Fera
Fera is the kind of fragrance the mainstream tries to outlaw from its monoculture because it’s not
Imagine a bull’s horn cut down the middle to form two receptacles. Imagine those two half-horns laid out on a pedestal in a palace, filled with civet paste.
That’s how Sultan Qaboos used to store his zabad. He used to dip his hands right into the paste and smear the civet directly onto his armpits. He would then don his robes and apply his legendary oud or his signature rose-oud melange.
I want you to imagine that whirlwind of olfactory rapture, but I know most of us can’t.
It’s an indulgence only someone like the Sultan would partake in. Someone who appreciates how there are deeply-embedded cues in our own psyche that equate animalics with the verve and pulse of life itself. It’s the same reason King Solomon is recorded to have imported civet from Africa and the aristocracy in ancient cultures carried naked musk pods in their pockets as their perfume.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the Sultan carried out this ritual before he went to receive Queen Elizabeth. We know it was part of his daily routine.
Few perfumers use real civet, and when they do they’re shy to add more than a symbolic amount. Like with agarwood and musk, there’s a stigma to using the real deal. It smells too……you know… too much like actual civet and not enough like civettone.
Synthetic civet is to civet what musk ketone is to deer musk, jasmophore is to jasmine, or Black Agar to agarwood. The one thing the synth subs have in common is how little resemblance they bear to the real thing.
Fera is the kind of fragrance the mainstream tries to outlaw from its monoculture because it’s not sweet enough, not gentle enough, not ‘compliant’ enough – smells too much like real civet and even more like oud – i.e. proof that this animalic allure is hardwired in our DNA. That you want to smell it.
But here’s the thing. They make it sound like these scents should be avoided. Yet for all of civilization, these have been the most sought-after, most expensive aromatics. The most prized because of what they could accomplish in perfumery…
What’s happened is what happened to butter when margarine became all the rage. When tofu patties were said to taste just like grass-fed beef, and chrome-tanned pleather snuck in and kicked out full-grain vegetable-tanned calf hide.
And why not? These alternatives were so much cheaper, allowing for ridiculous mark-ups, and more importantly, patentable.
Fera lets the civet do what it does best, lets it hook up with the aromatics it works wonders with, like making the freshest citrus chords smell ripe and zesty in ways they’d never smell otherwise.
The way civet transmutes the indolic sweetness of a fine jasmine (in this case, juhi absolute) and honeysuckle (the Sultan’s own extract, from who knows how long ago), or how it latches to tuberose, cacao, vanilla, and Sri Lankan sandalwood and makes them creamier, smoother.
And then… When it comes to which oud to couple civet with, there’s one clear winner.
There’s no better oud to inject civet’s inherent sweetness into than Hindi oud. Chinese oud is a close second, but nothing beats what happens to the tangy, zesty, wildflower spices of a good Hindi once civet is done with it.
When you think of Indian oud and animalics and dense, rich flowers like tuberose, you’d expect a certain kind of perfume. But Fera isn’t a heavy fragrance. Full-bodied, exuberant, complex, yes. But it was designed not to be dark or heavy.
I wanted the civet-enhanced spices and mandarin and neroli to dart around the florals and punctuate the core notes of quality agallocha most never talk about – it’s always barnyard, barnyard, barnyard, isn’t it?
But this isn’t just any agallocha distillation, but wild Tripura oud infused with Tonkin musk. Tripura Musk makes up an insane ~25% of the compound, as its sweet leather-suade aroma morphed by the finest musk the world has ever know makes the perfect anchor for the sweetness of civet and its enhancing proprties.
Then, to intensify the perfume’s feral pull, there’s a rare combo of wild Nepalese spikenard and costus root (two of the closest plant alternatives to musk, and both regulated), tempered with juniper berries.
In Fera, the more familiar EO DNA got mutated by an unusual cast of aromatics, all entangled in a civet cocktail bubbling with wild Indian oud.
All of that said, let not the name mislead you. Fera is anything but harsh, blunt, or overly animalic. It showcases what civet does to the aromatics you pair it with and while giving the animalic elements space to work their magic, I’d rank it as the most wearable EO parfum to date next to Musc Gardenia and Borneo Zen. It is the sunnier, lighter, more summery interpretation of this genre, perfectly suited for women and men.
Featured Testimonials…
Costus root and spikenard which are both smelling very close to musk are enhancing the profile even more. Neroli and mandarin add a decent little citrusy touch to it.
This is a sweet, animalic and perfectly blended perfume…
The performance is insane and when I’m talking about an insane performance I’m not saying it’s just projecting brutally, no it’s not a nuclear scent but it’s powerful, pungent and extremly long lasting. It’ll show it’s different facets over the time you’re wearing it and it’ll stay on your skin easily for an entire day.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ I’m not great on descriptions, but this has me in complete awe. Perhaps “I’ll find in my head what my heart is saying.”.
“Just wowed and wanna give the Ensar Oud team a yuge shoutout and big congratulations on another incredible parfum release. FERA is a gem that is not to be missed … One thing I can tell you now though is I am seriously considering a backup.”
Acainc M. • USA
Note from a Customer
Man o man… this stuff is getting better and better as my nose adjusts to its unique nuance’s. When i first sprayed this beauty I got crazy amounts of civet, a animalic note that was sweet, furry, or should i say intimate? Its not like deer musk to me, civet is more buttery… creamy, more thick.
The first intial spray I get hit with creamy civet/musk, and citrus kind of vibe. Then slowly start to notice the tuberose/jasemine and other florals. But the furry aspect of the civet and musk are still very noticeable and strong not being taken over. The florals arent too sweet like in tibetan musk, more green herbaceous and dark to my nose than yellow, white, or pink.
The mid-dry down is where the civet settles and pumps out its aroma everynow and then with that beautiful sandalwood and cocoa note. Its now a bit sweeter than it was at the beginning. Beautifully balanced no sharp edges at all…
I’m Going to say it because i can compare now… The amount of civet and musk i get from this is very close to Private blend without the extra spices!
When I went out in the sun and started to sweat a little, That civet note with that tripura musk just popped Lol. Amazing stuff and would recommend anyone to buy this to complete their collection of Musks; CIVET.
Just like when you walk past a flower you can sometimes pick the smell up and sometimes can’t, or it can be because our nose receptors can be either full or tired.
I have experienced this with all my musk based perfumes that sometimes I get a very intense smell of musk which I enjoy the most, but sometimes sadly I dont. Which I think is a facinating experience really, and has me respect these aromatics even more!!.
—Onurcan S. / Turkey
Fera – Initial Impression.
Two sprays to the arm: right off the bat this immediately gave me a Tibetan Musk vibe, it has a fruity, floral, and tiny bit of mandarin aroma at the top, and the Oud is quite pronounced. The Hindi Oud being used here is the prettier and gentler type, NOTHING like the Hindistan Kala, so fear not, the barnyard here is minimal, a lot more mass appealing, and in a similar fashion as the EO1 Manipur.
I’m not getting any sourness like Lime/Lemon or bergamot type citruses, it’s more like the mandarin fruits from the tree, being warm by the sunlight and gently giving off that fruity and orangy zest from afar, with a hint of sweetness. There’s also some prominent spices, similar to that of the Tibetan Musk PP type of spices, with a warm, animalic, and almost ambery undertone from the Civet.
The cat here isn’t anywhere as urinous as the raw civet paste or civet absolute (i have both here). Not sure how EO did it but the cat is quite tame here, perhaps aged? In the mid drydown, the floral note gets a little more jammy, intertwining with the musk, oud, and hint of fruits, still got the warm civet with a hint of buttery sandalwood, and a touch of medicinal note in the background, and also a bit of oakmoss?
And NO, this is absolutely NOTHING like the Civet de Nuit from ALD. Completely different scent profile, not even a hint of similarity, zilt, none, nada!! I’m perceiving the Fera as closer to the Tibetan Musk and Musk Yusuf territory. If you love Tibetan Musk, Musk Yusuf, or maybe even Oud Yusuf, you’ll feel familiar with this Meow Meow Fera. Overall this is very well-rounded and balanced, all the notes are supporting one another in harmony and in synergy. And yup, definitely unisex, easy to wear, and just as easy to love. 🐱🐱🐱
Very balanced fragrance. I’m so glad I made the decision to stick with the 50ml instead of the 30ml. This scent is great!
I’ve had Fera for a couple days now and have been wearing it nearly constantly and finding it challenging to put words to the experience. Each time the experience has unfolded a bit differently. This may be partially due to settling of the fragrance and also due to the complexity and interaction with varying weather dynamics the past days. My early wearings centered more around spicy oud, sweet musk, leather and hints of cacao while now I’m noticing the florals more.
The opening is pungent with a blast of spikenard and what I suspect are the costus root, juniper berry and oud.
I’m not keen on spikenard alone but it is quite earthy and musky as is costus root. Luckily it fades quickly to a place where I think here it probably bridges together and brings nuances out of the oud, musk and civet.
In the first hour or so I’ve had a couple distinct experiences. One in which I noticed a spicy oudy accord with some citruses that remind me a little bit of one of the phases of Homeros Ambre on my skin.
Another in which a musky leathery accord takes center stage. There’s a mild sweetness and the florals peak out. The florals aren’t particularly central here but every so often I can detect an individual note peaking out – especially the honeysuckle and juhi.
In all wearings, Fera unfolds into a creamy sweet (but not too sweet) musky leather tinged with indolic florals. In some wearings, the florals have become more prominent but not loud while in others I’m left with more of the musky spicy leather.
I had really hoped the juhi and honeysuckle would shine in the spotlight in Fera so whenever I can detect them, it scratches an itch. I’ve notice that the Juhi oil I have from Ensar already has a musky leathery note to it and here it really blends in well.
Today was a bit warmer and I’m noticing far more of the florals than I have before including the tuberose. To the point where from a distance I’m getting more floral notes from a distance and musky oudy leather up close.
I haven’t mentioned the Civet yet. In Fera the Civet seems creamy sweet and musky and definitely not urinous. It adds a comforting plushness to the whole composition. I really enjoy it.
I’m going to need to spend more time with this and I really hope to sample Tripura musk to get a better understanding of the individual components in Fera.
It’s interesting and complex, rich but not heavy, cozy, sweet but not cloying.
I’m looking forward to spending more time with Fera and seeing how it ages. Overall, it feels like something that is different from the other Ensars I own and I really am enjoying it.
Note from a Customer
Here are my first impressions!
This opens intensely with civet, showing you right from the start what you’ll be in for. After the civet a smooth buttery sweetness follows along with a nice soft leather. The civet remains first and foremost, from opening to now several hours later. After the sweet and leather comes an accord that fondly reminds me of Hajar Aswad- smokey florals and spices. They mesh with the sweetness and leather, propping up that dominant civet, starting this way until about an hour into the experience, when at long last the oud and musk make themselves known. Even with the dark heavy materials used, this doesn’t come off as a thick heavy fragrance. It straddles the spectrum between light and heavy, dark and bright, sweet and fresh, it’s both not any of them while being all of them at once, and very very pleasant.
The only way you’re not going to like this is if you don’t like civet, and even then this might be the Perfume to change your mind.
A very solid first impression for me! I’m curious to see how it ages, if the civet beast can keep the Tripura Musk chained..
—Ryan S. / USA
