Niche line Escentric Molecules has launched Molecule 01 + Cistus, a new variation on 2005's Molecule 01 (Iso E Super).
Iso E Super is an abstract synthetic molecule with a cedarwood tonality and a warm, velvety cocooning sensation. It is one of those scents that makes you want to nestle into it. Cistus is derived from the resin of the Mediterranean Cistus ladanifer shrub, with a warm, resinous, and slightly smoky aroma.
In Molecule 01 + Cistus, Iso E Super meets the raw sensuality of Cistus. The result? Radiant depth. A haze of warmth, sheer and lasting. Cistus is a note that lingers like heat on the skin. Cistus is resin tapped from a wild Mediterranean shrub. Sticky, golden, intense. It smells of labdanum but brighter – amber with a sunlit edge. Smoky, mineral, with leathery undertones that ground the sweetness.
"Cistus is a cut of labdanum, a plant which grows everywhere in the Mediterranean, which we've also used in Escentric 05 for that alternative summer impression. Here, with M+ Cistus, it gives you this particular leatheriness with all its sweet and salty aspects. We use 4% of that Cistus absolute. That's a lot, which is why you can smell it throughout the fragrance from top to bottom. Cistus is one of the supra accords; it's powerful. For people who like strong expressions, you can't go wrong with it."
"When pairing just one ingredient with Iso E Super, it's hard to tell what happens. This stuff is really a miracle. And with Cistus, I thought the result was beautiful," says Geza Schoen, co-founder and master perfumer at Escentric Molecules.
Escentric Molecules Molecule 01 + Cistus is $185 for 100 ml. (8.5 and 30 ml sizes may be coming in the future).
(via escentric)
Typo alert, Robin! First sentence should be “a new variation”, the singular instead of the plural “variations”.
Huge thanks as always!
I definitely need to try this one, as I love cistus and I love the old story about how they used to comb it out of the beards of goats that grazed on cistus shrubs in Mediterranean sunlight. I doubt that’s how they are collecting it these days, it’s probably concocted in labs, though come to think about it I’ve not read any stories about it, maybe some of it is still ‘harvested’ by hand. Anyway, the Molecules are interesting and I like how they’ve extended the brand, that’s some good marketing that feels organic rather than the umpteenth Petite Robe Noire blah blah blah.
If that was how it was harvested today we could not afford it 🙂
But it is a great story.