ILAYA PARFUM BY ISABEL DERROISNE
OFFICIAL BRAND STATEMENT
Ilaya is an oriental velvety fragrance, an exploration of traditional aromas, a grandeur that always came from South and East. A mixture of incense, luxurious Somalia myrrh among them, is at the base, which makes a contrast to the spicy freshness of the top: bunch of spices, ginger and cardamom. In between wood, resins and spices, tender and passionate flowers flourish like in a hot desert: jasmine and ylang-ylang. The perfume was created by Jerome Epinette in 2007. Serge Mansau is a designer of this “simple” African bottle.
- cardamom
- ginger
- ylang-ylang
- jasmine
- incense
- coffee
- myrrh
- benjoin
- 6-8 hours on skin
- About a day on clothes
- Projection is soft to moderate
MY THOUGHTS
Ilaya Parfum by Isabel Derroisne created by Jerome Epinette is an ode to spices, coffee and benjoin. Warm and invigorating, complex blend that I finally acquired last year and I don’t want this bottle to be the last of its kind in my collection so last week I was finally able to secure a backup of this gorgeous gem from relatively forgotten house. It doesn’t work in it’s favour being discontinued, but I am happy to have fallen in love with it. Better late than never.
There are compositions that simply enchant the senses and transport us elsewhere. Ilaya Parfum to me is one of those scents. It is resembling a captivating journey through boujie cafe in autumn. Where you sit ath the table near window with freshly brewed espresso and there is a little fancy artisanal tiramisu resting on the plate near your cup. Soft steam of coffee is dwelling in the air and the bartender is grinding new batch of beans for yet another customer.
Ilaya’s resinous yet somehow zingy and boozy opening is setting the mood for what is yet to come. I have been respraying it non-stop on my arm since the mailman drop-off this week, just to feel that intricate sensation tickling my nose. Mmmmm… This is a ginger alright, mixed with myrrh and cardamom. The blend is mouthwatering and well balanced. After few minutes Ilaya is settles down on the skin and the fragrance turns its tail towards coffee/tiramisu.
Refinement of the sillage and notes blending one into another is truly captivating. No it is not a sillage beast nor longevity monster. I did do clothes spray test and it does carry well into the next day. Projection of Ilaya Parfum is however rather intimate, arms length at best. But everything it might lack in performance it compensates in blending and beautiful gourmandise vibe. Bravo to Epinette for rolling this beauty out under his wing. I could easily see it inside collection of Lutens or Malle. One downside for it though is that because how good it is and rather tricky to find, pricing is inflated by the online sellers.
AVAILABILITY
Ilaya Parfum by Isabel Derroisne has been discontinued, yet is still occasionally findable on marketplaces such as eBay. The full size bottle contains 50 ml of fragrance. Sometimes you may find miniatures of this fragrance there too.
