The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Lac Amné was created by Alexander Kasses for Néomirage’s The Signature Trilogy. Its name points to the mythical waters of forgetfulness, and the fragrance takes that idea literally: a vast, still surface where memory loosens its grip. The opening places tobacco beside blackcurrant, an unlikely pairing that brings smoke and dark fruit into the same frame. Geranium and clove then add structure, giving the composition a green, aromatic edge before saffron and sandalwood settle it into warmth. It is less an escape from memory than a portrait of absence, rendered through scent.
The unusual detail is the contrast built into the opening: tobacco brings weight and dry smoke, while blackcurrant introduces sharp fruit and brightness. Neither takes a predictable route. Geranium lends a herbal, almost leafy lift, while clove pushes the heart toward warm spice. Down below, saffron gives the composition a dry, leathery heat, and sandalwood provides a smooth foundation. The result feels coherent because fruit, smoke, spice, and wood keep trading the lead rather than piling into a predictable tobacco cliché.
The evolution
At first, blackcurrant cuts through tobacco with a dark, tangy brightness. The fruit is not candy-sweet; it has a tart, almost preserved quality that makes the smoke feel more textured. As the opening settles, geranium introduces a green, aromatic lift, and clove adds a pointed warmth. Tobacco remains the spine, threading each phase together even when other notes briefly take the spotlight. During the drydown, saffron dries the composition into leathery spice while sandalwood smooths the edges. What remains is a warm, resinous trail with tobacco still present, creating a lasting impression as the scent settles into a close, woody warmth against the skin.
Cultural impact
Lac Amné draws on the myth of the waters of forgetfulness, giving its tobacco-and-blackcurrant composition a distinct sense of absence. The tobacco-led profile offers a familiar point of entry for wearers drawn to dark, woody scents, while the blackcurrant pairing adds a distinctive contemporary edge. Geranium and clove lend a green, aromatic lift to the opening, and saffron and sandalwood shape the drydown into leathery spice and smooth warmth. Together, the notes create an expressive contrast between bright fruit, smoke, spice, and wood.
The House
NéomirageNéomirage is a contemporary fragrance house founded in 2025 by Alexander Kasses. Based in Vienna, the house develops compositions inspired by art, illusion, memory, and modern storytelling. Its first trio of fragrances, launched in 2026, is built around the ideas of remembering, forgetting, and occupying an in-between state. Lore – The Scent of Remembering explores recollection, Lac Amné – The Scent of Forgetting turns toward loss and absence, and Limen – The Scent for On-Between considers the space between categories and moments. The name Néomirage combines “néo” with “mirage,” suggesting something new and elusive at once. Néomirage presents its fragrances as fully composed and produced in Vienna, with an identity rooted in artistic framing rather than a conventional narrative of inherited perfumery.
The Creator
Alexander KassesKasses’s most distinctive signature lies in the union of structure and atmosphere, a style shaped by his work across music and visual art. While specific ingredient preferences are not consistently documented, his approach suggests compositions built around contrast, texture,…
