Velvet Kasturi Attar | Musk, Saffron, Oud & Sandalwood | Alcohol Free 6ml

Velvet Kasturi, a five-note musk and spice attar

Kasturi is the Hindi word for musk, and musk is where this attar starts. What follows is more layered than anything else in the Velvet range: aromatic spices, then saffron, oud and sandalwood beneath them. Most attars here run on two or three notes. This one runs on five.

That depth is the point. A two-note attar smells much the same at hour one and hour eight. This one moves, with the spices and saffron leading early and the woods holding the base as the day goes on.

The oil contains no alcohol and comes in a 6 ml bottle. The composition follows the traditional Kannauj style of attar building, where warm animalic and woody materials are layered rather than blended flat.

Fragrance notes and oil concentration

• Musk at the opening. The note the fragrance is named for, warm and soft rather than sharp.
• Aromatic spices alongside it. These give the opening its lift and stop the musk sitting heavy from the first minute.
• Saffron through the middle. Warm and slightly honeyed, and one of the most prized materials in Indian perfumery.
• Oud and sandalwood at the base. Resinous and creamy respectively, and what the fragrance settles onto for the rest of the day.
• Lasts 8 to 12 hours from a single application, though this varies with skin type and climate.
• Alcohol free base. With no alcohol diluting it, the oil stays on the skin instead of evaporating off it, which is why one drop replaces several sprays.