‘Imagine an elegant woman wearing furs and smoking a cigarette on a terrace of one of the Seven Sisters, Moscow’s iconic skyscrapers, in the 1980s. There’s a glitzy private party going on behind her back, under the stucco ceilings, but she’s on her own, listening in to the night and the quiet hissing of champagne in her glass; this latter note, icy and sparkling and fruity, is what the ashy, smoky tuberose of Empire T starts with. Working with Nose Republic means being able to use the finest ingredients, so let me tell you one secret of this champagne accord: it opens on a bright yet earthy, spicy yet musky ambrette seed extract.” — Stéphanie Bakouche