Chords
Extrait de Parfum, Thameen (2024)

At first I get a quick flash of bergamot which fades fast and a wonderful blast of tobacco which sticks around. A mix of tobacco akin to a newly opened pack plus a bit of a more scratchy, ashtray smell.
Slowly the leather comes in along with more bergamot plus neroli and orange blossom. The ashy tobacco aspect remains, in greatly suppressed form, hiding in the background and peeking out now and then. Some cypriol smokiness emerges. Eventually any sweetness or tartness from the bergamot and florals does retreat and the leather amps up a bit along with the tobacco.

In the mid-section a ylang ylang joins in, somewhat softening the tobacco-leather interplay temporarily. In combination with honey this ylang smells much like banana to me.

In the late drydown cypriol and a hint of cedar shore things up and create a woody base for the tobacco and leather with the leather nosing out the tobacco as the dominant note as the race hits the final stretch.

This was a pleasant surprise to me. A really nice tobacco-leather-woods fragrance that doesn't smell synthetic and indeed could've been created 40 years ago. The price is a bit on the high side at $295/100ml but this house likes that price range. Of the limited fragrances from Thameen I've smelled to this point, Chords is the best. I do now however plan to sample a few more.

Postscript - Four hours after applying this I'm still getting a good, solid tobacco and leather aroma popping off my skin. A very natural, strong and pleasant tobacco accented by leather. Whatever was used to create this tobacco note or accord is absolutely incredible!