Incense Alchemy

This is an addictive incense offering. Sweet and sexy. It reminds strongly of Matiere Premier’s Encens Suave. As it is still new it is not as beastly as ES, but I’ve learnt that ME perfumes take some time to mature and ultimately improve in terms of sillage and longevity. It smells so luxurious. It is an absolute love for me. Encens Suave Extrait has been on my wishlist for such a long time, but this scratches the itch for me. I will not be purchasing ESE as the differences between this and that are so negligable. P.S. after maturation this one is a beast. My husband loves to wear it and it still has great sillage and projection when he comes home from work without him re-applying. A beautiful scent 👌

This is a sweet, warm, dry, smoky vanilla on me with a touch of brown sugar and wood. I love it. Truly unisex, I think, and very comforting. Doesn’t last as long as I’d like but maybe I go nose blind, who knows?

Fresh incense offering with hints of woods and vanilla that sits close to the skin and is quite addicting and refined. Can't go wrong with this, love it!

If you are looking for a "church" perfume, this is it. It is beautiful, wearable and has an interesting scent.

Sensual and warm, not that churchy at all. Smells like being in a cabin with a lover

As barylek92 said, this smells like church. Olibanum, frankincense woody fragrance. It is weired that olny "incense" is listed as a note.

Preface: My bottle of IA was produced mid-2025. So, I do not believe that lack of maturation is a factor. The opening seemed quite well blended.... but then came the dry down. This fragrance is then overwhelmed by an intense, cloying, rich, almost sickly sweet, peppery smell. The coffee only enhances this. After a while, It was so overwhelming, offensive, and nauseating, that I scrubbed. I am not so knowledgeable on the individual notes.... but would love to know what it was so that I never buy a fragrance with it again. First of all, I know I always love pepper - so not that (even though not listed). Is it the incense???? I know I love olibanum/frankincense.... so could it be myrrh???... or something else? I love Lattafas Hala - so I seem to like incense and the 'churchy' vibe .... but whatever incense IA has, that Hala doesn't have, is the one to avoid. The aspects I do not like also subtly appear in Lattafa's Kashan. The only unusual note they seem to have in common, is cashmere.... could it be cashmere? I usually love woody/musky/amber scents... As I mentioned Kashan has a similar smell... but WAAAY more subtle. I can (just) wear this. I just cannot fathom, that the positive reviews below (and 4.32 ranking!) are are for the same fragrance!

This fragrance might be a good starting point if you want to explore incense scents, but don't want to spend a fortune just to learn if it's your fit or not. I would advise not to judge it by your first impression, give it a few more chances in a couple of weeks – it's one of those fragrances that needs to rest a bit to become more balanced after opening. There are a few notes not listed, particularly thyme, which gives a strong church-incense smell initially, that fades a bit when the woody notes become more prominent, but stays throughout - supported by the pepper. The first time I wore it, there was an intense coffee note which quickly morphed into something like puerh tea; and a stinky smell of leather - it will remind you immediately of some artisanal leather workshop, if you've ever been in one, or perhaps of the leather market in Morocco. After a few weeks, the leathery smell was still there, but this time more tamed, reminiscent more of the suede. The coffee was also much less perceptible and without the puerh tea twist. Still there, but supportive from the background, which is always the best placement for coffee in my opinion. The scent slowly transports you from a church to some cottage in the woods; and the woody notes do have the leading role in this play. In the drydown there is some cinnamon too, perhaps just a hint of sweetness from vanilla (which I didn't get at all the first time). There is a smokiness to it, but not a really heavy one, I don't get a distinctive patchouli smell either, which is almost always added to create the "incense" note, even if not listed in the notes or INCI. Here, it's more like a diffused smoke coming from the burning fireplace (so, tonka with vetiver?+thyme & pepper) in the background. The fragrance was quite intense and long lasting from the beginning, so it does not need to 'mature'. But, as far as I'm concerned, it needs a bit of TLC to be more enjoyable and wearable. In my case, that means adding Arosa by Al Ambra which supplies the missing vanilla; quite unexpectedly, the interaction of the two also brought that chamomile to shine through.

This fragrance is inspired by Matiere Premier Encens Suave, why is Montale Full Incense the first fragrance in the remind me of section? Fragrantica