Sables (1985)
by Annick Goutal

I adore several of Annick Goutal's scents (Mandragore being an absolute favorite), but I must agree with foetidus – this is an olfactory assault. So syrupy sweet, I can't detect anything else BUT maple syrup. Who on earth would wear this in public and WHY? Although the sillage is zip, nada, zero, it nonetheless sticks close to the skin for what seems like an eternity. After two days and three showers, it's still lingering on my right wrist. And, because I work at home, it absorbed itself into the melamine of my desk where I lay my right hand while working my mouse. So I keep getting re-infected! UGH! The last time I had this much trouble getting rid of a scent was Gucci EDP. But at least I LIKE that particular frag.

Essentially a maple syrup and immortelle combo, Sables is a unique creation from the '80s that was way ahead of its time. Even now, it still smells relatively contemporary – an achievement in itself. 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. Sables would make a delicious, warm and exotic comfort scent but I feel it lacks the necessary qualities for wearing in public. 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 Moroccan / Indian origins. However, out of the three, I much prefer Chergui.

Sables comes a close second, though…

This perfume has a very similar opening to the "Opone" by Dyptique.
Dry, dark, gothic, overdoses of saffron and then the rose accord is subtitued by a dry soft amber and vanilla accords.
I can detect a litle of licorice and curry, just on the opening. Later is just like "Eau Noire" by Dior. In fact, It could be a brother of this one. There's here too that particular raw, smoky smell of non threated leather, that you can easily detect at the Marrakech Zoco. Moroccan raw leather.
There's a prominent smell of burnt woods, like the smell of a bonfire, and the remaining black logs. There's something that I like about it but I don't know... In my skin still a wispher of curry and dissected laveder?? :)
I'm puzzle, I may have to give it another go!. Anyway. Thumbs up!.
it deserve it!.

Unreal lasting power. Sweet, rough, powerfull and masculine. One of the very few sweet fragrances i like.

9/10

Think maple syrup after you've added suger to it. Sweet, strong and heady but not the least bit cloying. This is one of the most addictive scents I've ever tried and the fact that it lasts a solid 24 hours only makes it more impressive.

Once in a while I get a craving for chicken gizzards. It may come in the middle of the night; it may come in the middle of a meeting with a client. Don't ask me why, but it just comes upon me like some kind of secular Damascus Road experience, and I just CRAVE greasy, gristly, Southern fried gizzards. Then, the rest of the year, I go without and even turn my nose up at the sight of these little gnarled monstrosities.

AG's Sables is (gee, you guessed it) no different for me. Once in a blue moon, I just BOLT for Sables, then I go around in a frenzy all afternoon sniffing my forearms and wondering why I doused myself in this bitter herbal mess. Nevertheless, my curiosity aside, I love Sables, if only for that one day. The rest of the time, I stick it back until the craving comes again, and then I know that I must feed the craving else go mad.

This is some twisted stuff, Sables -- and I love it and hate it and puzzle over it all at once, all the time.