Imperfect Perfection
A woody musk pairing weighty wood and musk with Japanese ho leaf, cardamom and cassis, built on a concept of glory, anguish and the dream of Handan.
The concept of Imperfect Perfection begins with the moon's shadow hidden behind a dazzling sun. It places even a glorious life inside the dream of Handan, a Chinese tale in which a lifetime of glory passes in a brief dream, and says that having both honor and anguish is what lets one build vivid, many-colored time. Like every AHRES scent, it has one original artist-made soundtrack.
The series uses Japanese organic brown-rice ethanol, made by fermenting and distilling organic rice grown in fallow paddies in Oshu, Iwate. Rather than treating ethanol as a mere solvent, the brand selected the material it is made from and says it melts softly into the skin.
Classed as a woody musk, it sets a weighty pairing of wood and musk against the herbal, spicy tones of ho leaf and cardamom, with cassis adding a refined sweetness. Bergamot, cassis and cardamom form the top. In the middle sits Japanese-made ho leaf, an oil from the leaves of the ho tree, a camphor variety; the series lists Kagoshima-grown ho leaf oil among its domestic materials. Beside lavender, muguet and cistus, its leafy freshness links flowers and resin, and patchouli, musk and cedarwood form the base.
