Stephane Humbert Lucas 777 O Hira collage by Michelyn using stock image and bottle image from Aedes
It took two years of single-minded, damn the cost obsession for creative director and nose Stéphane Humbert Lucas to create an amber perfume for the ages. O Hira, whose name is the Bengali word for “diamond,” is an elegant olfactory fantasy of fossilized amber that smells of time, of distant shorelines strewn with shell and mineral, of caves dripping with salt water past which spice boats sail.
Stephane Humbert Lucas, photo by Michelyn 2017 at Esxence©
The way Stephane Humbert Lucas 777 O Hira unfolds reminds me of depictions of the god Janus, faces towards the past and future simultaneously. It repeats transparent and opaque ambery layers in waves, which allows the composition to move effortlessly between contrasting but complementary notes. O Hira can be rich without being sweet, both opaque and light, chilly and warming at different points. No notes are given, but in its earliest moments, O Hira moves through antiquity, carrying ancient smells of biblical resins and agarwood to the dry cedarwood of old ship planks. At the same time, a spare, modern elegance begins to emerge that reminds me of the wonderful ambergris of MXXX from Eris. This note smells simultaneously of face powder, seawater, crushed seashell and sweet musk.
Amber stones on beach stock photo
As time goes on, Stephane Humbert Lucas 777 O Hira wears like a winter day on the beach; the way the salt spray, sand and shell decay linger in the hair and on the skin many hours later, returning a seashell’s roar and inexorable wave break. As the sea pulls and recalls, the ancient and contemporary aspects of the fragrance merge and pull away so that you are deeply aware of the warm resins, oud and cinnamon spice for several minutes before the ambergris and drifts of smoke and chilly mineral return again.
Although no notes other than “fossilized amber” are listed, there are distinct facets of many. At various times, I get pinches of cinnamon and nutmeg. Then, it’s benzoin, labdanum, oud, cedar, leather, stone, seashell, sandalwood, vanilla, woodsmoke and elemi waxing and waning at different junctures. As O Hira dries down, it gets less overtly ambery and woodier, more mineral, the labdanum, turning more sweaty than sweet, becoming stronger. A winey note, like Vin Santo, edges in towards the final stages, becoming gradually more pronounced.
Hygeia by Gustav Klimt, 1898
Stephane Humbert Lucas 777 O Hira adds a sophisticated, refined take on the amber genre. It is an unconventional, beautifully balanced ambergris that at once seems of another time while also feeling completely current. I’ll wear it as, locked into my urban apartment, I hear a faint sea roar as amber stones tumble across the sand somewhere on my sad planet.
Listed Note: Fossilized amber.
Disclaimer: sample of Stephane Humbert Lucas 777 O Hira graciously provided by Aedes de Venustas. My opinions are my own.
Lauryn Beer, Senior Editor
Stephane Humbert Lucas 777 O Hira bottle courtesy of Aedes Perfumery
Thanks to the generosity of Aedes Perfumery, we have FIVE x .07 samples of Stéphane Humbert Lucas 777 O Hira for 1 registered readers in the USA. To be eligible, please leave a comment saying what appeals to you about O Hira based on Lauryn’s review and if you have tried any fragrances from Stéphane Humbert Lucas 777. Draw closes 9/6/2021.
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