The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
The perfumers Dmitry Bortnikoff and Rajesh Balkrishnan have collaborated three times now, and the result is a fragrance that avoids easy drama. It doesn't rely on spice or darkness. Instead, it builds slowly, layering fruit and warmth until you realize you're leaning closer, drawn in by a richness that accumulates rather than announces itself. The composition rewards close attention, revealing new dimensions as it develops on skin, with each hour bringing subtle shifts in tone and depth that invite you to stay.
Blackcurrant absolute and apricot absolute provide the foundation here, each bringing a lush, saturated fruit character that can easily tip into sweetness. The black pepper in the heart adds a layer of warmth without contributing any additional sweetness. The result is a composition that feels genuinely rich without crossing into sugar.
The evolution
The opening arrives fast, citrus brightness and tart blackcurrant hit almost immediately, with the blood mandarin lending a warm, orange-adjacent glow that makes the whole thing feel sunlit rather than sharp. The blackcurrant absolute is the star here, and it doesn't wait. As the composition develops, apricot absolute emerges and the character shifts from bright-tart to warm and jammy. The black pepper arrives quietly, threading through the fruit and adding a spice that sneaks up on you rather than announcing itself. This is the phase that feels like genuine temptation, not seductive in the classic sense, not dangerous, just abundant. As the hours pass, oud and sandalwood begin to assert themselves, and the sweetness starts to recede without disappearing entirely. The drydown is where the composition becomes intimate, creamy wood, resinous cedar, close to the skin.
Cultural impact
Bortnikoff and Balkrishnan's third collaboration together, Scheherazade commits to an exotic woody-gourmand direction. The apricot and blackcurrant absolutes give it a notable presence in the niche space, sweet enough to intrigue, grounded enough to reward the wearer who lingers.
