The Merchant of Venice — Eternal Sunrise
Essence
Eternal Sunrise (2025) is an Eau de Parfum Concentree from The Merchant of Venice (the Italian house run by Mavive), composed by Gael Montero and developed with Givaudan. It is a Harrods-exclusive entry in the brand’s “Progetti Speciali” (Special Projects) collection and a thematic companion to the brand’s hit Queen of the Night - both are luxury “Ancient Egypt” incense-resin fragrances built around a reimagined Kyphi accord (Kyphi being the legendary Egyptian temple incense of resins, spices, herbs and honey). It’s a sweet-resinous, smoky-incense oriental that wearers quickly identified as smelling strikingly like YSL Le Vestiaire “Babycat.”
Scent Profile
Catalog: frankincense/saffron (+Kyphi) top, akigalawood/papyrus/cypriol (+Ambrofix) heart, tonka/styrax/labdanum (+cistus) base. The opening is a smoky, balsamic, incense-forward Kyphi-and-olibanum accord with saffron in a supporting, slightly dry/powdery role (reviewers say saffron “lingers in the background, only hinted at”). The heart is earthy and dry-woody: papyrus/cypriol (nagarmotha) plus the peppery-woody spiciness of Akigalawood and the radiant amber of Ambrofix. The base is the crowd-pleaser - warm, creamy tonka bean with resinous styrax, labdanum and cistus, giving a sweet, smooth, ambery-resinous finish (“an Egyptian palace surrounded by incense and tonka”). Overall it’s a sweet-resinous incense that reads “like an incense blend you’d actually light, in perfume form,” with a slightly dusty/museum-like, historical character. Signature accord: creamy saffron-tonka-cistus over smoky incense. Note: the house’s official material lists Cistus in the base rather than the catalog’s labdanum, though labdanum is cistus-derived, so these describe the same resinous facet.
Performance
Reliable/wearers performance signal is genuinely conflicting and worth flagging. Several wearers report poor longevity - “barely lasted 2 hours… no projection either,” a serious complaint at the ~€350-440 price. Others report the opposite - “longevity is pretty good,” and a Harrods tester wrote on wearers: “Just tried at Harrods… crank down the suede and up the sweetness of YSL Babycat and this is what you get. Longevity around 6-8 hours.” wearers is more flattering, classifying longevity as “above-average” (Scent ~8.5, Longevity ~8.4, Sillage ~7.9 across ~45-available responses) and one reviewer joked the scent “doesn’t go away - it stays, drinks tea with you.” Net read: sillage is generally moderate/intimate (it “stays close to itself and does not actively seek attention”), and longevity is highly skin-dependent, ranging from a disappointing ~2 hours to a solid 6-8+. Apply generously and test before committing given the price.
Wearing Context
A cooler-weather, evening, special-occasion scent - sweet, resinous, smoky and opulent, best for fall/winter and intimate or dressy settings. Reviewers frame it as “more of an experience for the nose than a daily companion” and something to wear “rarely,” even an “opera night” scent. Fully unisex, though one reviewer read it as leaning slightly feminine and another slightly masculine - i.e., genuinely ambiguous. It would feel heavy/out of place in heat or casual daytime, and its incense-dusty character is “challenging to wear” for some. Social perception: niche, artistic, “high quality,” collector-oriented.
Comparisons & DNA
The dominant comparison, repeated across multiple sources, is YSL Le Vestiaire des Parfums Babycat: a London tester’s much-quoted line is “crank down the suede and up the sweetness of YSL Babycat and this is what you get,” and wearers blogger Mikayla concurred it is “‘very inspired’ by YSL Babycat… slightly less suede and a bit more sweetness,” concluding it’s “more of a collector item than anything else.” The second key reference is the brand’s own Queen of the Night (2023, also Montero, also Kyphi/Egypt-themed) - reviewers call Eternal Sunrise a “Queen of the Night Light,” sharing the “creamy saffron-tonka-cistus base” but more understated. This whole cluster (Babycat, Queen of the Night, MFK-adjacent saffron-tonka scents) shares the saffron-incense-tonka “ambery oriental” DNA. Delta vs. Babycat: less suede, sweeter; vs. Queen of the Night: less vanilla/feminine, drier, more understated, with more papyrus/Akigalawood. No cheaper clone of Eternal Sunrise itself exists; Queen of the Night and Babycat are the reference points.
Reception
Early reception (2025) is limited but leans positive-with-caveats. Praise: stunning, “spectacular” Tutankhamun-inspired bottle; high-quality, well-blended, evocative “ancient Egypt” incense-tonka; smooth and addictive. Criticisms: (1) the persistent “it’s just Babycat / Queen of the Night again” derivativeness charge, which de-hypes it for those who own either; (2) polarizing longevity reports; (3) the Harrods-exclusive 100ml-only pricing puts it “well out of [most enthusiasts’] price range.” Polarization axes: bottle/collectibility vs. value; “beautiful smell” vs. “smelled it before.” Blind-buy verdict: not advised at this price without sampling - especially if you already own Babycat or Queen of the Night.
Versions & Reformulation
A 2025 release sold as a 100ml Eau de Parfum Concentree; no flankers or reformulations. It is the second installment in the brand’s Egypt-themed Progetti Speciali arc following Queen of the Night.
Acquisition Notes
Top luxury tier and a Harrods exclusive (wearers notes “created exclusively for Harrods”). Pricing is steep and region-variable: Harrods UK/EU listings show roughly €440 for 100ml, with Harrods US having listed it around $710 and later ~$445 (pricing has shifted), and grey-market/Maxaroma listings around $420; wearers cite a ~€350 in-store experience. Sold only in 100ml. Authentic channels: Harrods and The Merchant of Venice directly; decants/samples (Scent Split, Scents Angel, Small Aromas) are the sensible way to test given price and exclusivity. No counterfeit-prevalence or batch-code guidance found in reliable sources.
Notable Facts & Lore
- Eternal Sunrise is an explicit homage to Ancient Egyptian perfumery and the sacred incense Kyphi, conceived as a companion to Queen of the Night.
- The bottle is the headline artifact: its design echoes the breastplate of Pharaoh Tutankhamun, centered on the winged scarab Khepri (Kheperer), the Egyptian emblem of rebirth and the rising sun - the scarab motif repeats on the neck pendant and the gold presentation box.
- The “eternal sunrise” conceit evokes “a golden sun ascending over the Nile.” The house publicly credits Gael Montero (with Givaudan); note one wearer news write-up attributed the composition to perfumer Alessandro Olmo, conflicting with the Montero attribution on the brand/wearer reports - treat Montero as the primary credited perfumer.