Aubusson
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Saffron arrives with unexpected clarity—briny, slightly metallic, almost reminiscent of skin aftercare rather than purely aromatic. Within moments, warmth blooms beneath it, a hint of the oud already beginning its slow emergence, preventing the saffron from ever turning sharp or challenging.
The rose emerges gradually, never floral in the conventional sense, instead wrapping itself around the woody spine of oud. What develops is a honeyed, almost dusty character—as though rose petals have been pressed between pages of aged wood. The amber begins its ascent here, adding a subtle sweetness that prevents the composition from drifting into austerity.
The fragrance settles into a purely resinous meditation. Frankincense and myrrh dominate, their herbal-smoky character deepened by sandalwood's creamy grain. What remains is intimate, barely perceptible beyond a few inches from the skin—a personal cloud of warmth and antiquity rather than a statement.
Aubusson's after-shave formulation dissolves the conventional boundaries between cologne and eau de toilette, presenting instead a contemplative study in restraint dressed in ecclesiastical robes. Evelyne Boulanger has orchestrated a composition where saffron's peppery, almost medicinal top note serves as the opening salvo—sharp enough to wake the skin yet refined enough never to screech. This immediately yields to the heart's masterstroke: a rose so thoroughly absorbed into Laotian oud that the distinction between the two becomes philosophical rather than olfactory. The oud here isn't the synthetic, animalic beast of contemporary fragrances; instead, it acts as a woody anchor that stabilises the rose's floral volatility, creating something that hovers between a dusty, antiquarian rose absolute and the resinous breath of temple incense.
The base is where Boulanger reveals her true ambition. Frankincense and myrrh form a partnership with amber and sandalwood that feels almost liturgical—reminiscent of ceremonial robes that have absorbed decades of incense smoke. There's a smoky quality here, a burnt-sugar undertone that suggests the fragrance has been left too long near an open flame, not unpleasantly so, but with a certain wry acknowledgement of imperfection.
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4.2/5 (230)