Principalities.

Principalities takes its name from the second lowest choir of angels in the traditional celestial hierarchy. The name evokes a sense of unseen forces arranging the elements of the physical world, a role this fragrance attempts to capture. The bridge between the material and the divine, made wearable: that is what the composition aims to achieve. Drawing on traditions where sacred fragrance and smoke have served as a point of contact between the material and the divine, this fragrance embodies that concept. It is the bridge made tangible through scent, an invitation into something larger than the everyday.

The four elements mapped across the pyramid form the structural logic of the fragrance itself. Wind opens with hyssop, black tea, rose thorn, and violet: cool, bitter, sharp. Water, mineral notes and petrichor, grounds the opening in physical sensation, the smell of earth after rain. Earth brings oud, dry leaves, galbanum, leather, and ginseng root: the weight and density of the material world. Fire, arriving through the heart, introduces ash, elemi resin, chili pepper seeds, and saffron: warmth that arrives unexpectedly, disrupting the cool mineral base.

The opening announces itself with mineral clarity: cold, wet stone and petrichor, the smell of air before a storm arrives. Hyssop and black tea bring an herbal bitterness that keeps the opening from feeling clean or simple. Rose thorn adds a green sharpness, a brief vegetal edge that passes quickly. Gradually, the warm materials become more pronounced. The cool mineral base begins to recede as chili and saffron assert themselves. Leather and oud appear in the base, grounding the heart. Incense and ash create a smoky atmosphere. The drydown is where the fragrance becomes itself. Mineral and petrichor persist, but they are now warm rather than cold. Star-dust, the brand calls it that, and the description earns it, settles over the composition. Burnt almond and hot metal persist close to the skin, maintaining a closeness that does not expand outward.

Principalities received the Newcomer Award at The Art and Olfaction Awards 2025, a recognition that placed a debut from an unfamiliar Romanian house alongside more established niche perfumers. The fragrance occupies an unusual position: mineral-smoky in character, with a perfumer whose work has drawn attention from collectors seeking unconventional compositions. The Orthodox liturgical reference gives it a cultural identity that sets it apart.