Kinam Rouge Ghalia

Kinam Rouge is one of my favorite perfumes. I’ve smelled few things so satisfying as Vietnamese oud stained by the deep red of rose and the rouge of red champaca, myrrh and musk-infused patchouli.

Because it’s a pure concentrate, this ghalia edition may actually capture the profile even better than its sprayable brother. The rich, resinous cherry oud, velvet-smooth with a liqueur-like olfactory texture, through which saffron oleoresin imbibed by grapefruit and red mandarin drunk on carnation come together to bedazzle you with boozy top notes.

People talk about a ‘cherry zone’ in the perfume, which in attar form smells even more dense – tastier, if you will. Then add henna’s herbaceous rouge to juhi jasmine and red cedar and the aroma melts with a rich sweetness.

Kinam Rouge’s decadent crimson heart pulsates off frangipani’s fusion with red champa to lend an exquisite floral tone to the zesty top.

Where frankincense is fresh and citrusy, red myrrh is soulful, earthy, and adds a darker syrupy sweet tone that works like magic with the rich creamy tang of the highest quality frangipani.

A dash of pink pepper at the top and pink lotus (it took us ages to find a harvest worth using) alongside the henna-decorated frangi-champa fusion. The lily’s buttery pink is morphed by the pasty plumeria and red champaca’s narcotic fondant to create a spicy burgundy finish.

The sensual top notes that lead you to a luxury floral theater where the notes all play in unison is backed by a base ensemble composed of the quintessential red oud – Vietnamese oud – in the form of Kinam Rouge 2.0 – coupled with the signature red aroma of old-school Koh Kong crassnas – in this case, an unreleased 2018 distillation we call “Waterfall Red” at the atelier – oozing out pristine crassna-sinensis resin right into a gush of the reddest aromatics you could wish for…

And for that I pulled out Merah Melaya, vintage Malaysian distillation that oozes as much red as those crimson legends Oud Ahmad and Oud Salahuddin.

Because it’s an attar, the effect of the ∼30-40 years-aged Malaysian oud is felt almost immediately, and more pronounced, as opposed to spray format where it’s more diffused and tends to emerge as a base note.

So, while the perfume was an oud perfume lover’s dream, this ghalia is any oudhead’s red lush love affair.

In fact, if you own the perfume, I’d totally layer the ghalia with a spritz!

The way this incense-grade oldie (even the oldest, rarest Malaysian ouds you could wish to find would likely be two decades younger than this) and the waterfall rouge and grapefruit and carnation inside the frangipani inside the magnolia inside the vintage red rose inside the red jasmine all painted with henna dried with red cedar makes this Kinam Rouge.

“Part of it smells drinkable. There is a peaceful but also sexy vibe to this thing too.” —Chano V. / USA

Kinam Rouge Ghalia features proper aged ambergris, along with full-spectrum patchouli infused with Tibetan musk to add lift and projection. This is not only the first raw-musk-infused patchouli I know of, but these ancient musk pods’ truffle-like flavor imbues the amber-earthy aroma of fine patchouli with a priceless edge.

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