Chapter 3 Two

There are things that make you clean.

And then there are things that make you immortal.

This wasn't hygiene. This wasn't vanity. This was simply me.

I stood before the mirror-bare, silent, still. The light was soft, gold-toned and forgiving, but it didn't need to be. I didn't hide from my reflection. I studied it as if it weree a canvas, half-finished. Skin the color of burned bronze, smooth, luminous even in sleep-slick disarray. I raised a hand to my face and tilted my jaw slightly. A quiet sigh. My eyes were calm. Focused. And tired-but that was always part of it. You wear exhaustion the way you wear black velvet: it frames everything else better.

The robe slipped off without sound, pooling like liquid at my ankles.

Time to begin.

BATHROOM RITUAL - Cleansing the Mortal Shell

The marble tiles were warm beneath my feet, heated from beneath-every surface dimly lit by inset sconces glowing amber. The kind of lighting designed to flatter, not reveal. I turned on the taps, adjusting until the water was a precise warmth: hot enough to open every pore, but not hot enough to shock. I let the steam roll in like a ceremony.

But before I stepped under it, there was my mouth to tend to.

Step 1: Oral Ritual

Toothbrush: Klyrr Precision 01 – Matte obsidian handle, silver detailing, bristles fine and dense.

Toothpaste: Argile & Co. Herbal Charcoal Creme – Black paste with crushed mint, cardamom, and clove. It tasted like some ancient forest remedy-earthy, sharp, medicinal. The kind of thing a royal physician might've brewed in a silver bowl. I brushed slowly. Deliberate. Two minutes exactly. Circles. Up. Down. Tongue, gums, and roof of the mouth.

Mouthwash: Velisse N°4 – A rinse made with wild thyme, spearmint, and volcanic springwater. It burned, then numbed. It told me I was clean.

I spat. Rinsed. Stared at my mouth in the mirror. Smirked. Then stepped into the steam.

Step 2: The Three Washes

Wash One: Savonne Noire – Rose & Aloe

A bottle of frosted blush glass with a gold pump. One full pump coated my palm in thick pink gel. It smelled like crushed petals, like morning dew on a rose bush after rain. I lathered slowly. Neck, chest, arms. I let it sit. Let it steep. Inhale. Count to ten. Rinse. A garden evaporated into heat.

Wash Two: Vellin & Grey – Coconut Milk + Vanilla Bean

This was richer. Silkier. The bottle was ceramic white with a wooden cap. The scent? Dripping sweetness: warm milk, golden coconut flesh, slow-burning vanilla. It coated me like syrup, rinsed off like prayer.

Wash Three: Forme Homme – Amber Cream & Burnt Caramel Exfoliating Butter

I scooped from a matte black jar with brass lettering. Thick. Textured. Luxurious. Sugar crystals that vanished as they scrubbed. My skin flushed under it. Blood came alive. I glowed by the time I rinsed. Not just clean-renewed.

Towel: Maison Laroque Luxe Black – Spun Egyptian cotton. Felt like a black cloud was apologizing for every past cruelty. I patted dry, never rubbed. The skin deserved better than friction.

BODY CARE – Anointing the Vessel

Still warm, still glowing, I approached the vanity. Three bottles awaited me.

1. Body Serum – Savonne Noire "Nectar de Peau"

Same rose and aloe. Glass pipette. Five drops into the palm, pressed into chest, arms, thighs. It melted in. Hydrated. Sealed.

2. Body Cream – Vellin & Grey "Crème de Lune"

This was indulgence. A soft white cream in a tall bottle with gold etching. Coconut and vanilla. Thick, whipped. I smoothed it on in slow, circular motions. Every inch. I could've stood in the Louvre and been mistaken for a display.

3. Body Balm – Forme Homme "Velour Armor"

The final shield. Dense, almost waxy. Locked in everything. Gave my skin that lit-from-within radiance.

FACE - Sculpting the Vessel

Now came the detailing. The face was the lie we told the world.

1. Toner: Seraph + Slate "Balancing Elixir"

Cool and green. Smelled like basil and rain. Woke me the fuck up.

2. Essence: Mirenau Hydrating Silk Drops

Three drops tapped in. No scent. Just soft clarity.

3. Moisturizer: Lunair Luxe Cream – Coconut & Caramel

Sweet and thick. Felt like feeding my skin dessert.

4. Face Oil: Oro Lumière – Gold Leaf & Cold-Pressed Coconut

Five drops. Gold flakes suspended in oil. I pressed it in gently, watching the light shift across my cheekbones. This was where skin stopped being skin and became a weapon.

5. Sculpting Tool: Vitreaux Cryo Wand

From the freezer. Ice-cold metal along jawline, cheekbones, and under-eye. Tamed puffiness. Sharpened everything. I looked like I'd been carved.

6. Eye Serum: Archelene Luminate

Caffeine, licorice root. Dabbed with ring fingers. Brightened shadows. Hid sins.

7. Lip Balm: Etienné No. 9

Brown sugar and mint. Tin looked like something a dead poet would carry.

HAIR - Crown of the Beast

Towel-dried, still damp. I worked in Amure Homme Curl Enhancer-sandalwood and cashmere scent. Defined curls by hand, each one set deliberately. Finished with ShimmerVeil Gold-Dust Mist-a barely-there sheen that caught only under chandeliers. Like starlight in motion.

FRAGRANCE - The Ghost I Leave Behind

1. Oud Burner: La Maison Alchimique Resin Box

I lit a shard of aged oud soaked in amber and fig. Draped a black towel over my head. Let the smoke crown me. It clung to skin, to soul.

2. Oils:

· Thorne Noir Pulse Oil – wrists, throat. Sharp. Resin.

· Alzahra Oud Musk – behind ears, hands. Seductive.

· Aether Skin Solid Cologne – leather and pine tar, across chest. Primal.

3. Sprays:

· Orin & Lior "Black Suede Siren" – earthy. Seven sprays on the back.

· Emberlight by Aeré Parfum – saffron, honey, smoke. Neck.

· Lustre 54 "White Fire" – citrus, amber. Arms.

· Clair de Lune "No. 7" – tonka, vetiver. Legs.

· Tahlé Atlas – smoky oud and vanilla. Chest.

· Saint Veyron "Resin Dust" – incense and dust. Back of knees.

DRESSING - Becoming the Weapon

The suit: Custom by Maison Fraix.

Fabric: Black cashmere-silk blend. Heavy. Soft as sin.

Trousers: Wide-leg, pleated, subtle gold stitching up the outer seams. Swallowed light.

Shirt: Black satin, collarless. Fitted. Half-buttoned. Skin peeking underneath.

Suspenders: Leather-black with gold clasps. Thin. Lethal-looking.

Jewelry:

· Skeleton Hand Ring – 5 gold rings connected by bone-shaped joints. Gripped my hand like armor.

· Elf Ear Cuff – gold, wrapping the cartilage. Delicate chains link to a drop-shaped obsidian gem at the lobe.

· Chains – two. One delicate. One weighty.

· Rings – left hand, thumb band, and pinky signet.

· Earring – twisted spike through the lobe.

· Brooch – skeletal rose in rose gold, pinned at my collar.

Watch:

Brand: Maison Caldré - Obsidian Epoch No. 12

Dial: Deep onyx black, glass domed like a cathedral ceiling. Skeleton face-exposed gears spinning like secrets, glinting with micro-etched gold filaments. The hour markers? Burnished brass, Roman numerals slightly off-kilter-as if time itself had been warped.

Case: Rose gold, brushed and weighted. Heavy without apology.

Strap: Matte black stingray leather, grainy like starlight under a microscope.

Back: See-through. Because even the back had nothing to hide.

Shoes:

Custom Dr. Martens Obscura Goldline – black patent leather, thick-soled, matte-gold lacing eyelets, vertical gold stripe stitched down the heel.

Final step: I brushed a light gold shimmer powder through my hair. Just enough to catch candlelight. To make someone double-take. To make someone think they saw something divine.

I looked in the mirror.

I looked holy. I am holy.

Let them stare. Let them whisper. Let them ask who I was.

Let the gala begin.