Avestan

I had found this perfume on fragrantica a few years back and always kept it in the back of my mind for if I visited London. I finally ended up visiting for a friend’s wedding. My wife and I had a wonderful day seeing all the sights to be seen and about passed by the store because it was so low profile and tucked in. But I’m glad we made it! I tend to be spoiled by online shopping but I’m glad this requires you to visit their storefront. The space they have is kept dark yet it’s extremely warm and inviting. The walls are decorated with tile work and clay. The decoration really represents the perfume well. To make the space a part of this perfume I think fits the story well, of making a journey for the sake of a new experience. To the perfume itself, it’s uniquely: spicy, earthy, and citrusy. To my nose I can clearly smells clove, black pepper, lavender, clay, and bergamot. This is a very dry smelling perfume yet it’s not powdery. I fell in love with it the moment I put it on my skin. And I will cherish it as a memento of my time spent in London, with the hope that I will make my way back sooner rather than later. I’m just thrilled it lived up to the hype I built for it in my head. It’s a very affordable perfume as well, which I was quite shocked by. If you live nearby, or are traveling to London, I think it’s worth stopping by and giving it a try. Even if you don’t end up liking it you’re right by SOHO and Chinatown, you can always get some dim sum! And I’d make a shout out to the folks running the shop, they were nice and quite informative!

Avestan is not mainstream, it is not niche... it is a state perfume: it creates a state, supports a state. It is that state of inner joy, of happiness that you have when you are connected with nature. What does it smell like? Well, it starts with the notes that I think compose it, aka a fairly soft black pepper that doesn't make you sneeze, the accord of fir or pine that remains on your hands after crushing a bunch of needles in your palms, an absolutely realistic smell of clay or kaolin. You feel each separately for a while, after which they start to mix and the result is absolutely fabulous: the smell of resin collected from conifers and left out to dry. It stays on the skin for a long time without projecting too much, but there is no need for that either. I love it, I love its simplicity and beauty and I am so happy that it is part of my perfume collection. <3 <3 <3

I have absolutely fallen in love with this fragrance after two days. It's comforting and compelling at the same time and I keep catching myself smelling....myself. It opens with a very clean clay scent, moss, there's also a very nice airiness to it and a separation between the notes.... Hidden in the structure is a vanillic sweetness and a sensual musk that develops with time. I've worn this for the last three days now, and will be getting more bottles.

probably my fave frag I own... so unique and delicious, I get powder as the strongest note, but it's a tiny bit sweet in kind of a savory way, rice-esque and tea-esque but not in a way that I could definitively say either is strong. maybe a little bit of linen or canvas. price point is excellent, the only issue is it lasts about 30 mins on my skin! wish it lasted longer but for the price I'm not too upset. highly recommend

Forget the reviews that say grapefruit or cloves or any other ingredient. This is so unique that it smells exactly how you want it to smell. To me it’s the inside of an old church that is being restored. Plaster. Wood shavings and paint. Along with incense and unlit candles. This. Is what every Tom Ford and niche brand wishes it smelled like. With out the shouting or ramming it your bloody face. More like this please.

Totally agree with the reviewer who said it reminds them of "the inside of an old church that is being restored." When wearing it I'm always struck by the clay note, and when I focus in I get hints of rice. On me, it's quite strong for the first couple hours and then completely disappears. Leans a little more masculine but I can see people of any gender pulling this off.

It’s amazing perfume. Smells citrusy, fresh and clean. It’s really, really good value for money. I don’t think I’ve ever had any perfume for £38 that smells so good. The story behind the perfume and store it self is a nice experience. Definitely would recommend visiting when you are at SoHo.

It smelled a bit citrusy when I first smelled it but now I think It smells like clay but in a good way! It’s a very comforting scent, perfect for winter^^ I also see some people say it smells like rice and I agree it definitely has a rice note.

One-of-a-kind, spicy citrusy earthy fragrance, slightly more masculine in my opinion. I just can't compare it within particular unique

Pepper and Lavender heaven. Very affordable for such a solid fragrance! 10/10

i wish it works on my skin... its stunning

So apparently this perfume is by the brand 'The Ordinary' and was formulated by it's creator, who is sadly no longer with us. I don't really know a great deal about all that, but I know that the cosmetics are well received and visionary according to folks who care about such things. I believe I know perfume fairly well and what I like, even in a lack lustre, beige release such as this one are some degree of coherent brand messaging, and I would certainly expect this to be the smell of a minimalist, hipster variety and it doesn't disappoint. This is the conjured smell of a blank canvas space, the lightly dusted floor, bare plaster walls, rendered stone, a light wash of emulsion. This is much more of a textural mood board than it is an attention grabbing perfume to smell nice or simply smell.... of. The peppery top notes are clearly there but at the same time about as austere as you can get, a sort of low impact incense and the rest is just a woody/stoney plinth which it sits atop. For what it is.... I quite like it for the same reason I like stuff like CdG, they're modern and cool. I like that it has exclusivity but not that gold encrusted, gawdy Harrods exclusivity more of a cool 'diggin; in the crates', trendy coffee shop vibe, and not because I enjoy the pretentiousness, simply because it's kinda cool that you actually have to seek something out in this age where we can tap our phones and have something arrive the next day. This is more of a 'if you know... you know...' sort of thing. I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't even advertise it. It's that fucking cool! I also like the fact that it's not a silly price, because it shouldn't be. Functional perfume. This wasn't made to appeal to perfume fans but inadvertently a certain cohort of them will make Avestan a cult classic.

I don't know who added the notes since there is no official list but - cloves are a predominant top and middle note, overwhelmingly so. It's not really a blend of pepper, woods and citrus, that can be mostly explained with cloves - definitely the spice and the woodiness, and some of the aromatics. Cloves have a sweetness that is masked by green aromatics in the opening but starts to gently seep through with time. If there is citrus it's gone in under 5 minutes and I can't place what it is. Clay is definitely a component, detectable in the opening but starting to shape the scent profile in the middle notes. As for the green in the opening, lavender might be it but I'm leaning towards clary sage. Either way it's gone fast. There is another aspect of green that is a soft background that I can't place. It has something that reminds me of thyme but not that. It's a dark green whisper. I'm sure there are woods added but it's not really the backbone of the perfume. A bit too masculine leaning for me to comfortably wear it all day but wonderful for layering. EDIT: Tried it on a male friend and the clay is more obvious, the green more subdued. Still 85% cloves though. Really like it on a guy. He swears he can pick up slight florals on me in the base notes but agrees with the scent being an overwhelmingly clove one.

I fed the ingredients list to ChatGPT to see if it could pull some notes out, and it largely checks out. Lemon / citrus zest (from Citral + Limonene) Fresh herbal brightness (possibly rosemary-like, from Rosmarinus Officinalis Extract) Rose / geranium (from Geraniol + Citronellol) Clove-like spice (from Eugenol and Isoeugenol) — usually from rose, carnation, or spicy florals Hydroxymethoxyphenyl Decanone is often used for soft, musky, or woody warmth (clean wood / soft musk) The opening is very citrus forward, it develops a bit of a dirty musky rose vibe, and then it settles into a creamy, woody, piney scent to my nose. Someone on here made a comparison to L'eau Papier, and I did get a glimmer of that nuttiness for a bit. I also recognize a bit of Le Labo's Rose 31 too... It's a no brainer for £38. Edit: I have lived with this asa fragrance I got for my husband and keep reaching for. I fear this must be a permanent part of my collection

Love this scent, totally unique in my collection (60+) I initially get cloves as others have said & then an earthy clay. It's has a damp woody, moss under tone & as yet to experience the dry down in a few hours time. A masculine scent for sure but think that like TF Tobacco Vanille it may suit certain ladies. Shame (for others) that it is not more widely available but for me that was pert of the attraction. I am certain this will attract a lot of complimentary comments from friends & family.

Smelt this with friends when we were all drinking. Bear in mind they are not all fragrance wearers so it was a fun experience for all of us. 'What is this it smells like uncooked rice' 'Nah it smells like clay' 'I smell seasoning' 'Why did you buy this' I think the main product is the concept/story. The store was really cool and I think it's more wearable art rather than 100% fragrance.

This is a very intriguing fragrance! I pick up a definite rice accord - and to me smells like L'eau Papier's edgy cousin. I also detect grapefruit, smoke, earth and cloves. It definitely leans masculine but layered with Bulgari Allegra Vanilla it becomes this beautiful sultry peppery sun on skin kind of vibe. I think I'm going to have a lot of fun layering with this!!

I'm pleasantly surprised by this one. Such earthy, spicy tones. Projection is good for me and the scent is growing on me. Can see it being worn in autumnal/winter season

High school art classroom: wood shavings, clay, stone, linoleum floors, hot dry air, and an uncapped tube of oil paint. Weird. Soothing. I’m fond of it.

Like spilling a Horchata Orange Julius onto hot adobe bricks. Doesn't last long, but it's quite nice.

Smells like Chios Mastic with smoky essence

Completely agree with masonred. And “soulless beige” is an apt description of the fragrance itself. Upon first spray I truly thought it was slightly scented water. It’s barely perceptible unless you spray and spray and spray ... the lack of notes and exclusivity to two cities feels overtly pretentious and just makes me dislike the brand even more. I’d be willing to overlook their terrible “brand identity” of this fragrance was a masterpiece, but that it most certainly is not.

This has to be the most pretentious brand of all time. Aesthetic completely rips off Aesop but in a clumsy fashion. Store design and product design you can tell a lot of money was invested to make such a soulless beige product aping the idea of being cool. They don’t list the notes so that they can tell their clueless customers whatever they want to hear to push more product. The fragrance is incredibly basic and unremarkable green fresh woody thing designed to appeal to as many hipsters as possible. Honestly pissed me off. This is textbook step by step how NOT to build a brand. Just feels so inauthentic

breath taking. my friend let me try his on skin and on paper. he told me just to let him know if I liked it. at first I thought I could smell the same lavender earthiness as fucking fabulous by TF, and within seconds it was pure pepper. lasted on me for hours, and the bit of paper that was sprayed 4 days ago is still going strong - so strong in fact that I can smell it from 6ft away while lying in bed. very unique and experimental

From the reviews below, this sounds like the Abnomaly ‘Shop’ room spray that Deciem released a few years ago but then pulled. That was based on the fragrance they use in their stores and the nose behind it was Azzi Glasser. The notes included cypress, cedar, chalk, balsam, musk, amber and patchouli. Can anyone confirm?

Chic, cool (the trait not the temperature), sweet, woody. Works well in any season & at any time of day. Unisex. Inexpensive. Plays well with others. It’s a staple in my collection - 9/10 (one point off for longevity)

the notes arent confirmed as they havent been released but i agree there is definitely pepper. i think also some grapefruit in the opening. i quite like the scent but also the whole story with it.

I love this perfume. To me it's so reminiscent of a coal fire, but in a spicy beautiful way. I wear it often. Easy to get along with. I love the first spray the most.

it smells like a mix of uncooked rice, clay, wood, and light spices; it isn't heavy or overwhelming at all, and it feels cosy and really nostalgic. ❤️

Super nostalgic scent for me. Smells like an asian household. I have an extra from my london trip. PM me if you’re interested! Located in the US.