Aziyade (2008)
by Parfum d'Empire

Parfum d'Empire Aziyade

Notes: pomegranate, crystallized date, almond, orange and prune, cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, Egyptian cumin, carob, frankincense, vanilla, Madagascar vanilla absolute, patchouli, musk, cistus (from luckyscent,com)

To my nose, Aziyade has a rough start--piercing leather and tea notes along with an almost sickening spiced and stewed fruit accord. The spice blend is actually quite nice, and contains cinnamon, clove and cardamom. The less appetizing part is a thinly sweet, waxy, inedible cherry and plum combination. Thankfully the fruit simmers down considerably within ten minutes, and this is when Aziyade takes a good turn. Think about the perfumer who created Ambre Russe in all its boozy, smoky, spicy, leathery, ambery glory, and what he might do if he wanted to make his own version of L'Artisan's Tea for Two. Here you'll find Aziyade. In fact, the middle and late drydown stages of Aziyade are far better than T42 because it does not turn to potpourri as T42 has a tendency to do. In contrast, Aziyade's drydown is a warm and pleasant light amber, lightly spiced and balsamic with labdanum and vanilla. Add to this some decent sillage, and you have a rich, spicy, smoky leather oriental which gives and gives.

Yes, I experience the similarity to Arabie, too… Aziyadé quite reminds me of the Lutens’ creation with its dried fruit / fruity ambiance. This, at first, is a softer, gentler version of Arabie (or if you prefer: a weakened, watered-down version.) I like this one very much… especially because of its richer resinous background that is not overwhelmed by the dried fruits as happens in Arabie. Although not quite Lutenesque, I see Aziyadé as real competition to my favorite Lutens creation. I get a souk-like spiciness in the heart level with the cinnamon and cumin taking the prominent position in the accord. The heart accord of Aziyadé is still backgrounded by the date note and I love that effect in both fragrances. For the drydown, Aziyadé then turns musky and patchouli / incensy, and this adds more breadth to the fragrance and is a departure from Arabie. I don’t find the incense very strong, but it is present just enough to move the fragrance into a different direction from where it started. Except for the toned-down fruit and dried fruit notes, I don’t get much sweet or vanilla out of it… I appreciate that. The one problem I find with Aziyadé is it’s longevity as a sillage producer. Although it lasts quite well as a beautiful skin scent, it seems to lose its sillage too soon. It’s a beautiful fragrance -- well-made, enjoyable, and an easier wear than Arabie. This just might be my chosen replacement when my Arabie runs out.

Aziyadé’s spiced citrus opening is so very lovely that a lasting composition based solely upon it would be worth the price of a bottle. Alas, the initial gesture is short-lived, and a boozy, syrupy dried fruit accord is quick to join the citrus and spices. Its weight sends Aziyadé plummeting down to earth and aligns it closely with Feminité du Bois, Donna Karan’s Chaos, and several entries in the Serge Lutens line, though Aziyadé does remain a brighter and more transparent composition than any of these predecessors. The abundance of fruit and spices leaves Aziyadé smelling quite “foody” to me, despite a subtle frankincense note that flits in and out of the background.

Prominent vanilla base notes add to the comestible impression, and Aziyadé spends several hours in familiar oriental spiced Christmas pudding territory. The drydown is a vanillic sweet amber with a generous dose of animalic labdanum, which while pleasant and natural smelling, is also fairly flat and ordinary. I want to like Aziyadé better than I do, but ironically enough the beauty of its top notes works against it, making the remainder of the scent seem impoverished in its mere adequacy.

Yet another intriguing creation from this man and his stylish niche house. Aziyade is very Lutens-like fragrance, and it can be seen as a close relative for Arabie in particular.

Pure oriental gourmand with loads of caramelized fruits, bits of loukhoum with thick icing of dusted sugar, and spices.

Comparing to Arabie this has a much more pronounced cumin/cardamom tone it and I am sure this a bit sweaty like tone will cause a big problems for many.
Aziyade is a full-bodied, crisply sweet, and absolutely delicious. I am sure if it were any stronger or longer lasting it would be illegal.

Aziyade starts out very reminiscent to the smell of Coca-Cola, with a hint of boozy fruit, and is anchored by sandalwood-musk base notes. It’s not as opulently rich as Serge Lutens’ Arabie (and it’s already been dubbed, by some, as ‘Arabie-lite’) nor, based on the comparison, ground-breaking. At the beginning, it did smell quite similar to this Lutens creation but, eventually, it ended up smelling very similar to Andy Tauer’s Incense Rose (too similar, in fact).

Personally, I’d much rather stick with my bottle of Arabie. Now, that’s the real thing…