Encens et Lavande
Fragrance notes
Character
Encens et Lavande opens with a slap of herbal lavender, sharp and almost medicinal, before the churchy smoke of incense curls underneath and starts to warm it. What begins as a crisp aromatic tussle quickly softens into a balsamic, ambered embrace, sweetened by a faint spicy glow. The whole affair feels like a worn leather prayer book left open on a sunlit table, its pages holding both the memory of morning mass and a dried sprig of lavender tucked between them. That is its central image, a scent that is simultaneously sacred and domestic, smoky and clean.
Christopher Sheldrake’s 1996 creation remains stubbornly unisex, an Oriental Fougere that leans more on the incense than the lavender in its later hours. The longevity sits at a modest 3.11, the sillage a whispery 3.08, which means it fades into something intimate after an hour or two. That is the honest weakness. You get a compelling hour of presence, then a personal halo. It wears best in the cold months, fall and winter especially, and suits someone who prefers quiet contemplation over grand entrances. Skip it if you want a beast mode lavender bomb or something sweet and modern. For the rest of us, it is a meditative, almost nostalgic fragrance for solitary walks or cozy evenings when the smoke from a candle mingles with dry laundry.
