Sables (1985)
by Annick Goutal

I don't know what everyone is talking about - this doesn't smell like maple syrup. It's called "Sables", not "Sirop d'Erable". I smell a heavy, thick amber on the bottom, with a bit of dried fenugreek up top (that's probably the immortelle I'm smelling). Unlike most orientals, Sables is not a sweet scent, but a very rich and exotic scent. A few sprays will last a good 8 to 10 hours, so you can enjoy it all day long. The heavy, rich nature of Sables makes it great to wear in cold weather, but it's also suitable in warm weather because it really does exude the essence of sun-baked sand. If you're looking for a really unique scent and are sick of "sport" fragrances and Cool Water clones, Sables is for you. My only complaint is that sometimes it can be hard to wear - the tail end of its drydown can be a bit harsh in that it has a sharp and very dry wood smell at the very end that can be a little unpleasant. Otherwise, Sables is an excellent men's fragrance. Also would be very suitable for the ladies as well.

Essentially a maple syrup and immortelle combo, Sables is a unique creation from the '80s that was way ahead of its time. I don't find sables as sweet as others have mentioned but, overlooking the degree of sweetness, the immortelle is the key ingredient here – it tones down the sweetness, provides Sables with its unique identity and enables the scent to last on the skin for a ridiculous number of hours.

Its longevity is amazing, period. However, its weak spot lies in the lack of projection as it stays very close to the skin. Maybe this was originally how Sables was intended to be worn. Comparisons have been made to Chergui and Eau Noire, to which I can see certain parallels (more so with Eau Noire’s use of immortelle, spices and vanilla) especially with regards to their exotic origins. However, out of the three, I much prefer Chergui.

[Original submission date: 13 April 2008]

Annick Goutal Sables

In 1985 Annick Goutal wanted to design a masculine scent for her husband cellist Alain Meunier, from that inspiration arose Sables. Perfumery is rife with scents inspired by loved ones and I always find it interesting what a perfumer will choose to pay homage to that loved one. Mme. Goutal made a very interesting choice to center Sables around immortelle, also known as the everlasting flower. Immortelle is one of the most distinctive notes in perfumery as with its distinctive maple syrup and herbal smell it is rarely confused with anything else. Immortelle is also a difficult note to work with because of its strength, a perfumer can't add too much delicacy because it will get overwhelmed and so the choices of other notes have to be bold, as well. Mme Goutal chose three notes to stand up to the immortelle and they are sandalwood, vanilla, and pepper. At the top this is all immortelle as the herbal maple syrupy smell is all-enveloping and very strong. Sables is a scent one has to be very careful about overspraying because I imagine too much of this, particularly at the beginning, would put anyone off of this one. For the first 15 minutes or so immortelle is all you get but slowly but surely the sweet sandalwood starts to moderate the immortelle and in this first phase it realy does help turn down the volume from the beginning. It is when the vanilla starts to interact with the immortelle that Sables becomes special for me as the sweet and dry vanilla takes away the sweeter character of the maple syrup and accentuates the herbal nature. This gets reversed in the base as pepper has the opposite effect and accentuates the sweet while tamping down the herbaceous character. I think Sables is not a safely recommended scent for everyone as the intensity of the immortelle could be a drawback to some. If you are a perfumista who likes intense notes and scents then this is well worth a try.

A sedated Ambre Sultan. You'd say Annick Goutal stole this formula from Serge Lutens. It's bitter, it's herbal, it's medicinal with a leather undertone.

If you like thick, lush orientals in a typical Serge Lutens way, you'll like Annick Goutal's Sables.

Smells like breakfast gone bad. I hate to give bad reviews which aren't intelligent, but I don't feel this deserves any better.

Soo strong! You have the vivid feel of being inside a bacon smoker where someone spilled sugar. Intriguing scent. You could wear that at a book reading or a cigar club, but wait till the first wave calms down.