Cupbearer at Midnight: Śasva Saaqi by Chris Maurice

The name says it before the bottle does. Śasva Saaqi arrives like a cupbearer at midnight, offering something dark and glimmering that tastes of celebration and secrets. This is Chris Maurice in full storyteller mode, elusive but never vague, intimate yet unapologetically dressed up.

On first spray, I get that tempting sweetness that gourmand lovers chase, but it locks arms with smoke and skin. Think dried fruits soaked in a spiced wine, then threaded with resins and a subtle leather curl. There is a glow, not a blaze, the kind of warmth that lives behind velvet curtains. If you usually shy away from sugar, breathe. The sweetness here is tempered with earth and incense, more satin than syrup.

As it unfolds, Śasva Saaqi takes on a devotional hush that feels almost liturgical. I catch wafts that read like saffron, something ambered, maybe a whisper of cocoa, then a dusting of spice that lingers on the collarbone. The balance is the trick. You get sensuality, you get shadow, you never get a headache.

Longevity is generous, eight hours at least on my skin, with a close, persuasive trail. Sillage sits in that magnetic zone, just outside conversation range. It’s the kind of scent that makes people lean in, not step back. Evening wear fits, but I wore it with a white tee and red lipstick and it felt wickedly right.

There is a wink in the name that teases at ritual and revelry. Call it the The Wine Bearer moment if you like, that flash where the glass tilts and the night changes color. Śasva Saaqi captures that pivot, the second before yes.

If your dresser is crowded with sunlight and laundry musks, this will be the velvet outlier. If you collect incense, ambers, and nocturnal gourmands, prepare to make space. Chris Maurice reminds me why I still test on paper and on pulse points. Paper tells me structure. Skin tells me story. And on skin, Śasva Saaqi speaks in a low voice that I am not done listening to.