NINTH WAVE by Neshama

Niche perfumery has come a long way from being the slightly eccentric alternative to the big fragrance houses. Fragrance has been one of beauty's great success stories, growing by around 8% a year in recent years, and it’s expected to continue growing by about 6% annually into 2030. High-end niche fragrances are expected to be one of the biggest drivers, and it's easy to see why; smaller houses can take risks, use unusual materials and create perfumes that don't have to appeal to everyone. Luca Turin has enthusiastically said, “I think it's terrific – the more the better,” and Neshama's Ninth Wave is a perfect example.

The perfume industry is full of fragrances designed to appeal to as many people as possible, so discovering a company prepared to take a different approach is always refreshing. Neshama has been created as something of a rebellion, putting artistry and natural materials firmly back at the heart of perfumery. Inspired by vintage fragrances, the brand embraces complexity rather than simplicity, using rare florals, balsams and woods to create perfumes with plenty of character. There is also a deliberate element of funk, because the natural world isn't always pretty. For Neshama, that is precisely what makes it beautiful.

Great works of art can inspire perfume in many ways, but sometimes the connection is especially clear. Neshama’s Ninth Wave draws on Ivan Aivazovsky’s celebrated 1850 painting The Ninth Wave, depicting shipwreck survivors clinging to a broken mast as the sun rises. Maritime folklore held that the ninth wave was the largest and most powerful, capable of either destroying survivors or carrying them safely to shore. It is this moment between danger and hope that inspires the fragrance. Ninth Wave is ultimately about resilience: finding calm after the storm, holding onto hope, and standing firm when everything around you is in motion.

Ninth Wave contains two ingredients rarely seen in modern perfumery. For founder Simon Shaer, using real castoreum and civet reflected Neshama’s desire to explore the full palette of perfumery. Castoreum comes from the castor sacs of beavers, while civet is a secretion from glands beneath the tail of the civet cat. Both bring warmth, depth and an animalic quality, giving fragrance something wonderfully alive. Long valued for their fixative properties, they also help other materials linger on the skin. In Ninth Wave, their presence adds texture, character and individuality, creating a truly distinctive perfume.

Ninth Wave is a fragrance that takes its time. It opens with the freshness of bergamot and cedrat, but alongside a sense of the sea. Not the clean, salty freshness of a typical marine fragrance, but something deeper and more elemental. Think wet granite, salt air, dark water and the lingering atmosphere after a storm. There’s an earthiness as well, with nagarmotha and oakmoss giving the fragrance a slightly damp, forest-floor quality. However, the clever addition of black pepper helps to give a lift to the more denser elements. The civet and castoreum then come to the fore, with an animalic leatheriness that links gloriously with the green oud, before the final pairing of cedarwood and sandalwood completes the contrasting sensations of earth and water. Ninth Wave has presence, but never feels heavy or overworked, creating the impression of a landscape where the forest floor meets the sea.

Ninth Wave is available from the Neshama website at neshamaperfume.com and is priced at £65 for 15ml or £145 for 50ml. [Sample provided by Neshama]