Reviews of Sables (1985)
by Annick Goutal

Wow, first reaction and a stong one at that was of a very good brand of brandy! Really thick, caramelized brandy. Then Sables settles into a wonderful, sweet and woody fragrance with bouts of floral green notes that lasts for hours. Thick and gooey like I'd expect from a Serge Lutens fragrance. This stuff is with you forever! This is good and strong and in your face... but the green notes put me off.

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…