Forever Wanted Absolu

Azzaro divides Forever Wanted Absolu into three stages: an incense essence at the top, a whisky accord at the heart, a vanilla at the base. It evokes a fragrance with amber and woody notes and files it among amber fougères.

Incense at the top

Incense opens the fragrance in the form of an essence, according to the house. Paul, writing on Skint Skincare, finds the whole at once boozy, sweet and smoky, a pairing that seemed risky to him on paper and that, in wear, works in his view.

Whisky accord at the heart

The heart rests on a whisky accord, which the house pairs with the warmth of vanilla. Paul credits it with a complexity that keeps the vanilla from turning cloying.

Vanilla at the base

Vanilla forms the base, surrounded by amber and woody notes that the house links to no named material. The house wants it sensual and warm; Paul finds in it, along with the incense and woods, a base that sits well with the whisky.

What remains outside the declared accord

The whisky accord, composed rather than extracted, corresponds to no material in the three layers. Lavender, Virginia cedar, lemon, spearmint and bitter orange appear only on the label, with no place in the accord announced by the house.

What the label declares

Thirty-six lines make up the list declared by Azzaro. Behind alcohol, Parfum and water come tetramethyl acetyloctahydronaphthalenes, linalyl acetate, vanillin, coumarin, lavender oil, acetyl cedrene, linalool, a UV filter, carvone, Virginia cedar oil, limonene and pinene.

Further down are lemon oil, alpha-isomethyl ionone, camphor, beta-caryophyllene, terpineol, anethole, terpinolene, rose ketones, spearmint oil, citral, geranyl acetate, geraniol, bitter orange oil, menthol, alpha-terpinene, cinnamal, sclareol and farnesol.

Three colorants, red, orange and green, are interspersed at the end of the list. Five essential oils are named, lavender, Virginia cedar, lemon, spearmint and bitter orange; there is no trace of lilial or lyral.