Gentle clouds of incense drift over Tulum – a beach scent like no other. Mayan incense rises from centuries-old temples. Sea mist drifts over the jungle where the jaguar lurks. Aedes de Venustas Copal Azur exudes the lush, spiritual atmosphere of sacred Tulum.
Copal, the incense of the Maya, provides the inspiration for Copal Azur, which perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour transformed into an eau de parfum in 2014. The Frenchman is also the creator of Signature, the first fragrance from Aedes de Venustas. Incense is the olfactory thread that runs through almost all of Aedes de Venustas' eaux de parfum. The smoke used to make offerings to the gods thousands of years ago marks the beginning of the history of fragrances. After all, the word perfume comes from the Latin words ‘per fumum’, meaning through smoke.
Incense from sacred sites and the aura of a jungle bordering the beach – who better than Duchaufour to combine these two opposites into an olfactory symphony?
Copal is a term from the Aztec language Nahuatl and means incense. It is similar to other types of incense and is obtained from various trees native to Central and South America. The indigenous peoples of this region, the Maya and Aztecs, burned copal like the Greeks and Egyptians once burned incense to appease the gods. Even today, copal is still used for spiritual purposes, for example in Mexico. Since copal resin cannot be used as an ingredient, three different extractions of traditional incense are used to evoke the special scent of copal from the top to the base note. This trio makes up 30 percent of the extravagant formula.
Aedes de Venustas co-founder Karl Bradl was enthralled when he was on a bike tour through the national park along the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula to the temple of Sian Ka'an, which means ‘gateway to heaven,’ and rode through the copal-scented air.
Just as the Mayan citadel towers over Tulum's incomparable beach paradise, a kind of rock made of incense dominates the olfactory landscape of Copal Azur. The ozone and salty notes are reminiscent of the Caribbean Sea and the cenotes, the underground, cave-like freshwater pools found along the Yucatan Peninsula. Fresh green flashes, a reference to the lush Mexican jungle, cardamom emerges from moist, woody earthy nuances of patchouli and myrrh, overlaid with a hint of almond-scented tonka bean. Finally, amber symbolises the jaguar, the god of earthly fire, and completes the impression of copal and its glowing ashes.
Copal Azur is a hypnotic, spiritual and powerful fragrance, an intense eau de parfum with an almost iconoclastic incense aura.
Aedes de Venustas Copal Azul is now presented in a new, high-quality and sophisticated bottle: peacock blue accents mark the ribbed bottle. The cap is matt black and embossed with the brand's insignia. It is a harmoniously sleek yet powerful and striking design with which Aedes de Venustas begins the next chapter in its success story.
