435 Illyria

Illyria is an attar revolving around the profile of Gentian root.

I made this with an absolute of Gentian from 2019. It's profile is very unique, akin to sweet tamarind and soaked raisins, with a beautiful leafy, floral note hidden among the fruity, malty elements.

My focus was to unearth the floral elements, while lessening the tamarind notes. This was very difficult and took a lot of time, but I feel I have made a scent that has a very unique and displays some new floral aspects that are perhaps not smelled so often in perfumery.

Smelling from the applicator, Illyria has a sweet, powdery, musky, floral scent, with hints of pumpkin and sarsaparilla. This is an unusual profile, it has some rosy aspects, the Gentian resembles tomato leaf so a small degree as well as the green aspects of Tuberose.

Illyria feels like a fragrant garden, it has some vegetal and leafy aspects, with sweet pea and rooibos alongside pumpkin and violet leaf.

The high notes are fluffy and sweet, with pink and purple floral features, alongside leafy rooibos and Gentian elements.

The mid notes lean towards a sweet, juicy, vegetal feel, akin to pumpkin and tomato, with lush rose leaf and petal aspects.

The base is a vibrant Trat oud, with dark violet leaf, creamy sarsaparilla and benzoin.

This is really a curio attar, made because I want to make things that smell different and new to my nose, but I think aspects of my perfumer's DNA can be sensed by those who are familiar with my work.

Smelling on the skin, Illyria opens with a peachy, dense, sweet, musky floral note. The airy notes of Osmanthus and Sweet Pea lead into deeper, lush rosy mid notes. It begins as a soft, sweet, airy floral, and slowly becomes brighter and more radiant.

The Gentian comes through in a very unusual way, the absolute smells quite different when blended. It displays a blue, purple, floral leafy note that has some similarities to violet leaf and tomato leaf, it also has some vegetal sweetness, which is not as apparent in the blend, this has been minimized with the use of sarsaparilla, shaping the scent to be more rooty and creamy.

As the scent settles, the notes become deeper and more prominent, the pumpkin-like notes show up better as time passes. Many notes show up after 20 minutes, vibrant carnation, malty gnidia, dark undercurrents of violet leaf and rooibos, enhanced with a pervasive musky overtone.

After around 30 minutes Illyria become more purple in feeling, with the rooibos and Trat oud appearing more prominently. Hints of boronia and blackcurrant show up

This attar contains a larger amount of Mongolian deer musk and ambergris than usual.

Illyria is made with the following materials:

Gentian (Absolute: Rooty, sweet, vegetal, balsamic)

Fleur de Cuir (EO: Floral, smoky, creamy)

Sarsaparilla (Co2: Sweet, rooty, earthy, powdery)

Rooibos (Absolute: Leafy, vibrant, dark fruity, rooty)

Mysore Sandalwood 1995 (EO: Woody, refined, creamy)

Trat Oud (EO: Woody, coppery, juicy, radiant)

Mongolian Deer Musk (Maceration: Sweet, powdery, sparkling)

Sweet Pea (Melange: Sweet, floral, herbal)

Ambergris (Absolute: Creamy, powdery, clean)

Osmanthus (Absolute: Sweet, floral, airy)

Boronia (Absolute: Sweet, honeyed, floral)

Violet leaf (Absolute: Rooty, vegetal, earthy)

Mimosa (Absolute: Sweet, creamy, light floral)

Civet (Absolute: Creamy, animalic, waxy)

Gnidia (Absolute: Malty, floral, sweet)

Blackcurrant (Co2: Fruity, dark,, juicy)

Beeswax (Absolute: Creamy, malty, sweet)

Jasmine Sambac (Co2: Juicy, floral, bright)