Nushka

The name does make sense if you read the brand's inspiration for this perfume: spy working for Peter the Great sent to the atelier of a master painter to acquire paintings for his majesty's collection (at a time when art was a meaningful way of showing status and royal courts appointed court painters). The story features lemon sorbet, travelling by carriage and stopping in a flowery meadow under a frisky morning breeze, the smell of paint in the atelier, tea at the French court, and of course the hypnotic scent trail our spy Anna left behind, which convinced the master painter to see her!

I do get lemon in the opening notes, but it's a mellow, rounded scent, not juicy or acidic as you're used to encounter in perfumes. Then there is a light patchouli which invariably gives me black tea vibes. And there is a woody, acetonic overtone which reminds you a bit of paint or lacquer. The whole composition is beautifully balanced and blended, not overpowering yet noticeable. The quality of ingredients is undeniable and incomparable to designer fragrances.

The creator of the brand worked in champagne before working in perfumery, the perfumes in this line were all created in collaboration with renowned noses (my fave is and always will be Les princesses de Venise), and I love the storytelling behind the creations. I, for one, have yet to find an equivalent to these sadly discontinued fragrances.

This fragrance is (just like Nuit de Bakélite) a world within itself, it reminds us that beyond smelling "nice" or "interesting", perfumes can tell a story.

Lots of mention of fire and smoke in other reviews, but it's not what I get.
I guess it's a cultural thing, but Bois d'ascèse for me is a sunlit pine forest in the middle of a hot continental summer. It brings me memories of summers with my Babushka, it warms my heart and makes me smile and sigh peacefully.
I've worked with wood some years ago - sawing it, piecing planks together, leaving it to dry in the sun; and this fragrance is the closest scent to natural freshly cut and dried wood planks I've ever encountered.
If this is a church, then it is a church in the sense that all Nature is sacred and all living things are connected to one another...
I love wearing it sparingly, on quiet summer evenings in the countryside, just for myself.

How do you talk about a fragrance which is a story, an emotion? I am involved with this frag and my review is nothing but subjective.
Oman, 2021 batch. I have no idea what to expect as it was a (crazy risky but oh so rewarding) blind buy. Without looking at the pyramid, I get: paint, ink (the pleasant felt-tip pen type), books, a basket that once contained ripe plums with a sour shiny skin and sweet flesh. Sour, bitter, sweet, woody, shiny smooth and rough - the juxtaposition is fascinating! It is everything I wanted and more (incomparable, unique, unexpected), and it makes me feel like I'm keeping a shared secret, warm and mysterious.
I wanted something unusual, for myself only. I don't know whether it will be a compliment-getter and neither do I care. This one is more than "just" a scent for me, it's a state of mind, an experience, something to fill my heart and my mind. Love it!

Update: compared to the EDP, the extrait is more concentrated obviously, with more pronounced metallic and bitter notes; whereas the EDP has more plum and is gentler, with softer and more diffuse woody notes.

After wearing it a few times, Opus XI seemed so familiar...and yes, yes, I have already smelled it somewhere!
Testing it in parallel with Abdul Samad Al Qurashi Aoud Fawah (Fragrant Oud oil): they're definitely related. Opus XI is a different type of leather (drier) and a different type of oud (cleaner), like a sharper-dressed, citadine relative of a much more expansive Aoud Fawah with its animalistic oud and fresh, warm leather.
This type of oud always awakens an adventurous side (if not in deed, at least in mind): I daydream of horse riders arriving at the edge of an ancient forest (Rohirrim at the edge of Entwood), or cowboys and the conquest of the Wild West...And if the wilder Aoud Fawah by Qurashi is what Indiana Jones would wear (- but it is unisex to my nose, and if you fancy yourself a female Indiana Jones you could definitely pull it off) the more polished Opus XI is for a Mughal princess on a falcon hunt. In a nutshell - if you're up for an adventure while being dressed to the nines, Opus XI will be your best companion!