Mysore Sandalwood

Dior

The original Dior Addict opened with a jolt of tart blackberry that felt almost edible, a daring choice for luxury perfume in the early 2000s.

Creed

Love in White opens with a pristine magnolia that feels almost weightless, dusted with iris powder and tinged cool rather than tropical.

Mancera

Aoud Vanille opens with a spice triumvirate — black pepper, saffron, and cardamom arriving with authority.

Amouage

Amouage Gold Man was launched in 1983 as a deliberate assertion of ultimate luxury — the most expensive fragrance in the world at the time, built from precious materials without apology.

Etro

Etra opens with a single note of cardamom — warm, slightly sweet, faintly medicinal in the way good cardamom always is, setting a Middle Eastern-inflected tone from the outset.

Xerjoff

The opening of 1888 feels unexpectedly bright—crisp pepper and citrus cut through what you'd expect from such a woody composition, suggesting restraint rather than force.

Kajal

Almaz opens with a tart brightness—black currant sharpened by bergamot—that quickly softens into something plush and sweet.

Loewe

**Agua de Loewe Ella** opens with a tart citrus spray—bergamot and lemon that feel closer to cologne than contemporary femininity.

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.

Mancera

Fig-Extasy opens with an odd electricity—black pepper crackling around fresh fig and a wisp of incense, the ginger sharper than you'd expect.

Loewe

Agua de Loewe El opens with a sharp citrus clarity—yuzu and bergamot that feel bracingly cool, like water hitting stone.

Etro

Orange and bergamot open with a warm, rounded citrus — the orange providing sweetness, the bergamot adding lift.

Mancera

Lemon and bergamot open So Blue with a clean, precise citrus — bright and brief, working as a vehicle for what follows rather than a statement of its own.

Miller Harris

Incense opens with a direct, resinous declaration — lavender alongside it providing the only aromatic gentleness before the composition dives deep.

Salvador Dalí

Daliflor translates its name literally: a flower — a bouquet, rendered cleanly without ornamentation or irony.

Stephane Humbert Lucas 777

Incense laced into tuberose, draped in resin and ambergris.

Montale

Aoud Melody announces itself without hesitation — leather and oud at full strength from the first spray, saffron adding a warm metallic cast, with clove pushing the opening toward the aromatic-spiced end.

Xerjoff

Fiero opens on blood orange and lemongrass cutting bright and sharp before bergamot and Amalfi lemon round them into something wearable.

1907

A green-bitter petitgrain lifts off the skin first, threaded with the creamy banana-tinged sweetness of ylang-ylang.

Molinard

Habanita is one of perfumery's foundational orientals, composed in 1921 and reformulated in 2012 into a cleaner, more accessible silhouette.

Berdoues

Etro

Lemon and rose share the opening — a brief, slightly tart green-floral burst that dissolves quickly into the wood.

Jean-Louis Scherrer

Galbanum opens alone at the top, sharp and bitter green, evoking crushed leaves and stems with no fruit or citrus to soften the entry.

Frapin

Ginger and black pepper open hot and dry, with bergamot adding just enough citrus to keep the spice from feeling abrasive.

Montale

Bakhoor is Arabic incense — charcoal blocks layered with resins, woods, and oud smoke — and this interpretation names its reference accurately.

Mancera

Fabulous Yuzu starts where most yuzu fragrances stop — within a minute, the citrus is already braided with cinnamon and a thin ribbon of lemon that keeps the opening sharp rather than gourmand.

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

Saffron, bergamot and nutmeg open with a warm, slightly leathery brightness, the citrus shaved thin against the dry spices.

Xerjoff

Star-musk opens with a resinous amber warmth that feels almost tactile, like sun-warmed skin layered with fine incense.

Masque

Granado

Freesia and bergamot open soft and slightly powdery, the freesia leading bright-petaled and a touch peppery.

Stéphane Humbert Lucas

Bergamot and nutmeg open, but briefly — the bright citrus barely registers before nutmeg's cool-warm spice begins steering the composition somewhere darker.

Montale

Aoud Lavender is exactly what the name promises but executed with restraint.

Nobile 1942

Bergamot opens crisp and slightly bitter, the traditional chypre cue.

The House of Oud

Apricot opens with a soft fruitiness — lactonic and slightly velvety rather than sharp.

Argos

Pink pepper, grapefruit, and bergamot open with a bright, slightly fizzy quality — the pepper adds texture and a mild heat, while the citrus fruits keep it feeling clean and lifted without being sharp.

Maître Parfumeur Et Gantier

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

Argos

Bergamot opens Danae with a clean, citrus-forward brightness that quickly steps aside.

Dusita

La Douceur de Siam opens with violet leaf — cool and slightly bitter — alongside ylang-ylang's heady tropical richness and May rose adding a soft floral brightness.

Dusita

Despite its name, oud is nowhere in the pyramid — instead, a Bulgarian May rose opens the fragrance with a warm, slightly jammy character rather than a sharp floral one.

The House of Oud

Grapefruit and black currant open with a tart brightness, neroli adding a faintly floral lift.

Guy Laroche

Bergamot and lemon open with crisp clarity before the heart reveals Bulgarian rose and violet — both soft-edged and slightly powdery, anchored in the green, mossy register that defines this concentration.

Argos

Bergamot opens clean and citrus-bright, but the freshness is short-lived.

Areej Le Doré

Violet leaf opens cool and green, almost cucumber-fresh, paired with ambergris that immediately layers a salty mineral warmth underneath.

Ramón Monegal

Jasmine and lemon open on a bright, slightly cold floral note, but the transition is swift.

Royal Crown

Bulgarian rose and honey open the heart — the honey is dense and slightly waxy, pushing the rose toward a rich, almost medicinal warmth rather than fresh-cut flowers.

Alain Daniel

Oud opens sharp and resinous, with an almost medicinal edge that commands attention.

Montale

Oud opens with considerable presence — the resinous, slightly smoky character hits first, carrying an animalic undercurrent that keeps the opening dense and complex.

Argos

Pink pepper crackles against bergamot's bright zest, creating an effervescent citrus-spice opening that feels both crisp and slightly rosy.

Jean-Louis Scherrer

Galbanum opens with a sharp, green, almost bitter edge that quickly establishes a crisp, vegetal character.

Dusita

Galbanum opens with a sharp green bitterness that quickly softens into a lush may rose accord.

Areej Le Doré

Heliotrope introduces a powdery almond-like sweetness that feels both comforting and slightly dense.

Orlane / Jean d'Albret

Cinnamon and cardamom spark a dry, almost peppery heat that crackles against the skin for the first twenty minutes.

Areej Le Doré

Orange and bergamot provide a bright citrus opening that is fresh and slightly zesty, quickly fading.

Sultan Pasha Attars

Jasmine, saffron, and rose open with a rich floral-spicy accord that feels opulent and slightly honeyed.

Fueguia 1833

Sandalwood appears immediately, presenting a creamy, slightly spicy woodiness that remains the sole focus throughout.

Rancé 1795

Violet leaf and neroli create a green citrus opening that is fresh and slightly aromatic.

Pierre Guillaume

Lemon provides a sharp citrus opening that quickly gives way to a heart of Mysore Sandalwood and Patchouli.

O Boticário

An aromatic-woody masculine that opens drier than most: rosemary, lemon, Virginia cedar and bergamot stack herb and wood from the first moment, with no fruit or sweet relief.

Royal Crown

Neroli flashes first, a bright citrus-floral spark that quickly picks up smoke from guaiac wood, turning the opening into a dry, peppery incense.

Comptoir Sud Pacifique

Ylang-ylang opens with a creamy, almost banana-sweet lift that bergamot quickly slices into a bright, coastal sparkle.

Salvatore Ferragamo

Honey drizzles over crisp pear and sharp grapefruit, turning the opening sticky-fruit with pepper spark.

Ensar Oud / Oriscent

Ginger snaps bright and peppery against sun-warmed peach skin, the duo fizzing for ten minutes before petitgrain’s bitter green stem cuts the sweetness.

Royal Crown

Tobacco dominates from the first spray, a moist cigar-leaf richness made brighter by lime peel and ylang-ylang’s creamy banana lift.

Molyneux

Tuberose dominates the opening, its creamy white petals streaked with peach sweetness and ylang-ylang's banana-like lushness.

Jean Patou

Lily of the valley opens cool and green, its bell-like crispness framing the composition like morning light through white curtains.

Annette Neuffer

Rosemary and lime open with a brisk, slightly bitter green-citrus snap that feels like crushed leaves on cold stone.

Duftanker MGO Duftmanufaktur

Grapefruit opens brisk and slightly bitter, its citrus oils shearing across the top like chilled zest.

Areej Le Doré

Ginger snaps open with peppery heat, cinnamon adding barky sweetness while black pepper keeps the spark alive.

House of Matriarch

Cocoa dominates the heart with a dry, bitter cocoa-powder edge that immediately darkens the saffron’s hay-like leather nuance.

Roads

Lavender opens cool and medicinal, immediately met by black pepper's dry crackle that roughs up the edges.

Areej Le Doré

Olibanum opens with a bright, lemony frankincense smoke that crackles like resin on a hot coal.

Guy Laroche

Lemon and bergamot flash bright, almost metallic, before Bulgarian rose swells and softens the citrus edge with a powdery floral creaminess.

Chatillon Lux

Ensar Oud / Oriscent

Cumin and pink pepper crackle over rosewood, the trio creating a hot, dry spice that feels like splinters of red cedar catching sunlight.

Ensar Oud / Oriscent

Rosewood opens dry and splintery, its pale wood shavings dusted with hot cumin and a crack of pink pepper that sparks immediate heat.

Ensar Oud / Oriscent

Civet opens raw and gasoline-bright, streaking neroli’s honeyed petals with a feral growl that refuses polite citrus conventions.

Boadicea The Victorious

Saffron opens with a dry, leathery spice that immediately stains the skin a deep crimson.

Argos

Tuberose dominates the opening, its creamy white-petal heft drenched in tart black-currant syrup and a flash of lemon that keeps the blossom from turning syrupy.

Maison Mona di Orio

Petitgrain crackles open with a bitter-green flash that quickly folds into creamy Mysore sandalwood, the wood’s milky sweetness amplified rather than challenged by the citrus leaf.

Duftanker MGO Duftmanufaktur

Oud opens dense and slightly animalic, its resinous bite framed by a cool violet leaf that strips away any syrupy edge.

Areej Le Doré

Orange and bergamot flash bright, then gardenia’s creamy petal folds into jasmine and rose, forming a white floral haze that softens the medicinal rasp of oud.

Argos

Lavender and citrus open with aromatic freshness before peach and orange blossom add fruity floralcy.

Mancera

Jasmine provides a floral opening that quickly merges with warm amber and vanilla.

Ensar Oud / Oriscent

Pink pepper and petitgrain open with a fresh-spicy citrus burst, while civet adds an animalic warmth that is immediately noticeable.

Duftanker MGO Duftmanufaktur

Rosewood and lavender open with a woody-aromatic sharpness softened by nutmeg's warm-spicy nuance and castoreum's animalic hint.

Caron

Rose opens with a classic floral character that is neither too sweet nor too green, presenting a balanced bouquet.

Sultan Pasha Attars

Amber and saffron create an opulent opening, rich with warm spice and resinous depth.

Ensar Oud / Oriscent

Petitgrain offers a green, citrusy opening that feels fresh and slightly bitter, complemented by pink pepper's soft-spicy warmth.

Annette Neuffer

Bergamot provides a sharp citrus opening that quickly recedes to reveal orange blossom's floral heart.

Sonoma Scent Studio

Blood orange and bergamot create a bright citrus opening with juicy, tangy freshness.

Sultan Pasha Attars

Saffron and rose open with a rich spicy-floral accord that feels both warm and slightly powdery.

Ensar Oud / Oriscent

Ginger, yuzu, and pink pepper create a bright, spicy-citrus opening that quickly transitions into a floral heart.

Faberlic

Sage and rosemary open with a crisp herbal character, immediately met by pink pepper's soft-spicy lift.

Annette Neuffer

Sage and rosemary crackle open with a dry, resinous green bite that feels like crushed herbs on sun-warmed stone.

ADN Paris

Lemon and bergamot open with a sharp citrus burst that quickly softens under cardamom and nutmeg's warm-spicy veil.

Sultan Pasha Attars

Narcissus dominates the opening, its honeyed pollen dusted with sharp lime and bergamot that scatters sunlight across the petals.

Duftanker MGO Duftmanufaktur

Petitgrain slices through the opening with a bitter-green flash that dries the citrus oils into crisp shards.

Corday

Galbanum snaps open with bitter green resin that drags bergamot’s citrus into stem-like territory, while sage adds a camphoraceous lift.

French Connection / FCUK

Orange blossom opens with a clean, soapy brightness that immediately frames the tobacco in a fresh, almost sun-lit way rather than the usual dense, honeyed treatment.

Sultan Pasha Attars

Heliotrope opens with a soft almond-powder haze that immediately signals creamy sweetness.

Duftanker MGO Duftmanufaktur

Leather opens the composition with a dry, slightly mineral hide note that immediately fuses to ambergris’s salty, marine-tinged warmth, creating a rugged animalic accord.

Duftanker MGO Duftmanufaktur

Leather opens raw and slightly mineral, the ambergris lending a salty, skin-warm lift rather than marine freshness.

Kajal

Kajal by Kajal centers on iris — here in a presentation that's simultaneously powdery and slightly rooty, sitting between the carrot-earthy facet and the cleaner floral-powder register.

Caron

Jasmine and orange blossom open with a narcotic floral intensity that is both heady and slightly indolic, creating an opulent first impression.

Toni Cabal

Raspberry opens with a tart, jammy fruitiness that is immediately rich and slightly sweet.

Bortnikoff

Spezierie Palazzo Vecchio / I Profumi di Firenze

A bright citrus burst of orange, lemon, and bergamot opens with effervescent freshness, lifted by a cool mint accent.

Frau Tonis Parfum

Forage

Cinnamon opens with a warm and spicy kick, immediately establishing a rich and inviting aura.

Duftanker MGO Duftmanufaktur

Yuzu and petitgrain offer a tart, green-citrus opening sharpened by pink pepper’s fresh-spicy buzz.

Ensar Oud / Oriscent

Rosewood and cumin introduce a warm, slightly savory spice that is immediately deepened by clove's aromatic intensity.

Sultan Pasha Attars

Lime, lemon, and bergamot burst forth with a sharp, effervescent citrus that is immediately tempered by rich jasmine.

Spezierie Palazzo Vecchio / I Profumi di Firenze

Bergamot provides a sharp citrus introduction that quickly yields to spicy cinnamon and nutmeg.

Argos

Oakmoss and labdanum open with a dense chypre-resinous chord, mossy-green on one side and sweet-balsamic on the other.

Massimo Dutti

Cardamom and bergamot open dry and cool, the spice adding more lift than warmth to the citrus.

Etro

Peach and galbanum open with an unusual contrast — peach's juicy stone-fruit warmth against galbanum's sharp green-bitter resinous bite.

Caron

Jasmine and orange blossom open together — both creamy, both slightly indolic, the orange blossom adding a softer citrus-floral warmth that bridges the perfume's two registers.

Guy Laroche

Lemon and bergamot open with a bright, clean citrus character — the pairing classical and slightly aldehydic in its sparkle, setting a vintage feel from the first moments.

Lost Tribe

Petitgrain and vetiver open green and stemmy together, with frankincense smoke and star anise's licorice-edge complicating the opening into something more herbal-resin than fresh-aromatic.