Senyokô Hora de la Verdad Sombra image via brand

“Bullfighting is the only art in which the artist is in danger of death and in which the degree of brilliance in the performance is left to the fighter’s honor. “~ Ernest Hemingway

It has been less than a year since I reviewed Senyokô Hora de la Verdad, one of my top ten perfume choices of 2022 (always a challenging task, to put it mildly!): such a brilliant perfume that I purchased it without the slightest hesitation  – and these days, that’s a rarity for me. Senyokô was kind enough to send me a flacon of its shadowy sibling, Senyokô Hors de la Verdad Sombra recently, and it is a creature of a very different color, albeit descended from the same lineage.

Senyokô Hora de la Verdad and Senyokô Hors de la Verdad Sombra via the brand

I will not see it!
Tell the moon to come,
for I do not want to see the blood
of Ignacio on the sand.
I will not see it!

The moon wide open.
Horse of still clouds,
and the grey bull ring of dreams
with willows in the barreras. ~ excerpt from Lament for Ignacio Sánchez Mejías by Federico García Lorca, published in 1935

Senyokô Hors de la Verdad Sombra via the brand

Hora de la Verdad Sombra may indeed fête the coup de grâce dealt the bull by the bullfighter – but it might just as easily honor the opposite mirror image as well. It possesses a brutal beauty which is born of blood, steel, the sweat of beast and man-as-victor; the bleeding hide of a magnificent and noble being now vanquished. I cannot help but hear the poignant, resounding refrains of Chavela Vargas’ La Llorona (The Weeping Woman) – nor Lorca’s lament for his friend, the bullfighter Ignacio Sánchez Mejías – in my ears. Hora de la Verdad Sombra reminds me that there is more than one possible outcome from the bullring – and I confess that I am more likely to envision a wounded warrior than I am the dying bull.

Remedios Varo The Call, 1961 via wiki

Woe is me, weeping woman,

Weeping one, take me to the river.

Cover me with your shawl, weeping one,

Because I’m dying of cold.

I carry two kisses in my soul, weeping one,

That never leave me

The last is from my mother, and the first

Is the one I gave to you.

 Ay, de mí llorona, llorona,
llévame al río.
Tápame con tu rebozo, llorona,
porque me muero de frio.

Dos besos llevo en mi alma, llorona,

que no se apartan de mí.

El último de mi madre, llorona,

y el primero que yo a ti te di.  ~ traditional song La Llorona

Senyokô Hora de la Verdad Sombra via the brand

The copy which has been written for Hora de la Verdad Sombra is exquisite. There are a few translation nuances which I would have interpreted differently, were I the translator. Where I differ in perception is in the arena of chiaroscuro (light and dark) which is depicted; to my nose, there is precious little light to be found in this savagely elegant fragrance. In the first version, chiaroscuro is absolutely spot on – but Sombra is well-named and describes this perfume most succinctly. Sombra is one of the most animalic scents which I’ve come across, and that should come as no surprise: hyraceum (African stone tincture), castoreum, civet, musks, oud, birch tar, guaiac – these are hardly lightweight materials. Jasmine and narcissus may frequently read as heavily indolic; labdanum and styrax, as well as the leather accord – have a powerful presence, which is accentuated/burnished by saffron, oakmoss, and whichever oxides suggest the inevitable existence of blood. If one is familiar with the unique aroma of white pepper and freshly verdant, somewhat medicinal thyme – they cannot be dismissed; it’s the first thing you smell when Hora de la Verdad Sombra greets your nostrils. I admire this fragrance’s unrivaled veracity, its ability to convey a scenario with lightning speed and no sense of artificiality or falsity in the presentation. Often, when attempting to evoke a potent beastly presence, the end result smells contrived; in Sombra, it is a credible evolution of the aromatic materials employed. I have no doubt that it is the culmination of a very hot day in the bullring, and the intense carnality (and carnage) can be discerned even from a distance. A flutter of rose petals hang suspended in the heavy air like a whispered promise.

 Salvador Dalí Bullfight No. 1, 1966 wiki

Who is victorious? I cannot say – for in real life, there are very few occasions when the bull is spared by the matador for admirable behavior in the ring, although this does occur. The bull is sent for slaughter if the matador wins; if the matador dies, an executioner enters the ring and disposes of the victorious bull with a dagger. Apparently, some matadors bring the bull’s flesh home to their village, where it is eaten by the community (bull meat is tough and requires lengthy marination, usually in red wine); there is one restaurant, the Casa Toribio in Madrid – which purchases all the meat from bullfights and serves it up – with the tail being considered a particular delicacy. Bullfighters suffer injuries, as do bulls. Tradition is an illuminating, elemental thing, an art, and inscrutable to those of us who are unfamiliar with the culture.

As a work of art, Hora de la Verdad is indisputable, primordial, and highly sophisticated. It plumbs the depths of one’s soul and will not leave you unmoved. Some works of art are highly controversial and open to interpretation, and Hora de la Verdad Sombra is such a work. It demands your respect.

Notes: white pepper, thyme, Spanish saffron, blood accord, Turkish rose absolute, jasmine, narcissus, hyraceum, leather, cedar, guaiac, birch, castoreum, musk, oakmoss, civet, Spanish labdanum, styrax, oud

Bottle for review kindly sent by Senyokô – many thanks!  My nose is my own…

~ Ida Meister, Deputy and Natural Perfumery Editor

Senyokô Hora de la Verdad Sombra

Thanks to the generosity of Senyokô we have a 50ml bottle of Senyokô Hora de la Verdad Sombra for one registered reader Worldwide (you must register on our site or your comment will not count). To be eligible please let us know what you found intriguing in Ida’s review and where you live. Draw closes 4/8/2023

In the USA, Indigo Perfumery has Senyokô Hora de la Verdad Sombra in stock here

 Senyokô Hora de la Verdad is one of ten Art and Olfaction Awards finalists in the Independent Category for 2023, photo via the brand

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