Norne smells how it looks: dense dark sticky green. I seem to have a theme developing this week: more green, more place, more woodland. But Norne is a forest where, however hard you crane your neck, you’re not going to see sunlight above the towering trees. Light does not break through, but somehow even the shadows have shadows.

It’s the old version of the fairytale, where there is no escape, even the good children get eaten, and you are secretly on the side of the wolves.

If you find yourself running from the Wild Hunt you’ll probably end up in the Black Lodge. (A whiff of burned motor oil never fails to make me think of owls.)

I’ve not encountered many @slumberhouse fragrances–they are next to impossible to get in the UK without the leap of faith of a blind buy–but I never regret trying them. I might not wear it often*, but Norne is as exhilarating as Kiste is lush and redolent.

originally posted 16 March 2019, photo replaced. Footnote December 2025

* I sold this bottle a few years ago when I was horribly broke. And now it’s next to impossible to replace. I wish I’d kept a small decant.