Perfume Review: Indult Isvaraya, Manakara and Tihota

Indult, a new collection of perfumes from France, borrows its name from a term that defines the privileges granted to certain people by the King of France or the Pope. Seemingly following the successful formula of Editions de Parfums, Indult grants the perfumers the freedom of creation. The three scents in the collection, Tihota, Manakara and Isvaraya were created by Francis Kurkdjian, the author of Rose Barbare, Eau Noire, Cologne Blanche and Gaultier 2. With their intriguing names, exotic notes and smooth blends, the perfumes are imaginative and charming. According to Indult, only natural extracts and no additives or colorants are used in the scents. The simple, elegant bottles come in amazing boxes made of palisander. Tihota (Rapa Nui for “sugar”). Lovers of vanilla scents, please take notice. Here comes vanilla to rule all vanillas. There is nothing in Tihota to distract from the beauty of the note, no flowers to compete with vanilla, no fruits to make the blend childish or worse, girly…Because of the richness of the blend, because of the honeyed, almost smoky undertone that vanilla has here, the perfume feels neither too simple, nor overwhelmingly foody. I usually have very little interest in “soliflores” of any kind (except for leather, vetiver or iris), I tire easily from compositions heavy on one note, but I would love to own a bottle of Tihota, this extraordinarily luscious, warm comfort scent. Isvaraya (“Unto the Supreme”, in Sanskrit). With notes of patchouli, Indian plum tree and jasmine sambac, the scent is a dream of India, both of its ancient spirituality and the modern glitter of Bollywood. My absolute favorite of the three Indult scents, Isvaraya contrasts the dazzling, virginal whiteness of jasmine with sensual darkness of patchouli. The very subtle fruity undertone does not add much sweetness but brings an enchanting twist to the blend, in the same way that red shoes or a belt add interest to an elegant black and white outfit. The scent has a certain sweet piquancy that makes me think of cardamom and saffron. I find this sophisticated and opulent composition to be incredibly gorgeous and full bottle worthy without a shadow of a doubt. As a side note, Isvaraya layers fantastically well with Tihota. Manakara, named for the town in Madagascar, the source of the best litchis in the world, pairs the fresh, airy sweetness of roses with the juicy fruitiness of litchi. I like the fact that roses are more prominent than litchis and that the scent has an appealing, boozy, vaguely grape-like undertone. As far as fruity-florals go, Manakara is one of the most enjoyable. Even I, not a fan of the genre by far, could wear it. On the whole, however, as pretty as the fragrance is, it is just a little too sweet and too “pink” for me. The Indult line is set to be launched in French Sephora exclusively, on January 8th 2007. Only 999 bottles of each scent will be available, each retailing for EUR160 for 50ml. The scents might be released in the States at some point in the future, but nothing has been confirmed. My only hope for getting hands on a bottle of Isvaraya will be eBay. The images are from indult.fr