Parfum D'Empire Aziyade Eau de Parfum

AZIYADÉ | More than a fragrance, AZIYADÉ is a flavour. The flavor of AZIYADÉ, the heroin of Pierre Loti’s eponymous novel, the story of a harem in the twilight of the Ottoman Empire – though we now know that Loti’s heroin started out as a hero. Forbidden love calls for forbidden fruit. The fragrance opens with pomegranate: for the Greeks, to taste it was to drink the blood of the drunken god Dionysius… Candied dates, almonds, oranges and prunes are set alight by aphrodisiac spices: cardamom, favored by the Ancient Egyptians to make their kisses more burning; Ceylonese cinnamon, an essential ingredient of erotic feasts for the Romans, who dedicated it to Venus Libentina in her temples; ginger, used as a stimulant in China, and finally Egyptian cumin, used in the sacred prostitution rituals of the Sumerian empire. Tobacco leaf is conjured with raw Indian patchouli, used in magic rituals to stimulate sexual desire. Vanilla, an aphrodisiac in the Aztec empire, exhales its tawny accords, rounded out by the unctuous notes of carob pods. Tears of Arabian incense blend love and sacred ecstasy. Animal accords recreate the penetrating scent of the mythical Tonkin musk; the absolute of Moroccan cistus unfurls its resinous facets. Overdosed and concentrated, the refined materials of AZIYADÉ require slow maceration to develop into a naturally dark-colored nectar. More than a sillage, AZIYADÉ leaves a trace.

• Eau de Parfum