I have an opiate opoponax problem. It started with an unexpected capitulation to the Red Hot charms of Eau Lente, segued into a sudden and slavish devotion to Jicky, and culminated in a shameful episode a few weeks ago, when I found myself outside a train station at 7.30 a.m. palming a wad of cash to a shady eBay guy for a brown paper bag containing two smeary half-bottles of Carthusia’s Ligea La Sirena. Bengale Rouge contains a good slug of opoponax, so to explain why I like this scent, I guess I should explain why I like opoponax. Similar to most other resins, opoponax smells warm, slightly sweet, with a burnt toffee edge, but – and this is crucial – it also possesses a bitter, minty herbal note, like crushed lavender or bay leaf. A tub of crème caramel washed down with a shot of Old Spice. But don’t be alarmed – there is none of Eau Lente’s shocking slide from clove mouthwash to warm resin here. What opoponax brings to the table in Bengale Rouge is its faintly lavender-like aftertaste that joins with the lemon sherbet-like Turkish rose and the creamy tonka to recreate that famously baby […]