Empress Wu started her career as a concubine to an aging emperor. Refusing to be consigned to a Buddhist nunnery upon his death, she soon found her way into the new Emperor’s harem. From there she deposed his wife, the Empress Wang by accusing the Empress of strangling her infant daughter. Although many scholars believe that Wu strangled her daughter herself. Eventually, she would rise to rule the Empire of China in her own right -the first Empress in 4,000 years to do so.

A patron of the arts and literature, it is largely thanks to Wu that the Tao Te Ching still survives. She made it required reading for all imperial university students. Her fragrance has all of the yielding beauty of a concubine with a heart of dark and lustful power.

NOTES: Delicate white peonies, white lotuses, narcotic poppies, and pale pink roses, splinters of black sandalwood, a drop of black patchouli, and golden opium.

Mood: Deadly elegance in a silk robe