Encens Jinhae by Atelier Cologne

Hey there Posse! Jin is the first name of my husband, more fully Jinhyeok. Whenever we go travelling we often end up in temples to churches and buy the incense they sell as a souvenir and olfactory memory. There is a drawer FULL to overflowing here of our various purchases. Jin also called his dog Jinx, or JinX. So from this history of behaviour I thought he’d be incredibly excited by a fragrance basically called Jin Incense. This is a pretty logical step in my mind, right? Encens Jinhae should, in any reasonable universe, have been a big win for me finding and acquiring a decant from Surrender To Chance? Nope. He couldn’t care less. HA! People can be very unpredictable. Upside? I now have quite a large decant of Encens Jinhae for myself.

Previously I’ve written about Blanche Immortelle, Bois Blonds, and Tobacco Nuit on the Posse.

Encens Jinhae by Atelier Cologne

Encens Jinhae by Atelier Cologne

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Chinese pink pepper, Indian nutmeg, Sicilian lemon
Heart: South korean cherry blossom, Turkish rose absolute, Uzbek frankincense
Base: Indonesian patchouli, New Caledonian sandalwood, Philippine elemi

Encens Jinhaes sweet zingy pepper/berry and lemon are such a beautiful pairing on open. It says nutmeg, and I get some randomly spicy spice but it doesn’t say nutmeg per se. I’m much more aware of the resinous incense, wow! It really pops for me. This opening sequence is amazing, I don’t understand what Jin doesn’t love about it.

Funnily, the rose is giving me hints of Patou Joy through the heart. Just a sideways glance but it was a fun connection, especially among all this spicy incense. Then the perfumery dream of what cherry blossom takes centre stage. It’s still buoyed by the rest of the notes but it’s like everything else is peeled back to reveal this very pretty, 21st century smell of slightly fruity cherry blossom. Lovely.

Then the pieces of the fragrance seem to coalesce and stop being about the separate parts and become a unified something more that the sum of its parts. Now I am smelling something lovely and interesting. Low key enough to wear comfortable;y but unusual enough to maintain my attention.

Dry down is slow but it’s more that Encens Jinhae becomes less and less noticeable unless you’re looking. Soft focus incense/woods and a little lick of lemon till the very end.

Sillage and projection are very introverted after the first 20 minutes. Longevity is moderate. Unisex, all the way. Very calm and contemplative.

Does it sound like something you’d like?
Portia xx

 

  • Cinnamon says:

    I like this post most for the association with Jin. I like incense but have to be in the mood. and the dryer the better.

    • Portia says:

      Hey Cinnamon,
      HA! Jin is definitely a good egg.
      Last night he cooked a few friends and me his new specialty Korean Chinese Sweet & Soup Pork. It was a feast and we had a lovely night sitting around the table eating, chatting and laughing.
      Personally, I can take any and all incense, even the merest nod to incense will probably be a win for me.
      Portia xx

  • Tara C says:

    I love incense and must have sniffed this at some point, but can’t remember it. I do love Tobacco Nuit that came out around the same time, and I love incense scents in general.

    • Portia says:

      Hey TaraC,
      On the FB pages where I’ve put this link has been interesting discussion of how lovely, awful, boring and many other viewpoints on how Encens Jinhae is. I have a feeling everyone gets a completely different ride. Definitely a YMMV perfume.
      Portia xx

  • Musette says:

    You write about perfume so beautifully, Portia. Makes me want to try stuff I KNOW I’m not going like (not an incense fan) just because you write so lyrically about it 😉

    xoxoxo

  • March says:

    This is so fun! You’d THINK Jin would be more excited, but it still sounds just lovely. I love a spicy incense.

    • Portia says:

      HA! March, it really surprised me that he didn’t love it through name connection.
      He even took me to a restaurant today that was called Jin Yan! Admittedly, it was delicious.
      This would probably work for you then if spicy-incense is your jam. I like that the cherry blossom pops through to add colour and interest too.
      Portia xx

  • Dina C. says:

    Sounds really pretty — I’d like to sniff that one! I love the scent of Nag Champa incense, which I only discovered a few years ago in an import shop. I keep a box of sticks in my car as a low-key pleasant scent.

    • Musette says:

      I love the smell of incense (not in perfume, though) but the smoke aggravates my cranky sinuses. This sounds like a wonderful way to enjoy it without the pain!

      xoxoxo

    • Calrayo says:

      Aw, nag champa! For me, that’s the smell of college. I lived in a student co-op in Berkeley, CA and unsurprisingly we were all about nag champa. It’s a very nostalgic scent.

    • Portia says:

      That’s such a cool idea DinaC,
      I have all our incense collection in two drawers as you enter our bedroom. It is a very soft scent emanating from it but keeps the room smelling calm and a little sacred.
      Portia xx