[{"_1":2,"_239":-5,"_240":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_161":162},"root",{"_5":6,"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":12,"_60":61,"_141":142,"_144":-5,"_145":146,"_147":148,"_13":149,"_150":151},"cart",["P",6],"isLoggedIn",["P",8],"footer",["P",10],"header",{"_13":14,"_27":28},"shop",{"_15":16,"_17":18,"_19":-5,"_20":21,"_24":25},"id","gid://shopify/Shop/93967024393","name","39-BC","description","primaryDomain",{"_22":23},"url","https://39bc.myshopify.com","brand",{"_26":-5},"logo","menu",{"_15":29,"_30":31},"gid://shopify/Menu/294888833289","items",[32,44,52],{"_15":33,"_34":35,"_36":37,"_38":39,"_40":41,"_22":42,"_30":43},"gid://shopify/MenuItem/751799730441","resourceId","gid://shopify/Collection/673581596937","tags",[],"title","SHOP","type","COLLECTION","https://39bc.myshopify.com/collections/vol-1-alexandria",[],{"_15":45,"_34":46,"_36":47,"_38":48,"_40":49,"_22":50,"_30":51},"gid://shopify/MenuItem/751799763209","gid://shopify/Page/696271405321",[],"OUR STORY","PAGE","https://39bc.myshopify.com/pages/our-story",[],{"_15":53,"_34":54,"_36":55,"_38":56,"_40":57,"_22":58,"_30":59},"gid://shopify/MenuItem/751799795977","gid://shopify/Blog/116762411273",[],"JOURNAL","BLOG","https://39bc.myshopify.com/blogs/letters",[],"newsletterData",{"_62":63},"data",{"_64":65,"_76":77,"_137":138,"_139":140},"banner",{"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":75},"backgroundColor","#000","enabled",true,"link","https://39-bc.com/shop","text","SUBSCRIBE & SAVE 10%","textColor","#fff","newsletterPopup",{"_78":79,"_80":81,"_82":83,"_68":69,"_84":85,"_86":87,"_107":108,"_116":117,"_124":125,"_72":126,"_127":128},"buttonText","Subscribe now","closeButtonText","No, thank you","emailPlaceholder","Your Email","headline","Sign up and receive 10% off your first order.","image",{"_88":89,"_105":-5,"_106":-5},"asset",{"_90":91,"_92":93,"_22":104},"_id","image-62258c16fd1812e8f20e6fffc0b01596b76495a4-1000x1333-webp","metadata",{"_94":95},"dimensions",{"_96":97,"_98":99,"_100":101,"_102":103},"_type","sanity.imageDimensions","aspectRatio",0.7501875468867217,"height",1333,"width",1000,"https://cdn.sanity.io/images/w6t8blum/production/62258c16fd1812e8f20e6fffc0b01596b76495a4-1000x1333.webp","crop","hotspot","miniPopup",{"_66":109,"_68":69,"_110":69,"_111":69,"_112":113,"_72":114,"_74":115},"#2E090A","hideOnScroll","miniPopupOnly","position","bottom-left","10% Discount","#ffffff","styling",{"_66":109,"_118":69,"_119":120,"_112":121,"_122":123,"_74":115},"backgroundOverlay","borderRadius","none","center","size","large","successMessage","Thank you! You will get 10%.","Scent stories, history lessons and new releases.","triggerOptions",{"_129":130,"_131":132,"_133":134,"_135":136},"delaySeconds",8,"frequency","session","scrollPercentage",10,"triggerType","scroll","newsletterText","ACCESS STORIES, LOVE NOTES AND MEMORIES VIA OUR NEWSLETTER","subscribeButtonText","Join the journey","cartSettings",{"_143":69},"showCartNote","customerMatchData","publicStoreDomain","ne17du-ma.myshopify.com","currentCountry","US",["P",149],"consent",{"_152":153,"_154":155,"_156":157,"_158":148,"_159":160},"checkoutDomain","39bc.myshopify.com","storefrontAccessToken","b4481c8f4cece83eb89d3e33a4693729","withPrivacyBanner",false,"country","language","EN","routes/blogs.$blogHandle._index",{"_163":164},"blog",{"_38":165,"_166":167,"_168":169},"Letters","seo",{"_38":-5,"_19":-5},"articles",{"_170":171,"_231":232},"nodes",[172,192,205,218],{"_173":174,"_176":177,"_178":179,"_15":180,"_86":181,"_187":188,"_38":189,"_163":190},"author",{"_17":175},"Bhavesh Dewangan","contentHtml","\n

\n\n\n

\n\n

The story of salt is as ancient as humanity itself.

Picture the oyster harvesters at dawn on Mediterranean shores, scraping white crystals from tidal pools where seawater has surrendered to sun and wind. This isn't an ingredient that grows or blooms — it's earth's own distillation, geometry made edible, the ocean's gift.

The scent isn't fragrance in any floral sense, but sensation that cuts straight through pretense: bracing, clean, the olfactory equivalent of diving into cold water when your skin has begun to drip with sweat.

\n\n\n

\n\n

\n $\"Salts\"$ \n

\n\n

\n\n\n

Follow salt through sacred histories where it served purposes beyond seasoning. Egyptian embalmers mixed it with natron to preserve what death threatened to dissolve. Roman priests scattered it into temple baths, bringing memories of primordial seas into their religious ceremony.

It transforms ritual bathing into ceremony. Added to warm water, salt doesn't just clean — it clarifies, drawing impurities from pores that have accumulated more than physical residue. The element that makes tired skin remember what vitality feels like, that reminds bodies they emerged from oceans long before they learned to walk on land.

Ancient physicians prescribed salt baths for melancholy, understanding its power to shock systems grown sluggish from too much comfort, too little challenge. The mineral that restored balance not through gentle persuasion but through crystalline insistence that some truths cannot be softened.

In SAGE WATER, salt provides mineral brightness that threads through rain-soaked petrichor and herb-green freshness like silver wire through silk. It balances woods and florals with something cooler, sharper, more essential, older and wiser, honest as the sea that created it through patient evaporation of everything unnecessary.

\n\n","handle","salt","gid://shopify/Article/618266689801",{"_15":182,"_183":-5,"_22":184,"_102":185,"_100":186},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/237062291721","altText","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0939/6702/4393/articles/salt-1.jpg?v=1780164838",2240,3360,"publishedAt","2026-05-30T18:13:55Z","Salt",{"_178":191},"letters",{"_173":193,"_176":194,"_178":195,"_15":196,"_86":197,"_187":202,"_38":203,"_163":204},{"_17":175}," $\"Immerse$ \n\n

\n\n

\n Immerse yourself in the world of 39BC\n

\n\n

From 19–25 November, 39BC takes residence at Mason & Fifth in Westbourne Park, London – a sensual unfolding across six days of immersion, intimacy, and return.

During the course of the week, 39BC will transform the boutique guesthouse into a modern sanctuary, inspired by ancient bathing rituals.

\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n $\"Join$ \n\n\n

\n\n

\n Join us at our launch party\n

\n\n

Experience the world of 39BC through a series of captivating events – including film screenings that inspired the creation of Vol I – Alexandria, a calligraphy workshop, and a live podcast recording – each exploring themes of ritual, bathing, and transformation.

\n\n

Expect complimentary gift wrapping, personalisation, and a few special surprises.

\n\n\n

\n\n $\"Hear$ \n\n\n

\n\n

\n Hear Sharmadean Reid live in conversation with Phoebe Lovatt\n

\n\n

The Full 39BC Holiday Pop-Up Experience Calendar

\n\n

Sharmadean Reid introduces L’Effrontée. Screening - 20th November, 3pm-5pm

L’Effrontée (1985), directed by Claude Miller and starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, is the cinematic basis for Fig Milk — a study in innocence, appetite, and awakening. [RSVP]

\n\n\n

39BC Launch Party - 20th November, 6pm-9pm

Join us at Mason & Fifth for an evening of scent, sound, and celebration, marking the opening of 39BC's first physical experience. [RSVP]

\n\n

\n\n $\"Enjoy$ \n\n

\n\n

\n Enjoy personalised holiday gifting\n

\n\n

\n\n\n

Live Calligraphy with Jenny Collier, 21st November, 2pm-5pm

Experience an afternoon of elegant personalisation with Jenny Collier — a Central Saint Martin’s graduate, master scribe and calligrapher by appointment to King Charles III.Guests are invited to have their 39BC gifts wrapped and hand-lettered by Jenny — each name, note, or monogram rendered with precision and grace, using the brand’s signature materials and restrained design. [RSVP]

\n\n\n

Sharmadean Reid introduces Cleopatra, 21st November, 3pm-5pm

Cleopatra (1963), starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, embodies the alliance of power and desire that anchors Silk Veil and Denarii — scent drawn from the meeting of empires and the intimacy of influence. [RSVP]

\n\n\n

Sharmadean Reid introduces Fellini Satyricon, 22nd November, 3pm-5pm

Fellini Satyricon (1969) is a fever dream of Rome — erotic, surreal, and divine in its decay.It mirrors the opulent sensuality behind Silk Veil, where flesh meets philosophy and beauty demands contemplation.A cinematic feast of ritual and ruin — best experienced slowly.

[RSVP]

Sharmadean Reid introduces Baraka, 23rd November, 3pm-5pm

Baraka (1992), directed by Ron Fricke, moves beyond dialogue — a visual meditation on humanity, ritual, and the sacred cycles of the earth.It reflects the stillness of Sage Water, the scent of spiritual return and elemental calm.A quiet hour of breath, rhythm, and reverence. [RSVP]

\n\n

Sharmadean Reid introduces Alexander, 24th November, 4pm-6pm

Alexander (2004), directed by Oliver Stone, explores conquest and legacy — the mirror of Denarii’s ambition and the lineage that shaped Cleopatra’s world. Desire meets duty. Empire meets emotion. A portrait of power that reminds us: even the divine must decide what to surrender. [RSVP]

\n\n\n

\n\n $\"Watch$ \n\n\n

\n\n

\n Watch a Screening of Cleopatra (1934)\n

\n\n\n\n

\n\n

Sharmadean Reid introduces Cleopatra (1934), 25th November, 3pm-5pm

The final screening, Cleopatra (1934), directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Claudette Colbert, closes the week in quiet splendour.A vision of ritual, devotion, and departure — it echoes the energy of Silk Veil, the first scent in the 39BC collection.As empires fade and tides turn, the queen returns to herself.A fitting end to six days of ceremony, scent, and cinema. [RSVP]

\n\n\n

Deep Read Salon: Sharmadean Reid and Phoebe Lovatt in Conversation

To close the 39BC Pop-Up, Sharmadean Reid joins writer and cultural commentator Phoebe Lovatt for a live recording of Deep Read in our Mason & Fifth Listening Lounge. Lovatt’s acclaimed podcast exploring books, ideas, and the rituals that shape creative life.Together, they’ll discuss the literary inspirations behind 39BC and the meditative connection between reading, bathing, and self-return. An intimate evening of dialogue and discovery — where thought meets pleasure, and conversation becomes ceremony. [RSVP]

\n\n\n

\n\n

\n","39bcs-holiday-pop-up-experience","gid://shopify/Article/618267148553",{"_15":198,"_183":-5,"_22":199,"_102":200,"_100":201},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/237066518793","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0939/6702/4393/articles/immerse-yourself-in-the-world-of-39-bc_5113959c-a777-4568-9af6-fd6ce9844d8d.jpg?v=1780169691",1080,1440,"2026-05-30T19:14:00Z","39BC's Holiday Pop-Up Experience",{"_178":191},{"_173":206,"_176":207,"_178":208,"_15":209,"_86":210,"_187":215,"_38":216,"_163":217},{"_17":175},"

Bathing is one of the oldest human instincts. Across cultures and centuries, people have always sought ways to honour their bodies with the simple, restorative act of water.

Egypt didn’t do spectacle the way Rome did. No soaring vaults, no marble cathedrals of steam. Bathing here was private, pared back, and serious. An act of devotion rather than showmanship.

Priests had their sacred lakes — stone-lined basins inside temple complexes, where dawn and dusk meant ritual ablutions. At Karnak, you can still see the water’s edge, where men of rank once lowered themselves into Nile water perfumed with lotus and herbs, preparing not for Roman gossip but for Egyptian gods.

\n\n

\n\n\n

\n $\"Roman$ \n

\n\n

\n Roman Baths, UK\n

\n\n

In palaces and wealthy homes, bathing was quieter still. No immersion pools, no communal chatter. Just a stone basin, a sloped floor, and servants pouring water from jars across skin — a detail captured in tomb paintings, the bather seated, attendants working in rhythm. Soap, as Rome would later sell it, was nowhere. Egypt had its own arsenal: natron salt, sharp and cleansing, followed by oils of moringa, balanos, castor. Massage it in, scrape it off, perfume the skin. Maintenance, yes. But self-worship, too.

It wasn’t architecture for the crowd. It was architecture for the body: thresholds of stone and water designed to carry someone from the dust of life to the scent of ceremony. For priests, that meant purity before the altar. For queens, it meant preparation — the body as offering, the body as power.

Across the world, similar sites mark the places where humans have long stepped into water as an act of self-preservation. The ruins that remain — sacred lakes, basins carved into temples — are not grand, but they are intimate.

\n
\n\n

\n\n

\n $\"Baths$ \n

\n\n

\n Baths of Caracalla, Rome, Italy\n

\n\n

\n\n\n

10 Ancient Baths You Can Still Step Into

1. The Roman Baths, Bath, UK

Celts worshipped here before Rome claimed it. Sulis became Minerva, Celtic hot springs became Roman theatre. Today, steam still rises under English rain.

2. Baths of Caracalla, Rome, Italy

Marble vaults, mosaics, politics sweating in every pore. Caracalla didn’t build a bathhouse. He built a cathedral to Roman excess.

\n
\n\n \n

\n\n\n $\"Tipasa,$ \n\n

\n\n

\n Tipasa, Algeria\n

\n\n \n

\n\n

3. El Djem, Tunisia

Better known for its amphitheatre, but the baths tell their own story: soldiers rinsing off dust, merchants slicking themselves in oil before the games began.

4. Tipasa, Algeria

Half-ruined, sea-kissed. Imagine senators drying themselves in the wind off the Mediterranean, their gossip louder than the surf.

5. Sbeitla, Tunisia

A smaller complex, but no less serious. Golden ruins and olive groves framing pools where Rome’s rituals still echo.

\n
\n\n

\n\n

\n \n $\"Knossos,$ \n \n

\n \n\n

\n\n

\n Knossos, Crete, Greece\n

\n\n

6. Timgad, Algeria

The “Pompeii of North Africa.” A whole Roman city, perfectly gridded, with bath complexes aligned to the sun. Imagine the whispers in that steam.

7. Ephesus, Turkey

Where knowledge and cleansing met. Merchants scrubbed off the road before stepping into the Library of Celsus. Books, marble, baths — all status.

\n
\n\n\n

\n\n

\n \n $\"Antonine$ \n \n

\n\n

\n Antonine Baths, Carthage\n

\n\n

\n\n\n

8. Volubilis, Morocco

A hilltop city of olive oil and empire. Its baths overlooked plains that seemed endless, like Rome’s ambition. Skin glistened here before deals were struck.

9. Knossos, Crete, Greece

Long before Rome, the Minoans built their own bathing culture. Clay tubs, drainage systems, the suggestion of a world where water and pleasure shared the same basin.

10. Baths of Antoninus, Carthage, Tunisia

The largest Roman baths in Africa. Columns framing the sea. Carthage and Rome’s elite soaking side by side, perfumed and powerful, before stepping back into the politics o

\n\n

\n","the-architecture-of-the-ancient-bath","gid://shopify/Article/618267410697",{"_15":211,"_183":-5,"_22":212,"_102":213,"_100":214},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/237068484873","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0939/6702/4393/articles/roman-baths-uk_b50d8a7c-17ba-4f8a-8c89-f33ac5d23a31.jpg?v=1780171090",730,490,"2026-05-30T19:55:06Z","The Architecture of the Ancient Bath",{"_178":191},{"_173":219,"_176":220,"_178":221,"_15":222,"_86":223,"_187":228,"_38":229,"_163":230},{"_17":175},"

She's been the goddess, the sovereign, the seductress, the strategist.

For over a century, Hollywood has been obsessed with one question: who gets to wear the crown? From silent film vamps to Netflix controversies, every generation has remade Cleopatra in its own image — part historical figure, part cultural mirror reflecting what we desire, fear, or need from our queens.

Watch the progression like archaeological layers: each portrayal revealing not just the actress, but the era that shaped her.

\n\n

\n\n\n $\"Theda$ \n\n\n

\n\n

\n Theda Bara\n

\n\n

Theda Bara – Cleopatra (1917)

Hollywood's original \"Vamp\" turned the queen into pure fatal glamour. Most of the film burned in studio fires, but the legend survived: bare midriff, kohled eyes, scandal radiating from every glance. America's first cinematic seductress, teaching audiences that some women were too dangerous for daylight.

\n\n\n

\n\n\n $\"Claudette$ \n\n \n

\n\n

\n Claudette Colbert\n

\n\n

Claudette Colbert – Cleopatra (1934)

Cecil B. DeMille's Art Deco fever dream. Colbert's queen lounged in milk baths and commanded with winks — witty, stylish, unapologetically sexual. Depression-era audiences needed glamour they couldn't afford, and Colbert delivered it in golden buckets.

\n\n\n

\n\n\n $\"Vivien$ \n\n\n

\n\n

\n Vivien Leigh\n

\n\n

Vivien Leigh – Caesar and Cleopatra (1945)

Shaw's Cleopatra reimagined as intellectual apprentice rather than finished seductress. Leigh played the queen-in-making with poise and flashes of mischief — war-weary Britain preferred their royals complex rather than simply beautiful.

\n\n

\n \n $\"Sophia$ \n \n

\n\n

\n Sophia Loren\n

\n\n

Sophia Loren – Due notti con Cleopatra (1954)

Italian comedy's double delight: Loren as both queen and commoner, switching between glamour and humour with magnetic ease. Post-war Europe understood that sometimes survival required playing multiple roles.

\n\n

\n\n\n $\"Pascale$ \n\n\n

\n\n

\n Pascale Petit\n

\n \n

\n\n

Pascale Petit – A Queen for Caesar (1962)

The forgotten portrayal: regal, calculating, more strategist than temptress. Petit's Cleopatra lived in political shadows rather than romantic light — perhaps too realistic for audiences craving spectacle.

\n \n

\n\n

\n \n $\"Elizabeth$ \n \n

\n\n

\n Elizabeth Taylor\n\n

\n\n

Elizabeth Taylor – Cleopatra (1963)

The definitive version that nearly bankrupted a studio and created a legend. Taylor's queen was tempestuous, opulent, deeply human — and her off-screen affair with Burton made ancient history feel scandalously contemporary. Some performances transcend cinema to become mythology.

\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n $\"Hildegard$ \n\n\n

\n\n

\n Hildegard Neil – Antony and Cleopatra (1972)\n\n

\n\n

Hildegard Neil – Antony and Cleopatra (1972)

Shakespeare's words given flesh through cool elegance and tragic dignity. Neil understood that sometimes the most powerful queens are those who accept their doom with grace rather than fight it with spectacle.

\n\n\n

\n\n\n $\"Leonor$ \n\n\n

\n\n

\n Leonor Varela\n

\n\n

\n\n\n

Leonor Varela – Cleopatra (1999 miniseries)

The millennium's answer: youthful, fiercely intelligent, more scholar than seductress. Varela's queen reflected an era finally ready to believe that women could be political without being decorative.

\n\n\n

\n $\"Monica$ \n\n

\n\n

\n Monica Bellucci\n

\n\n

\nMonica Bellucci – Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre (2002)\n

Tongue-in-cheek majesty for a postmodern age. Bellucci played vanity and command with knowing camp — the queen as pop culture icon, beautiful precisely because she didn't take herself too seriously.

\n\n\n

\n\n\n $\"Lyndsey$ \n\n\n

\n\n

\n Lyndsey Marshal\n\n

\n\n

Lyndsey Marshal – Rome (HBO/BBC, 2005–2007)

Television's grittier vision: sharp, politically astute, sensuous but shrewd. Marshal gave her teeth and wit, understanding that prestige drama audiences wanted their queens complicated rather than simply iconic.

\n\n \n

\n\n

\n \n $\"Adele$ \n \n

\n\n

\n Adele James\n\n

\n \n

Adele James – Queen Cleopatra (Netflix, 2023)

The most controversial casting in decades. James's portrayal sparked global debate about heritage, representation, and who owns ancient stories — proving that Cleopatra remains dangerous enough to start cultural wars.

Each actress, each era, each interpretation — all trying to capture the woman who made Rome nervous. The remarkable thing isn't that they all differ so dramatically. It's that she's compelling enough to survive every version.

\n\n

\n\n\n\n","actresses-as-cleopatra","gid://shopify/Article/618267443465",{"_15":224,"_183":-5,"_22":225,"_102":226,"_100":227},"gid://shopify/ArticleImage/237068943625","https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0939/6702/4393/articles/monica-bellucci_06d185c9-4298-489a-bdda-e23127776106.jpg?v=1780172403",1010,1347,"2026-05-30T19:58:51Z","Actresses as Cleopatra",{"_178":191},"pageInfo",{"_233":69,"_234":69,"_235":236,"_237":238},"hasPreviousPage","hasNextPage","endCursor","eyJsYXN0X2lkIjo2MTgyNjc0NDM0NjUsImxhc3RfdmFsdWUiOjYxODI2NzQ0MzQ2NSwib2Zmc2V0Ijo0M30=","startCursor","eyJsYXN0X2lkIjo2MTgyNjY2ODk4MDEsImxhc3RfdmFsdWUiOjYxODI2NjY4OTgwMSwib2Zmc2V0Ijo0MH0=","actionData","errors"]