EO 2: Kashmir (EDP) ? Running Low

The musk deer is coy, nocturnal, and lives in rough mountain terrain—high up there in the Afghan, Himalayan mountains. They’re so difficult to study that there was still confusion about the seven species well into the mid-2000s. Setting up cameras at twilight on steep, remote rock faces is no easy task, and takes more than a meager grant—and then to actually capture it all. Imagine the challenge to perfumery…

Through our EO Parfums, you’ve had the chance to explore Siberian and Tibetan musk in some detail, and even got a sneak whiff at the effects of Mongolian musk in Chypre Sultan.

But the Kashmiri musk on show in this rendition of EO2: Kashmir explores the least known kind of musk and one of the last ones identified. Like “Hoi An” in the oud world, ‘Kashmiri’ musk in the open market could mean any of the chrysogasters in the surrounding regions, and not specifically proper Kashmiri, i.e. moschus cupreus.

If you’re new to the world of musk, these differences may make us much sense as comparing Terengganu oud to Adam’s Peak walla does. But to anyone who has smelled Oud Sultani and Suriranka…………

Instead of following the mainstream commercial trail where musc means anything, you’re thrown off the beaten track with Kashmiri musk drinking black tea under a canopy of cedar.

Our royal patron’s rare rose otto, opened for the first time in our atelier after what could be decades, and coriander waltz onto the floor with subtle wafts of rare grandiflorum on top in a primal, peppery scent of steaming bedroom sweat, spent.

Where Tibetan musk is creamy and Mongolian musk chocolaty, Kashmiri musk’s almost black tone adds animalic bite to the husky heart bulging with civet and spice. EO2: Kashmir entrances your nose like Paul Nicklen’s lens does the eye. From the colored slopes of Namaqualand to remote shrubs lining surfing coasts and riwoches galloping through Kashmir’s breathtaking mountain routes.

As I flip through the discarded compositions I’ve noted down over the years, I’m thinking of my man Vincent who said that “great things are not done by impulse, but a series of small things brought together.”

It took me more than a decade to step onto this stage. I’m an Oud Man, so roughing it with leather and tobacco has always been my thing. Maybe that’s why No 1 came more naturally to me. But with EO2, a 15-year-long obsession with musk brings me to the feet of the very olfactory savants who have inspired me. That’s been a tremendous honor—and an even greater challenge!

I’m not going to be intimidated by the fact that today ‘musc’ means to perfume what ketchup does to hotdogs. I understand why to Kruger most perfumes smell like cheap hotel soap, and to Coburn like detergent or cotton candy. It’s not because they’re biased, but rather because the soaps and shampoos literally share the same ingredients with most perfumes, even the ‘expensive’ ones.

But before it became a commercial (synthetic) staple, the sensual funk of this tiny pod had baffled and bewildered perfumers for centuries. They toyed and tried, and eventually mastered musk’s alchemy. And that’s when the party started… and how the Ravageurs were born.

No 1 was a humble addition to the mighty cuir tradition. EO2: Kashmir, a tribute to the cornerstone of all things fragrant: musc. And this edition comes clutched in rare Kashmiri musk’s noir embrace.

Featured Testimonials…

One of my favorite musk fragrances till today. The beautiful EO2: Kashmir. This a beast of an animalic composition with one of the best musks in the world from Kashmir. I’m always blown away how well blended and smooth this one is.

The change of Siberian musk from the OG to Kashmir musk is noticeable and somehow, I like this one better cause it’s cleaner to me. Also, this must be one of the strongest performance fragrances in my collection. One spray is more than enough!

—Dardan Z / Germany

I have the original EO2 EDP as well as the attar and I think the EDP is great. The way it presents as an EDP makes for a different experience and seems more traditional, feels more like a vintage French perfume that way.

—David C. / USA

The testimonial goes here.

—Name / Country

A Note from a Customer

I was quite skeptical with the EdP version at first because a few people told me it’s just a watery version of the pure parfum, but since I’ve tried a spray of it I can definitely say that these people have just been judging it without trying it.

I would describe it as a calm version of the PP. The rough and slightly sharp note from the pp which punches you in the face in the opening is way more soft in this one. You get all the notes that you can also get in the OG version just a in a softer balanced way. I really love the EO 2 Kashmir PP but it’s one of these scents which can be too much for people who are only used to commercial synthetic brewery and this EdP is what I call more socially acceptable.

I can’t stop sniffing my arm since I’ve sprayed it on it.

The sillage is very very good and I’m keeping to pull a little Kashmir cloud behind me.

I know many people are just focused on the scent profile itself but for me it’s also very important that a fragrance stays noticeable very long. Not like an ombré Nomade synthetic bomb which stays forever and covers a radius of 200miles, but since my skin seems to suck up these aromatics way too fast, I’m very pleased with a performance like I get from the EO 2 Kashmir EdP.

I hope that we can get a few more of these epic EdP versions in the near future and that this review will help some of you guys who are still not sure if they should give the EdP a go.

Dear Ensar, I know you’re here and read this almost everyday but I can just repeat what I’ve said in my last posts: Thanks for creating this masterpiece. I highly appreciate your work and I hope that we will meet one day in person and have a nice oud session (maybe at a Germany oud fest 😉). Have a nice day my fellow oud heads. ✌🏼

A Note from a Customer

I was quite skeptical with the EdP version at first because a few people told me it’s just a watery version of the pure parfum, but since I’ve tried a spray of it I can definitely say that these people have just been judging it without trying it.

I would describe it as a calm version of the PP. The rough and slightly sharp note from the PP which punches you in the face in the opening is way more soft in this one. You get all the notes that you can also get in the OG version just a in a softer balanced way. I really love the EO 2 Kashmir PP but it’s one of these scents which can be too much for people who are only used to commercial synthetic brewery and this EdP is what I call more socially acceptable.

I can’t stop sniffing my arm since I’ve sprayed it on it.

The sillage is very very good and I’m keeping to pull a little Kashmir cloud behind me.

I know many people are just focused on the scent profile itself but for me it’s also very important that a fragrance stays noticeable very long. Not like an ombré Nomade synthetic bomb which stays forever and covers a radius of 200miles, but since my skin seems to suck up these aromatics way too fast, I’m very pleased with a performance like I get from the EO 2 Kashmir EdP.

I hope that we can get a few more of these epic EdP versions in the near future and that this review will help some of you guys who are still not sure if they should give the EdP a go.

Dear Ensar, I know you’re here and read this almost everyday but I can just repeat what I’ve said in my last posts: Thanks for creating this masterpiece. I highly appreciate your work and I hope that we will meet one day in person and have a nice oud session (maybe at a Germany oud fest 😉). Have a nice day my fellow oud heads ✌🏼

—Chris A. (Germany)