No.10 Aboukir.

No.10 Aboukir arrives as part of a numbered catalogue that began in 2014, the year Marie du Petit Thouars founded Maison Louis Marie in Los Angeles. The numbering system maps personal landmarks rather than olfactory families, each scent corresponds to a place, a memory, or a moment in the founder's life. Aboukir references a specific location: a coastal city in Egypt with a history rooted in trade routes, ancient light, and Mediterranean warmth. The choice to name a fragrance after it suggests an interest in geography as autobiography, in scent as a way of returning to places that exist partly in memory and partly in imagination. The composition reflects this duality, a fragrance that opens with sharp clarity (eucalyptus, lemon, nutmeg) but settles into something warmer and more intimate, as if the cool precision of the first hour gives way to the accumulated warmth of wherever you've been.

What makes No.10 Aboukir unusual within the Maison Louis Marie catalogue is its structural duality: the opening performs a kind of controlled coldness, mentholated, camphorous, almost medicinal, while the base radiates warmth through cedarwood, amber, and patchouli. This isn't a linear warm-to-cool or cool-to-warm arc. Instead, the fragrance seems to argue with itself. The eucalyptus doesn't disappear as it evolves. It retreats, but it remains present beneath the florals and woods, reminding you that the fragrance started somewhere cold before it became somewhere warm. Nutmeg bridges both phases, its spice visible at the opening but also detectable in the drydown as a quiet, grounding heat.

The opening is where No.10 Aboukir makes its first impression. Eucalyptus arrives sharp and immediate, cooled by lemon and warmed slightly by nutmeg. This phase reads as clean and bright, almost clinical in its clarity. The mentholated quality of the eucalyptus doesn't numb, it illuminates, making the subsequent notes appear more vivid by contrast. Within 20 to 30 minutes, the florals begin to emerge. Jasmine and carnation arrive quietly, threading through the eucalyptus rather than replacing it. The carnation is the more visible of the two, spicy, slightly clove-like, it keeps the composition from becoming too soft. Jasmine lingers in the background, sweet and indolic, but here it plays a supporting role. The amber in the heart adds resinous warmth without sweetness, creating a bridge to the base. By the second hour, cedarwood and patchouli take over as the dominant players. The drydown is where No.10 Aboukir becomes itself. Vetiver anchors everything with an earthy, slightly smoky quality. Cedarwood provides structure, dry, pencil-shaving, unmistakably woody.

No.10 Aboukir occupies a specific niche within the indie fragrance landscape: a warm woody that opens cold, which creates a distinctive wearing experience that divides opinion. The eucalyptus top note is polarizing, some wearers find it medicinal and expect it to fade quickly, while others recognize it as the structural anchor that makes the subsequent warmth feel earned. Community reviews suggest a loyal following among those who appreciate woody‑spicy compositions with an aromatic edge. The fragrance performs best in fall and winter, with enthusiasts noting heavier use in cooler months.