Launched in 2008 by French indie line, Parfum d'Empire, perfumer Marc-Antoine Corticchiato’s sensual stunner was inspired by the semi-autobiographical novel ‘Aziyadé’ by French naval officer and author Julien Viaud, writing under the pseudonym ‘Pierre Loti’.

It’s a story about forbidden love and a torrid, carnal affair during a dangerous time in Constantinople (now Istanbul) in the fall and winter of 1876.

On me, it opens with a hit of pomegranate that’s sparkling, bright and juicy with that distinct sweet/tartness. A note of candied date is thick, syrupy, warm, and honey-sweet. It links to a rich, sweet, and fruity note of prune, backed by a juicy, exotic, and floral note of orange. Almonds give the top a gentle booziness. The opening smells erotic, but it feels erotic too, and as it blooms, it pulls me in deeper and deeper to a heart of aphrodisiacal spices that start snaking up from my wrist. I smell cumin, one of my favourite notes; it’s sensual, animalic warmth, smells of body odour, intimacy and sex. Cinnamon adds a soft warmth that extends the sensual glow, while cardamom, warm, spicy and balsamic, adds another dimension of spicy warmth. The spices are potent, but a note of ginger, with its spicy freshness, prevents the richness from becoming overwhelming. Curls of smoky incense draw me into the base, where I smell warm, earthy tobacco leaf that’s bolstered with warm, earthy patchouli. Vanilla appears, rich, creamy and sensuous; it’s complemented by chocolaty carob pods. Aziyadé goes deeper still with Moroccan cistus, that’s deeply resinous, leathery and animalic. It’s set to a note of Tonkin musk, with a smooth, carnal, skin-like warmth that finishes the fragrance. 

There are a lot of heavy hitters in Aziyadé, because it is, after all, a fragrance inspired by the richness of Ottoman Turkey, yet its drydown is surprisingly light and with a sexual undertone that lasts and lasts, like a memory from long ago. 

Notes: Pomegranate, candied date, prune, orange, almonds, Egyptian cumin, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, incense, tobacco leaf, patchouli, vanilla, carob pods, Tonkin musk and cistus.