SONGE DE NARCISSE

LIMITED EDITION PARFUM

A Dream of Narcissus, Narcissus Dreams. However you interpret the name, the latest perfumed collaboration between Nata Dyshliuk of Sentire Perfumes and Brooke Belldon of Sainte Cellier is one of the very best thus far in a seductive and rewarding collection of scents that are resolutely seeped in tailored vintage perfumery and the modern wit and charm of Nata’s compositional skills.

Songe de Narcisse is gorgeously disturbing, dense and aptly narcotic, since the words share a common etymological origin in narké, a Greek word meaning numb, benumbed and torpor. This probably refers to the acknowledged toxicity of all parts of the flowers.

Songe is appropriately dreamy, but the dreams are rolled in forbidden sheets and carnal hunger. The classicism of a brutally tailored chypre is torn open by citric light, and the creation of a delightful fresh air accord that lifts the opening notes as a welcome Mediterranean breeze lifts fine linen off hot skin.

Ivy leaf is an unexpected addition, but one that instantly conjures up the cool, silvery clarity of distinctive climbing stalks and green triangular leaves. Most ivy notes in perfume lean toward fresh airiness, not so here. In Songe de Narcisse, it has a darker, colder vibe, not the polite hanging pots of ivy but the plant colonising crumbling walls and untended houses. The full visceral impact of the narcissus absolute with jasmine, lily of the valley and a subtle haze of iris.

The shock of the narcissus and its greedy pornography are sublime, so much perfumery is relatively anodyne these days. Yes there’s oud and musk with their phasers set to stun, nuclear roses and gourmands that can drown you in candyfloss and chocolate. But a high-quality narcissus absolute can still shock and awe, like a Joan Crawford slap in a green velvet glove.

It is about twenty minutes into wearing Songe De Narcisse that the dream haze of it aerates the profanity of the indolic floral with robust base notes of milky sandalwood, moss and patchouli drawing out the dazzling interplay above. Narcissus is a wondrous, illuminating and dirty note, a narcotic odour that divides and compels. This new addition to the Sentire x Sainte Cellier collection is a divine take on narcissus, proving once again Nata’s uncanny ability to redefine tropes and create magic.

Composition

• Sicilian Bergamot, Bitter Orange, Fresh Air Accord, Ivy Leaf
• Narcissus Absolute, Jasmine, Lily of the Valley, Iris
• Patchouli, Atlas Cedarwood, Oakmoss, Musk

Perfumer: Nata Dyshliuk, 2025

inci list: Hexamethylindanopyran, Tetramethyl acetyloctahydronaphthalenes, Linalool, Benzyl Salicylate, Pogostemon Cablin Oil, Citrus Aurantium Bergamia Peel Oil, Citrus Aurantium Peel Oil, Cananga Odorata Extract, Hexyl Cinnamal, Amyl Salicylate, Narcissus Extract, Coumarin, Vanillin, Hydroxycitronellal, Cyclamen Aldehyde