Kong

Kong is proof that banana and pumpkin spice and Mongolian deer musk have absolutely no business smelling this good together, and yet here we are. This one's playful, a little unexpected, and built around a pairing I couldn't stop sniffing once I blended it.

It opens with real banana, not the candy kind, and pumpkin spice comes in right alongside it instead of waiting its turn. The banana's fruity sweetness smoothing out the spice's warmth while the spice keeps the banana from ever going flat or cloying. Bitter almond slides in underneath to add a little edge, and an incense accord threads through the top, setting up a contrast that carries through the entire fragrance.

The heart is where things go slightly floral. Frangipani, magnolia, and a soft floral accord keep a thread of brightness and depth so the blend never tips fully into dessert territory, while roasted barley adds a cooked pastry, toasty, almost bready depth that plays beautifully off the banana from the top. An amber accord starts forming here too, bridging the fruit and spice straight into the base.

And what a base it is. Four different ouds, Rengit Crassna, Rembau, Royal Belum, and Merauke, layer together into a rich, complex woody foundation. A spice accord and beeswax help the spices and pastries sink into the base, labdanum and benzoin deepen the amber even further, massoia brings in that creamy, coconut-tinged sweetness, and French vanilla rounds the whole thing out smoothing out the sharper notes from the spice as well as the banana.

Did I mention the entire carrier is a Mongolian Deer Musk tincture? This Tincture completes this gorgeous blend adding a slightly sweet musky divinity from start to end.