# VESPER — Voice & Tone

Nocturnal elegance · Atelier precision · Sensual restraint · Curatorial authority · Private invitation

## Personality

- **Funny ↔ Serious:** serious (+2) — VESPER’s world is ritual, intimacy, and luxury craft; humor would break the spell.
- **Formal ↔ Casual:** leans formal (-1) — The voice should feel polished and atelier-led, but not archaic or stiff.
- **Respectful ↔ Irreverent:** respectful (-2) — Fragrance is personal and the price point implies care, discretion, and deference to the customer’s taste.
- **Enthusiastic ↔ Matter-of-fact:** leans matter-of-fact (+1) — VESPER should avoid overt excitement and let materials, rarity, and atmosphere carry the desire.

## Traits

- **Nocturnal elegance** — Speak with quiet drama: shadow, light, texture, and ritual rather than hype or trend language.
  - Why: VESPER’s name evokes evening prayer, twilight, and ceremony. Its small-batch fragrances and refined objects should feel discovered after dusk, not pushed in daylight retail language.
  - e.g. "A fragrance for the hour when the room softens, the glass cools, and the evening begins to keep its secrets."
- **Atelier precision** — Use exact, material language that shows craft: notes, finishes, provenance, concentration, handwork, batch size, and object quality.
  - Why: As both fragrance house and atelier, VESPER needs to signal discernment and making—not just mood. Precision earns luxury credibility.
  - e.g. "Composed in small batches with orris butter, smoked cedar, and a trace of black tea absolute."
- **Sensual restraint** — Create feeling through suggestion, not excess. Keep sentences polished, spare, and sensorial.
  - Why: Luxury fragrance is intimate. VESPER should invite closeness without overexplaining the experience or sounding performative.
  - e.g. "Amber warms slowly on the skin. Incense follows, close and dry."
- **Curatorial authority** — Guide with confidence and taste. Avoid apologizing, over-selling, or sounding algorithmic.
  - Why: Small-batch atelier clients expect selection, point of view, and expertise. The voice should feel edited by a founder or perfumer, not generated by a marketplace.
  - e.g. "Choose this when you want smoke without heaviness, sweetness without sugar."
- **Private invitation** — Address the customer as an invited guest: personal, composed, and discreet.
  - Why: VESPER’s world is intimate and rare. The brand should feel accessible to the right person, but never mass-market or overly familiar.
  - e.g. "Your bottle has been set aside from the latest batch and will be prepared for dispatch."

## Tone by context

- **Product descriptions:** Lead with atmosphere, then craft. Name key materials, evolution on skin, and the object’s finish. Keep romance controlled: one evocative image, then specifics.
- **Onboarding and discovery:** Act as a thoughtful guide. Ask about rituals, settings, and preferences rather than personality clichés. Make recommendations feel curated, not quiz-like.
- **Purchase and checkout:** Be clear, calm, and reassuring. Preserve elegance while prioritizing practical details: availability, shipping, returns, and care.
- **Success states:** Make confirmation feel ceremonial but concise. Acknowledge the order as something prepared, wrapped, reserved, or released.
- **Errors and delays:** Be direct, graceful, and accountable. Avoid whimsy. Explain what happened, what to do next, and preserve trust.
- **Marketing campaigns:** Use cinematic restraint. Favor invitation over urgency. Scarcity may be mentioned factually, never shouted.
- **Customer service:** Be warm, discreet, and precise. Use the customer’s language where possible. Never be overly chatty or robotic.
- **Packaging and inserts:** Use minimal, tactile language. Focus on ritual, care, storage, and the pleasure of use.

## Messaging

**Audience:** Discerning fragrance clients, collectors, design-conscious gift buyers, and ritual-minded aesthetes who value rarity, craft, and atmosphere over mass luxury signals.
**Value:** VESPER composes small-batch fragrances and refined atelier objects that turn scent into a private evening ritual.

- **Small-batch composition** — Fragrances are produced in considered releases, allowing materials, maceration, and finishing to remain closely controlled.
- **Material sensuality** — Every scent and object begins with texture: resin, wood, smoke, glass, metal, paper, and skin.
- **Ritual over routine** — VESPER reframes fragrance as a daily ceremony—quiet, personal, and deliberate.
- **Edited luxury** — The house favors restraint, permanence, and fine detail over spectacle, novelty, or trend.

## Lexicon

**Use:** `atelier`, `small batch`, `composed`, `finished by hand`, `reserved`, `prepared`, `accord`, `absolute`, `resin`, `orris`, `cedar`, `incense`, `amber`, `tonka`, `smoked`, `polished`, `softly`, `close to the skin`, `nocturne`, `evening`, `ritual`, `vessel`, `object`, `edition`, `release`, `trace`, `drydown`, `sillage`, `quietly radiant`, `held in reserve`
**Avoid:** `must-have`, `obsessed`, `game-changing`, `iconic`, `treat yourself`, `smells amazing`, `luxury vibes`, `elevate your routine`, `limited-time only!`, `hurry`, `grab yours`, `add to cart now`, `clean girl`, `beast mode`, `dupe`, `viral`, `premium quality`, `affordable luxury`, `unleash`, `sensational`, `perfect for everyone`, `signature scent energy`

## Mechanics

- **Capitalization:** Sentence case for UI and body copy; title case reserved for fragrance names, collection names, and formal editorial headings.
- **Contractions:** yes
- **Emoji:** Never in core brand, product, service, or packaging copy. Avoid in social captions except rare, deliberate typographic symbols if part of art direction.
- **Reading level:** Grade 8–10: clear and graceful, with selective fragrance terminology explained through context.

## Boilerplate

- **Short:** VESPER is a luxury fragrance house and atelier composing small-batch scents and refined objects for private ritual.
- **Medium:** VESPER is a luxury fragrance house and atelier crafting small-batch scents and refined objects. Guided by nocturnal elegance, material precision, and ritual, the house creates fragrances, vessels, and editions that feel intimate, enduring, and quietly rare.
- **Long:** VESPER is a luxury fragrance house and atelier devoted to small-batch scent and refined objects. Each composition is made with an edited palette of fine materials—resins, woods, absolutes, smoke, mineral facets, and skin-warm notes—then released with the discretion of an atelier. From fragrance to vessel, VESPER treats scent as ritual: intimate, tactile, and considered. The house is for those who prefer luxury with restraint, atmosphere with precision, and objects that become part of the evening’s quiet ceremony.

## Voice in action

**Product detail page — fragrance opening**

| Surface | ✅ We say | ❌ We don't say | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| empty-state | A low-lit amber composed with incense, black tea absolute, and polished cedar. It opens dry and resinous, then settles close to the skin. | A luxurious amber fragrance with incense, black tea, and cedar that smells rich, warm, and unforgettable. | Use atmosphere plus material precision; avoid generic luxury claims and empty superlatives. |

**Collection landing page — new release**

| Surface | ✅ We say | ❌ We don't say | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| empty-state | The Nocturne edition is now released in a small batch of 300. Each bottle is filled, numbered, and wrapped by the atelier. | Our newest limited-edition fragrance is finally here. Shop now before it sells out. | State rarity factually; avoid mass-market urgency. |

**Checkout confirmation**

| Surface | ✅ We say | ❌ We don't say | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| empty-state | Your order has been received. We’ll prepare your selection with care and send dispatch details once it leaves the atelier. | Thanks for your purchase! We’re getting your order ready and will email you when it ships. | Keep the practical message intact while making the moment feel composed and brand-specific. |

**Error message — payment failed**

| Surface | ✅ We say | ❌ We don't say | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| empty-state | We couldn’t complete the payment. Please check your details or try another method; your selection will remain reserved for 10 minutes. | Something went wrong with your payment. Please try again or use a different card. | Be clear and useful, with a discreet luxury cue: the selection is reserved. |

**Email subject — back in stock**

| Surface | ✅ We say | ❌ We don't say | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| empty-state | Obsidian Rose has returned to the atelier | Back in stock: Obsidian Rose is available again | Make availability feel like a return or release, not inventory management. |

**Homepage hero**

| Surface | ✅ We say | ❌ We don't say | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| empty-state | Fragrance for the hour after light. | Discover luxury fragrances crafted for unforgettable moments. | Own the VESPER evening world; avoid category-generic luxury language. |

**Packaging insert — care instruction**

| Surface | ✅ We say | ❌ We don't say | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| empty-state | Keep the bottle away from heat and direct light. Let it rest where the air is cool, dry, and still. | Store your fragrance in a cool, dry place away from sunlight to preserve quality. | Same instruction, elevated through tactile language without sacrificing clarity. |

**Social caption — atelier process**

| Surface | ✅ We say | ❌ We don't say | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| empty-state | Tonight’s batch: cedar filtered to a pale gold, incense weighed by hand, labels pressed before wrapping. | A behind-the-scenes look at how we make our handcrafted luxury fragrances. | Show craft through concrete details rather than announcing craft in generic terms. |
