Wow! Why did it take so long for someone to cross the genres of church incense and gourmand? Whatever the answer, we sure are grateful that Aurelien Guichard took that leap of faith with Encens Suave in 2019. In the opening, the divine aroma of frankincense bubbling on a censer mingles with the fragrant scent of roasting coffee bean to produce an effect that is both smoky and bite-your-arm-off edible. The warm ginger- or cardamom-like tones of the coffee accentuate the spicy Coca Cola notes of the Somalian frankincense used here. It is a match made in incense heaven.

When the lush, boozy Madagascan vanilla and the dusty, sparkling benzoin join the party, you would be forgiven for wondering if Encens Suave is a vanillic incense or an incensey vanilla. Persistent and delicious wafts of burnt sugar, campfire smoke, and incense papers make you throw caution to the wind and declare it both. If you love Casbah (Piguet) and Silver Factory (Bond No. 9), also by Guichard, then you’ll also love Encens Suave for the perfumer’s consistency in sheathing the sharp, metallic topnotes of church incense in soft, ambery warmth that speaks more to the milk of human kindness than it does the hair shirt of High Mass.

Coffee, incense, Madagascar vanilla, benzoin, labdanum