Aedes de Venustas Palissandre d’Or

Palissandre d'Or. Source:

Palissandre d’Or. Source:

Fragrant Indian rosewood is the focus of Palissandre d’Or, a spicy woody-amber fragrance from Aedes de Venustas. It is an eau de parfum that was created by Alberto Morillas and released in 2015. However, even though it was inspired by Indian rosewood, it is not literally and actually a rosewood fragrance, only metaphorically so. To put it bluntly, this is the scent of an “imaginary wood,” and I’m quoting Aedes de Venustas’ own words when I say that:

The idea for the house’s fifth offering was sparked off by the Indian rosewood tree also known as Dalbergia sissoo, which has historically been the primary rosewood species of northern India.

Rather than a specific essence, it was the word “palisander”, redolent of intricate Oriental carvings and serene Asian groves, which provided the inspiration. “I can’t make overly figurative fragrances”, Alberto Morillas explains. “To me, a perfume is a melody.” With Palissandre d’Or, he draws mesmerizing music from this imaginary wood.

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Aedes de Venustas Copal Azur

A beach on the Yucatan Peninsula. Source:

A beach on the Yucatan Peninsula. Source:

Copal Azur comes with the promise of all the colours of the Mayan Riviera, captured in one bottle: from the turquoise of its foaming seas to the green of its jungles, the white of its beaches and the plumes of Copal incense smoke, and the gold of fire-burning amber laid at the altars of the Jaguar God. Inspired by a Mayan citadel on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, it is a fragrance whose aroma is painted in the most beautiful strokes, conjuring up a truly vivid image that transports you visually and mentally. Yet, words can differ from actual reality, and what sounds so good as a verbal picture may not translate to the same thing in terms of scent. There are parts of Copal Azur that I found quite enjoyable, but other parts got lost in translation. Or, to be more precise, it may have been better had they not been translated at all.

Source: Now Smell This.

Source: Now Smell This.

Copal Azur is an eau de parfum that was created by Bertrand Duchaufour, and released on November 15th. Whomever wrote the Aedes de Venustas’ press release did a magnificent job, if only in describing the beauty of the Yucatan Peninsula and its feel. You can read the full details on the Aedes website, but I’ll cover a few of the points here. First, the company explains that Copal Azur tries to capture the scent of a Mayan incense called Copal, but that the resin “cannot be used as a perfume ingredient.” As a result, “three different extractions of frankincense are used to conjure it from top to base notes, making up an extravagant 30% of the formula.” Continue reading