The Story
Why it exists.
The beginning
Cashmere is the name, and cashmere is the point. Not the place, the fabric. The sensation of it. Jean Jacques built AB ± Cashmere for UERMI in 2014 around a simple question: what if pure softness had a scent? Not metaphorical softness. Not abstract warmth. The actual feeling of cashmere against skin. That's what this fragrance translates. Bergamot lifts the opening just enough to keep it from flattening, then steps aside. The rest is about warmth, closeness, and comfort without apology. For the UERMI wardrobe, it occupies the quiet end of the spectrum. The scent you reach for when you want to feel held, not noticed.
Cashmere in perfumery is less a note than a texture. It describes a quality: soft, powdery, slightly synthetic, skin-close. AB ± Cashmere earns the name through cashmeran and ambrette seeds, synthetic materials that mimic the warmth of the real thing at a fraction of the cost, and arguably with more consistency. The osmanthus is the surprise here. This Chinese flower gives a fruity, apricot-like sweetness that most cashmere interpretations skip entirely. It's what keeps the heart from going flat. Combined with jasmine's indolic depth and vanilla's warmth, the middle holds long enough for the base to do its work. The frankincense is subtle, a dusty, resinous breeze rather than a statement.
The evolution
Bergamot opens clean and citrus-bright. It's quick, gone within the first hour, maybe less on dry skin. The osmanthus arrives quietly, threading its apricot sweetness through the jasmine. This is the heart of the fragrance: floral, soft, slightly edible. Nothing sharp. Nothing aggressive. The drydown is where AB ± Cashmere earns its name. Sandalwood, vanilla, and a synthetic ambergris note create a warm, powdery embrace that sits close to the skin. It's the cashmere itself, soft, enveloping, present without projecting. Moderate sillage means you're the only one who notices for the first few hours. By hour six, even that has softened into a quiet warmth that stays until you wash it off. On fabric, the sandalwood lingers overnight.
Cultural impact
AB ± Cashmere sits comfortably in the quiet end of the niche spectrum. It's not a statement fragrance, it's a comfort one. For collectors who've worn through the louder releases, this is the one that stays. Discontinued now, which makes finding a bottle part of the appeal and the hunt part of the story.
