Varanasi

Meo Fusciuni's daring, evocative creation is a visceral journey into the inner sanctum of the soul. Inspired by his journey to India in 2017, this perfume reflects the artist's meditations on life, death and the divine aspects of human nature. The simplistic, yet elegant flacon lets the scent itself tell the story. And what a story it is... Opulent incense smoke blended with enveloping cardamom, ethereal saffron and pungent nutmeg transport the soul into an arcane, sacred place. The wearer is led into a temple of purification permeated with mystical mantras murmoured in shadowy alcoves. There is, indeed, something primordial in this fragrance, the dark, animallic aspects of Hindi oud and complex and aquatic ambergris embrace and intertwine on the skin like the soft waves of the Ganges in its perennial ebb and flow. Nagarmotha and ambrette build the steady rhythm, while the entranced florals and oud spin to the beat of their drum. The ambery undercurrent tells of secret yearnings and memories buried deeply, waiting to surface. Carnal rose and ephemeral jasmine become one with the animalic notes in this fragrant mandala – the eternal circle of love and death told through sacred waters and lambent flames. Varanasi is the highest form of mystery – that which is revealed to those willing to die and be reborn. It is the unravelling, the laying bare of the heart and soul in a ritualistic sacrifice to the higher self. In its truest nature, Varanasi is a story of contrasts: sacred and sensual, fire and water, life and death, ancient and new, visceral and spiritual. As the perfume dries down, the warm Shamama-like amber accord blended with rose tells of rebirth and a new spiritual journey ahead. Yet the animalic notes never fade away entirely, but remain as reminders that we are all in equal parts fire and water, spirit and animal, transcendent and mortal. What sets this unique masterpiece apart from similar fragrances is the perfect equilibrium between those stark contrasts. The ghost of Varanasi remains on clothes for days, stalking the wearer with soft, sultry echoes that command attention and demand re-application. All in all, one of my favourite perfumes of all time and a true masterpiece.

This was love at first sniff. Not to worry, I was only joking. The opening is if you put your nose straight into it quite challenging and in "your face". The fecal observations stand true. But wait what happened? The fragrance died down after ten minutes. Is that even possible? Yes, very much so, only to come back swinging with all its might. From that moment on (the dry down phase included), I found myself in a scent bubble, that kept consistently pushing for roughly ten plus hours, albeit in a very non offensive way, much to my amazement! What I got from Varanasi was loads of incense, ambergris, thick somewhat oily musk with hints of saffron and nutmeg. And yes, there's also this animalic note in the background throughout it's whole lifespan. All these notes work surprisingly well together, which I first found hard to believe, having heard all sorts of horror stories/comments. This perfume is perfectly blended. Projection and sillage is also very good, but not in a "knocking down doors" kind of a way. It has got some "real" presence and you will get noticed and much surprisingly in a good way. Who'd thought! And yes, I purchased a "full bottle" today, having tried it some days before that. This is not something that you should blind buy, let me make that clear. But I would ask you to meet Varanasi with an open mind and who knows? It might just be the fragrance that you've been looking for. That's exactly what happened to me.

Having tried a handful of Meo Fusciuni's creations (and be thoroughly unimpressed by it), I came to Varanasi expected nothing. Short version: Incredibly similar to Leather Oud from Dior. Big bold florals, fecal musk, crazy incense. Don't come here expecting flower rings and soft Buddist incense sticks. Long version: The amount of story telling they can fit in this fragrance is insane. Varanasi hides its true self after a veil of floral chypre, at least, that is what she feels like on me. I get roses, jasmines, big and bold, front and centre, just like their undeniable importance in Hinduism. After a while, those big floral fades, and at the same time, a huge rush of smoke and a fatty, slimy musk starts appearing. Varanasi now feels like a constantly burning fire, burning through the sacrificial florals right into where the body lays, in the most straightforward way these amount of ingredients can do. As it develops, the smoke starts fading and what you are left with is a tar-like, dry and fecal-ish musk. It feels like the cycle of life wrapped up in this little bottle of liquid. So fascinating, but complete unwearable. But I can't say I don't love it! Not for the faint hearted. 9/10.

This is why you should always sample yourself. Reviews are great. But if I would have gone on the reviews for this perfume I would have never have tried it. For me, this is not that dirty disgusting scent others have felt it is. It’s so incredibly rich and addictive. No scary poo smell I do not get that at all, it’s dark - of course it is as it Meo Fusciuni!! The drydown is just so warm, and whenever I am picking up the scent as I move around - I just have to smell my arm again to remind myself that yes that is me that smells that good. This was an instant love, top five of my favourite Meo Fusciuni scents. Totally full bottle worthy. Edit: after showering the animal notes come through for me, but it’s not the fecal note I was expecting from the reviews, It’s a warm animal notes the kind that is a delight to keep sniffing. The perfume could still be picked up on my skin the next day even though I showered. This is clearly the strongest of the Meo scents.

I've been enchanted with the description of this fragrance and a basenotes user was kind enough to send me a sprayed strip of it, so I "blindbought" it. Varanasi is quite hard to pin down because how much it changes on my skin and with the weather. It starts with a blast of Oud and very animalic leather and then the very grey ambergris shows up. Some days I get a lot of the animalic/woody, others it's almost like a garden of lovely florals and the green side with a very tame animalic side and others I get almost a bazaar of spices with the ever present oud backbone. It's almost as if the fragrance is the city itself and you discover new areas of it with every wear. Performance is unreal, I clocked over 15 hours on a warm weather (~25 C) with very good projection/sillage! An absolute joy in my collection and I can't recommend this enough for those who love bold scents and want to be mesmerized with each wear!