BABYLON ROSE | Limited Re-Release Eau de Parfum ; rose, rainwater, saffron, oud

First conjured in March of 2020 as part of founder/perfumer April Lea’s passion-fueled side project (now defunct), The Cabinet of Scents, Babylon Rose pays homage to the ancient metropolis’ fabled flora and the biblical downpours which allowed for paradisiacal vegetation to burst forth and cascade down the brick, golden columns, and brilliant frescoes in a fragrant veil.

Babylonia — the gate of the Gods, the land between two rivers. It's said that, once a year, rain and melting snow from nearby mountains would cause the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to overflow, flooding the region's canals and spilling over into the parched soil. These fabled downpours gifted the inhabitants of Babylon with abundant crops of lush greenery and fragrant botanicals, such as the rose. In a display of opulence, the city would encourage citizens of all classes to douse themselves in fragrance — a luxury normally only afforded to the wealthy.

Upon application, dazzling and bitter citrus rind cuts through damp air to tickle the nose and enliven the senses in preparation of what follows: wafts of black gold and molten spices. Fragrant, smouldering woods. Warm bodies, wet with rainwater and glowing with the sheen of precious oils, milling about stone brick corridors. A dazzling thread of fuchsia unravelling across the landscape, with generous blooms like saucers tipping dew drops and nectar down to the parched soil below.

Notes: bergamot rind · black pepper · clove absolute · damask rose · cascades of rainfall · frankincense · saffron · oud attar—a buoyant veil of blooming roses, fresh rain, and aphrodisiac spices laid atop a base of warm, animalic musk and fragrant woods.

Impressions: vibrant · rosy · ozonic ; spiced · sultry · musky ; earthy · wet · animalic

Featured botanicals—or, how the magic happens: oud, sandalwood, wild vetiver, damask rose, may rose, rose otto, saffron, clove, black pepper, coffee absolute, white camphor, eucalyptus absolute, and an artisanal beet tincture.