Perfume Review: Les Trésors de Sriwijaya by Auphorie

Notes: Mandarin orange, peach, passion fruit, orchid, gardenia, frangipani, ylang ylang, ginger, galangal, star anise, black pepper, sandalwood, oud, patchouli, oakmoss, tobacco, vetiver, orris root, benzoin, frankincense, styrax, tolu balsam, cacao, vanilla, smoke, civet, ambergris, musk

Les Trésors de Sriwijaya first catches my attention with a complex cloud of ripe, tropical fruit and sweet island blooms, inviting the mind's eye to dive deep into the jungle canopy to the legendary kingdom of Sriwijaya. Before long, I notice faint traces of smoke, and I start to imagine whispy plumes rising up from a network of villages that produce some of the finest riches in the Asian world, such as spices, woods and resins.

Auphorie are masters at creating animalic accords from synthetic and natural botanical sources. The fragrance features a very nice yet fairly safe blend of civet and ambergris. The animalic notes will delight lovers of animalics, yet someone who is unfamiliar with animalic notes probably wouldn't notice them.

In the drydown I notice what seems like caramel. Maybe it's the blend of sweet, vanilla-like benzoin with other balsams that creates this gourmand effect.

Spice is present if I dig for it, but it's mild. If I never saw the notes, I wouldn't think of Les Trésors de Sriwijaya as a spicy perfume. Instead, it fits the floral-woody-musk category very well. Perfumes in that category tend to be predominantly musky with floral and woody tones, and that is what I get here. Mild spices of star anise and black pepper pave the way to subtle but darker aromas.

​While the base contains woods and resins, the fragrance on the whole is not as dark as the notes might imply. If you are anything like me, you see "oud" in a perfume and immediately think, "dark" and "Middle Eastern". Les Trésors de Sriwijaya is neither. It's a woody musk with a tropical twist. The tropical fruit lingers for hours, but it's not saccharine, so it brings a nice balance to the fragance to make it easily wearble. It's great for casual or daily use and versatile enough to use in warm or cool temperatures.

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The list of notes is long, and the perfume is every bit as complex as it sounds. I feel that different chemistries or even wearing the perfume in different temperatures can bring out different notes, so definitely sample first and see how it swings on you; then try again in a different season.

To me this is Auphorie's easiest pleaser, meaning that it's not challenging like some of their other fragrances can be (I'm looking at you, Binturong!). I'm using Coco Mademoiselle just as a reference point (only the EDT, which is woodier than the EDP and not syrupy sweet as the EDP). Imagine Coco Mademoiselle EDT--lots of synthetic musk, a base of woody amber, a touch of spice. Replace the citrus notes with tropical fruit. Add some naughty animalic notes. If you can do this, you might have an idea of the scent of Les Trésors de Sriwijaya. While easy to wear and versatile, it still very imaginative and beautifully crafted.