Chypre-Siam

Chypre-Siam is a joyful middle finger to IFRA. Unrepentedly teeming with enough oakmoss to make an EU official faint, this is a fragrance that lays lie to the notion that they ‘just don’t make ‘em like they used to anymore.’ With Chypre-Siam, Manuel Cross proves for once and for all that it’s not only possible make an authentic chypre in this day and age, but that it’s possible to do it so well that it sounds like a battle cry.

But if all Cross were to do is mix oakmoss, bergamot, and labdanum resin together, it would be dull and derivative. Instead, Chypre-Siam has been designed as an irreverent ‘South East Asian’ take on the classic chypre, with a tart kaffir lime topnote replacing the traditional bergamot, and Thai holy basil to underline the minty bitterness of that oakmoss underpinning. Its raunchy, civet-inflected leather accord lends a lascivious purr that feels like labdanum ramped up beyond its normal range. And yet, despite the heavy-sounding notes, Chypre-Siam retains a fresh, translucent greenness all the way through – even the jasmine here smells more like violets in woodland than sultry white flowers. A warm, powdery trail lingers after the fireworks of the kaffir lime, oakmoss, and leather die down, the Siamese benzoin a sly nod to the South-East Asian inspiration for Chypre-Siam. Finally, a chypre that feels, smells, and actually is authentic.