Divine Deviancy

True to its name, this is a rich, opulent, and celebratory fragrance brimming with fruit, booze, and tobacco. The opening trio of fruits, rum and saffron has a medicinal, inebriated feel, immediately calling to mind Cherry Drops hard-boiled sweets, a staple of my childhood.

The sharpness quickly melds into a more peachy, nectarus fruitiness that lingers throughout the entire wear. The rum softens, too, revealing a smooth, barrel-aged woodiness laced with spice, syrupy molasses, and just a touch of dank patchouli. It feels less moldy-mossy here and more sexy-sleazy, which absolutely does it for me.

As it dries down, the fruitiness gently recedes while the tipsy warmth remains. A clean, sweet tobacco joins the scene, flirting with dark vanilla and romancing a creamy sandalwood - all leading to a seductive, hedonistic finish that would leave Bacchus himself weak at the knees.

There’s a lot going on here - perhaps too much - leaving no doubt that you’re wearing a fragrance, and a heavy one at that. I wanted to love it, and at certain points, it smells gorgeous, but I have plenty of rich, ambery numbers I’d reach for instead. Perhaps it’s the peachy sweetness, or maybe that medicinal twang - I'm not entirely sure - but when my decant ran dry, I realised it was the bottle I wanted more than the scent.