Encens Chypre (2014) Sultan Pasha Attars

Encens Chypre (2014): Tale of A Green Incensed Chypre

Sultan Pasha Attars

Encens Chypre (2017)

Encens Chypre (EC) is a full blown classic chypre, full of animalics, intoxicating florals, unashamedly sensual, spicy and fruity and then some! This is my most favourite chypre. Let me explain why!

From the applicator, I get peach, citrus, lots of civet, jasmine and oakmoss. I later detect beeswax/honey like sweet facets that also contribute to its deep incensiness. Sultan made EC as an ode to vintage Mitsuoko extrait - and oakmoss, the most iconic ingredient for chypres. Overall, Mitsuoko extraits (let alone lower concentrates) from 1970s and onwards pale into comparison to this. I have not smelt any earlier version, so cannot compare it to those.

I applied only 2 pin-head amounts on skin. It begins with a lot of citruses (bergamot and lime) with an animalic fruity vibe just behind it, supported by orange blossom – overall, making it sharp, bitter, medicinal, and animalic. That animalic part is partly due to the use of neroli which, unlike bergamot, lingers on until the later stage of heart of this composition - no doubt more pronounced due to civet and musk isolates. At this stage, I find a lot of similarities with Poison Eau de Cologne (1985) – more specifically, a combinatorial (yup, that’s a word!) impact of peach, black currant, jasmine, tuberose, ylang ylang, jasmines, civet and other musks. However, where Poison (1985) goes crazy with sillage and projection, EC sits closer and does not go all ballistic in those departments. It lingers on for a very long time instead, which produces a more nuanced and multi-faceted progression.

I bought EC in mid-2017. The citrusy facets are still judiciously displayed (sometimes citrus essences completely vanish over time, not here). It is nicely helped by elemi (which I consider like a top note version of frankincense with plenty of lemony facets) and orange blossom, inviting the wearer to enter an olfactory nirvana filled with woody forests, narcotic florals and incenses. EC then opens up with a large dose of heady florals – jasmines, ylang ylang, rose, carnation and orange blossom. Carnation, and orris provides somewhat sweet honey like facets. The former adds some spiciness in the middle and the latter makes the leather more nuanced at later stage.

Neroli, artemisia, elemi and clary sage together here emanate an odd smell of crushed fragrant leaves and chopped autumn grasses that are left in cold spring water with some kind of balsamic facet. It appears just after their corresponding top notes’ overall intensity declines. It then becomes slightly medicinal within herbaceous territory. This bit I find quite formal (almost austere) and dry. Very quickly though, a deliciously edible and juicy black current like smell (though not listed) reduces it’s austerity and compliments and adds depth to its animalic facets – especially to civet, castoreum and florals.

A mix of civet, citruses (bergamot, lime), florals (ylang ylang, neroli, carnation, rose and jasmines) and the star of the show oakmoss creates this aura of heady chypre which is beautifully veered away from standard ones with the brilliant use of Malaysian oud. I am guessing the oud is distilled from Aquilaria malaccensis, Aquilaria cumingiana, or Aquilaria microcarpa or a combination. Those varieties, especially Aquilaria malaccensis and Aquilaria microcarpa generally impart some oakmoss-like green foresty facets (amongst other things) at the top and heart and becomes leathery, musky, beeswaxy, herbaceous, foresty green (albeit toned down), and very incensy.[1] If you like Malaysian oud like I do, you will know exactly what I mean. Speaking of that I encourage everyone to try some.

Around 1-hour mark EC’s spiciness kicks in when white floral intensity reduces. I get cinnamon (after a little rubbing on the other hand), blackpepper, clove (and/or, eugenol - i.e., the clove-like smell from carnation). This (especially cardamom and cinnamon facets) could also be due to Malaysian oud. I also get facets of benzoin, and tonka (vanillin/coumarin like). It's spiciness gets clearer as the oakmoss subsides further. The fruity aspects, namely peach and black current part are palpable until the 2^nd hour and subsequently, they go to the background.

Around 2^nd hour mark, after initial burst of superbly judged animalic floral and fruity ride, EC becomes spicier and smokier – and lesser & yet still quite floral. The smokey facet could be due to the oud used here, but it is barely noticeable. I can detect a banana-like smell adjacent to a rare jasmine variety (J. auriculatum) emanating from ylang ylang. None of the vanillin- or coumarin-like facets (from vanilla/tonka) overwhelm this composition. They somehow add some resinous deft and makes EC more than just floral and oakmossy. Orris becomes a bit violet like (carnation to blame), which later becomes leathery, dry and a tiny bit sweet. I thought EC has tuberose but it does not. I am getting that impression mainly due to the use of orange blossom, jasmines, ylang ylang and aging.

The two indolic jasmines here are just divine. They have this arbitrary yin and yang thing going on with other florals and orris for the first 3 hours. Sometimes they smell alluringly narcotic and spicy on skin and other times, a gentle nudge towards something  dirty and aggressive. I could not detect rose discretely after 2.5 hours and did not detect geranium at all. But I could detect the honey like sweetness from rose long into the drydown (until around 7^th hour), probably helped by the oud, resins and balsams in it.

Carnation, along with imparting some greenness, also provides clove-like and peppery smells that makes EC very spicy even in the middle of the heart. I can detect it until the 5^th hour! This spiciness floats on top of an increasingly resinous backbone (of oud, benzoin, tonka, tobacco, tolu balsam and probably myrrh, frankincense and labdanum) whilst the animalic floral (top) structure slowly subsides. In similar fashion, leather becomes slightly pronounced in the base, but it is always playing a supporting role to the overall ‘mossy incense’ experience. The leather accord is created by the combination oakmoss, castoreum, Malaysian oud, orris, benzoin, tolu, tobacco and few more things.

6th hour onwards it becomes somewhat less complex. The florals do not jump out, the oakmoss is slowly becoming leathery and soft incensy with a gentle node towards foresty green and whilst the whole composition getting more resinous and a little bit musky. The musks in it (other than clearly detectable civet) never come to the fore. It continues like this until the end.

I suspect EC has a lot more civet (than most SPA compositions), as I get the florals quite clearly just over 8 hours! I have tested its longevity by wearing in temperature and humidity ranges of 20°-35°C and 40%-98%, respectively. Wearing in 25°C (our average indoor temp. with Air-Con), it becomes a skin scent between 9-10^th hour. However, I could still smell it after 15 hours when the oakmoss, and a bit of resinous leather (from orris, castoreum, jasmines, Malaysian oud, benzoin, and tonka) were clearly detectable. No doubt ambergris and oakmoss are the main reasons for this extra-ordinary longevity. It would last lot longer if I did not have my daily shower and ablutions.

Sultan Pasha’s EC is not a magic, or a fluke. His compositions are the products of his perseverance, and passion - with lots of money, energy and emotional strain involved - most importantly, a product of a well-judged nose that knows, in this instance, how to optimally highlight the vernal beauty of oakmoss (sorry if it sounds arrogant, pretentious, or patronising). If you like sophisticated and multi-faceted, never boring and somewhat daring oakmoss-laden animalic chypre with a beautiful floral heart and a buttery smooth, woody, foresty green, and incensy/resinous (read oudy) dry down, give this modern creation a try, whose temperament lies in the past. Encens Chypre is a tale of foresty moss with ravishing florals, demure leather and a swansong of cogent incense!

---

[1] It might be worth trying it with Filipino oud oils which have a somewhat less leathery and spicier incensy drydown than Malaysian oils - assuming of course you want to spice it up even further.