The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Abraxas is named for the black horse of Aeolus, the wind god of the Aeolian Islands. The collection builds around the geography of that volcanic archipelago: its mineral cliffs, its coastal herbs, its specific light. The horse is the house's tribute to the untamed force behind the islands' beauty. Not the sea. Not the volcano. The creature that moves across both. The fragrance is powerful, dark, alive. Something with a heartbeat, not just an idea of strength. The leather and amber hold the warmth of the land.
What makes Abraxas interesting is its structural tension. The top opens with five notes, bergamot, lemon, raspberry, green notes, leather, and none of them dominates. They're in conversation, each one pulling in a different direction: citrus brightness, fruit sweetness, mineral green, raw hide. Most fragrances pick a lane. Abraxas holds all five at once, then slowly lets them resolve into the herbal heart. The heart notes, thyme, cedarwood, sage, patchouli, sandalwood, are the transitional terrain. Here the green notes become herbal, more Mediterranean than mountain.
The evolution
The opening arrives quickly, bergamot and lemon hit first, bright and sharp against the skin. Within two minutes, the leather emerges beneath them, adding weight. The raspberry is the surprise: a dark fruit sweetness that shouldn't work next to raw hide, but here it does, softening the leather without making it sweet. The green notes hold everything together, a herbal thread that prevents the opening from feeling chaotic. Twenty minutes in, the citrus fades and the heart takes over. Thyme and sage rise to the surface first, the smell of open hillsides, dry and aromatic. Cedarwood and sandalwood add warmth beneath them. The patchouli is present but restrained, earthiness rather than dirt. The leather from the opening lingers, but it's gentler now, worn leather rather than raw hide. Two hours in, the drydown begins. The herbal heart softens.
Cultural impact
This duality resonates through the fragrance itself, where bright citrus openness gradually gives way to deep leather warmth. The fragrance occupies an interesting position between refined sophistication and raw, almost feral energy, particularly through its use of green notes that evoke overgrown Mediterranean landscapes.
