Rahät Loukoum (1998)
by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

I see that this has been labeled as a uni-sex scent. I don't understand that at all. RL is a sweet scent of cherries and marzipan. I bought my bottle at the SL store in Paris, brought it home, tested it and promptly closed it back up. It's sitting on my dresser in the box as a remembrance of my wonderful visit to the City of Lights. Ahhh....in my fantasy, I'm always in Paris.

It's certainly not the best loukoum fragrance out there, unfortunately. For a better alternative, try Keiko Mecheri's Loukhoum or Montale's Sweet Oriental Dream.

[Original submission date: 10 April 2008]

I don't get cherries or almonds, I get white chocolate. Waaaay too sweet on me, and yeah, nothing like Turkish Delight.

I don't care what anyone else says - this smells nothing like Turkish Delight. Maybe Lutens pranked us based on the Arabic translation ([i]rahat al-hulkum[/i], meaning 'contentment of the throat') and made cough syrup instead. This scent never gets past screaming CHERRIES!!! at the top of its lungs, and the cherry shriek sporadically takes on a metallic overtone which is just plain wrong.

Rahät Loukoum is a sweet almond gourmand scent, indicative of, as others have pointed out, the “Turkish Delight” desert treat. I’ve encountered almond scents before that I’ve found way too sweet – sickeningly bubble gum sweet – for instance, Blu Mediterraneo's Mandorlo di Sicilia was just too much sweetness for me. Rahät Loukoum is another story. I find that the almond / amber / rose accord is … perfect. It is very sweet, but somehow in an accord where the sweetness doesn’t become cloying. This sophisticated restraint is important in order for Rahät Loukoum to be considered a serious fragrance. It is, however, quite linear. I don’t really get much of a change of character throughout … just that delicious almond / ambery / vanilla accord staying tenaciously in the foreground. It’s a strong fragrance and one with excellent longevity. I do think it weighs in more on the feminine side than the masculine, and I think it is quite youthful. Rahät Loukoum is beautifully put together and well refined. It’s an enjoyable scent and I love smelling it, but, as far as wearing it… sniffing will probably be the full extent of my relationship with it.

Rahat Loukoum is the Turkish name for the confection known in english as "Turkish Delight". As such this is aptly named.

Like many Lutens, it starts off with a wet blast of mainly one note, in this case almond/marzipan, one of my favourite smells and tastes. It settles in to a very sweet, yet mellow almond turkish delight fragrance, and as time goes by it becomes more "civilized". I can't recognize all the notes, but it really does bring to mind the feel of Turkish delight, the powdered sugar, the nuts mixed in.

A little goes a long way with this one. it is quite strong, and lasts a long time, and thus must be applied discriminately. That works for me given how expensive and rare it is.

Failure to comply with the above warning will result you will smelling like you took a shower in amaretto syrup, and hordes of bees will follow you around all day.

Wonderful!