Élisire Aliksir via the brand

“I think I will buy the flowers myself*” you mumble, placing your keys in the tray in the hallway as you step inside.

Imagine this: you’ve just arrived home after a crazy day in the pre-holiday madness of the city. Close the door and feel your muscles begin to unwind the very second you slip off your coat, while the quiet tick of the clock smooths away the sharp, cold, spiky edges of noise still lingering in your ears. It’s late afternoon, but the shadows outside are growing long, so you pull the curtains aside just enough to take in the remains of the day.

Wash away the frosty bite of December and the spiky tension scratched across your nerves – then slip into your most comfortable satin robe. Finish your skincare in the mirror with the slow, precise gestures that only thousands of repetitions can carve into muscle memory, and pour yourself a glass of the driest, darkest red wine you own.

Leo & a drawing by Matisse, Orpheus and his Lyre  – image via the brand

What else but Ravel’s Une barque sur l’Océan to drift through the room, the piano notes moving in perfect harmony with the lazy cat stretching her back in slow motion. It’s almost twilight now,  that fragile, golden threshold between day and night,  and the last rays of the sun filter through the curtains, staining them amber, turning the air thick and lazy.

 Élisire Aliksir Mood collage by Nicoleta, fair use images of Paris via Pexels and Unsplash

The cat is purring somewhere nearby, ready to claim your lap the second you sit down. The blanket waits on the armchair, exactly where you left it the night before. And on the wall in front of you, a last ray of golden light projects the silhouette of the tree outside, with those stubborn late-autumn leaves swaying in the wind, flickering across the room like a quiet shadow-play.  In your cozy version of Plato’s cave, where the world reveals itself in outlines and gentle movements, you are aware of your presence and that one perfect, singular, suspended moment – when the world narrows to this exquisite in-between state where everything feels possible, and all is nothing but sheer, self-indulgent comfort.

This is the world Aliksir paints for me.

Franck Salzwedel – image via the brand

“With ÉLISIRE, I wanted to tell the story of my love for fragrance and painting, driven by my fascination for nature. The world, the sky, the sun, the light, the stars, and the elements. But most of all, the miracle of colors and their impact on the sensorial and emotional spectrum. Color has a transcending power, which acts on the body and the soul. Whether it is bright, vibrant, dark, or muted, alone or interacting with one another, color relates to emotions in a direct manner,”said  Franck Salzwedel

As I have previously mentioned, when talking about In Fabula, ever since I can remember, fragrance has been my synesthetic playground as I’ve never smelled anything without seeing something. A color. A sound. A texture. Something fluttering and suspended between my senses. And perhaps that’s why the universe created by  Franck Salzwedel in Élisire has made such an impression on me, as his creations speak in that same luminous, cross-sensory language.

 Symrise Senior Perfumer Philippine Courtière, edited by Nicoleta

These stories painted in scent and light now grow richer by one more chapter with Élisire Aliksir, an amber-hued elixir of alchemy crafted to capture twilight itself, and the fragile magic of the golden hour. For this new chiaroscuro creation, Franck reunites once again with Philippine Courtière, the perfumer behind several of Élisire’s most beloved compositions: Desired, Érose, Extrait Blanc, and Oderose,  a partnership already shaped by their shared sensitivity to color, texture, and emotion.

And then I saw the mood board. And I said out loud, without even thinking: “YES, this is exactly IT.” And, honestly, this could have been the shortest article I’ve ever written.

 Élisire Aliksir Mood board via the brand

Aliksir opens with a quick spark of mandarin and ginger snap, the last embrace of the dying orange sun, soft edges of gold melting into shadows. The heart deepens with dusk-toned wood grains, smoked curves, and suede-like textures folding into the round gravity of oud.

Feels like finally getting your hands on that ancient book you’ve been hunting for years,  placing it on the table, trembling fingertips brushing the worn leather spine, and opening it with reverent gestures, aware of the fact that those pages haven’t seen the light of day for centuries. Specks of dust float mid-air in the last slant of daylight, as you inhale the newly awakened presence. Fine nervures of dried petals, honeyed vanilla, sticky resins – and somewhere in the background, the faint aroma of bitter ink infusing antiqued sepia paper.

Élisire Aliksir, image via the brand

Colors flash beneath the eyelids, like a swirl of molten lava –  sensual crimson reds, warm brass, rich coppers, and deep green earthy tones all bathed in that glorious, honeyed, antique gold-late-afternoon glow. “Moments like this are buds on the tree of life. Flowers of darkness they are.”* My inner Mrs. Dalloway swoons in delight and reaches for the bottle, again.

Quotes* – Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway

Top: Mandarin from Italy, Ginger from Madagascar, Elemi from the Philippines; Heart: Origan from Turkey, Oud from Bangladesh, Exotic Woods, Suede Leather by De Laire*; Base: Cedarwood from Virginia, Cypriol, Vanilla, Patchouli from Indonesia

*Suede Leather by De Laire – A distinguished, woody, warm, smoky note that is synthetically reproduced to evoke the powerful scent of Suede leather. It evokes an image of burnt embers mingled with the lingering smell of tobacco. – in a note from the brand

Nicoleta Tomsa, Senior Editor

Disclosure: A bottle of Élisire Aliksir was offered by the brand; opinions are always my own.

Also read the reviews for In Fabula Extrait Noir, Oderose, Desired, Jasmin Paradis, Eau Papaguéna.

Élisire Aliksir, photo by Nicoleta

Thanks to the generosity of Élisire, we have a 30ml bottle of Élisire Aliksir for one registered reader in the  EU or USA. You must register or your entry will not count. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what sparks your interest based on Nicoleta’s review and where you live. Draw closes.12/8/2025

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