Forbidden Plum

Inspiration
With Forbidden Plum, Fragrance Du Bois explores the darker side of its Oud Extrait Collection. The house describes this creation as a study in shadow: succulent plum, lavish florals and velvety woods gathered around the age-old image of the forbidden fruit. The mood the brand evokes is one of candlelit evenings, dark velvet and a sweetness still noticeable at breakfast.

Perfumer
Dalia Izem. In her own words, she loves creating fragrances that draw people in without revealing everything at once. Forbidden Plum begins luscious and sweet, then grows warmer, deeper and more mysterious, and for her it is precisely this balance between light and shadow that gives it its character.

Fragrance Family
Fruity floral

The Olfactive Composition
Top notes: Plum accord, cloves, Italian bergamot Orpur
Heart notes: Indian tuberose Orpur, whipped cream accord, rum accord
Base notes: Oud, Australian sandalwood (album) Orpur, Indonesian patchouli, Sylkolide™

The Signature of Forbidden Plum
The opening revolves around ripe, dark plum, given a glowing, faintly peppery edge by clove. Clove and plum are a time-honoured pairing in perfumery: the spice draws out the jammy depth of the fruit, while Italian bergamot lets a little air in between them. A creamy heart then unfolds, where Indian tuberose melts into an accord of whipped cream and a dash of dark rum, like a dessert set alight beside your table. Its green undertone stops the tuberose from letting the sweetness run away. Further on, the composition settles into wood: oud adds weight, Australian sandalwood a milky softness and Indonesian patchouli a dark, earthy glow. Sylkolide, a silky musk, lets the whole accord hover like warm breath around the wrist. Orpur denotes the select natural raw materials used for the bergamot, tuberose and sandalwood.

What our ParfuMaria team thinks of this fragrance
When we first smelled Forbidden Plum on a blotter, we honestly expected a heavy oud. Quite the opposite turned out to be true. Oud plays a modest role here: it mainly lays a dark floor beneath the plum, like the deep red velour of a theatre seat. What moved us most is how the rum and cream soften the tuberose, so the flower never turns shrill. Once it has spent a few hours on skin, what remains is mostly warm sandalwood touched by candied fruit, and that phase touches us most deeply. Around the body it stays discreet, yet a woollen scarf holds it until the following day. We pick up this bottle most often in November, when candles appear on the table and the wine list turns a shade darker. For anyone who finds Sirène too floral and Lucius Maximus too bold, this may be exactly the middle ground. We are happy to send it as a sample first, because this scent only really reveals itself after an hour.