Best Ink by Akro Alternatives & Similar Perfumes

Here we consider the relationship between the sea and the art it has inspired.

Crabtree uses his grandfather's pen drawings of luxury yachts, his father's library of nautical fiction and his own tattoos as references. Accord of black ink dominate here; west Indian spiced rum; papers lost and found; the familiar dry accords of leather bound books balanced with warm enigmatic notes of vanilla pipe tobacco. All finely based around a dark heart of birch tar and labdanum.

As featured in Elle Magazine: Masculine Notes: A New Fragrance Trend

The ancient art of tattooing is more than just body decoration; it’s a reminder of a time or a place — a fleeting moment that becomes a permanent mark. Like a tattoo, perfume is a mark left behind, but its evanescence requires less commitment…which is a good excuse to try this beautifully weird perfume. Ink harnesses vetiver, jasmine, birch tar — and ink — to suggest needle-in-skin body art. It’s the smell of office party sex on the Xerox machine, the kiss of a box-fresh blow-up doll.

Calligraphy is China’s living art—each stroke a meditation in ink and paper. The scent evokes the stillness of a scholar’s studio, where technique meets introspection. This quiet ink, paper and coffee fragrance is an homage to the brushstrokes that shaped a civilization.

Comme des Garcons 2 is a landmark perfume in the CdG range, and a revered cult classic. Built around invisible incense, the suggestion of ink, and the gentle euphoria of tea, CdG2 is bright and clear, but with an unexpected tenderness. Incredibly diffusive, this EdP retains its structure and presence while also hanging in the air with a barely-there shimmer.

The drowned monk’s body is bloated, its fat turned to soap in his watery grave. His crime was revealing the apothecary secrets of his order, in a scroll inscribed with the antidotes to poisonings.

This is privileged information that keeps the power with the friary, and he betrayed his vows.

Farmakon is the smell of his sad story: the odor of parchment, ink — and the wax from the flesh of a drowned man.

Black in name, black in nature: black pepper, incense, leather, licorice, birch tar. The effect is tough but comforting — a campfire shot through with sparks of nutmeg, and more than a hint of gasoline-infused motorbike saddle.

Still Life in New York is a perfume built on contrast: cozy and warm notes are set against cool and fresh materials.

The photo for this smellscape was taken by an artist who only shoots cities in the snow. She might be trying to capture that feeling of being snug while it’s snowing heavily outside.

The perfume design is toying with the same idea. Cozy warm notes of saffron, leather, smoky birch tar and vetiver are highlighted by a generous portion of cool clary sage and violet leaf.

The perfume feels like standing by a window in winter to peep at the falling snow and being able to feel both the cold ambiance coming from the glass and the warmth of the house in the background, the fireplace, steaming tea and cashmere blanket.

Perfumer: Jérôme Epinette

Photographer: Vivienne Gucwa

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The Sniff on Flash Back in NY:
"Imagine that you are walking along a city street in the winter. The air is cold, crisp, making your lungs tingle as you breathe it in. You’re wrapped up nice and warm but the end of your nose is cold. Up ahead is a youth in a battered leather jacket smoking a marijuana cigarette and you get a second-hand whiff of it as he exhales a plume of smoke. That’s exactly what this perfume reminded us of."

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Space leather from a planet where green apples grow from metal trees. A dust of musk floats across a landscape of transparent woods and nuclear fallout.

A deep black animalistic composition, with assertive leather notes.
Inspiration - A tribute to a fiery & impetuous horse.

Perfumer : Bertrand Duchaufour (2021)

With natural perfumes colour may and WILL vary from batch to batch.
For example, the current batch of Cuir de Russie is not as dark in colour as the previous run because the tea extract in the new batch is decolorized. This does NOT affect the aroma/effect at all.

A classic vintage chypre by design and by make Anna's Cuir de Russie is smoky, animalic and true to the early 20th century recipe.

The story of this smoky leather perfume style starts with Russian Cossacks' cavalry entering Paris to make sure the French army definetly got back home. Parisians were very much impressed by the Siberian warriors, their uniforms trimmed with beaver fur, the smoky leather of their boots (treated with tar for waterproof effect) and had a bit of an olfactive cultural shock.

French being French, they noted the whole expereince in a perfume style called Cuir de Russie. Coco Chanel later brought this style back into the spotlight to reflect on her affair with a Russian grand duke  Dmitri Pavlovich (Tsar Nicholas II’s cousin).

Starring

(these fragrant materials reanacted the Cuir de Russie story):

 acacia farnesiana essential oil 
lemon essential oil 
bergamot essential oil 
birch tar essential oil 
yuzu essential oil 
galbanum CO2 extract
orange blossom absolute 
jasmin sambac absolute
rose de May absolute 
ylang-ylang absolute 
jasmin auriculatum absolute 
tuberose absolute 
clove absolute 
castoreum tinctura
black tea absolute 
cognac white essential oil 
tabacco absolute 
Vetiver essential oil 
sandalwood CO2 extract
vanilla CO2 extract
artemisia absinthium essential oil 
Vietnamese agarwood essential oil 
oakmoss absolute 
ambrette CO2 extract
patchouli essential oil 
labdanum absolute 
Vanuatu  sandalwood essential oil 

Please note: 15 ml and 10ml EdPs come with a spray and the 4.5 ml perfume comes in a tiny splash bottle. 

Important notice:

Anna Zworykina’s blends are olfactive smellscapes (but neither aromatherapy, nor ‘spray-and-go’ perfumes). Her blends are sensory experiences, closer to works of art created in the scented plane (rather than, say, visual or audio).

Certain essential oils and absolutes that are used in her 100% natural perfumes may potentially cause allergies in some people. Please spray Anna Zworykina’s blends on fabric (on sleeves, scarves, etc.). This said, Anna Zworykina has acquired a huge fan base over many years and people interacted with her blends for quite a while now. We are not aware of any reports of any skin reactions so far.

However, Anna advises that those who are prone to allergic reactions, pregnant and nursing women, as well as people with chronic illnesses to be extra careful. Before trying natural blends, study the list of ingredients and consult with a doctor if you are not sure or a had a history of allergies. If you do decide to put these blends on your skin (unable to resist the temptation) always test the blend on the inside part of your elbow first and wait.

Do not spray these blends liberally as a cloud in the way you would spray a conventional perfume. Anna’s smellscapes need to be… carefully applied and experienced. Be mindful that some oils can also make your skin hyper-sensitive to UV.