most healthy arguments, it starts off strong and to some extent more harsh than expected, but with time and a greater degree of appreciation and understanding, the resolution is all the more sweeter for that initial conflict.

its performance was good too, with a moderate throw of a couple of feet, and lasting for a good four hours of wear on my skin. i'm glad that i bought a full-size of this one, as i can see myself using it on days that i'm feeling prickly and need to get my mood to mellow out in sync with my scent. 7.5/10.

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this review is of a perfume that i had purchased at regular price with my own money. i did receive some additional samples for review together with my purchase, but i wasn’t asked to review this scent as a condition of receipt and didn’t receive any incentives for writing this. i’m not affiliated with Stone & Wit and as always, all opinions remain my own.

Stone & Wit's catalogue is available here. prices are US$4 for a 2ml sample bottle (or US$18 for a set of five 2ml samples) and US$20 for a 10ml roller bottle (before shipping).

all information correct at time of publishing.