Abel Black Anise Collage by Danu – Unsplash – Kristina Flour, Christina Deravedisain and Tijana Drosdarki

Deep into that darkness, peering long, I stood there wondering, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dreamed before.- Edgar Allen Poe

Fabriek, Wellington NZ – Final versions of Abel Black Anise, Danu Seith-Fyr

For the last four months I have been privy to a secret, feeling very much like a character in a period spy film noir, sworn to secrecy, a double agent tasked with information not to be divulged.  In December 2022, I was visiting friends and family in New Zealand. Whilst there I visited Fabriek in Wellington, the home of Abel , New Zealand and my friend, founder Frances Shoemack. ‘Come here’ she beckoned and led me to an array of vials, ‘You are the first person outside of Abel to smell this, but don’t breathe a word!!!!’ ; it was the modifications and final version of Abel’s upcoming release and at that stage although I was very excited and intrigued by that brief introduction, I could say nothing, nothing at all……. Until now my lips were sealed but my goodness there is something to say.

Frances Shoemack and Master Perfumer Isaac Sinclair of Symrise – Abel

Abel Black Anise, the name already has the cadence of a codename, a clandestine pseudonym, something hidden and secretive, that has laid undiscovered. Frances and master perfumer Isaac Sinclair of Symrise have disrobed natural perfumery and revealed underneath a darkened sultry allure that spins our perceptions offside of the boundaries. Even the Latin name of Star Anise, (Illicium Verum), tells the story, literally translated as ‘alluring truth’. Laid bare for all to see this is natural perfumery for mature audiences, expect the unexpected in this redefining of naturals X-rated.

  Sammy Sander Unsplash

That strange encounter, beautiful shadows in the dark of night, walk me into the unknown, as in the line from a certain film, ‘to belong to someone you haven’t met yet’*. Star Anise at the very outset stares you right between the eyes, it’s an eye-to-eye initiation that leaves you gasping, stopped in your tracks on the sidewalk, stranded amidst a crowded nightlife, amongst a million faces, and this stranger’s glance pierces the meniscus of your unknown known.  So familiar yet now with a different face, thrown through the prism of a fecund blackcurrant that exudes and a sumptuous cacao heart, an anise fractionated into previously unknown faces.  Walk me out beyond the edges of my perceptions, I willingly embrace the fall.

Sammy Sander Unsplash

In these breathless moments that seem endless I am struck by the lifetime that can pass between our eyes, the ‘what if’ that arises from your smoldering heart, how if I linger longer, how intimacy can seduce me in a heartbeat, even without touch. So hypnotic your gaze, so alluring this encounter that is nothing yet everything. Somehow to see all of you in that single contact knowing it is dangerous and unpredictable.  Reason shouts as loudly as it can in the realm of the deaf. I turn a blinded ear for all that exists in this moment of enrapture is my reason. I am contained within this storyline running in parallel to my existence and yet cannot turn away from its progression. Normal life has been suspended.

Mood Board – Abel Black Anise at Fabriek by Ruby Holland

Progress is rapid, how can one run from an unknown now so familiar within nanoseconds, now all tenderness and embracing, an amber that is titanesque yet folded within a tobacco, sweet and soporific.  Silken night surrounds us, the cocoon is woven fast, he and I stopped in that moment are encircled by this sultry sheath, the only two humans existing. In this alternate laneway we have lived an entire life, been seduced and loved in intensity yet only for a few moments. Dazzling in its wake, the crowd surges forward again and the noises of the street rise again, he passes and is swallowed by the darkness leaving this scent and the breath of heat infused in my body. It is entirely possible to be seduced and devoured in that flash, the recognition in the eyes of an unknown. Nothing is ever the same anymore, that scent remains indelible under skin, untouchable. Eyes will forever see with this new vision tinted in this perfume.

 Abel Black Anise Campaign photos collage by Danu

Every aspect of Black Anise turns you inside out, everything you thought you knew, nothing is as it seems, yet its parts are more real than previously understood, as if Frances and Isaac have teased out the inner double lives of all its components, parts of the whole never seen before. They have shed a new light on the world of natural perfumery, something has been undone, let loose, all is possible.

This is the double, the parallel lives we all contain, Black Anise has attained a feat of illuminating a fascinating kaleidoscope that is a witchery of impeccable execution, it is the mirror of our secret selves.  Are those stolen moments beyond our life, of moments suspended when all is possible within an instant, are they a betrayal, a clandestine rendezvous unseen by others or are they an absolute truth, a truth of allure, the light in the darkness and vice versa. Sophisticated, daring and with an impulsive allure I dare you to step out for a moment and experience Black Anise, the knowing Mona- Lisaesque smile will remain lit on your face.

Notes: Star Anise (Illicium verum), Blackcurrant, Cocoa, Tobacco

Danu Seith-Fyr, Guest Contributor

*From the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

Disclaimer – Bottle of Black Anise was kindly gifted to me by Frances Shoemack, my thanks as ever I am addicted.  My writing is always my own opinion.

A note from the brand- All our ingredients are derived from natural sources. We guarantee Fairtrade and sustainable farming practices.

Photo of Abel Black Anise by Ann from Indigo Perfumery©

Thanks to the generosity of Frances Shoemack and Abel, we have a 50ml bottle of Black Anise for one registered reader in EU, UK, US (contiguous), NZ and Australia (register here if you have not already done so). Please leave a comment saying what appeals to you about Abel Black Anise based on Danu’s review and where you live. Draw closes 4/27/2023

Editor’s Note: Abel is a 100 PERCENT NATURAL house and was Michelyn’s Best Natural Perfume House of 2018. Read Ida’s review of Nurture X Grey label, Robert Herrmann’s (RIP) reviews of Green Cedar, Cobalt Amber and Red Santal, Danu’s reviews of Pause, Grey Labdanum  and White Vetiver. Please read Ida Meister’s Review of Cyan Nori. Golden Neroli was a Best of Summer 2018 pick by Danu. As reported by Ermano Picco in 2017, Isaac Sinclair of Symrise was a pupil of Maurice Roucel.

Available in the USA at Indigo Perfumery

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