The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
The Palindrome series from Santi Burgas takes its name from words that read identically forward and backward, a structural mirror that becomes the creative concept itself. Palindrome III, released in 2017 and created by Rodrigo Flores-Roux, is the third interpretation of that idea. Where most fragrances move in a single direction, Palindrome III is designed to echo. The opening and the drydown share rose and osmanthus, creating a circular structure that returns to its starting point. The middle is where the composition shifts, rum, davana, and artemisia introduce something boozy, herbal, and disruptive before the structure resolves. The name references the palindrome concept, using the architectural symmetry of mirrored words as a template for the fragrance's own construction.
The note structure is built on contradiction. Osmanthus absolute brings sweet apricot and dark leather simultaneously. Jamaican rum adds fermentation, warmth, and a slightly sweet alcoholic edge that most perfumers would avoid pairing with florals. Davana contributes a herbal, slightly medicinal quality that some compare to absinthe. Black olive introduces a dark, salty, almost animalic dimension.
The evolution
The opening hits bright and sharp. Mandarin orange and davana give a top note that is almost medicinal, clean but with a bite, like the first sip of something strong. The rum arrives quickly, rounding the edges. For the first hour, the fragrance lives in its heart: osmanthus absolute doing that thing where it smells simultaneously sweet and dark, the Jamaican rum lending warmth and a faint alcoholic glow, poplar absolute adding a green balsamic undertone that feels almost resinous. This is the boozy middle, the section that does not read like a floral at all. The labdanum takes over by hour three. Warm, resinous, and quietly persistent, it pulls the osmanthus and rose into a slow drydown that is more balsamic than the opening ever suggested. Patchouli anchors the base with dark earth.
Cultural impact
The palindrome concept, borrowed from literature and mathematics, has appeared in various cultural contexts as a structural device. In perfumery, using such a concept creates a specific kind of intellectual engagement, inviting wearers to think about how a fragrance is constructed rather than simply how it smells. Santi Burgas has explored this approach through the Palindrome series, treating fragrance as a form where structural ideas matter. The 2017 release of Palindrome III engaged with consumers interested in fragrance as a more conceptual practice, where the ideas behind a scent carry as much weight as the actual materials used.
