By Terry
By Terry
142 votes
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Tobacco smoke curls upward, immediately joined by ginger's peppery brightness and the licorice whisper of aniseed, whilst lemon stabs through like a necessary clarifier. Within moments, black pepper arrives to sharpen the composition, creating a bracing, almost medicinal freshness that belies what's lurking beneath.
The spiced opening softens into a voluptuous middle where Moroccan rose emerges in a tonka-sweetened haze, anchored by creamy almond and pralin notes that smell distinctly gourmand. Cinnamon surfaces here too, working in concert with the rose to create an almost perfumed sweetness that's neither floral nor dessert-like, but rather an ambiguous territory between the two.
Indonesian patchouli grounds the composition whilst benzoin adds a resinous depth, and bourbon vanilla mingles with musk to create a skin-like warmth that feels intimate rather than projective. The fragrance settles into a spiced amber sweetness, all tobacco leather undertones and vanilla-tonka depth, with only the faintest echo of that opening ginger remaining.
Délectation Splendide announces itself as a fragrance that refuses the comfortable middle ground—it's either utterly bewitching or entirely too much, depending on whether your palate runs toward the hedonistic. The opening salvo of tobacco and kahili ginger creates an immediate tension, the ginger's bright, almost effervescent spice cutting through tobacco's earthy warmth before aniseed and pepper arrive to amplify the aromatic heat. There's a lemon thread running through, sharp enough to prevent the composition from becoming oppressively dense, though you sense it's fighting a losing battle against what's coming.
By the heart, the fragrance reveals its true ambition: a spiced almond pralin floating above a sumptuous Moroccan rose that's decidedly creamy rather than dewy. This is where tonka bean seduces tonality—the almond and pralin notes collapse into a gourmand sweetness that feels less like dessert and more like the interior of a French pâtisserie infused with attar. The rose doesn't perfume delicately here; it's been honeyed and thickened, functioning more as a sensual counterpoint to the confectionery richness than as a floral anchor.
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4.2/5 (155)