Top Notes 
Cumin
Honey
Immortelle
Heart Notes 
Ylang-ylang
Beeswax absolute
Frankincense
May rose
Base Notes 
Labdanum
Benzoin
Tolu balm
Atlas cedar
Vanilla03/10/2025
Saturnalis
36 Reviews
Saturnalis
1
spiced, floral, golden incense
immediately the sense of labdanum & cumin is apparent, & remains so throughout wear, with a slight dirty-ish honey background. it's tangy, dustily spiced. the honey somehow non-sweet, yet redolent of its golden viscosity without the cloy. i don't pick up on much of the immortelle, and it should be noted that, to me, the cumin is not of a bodily, sweaty type.
the ylang-ylang follows shortly, offering a creamy, floral balance, while may rose adds more to the resinous and spiced feel. i can sense the frankincense (what seems to be the hint of freshness running through this scent) & beeswax creating a mild, incense-like accord that billows around everything. it's strange; when i first tried this perfume the cumin was very prominent for quite a while, being pretty much the only thing i could smell at points, but the second wear seems to have opened the middle notes a lot more. somehow, in spite of the suggested heaviness of the notes, it isn't dense, stuffy, nor overpowering. in fact, if anything, it feels strangely light in its presence.
the base becomes more amber-y as it sits on the skin and falls closer to it, grounding the perfume into more earthy, musky territory, but the main feature remains the cistus. it still glows with creamy floral, (this aspect fades away) spice (still particularly the cumin) and incense notes, the latter of which becomes more prominent on my skin, but it feels deeper and more intimate now. benzoin offers a slightly caramelised edge without becoming overly-bitter, gilding the other notes.
the ylang-ylang follows shortly, offering a creamy, floral balance, while may rose adds more to the resinous and spiced feel. i can sense the frankincense (what seems to be the hint of freshness running through this scent) & beeswax creating a mild, incense-like accord that billows around everything. it's strange; when i first tried this perfume the cumin was very prominent for quite a while, being pretty much the only thing i could smell at points, but the second wear seems to have opened the middle notes a lot more. somehow, in spite of the suggested heaviness of the notes, it isn't dense, stuffy, nor overpowering. in fact, if anything, it feels strangely light in its presence.
the base becomes more amber-y as it sits on the skin and falls closer to it, grounding the perfume into more earthy, musky territory, but the main feature remains the cistus. it still glows with creamy floral, (this aspect fades away) spice (still particularly the cumin) and incense notes, the latter of which becomes more prominent on my skin, but it feels deeper and more intimate now. benzoin offers a slightly caramelised edge without becoming overly-bitter, gilding the other notes.
