Cardinal
Cardinal opens with an assertive crack of black and pink pepper — a terse, almost military intro — before incense takes command entirely.
The scent fingerprint
Weighted by intensity across 9 accords.
Every perfume in Sillage is represented as a distribution across canonical accord slugs — a lingua franca for scent. Two fragrances with overlapping fingerprints are scent-twins, even if they share no literal note.
- Incense95
- Vetiver60
- Black Pepper60
- Labdanum50
- Patchouli45
By the editors · 2 min readCardinal opens with an assertive crack of black and pink pepper — a terse, almost military intro — before incense takes command entirely. Frankincense and myrrh intertwine in the classical church accord: cold stone, billowing smoke, the particular stillness of high vaulted spaces. The myrrh carries a sticky resinousness without ever softening into sweetness; the frankincense stays spare, medicinal-edged. In the dry-down, ambergris breathes a marine warmth into the smoke while vetiver and patchouli give it earth and shadow. Labdanum binds everything with a dark, beeswax-like persistence.
Cardinal has nothing decorative about it — no fruits, no flowers, no apology. It wears like a conviction. Suited to someone who appreciates quiet formality or wants an incense that doesn't perform.
