Byredo
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Davana hits first with its characteristically sour-spiced profile, immediately joined by coffee's bitter roast notes that create an almost fermented intensity. Within minutes, the spicy accord dominates, lending something vaguely peppery and slightly medicinal to the opening's overall impression.
The coffee and tonka begin a quiet negotiation as the woody-resinous base creeps forward, with sandalwood and labdanum establishing architectural structure beneath the sweeter middle notes. The composition becomes less punchy but far more textured, revealing how the elements interact rather than simply announce themselves.
Only the skeletal framework remains—oud, sandalwood and labdanum intertwine into a woody, faintly smoky skin scent that prioritises subtlety over presence. The amber accord provides just enough warmth to prevent the finish from feeling austere, though this final phase feels more remembered than actually smelled.
Mumbai Noise is a fragrance that refuses to whisper. Jérôme Epinette has constructed something deliberately discordant—a collision between the fermented earthiness of davana and the charred bitterness of coffee that immediately establishes this as a scent for those comfortable with olfactory friction. The tonka bean, typically creamy and comforting, gets roughed up here, its sweetness abraded against layers of woody and resinous material that feel almost architecturally austere.
What emerges is a fragrance suspended between sophistication and provocation. The oud doesn't arrive as the creamy, animalic whisper found in many Western compositions; instead, it's paired with sandalwood and labdanum in a configuration that emphasises woody dryness over indolic warmth. There's something deliberately unglamorous about Mumbai Noise—it smells like spiced leather left in a sandalwood workshop, or the resinous char left behind after incense burns down to nothing.
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3.8/5 (152)