Sanctuary

Incense smoke and green daylight meet in the cool air of a church.

Bergamot and cedrat come in bright and citric, cut with tomato leaf and the dry herbal bite of maté. A soft floral warmth moves under that brightness. Frankincense gathers and fills the room, and opoponax, balsam Peru and cistus follow with the smell of resin worked into old stone. Musk holds it close to the skin.

Mark Sage made this one as a refuge for unsettled times, somewhere to stand while everything outside keeps churning. It suits slow mornings and afternoons that need softening.

• 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.