Arabians Tonka

Scent Profile

Top notes: Bergamot, Cardamom, Black Pepper

Heart notes: Tonka Bean, Rose, Jasmine, Orris

Base notes: Vanilla, Amber, Musk, Sandalwood

Why We Carry This

Tonka handled well is a perfumer's material, not a shortcut to sweetness. Pierre Montale's use of cardamom and orris to frame the tonka heart here gives the composition texture that straight gourmands lack. It reads warm and adult rather than confectionery.

Character

Accords: Sweet, Amber, Warm Spicy, Floral, Woody, Vanilla

Perfumer: Pierre Montale

Launched: 2014

Cardamom and black pepper sharpen the opening into something more urgent than most oriental gourmands allow. The tonka bean arrives in the heart with orris alongside it, that pairing giving the sweetness a floury, slightly rooty quality that keeps it from reading as dessert. Rose and jasmine provide warmth without competing with the tonka's softness. Vanilla in the base is present but held in check by the amber-sandalwood structure, making Arabians Tonka richer than it is sweet.