Parfums de Marly
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
Pink pepper and Sicilian lemon ignite with surprising vivacity, immediately tempered by cypress's mineral coolness and geranium's green bite. Within minutes, the composition feels poised and deliberate, almost architecturally constructed rather than effusive—there's no sweetness here, only bright, peppery citrus dancing against dry wood.
The roses begin their subtle emergence, not as blooms but as whispered florals threading through a predominantly woody-resinous landscape. Cardamom warmth enters from beneath, creating an amber-tinged middle where spice and rose coexist in uneasy tension, the composition growing more contemplative and less immediately vibrant.
Gaiac wood and Laotian oud dominate completely, becoming a soft, smoky-leather base where cardamom spice lingers like ghost smoke. The musk anchors everything in an amber-tinged, vaguely animalic warmth that persists as a skin scent—intimate, dry, and distinctly philosophical.
Akaster arrives as a study in restrained elegance—a fragrance that refuses to shout. Hamid Merati-Kashani has constructed something deliberately sparse here, where the interplay between Sicilian lemon's bright tartness and pink pepper's gentle burn creates an opening that feels almost nervous, like static electricity between silk. The cypress cuts through with a mineral dryness that prevents any sweetness from taking root, whilst geranium adds a green, slightly peppery earthiness that grounds the composition.
What makes Akaster compelling is its refusal to be a rose fragrance, despite carrying two of them. The Bulgarian and Taif roses emerge not as romantic focal points but as fleeting impressions—soft, slightly powdered, almost as if they're being filtered through the woody-resinous structure rather than floating atop it. That woody accord (88%) isn't decorative; it's foundational. Gaiac wood and Laotian oud create a framework of burnt leather and smoky warmth that prevents the floral heart from ever becoming pretty or approachable.
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4.6/5 (86)