The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Hao arrived in 2024 as part of the Anniversari collection from Tiziana Terenzi, composed by Paolo Terenzi, the house's in-house perfumer. The release sits within a catalog that has built its reputation on extraits de parfum, compositions formulated at high concentration where density and staying power matter more than a whisper of sillage. The brief here is uncomplicated pleasure, treated with the seriousness of ceremony. Two ouds anchor the base, Laotian and Cambodian, flanking the sweeter center. There's something quietly confident about how the composition refuses to apologize for its own weight. The opening moves through Chinese lotus and Sicilian orange blossom, with Florentine iris orris butter lending a powdery gravity beneath both florals.
The bridge between the gourmand heart and the resinous base runs through orris butter, Australian sandalwood, and ambergris, materials that share a powdery, mineral warmth. The caramel and vanilla get muted rather than sharpened, which makes the oud underneath feel grounded rather than decorative. Add in a genuine incense note: frankincense and myrrh sitting alongside the ouds, and the sweet-resinous divide closes almost completely. This isn't a gourmand wearing an oud mask. It's a resinous composition that happens to be sweet.
The evolution
The opening belongs to the florals. Chinese lotus and Sicilian orange blossom arrive together, the lotus adding a cool, almost aquatic softness while orange blossom contributes its familiar honeyed lift. Florentine iris orris butter sits beneath both, giving the opening a powdery gravity that signals where this is headed. As the lotus fades and the iris merges with what was always coming, Turkish caramel and Bourbon vanilla take over, but not in the sticky, syrupy way those words might suggest. They arrive dry-edged, almost smoked, as if the caramel has already been torched and the sweetness is a memory of it rather than the thing itself. Ambergris joins here, adding a salt-warm undertow. From there, the hum softens as the base notes take their position. Two ouds, Laotian and Cambodian, settle into the composition with frankincense and myrrh rising around them.
Cultural impact
Hao belongs to the Anniversari collection, a curated series of extraits from Tiziana Terenzi. At its core, the composition pairs Turkish caramel and Bourbon vanilla against two ouds, Laotian and Cambodian, with frankincense, myrrh, cedarwood, and musk anchoring the base. The florals that open the fragrance, Chinese lotus and Sicilian orange blossom, give way to Florentine iris orris butter before the gourmand heart takes over. One wearer has described it as a 'femme fatale scent,' a frame that fits the architecture without overselling it.
