Nahéma (1979)
by Guerlain

Guerlain NAHEMA is a truly unique creation. It actually reminds me of chewing on crayons for some reason. Not that I've ever chewed on crayons, but the texture feels the same to me as I imagine it would feel to chew on crayons. What is odd, however, is that instead of being put off by the slightly soft crayon wax, I actually love it!

In spite of all that has been written about the lack of any true rose in this composition, I myself do smell a dark red, very rich rose quality here. True, it is nothing like the rose notes of typical rose perfumes--whether soliflores or fruity florals. And I also prefer the quality of the rose note here to that of rose geranium, which often accompanies or substitutes for rose. What marks NAHEMA as distinct is that this "rose" is coated with wax: these "petals" are dense and thick and waiting to be shaved--or chewed.

Is NAHEMA the queen of all rose perfumes? I think that to make such a claim is to do a great disservice to this sui generis perfume, as it exhausts its own genre. It doesn't really make sense to compare this to anything else. It is what it is, and it's not what it's not. One thing is clear: it's definitely nothing like any other perfume known to me.

Twolf, thank you so much for introducing me to this beauty!

13rd October, 2011.

Is Nahéma still (again) available in South Africa? I have not seen advertisements in decades, literally, and was told some 20 - 25 yrs ago that it was not on the market any more. Tragically.
When I tried it the first time, I got the impression of earth, raw earthy soil with earthen leaves in late autumn. I was thrilled by the unspoiled wood-and- leaves-in-rainwet-soil- sensation of that fragrance. And then came the roses, as soft as dew, lasting forever, nearly.
Nahéma was my wedding perfume, and I would always be a bride while wearing that.

30th May, 2011.

I'm just not a Guerlain fan. I have tried and tried to appreciate some of their classics and even some of the newer ones like Insolence. But the only one I truly love is Nahema. It's rose and . . . wheat germ! I do get the geranium, wood, vanilla, peach, and rose, as "bearinheart" said in one review. And the drydown has more sandalwood coming out. It's just yummy to me, and I didn't have to try hard to love it. I like fragrances that don't make me work too hard to appreciate them. No patchouli in this one. And that helps me like it as well.

12nd February, 2011.

(Review Edp)

The smell itself is overly sweet for my taste. I get Peach and a Green-lemony edge, it's strong at the beginning, but it became increasingly a fruity Green-rose more soft and pleasant as time progresses.

I feel a little disappointed, because i love Guerlain, and have big expectations about this fragrance, but nahema doesn't convince me. One of the less complex Guerlain i tried..

26th January, 2011.

Nahema smells like rose the way Paco Rabanne’s Metal smells like green flowers, which is to say scarcely at all. I know it’s hardly a secret that Nahema is a virtual rose, an implied rose. I see the parts, but I don’t see the rose. Not a complaint, mind you. I love Nahema. I see it as the spiritual predecessor to Gucci Rush. It’s Rush’s disco auntie.

I know that Nahema took advantage of new-at-the-time aromachemicals that were used elsewhere to amplify and extend actual rose. Here these chemicals are used to create a perfume of crystalline flowery fruit with balsams and wood. Actually this smells like a peachy iris on a base of Guerlain’s earlier stunner Chamade. The heartnotes are like Chamade’s, but stoned and giggling.

In the long run, the rather chemical nature of Nahema allows the fragrance to be focused on abstract qualities. Nahema isn’t floral. It’s glassy and shimmering, and its upper register is about an inch from shrill. These qualities give it it excitement and vibrance. Does it simulate a rose? Not to me. Is it a blast to wear? Every single time.

11th December, 2010. (Last Edited: 26th February, 2011.)

t seems that Nahéma elicits a wide range of responses among the previous reviewers, and that strikes me as typical of many Guerlain fragrances. There are some Guerlains I've worn for most of my life--then there are those that I've tried and tried again because I find it difficult to give up on a Guerlain I didn't like first time around. Some, like Vol de Nuit, eventually grew on me. But we all know by now that a Guerlain fragrance picks its wearer, not vice-versa. I've tried to make Nahéma love me, but apparently she's unwilling to go there.

The worst part of the experience is the first five to ten minutes with that knock-you-off-your-feet aldehydic slap. (Indeed, I experienced this fragrance as a floral aldehyde rather than a floral oriental, as the aldehyde and rose notes completely obscure the woods and spices for me.) On me, the aldehydes stayed around a lot longer than they do with other perfumes and, quite frankly, wore out their welcome.

I hoped it would get better, but when the drydown actually began (between ten and fifteen minutes in various tests), I was left with an old-fashioned bitter rose fragrance redolent of my childhood--even though I can't associate any particular individual with it. Rather, it's a certain vibe from decades ago, more of an ambiance than anything else. There's something about it that just shouts "I'm wearing perfume!" in a unsubtle way. It's difficult to define, but I'd call say it has a 1960s-style haughtiness (as opposed to the far less serious "swinging 60s" youth vibe of, say, Yardley Oh! de London). I find the same characteristic in Guy Laroche Fidji, Robert Piguet Bandit, and Yves Saint Laurent Y, for example--a sort of glamorous coldness.

It pains me to say it, but to me Nahéma is church-lady-ish. In effect, its murky blend of bitter florals (with rose leading the pack) combined with the aldehyde reminds me of many of the Estee Lauder fragrances that tell the world: "I'm respectable, I have money, and I'm utterly repressed and not enjoying myself." But I expect a Guerlain fragrance to smell a whole lot more exciting and interesting than an Estee Lauder one.

That being said, Nahéma might be the sexiest thing on earth on someone else--and that someone is more than welcome to it.

2nd September, 2010.