Frankincense
Mandarin orange
Cedarwood
08/20/2022
Elysium
887 Reviews
Elysium
Helpful Review
4
Medina’s Ancient Biblical Scent
Its name says it all, Incense Sunset. I slowly savour its aroma and am immediately transported to a distant meditation place in the middle of Saudi Arabia. I look around and see large spaces where locals and pilgrims pray, a place called Al-Masjid an-Nabawi, known in English as the Prophet’s Mosque, a mosque built by the Islamic prophet Muhammad in the city of Medina in the Al Madinah Province of Saudi Arabia.
Wisps of incense smoke wafted through the mosque. The resins are from the neighbouring sultanate of Oman or Yemen. This seductive, musky, dense, oily, and resinous odour hangs in the air and permeates the city and culture, mingling with the scents of citrus and wood from nearby markets. Everything around takes on a reddish colour thanks to the fiery sun setting on the horizon. I have never been far from the distinct earthy aroma floating in the air. Interestingly, Frankincense has always been in high demand, and history tells us many fascinating things about how ancient cultures used it. Olibanum gives a general feeling of well-being and joy. It dissolves anxiety, sadness and anger, purifies places and people, and raises vibrations. Jo Malone centred Incense Sunset on the olibanum. I like to think she preferred the type of incense called Hojary Superior Fusoos (Boswellia sacra), which is considered the best incense exported from the Sultanate of Oman, the finest incense available on the market, characterized by the smell even before burning and very attractive because of its colour and capable of generating a profusion of smoke. Virtually all Omani frankincense is harvested from Boswellia sacra trees that grow wild in the searing Dhofar desert and are owned by the local tribes.
The harvest begins each April as rising temperatures cause the sap to flow more easily. Workers cut small incisions into the bark, causing it to ooze a white, milky fluid that dribbles down the tree like candle wax. They left the sap for 10 days to solidify into a gum. After the ‘tears’ are scraped off, farmers cut the same spot again. They repeat this process several times, with the final autumnal harvest producing the palest and most valuable resin. After about five years of tapping, they do not touch the tree for the next five years. After extracting the frankincense resin from the tree, the workers pick up the best pieces and separate the tears that are wonderful in appearance for their distinctive colour, which ranges from off-white, a nice tan to a light shade of green.
Here we go. After tasting the ancient notes of Zara Exclusive N°04 - Leather Jardin, and the oriental ones of Zara Exclusive N°03 - Universal Oud, I wanted to try a blind purchase of Incense Sunset. The perfume comes in a dark brown box, similar to the colour of the unburnt incense stick. It is a very refined brown point, elegant, which encloses a bottle with a knurled cap like all the others in this ZARA Exclusive series, and the juice inside is pale off-white like smoke. I was expecting something intense and austere. Instead, the scent starts with a sweet and sour taste with carrot reflections, passing to a soapy and dry heart, with a smoky finish of creamy incense.
Incense Sunset envelops me with an intense citrus aroma, in which I recognize the predominant peel of bitter orange and tangerine, while subdued bergamot breathes in the background. The impact is like that of colognes with strong barbershop accents. The bitterness of the orange is loud, as in Eau d'Orange Verte, the two perfumes open almost alike. The smell of citrus salad lasts longer than expected, as if it wanted to continue towards the main phase and even beyond until it reaches the base notes. I also catch the green shades of petitgrain, as if besides the citrus fruits there were also their fleshy and fat leaves, rich in fragrant oils. I feel that scent released when I rub and then break the lemon leaves with my fingers. This facet is more dominant on paper than the perfume sprayed on my skin.
The first impression could be that of a citrusy, summer and sporty fragrance, which recalls Dior Homme Cologne (2013), but I am immediately denied when, slowly, a drier accord with hints of carrot makes its way into that triumph of Hesperides. It is likely cedar wood, which here does not show its characteristic woody shade of pencil shavings, but veers towards dusty shades typical of carrot seeds. The citrus notes have not disappeared, but now they sit a few rows back and serve as a chorus. The fragrance is now powdery with soapy and rosy hints.
The base is resinous and smoky. On the clothes, a citrusy incense accord prevails, while on the skin, the smoky incense is more marked with almost clerical but never annoying implications. Maybe it depends on the skin type, but in mine, the perfume takes time before spreading the resinous and smoky notes of incense. I can perceive them clearly after a few hours when the initial and middle notes are only distant memory. Incense Sunset is gentle, intimate, and delicate like snow. It is never too feminine or too masculine, but a citrus and incensed cologne. I find it perfect to wear in the days of late spring to early autumn, and ideal for the hottest summer evenings; the citrus fruits give freshness, while the resins create a mysterious aura. It is not a screaming perfume; it has a mediocre projection and lasts several hours. Even though I don’t know Zara Exclusive N°02 - Ancestral Papyrus, I can firmly say that Incense Sunset is the most reserved for the collection.
I base the review on a 90ml bottle I have owned since August 2022 (batch code 13220, Production date 2021-11-18).
-Elysium
Wisps of incense smoke wafted through the mosque. The resins are from the neighbouring sultanate of Oman or Yemen. This seductive, musky, dense, oily, and resinous odour hangs in the air and permeates the city and culture, mingling with the scents of citrus and wood from nearby markets. Everything around takes on a reddish colour thanks to the fiery sun setting on the horizon. I have never been far from the distinct earthy aroma floating in the air. Interestingly, Frankincense has always been in high demand, and history tells us many fascinating things about how ancient cultures used it. Olibanum gives a general feeling of well-being and joy. It dissolves anxiety, sadness and anger, purifies places and people, and raises vibrations. Jo Malone centred Incense Sunset on the olibanum. I like to think she preferred the type of incense called Hojary Superior Fusoos (Boswellia sacra), which is considered the best incense exported from the Sultanate of Oman, the finest incense available on the market, characterized by the smell even before burning and very attractive because of its colour and capable of generating a profusion of smoke. Virtually all Omani frankincense is harvested from Boswellia sacra trees that grow wild in the searing Dhofar desert and are owned by the local tribes.
The harvest begins each April as rising temperatures cause the sap to flow more easily. Workers cut small incisions into the bark, causing it to ooze a white, milky fluid that dribbles down the tree like candle wax. They left the sap for 10 days to solidify into a gum. After the ‘tears’ are scraped off, farmers cut the same spot again. They repeat this process several times, with the final autumnal harvest producing the palest and most valuable resin. After about five years of tapping, they do not touch the tree for the next five years. After extracting the frankincense resin from the tree, the workers pick up the best pieces and separate the tears that are wonderful in appearance for their distinctive colour, which ranges from off-white, a nice tan to a light shade of green.
Here we go. After tasting the ancient notes of Zara Exclusive N°04 - Leather Jardin, and the oriental ones of Zara Exclusive N°03 - Universal Oud, I wanted to try a blind purchase of Incense Sunset. The perfume comes in a dark brown box, similar to the colour of the unburnt incense stick. It is a very refined brown point, elegant, which encloses a bottle with a knurled cap like all the others in this ZARA Exclusive series, and the juice inside is pale off-white like smoke. I was expecting something intense and austere. Instead, the scent starts with a sweet and sour taste with carrot reflections, passing to a soapy and dry heart, with a smoky finish of creamy incense.
Incense Sunset envelops me with an intense citrus aroma, in which I recognize the predominant peel of bitter orange and tangerine, while subdued bergamot breathes in the background. The impact is like that of colognes with strong barbershop accents. The bitterness of the orange is loud, as in Eau d'Orange Verte, the two perfumes open almost alike. The smell of citrus salad lasts longer than expected, as if it wanted to continue towards the main phase and even beyond until it reaches the base notes. I also catch the green shades of petitgrain, as if besides the citrus fruits there were also their fleshy and fat leaves, rich in fragrant oils. I feel that scent released when I rub and then break the lemon leaves with my fingers. This facet is more dominant on paper than the perfume sprayed on my skin.
The first impression could be that of a citrusy, summer and sporty fragrance, which recalls Dior Homme Cologne (2013), but I am immediately denied when, slowly, a drier accord with hints of carrot makes its way into that triumph of Hesperides. It is likely cedar wood, which here does not show its characteristic woody shade of pencil shavings, but veers towards dusty shades typical of carrot seeds. The citrus notes have not disappeared, but now they sit a few rows back and serve as a chorus. The fragrance is now powdery with soapy and rosy hints.
The base is resinous and smoky. On the clothes, a citrusy incense accord prevails, while on the skin, the smoky incense is more marked with almost clerical but never annoying implications. Maybe it depends on the skin type, but in mine, the perfume takes time before spreading the resinous and smoky notes of incense. I can perceive them clearly after a few hours when the initial and middle notes are only distant memory. Incense Sunset is gentle, intimate, and delicate like snow. It is never too feminine or too masculine, but a citrus and incensed cologne. I find it perfect to wear in the days of late spring to early autumn, and ideal for the hottest summer evenings; the citrus fruits give freshness, while the resins create a mysterious aura. It is not a screaming perfume; it has a mediocre projection and lasts several hours. Even though I don’t know Zara Exclusive N°02 - Ancestral Papyrus, I can firmly say that Incense Sunset is the most reserved for the collection.
I base the review on a 90ml bottle I have owned since August 2022 (batch code 13220, Production date 2021-11-18).
-Elysium
Elysium
