Cape Heartache (Imaginary Authors) represents the woodiest fragrance in this assortment, working an impression of fir and pine - like fresh wood freshly split by a hatchet. In the heart of the American great outdoors, these woods are tweaked with vanilla leaf, fruity and pleasantly sour wild strawberry, and faint tones of smoke and incense, achieving an atmospheric effect. A kind and friendly fragrance, Cape Heartache has extraordinary clarity and intrigue. Papyrus Oud by Parle Moi de Parfum retains this forest feeling, situated in a clearing where one finds a sacred temple: oud and incense burning in tribute, the bright lightness of papyrus and a long hum of ginger, cedar, and spices. It is light yet substantial.
Nostos is a tribute to the hallmark materials of the category: incense, suede-like leather, oud - contrasted with a well-defined and tender rose note. Despite the seeming heaviness of its materials, Nostos is rounded and enveloping: strong but generous and well-mannered. It is both the shield and the spear, the cloak and the dagger. Nostos has a long trail, modern with new age woody materials and classical resins and incense all at once. For those who desire force and density, Black Afgano (Nasomatto) stirs strong emotions with an equally strong complex of tobacco, oud, coffee, and hashish - notes that belong to the shadows. An overdose of cedarwood materials lend impact, with a smouldering heart achieved with labdanum resin.
In the perfumer’s imagination, Morocco is an inspirational place, replete with many senses of the rare and the exotic - Au Coeur du Desert (Tauer Perfumes) needs little introduction, as this charming medley of aged patchouli oil merges with cedarwood, producing a textural contrast between oily and dry. This becomes a surface in which cumin and coriander seed give lift to the fragrance, making the heaviest wood and amber ingredients float in the atmosphere. And in The Dark Side, Francesca Bianchi’s inspiration comes from a moment spent in the markets, inspecting mysterious fragrant oils - potions - which elicit bold feelings. The Dark Side is a nearly indecipherable blend of resins and balsams, a balmy honey-and-smoke unguent set against sandalwood that radiates slowly on the skin.
