Encens Chypre

Encens Chypre by Sultan Pasha Nothing makes me more nervous than attempting to write a review for one of Sultan Pasha's attars. I literally get anxiety. For one, he's my friend so the pressure is high. And two, people describe his fragrances in such magical and poetic terms that anything I write just feels like "yo! cool beans this smells so good ommagah" and compared to the other reviews it just never seems to do it enough justice. So, I rarely write them. I'm not good with describing perfume in technical terms, never claim to be, and you can see the notes above so I want to talk about something else. First of all, the fragrance is stunning. But isn't everything he does? There is really no getting around it. Sultan Pasha makes some beautiful fragrances. This one is no exception. There is something magical about wearing SP attars, it's hard to explain if you haven't tried them. But there is a quality about them that I find so introspective, thoughtful, intricate and gracious, and if you know Sultan at all, you will know this is in complete contrast to his demeanor. I'm not saying he isn't thoughtful or gracious, he certainly can be (when he's in the mood lol) but he's known more for being a crazy wild man lol. But his fragrances do not reflect that at all. They are a reflection of careful consideration and even softness of heart, of painstaking detail and I even sense an OCD level of striving for perfection. What I feel Sultan Pasha's work gives us is not only exquisite beauty, but a glimpse into Sultan's soul. And it's not that of a madman, it's that of a kind man. And clearly a very talented one. Encens Chypre is exquisite beauty as all SP attars are, and it smells exactly like the name sounds. It's a incense infused chypre that wears like a magical love filled symphony.

A green mossy forest with a dirty earthy smell but also uplifted by a slight airy sweetness is what I get from this. It's very nice and there are a lot of notes dancing around the core oakmoss backbone of the scent. Incense adds the air of mystery whilst the lighter notes give the scent a uplifting feeling whilst the civet grounds the scent at the same time. A very lovely chypre fragrance with quality ingredients that just has you sniffing yourself again and again.

A most brilliant modern Chypre. Belongs on the shelf next to Maai from Bogue, just above Civet by Zoologist. Sultan has once again judged everything perfectly, creating an attar that mixes resins and oud into an incredibly refined French style. This perfume has a sensitive soul. Now that perfume is recognized as art, surely Sultan can be confirmed as a genius.

I am going to be honest with this one. Much like going to see the real Mona Lisa at the Louvre I was drastically underwhelmed with this one. I bought into hype... Its airy and smells very classically masculine but I guess the mixture to me smells a little bit like bath salts or a urinal cake. Please don't be offended let me explain! On my skin the chypre profile on its own seems forced by the oakmoss at the top which never subsides on me. Although I can appreciate the oakmoss working with the citruses creating a sinus cleansing metallic 'menthol' like property that smells green, citric, and soapy, I think that the fragrance would be just as good a chypre if not better without the oakmoss even though it is a typical chypre material. People say they appreciated this one most out of the other Pashas I own because the others are either too "churchy", "inscensy" or "dense" so I can appreciate Encens Chypre for its mass appealing qualities. But for some reason I gravitate to his more oriental blends anyways I guess. Still decent. Very wearable. Very versatile. Doesn't lasts too long maybe 5-7 hours. 8.5/10

A lovely classic woody chypre scent available as a perfume oil. The perfume opens with a flurry of citrusy and aromatic notes including bergamot, artemisia, elemi, sage and artemisia. The heart is typically floral with orris, jasmine, rose, geranium and ylang-ylang. The perfume settles into a powdery base of oakmoss surrounded by slight hints of civet, ambergris, castoreum, tobacco, and a prominent frankincense. The perfume is well blended, leans masculine and has moderate to strong projection and very good longevity. There will be comparisons to Roja Dove creations or vintage Guerlain chypres which this is clearly modeled after. All in all a nice fragrance, if not completely groundbreaking. Enjoy!