Velvet Fire
The Harmonist (2015)

The Harmonist philosophy is to offer a scent for each of the elements–earth, water, fire, wood and metal–and serve it up two ways. One version speaks to the Yin in us (nurturing and sensitive, represented by the color black) and one version for our Yang side (powerful and assertive, embodied in the color white). As a first time customer, you are invited to enter the details of your birth (date, time and place) which allocates to you your position in the cosmos.

My destination scent on the yang side is Velvet Fire (“Charismatic, Radiant and Sensual”) which has top notes of lavender, coriander and one of my favorite notes in perfumery, clary sage. The heart notes are tobacco and cypress with a base of oud (seemingly ubiquitous in modern perfumery) and tonka. The herbal opening gives this a freshness that never quite leaves even when the tobacco and oud take over. This is oud done right, a bit of skank in a supporting role that never dominates.