Astier de Villatte

The splendour of the Palais Garnier. Ballet movements in the Great Hall: entrechats, pas de deux, ronds de jambes upon sumptuous parquet floors, polished with beeswax. Richly upholstered foyers reach to the very roof of the Opera, where thick streams of honey are collected from hives which spread forth giddying notes of Absolute Beeswax, rendered sublime by minute additions of Sandlewood and Styrax resin. Contains Benjoin, Sabdalwood, Cedarwood and Vanilla, Beeswax Absolute, Honeyed Note. Perfume designed with Françoise Caron.

The best incense in the world is found on the island of Awaji, due to its favorable climate. For more than a thousand years it has been made here by the Koh-shis or Masters of Aromas, a tradition passed down from father to son. They alone perfectly master the four stages of production: the dosage of exclusively natural materials, precious woods, herbs, plants, vegetable resins, and perfume; the kneading of the dough, pressed and worked for a long time, then left to stand for two weeks to soak up the fragrance; the cutting of the dough, rolled into long, narrow ribbons, to the desired size; then drying in the west wind for three days before bundling the sticks.