Desired

Desired began with a founder's brief that refused restraint: Elisire's creative director wanted splendor and opulence, imagining a Nefertiti or a modern Louis XIV, and asked perfumer Philippine Courtière to translate gold into scent. Her own description centres on vanilla set alight by spice and grounded in woods. The opening pairs clove, cumin and saffron, a dry, warm, faintly savoury heat, with a thin line of Calabrian bergamot. At the heart, jasmine sambac, rose and carnation form a dense floral core that rests on Atlas and Virginia cedar and sandalwood. The base turns on Bourbon vanilla, sweetened by tonka bean and warmed by amber and guaiac wood, with Indonesian patchouli adding an earthy shade beneath. It is an Extrait de Parfum at 30%. Both the spice and the sweetness are pronounced, so start with a light application close to the skin; it suits evening dressing.