Okay, okay, I know what you're thinking. "Chocolate covered basil? Ick! Eurgh! Get it off my plate!" When I smelled it, I also thought I was having some sort of strange delusion. It took four tries on skin and paper to believe my nose.
But I'm telling you, lovelies, this scent really makes it work. The note list is ostensibly aoud, red pepper, saffron, cumin, iris, vetiver and Mysore sandalwood. There is no chocolate; there is no basil. However, on both the paper and on my skin, that's the dominant scent to me. The aoud is a really pretty harmony note to the smell of chocolate and basil. I believe the melting of the pepper and the cumin is what causes the basil overtone to me, and saffron plus sandalwood make me think of chocolate. I am starting to grow completely insistent, though, that there is some vanilla in there.
It only takes about an hour for the iris to show up, at which point the whole combination becomes sublime. At that point it's like the darker chocolate basil got the lightest dusting of chocolate talc (chocolate talc having been my other idea for the title of the post). If there is strength in the vetiver, it is subsumed into the smell of chocolate for me - if there is strength in cumin, there is absolutely no dirty smell to it.
The note combination ends up being stunning, in the same way it's amazing to taste chocolate ganache on a just-fried potato chip. (try it!) I believe this is the first aoud that will make it into my top 25.
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4 comments:
"Chocolate covered basil" sounds really good to me! (I'm weird, I know.) Probably there is some eugenol in there which gives the basil spiciness and probably some vanilla with ethylmaltol and something else which gives the impression of chocolate?
I haven't been too impressed with the Montale ouds (as I suspect you either), but this one goes on my to try list. Thanks!
Helg, you are too right as usualy; I don't think there's eugenol, since that comes across as wintergreen to me, but now that you mention it eythlmaltol can be smelled very distinctly! I think there's a touch of safraline in there, too, which always tends to give a chocolate note to me - Safran Troublant has it too. Which largely means I'm in love, I suppose....
But yes, this is the first oud I have any interest in buying!
I have to admit chocolate and basil are two of my favorite things so it does sound good to me too!
Safraline is an interesting enough component, if so: it should also give a slightly leathery tone? I should try this one out and see.
It's nice to find something you love :-)
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