Arabie (2000)
by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

Dates. Oversweet, sticky dried dates... so loud, so high. Top note is nothing but only and clearly dates that you can almost feel the taste on your teeth. After ten or twenty minutes rises a curry like spice scent. At the base there is amber musk and woods. The sweetness of dates stay there somehow. But at the base notes it can be confused with mapple syrup.
The scent looks like a weird suit designed by a good designer, as an adaptation of the long dresses arabic men wear. you can see it on the stage and congratulate the designer for the creative work but never wear it and never congratulate any friend for wearing it.

One of my favorites, unabashedly foody, with all the sweet, rich, dried fruits you can imagine without the "ick" factor of, say, fruitcake. Exotic and comforting at the same time, soft and round and full...lovely.

When I first ordered a small sample of Arabie, a couple of years ago, I originally disliked it. It was extremely strong, with the composition coming across as both overwhelming and very over the top. However, these qualities soon compelled me to revisit it by dabbing more onto my wrist every so often.

Once I half-finished the sample vial, I ended up giving the rest away – I still wasn’t completely convinced by it. However, I couldn't completely forget about Arabie as time went by. It was only several months later that, while sampling other fragrances in department stores, I suddenly felt compelled to give it another try. And then another. And then another…

Arabie is a real tough cookie and, even by Serge Lutens’ standards, also very ‘off the wall’ (but in a wonderful way). Put simply, it requires more perseverance and patience than most of the challenging niche scents currently on the market. As I already mentioned, it wasn’t easy falling in love with it – in fact it was almost a constant struggle. But now that perseverance has fully paid off, I am finally able to appreciate it for what it is - an extremely potent, tenacious and complex fruity gourmand.

Although some would claim Arabie to be unwearable, I consider it to be just as versatile as any other revered scent once that moment of revelation arrives (if it ever does). Its resinous nature also enables Arabie to be worn effectively well during the warmer months. It may be very sweet but don’t let that fool you into thinking it’s strictly a cold weather scent.

Yes, it does smell like a spicy fruitcake and, yes, its pungent and dark fruitiness does remind me somewhat of Christmas. However, if nothing else, its aroma certainly does conjure up images of North Africa and the Middle East (quite a remarkable feat since there is no oud, whatsoever, in the composition).

Arabie is brash, blatantly unapologetic and totally unconventional. IMO, it’s definitely one of the best creations from this house.

The opening is all Garam Masala-a blast of it. Then in march the chick peas. At this point Serge has almost cooked up one of my favorite Indian dishes in perfume form. Just add tomato and a little jalapeno and you have Chana Masala! Yay! or Nay! Depending on whether you want to smell like a very delicious vegetarian peasant dish or not. I'm a big gourmand fan, but this doesn't suit me at all. Still, as always, lots of points for creativity and fun. Although I can't wear many SLs they are infinitely more fun to sniff than the latest 'Curious' flanker! ( I wish there was a way to rate by different aspects of a scent: creativity, wearability etc....Arabie would definitely get a thumbs up for creativity, a neutral for wearability, etc..)

Aromas of the souk, of the medina — heavy woods and dark dried fruit notes — especially dates — provide the full-bodied, arid, and exotic opening of Arabie. As heavy and deep as the notes are, there is an airiness, a gossamer smokiness, a light crystalline sweetness wrapped around the deep, thick fruit and wood notes. There is an enticingly exotic gourmand complexity here that is further expanded by the middle's abundance of dark and medium spices. I feel that I have been transported back to North Africa: I’m reliving those luscious aromas of the dried fruits and spice offerings on those stifling hot day in the medinas — the heart notes of Arabie capture those aromas perfectly.

In the base, the myrrh, tonka, and labdanum notes that had been wispying around the heavier notes intensify and join the gradually waning gourmand, wood, and spice notes, but the fragrance remains quite linear because of the tenacity of the deep notes. This linearity is always fine with me when the accords are this absorbing.

Arabie is nostalgic and powerful, and I like to spray it on the back of my hand, simply to revel in its aromas and to remind me of North Africa and the Middle East. I also have learned to wear it with enthusiasm. I originally purchased a decant each of Arabie and Ambre Sultan. Ambre Sultan was my number one favorite at the time. When it came time to purchase a full bottle, I bypassed Ambre Sultan and chose Arabie without hesitation: it is the one that, through use, I have grown into.

Unique, unmistakable (a friend of mine wears this sometimes and you can just tell from the other side of the room), cloying and heavy. Feels like someone just doused a plum pudding with even more syrup, thinking it wasn't sweet enough, and decided to shove it under my nose. Just smelling it gives me a toothache. It's something I wouldn't mind having a spoonful with some ice cream for dessert, but do I want to smell like this all day? I think not.