Annette Neuffer
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
A brilliant burst of cinnamon-laced spice—black pepper, cardamom, and ginger create an almost peppery heat—before the Murcott tangerine and petitgrain slash through with bright citrus clarity. The saffron adds an earthy, slightly metallic thread that keeps everything from smelling conventionally warm and baking-spiced.
The florals bloom into a complex, multi-layered rose accord that smells almost abstract—less like picking flowers and more like walking through a rose-scented library. Tuberose adds creaminess whilst frankincense and elemi resin introduce a smoky, almost incensory quality that transforms the jasmine and orange blossom from fruity-floral into something more austere and contemplative.
The base settles into a sophisticated sandalwood-amber matrix, where benzoin Siam's vanilla notes mingle with labdanum's honeyed amber and beeswax's subtle waxiness. The spice fades to a whisper, leaving a warm, resinous, almost medicinal finish that lingers softly on skin—intimate rather than projecting, rewarding close proximity.
Avicenna announces itself as a spiced floral rather than a floral spice—Annette Neuffer's architecture privileges the perfume's aromatic spine over honeyed prettiness. The cinnamon and black pepper in the opening don't merely accent; they're the structural skeleton upon which everything else hangs, creating an almost savoury foundation that prevents the composition from drifting into predictable rose-and-jasmine territory. This is a fragrance for someone who finds conventional florals cloying, who wants their roses studded with frankincense and their jasmine shadowed by the resinous amber of opoponax and labdanum.
The heart reveals its true ambition: a rose-dominant floral built from multiple rose accords (Bulgarian, Persian, Moroccan, Turkish) that function less as individual voices than as a dense, almost abstract floral chord—neither garden-fresh nor powdery, but something more architectural and historical. The tuberose and Egyptian jasmine emerge not as supporting players but as textural interventions, adding creamy weight rather than sweetness. The elemi resin and frankincense are what elevate this beyond standard rose perfumery; they introduce an almost medicinal, temple-like quality that suggests the fragrance's namesake, the Persian physician and philosopher.
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3.9/5 (110)