Eye, Hatshepsut
Charenton Macerations (2016)

Got a sample of this...tried it once...bought a bottle...to my nose and taste , this was an instant hit...yes, it can be summarized as a flowery oriental , but very unisex IMHO...in general flavor and profile this just brought to mind Amouage Fate Woman which I also own and love wearing , and also bought after just sampling once or twice...this is smoky/sweet/flowery incense with a musky-patch animalic undercurrent...gives me a sense of something ancient/mysterious/exotic...another fragance that brings to my mind desert vistas , ancient temples and mystic rituals...makes me feel not just like I'm spraying on a fragrance , but more like I'm annointing myself...

Genre: Floral Oriental

To describe Eye, Hatshepsut as a floral oriental is accurate, but not adequate. It smells more like a floral and an oriental lain side by side, without necessarily blending into the conventionally seamless whole of an Ysatis or Byzance. To put it another way, Eye, Hatshepsut juxtaposes a buttery, indolic white flower accord and an incense-laden, spicy, woody oriental accord like layers in one of those fancily poured cocktails, without ever stirring the glass. My nose distinguishes indolic white flowers - particularly jasmine, animalic musk, cypriol, cinnamon, iris, frankincense, labdanum, and something oddly fatty or waxy smelling – perhaps the listed “tallow” note.

The construct sounds like something that could be obnoxiously loud, but in this case it isn't. Eye, Hatshepsut's olfactory volume is very carefully modulated. It projects well off the skin and leaves distinct sillage, but it's never blaring in the manner of, say, Fracas, Poison, Giorgio, or Boucheron. More “come hither” than “get out of the way”, if you will. Eye, Hatshepsut is intended to evoke the ancient Egyptian khyphi incense, but as I have no idea what khyphi is supposed to smell like, I can't say how well it succeeds. It does manage to smell exotic and rather compelling by turns, with smoky and animalic undertones that distinguish it from more traditional floral oriental offerings. While offered as a unisex fragrance, the conspicuous white flower accord at Eye, Hatshepsut's heart may put some men off – and that's coming from a guy who wears Carnal Flower and Tubéreuse Criminelle in public. An appealing oddball scent, but sample first.