New Release · Chypre
Chypre Tyrian
Violets beneath purple silk — the leather of forgotten kings.
Tap a frame to turn the bottle.
Play while you read — Dead Can Dance, Within the Realm of a Dying Sun
In the ancient world, one colour was reserved for emperors alone. Tyrian purple — wrung by the thousands from sea snails along the Phoenician coast — cost more than its weight in gold, and to wear it without rank was a crime.
Chypre Tyrian is built in that colour: a reddish-violet worn close to the skin. Regal, a little dangerous, unmistakably old-world.
An atmosphere of empire
It belongs to the oldest architecture in perfumery — the chypre: bright citrus suspended over mossy, leathery depths. Here that ancient frame is dressed in violets and powder, then weighted with leather and oakmoss until it feels less like a fragrance and more like a room in a palace nobody has entered for centuries.
Within the MatrixModern Classics · Authority layerThe chord
Violets beneath purple silk —
powdered courts of Byzantium —
leather of forgotten kings.
powdered courts of Byzantium —
leather of forgotten kings.
The composition — top to base
Crisp · Green · Aromatic
Bergamot, bitter orange, coriander seed, pink pepper and violet leaf — a cool, green-citrus overture, like winter sunlight on cold marble.
Violets · Powder · Silk
Parma violet, rose de mai, carnation, mimosa, iris butter, iris-cedar distillate, lilac and heliotrope — the powdered courts of Byzantium: floral, silken, faintly cosmetic.
Moss · Leather · Resin
Cedarwoods, oakmoss, patchouli, labdanum, leather, styrax, tobacco, sandalwood, civet, ambrette and musk — the chypre throne, dry and regal: the leather of forgotten kings.
The materials
Tap a note to read its role.
Violet
Parma violet and violet leaf — powdery, aristocratic, candied petals over a cool green leaf. The colour of the bottle, made scent.
Iris
Iris butter and iris-cedar distillate — suede-soft, rooty and silver. The most expensive whisper in perfumery; it gives the “powdered courts” their hush.
Oakmoss
The signature of every chypre — damp forest floor, inkwell and bitter green. The shadow the whole structure is built upon.
Leather
A dry, smoky leather accord lifted by styrax and labdanum — worn and regal, the patina of a throne nobody sits in anymore.
Tobacco
Tobacco absolute — dried leaf and honeyed resin, a courtly warmth that deepens the base without sweetening it.
Civet
A trace of animal warmth that makes the violets breathe and the leather feel lived-in — quiet, but the reason it feels alive.
“Regal, a little dangerous, unmistakably old-world.”
The full score
TopBergamot · Bitter Orange · Coriander Seed · Pink Pepper · Violet Leaf
HeartParma Violet Accord · Rose de Mai · Carnation Abs · Mimosa Abs · Iris Butter · Iris Cedar Distillate · Lilac Accord · Heliotrope
BaseCedarwood Virginia · Cedarwood Atlas · Oakmoss Abs · Patchouli Heart · Labdanum Abs · Leather Accord · Styrax · Tobacco Abs · Sandalwood · Civet Abs · Ambrette Seed · Musk
Harum Oleh Memori
Fragrance, through memory