Save the photos and videos currently loaded on this page.
Keep this tab open until your download is ready.
![โ๏ธ๏ผก๏ผฅ๏ผด๏ผจ๏ผฉ ๏ผฏ๏ผฐ๏ผต๏ผญ by @maya.njie.perfumes ๐ซ
As someone who hopes to one day step into the world of perfumery as a curator or perfumer, I find every nook and cranny of this industry a lesson waiting to be uncovered.
To most, perfume is a medium of self-expression. But to the fragrance enthusiast, it is an entirely different universe. Behind every composition lies a reservoir of emotion, culture, history, and homage. Every perfume exists for a reason because every perfumer leaves behind a part of themselves in the scents they create.
Aethi Opum is undoubtedly one of those creations.
This was a blind-buy for me, discovered through my fellow fragrance friends here whose admiration for it always radiated warmth & reverence. Even without sharing the same cultural familiarity behind its inspiration, I found myself deeply connected to what Maya had created.
Being relatively new to incense-forward fragrances, the Thiouraye accord completely reshaped my understanding of incense. It isn't smoky or metallic. Instead, it feels damp, powdery, softly chalky, almost tactile.
Within Aethi Opum, it creates something quietly melancholic yet deeply comforting. There is an unmistakable sense of age - not something old, but something lived.
It smells like something that has weathered life's many storms and emerged wiser, stronger & unapologetically itself.
There is a quiet resilience woven throughout the fragrance. It reminds me that every season of life serves its purpose. We endure, we adapt & through each experience come to understand ourselves a little more than we did yesterday.
Perhaps that is one of life's greatest gifts.
The fact that Aethi Opum received an Art & Olfaction Award in the same month I welcomed my bottle into my collection made the experience even more special. It felt like a fitting recognition of Maya's artistry & deeply personal storytelling.
With the recent conversations surrounding Gowe seed in perfumery, that recognition feels even more meaningful. Innovation should never come at the expense of acknowledging those who first believed in an idea.
Giving credit & recognition where it's due, matters.
Maya Njie truly deserves her flowers ๐ | [June 2026] by @asianfragnerd](https://scontent-iad3-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/760192800_17882279283613587_1824925806069266123_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_s640x640_tt6&_nc_cat=101&ccb=7-5&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiQ0FST1VTRUxfSVRFTS5iZXN0X2ltYWdlX3VybGdlbi5DMyJ9&_nc_ohc=MbCKsyDUrVAQ7kNvwEKb_Gu&_nc_oc=AdqgDI8aLaFWi0stxHZInaxgS7aRk2fWyO6_NlPWVVGkeHg0ZGFomAP0kgZiB2lQDnz5xv_J_T21ip-K9q-twBG7&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.cdninstagram.com&_nc_gid=dQdUmI_4qTf7pvXy4FPQdQ&_nc_ss=70689&oh=00_AQSVvLbX5WyI5YQu56KVw3ou4MdYbN-B8XYNmcTJPwU2vw&oe=6AF0B6E7)
![๐ธ๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ซ๐ถ โ๐ฌ๐ช๐ช๐ฆ ๐๐ฌ๐ซ๐จ๐ข๐ถ ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฉ - @xerjoff x @tonyiommi ๐๐ธ
October is the month when itโs fun to bring darkness to the forefront, so I felt compelled to share the fragrance I wore for Halloween last year - & possibly for years to come.
(Inserts maniacal laughter, laughing hysterically towards the sky as thunder and lightning crash overhead โ๏ธ๐)
Once again, itโs another patchouli-centric scent & rightfully so. Tony Iommi Monkey Special is a collaboration between Xerjoff & legendary Black Sabbath guitarist, Anthony Frank Iommi Jr.
What instantly drew me in was its black box & stunning silver-and-black bottle presentation. Black is my favourite colour, so naturally, I was curious about the scent itself. And it's stunning โฌ๏ธโจ
Boozy right from the opening, with passionfruit and rum, the fragrance gradually descends into a dark, inky, earthy, slightly chocolatey scent profile. The Singaporean patchouli (WAW) carries the fragrance all the way through to its drydown.
Imagine drinking rum from a glass as you step out of your cabin in the woods. Youโre lightheaded but ecstatic. Black leather jacket on, you stumble into the forest as a light drizzle begins to fall. You can barely walk in a straight line. You take a couple more sips, but before you can finish your drink, you trip ๐ฅ
(CRASH ๐ฅ)
Your glass shatters, whatever remains of your precious rum meets the cold, damp earth beneath your feet ๐๐ชพ๐ซ
Desperate to salvage whatโs left, you start digging through the soil, trying to recover the liquid that has already begun seeping into the ground. Youโre absolutely livid. You scream โNOOOOOO!โ at the top of your lungs.
And so, you spend the remainder of the evening sitting against a tree trunk, either plotting revenge as you stare menacingly into the distance, or letting the raindrops pelt your face as you contemplate the cold, soulless misery of your existence.
But regardless of which path you choose, one thought remains:
โDamn, Iโm so punk rock.โ ๐ค๐ผ๐โโ๏ธ | [Nov 2023]
Notes ๐
Top: Bergamot, Bulgarian Geranium, Passionfruit, Rum
Heart: Cinnamon, Leather, Singaporean Patchouli
Base: Caramel, Labdanum, Musk, Sandalwood, Vanilla by @asianfragnerd](https://scontent-iad3-1.cdninstagram.com/v/t51.82787-15/846032846_17893274208613587_6650096444290835570_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_e35_s640x640_tt6&_nc_cat=108&ccb=7-5&_nc_sid=18de74&efg=eyJlZmdfdGFnIjoiQ0FST1VTRUxfSVRFTS5iZXN0X2ltYWdlX3VybGdlbi5DMyJ9&_nc_ohc=-CtCuOdAfjoQ7kNvwEfyGDq&_nc_oc=AdoIV1P0FrFxjIutaZu-U3V2iDb9rkoTpeJZo31W4yGe9_JEtfRzFDyZK2qiq6BJQjdpxZZKQ7UjHfOEHP-XVlRA&_nc_zt=23&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-1.cdninstagram.com&_nc_gid=dQdUmI_4qTf7pvXy4FPQdQ&_nc_ss=70689&oh=00_AQQkR-TqftVt2-OKu2s4fCueRwsjpocrN8gcIAJmP1ujUg&oe=6AF0C325)
