Mandala

A blast of a strong and sharp frankincense greets be in the first seconds - with touches of nutmeg added soon.  A brighter glimpse is brought in soon, courtesy and an angelica-artemisia impression then blends in well.

The drydown rings in a darker phase, in which the sharp edge smoothens somewhat, and assumes a nigh oily-spicy character that is derived from a rich and dominant olibanum not.  Some galbanum with a smidgen of a herbal undertones joins the olfactory party now, as does a more restrained labdanum, with a crisper note injected again by a cistus that is also quite fresh.  The incense is still there, softer that then it was at the beginning.  Whiffs of dried fruits appear transiently.

The base mellows the incense fumes a bit further, and a collection of woods emerges.   Initially hints of sandal, cedar and quote a bit of myrrh is shining through, but then it becomes sharper by the addition of an oak moss component.  Later on the whole starts reminding one of the very artificial pseudo-ouds that are commonly used in perfumery these days.  A slightly salty touch of ambergris is hovering in the background; this ambergris is restrained but quite authentic, and also much, much less synthetic that many of the other ingredients. 

I get strong sillage, excellent projection and eight hours of longevity on my skin.

A vivid incense bomb for wintery days that takes on a long journey along the spice trial, one ends up in some less enchanted woodlands that are rather generic for some of the time.  The large amount of ingredients makes it a bit crowded, preventing some elements to develop their full potential, whilst other ingredients or overly synthetic in a manner that is not particularly original.  Some ingredient are of a higher quality though, and an ardent incense lover might find some contentment here.  Released 2017.  Overall 2.75/5