JATAMANSI EMERALD - Spikenard mounted on a Fragrant Crown of Oud, Orris and Ambrette

This is an hommage to SpikeNard, an essence that has a deep reach for me.

Creating this blend emerged from a personal desire: I love wearing Nard... but on its own its assertiveness can also feel sharp (which I like in some contexts, less in others), its development in time is quite linear, and the longevity is limited. 

I have developed this blend as a way to "enshrine" spikenard, like faceting a raw gem as the centerpiece of jewelry, adding, smoothness, depth, surprise and olfactive evolution in the unfolding in time, as well as substantial longevity.

The Perfume name comes from the sanskrit word for nard, as an homage to its origins and cultural history and from the beautiful green color of pure spikenard oil.

It is an elegant wear, and can be worn in formal contexts, East or West.

Olfactive Experience:

Profile: Woody, spicy, warm, confident, mysterious.

The opening is assertive, spikenard is shining bright (with its deep dark-green hues and light smokinesss), surrounded with cinammon, saffron spiciness and an oceanic breeze overtone (imagine the energizing, iodine-laden air by the sea), the quality vintage Assamese oud deepens and broaden the experience, underlying all in warmth.

After this overture, Jatamansi Emerald progressively transforms into a rich,  spicy and herbaceous incense, around which oud discreetly unfolds its notes of fresh pipe tocacco and hints of leather. Imagine a quality japanese green jinkoh incense box just opened, before burning anything.  

As hours pass, the the experience mellows  : orris, ambrette and sandalwood progressively infuse the incense, adding creaminess as well as floral notes.

The dry down is soft, discrete and joyful: floral, and powdery with a hint of vanilla spice, offering a silky intimate aura.

Scentient Experience :

Deeply invigorating, grounding, spiritual, providing alertness and connection to the inner realms. It activates the "jade gate" of chinese medicine, connecting mind and body. 

The later parts of the journey are enwrapping, comforting, supportive and centering.

Ingredients:

Himalayan Spikenard, Sri Lankan Sandalwood , Saffron (our production), Orris butter (Italia), Cinammon (Madagascar), Wild Assamese oud & Indian Ambrette.

Nardostachys jatamansi, Santalum ablum, Crocus sattivus, Iris pallida, Cinnamonum zeylanicum, Aquilaria malaccensis & Abelmoschus moschatus 

All ingredients of 100% pure natural high quality artisan distilled, from sustainably procured wild raw materials.

 If you like this perfume, you can get :

... our pure artisan spikenard essential oil here

... the orris butter that creates the creaminess here

... access  to sandalwood bliss here

... access to our oud collection here

.., acess to our attar creations here

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Entry into cultural history:

Nard is flowering plant in the honeysuckle family which grows in the Himalayas of Nepal, China, and India. Though it is a flowering plant, like with the case of orris, it is the rhizome that is actually used. It has been used over three millennia as a perfume, a traditional medicine, or in religious ceremonies across a wide territory throughout Asia and Europe. It is an important plant of Ayurveda and herbal Chinese Medicine, also used in traditional Arabic / Islamic Medicine.

It is a noble ingredient of high perfumery since antiquity, all the way from the Himalayas to Judea, Alexandria and Rome.

Already prized by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans for both medicine and perfumery, but also to... spike fragrant wines and other drinks, spikenard also features in important biblical episodes full of deep mysticism: acts of selfless love, and sacred ointments before the self-sacrifice of crucifixion. It is one of oldest and most important ingredients of the history of perfumery.

Of course, like with many classical plants of the antiquity, there are different candidates as per the exact kind of Nard(s) referred to. Pliny, in his  Naturalis historia (CE - 77-79) already listed several species used under the umbrella name. 

The ingredient I use, "Indian Nard"(Nardostachys jatamansi / spikenard) from the central Himalayas, was already known and traded since before biblical times. It is considered the "original" and most important of the historical species called Nard, and the one with the longest history in medicine and perfumery.