Trayee Neela Vermeire Créations 2011

EDIT 11.10.2020: 8 years after my old review, I tested the fragrance again and I barely recognize it. I now mainly smell saffron and a bit of wood, resembling the Saffron Troublant by L'Artisan. Not a bad scent, but it cannot connect to my old impressions. I suspect it has been reformulated.

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Trayee and the other two Neela Vermeire fragrances have been the talk of the town for a few weeks now and have already been admired and praised in the highest terms on several perfume blogs. And rightly so, because after a dear friend lent me her samples, I can fully agree with that.

Trayee is my favorite among the Créations. While "Bombay Bling!" represents modern India (keyword: Bollywood films) and Mohur reflects the English colonial era (of course with roses), Bertrand Duchaufour has captured traditional India with Trayee. Frankincense is an essential component of the perfume, and many might mistake Trayee for an outsourced edition of the Comme des Garcons incense fragrances. To explain why this is not the case and why even frankincense-averse people like me can enjoy Trayee, one should take a closer look at the CdG Incense series and Trayee side by side.

In my view, the Comme des Garcons fragrances are very puristic: incense scents that focus on different places and their spiritual incense traditions. They convey local and temporal impressions (in the sense of "traditional"), while personal emotions and sensations play no role.

Trayee is similarly structured, but here the personal component comes into play: Trayee offers not only frankincense but also many spices (especially saffron and cardamom) and blackcurrant. The latter makes Trayee appear not dry, but almost juicy and dark fruity-sweet. Almost velvety. It is the spices and the fruit that give the fragrance this Indian feeling of life. Without them, it would probably have been (similar to Comme des Garcons) about pure temple impressions.
The fragrance thus encompasses more than "just" religious ceremonies in ancient India. I think more of festive ceremonies where the scent of frankincense mingles with that of the festively prepared food and the laughter and dancing of the people.

It is this feeling that makes Trayee incredibly complex yet wearable. I can truly recommend the sample set of the three Vermeire fragrances to everyone (frankincense fan or not). A 3 x 10ml set (with 10ml each of Trayee, Mohur, and Bombay Bling!) is also available.
The only downside: If someone falls in love with just one of the three fragrances, the 3 x 10ml set is not worth it. However, the 55ml bottles are worth a small fortune (around 220 EUR)...