Musc Gardénia: White Kinam 2.0

Often, most of the work that goes into producing the world’s most expensive perfumes is done by jewelers, not perfumers. But when it comes to perfumes judged on olfactory merit instead of how many carats are in the cap, then you see recurring actors: Tuberose, orange blossom, vanilla, jasmine…

You can probably think of one or two more – I’d add blue lotus and frangipani to the list, but who actually dares to use these?

Imagine those precious florals, then add South African rosemary and blue cypress. A spread of honey sprinkled with pink peppercorn lacquered with mimosa and yes… blue lotus and frangipani – to give the fragrance that pollen-powdery effect like you’re smelling the scent of wildflowers from afar. The latter duo especially must be among the most beautiful fragrances a person can ever smell. 

EO Parfums have been quite counter-culture compared to, say, traditional French perfumes. Some may describe them as rugged, “tough” even.

So it might surprise you to take your first spritz of Musc Gardénia and think it smells… lovely. 

When you visit a perfume boutique, this would be taken from the ‘Floral’ section.

… But like the natural rendition of those fresh-floral tones you always wanted. The difference is in the thickness, the richness, the consistency of the fragrance you’re smelling this time. Not just “fresh” but wholesome, not just “floral” but butter-creamy frangi-mimossa-lotus delicious. And that pollen profile………

I thought hard about how to amp up, compliment, and play on this pollen-rich honeyed gardenia tenor and intially narrowed the options down to Borneo 50K and what then became the White Kinam edition (50K had already sold-out). For this edition, I‘m bringing out one of the most prized ouds in the Oriscent collection… 

Whereas 50K is golden pollen honey encapsulated, White Kinam 2.0 adds a much more pronounced layer of Oriscent ouds’ signature powderiness. With added wafts of vanilla and the creamy addition of sandalwood, smell White Kinam’s kinamic sweetness gush from Musc Gardénia’s beautiful creamy floral glaze.

White Kinam 2.0 was distilled at the helm of my own kyara Sifu using a fabulous wild Borneo harvest flown in to my Sifu specifically to concoct this peerless brew. Forget blue lotus and orange blossom, no perfume (‘oud’ perfume or otherwise), uses such a precious aromatic. Not even close. 

I’m using such insane quality oud in Musc Gardénia to make this edition as luxurious as possible; as lush an olfactory legend we could muster.

To explain what I mean with ‘lush’: the concentration of Musc Gardénia is already a full 30% – and I’m not counting White Kinam as part of the compound. This edition contains 1.2 grams of White Kinam 2.0 on top of the extrait. In addition to that, the carrier is entirely composed of our dear Sultan’s ancient Tibetan musk tincture.

Top Notes:
Honey, Rosemary
Spearmint, Pink Pepper

Heart Notes:
Orange Blossom, Jasmine
Frangipani, Blue Cypress 
Blue Lotus, Mimosa

Base Notes:
White Kinam 2.0 (Oriscent Oud Oil)
Kashmiri Musk
Sandalwood

Carrier:
Royal Tibetan Musk

From using pretty much the entire line-up of those extracts you’d read about in articles about the world’s most extravagant perfume ingredients to one so precious none of those authors ever heard of it, to an ancient carrier no other perfume currently in existence has used, this Borneo Kinam edition of Musc Gardénia is a no-expense-spared pure parfum. Spray cautiously… a little goes a long way!

Original leather by Habib Dingle.

Featured Testimonials…

What do you want to hear? Is this pure liquid gold in a bottle? Yes, definitely yes!

Sweet, delicious, gourmand…. Flowers put together with kashmir-musc in a box made of sandalwood. Underneath white kinam burning and heating up the box. The result is a mesmerizing experience!

—Dardan Z / Germany