Sultan Pasha Attars Le Rayon Vert (Sultan Pasha) 2017 “Gloriously Green”

Sultan Pasha Attars Le Rayon Vert

Sultan Pasha Attars Le Rayon Vert photo courtesy of the perfumer

Over the years, it has been a pleasure and a privilege to experience/sample/purchase many of London-based artisanal perfumer Sultan Pasha’s attars. In the beginning, each of his fragrances was produced in an attar format; since then, he has branched out and created perfumes collaboratively (Zoologist Sacred Scarab, Civet de Nuit) and most recently – perfume extrait versions of three of his beloved attars: Irisoir, Thebes, and Joyeux (plus a new fragrance, Quintessentially Amber).

Sultan Pasha of Sultan Pasha Attars and Perfumes

  Sultan Pasha Courtesy of the Perfumer

My journey began several years ago when the perfumer sent me an extraordinary number of tiny vials along with a handwritten chart which identified them. In fact, there were so many that my husband had to devise a wooden cribbage-type board in which to store them upright, so as not to lose a single precious drop. I was bowled over by both their quantity and quality: here was someone who clearly venerated grand perfumery and had studied (and amassed, whenever possible) the classics; a perfumer who employed only the finest available materials (regardless of expense – or so it smelt) in a manner which honored both his Bangladeshi origins and French tradition. It could have been easy to fall into the trap of ‘imitation is the sincerest form of flattery’; instead, Sultan’s approach resulted in compositions which felt intemporal and thoroughly enjoyable by today’s standards. I smelt dozens of fragrances, and could not fault a single one.

Sultan Pasha Attars

Sultan Pasha Attars courtesy of the perfumer

I admit to having favorites – those attars which have moved me to tears, quite literally. One of the rarer and most exceptional of them happens to be Sultan Pasha Le Rayon Vert, a perfume which is so chimerical that it nearly defies categorization. The closest I can come would be to describe it as one of the more singular vegetal/floral/aromatic/resinous/balsamic aldehydic chypres I own. I would be willing to bet that Le Rayon Vert does not rank amongst Sultan’s best sellers, because quirky, potent ûber-verdant fragrances are not to everyone’s taste. It was vegetal on many levels before the famed fragrance houses began to produce true vegetable-derived absolutes other than tomato leaf, and it didn’t rely on overdoses of geosmin in order to create an earthy atmosphere. Yet another distinguishing characteristic is Sultan’s choice; unlike several so-called vegetable-influenced fragrances which are readily available, these aspects have not been apologetically attenuated with  significant doses of vanilla and/or fluffy musks. Le Rayon Vert is its own dramatis persona.

I like bitter, bitter is intelligent. I prefer to smell bitter, to smell intelligent.” ~ Jean-Claude Ellena at 2019 Esxence Milano

  Via Getty

Le Rayon Vert seizes our attention from the very start: its herbal enticement of artemisia and clary sage jump-start our perception of what it means to be green, and aldehydes help lift and disseminate some the attar’s boldness, enhanced by lemony elemi, lime, and bergamot. You have a sense of freshly-cut green bell pepper; a snapped green bean edged with an alluring bitterness. If you adhere to the Jean-Claude Ellena school of thought (which I do), it is bitterness which fascinates and adds a distinct note of sophistication to a fragrance. We can’t, however – reduce Le Rayon Vert’s charm to anything quite so simplistic, because complexity is at the very soul of this attar. Sultan has showered us with a cornucopia of seductive blooms, ranging from the elegant loveliness of lily of the valley, cyclamen, geranium and rose to the highly indolic (hyacinth, jasmine auriculatum, ylang-ylang, tuberose!) and spicily floral (carnation). Balsamic tones regale us: jammy fir balsam, a significant oakmoss presence, rosewood, tobacco. Wisps of frankincense and benzoin accompany the roster of ensuing animalics, which include white ambergris, civet, castoreum, and musk. When Sultan refers to ‘more’, I wonder whether galbanum and/or vetiver are present; it would certainly make sense, as Le Rayon Vert is gloriously green and tenacious – with a carefully dosed murmur of smokiness.

Le Rayon Vert hearkens back to the sort of iconic out-of-the-box classicism for which a perfumer like Germaine Cellier was renowned: magnificent, one of a kind perfume possessed of its own fingerprint, yet a joy to wear and nothing short of revelatory. Over the past few days I can attest to that, as well as its unique charm. My dear husband is a not-one-to-gush Brit who has exclaimed each time I re-anointed myself: “I can smell that! It’s delightful. I’ll never weary of smelling it” (high praise from a tough critic). It is well-suited to anyone of any gender, and any occasion or season. My spouse says that it reminds him of autumn – but for me, it’s a year-round evocation of what it means to be gloriously green.

Notes: elemi, bergamot, lime, aldehydes, artemisia, hyacinth, clary sage, jasmine auriculatum absolute, ylang ylang absolute, carnation absolute, tonka, damascena rose absolute, rose geranium, gardenia absolute , tuberose absolute, gardenia accord, cyclamen, lily of the valley, incense, rosewood, oakmoss, Siamese benzoin, civet, musk, white ambergris, castoreum, tobacco, fir balsam, and more.

I purchased this attar; it is from my personal collection. My nose is my own…

~ Ida Meister, Deputy and Natural Perfumery Editor

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Check out Sultan Pasha’s new website sultanpashaperfumes.

Please read Editor Emeritus Robert Herrmann’s conversation  (RIP) and interview with Sultan Pasha here which started with a discussion of Coronation Ambergris.

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