Ocaso

Ocaso is Portuguese for sunset, and Stephanie Bakouche has built the fragrance around that single image with unusual literalness. It opens sharp and bright, with Calabrian bergamot, petitgrain bigarade and blackcurrant absolute giving a tart green snap, and pink pepper CO2 adding a dry prickle that stops the citrus turning sweet. That brightness burns off fairly quickly. What replaces it is a full solar white floral: jasmine grandiflorum, tuberose and tiare stacked together with ylang-ylang, and coriander laid across the top as a slightly herbal counterweight. It is a rich heart, and at extrait concentration it carries real weight rather than the airy quality the tropical notes might suggest. The base is the interesting part. Honey and green hay superabsolute give a hay-loft warmth that reads almost animalic against the florals, Siam benzoin adds a resinous sweetness, and the woody materials underneath keep the whole thing from collapsing into syrup. Longevity is strong and projection is generous, so a light hand is sensible. This is an evening fragrance and a warm-weather one, and it sits best in late summer and early autumn when the heat has softened. If you like white florals with a carnal edge rather than a clean one, Ocaso is the most sensual thing in the Comporta range.