Electrum

ELECTRUM (ee-LEK-trum)
Latin, from Greek, "amber" and "pale gold."

The Greeks had one word, ēlektron, for two things that shone alike: fossil resin and the pale gold found in river beds. The Romans kept it as electrum. Rub amber and it drew dust toward it, and centuries later that quality gave us the word electricity. A single word held a gem, a metal and an unseen charge.

The fragrance has that same glint over a golden core. Lemon and bergamot open bright and candied, with cardamom and a spark of pepper. Patchouli rises through saffron, rose and orange blossom, humid and spiced. The base is resin: amber, benzoin and labdanum, with vanilla, smoke and a trace of salt, dense and slow. It holds a full day and stays on cloth for days after.

Light caught in resin.

Top: Bergamot, Lemon, Cardamom, Sichuan Pepper, Coriander, Star Anise
Heart: Patchouli, Saffron, Rose, Orange Blossom, Geranium, Cumin, Wormwood
Base: Amber, Benzoin, Labdanum, Vanilla, Birch, Ambergris, Oud, Frankincense, Opoponax

Extrait de parfum, 20–30% fragrance oil. Hand-blended in small batches in Ontario.