Fancy smelling like you have the power of a Roman emperor? Maybe this opulent brand can help…

Listed notes

Pink pepper, cardamom, bergamot, grey amber, tuberose, violet, iris, oud, musk, tonka bean, vanilla, caramel, cashmere wood, cedar.

Top notes

If I could have only two words to describe the opening to Mercurial Cashmere by Electimuss London they would be sweet and rich. This is a decadent composition, which surrounds the wearer in a cloud of opulence and charm. Undoubtedly this will come across as too sweet for some people, but for those who can tolerate that nectar-like charm will find this to be a cosy and companionable scent.

The first thing to note about Mercurial Cashmere is the exquisite way in which the fragrances are blended. Even immediately upon spraying, the scent comes across as silky smooth with no hard edges and no places where one ingredient is butting up against another. Everything is beautifully polished and melded so the experience of wearing it becomes a series of impressions rather than a notes spotting exercise.

A spritz of Mercurial Cashmere on skin reveals a fragrance which is, yes, sweet, but heavy with the heady intoxication of tuberose too. The sort of scent which makes you feel a little dizzy for a moment – not for any physiological reason, just because it whisks you away to somewhere warm with drowsy blossoms of white flowers dripping nectar. Indeed, this pollen-like tone is further enhanced because there is a touch of a powdery texture about the scent alongside the smoother aspect to the fragrance. This is perhaps coming from the sugary violets which add these little pops of movement to the scent, particularly in the first half of a wear.

Mercurial Cashmere feels more than exotic, it feels so decadent that it must be fantastical – and then you remember that it is a scent inspired by the Roman empire, and actually, the character of the fragrance starts to make sense because if anyone is likely to have a blossom-laden bower full of nectarous blooms, whilst stuffing their faces with sweetmeats, it would be the Romans!

Heart notes

The spicier aspects of Mercurial Cashmere start to reveal themselves once the fragrance has had chance to settle and move beyond its first impressions. A touch of woodier spices (warm cardamom) and the lift of pink pepper come through, but as we have already touched on, this is a smoothly blended composition, so neither of these facets – nor indeed any others for that matter – are overpowering.

The tuberose is bubble-gummy, heady and indulgent, and it gives the fragrance an opulent feel overall. The iris and violet parts of the composition give the perfume weight and backbone, grounding it down and ensuring that whilst it is very redolent with tuberose, it doesn’t go too white floral mad.

It’s interesting to observe as well, that whilst the notes to the composition do often stray into gourmand territory, the scent as a whole feels more ambery and floral than it does a gourmand composition.

Base notes

The base of Mercurial Cashmere continues with a vein of sweet, smooth and warm woodiness. There is a definite ambery character about the fragrance which is resinous and polished, almost glowing and luminous at times. In the final stages of the scent, the bubble gum exuberance of the tuberose dies away leaving us with a glittering shimmer of fragrance remaining, but no longer taking such a key position. This is vacated to allow the gentle woodiness, vanilla and tonka bean to come forward.

The vanilla and tonka provide a swathe of sweet delight at the base of the scent, and the composition retains the poise and polish that it has exhibited throughout. There is a ribbon of golden caramel within the fragrance, but it’s just a touch, and it flees if you try too hard to get hold of it. In the final moments the scent becomes muskier, but the movement throughout the whole evolution of the composition is slow and unhurried – perhaps due to the high concentration of oils in the bottle.

Somehow Mercurial Cashmere manages to be quite a lot of fragrance, quite an effusive fragrance, but what saves it from being trite or tacky is the quality of ingredients and the way in which they have been melded together expertly and then burnished until they glow. All in all it is a decadent wear, but one which feels luxurious and like a real treat, as opposed to one which overwhelms and suffocates. It is a big scent, but it is one with a kind heart.

The other stuff

The perfumer for Mercurial Cashmere was Sophia Bardelli.

The performance of this fragrance is very good for both projection and longevity. This is a powerful fragrance, so go easy on the sprayer. On skin it lasts easily ten to twelve hours without really breaking a sweat. In terms of how far it projects, Mercurial Cashmere is one of those fragrances which will allow you to be smelled across the room, and it trails very well indeed. One for days when you want to be noticed, less easy to wear in the office – unless you go light on the sprays.

Because of the level of loudness and performance of this fragrance, I would tend towards wearing it more for evening occasions and nights out. It is the sort of scent which feels opulent and special, and works wonderfully for grand dos. Mercurial Cashmere could be worn year round, it has the strength to compete with things like suncream should you want to wear it in the summer, but the cosy comfort that the fragrance has also makes it perfectly suited to winter wears too.

The brand

Electimuss are all about that conjuring of a luxurious experience – even the name means “to choose the best”. The brand demonstrates this mindset and brand proposition from the packaging right through to scent itself. The bottles are heavy, dark glass topped with substantial metal collars and caps. There are lots of lovely details too about the presentation, from the facets pressed into the base of the bottle to the embossing on the cap. If you are someone who likes the decadent end of fragrance presentation (as well as superb quality scents) then check this brand out for sure. Thankfully, Electimuss stops short of blingy though, managing to look impressive without being gaudy.

If you would like to hear more about the brand, listen to our podcast episode with Claire Sokell Thompson, Creative Director of Electimuss.

Buy it

Mercurial Cashmere is available from the Electimuss London web boutique where it is priced at £225 for 100ml of parfum. We were kindly gifted samples of the Electimuss fragrances by the brand, and allowed to choose from them to receive a bottle of the scent we liked the most – ie this one! Our thanks to the brand for their generosity.

Header image by sandeep darji from Pixabay. Images of the product by The Sniff.