The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Poetry in the Air is Annayake's 2025 entry into the GODAI collection, where each fragrance corresponds to one of five classical elements. This one is wind, not the storm kind, but the kind that carries thoughts before you catch them. The brief, if you could call it that, was to bottle the sensation of a mind at ease: ideas surfacing and dissolving without urgency. The result is a scent that opens bright and airy, then settles into something quieter and more personal.
What makes this work is the pairing of buchu with bergamot, an unusual choice that gives the citrus opening an almost mineral quality, like the air after rain. The floral heart doesn't compete; it floats. Cedar and vetiver in the base bring a dry, woody character that anchors the whole thing without heaviness. It's a composition that trusts restraint, letting each layer arrive and depart on its own schedule.
The evolution
The opening hits crisp and clean, bergamot's brightness sharpened by buchu's herbal lift. For the first thirty minutes, it's all air and clarity. Then the florals begin to soften. Orange blossom appears quietly, cyclamen adds a watery sweetness, and the whole thing turns gentler without losing its structure. By hour two, cedar and vetiver are settling in. The drydown is intimate: warm woods, clean musk, ambergris adding a subtle animalic depth that keeps things interesting without demanding attention. On most skin, expect a full workday, six to eight hours before it fades to a close, skin-hugging whisper.
Cultural impact
Annayake has never chased trends. The house builds for the wearer who doesn't need their fragrance to start conversations, just finish them with something lingering. Poetry in the Air continues that quiet, considered approach: a scent for people who've moved past performance, into something quieter, more personal.
