Copal Azur Aedes de Venustas 2014

Copal Azur from Aedes de Venustas is a prophecy rustling on the wind, woven from copal and frankincense fumes that billow from temples guarding secrets older than gods. Meditate on these vapors of incense and antiquity, and you'll find it's a salty, bittersweet paradox, a wisp of sacrificial smoke laced with the unexpected sweetness of caramelized ambers. A sacred offering – a glistening, balsamic lacquered glaze burnishing a forgotten feast, a tang of something primal, both savory and sweet. A taste of eternity, a sticky fever dream forgotten ritual, clinging to your ribs long after the final swallow. The jungle itself seems to hold its breath as explorers, trespassers who believe they understand the weight of the past, navigate its sun-dappled heart toward the source of the scent. The air hangs heavy with it, a fat, golden sigh that twists through the foliage--which, wary of the intrusion, whispers not of secrets but of warnings from the dusty pages of history, hinting at unknown chapters these interlopers were never meant to be a part of. A golden condor soars overhead, its wings brushing against this intoxicating residue; it, too, is aloft on a dream of following the path of the setting sun.

Copal Azur by Aedes De Venustas and created by Bertrand Duchaufour is a new and fascinating take on the incense genre. Bertrand Duchaufour has created many memorable incense perfumes including Aedes's own eponymous scent and the famous Avignon by Commes des Garcon.Here he creates a new genre.I'd call it "Tropical Incense" or "Oceanic Incense".

Too often these days are the launches of perfumes accompanied by marketing drivel and florid descriptions that rarely live up to the hype.Descriptions of exotic locales, rituals and rare ingredients fall flat as the reality is far different from the promised journey.Copal Azur is one of the few perfumes I've found that indeed does take you on the promised journey and what a journey it is.

Designed to recall the juxtaposition of the scared Mayan incense Copal,the lush oceanic locale of Tulum,and the verdant Mayan jungle,Copal Azur starts with a powerful blast of incense apparently constructed from 3 different extractions of Frankincense as Copal itself is not used as a perfumery ingredient.The opening is eye- wateringly strong.Behind the incense lurks a marine like ozonic note but don't worry aquatic phobes there's no Calone like note here.Because of that the incense has less of a Catholic or liturgical feel. It's more of a dry/bitter green ozonic note,almost chlorine like with a salty element.It has an airy and crisp feeling like staring into the depths of a deep blue cenote.Since cenotes usually occur at a fresh and salt water interface this makes perfect olfactory sense.Think of it as a salty fresh note,maybe Floralzone?.

After a few minutes a tropical note begins to creep in.This is the note of the Mayan jungle.It is the scent of a distant jungle rot with a spicy sweet green accent provided by the Cardamom.Bertrand Duchaufour used a similar note in his excellent Aurore Nomade for The Different Company.In Aurore Nomade the floral element was turned up and accented with rum and spices.Here it's much drier and airier.It'se the distant humid veneer of the jungle made drier by the incense and ozonic notes.At this point Copal Azur really does provide a remarkable realistic feeling of being on the beach in Tulum surrounded by a cloud of burning copal resin.As the perfume reaches it's middle stages it becomes slightly sweeter as the notes of Tonka bean and Amber make an entrance. The amber is meant to represent the fire that burns the sacred Copal. That sweetness is tempered by the patchouli and the Myrrh and the resinous smell of the Copal still swirls like a sweet smoke holding everything together.As Copal Azur dries down the notes meld seamlessly into each other into a resinous salty/fresh tropical blur.With a polite sillage and excellent longevity this is a must try for incense lovers and those that enjoy fresh tropical salty scents.It'sew and daring take on incense.I truly enjoyed the journey.Bravo Bertrand Duchaufour and Aedes De Venustas!

Copal Azur definitely broadened my tastes as to what an incense scent can be. Forget the ashes, the cold stone and ancient woods that dominate the genre. Instead, imagine being woken up by a fresh morning sea breeze and jumping out of bed for the excitement of your first beach day of the year. It’s still too cold to actually enjoy the sea, but perhaps that makes the anticipation of the summer to come even greater. That’s Copal Azur.

The scent opens with a balsamic, fresh, almost citrussy resin explosion. Timur pepper and cloves further add the expected spice, but maintain a distinct freshness that differentiates this scent. Mandarin Jam meets frankincense is the best way I can describe this, there is an alien citrus note that I can’t place and that holds up the entire fragrance.

Subtle ozonic and salty notes accompany the more delicate heart of the fragrance, where the fresh resins blend with a neon green patchouli note that dominates the drydown of this fragrance. It reminds me of fresh cola leaves, mastic and ginger jam.

Sadly, on my skin, I get an unpleasant “saliva” off-note that sometimes comes with frankincense-heavy fragrances, which distracts from the otherwise gorgeous and unique image being crafted here. Performance on my skin is also just ok, the opening is super bold, but soon the fragrance becomes thin and dissapears after just 3-4 hours. I think this is mostly a problem with my skin and not the fragrance itself, since on fabric or paper it remains beautiful for much longer.

Among all the perfumes I have tried so far in my journey, Copal Azur remains my very favourite.
Wearing it makes me feel like a Sibilla, standing still by a brazier burning incense to the gods, on the edge of a cliff. The weather is stormy. Wild winds sweep through balsamic plants, carrying with them mist and spray from the sea. Yet, as the elements rage, I am anchored in total stillness and silence. This is how this perfume makes me feel.
I always go back to it when I am having a bad day, or when I am tired, because it brings me back to myself, to my body, to peace.
This is the beauty and uniqueness of perfumery: every now and then finding a perfume so perfect for you that unlocks memories, feelings and imagery that are unique to you.
While it performs well in the heat, it reaches perfection in freezing weather, where the cold sharpens its resinous and incensy facets.
It lasts easily all day and creates a perfect scent bubble around me.

mineral almost cave like marine, it’s dark, the incense lingers, not sage or marine, just dark, ozonic, it’s spicy, the resinous factors work so well with the airines from the salty ozonic notes, beautiful patchouli, goes so well with the smoke, not really that aquatic,
opening is fucking gorgeous but the drydown is missing something
8,5 after giving it a full wear I am absolutely in love, the wispy smoke is so addictive