Widian / AJ Arabia
A unique visual signature based on accords, character, and seasonality
The cardamom and cinnamon ignite immediately with peppery heat, their spice bittersweet and unapologetic, before the grey-green cypress emerges to temper the warmth with an almost herbal coolness. The opening is arresting—not loud, but undeniably present.
As the spice gradually recedes, the frankincense blooms into something almost ecclesiastical, swirling around the increasingly prominent sandalwood which rounds and softens the resin's angular edges. Here the fragrance becomes genuinely beautiful, the woody and amber accords settling into a warm, slightly smoky embrace that feels both ancient and contemporary.
The cedarwood emerges from beneath like a foundation being revealed, whilst the musk—subtle and barely-there—adds an almost imperceptible skin-warmth that lasts considerably longer than the other components. What remains is pure woodsmoke and amber, intimate and deeply grounding.
Widian's Black Collection - I reads as a masterclass in restrained opulence, where spice doesn't shout but rather commands quiet authority. Jean-Claude Astier has constructed something deliberately austere: the cardamom and cinnamon opening immediately announces itself as hot and peppery, yet there's a measured quality here that resists the typical gourmand trap. These top notes don't dissolve into sweetness—instead, they anchor themselves against the frankincense and cypress rising from the heart, creating a peculiar tension between warmth and grey, mineral coolness.
The woody skeleton is the true protagonist. Cypress brings an almost medicinal crispness that prevents the fragrance from ever feeling unctuous, whilst the sandalwood acts as a binding agent, softening the sharper edges without compromising the composition's architectural integrity. The frankincense sits somewhere between these two, neither fully resinous nor entirely spiced—it occupies a liminal space that gives the scent its most compelling characteristic: a kind of contemplative restraint.
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3.8/5 (87)