Fragrance Family: Gourmand, Amber
Scent Categories: Herbal, Sweet, Ambery, Spicy, Oudy
Born from a vision, a spectacle beheld within liminal spaces. What the Sufis call Barzakh, a realm between worlds…Where beneath a moon-lit night over soft white dunes of sand I was transported. Wind-swept and scintillating. With a crystalline river snaking its way through the desert. The banks on either side are flanked with lush lavender interspersed with iris, all buzzing with bees. From a distance I witness the flow of water seated beneath a drooping willow betwixt bushes of rosemary and patchouli where musk deer lay. I then go to gather water with ornate silver pitchers to make tea mixed with vanilla and a dash of clove. I collect honey dripping from a hive nestled in the branches. And I burn oud chips on a coal to meditate upon the landscape as tendrils of smoke undulate up to the heavens, satisfying both angel and djinn…I present to you my Lavender Mirage…
Although just a topnote here, lavender is obviously the star and crown jewel ingredient and not just an essential oil either, instead I utilized a full-bodied absolute. This form boasts a more smooth and rounded profile with coumarin undertones as compared to its more ethereal and mentholic eo counterpart. The soothing lavender is then contrasted with sparkling cedrat, a sweeter relative to lemon as well as a boozy black currant absolute which imparts a phenolic fizzy effect to the opening.
The heart bubbles forth steeped in a unique black tea CO2 extraction smelling of roasted tea leaves bearing slight buttery nuances with subtle facets of soft woods and hay. This then forms a rich trifecta with cocoa and a chocolate-like patchouli. Just add a dash of clove bud and rosemary absolute for spicy herbaceousness then suffuse it all with primal Siberian deer musk and voilà!
The entire composition rests upon a decadent amber accord that enfolds your aura in a cocoon of molten warmth. Dense and compact, no single ingredient takes precedence. A delicious benzoin thick as molasses forms the backbone that’s further accentuated by sticky Spanish labdanum, balsamic bushman’s candle, and my self-tinctured vanilla beans grown by a dear friend in Hawai’i that’s even sweeter than that from Madagascar! Tonka bean, bran and lovage root give some brown grainy textures whilst beeswax, butter CO2 and mouth-watering orris absolute add luscious layers of unctuous treacle goodness. Meanwhile both Cambodi and Hindi oud are tucked between the folds fortifying the medley with an alluring woodiness that only oud can do. Finally comes the white ambergris, a smooth salty delicacy tinctured by yours truly that honestly has to be experienced to be understood…
Crown
Lavender, Black Currant Bud, Honey, Cedrat
Heart
Black Tea, Cocoa, Patchouli, Poplar Bud, Clove Bud, Rosemary, Siberian Deer Musk
Base
Cambodi & Hindi Oud, Benzoin, Hawaiian Vanilla, Tonka Bean, Labdanum, Bushman’s Candle, Orris, Beeswax, Bran, Lovage Root, Butter, White Ambergris
