Cardinal
Cardinal opens with a sharp snap of black pepper—not decorative, but present enough to cut through the incense that quickly follows.
The scent fingerprint
Weighted by intensity across 4 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.
- Incense85
- Patchouli40
- Black Pepper35
- Amber30
By the editors · 2 min readCardinal opens with a sharp snap of black pepper—not decorative, but present enough to cut through the incense that quickly follows. The myrrh and olibanum arrive together, dense and resinous, with that slightly medicinal edge that good frankincense carries. This isn't the sweetened church incense of niche clichés; it reads drier, more like actual gum resin warming on charcoal.
As it settles, amber and patchouli provide a soft, earthy foundation that keeps the composition from floating away entirely. The pepper fades but leaves a faint warmth behind. The overall effect is contemplative rather than dramatic—incense rendered without the usual baroque flourishes.
Cardinal works for anyone drawn to incense fragrances but wary of the overwrought ones. It's surprisingly wearable, close to the skin, more library than cathedral.
