DESCRIPTION
Working with animalics is one of the most difficult things to do in natural perfumery. There is a very fine balance between them elevating a perfume and completely taking it over. The line is so fine that, in a 250ml composition, even three drops can make a profound difference, the kind that keeps you up at night.
Musks, ambergris, civet, hyraceum… these materials are extraordinarily beautiful when smelled on their own. Yet very few people truly want to walk around smelling like pure animalic pheromones (but there are some!)
SUMATRA is a composition that brings together some of the finest ingredients in our atelier. The heart of the fragrance is wild Malaccensis Indonesian oud, a material so beautiful that we sat with it for many months debating whether to release it neat or build something worthy around it.
On its own it is a stunning aquatic blue incense oud that grips the senses immediately. This remarkable material makes up over 50% of the composition. Around it we wove a deep, lustful red champaca, purple buchu and jasmine absolute.
Then came the animalics which ultimately dictate the profile of this fragrance: civet and castoreum. Notes we have rarely used in our fragrances before. Their inclusion required a great deal of deliberation. They were chosen because of how beautifully they weave through the red champaca and jasmine absolute, creating an experience that feels almost taboo.
So what does it smell like?
The civet and exotic florals lead the opening profile. They rush into the air the moment the lid is lifted. Usually animalics reveal themselves in the dry down, but here, alongside the champaca and jasmine, they create an intensely lustful greeting. It is a fragrance that demands to be experienced on its own.
Then the oud begins to rise. Beautiful aquamarine nuances appear, intertwined with purple buchu in an accord that quickly becomes addictive.
Some fragrances can be described as a repetitive melody. They sing the same chorus again and again, which is not a bad thing. Maroke 1982, arguably the greatest oud of our generation, does exactly this.
And then there are fragrances like SUMATRA, an orchestral symphony. It reveals something new every five to ten minutes.
Achieving this requires the very fine balance we spoke about earlier. Time is essential. Maceration is essential. And this fragrance will continue to macerate and evolve for as long as you keep it.
SUMATRA is dark, mysterious and dangerously addictive. A composition where animalics, exotic florals and wild Indonesian oud converge into something almost aphrodisiac in nature. It feels primal, intimate and deeply hypnotic. A fragrance that does not simply sit on the skin, but slowly unfolds and pulls you deeper into its world.
