THE STORY BEHIND SAGE WATERMay 26, 2026 · Sharmadean Reid
In the final years of Cleopatra and Mark Antony, Rome trembled under the weight of ambition, betrayal and approaching civil war. The Roman Republic was fracturing. Its temples still stood, but faith in its political order was fading. Senators spoke of stability while armies prepared for conflict. Across the Mediterranean, people began searching for something beyond conquest and power.
Among them were the Priests of Isis — members of one of the ancient world’s most influential mystery cults. Originating in Egypt and spreading throughout the Greco-Roman world, the cult of Isis offered initiates healing, purification and spiritual rebirth. Her temples appeared across Alexandria, Delos, Pompeii and Rome, filled with incense smoke, sacred oils, flowing water and ritual devotion.
The priests of Isis were recognised by their shaved heads and linen garments, symbols of ritual purity. Ancient sources describe their ceremonies involving fasting, bathing, music, incense and elaborate rites of spiritual cleansing. Initiates often abstained from meat, wine and sex before entering sacred rituals, separating themselves from ordinary life in pursuit of clarity and transformation. They were not warriors or politicians, but caretakers of the soul — preserving beauty, ritual and stillness in a world increasingly consumed by conquest.
“For those who choose withdrawal over warfare.”
SAGE WATER imagines one such priest in the final days of Cleopatra’s world: Comarius. More legend than historical certainty, he is imagined through the real priesthoods of Isis that moved between Egypt, Greece and Rome during the collapse of the Republic. He serves Cleopatra’s court not through spectacle, but through ritual. Preparing oils. Lighting incense. Washing the body before burial. Interpreting silence as carefully as others interpret prophecy.
When Alexandria falls and Rome absorbs Egypt into empire, Comarius refuses assimilation. Rome offers power, order and survival, but he turns away from it all. Barefoot in the rain, he leaves the city behind. He walks silently across wet stone and through the gates of Rome, moving beyond monuments, politics and war. Into the dense forests that once surrounded the ancient city, he seeks another kind of existence instead: wet bark, moss-covered earth, smoke rising through trees after rainfall, cold water against skin.
He is not fleeing out of fear. He is withdrawing as an act of devotion. Refusing the theatre of power in favour of ritual, purification and inner peace. Some stories imagined men like him wandering between temples carrying only incense, linen and sacred oils. Others believed they disappeared entirely into forests and mountains, surrendering themselves to silence.
SAGE WATER is that atmosphere. A scent of petrichor, moss, salt and sacred woods. Clean but earthy. Meditative rather than ornamental. A fragrance for those who would rather disappear into forests, bathhouses and steam than compete for dominance. Rain on stone. Steam through cedarwood. The stillness that comes after the storm has passed.
FOUNDER’S NOTE
“I’ve always been drawn to petrichor, that strange, electric scent that rises from the earth after rain. It’s not pretty in a traditional way. It’s mineral, moody, almost holy, like something has been cleared. When I was creating SAGE WATER, I knew I didn’t want something too herbal, but I wanted to still capture the earth and the elements.
I always picture the character in the movie who stands in the warm rain, joyous and elated that they have crossed an emotional barrier. Petrichor captures the moment between chaos and calm. It smells like clarity. And right now, when everything feels overstimulated and overscented, that raw, rain-drenched silence feels powerful, even subversive.
This fragrance isn’t here to seduce. It’s here to help you find the quiet after the storm. I also reflected a lot on abstinence, and how when you need to purify yourself, you withdraw from certain foods, substances and sex. Most holy people are celibate and with the overt sensuality of the other fragrances, I wanted one story to feel pure - not virginal - but chastity by choice. What does it mean to walk away and retain your power?”
— Sharmadean Reid
“Purification is not simply about removal. It is about returning to yourself.”
SAGE WATER is a fine fragrance cleansing shower oil designed for daily bathing rituals. Built around notes of petrichor, moss, salt, cedarwood, and patchouli, the scent is clean, mineral and deeply atmospheric — blending rain-soaked earth, cold stone and sacred woods into a fragrance that sits close to the skin.
The oil-to-milk formula transforms on contact with water, cleansing without stripping the skin while leaving the body hydrated, conditioned and softly scented. Formulated with plant-based oils including sunflower, grapeseed, avocado and castor oil, SAGE WATER supports the skin barrier while delivering the sensorial depth of a luxury fragrance through both bath and shower.
Designed for those drawn to earthy, watery and meditative scents, SAGE WATER sits somewhere between wet forest air, steam rising from stone and skin after cold water immersion. Fresh without feeling overly citrus or aquatic, it is particularly suited to post-gym showers, morning rituals, moments of overstimulation, or evenings that call for quiet, clarity and retreat.
Massage onto wet skin in the bath or shower, allowing the oil to emulsify into a light cleansing milk before rinsing away. For a more immersive ritual, apply slowly to the chest, shoulders and neck, allowing the steam to release the fragrance’s mineral, mossy depth over time.