Inverno Russo II
Attar, Areej le Doré (2025)

Inverno Russo Part II, Perfume Extrait and Attar.

I have saved this perfume for last, because it is quite an outsider in the Areej le Dore catalog and in general. The “it reminds me of” list is scant at best. The only other fragrance that comes to mind is Ottoman Empire, as they both share that spicy, creamy floral bit, but the association stops there. I also noticed that there is little feedback on this perfume, although the original was released quite some time ago, and even with this new version (which is very similar to the original), people seem to be left scratching their heads. It is a complex perfume, the most complex of the bunch, and one of the most intricate (if not the most) ALD compositions, very ingenious in its use of notes to build up accords and incredibly cinematic in its progression. If you want a quick impression of how it feels and what it evokes, I think Russian Adam’s description nails it. Which makes me wonder if he envisioned the perfume based on his inspiration or the other way around. But recently, a dear member of our community, a true virtuoso by the alias of “Mak-7”(he used to be the notorious dancing pancake), brought to my attention an even more accurate depiction of how Inverno Russo smells to him, and frankly, to me.

Quoting: “omg - i did a few swipes of IR and it brought memmories back....there was a house of an elderly couple that id visit occasionally to help with things, and its a smell of the inside of a really old house, with sweet artificial potpourri and a dog, the essence of a very old dogs presence in the home[...]
There is another thing that pops into my head, which links to a musty balsamic decomposing smell, and the culprit of it all is probably the artificial civet.”

If Adam’s description was too abstract, this should give you a solid, quick take on the scent profile. And I agree with him in all aspects, but for a small detail, the “culprit,” I sense, the one responsible for the “decomposing,” “stale,” “musty” smell, is not the civet, but rather the osmanthus. Depending on how it was extracted and its origin, osmanthus can smell like all those attributes: phenolic, stale fruit, leathery, and decomposing. I believe it is the key player in this perfume to which everything else ties together.

Describing Inverno Russo for the general population, from a technical perspective, it is a spicy, smoky (gentle), creamy, leathery, musky, and woody perfume. It goes through four distinct phases with clockwork precision. Upon application, you get a blast of hojari frankincense with its strong lemony-piney facets, immediately supported by spices like clove and cinnamon as well as a sweet, jammy rose. I love this opening, which I find very Middle Eastern. In the heart, the “stale fruit” accord creeps in, and it’s mostly built on the osmanthus and the frangipani combo, with the former doing most of the lifting. This is where the “faux leather” impression appears, building on the leathery facets of osmanthus. Adam has used the deer pod skin in this perfume, which, unlike the grains, has more of a leathery, animalic, sharp bite (sometimes even pissy but not here), and it lends those qualities to the osmanthus. From here on, the leather accord builds up like a snowball down a slope, as the Chinese and Laotian agarwood give a hand. Thus, in the third stage, the fruitiness dissipates and is replaced by a stale, musty, and creamy leatheriness accompanied by musky and strong woody nuances. It is slightly dirty but in the most intimate way. Like the warm embrace of a sweaty lover. The final stage comes late in the perfume’s development, showcasing a pure sandalwood display - creamy, milky, sweet, and slightly spicy. I find it fascinating how the sandalwood triumphs over the musk and the woods, and how serene and soothing the composition ends after all the twists and turns. Such a battle of accords and textures only to wrap it up with a rather predictable and yet satisfying finale.

Another aspect of this fragrance worth mentioning is how deceiving it can be, depending on how and where it is applied. For instance, when I smell it up close on the skin, I get more of the fruity and creamy facets and less of the musks and the leather. But if I catch whiffs of it in my sillage or smell it from a distance, it mostly comes across as musty leather, musk, and woods. Finally, if I spray it on a paper strip and return to the room after a couple of hours, it smells like a smoky, musky rose perfume, devoid of leather or fruitiness. This hide-and-seek game that it plays means that you might need to spend more time with it and experiment with different applications and wearing conditions. As with all complex olfactory works, I have learned over the years that patience is key.

Describing Inverno Russo for the “Eastern Blockers” out there (or those who spent some time around elderly people, especially in Eastern Europe), it smells much like Mak-7 described it. Bluntly, of “old people” and their households. At this point, you may wonder, “What the hell?” However, there is such a thing as “old people smell,” scientifically referred to as “nonenal smell” and described as musty, greasy, skin-like, and stale. That is how I’d describe the leather accord in Inverno Russo. Not an actual leather garment, but more like an elderly person’s skin; greasy, warm, and musky. I had spent a large part of my childhood with my grandparents, who looked after me with much care and love. I am grateful for that. Inverno Russo indeed reminds me of the coziness, warmth, and love that I felt under their roof. The smell of sweet bakery, fresh from the oven, the ever-present bowl of fruit on the table, the smell of old furniture full of dusty clothes and other antiques, and the lovely scent of their skin and hair, that unmistakable “old person” scent.

I agree, Inverno Russo is a cozy scent that keeps you warm from the rough Russian winter outside, or just the ruthless and blunt reality of the world, from which your caressing grandparents made sure to shield you with their love.

As for the Attar, this is the only composition in the set where I prefer the perfume over the pure oil. The scent profile is identical, but the attar, devoid of alcohol to push out the notes, lacks the gorgeous diffusiveness of the frankincense that makes this perfume special. It pushes off the skin the entire time with the spray version, while it is never present in the attar. It opens up lemony and balmy, but I never detect much smokiness. In the spray version, the frankincense drops like a veil over the composition, painting a beautiful pale-gray hue and a dusty-dry texture that I find incredibly addictive. For that alone, the extrait wins me over, and I much prefer it to the pure oil. Lastly, the latter seems to harbor more sweetness and creaminess, to my distaste.

While my memory of the original is not as solid as with the others, I’d say this version is almost identical to how I recall it, although some might notice that the synthetic civet is tamer in this release. Bear in mind, though, that it will only continue to come forth as time goes by, as it did with the original Inverno Russo, Koh-I-Noor, and War and Peace II. I’d consider this a successful resurrection and, overall, one of the best ALD perfumes. I am happy to finally be able to spend more time with it, and I’m curious how it will fare among my ALD rankings as the years go by.

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