Desir by Ajne

My sample of Ajne’s Desir has been sorely neglected for nearly two years. It’s been so long that I don’t know if I bought it, got it in a swap, or if it was gifted to me. Nevertheless, it resurfaced during a much needed organizing session of my perfume samples and quickly made its way onto my skin.

I’ve been suffering from jasmine fatigue lately, so immediately after applying it I thought to myself, “oh no, am I going to be smelling this indolic jasmine for the rest of the night?” and began to regret my hasty application. Don’t get me wrong, the opening is a rather enticing jasmine, but not what I had hoped to experience. Luckily, my regret was never fully realized. After a few minutes of jasmine lushness, a cinnamon tinged sandalwood note began to pulsate among the petals, tempering the tropical headiness with sweet spice and grounding woods.

This elegant balance of an opulent and rich floral note alongside a warm, spicy wood note is beautifully achieved as the juxtaposition is apparent enough to be appreciated yet seamless at the same time. The heart of Desir continues with this smooth interplay until another floral nuance emerges, and a familiar one at that.

Interestingly, the drydown has a distinct similarity to Anotnia’s Flowers. As many of you know, Antonia’s Flowers is an ode to freesia, and its peppery lightness is unmistakable. At this late stage of development, Desir possesses a similarly high pitched floral tone which is not so much freesia-esque, but more like magnolia which is in Antonia’s Flowers, as is jasmine. Magnolia can have an edge of camphor while still possessing a fruitiness that is reminiscent of berries, and both of these qualities are present in Desir’s base. Honestly, I have no idea if magnolia is in Desir, and it could very easily be a phantom note that Gaia wrote about earlier today.

Ultimately, the list of notes is irrelevant. What it is relevant, is the beauty of this complex, all natural perfume. Desir took me on an adventure that many hours later I can still smell on my skin as the beautiful hum of a magnolia-laden woody floral.

Desir is available at Ajne.com ranging in price from $55 for 0.125oz to $190 for 1oz. Their lotion and body oil can be scented with Desir and I highly recommend this option if you’d like to experience their fragrances, but want to keep costs down.