The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Sombras De Oro arrived in 2024, composed by Alessandra Castelbarco, the perfumer of the fragrance. The name points straight at the idea: gold for what glitters on the surface, sombras for what stays hidden beneath. That duality runs through the composition itself. Saffron and raspberry bring brightness, but they sit on a base of leather, oud, and patchouli, so nothing here stays sweet for long. Castelbarco builds the fragrance like a portrait with shadows on one side of the face. Every bright note casts a darker shape beside it. As the opening settles, the warm spice and ripe fruit give way to a cooler floral heart of iris, damask rose, and jasmine sambac. Powdery petals soften the sharper edges without losing their structure.
What makes this one worth a closer look is the meeting of vivid fruit, cool spice, and dense woods and resins. Saffron, ginger, nutmeg, and violet leaf bring a peppery top with a green edge. Iris, damask rose, and jasmine sambac soften the middle into something powdery and almost floral. Then leather and oud pull the whole thing downward into weight, joined by patchouli and oakmoss for an earthy, dry foundation. Passion fruit and mango keep the composition fruitier than expected, but the spices keep the sweetness from becoming simple or confection-like.
The evolution
The opening arrives fast. Saffron and raspberry give it a metallic sparkle, ginger and nutmeg push the heat forward, and violet leaf keeps a green edge on everything. Mango and passion fruit soften the fruit into something rounder, less like a confection and more like ripe fruit in a warm room. As the opening gives way to the heart, iris moves forward. Powdery, cool, and softly textured. Damask rose and jasmine sambac gather around it, and the composition briefly reads like a floral with its sleeves rolled up. Then leather arrives. Oud, patchouli, and oakmoss pull the scent down into shadow, while chocolate and ambergris add depth without turning sweet. Dark chocolate and tonka bean are the materials that outlive the fruit entirely. In the later stages, sandalwood, white musk, Siam benzoin, and frankincense leave a warm, resinous trail with a clean, softly woody edge.
Cultural impact
Sombras De Oro sits within Amarsi's Gold Collection, a name that frames its rich central character without prescribing how it must be worn. The fragrance is built around contrasts that become more apparent on skin: spiced fruit meets cool iris and violet leaf, rose and jasmine sambac soften the composition, and leather, oud, patchouli, oakmoss, chocolate, ambergris, tonka bean, sandalwood, Siam benzoin, and frankincens deepen its trail. Bright notes create the first impression, but the darker materials gradually draw the scent inward.
The House
Amarsi FragrancesAmarsi Fragrances is a London-based independent perfume house that draws creative direction from the sensory world of Indian spice markets. Founded in 2020 by Alessandra Castelbarco, the brand crafts fragrances intended to evoke the atmosphere of bustling bazaars, where aromatic threads of cardamom, saffron, oud, and amber interweave. The house operates with a distinctive atelier model, producing small-batch scents that include Ibiza Wood, Illegal Honey, London Fields, and the more recent Sombras De Oro. Unlike many contemporary brands that emphasize individual perfumer credits, Amarsi presents its creations as collaborative expressions, allowing each wearer to form their own relationship with the scent narrative. The brand's output spans nearly a dozen formulations released over four years, with most debuts clustered around its 2020 launch and notable additions in 2023 and 2024. Based in the United Kingdom, Amarsi Fragrances represents a modern approach to heritage-inspired perfumery, where olfactory memories serve as the foundation for contemporary scent creation.
The Creator
Alessandra CastelbarcoHer style leans toward the natural and the narrative. Castelbarco gravitates toward high-quality raw materials, particularly those with Mediterranean origins, and builds compositions that feel rooted rather than abstract.
