WHAT I SMELL:   Karikia confidently opens with a lightly sweetened tobacco and a sueded leather that smells like it would be soft to the touch.  And right from the start it’s dynamic and charming.  Soon, a bit of barnyard enters and the smell of dried hay and grass brings the perfume to the outdoors.  The perfume is buzzing with life with a twist of honeyed tobacco.  Although the perfume is incredibly earthy, there’s also a clean, buttoned up feeling like that of a linen shirt that has been drying in the sun.  The perfume then really begins to dry with a layer of dust, rather than powder.  You can feel the winds whipping up the dried earth as it bounces off the plains.  The perfume then turns more to the flame as an incense begins to ignite the dried grass and a vanilla hazelnut syrup turns it slightly gourmand.  Karikia takes you on a fantastic journey of delightful twists and turns that never jolt the senses, but instead guides you slowly through its magic.

From the Angelos Creations Olfactives website:

Tobacco farming has been, especially during last century, one of the major sources of income and livelihood for many farmers and families in Northern Greece.

I’ve been told multiple stories with regard to the very sophisticated, extremely demanding and complex procedure from cultivation to crop of tobacco from my ancestors.  Drawing inspiration from those stories and visiting some of the remaining crops fields myself I decided to create an incredibly complex tobacco based composition.

Karíkia (Καρίκια in Greek) were land ramps that were precisely created after loosening and turning the soil at least twice with wooden and iron ploughs.  That’s where the seedlings were carefully planted when they reached 10 to 15cm height after the initial planting of the seeds in sunlight and rain protected nurseries.  In this creation you will experience multiple facets created by dry and earthy, sweet and resinous and also bright, foresty and aldehydic notes.

Top Notes: Aldehydes, Blood Orange, Acacia, English Oakwood, Saffron.

Middle Notes: Tobacco Leaves, Blue Tansy, Boronia Absolute, Omani Frankincense, Madagascan Black Pepper, Nutmeg, Hinoki Wood, White Cypress, Bois de Siam, Mahogany, Virginia Cedarwood.

Base Notes: Bulgarian Tobacco Absolute, Hazelnut Sirup Pancake, Madagascan Vanilla Absolute, Tonka Beans Absolute, French Hay Absolute, Beeswax Absolute, Castoreum (Recreation), Australian Sandalwood Spicatum, Ambergris.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME:  A royal stable.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE KARIKIA:  earthy, grounded, enchanting

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT KARIKIA:  CaFleureBon

BOTTOM LINE:  Karikia is an incredible perfume that defies descriptors.  It’s a mix of comfort and intrigue that makes for a fantastic wear which leaves those in the wake of the fragrance in attentive awe.  Beyond fabulous.

• Bone Rating: 4.5 out of possible 5 bones
• Nose:  Angelos Balamis
• Classification:  Unisex
• Expense:  Starting at $210 for 30ml parfum extrait