Hayati

French may be deemed the “Language of Love” in the West, but I argue that’s because many westerners don’t know Arabic or Farsi. For just as there’s a plethora of words to categorize the many shades of love, so too are there many names to call your lover or loved one. So when you love someone so much that your life depends upon it, not only on they themselves but the very act of loving them, you call them Hayati: My Life.

This was my inspiration for the composition — pure, sweet Love. So to capture this elusive essence of love I knew no better place to start than with the botanical that has captivated countless hearts for centuries like no other, The Queen of Flowers Herself: The Rose. But not just any rose! After testing many varietals no other specimen left me so smitten as the one that hails from Kashan, Iran. Locally known as Gul-i-Muhammadi: The Rose of Muhammad, I found this variety fresher than Taifi and more dewy than Desi Gulab. It exhibits natural auxiliary notes of succulent lychee and crisp cardamom leaving me absolutely stunned. Not only that but it almost has a subtle, oceanic mineral note reminiscent of ambergris!

So although I crowned this rose as the queen of the composition, I wouldn’t deem this a rose soliflore per se. Hayati opens bright and joyful with a burst of wild orange, orange blossom and a gentle dusting of cardamom to compliment those auxiliary notes I mentioned before. The Kashan rose quickly takes center stage supported by Bulgarian rose for a jammy undertone, syrupy jasmine grandiflorum, as well as precious boronia to accentuate those berry-like lychee nuances. My signature Kashmiri saffron then lends a radiant and warming contrast to the floral bouquet thus enticing the senses like a mouthwatering Persian confection…A sultry rosewater dessert drizzled over decadent, creamy basenotes such as buttery Mysore sandalwood, clean white kinam, Sumatran vanilla caviar, resinous benzoin, thick labdanum, waxy beeswax, nutty ambrette and salty white ambergris to bind it all together.

Hayati is an ode to love, lover and beloved. A call to leave your heart open despite the inevitable heartbreak and various vicissitudes of life. This is a healing balm of mirth and affection captured in a bottle from my heart to yours. A love letter written with the souls of flowers that you may waft the fragrance of the heart and be enveloped in its embrace…

Crown
Orange Blossom, Cardamom, Orange

Heart
Kashan & Bulgarian Rose, Boronia, Jasmine Grandiflorum, Kashmiri Saffron

Base
White Kinam, Cambodian Oud, Mysore Sandalwood, Sumatran Vanilla, Benzoin, Labdanum, Butter, Beeswax, Oakwood, Ambrette, White Ambergris