Clandestine Laboratories Island Eau de Parfum

You lean back into a yellow cab as it pulls away from the curb, cool night air slipping in through a cracked window.

Island meets you with sharp juniper, bright yuzu, and a snap of green peppercorn that feels like the city’s neon reflected on wet pavement. As the ride settles in, soapy white petals and blue lotus soften the edges, mingling with hiba wood, tolu balsam, incense, and a flicker of tobacco that recalls a just‑extinguished cigarette. Oakmoss, ambergris, vanilla, and white musks gather underneath like steel, river, and sky, turning Manhattan at night into something you can carry on your skin.

Notes: Juniper, Yuzu, Soapy White Florals, Green Peppercorn, Blue Lotus, Hiba Wood, Tolu Balsam, Incense, Tobacco, Ambergris, Oakmoss, Vanilla, White Musks

Clandestine Laboratories, founded in 2010 by Mark Sage, began as an unexpected passion for fragrance.

Despite his scientific upbringing and initial indifference to perfumery, Sage transitioned from artist to perfumer.

The brand has since gained recognition among indie fragrance enthusiasts. Sage describes perfumery as a complex art form, involving hundreds of materials that must be precisely blended to create a harmonious composition that unfolds over time.

He likens the challenge to painting with colors that change visibility and interact unpredictably. Despite the difficulties, Sage finds the pursuit of creating original, high-quality fragrances deeply satisfying, especially when witnessing genuine positive reactions from others.