I have always loved fragrances with incense or smoky accords. And I’m playing fast and loose with the term 'incense' here as I’m including anything with smoky notes: incense smoke, myrrh, frankincense, and/or Bakhoor. I think it was natural for me to develop a love for such accords because I was raised in a household where Bakhoor was burned frequently and deep, dark, smoky Humra were used. I do love these accords paired with vanilla or sweeter notes like Benzoin; I rarely enjoy them in a drier format or paired with green notes. I adore layering these fragrances with Bakhour and/or Humra, and today, I wanted to highlight these fragrances for lovers of such scents. This list includes popular scents and some underrated ones.
Matiere Premiere: Encens Suave
Starting off strong with Encens Suave: this is a beautiful incense fragrance. The incense is front and center here, with the other notes acting to support the incense. It’s a simple composition but no less intoxicating. The vanilla sweetens the blend while the benzoin, labdanum, and coffee deepen the blend. Performance is amazing, though it can get a bit too linear. I like layering it with other scents due to this linear quality, and it smells absolutely incredible in layering combinations. My favorite combination is with Alien Essence Absolue.
This is one of the fragrances that I was deeply disappointed with when I heard about its discontinuation. It’s an absolute masterpiece. I treasure every drop from my bottle. It is my all-time favorite incense fragrance. A complex, layered blend that smells exquisite and addictive. It has a lot of notes, but what stands out to me is the frankincense first and foremost, a beautiful light floral accord, cinnamon, and a very deep woody resinous base. Everything is amazingly blended. It is an absolute pleasure to inhale this. It’s one of the fragrances I wear for comfort; I use it mainly as a form of aromatherapy. It also layers incredibly well with other fragrances, especially deep, resinous, or woody scents.
What is there to say about Babycat that has not already been said?! Another masterpiece in my opinion. Here, the incense shares the spotlight equally with suede, vanilla, and spices. Absolutely gorgeous. Dominique Ropion created a wonderful gem. The incense here is of two types, olibanum and elemi. The fragrance opens up spicy with the black pepper dominating. It moves into this decadent vanilla incense confection with suede providing a strong backbone. The saffron adds a cool metallic tinge to the overall scent. Performance is above average, and it sticks to clothes for days.
