Oriental perfumes

What oriental means in perfume

In perfumery, oriental is not a place but a style: a warm, rich, slightly sweet composition built on resins, balsams, spices and vanilla. Typical ingredients are amber, labdanum, benzoin, myrrh, incense, cinnamon, clove, saffron, sandalwood, patchouli and, in some perfumes, oud. The result is dense, enveloping and long-lasting, and it is the family most associated with evening and cooler weather.

Variations inside the family

• Spicy oriental: pepper, nutmeg, cardamom and cinnamon over resin and wood.
• Woody oriental: sandalwood, patchouli, oud or leather as the backbone.
• Floral oriental: flowers such as rose, jasmine or gardenia over a warm base.
• Fruity or gourmand oriental: dried fruit, rum, caramel or cotton sugar on top of the resin.

Oriental perfumes in the collection

• Sospiro Il Padrino is a classic of the style: dark rum, amaretto, blackcurrant and bergamot lead to patchouli blossom, dry amber and sandalwood, then labdanum, vanilla wood and Siam benzoin. Sospiro files it as oriental.
• Tiziana Terenzi Spirito Fiorentino opens with lily, orange, jasmine and saffron, moves through ylang ylang, magnolia and amber and ends on oakmoss, sandalwood, birchwood, Tuscan leather and musk. See Tiziana Terenzi.
• Argos Triumph of Bacchus combines saffron, rum, white peach and green apple with patchouli, jasmine, tonka bean and vetiver, then tobacco, amber, Mysore sandalwood, musk and vanilla. Argos lists oriental, spicy, woody and gourmand.
• Xerjoff Tony Iommi Monkey Special pairs bergamot, Bulgarian geranium, passion fruit and rum with cinnamon, leather and Singaporean patchouli, then caramel, labdanum, musk, sandalwood and vanilla. Xerjoff files it as woody, oriental.
• Reinvented Eureka is called oriental spicy by Reinvented: bergamot, coffee and violet leaf, then jasmine, black pepper, nutmeg and cardamom, then styrax, patchouli, tolu balm and sandalwood.
• Reinvented Illusion is oriental fruity: dried fruits, cotton sugar and juniper berries, then rose, saffron and clove buds, then sweet vanilla, amber, gurjum balm, cabreuva and cedarwood.
• Reinvented Sacred Bond is floriental gourmand: mandarin, bergamot and raspberry over jasmine, gardenia and rose, resting on saffron, sandalwood, benzoin, caramel, vanilla, white musk and amber.

How to choose

Decide between spice and sweetness. Pepper, cardamom and cinnamon give a drier, more energetic oriental. Vanilla, caramel and dried fruit give a rounder, more comforting one. A floral heart makes it softer and less austere. Orientals are dense, so one or two sprays are plenty. Evenings and cooler seasons suit them best, and an extrait or parfum concentration will carry their depth more fully than a lighter one.