3837 - 15ml Perfumed Apothecary Oil

In Memoriam Perfumed Apothecary Oil

3837 is a fragrance of remembrance.

Between 1563 and 1736, Scotland experienced a long period of witchcraft persecution. The Survey of Scottish Witchcraft has identified 3,837 people who were accused of witchcraft in Scotland, with women making up around 84% of those whose sex is known.

Not all of those accused were executed, and not all of their stories survived. Historians estimate that approximately 2,500 people were executed during the Scottish witch trials.

3837 takes its name from those 3,837 known accused people.

Why I Created 3837

I wanted to create something that remembered the people behind the history rather than romanticising the witch trials themselves.

We often speak about the "witches" who were killed, but that word deserves some care. We cannot know how many of these people practised anything they themselves would have considered witchcraft. Many were ordinary women and men who became victims of accusation, fear, religious belief, community tensions and systems that allowed those accusations to become deadly.

3837 does not celebrate the idea of the witch hunt.

It remembers the people who were called witches.

I also didn't want to create a fragrance that smelled entirely of darkness, death and fire. These people had lives before they became names in trial records, and I wanted the fragrance to feel alive.

The Fragrance

3837 opens bright and beautifully floral, with Pink Lady apple, sparkling citrus and fresh fruits moving into rose petals, violet and pear blossom.

Beneath that softness is something darker.

Juniper, cypress, cinnamon leaf, oakmoss, patchouli, wood and smoke sit quietly underneath the fruit and flowers, while musk, amber and vanilla bring warmth and depth as the fragrance settles on the skin.

The result is a romantic floral fragrance with something old, woody and smoky lingering beneath it.

Rose through smoke.

The smoke is intentional, although it is important to understand the history behind it. Contrary to the familiar image of witches being burned alive, strangulation followed by the burning of the body was the usual method recorded in surviving Scottish witchcraft execution sentences.

The smoke is therefore not there for theatrical effect. It is a quiet acknowledgement of a difficult part of that history.

In Memoriam

The little heather blossom on every bottle was chosen deliberately.

Heather belongs to the Scottish landscape and provides a much quieter symbol of remembrance than flames, witch hats or other imagery that could turn these people's deaths into something they were not.

There are no stereotypical witchcraft symbols on 3837 for the same reason.

The number is the memorial.

Remembrance That Does Something

I didn't want remembrance to end with making a perfume.

Domestic and family violence continues to affect people within our own communities, including women and children trying to find safety and rebuild their lives.

For every bottle of 3837 sold, $5 is donated to Safe Steps Family Violence Response Centre in Victoria, supporting their work with people experiencing domestic and family violence.

I may not be able to change everything happening in the world, but I can choose to do something within my own community and every person who purchases a bottle becomes part of that.

The first batch of 3837 sold out at its first market, allowing the first donation to Safe Steps Victoria to be made immediately.

With notes of Pink Lady Apple • Rose Petals • Violet • Pear Blossom • Juniper • Cypress • Wood Smoke • Oakmoss • Patchouli • Musk • Amber • Vanilla

Apply a small amount to pulse points and décolletage and allow the fragrance to warm naturally against the skin.

For external use only. Patch test before use. Discontinue use if irritation occurs. Avoid contact with eyes and broken or irritated skin.

For those whose names remain, and those whose names were lost.