Borsari 1870
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Blackcurrant and mandarin explode with bright, tart insistence, momentarily suggesting something approaching conventional citrus, before pink pepper's peppery snap derails that trajectory entirely. Within seconds, the composition feels off-kilter, deliberately destabilising.
Frankincense and amber surface around the 30-minute mark, introducing a resinous, almost liturgical smokiness whilst glomtak adds a distinctly animalic dimension—something vaguely feline and disturbing. The woody accords intensify here, with oud's leathery pepperness beginning to dominate.
By the fourth hour, Desio becomes almost entirely a woody-leather study, the fruit notes completely absorbed into the oud and patchouli base, leaving a drying, sandalwood-tinged skin scent that whispers rather than projects.
Desio opens as a deliberately fractured proposition—a fragrance that refuses easy categorisation. Alexis Grugeon has constructed something austere and intellectually demanding: blackcurrant and mandarin arrive with a sharp, almost aggressive brightness, immediately tempered by pink pepper's bite, before the composition pivots dramatically toward its woody-amber skeleton. This is where Desio reveals its true character: a study in the tension between fruit-driven freshness and deep, resinous warmth.
The heart notes—particularly the interplay between frankincense and amber—create a smoky, ecclesiastical quality that feels almost liturgical, whilst glomtak (a rarely-used note suggesting animal musk and leather) introduces an unsettling animalic edge. The base is unapologetically dense: Assam oud provides peppery, leathery darknes, layered against sandalwood's creamy vanilla undertones and patchouli's earthy grounding. Oak wood adds a drying, structural framework that prevents the composition from becoming cloying.
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3.9/5 (260)