Top Notes 
Cardamom
Coriander seed
Pink pepper
Bergamot
Kashmiri saffron
Heart Notes 
Rose
Iris
Jasmine
Base Notes 
Cashmeran
Himalayan cedar
Myrrh
Benzoin
Frankincense
Musk
Patchouli
Sandalwood
Vanilla
05/22/2025
ClaireV
969 Reviews
ClaireV
Helpful Review
5
Powdery, creamy cardamom cedar wood pooding
The overall impression is of a pointillistic rendering of cedar rather than a figurative rendition. Think of the way Chanel’s Bois des Iles puts together a picture of Mysore sandalwood – without actually using any Mysore sandalwood – using an extended palette of rosy, green, sour, woody, and milky notes. Though Kashmir certainly contains cedar, it uses a vast palette of other notes and materials to render an idealized version of a wood that, on its own, can be somewhat tricky.
Part of how Kashmir does this is by playing with textures. For example, it is dusty in such a fine-grained way that your perception of what is powdery and what is creamy begins to waver. Is cedar creamy or powdery? This perfume seems to suggest it is both. The total effect is a real-time capture of the intensely aromatic nature of air suffused with the scent of freshly milled cedar – citrusy, bitter-coniferous, a bit fruity or boozy. Within this tanned expanse, other notes and accords dance around, at times amplifying the sense of cedar, other times providing an exciting contrast. The citruses, pepper, and cardamom in the topnotes tingle like sherbet on the tongue, and paired with the rose and jasmine notes, forms a champagne-like fizz not unfamiliar to anyone familiar with the Ormonde Jayne house DNA. There is a faint smudge of incense, the memory of a nubbin of benzoin burned to ash and now lingering sweetly in the air like a trail of powdered sugar. This is counterbalanced by a slightly sour, armpitty funk that reminds us that this is cedar after all, going about it regular cedar business.
In the base, a big dose of cashmeran wraps everything up in a doughy wood pudding accord, muffling the bark of the more aromatic notes. It reminds me of the point in Cèdre Sambac when the wood stops pretending to be cedar and slides straight into that oily, gippy-textured sandalwood material that Hermes is using. Cedar, yes, but now divested of its plain, honest nature for the more exotic, resinous character of woods pulled into service on ambery-balsamic perfumes (oud, sandal). What I find most exciting about Kashmir, though, is the suggestion of a dry, green blackcurrant or blackcurrant leaf note that plays around with the lower-toned basenotes of wood and musk like droplets of a fruity cordial on a dusty floorboard. It makes me thirsty in a pleasant way, reminding me of a similar effect in the topnotes of Diptyque’s L’Ombre Dans L’Eau. This almost urinous-fruit element is what makes Kashmir truly sing.
Part of how Kashmir does this is by playing with textures. For example, it is dusty in such a fine-grained way that your perception of what is powdery and what is creamy begins to waver. Is cedar creamy or powdery? This perfume seems to suggest it is both. The total effect is a real-time capture of the intensely aromatic nature of air suffused with the scent of freshly milled cedar – citrusy, bitter-coniferous, a bit fruity or boozy. Within this tanned expanse, other notes and accords dance around, at times amplifying the sense of cedar, other times providing an exciting contrast. The citruses, pepper, and cardamom in the topnotes tingle like sherbet on the tongue, and paired with the rose and jasmine notes, forms a champagne-like fizz not unfamiliar to anyone familiar with the Ormonde Jayne house DNA. There is a faint smudge of incense, the memory of a nubbin of benzoin burned to ash and now lingering sweetly in the air like a trail of powdered sugar. This is counterbalanced by a slightly sour, armpitty funk that reminds us that this is cedar after all, going about it regular cedar business.
In the base, a big dose of cashmeran wraps everything up in a doughy wood pudding accord, muffling the bark of the more aromatic notes. It reminds me of the point in Cèdre Sambac when the wood stops pretending to be cedar and slides straight into that oily, gippy-textured sandalwood material that Hermes is using. Cedar, yes, but now divested of its plain, honest nature for the more exotic, resinous character of woods pulled into service on ambery-balsamic perfumes (oud, sandal). What I find most exciting about Kashmir, though, is the suggestion of a dry, green blackcurrant or blackcurrant leaf note that plays around with the lower-toned basenotes of wood and musk like droplets of a fruity cordial on a dusty floorboard. It makes me thirsty in a pleasant way, reminding me of a similar effect in the topnotes of Diptyque’s L’Ombre Dans L’Eau. This almost urinous-fruit element is what makes Kashmir truly sing.
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