The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Ascension was released by Lapp Fragrances in 2018 as the house's daylight companion. Its inspiration reads like a specific place and hour: sunrise over the forests of the Blue Mountains in western Sydney, recalling fir trees and wild thyme. Founder Peter Georgiou grew up loving those trees and that herb, and the fragrance reflects that affinity. The name makes the intent plain. Ascension is not about darkness or seduction but about the moment a landscape wakes up, the clean snap of air before the day warms. Bergamot and green notes carry the early light, while pine and fir hold the horizon.
What gives Ascension its character is the way it keeps the whole forest in frame rather than chasing a single loud note. Siberian pine and bergamot sit at the top like cold air and sunlight, while thyme and cinnamon leaf pull in opposite directions, herbal on one side, warm spice on the other. Labdanum adds resinous depth without tipping into heaviness. The result feels larger than a typical fresh fragrance. It doesn't just smell clean, it smells expansive and clear, with the cool brightness of pine, the green lift of herbs, and a warm, resinous foundation that gives the composition depth.
The evolution
The opening arrives brisk. Bergamot cuts through green notes like a blade of light, and Siberian pine gives it a cold, resinous edge that feels genuinely outdoors. That sharpness softens as the heart arrives, with thyme bringing an herbal, almost savory dryness and cinnamon leaf adding a low, warm flicker underneath. Labdanum deepens the whole thing, giving it a faint ambered resin weight without making it heavy. As the hours pass, fir and woody notes take over, and the composition settles into something drier and more mineral. Musk provides a clean finish that brings the earlier brightness into quieter focus. What lingers is the quiet part: pale fir, clean musk, and a ghost of green. The trail goes cold again, but warmer than it started.
Cultural impact
Ascension occupies the daylight slot in a house built around contrast, its companion being the darker, more nocturnal release from the same year. That pairing makes its character immediately legible: bright citrus and green notes meet Siberian pine and fir, while thyme and cinnamon leaf introduce herbal dryness and warm spice. Labdanum gives the forest profile resinous depth, and musk leaves a clean, quiet finish. Its Blue Mountains reference supplies a specific setting for the composition, while the fir-and-wild-thyme associations connect the scent to the landscape Peter Georgiou knew growing up.
