CZAR
LEAD

2026

PERFUMER
Vincent Ricord
Bertrand Duchaufour

bergamot
mandarin
apple
geranium
cardamom

lavender
iris
jasmine
cedarwood
frankincense

tonka bean
labdanum
patchouli
vetiver
sandalwood

‘There is a particular kind of person who changes the temperature of a room without saying a word. No announcement, no performance, just a steadiness that everyone else begins, almost unconsciously, to orient around. It is notoriously hard to describe, and harder still to bottle. With LEAD, its new Extrait de Parfum, Kuwait’s CZAR Fragrances has set out to do exactly that (…) On skin, LEAD reads as a modern woody fougère with a spiced edge. It opens bright and decisive with bergamot, mandarin and cardamom, lifted by a green flicker of geranium and the crispness of apple. It is the olfactory equivalent of a first, unhesitating step. The heart is where the collaboration shows its hand. Lavender and iris, the classical spine of any great fougère, are set against cedarwood and a thread of frankincense smoke that could only be Duchaufour’s. Jasmine softens the edges without diluting the intent. The base is built to endure: sandalwood, cistus labdanum, patchouli, vetiver and the warm hush of tonka bean, a resinous foundation that stays long after its wearer has left the room. CZAR maps six marks of a leader onto the composition: vision, presence, courage, integrity, balance and legacy. But its own summary is the sharpest. This is a scent that does not follow trends. It sets them.’ – CP Magazine