Castoreum

Yves Saint Laurent

The immediate sensation is thick and resinous, a dark sweetness cut by spice—cinnamon heat against plum and carnation-like florals.

Chopard

Casmir opens with the plush sweetness of coconut and peach, an almost tropical richness that feels deliberately opulent rather than fresh.

Paloma Picasso

A grand floral chypre that arrives with the weight of old rosewood furniture and pressed velvet.

Chanel

Antaeus opens with a sharp citrus edge—lime and bergamot cut through by the herbal bite of clary sage—that quickly gives way to something darker and more unsettling.

Lancôme

The opening is a green ambush—galbanum and bergamot cut through rose and raspberry like light through stained glass, sharp and resinous rather than sweet.

Amouage

Memoir Woman opens with a brisk clash of pink pepper and green cardamom that feels almost medicinal—sharp, clean, faintly astringent.

Laura Biagiotti

Roma opens with a startling brightness: mint folded into the tart sweetness of black currant, a green-fruit coolness that feels both bracing and strangely old-fashioned.

Tom Ford

The opening announces itself with whiskey-barrel richness—dried tobacco leaf steeped in resinous oud, neither raw nor polished but somewhere darkly in between.

Givenchy

Ysatis opens with a blast of galbanum so green it feels almost medicinal, tempered by plush coconut and a heady dose of ylang-ylang.

Serge Lutens

Nuit de Cellophane opens with a peculiar sweetness—osmanthus blooming through plastic wrap, its apricot-leather facets muffled and contained.

Amouage

The opening is a plume of altar smoke—olibanum sharp and resinous, saffron lending a medicinal tang, cardamom and pink pepper crackling at the edges.

Bentley

The opening arrives with a restrained heat—ginger and pink pepper dusted rather than sprayed, their warmth immediate but not aggressive.

Caron

Yatagan opens with a bracingly herbal collision—mint and galbanum strike first, followed by lavender and basil that feel more medicinal than soothing.

Jacques Bogart

One Man Show opens with a bracing slap of galbanum and basil over citrus, green and almost medicinal before the real architecture emerges.

Amouage

The opening is a sharp crack of cinnamon—medicinal, almost fiery—over bright bergamot that vanishes quickly.

Serge Lutens

**Gris Clair** opens with a brief flicker of bergamot and lavender before quickly settling into something more peculiar—a soft, almost chalky tonka that feels less gourmand than mineral.

L'Artisan Parfumeur

The first breath is pure shock: sawdust soaked in something feral, leather rubbed with sweat and musk, the caged warmth of animals behind canvas.

Frédéric Malle

The apple here is tart and crisp, more cider press than fruit bowl, sharpened by rosemary's herbal bite and a glint of pink pepper.

Frédéric Malle

The rose here announces itself with a roar rather than a whisper.

Serge Lutens

A furnace blast of ginger and cinnamon announces itself immediately, nearly scalding in intensity.

Juliette Has A Gun

Mad Madame opens with a peculiar collision: animalic castoreum wrapped in powdered freesia and rose, creating an impression both feral and polite.

Serge Lutens

The opening is almost feral—raw leather still carrying the heat of the tannery, animal musk thick enough to coat the throat.

John Varvatos

Dark Rebel opens with rum — a warm, slightly sweet, almost boozy note that doesn't read as literal alcohol so much as the atmosphere of a room where it's been poured.

Juliette Has A Gun

Saffron, bergamot, and rose in the opening establish a rich spiced-floral character — the roses at two registers, saffron metallic and warm, papyrus adding a dry papery quality.

Amouage

Beloved Woman opens with lavender, jasmine, and cardamom alongside rose and clary sage — herbal and floral simultaneously, clary sage's sweet-rooty quality softening the opening.

MDCI Parfums

Chypre Palatin is a declaration of intent — a traditional chypre that doesn't apologize for its architecture.

Serge Lutens

Muscs Koublai Khan is among the most discussed and deliberately transgressive muscs in perfumery — a composition that takes the concept of skin scent to its logical extreme.

Le Labo

Labdanum 18 opens dark and resinous, the labdanum immediately recognizable as something between burnt caramel and old leather.

Etat Libre D'Orange

A lime-sharpened opening cuts through the haze of coconut milk and toasted rice, bright citrus meeting creamy tropical warmth.

Juliette Has A Gun

Romantina opens with a bergamot brightness that quickly surrenders to a voluptuous white floral embrace.

Tauer Perfumes

The opening carries the bright green-petal clarity of Bulgarian rose, lifted by cardamom's crisp warmth and a flash of bergamom citrus.

Francesca Bianchi

Lavender arrives first, but not in pastel watercolors—this is a darkened, almost bruised version threaded through black pepper and grounded by leather that announces itself early.

Juliette Has A Gun

The cinnamon here isn't the mulled-wine sweetness of holiday candles, but something drier and more resinous, almost medicinal in its precision.

Tom Ford

The ginger and cardamom arrive first, bright and aromatic, lifting what could have been a heavy composition into something surprisingly buoyant.

Amouage

The opening strikes with a sharp volley of black pepper and nutmeg, more bite than warmth, setting an austere tone that refuses charm.

By Kilian

The opening is a soft clash: powdery violet meets the green sharpness of bergamot, with rose petals holding the middle ground.

Francesca Bianchi

The Lover's Tale is Francesca Bianchi at her most unabashed — a dense, honeyed animalic fragrance built on tobacco, leather, and a sweet resinous core that verges on decadent.

Francesca Bianchi

The opening is almost edible—warm tonka and cinnamon fold into something honeyed and plush, bordered by heliotrope's powdery almond softness.

Yves Saint Laurent

The opening declares itself immediately: plum-tinged spice erupting through jasmine and bergamot, sweet but never polite.

Mona Di Orio

Cardamom and anise arrive with an almost medicinal clarity, their spiced sweetness preparing the ground rather than announcing luxury.

Zoologist Perfumes

Hyrax announces itself with a bright, resinous jolt—saffron and pink pepper cut through the air like sunlight on dry stone.

S.T. Dupont

A sharp citrus-herbal opening sets the stage—lemon and rosemary cutting through galbanum's green bitterness.

Francesca Bianchi

Lost In Heaven opens with a soft narcotic haze—heliotrope and tonka bean wrapped in powdered almond sweetness, their warmth almost edible but kept from dessert territory by dry sandalwood and a whisper of cinnamon.

Knize

Knize Ten opens with a brisk citrus salvo—petitgrain and bergamot sharpened by rosemary—that quickly gives way to its true character: a spiced leather accord built on cinnamon, clove, and castoreum.

Paloma Picasso

The opening strikes a balance between sharp citrus and the faint medicinal coolness of neroli, refusing the sugared brightness that marked many florals of its era.

Tom Ford

Rose d'Amalfi opens bright and peppery, bergamot cutting through with citrus clarity while pink pepper adds a gentle, aromatic bite.

Courrèges

Empreinte opens with a tart, fleshy brightness—peach and bergamot cut through with galbanum's green bitterness and a hint of fig's milky sweetness.

Roja Dove

The opening cuts citrus-sharp—lime and bergamot with lemon's acidic edge—before softening into an unexpectedly green-floral heart.

Roja Dove

The opening of Danger Pour Homme bristles with aromatic tension—tarragon and cumin create an almost savory edge against bright citrus, while lavender adds a sharp, herbal clarity.

Nicolai Parfumeur Createur

**New York** opens with a crisp herbal snap—thyme and bergamot that feel more like a gentleman's barbershop than a skyline.

Tom Ford

A plush, syrupy take on the modern oud genre that announces itself immediately with jammy raspberry and resinous sweetness.

The Different Company

The Different Company's Osmanthus opens with orange and bergamot — a clean, solar citrus that functions as a blank canvas rather than a statement.

Nishane

The opening is brisk and herbal—mint and lavender cutting through with surgical clarity, rosemary adding a slightly resinous edge.

Armaf

Derby Club House Blanche is Armaf's version of a very specific idea: the clean, aquatic bergamot-and-tea accord that Creed's Silver Mountain Water made famous.

Jacques Bogart

Furyo from Jacques Bogart is 1988 masculinity at its most unapologetic: fig leaf and lavender over a dense core of tobacco, vetiver, and castoreum, with civet threading through the entire development.

Gucci

Neroli and rose open together — the neroli bright and citrus-floral, the rose warm and present.

Amouage

Silver Oud is Amouage's thirteenth Library Collection entry and among its most austere — a composition that asks oud to do the heavy lifting in conversation with a set of deliberately darkened, animalic accords.

Zoologist Perfumes

Beaver Edition 2016 takes a counterintuitive approach to its subject: rather than leaning into castoreum's animalic character, Chris Bartlett opens the composition with the beaver's environment — ozonic, green, the cool breath off river water.

Beaufort London

Smoke is the first thing — not subtle smoke, but a thick, charred smoulder that arrives the instant the spray lands.

Bogue

Lavender and petitgrain open with a clean herbal-citrus snap, grapefruit adding a bitter pink edge.

Perris Monte Carlo

Absolue d'Osmanthe builds on osmanthus's two faces: the apricot-skin warmth on one side, the leathery, slightly tea-like greenness on the other.

Nicolai Parfumeur Createur

Incense Oud skips a true top phase and lands directly in the heart: patchouli and atlas cedar form a dry, wood-heavy frame, with rose threaded through to keep it from going purely dark.

bdk Parfums

Ginger and saffron open with a bright-but-dry spice flicker, almost metallic in the first seconds before the smoke takes over.

James Heeley

Cinnamon, violet leaf, and bergamot open in an unusual cluster: cinnamon's warm spice paired with violet leaf's cucumber-green coolness and bergamot's citrus rind.

Revlon

Gardenia, bergamot, and rose open with the gardenia's narcotic, slightly mushroomy white-floral richness leading, rose adding warm pink depth, and bergamot lifting the bouquet briefly.

Zoologist Perfumes

A musk-led opening sets an animal-warm tone from the first minute, more skin-sweat than clean laundry, with the musk acting as both top and continuous thread.

Roja Dove

Tarragon and bergamot open with a green, herbal brightness that dissipates quickly as jasmine, ylang-ylang, and rose move in.

Serge Lutens

Xerjoff

Red Hoba opens with cinnamon and cardamom sharpened by bergamot—familiar spice-and-citrus territory—but the heart quickly displaces this with something more singular: frankincense and incense layered over orris and iris, building a structure that feels architecturally cold and resinous at once.

Francesca Bianchi

Bergamot opens with a brief citrus shimmer before the composition turns inward.

Franck Boclet

A green herbal opening of basil, rosemary, lemon and bergamot clears the air briefly, the kind of aromatic top that promises a chypre and then takes the long way around to get there.

The Different Company

A heady white floral with an animalic underside.

Tauer Perfumes

Clove leads the opening, sharp and warm, with grapefruit and bergamot adding a brief citrus snap that quickly burns off against the spice.

The Different Company

A creamy oriental that keeps the oud implicit.

Rasasi

Sharina is uncompromising.

Xerjoff

Blue Hope opens with mandarin orange and bergamot—citrus-driven, clean, the kind of Italian brightness that reads as uncomplicated until saffron enters and changes the temperature.

Carner Barcelona

Rose & Dragon opens hot — cinnamon and cumin sliding straight into saffron, no citrus interlude.

Histoires De Parfums

Pink pepper opens with a faint sparkle, but the composition wastes no time getting to its centre.

LM Parfums

Cumin and nutmeg open hot and slightly sweat-warm, with frankincense lending a cool resinous counterweight.

Nicolai Parfumeur Createur

Amber Oud opens green and herbaceous — sage, thyme, and lavender form a dry Mediterranean top that reads almost apothecary.

Jean-Louis Scherrer

Tuberose, violet leaf, jasmine and rose open in a dense, almost overpowering bouquet, the violet leaf adding a sap-green bitterness that cuts the floral richness without diminishing it.

Editions de Parfums Frédéric Malle

Castoreum opens raw and leathery, smearing a smoky fur pim over the rose.

Bortnikoff

Magnolia opens alone — a creamy lemony-floral note that gives the entry a soft luminous lift before darker material arrives.

Etro

A heavy white-floral chypre — gardenia, tuberose, jasmine, ylang-ylang, and mimosa pile into the top, the kind of opulent opening that doesn't make any apologies.

Nicolai Parfumeur Createur

Rose Oud opens with a tart fruit lift — raspberry and osmanthus together, the osmanthus contributing its apricot-leather edge so the fruit doesn't read as candy.

By Kilian

Black pepper and saffron crack open with a dry, leathery snap, saffron's iodine-and-suede facet leading immediately rather than waiting for the drydown.

Davidoff

Lime and lemon snap open over basil — a green, barely-sweet citrus that reads more Mediterranean kitchen than cologne counter.

Jul et Mad Paris

Ginger, clove, and nutmeg open in a tightly woven warm-spice cloud — the trio reads dense and almost edible-spiced, less kitchen-cabinet than mulled-wine, with ginger adding a faint dry heat.

Ramón Monegal

The opening is theatrical — pineapple slathered with raspberry, then a smoke plume crossing the fruit and a quick whip of castoreum that adds an unsettling animalic edge.

Les Liquides Imaginaires

An unapologetic skin-and-fur composition that opens on a hot crackle of black pepper, cumin and saffron — the spices feel pelt-warmed rather than kitchen-dry, immediately suggestive of body.

Roja Dove

The opening is deceptive — bergamot, lemon, and orange suggest something conventional before the composition shifts.

Robert Piguet

The opening lifts on lily and bergamot for a clean, faintly aldehydic floral introduction that reads tailored from the first minute.

Fabergé

Cinnamon opens with immediate warmth, dry and slightly sharp before the Iso E Super adds a woody, almost metallic clarity underneath.

Jil Sander

Basil and lemon open with a sharp, herbal brightness, quickly undercut by clary sage's dry, slightly camphorous edge.

Nishane

Ginger, black pepper, saffron, and cardamom open with immediate spiced intensity — saffron lending a metallic-honeyed depth while the peppered cardamom keeps things sharp and dry rather than sweet.

Avon

An Avon feminine from 1963 that belongs to the era of fully-dressed florals — worn like a choice, not a habit.

Les Liquides Imaginaires

Saffron, black pepper, and bergamot open with a warm, slightly metallic brightness.

Adi ale Van

Clary sage opens with a herbal, slightly camphorous quality — dry and medicinal at first, with an earthy undertone that signals this is not a conventional composition.

Dior

Diorama is a 1948 grand floral chypre, one of the first major releases from a house barely a year old.

Xerjoff

Cruz del Sur I opens with rum and grapefruit colliding over bergamot — boozy, bright, and a little disorienting.

Lancaster

Sage, thyme, basil, and lavender hit together with an immediate herbal intensity that borders on medicinal — neroli and bergamot brighten the edge without softening it much.

Maître Parfumeur Et Gantier

Santal Noble opens with incense and coffee — dry, slightly bitter, and resinous.

Les Liquides Imaginaires

Saffron and hazelnut open together in an unusual pairing — the saffron's dry, slightly metallic edge against the hazelnut's nutty warmth, with iris adding a cool, powdery counterpoint.

Bortnikoff

Orange and bergamot open with a brief citrus flash before cardamom and cinnamon take over.

Roja Dove

Petitgrain and bergamot start the perfume crisp and almost herbal, with a green bitterness that sharpens the white florals waiting underneath.

biehl parfumkunstwerke

Neroli and orange blossom open with a bright, slightly waxy citrus-floral character, lifted further by pink pepper's clean sting.

Francesca Bianchi

Bergamot and lavender open with familiar clarity, but castoreum and cinnamon quickly signal something more confrontational underneath.

Le Labo

Labdanum dominates with a sticky, resinous amber quality that smells simultaneously leathery and honeyed, while castoreum and civet add a feral musk that clings to skin like warm fur.

Heeley

Cinnamon and violet leaf announce a fragrance that walks the edge between floral and animalic from the first moment.

Zoologist

Saffron and pink pepper open with a metallic, slightly fermented edge — there is warmth here, but also something raw and animal.

Loewe

Rosewood, bergamot, and lemon open with a woody-citrus freshness that fades quickly, revealing a classical floral heart of jasmine, rose, ylang-ylang, and lily of the valley.

Roja Dove

Bergamot is a bare formality at the top — within a minute the composition is already a forest at dusk.

Serge Lutens

Un bois sépia opens with the dense, almost medicinal bite of vetiver and oakmoss — damp, forest-floor darkness before anything softer appears.

Arrogance

Bergamot and lemon open with brightness, but the citrus resolves quickly into something far denser.

Les Eaux Primordiales

Osmanthus opens with a distinctive apricot-leather character — simultaneously fruity and suede-like — before rum begins surfacing with a boozy, slightly fermented warmth.

Al Halal

Perception opens on bergamot with a clean, citrus clarity that fades quickly, making way for a rich and complex floral-animalic heart.

Vertus

The opening is a quick collision of grapefruit brightness, rum sweetness, and black pepper heat — a short-lived but vivid introduction that signals richer territory ahead.

Nishane

Ambergris, myrrh, frankincense, and labdanum announce themselves upfront as a dense resinous cloud, cool-smoky and ecclesiastical.

Sospiro Perfumes

Basil and clary sage open with a sharp, herbal-green quality — slightly anise-edged and aromatic, cutting through immediately.

Yves Saint Laurent

Opium opens with a spice rack shaken loose by jasmine and plum — clove and pepper rush forward, bergamot lending a citrus scaffolding, the whole opening both declarative and deliberately exotic.