Black Pearl

This one is pretty experimental, even for an EO Attar. You don’t want a wet scent. It can be moist, but not damp. Earthy, but not muddy. You want a scent that’s fresh, not cloudy.

Black Pearl a.k.a Monsoon is built around its core ingredient: Ambergris-infused Jayapuran oud – the first and only one of its kind that I know of.

The oud-gris duo gives you a dense, earthy profile that’s leathery and mineral, not smoky. A marine-animalic base that’s a little dry, slightly salty, with a smooth, waxy texture. It’s not sweet or powdery. The infusion shows off the contrast between oceanic and jungle elements. An attar that’s clean but primal.

A brew of labdanum (to sweeten the salty-dry ambergris), sandalwood (its creaminess permeating the marine-animalic vibes), a few balsams and oakmoss to add to the forestry-jungle vibes of wild Jayapura oud, and a touch of galbanum laced with crushed cardamom and vetiver roots that hint at a vegetal core, but are only meant to accentuate and sharpen the Jayan gris.

A marine-animalic base that’s a little dry, slightly salty, with…