I’ve always loved fragrance – but mostly as the finishing touch. A detail. That changed when I tried Kawa Karda and Cocoa Kimiya, part of Atelier Des Ors’ new Abstraction collection. These aren’t just perfumes. They’re portals.
The collection is inspired by Pierre Soulages and his idea of outrenoir – “beyond black.” He didn’t just paint in black. He painted light through black. Depth, reflection, transformation. These scents do the same – with ingredients.
Each perfume starts with one bold, central material. But it doesn’t stay static. It’s shaped, stretched, refracted – just like Soulages’ pigment. What you think you know shifts. Nothing is obvious. Everything is alive.
Kawa Karda means “coffee spice.” It’s warm and rich. Like spiced coffee in a sunlit square. But then it softens. Brightens. Morphs. It’s familiar and surprising all at once.
Cocoa Kimiya is deeper. Grounded in cocoa, but not sweet. Think cool shadows, molten gold. It’s magnetic. Alchemical. A scent that lingers like a secret.
Both are genderless. Elegant. Complex. Their matte black bottles – set in gold-trimmed boxes – mirror their mood: dark, luminous, and full of contrast.
Wearing them didn’t just change how I smelled. It changed how I felt.
Explore the collection here.
