Liquides Imaginaires Morning Star: Incense Before Sunrise

Liquides Imaginaires Morning Star puts an incense accord right up top, next to bergamot and pink pepper. That’s the detail that caught my attention. The bottle sits in near darkness in the campaign, but a beam of white light comes through at the cap. Put the photograph beside the note list and you get a fairly specific idea of what perfumer Louise Turner is playing with. How bright can you make incense before it starts to feel cold?

The 2026 eau de parfum joins Liquide and Lunatique in the house’s Alchemical Trilogy. For this one, Liquides Imaginaires tells a story about two celestial brothers, associated with dawn and twilight, who come together as a single star. I’m working from the published notes for this first look. The part I most want to smell is the transition from that spiced opening into a heart with a distinctly softer texture.

Liquides Imaginaires Morning Star notes

• Top: Bergamot, pink peppercorn, cinnamon, incense accord and Sclarene.
• Heart: Muguet (lily of the valley) accord, fresh jasmine and a milky note.
• Base: Cedarwood, Georgywood, Akigalawood, patchouli heart, vetiver, tonka bean and musks.

The brand’s European product page highlights cedarwood, patchouli heart and vetiver in its description of the base. Fragrantica’s listing credits Louise Turner and gives the fuller base pyramid. On paper, the bergamot and pepper could sharpen the incense, while cinnamon puts a little warmth beside it. I’d want to see which of those spices has the stronger effect once the citrus starts to fade.

What happens when the milk comes in?

The milky note is the detail that makes me want to keep the blotter. Muguet and fresh jasmine already give the heart a floral direction. The milk raises a question about texture. Does it give those flowers a little body, or does it become prominent enough to make the whole composition feel creamy? With cinnamon earlier and tonka in the base, you can imagine the sweeter route. There’s plenty of dry wood in the pyramid to pull it somewhere else.

I’ve looked at that range before in my piece on milk in perfumery. Here I’d pay particular attention to what happens to the incense when the flowers come through. If it keeps a sharp edge against the milk, that could be the most interesting part of the wear. If it recedes quickly, the story may belong to the woods.

What the blue bottle gets right

The campaign makes the light look almost cold. In the straight-on photograph, the bottle is a deep blue with a flared cap and a narrow patterned band. The box is a brighter blue, which makes the bottle itself look darker. I like that the photographs give the same colour two different moods. It’s a small detail, but it makes more sense of the dawn and twilight story than another paragraph about celestial forces would.

The base is where I’d look for that contrast to carry through. Cedarwood and vetiver could give the drydown a distinct, dry outline. Tonka and musks could round it off. After an hour, I’d want to know whether the incense is still something I can pick out or whether it has changed the way the woods feel and quietly disappeared.

Morning Star price and size

Liquides Imaginaires lists Morning Star at €265 for 100 ml on its European shop. The first spray is the obvious attraction, but the part worth waiting for on skin is the handover. If that cool incense can still make itself felt once the milk and woods have settled, I’ll understand why the campaign chose that particular shade of blue.

One more new release, Linda? We both know how that goes. Explore New Releases