Launched in 2015 by Malbrum, the Norse fragrance line founded by self-described Viking, and scent-junkie, Kristian Hilberg, in Oslo, Norway, Tigre Du Bengale is part of Malbrum’s Vol. 1 Collection. It is Hilberg’s exploration of how spicy a leather fragrance could be and was inspired by his interest in the spices used in Bengali cooking. Working with renowned French nose Delphine Thierry, Tigre du Bengale is the product of their collaboration.

Now, this is where I usually give a note-by-note breakdown of a fragrance, but that won’t do you any good here as Hilberg lists all the notes in Tigre du Bengale, even the synthetic ones:

Synthetic notes: Toscanol, Safranal, Nimberol, Ambrofix
Head: Juniper, cardamom
Heart: Myrrh, labdanum
Fond: Castoreum, Burley tobacco, patchouli

Sure, I could Google Toscanol, Safranal, Nimberol and Ambrofix and try to untangle it all, but where’s the fun in chemical breakdowns and descriptions? They won’t make the juice smell any better, so the best thing for me to do is to tell you how it smells.

Tigre du Bengale opens with the smell of cola syrup – I don’t get any sense of carbonation, just the smell of the syrup - and sweet and spicy cardamom. It’s familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. But there’s more spice here than just from cardamom – it’s something warm and a little floral, and I really enjoy it. I smell amber here, too, so that the opening is warm, sweet and aromatic. The cola accord moves to the heart, where it joins with myrrh and labdanum and gets resinous and bitter but not harsh. This is FABULOUS! Soon, I smell licorice, anisic and herbal backed up right against the animalic, leather smell of castoreum. Should these things really go together so well, I wonder? They do in Tigre Du Bengale. At the base, earthy patchouli comes forward with the smell of smoky tobacco that winds through it.

At the end of the day, Tigre du Bengale is all about that spiced leather and make no mistake, this tiger may strut and claw at the air by turns as the fragrance develops on skin, but he isn’t going to pounce and conquer with force, nope, he’s going to make men and women yield to him through artful seduction.

Notes: Toscanol, safranal, nimberol, ambrofix, juniper, cardamom, myrrh, labdanum, castoreum, Burley tobacco, patchouli.

Type: Extrait de Parfum

Parfumeur: Delphine Thierry