Novochoc

Bitter cocoa hangs in the air of a room nobody is supposed to find.

The powder is dry and a little dusty, sifted over an almond tart with chocolate liqueur stirred through it. Then a rose arrives, green and earthy, closer to crushed stem than petal, and the whole thing turns serious. Jasmine slips in behind it, indolic and warm. Cinnamon and opoponax soften the edges while tonka and Peru balsam settle everything onto skin, where musk Tonkin does the real work: animal, unhurried, faintly improper. Sweetness never takes over.

It stays rich and strange up close, and warm weather doesn't flatten it. This one belongs to late hours and whatever happens after them.

• Mark Sage

Clandestine Laboratories is an underground, artisanal fragrance house based in New York City, born from perfumer Mark Sage’s obsessive, experimental approach to scent.

Blending small-batch, hand-mixed compositions that are natural-smelling yet deliberately unfamiliar, the brand focuses on fragrances that feel effortlessly wearable while still leaving a quietly addictive impression. Rooted in a “clandestine” ethos of intentional obscurity and word‑of‑mouth discovery, it invites fragrance lovers into a world where niche-level quality, meticulous ingredient choices, and a wry, artistic sensibility meet in perfumes made to be lived in, not just admired from afar.