Bases To Genres

Apr 2, 2026 Maher Elkhaldi

I’ve always moved between building bases and creating individual blends. Bases—collections of notes and accords—serve as seeds, giving life to multiple blends that share a root but grow in their own directions. Early on, I experimented with X Editions, a way to let customers shape a scent by amplifying or even adding notes not present in the original blend. In theory, it was an exciting experiment in mass customization. In practice, there were just too many “knobs to turn.” The process felt overwhelming rather than empowering, and I realized complexity can sometimes obscure intention.

From that came Add-ons. By simplifying choices to a few focused options with clear guidance, I created a gentler entry point for customization. Add-ons are a bridge—a way for customers to gradually participate in shaping a fragrance, building the confidence to explore semi-bespoke or bespoke scents. It was a step toward collaboration, without losing clarity or identity.

Alongside this, I began thinking about Genres. A Genre, for me, is a collection of profiles that give a scent its character, while a Base is a collection of notes—the raw materials. If you like software analogies, a base is a library of components, and a genre is a framework that shapes how the system behaves. Notes form accords, accords form profiles, and profiles define a genre. Genres let me honor familiar directions that people enjoy while still leaving room to explore new territory.

Today, I’m developing five core genres: Purple-Gris, Musk, Leather, Resin, and Cola. Each draws from past blends that resonated with customers, but none are recreations—they are frameworks for new expressions. Alongside these, I continue to create one-off blends, explorations that exist outside any framework. So, in a way, it's: One-Offs ⊂ Bases ⊂ X Editions ⊂ Add-Ons ⊂ Genres

All of this is shaped by my background: trained equally in the arts and computation, I’ve worked across architecture, software, and manufacturing. I love structures, patterns, taxonomies, modularity, and reuse, but I also thrive on freestyle creation. Perfumery, for me, is where these impulses intersect—a space where rigor and intuition coexist, and where every scent can both honor tradition and explore the new.

Santal Oceania

May 30, 2026 Maher Elkhaldi

I contemplated building a Sandalwood blend for a long while, ever since my first attempt: Purple Sandalwood — a blend from my very early days in perfumery, not listed here as a product. So what is different about this one? Two things: technique, and range. I knew I loved Mysore sandalwood’s creamy profile, Australian sandalwood’s drier character, and Ceylon sandalwood’s greener, slightly oceanic quality. That last aspect was the key: oceanic. More particularly, the salty aspect of it. I devised a technique to mesh Mysore and Australian sandalwood together while teasing out an oceanic, salty character — without resorting to the use of Ceylon sandalwood itself, and therefore avoiding profile elements that did not fit the vision I had for this particular project. The outcome is a sandalwood accord that is simultaneously creamy and slightly salty. What makes this especially exciting to me is that I went as far as developing a dedicated distillation recipe for producing this material itself, so it may later serve other projects as well. This should not be mistaken for a perfume formula; it is a recipe for producing a material that can later plug into a formula. Second, the range of directions this Oceanic Sandalwood profile makes possible. It can move from floral, to indolic sweetness, to spicy, resinous, and woody territories — all while remaining tied together by the same creamy oceanic sandalwood backbone.

Green

May 28, 2026 Maher Elkhaldi

Early in my journey, I became curious about the idea of the chypre. Or more accurately, I wondered if I could actually make one I’d want to wear. I went through countless attempts chasing that classic ghost of citrus, green, wood, and moss. Nothing ever felt quite right. Some of my early iterations were literally labeled “Not Chypre” and “Still Not Chypre.” If you’ve been around early in my journey, you might even have a stray sample of those sitting in a drawer somewhere. I wanted something green, peppery, and slightly smoky—masculine, but soft around the edges. A bright citrus opening that doesn’t feel hollow or detached from what follows, and a quiet glimpse of Luban hidden deep within the composition. The “green” here isn’t built on classical mossy accords (although a slight amount of oakmoss was used to maintain some familiarity). What actually builds the infrastructure is armoise, pomelo, petitgrain, eucalyptus, kewra, and khus, with choya, patchouli, seaweed, and oakwood. Trace amounts of castoreum, civet, and musk are used strictly as fixatives—there to texture and bind the composition rather than to announce themselves. While Green leans heavily natural, I also decided to introduce aroma chemicals into the mix. Why? Because certain scent molecules do not exist on their own in nature. Or, if they do exist, they never arrive isolated; they come buried under a host of other naturally occurring molecules that dilute their impact and mute their specific nuances. By utilizing isolated aroma chemicals, I can target those exact, sharp characteristics without the baggage of the rest of the plant's native material pulling the system out of balance. More importantly, it gives room for entirely new interactions to explore. This is not purely a cost consideration—it is an intentional, scent-driven choice. Just like other Genre ideas, this infrastructure works as a perfume on its own. But I want to use this environment to release various iterations with different co-stars—whether single materials or entirely new accords—and let the system and the guests rewrite each other.

My Taxonomy

Apr 27, 2026 Maher Elkhaldi

This is how I organize my work in perfumery as I strive to remain clear about intention, structure, and what each composition is meant to be. My work, so far, moves through three strategies which I refer to as Compositions: Solos, Bases, and Genres, shaped across three ways of making, which I call Signature: Unscripted, Curated, and Co-authored. Signature Unscripted is discovery-led. I work directly with materials without a fixed formula. The composition develops in real time through interaction with the raw materials themselves. Curated is integrity-led. I seek and select only high-quality work from trusted artisans and collectors I have built relationships with over time. Everything is offered exactly as I receive it—unaltered, uncompromised, and in its original form. Co-authored is collaborative. I set the initial direction, then hand it to another perfumer to reinterpret or develop further. Think of it like a kitchen: I make the dough, they take it and shape it into what they see fit. Composition (Architecture) Solos standalone work. No shared base, no continuation, no structural link to other perfumes. Each piece exists fully on its own. Bases came from my curiosity to work from a shared foundation as a point of departure. Instead of starting from scratch every time, I use a common base as a branching structure—allowing me to explore different directions from a single olfactive starting point. It creates a controlled divergence space: one root, many paths. Genres sit between repetition and reinvention. It came from a different need entirely—the request for continuity. People often want a perfume to return, to be “the same again,” but I generally aim not to repeat myself in a literal way. Genres allow me to revisit an idea without freezing it. The core narrative remains recognizable. It is a way to stay in dialogue with an idea without locking it into stasis. Extensibility Orthogonal to Signature and Composition is the idea of Extensibility. This concept evolved from an earlier approach I called X Editions, where “X” represented whatever a customer wanted to add to a blend. Over time, that open-ended flexibility became too loose, and I moved toward a more refined and constrained set of controlled additions. Having worked on a few releases, I realized that certain blends—specific implementations of compositions—can naturally accommodate additional notes, either to amplify an existing profile or to introduce a complementary direction. The goal is not to transform the perfume into something else, but to extend its language without breaking its identity. This idea comes from my research in human-computer interaction and modular systems thinking, where systems are designed as templates for interaction rather than fixed objects. In the same way, these perfumes function as structured frameworks—allowing variation and personal direction while preserving core identity. Intuition This framework reflects how I currently understand my work and how it evolves. Often intuition leads first, and only later reveals its structure—almost as if it is saying: "this is what I meant all along." I am simply putting that into words.

91%

(104)

(9)

(1)

(0)

Where: Everywhere

When: Anytime

Frequency?: Weekly

How accurate was the description in your experience?:

Very different

Spot on

Great for those with chronic FOMO

Very excited!

Where: Personal / home , Small groups / personal space

When: Evening

Frequency?: Occasionally, Rarely / preserving it

Kasturi Treat (Bright)

Maher outdid himself once again, just masterclass in perfumery here. To my surprise this is more so a gourmand perfume then musky-cola-tobacco what I was expecting. It opens with a faint cola note but the body of this perfume consists of nutty-chocolatey-coffee musk, underlying in a bed of tobacco. Also very easy to wear and to reach for.

Where: Everywhere, Personal / home , Small groups / personal space

Frequency?: Rarely / preserving it

Greatest Rose Oud Ever, No Debate

Pink tones, Green Tones, Purple Tones all dancing around in the air, it’s really a joy to experience. Slight sweetness that transforms into a Smokey/Oudy vibe that is simply regal. It feels thick on skin and stays around for hours making your day that much better. SOMS also made me appreciate Qinan Rose more. Just like someone above this review said, “this is the end all be all” when it comes to Rose Ouds. Job well done Maher!!

Where: Everywhere, Social / outings , Work / public

Frequency?: Daily, Weekly

Cute rose

A slight sweet scent with a predominance of the rose accompained by a soft touch of jasmine. A light green shade of tea. Later i mainly perceive the Sylhet oud, wich i find consistent with the profile of the fragrance. In the late drydown, a soft and slightly oud base. Good job

1 2 3

Bases To Genres

Leave a comment

Product title

Let customers speak for us

Related posts