Azemour les Orangers • Parfum d'Empire

The grapefruit and black pepper hit immediately, but it's the cumin that gives this chypre its dirty, addictive warmth. I’ve been wearing it for a week and can’t stop sniffing my wrist—the orange and labdanum dry down is perfectly balanced.

The opening blast of bitter grapefruit and orange peel is wonderfully sharp, but it settles into a warm, slightly dusty cedar and cool labdanum that lasts about six hours on my skin.

The cumin and cistus labdanum give this a slightly sweaty, resinous edge that keeps it from being just another citrus cologne; it’s surprisingly wearable for a warm-weather chypre. I get solid longevity off the orange and neroli top, though the pepper fades quicker than I’d like.