Reviews of Ténéré (1988)
by Paco Rabanne

A more hallucinigenic version of Aramis 900 with trips along the way into note varieties that rival Halston Z-14 (especially appearing more distinctly)...an oasis floral mirage in the middle...somehow amazingly grounded with traditional note references yet somehow unexpected...in the drydown. Too much Wowfactor to survive, apparently, and I can't say "They don't make them like that anymore" since they seldom ever did...to the extent that you get suprised in the ride by notes like leather and patchouli in the drydown and this gets seldom said...

I agree 100% with JaimeB's review. I too truly enjoyed this fragrance because it was so unique and very pleasant to the senses. No matter where I would be people of all ages would comment on how nice I smelled. Sad that it was discontinued because this was a true "fragrance masterpiece". Very unusual but in a nice way. Paco Rabanne should have discontinued XS for Men (which to me is horrible) instead of Tenere. Sometimes companies make mistakes they "perhaps" realize later on. In my mind I can still smell this wonderful fragrance and I really wish I could buy it again !!

I purchased this fragrance blindly after reading the reviews on this page, and I have to admit that I absolutely adore it!

Applied to my skin, the most prominent notes seem to be honey, rose and leather, with the other scents remaining in the background but adding to the overall effect.
It's an absolute delicious fragrance, and even though floral notes usually are more connected to female perfumes, this one manages to be a 'manly' one, methinks.
I detect a certain kind of solitude and loneliness within its composition: it somehow feels as if the setting sun on a melancholic evening has been condensed into a bottle of liquid.

IMHO it is a shame that this fragrance has been discontinued!

Ténéré was one of those odd birds: a green floral scent marketed to men. Like the Carolina parakeet and the passenger pigeon, Ténéré is long extinct. For a sense of just how fragile such a species is, consider that even in the more forgiving niche fragrance environment Ténéré’s close cousin Virgilio was discontinued. Under the commercial pressure of the mass market, Ténéré never had a chance.

In character, Ténéré stands somewhere between Virgilio and the reissued Givenchy Insensé. It’s darker, sweeter, and more overtly floral than the former, but more green and astringent than the latter. Ténéré starts out with an original and intoxicating accord of galbanum and bergamot before it settles into its bittersweet heart. Dry floral note, crisp herbs, and dusty aromatics are set against a honeyed background in a manner that’s at once ideally balanced and fraught with tension. The animalic honey and indolic jasmine components in the central accord add much appreciated warmth to what could otherwise have been an overly cold and aloof scent. Some may find these notes disturbingly “urinous” in combination, but to me they read as animal comfort.

The drydown, when it arrives, is sweet, spicy, and balsamic in a surprisingly oriental vein. This transformation is itself enough to make Ténéré interesting, but that it occurs within a scent of rare and idiosyncratic character makes Ténéré’s demise all the more regrettable.

Initial blast is reminiscent of the Leonards ( Homme & Monsieur) to me. Not exactly like them, but enough to jog my memory of the blast I receive from them both . That's what I get the first 2-3 minutes and I'm grateful the lavender subsides some.

This is gritty and green and winds into a stream of licorice tinged florals. The rose weaves in and out and the licorice(anise & tarragon) aroma keeps the beat. Once the basenotes appear, that's when I like this juice. Before this point, it's a bit busy for me, but not bad. To my nose it's a tad convoluted, but well done considering all the ingredients.

Not something I'd wear on a regular basis, but definitely something I like visiting with.

If you gentlemen have not tried La Nuit, the sister fragrance to Tenere, you must. Released by Rabanne 3 years earlier, in 1985, it was as trendsetting for its animalic-rose-leather as Tenere is for its unabashedly floral heart. They are masculine and feminine mirror images of each other, but neither too far down the end of the spectrum. I wear both La Nuit, dark for a woman's frag, and Tenere, warm and floral for a masculine, and enjoy them equally.

A sand desert in the Sahara (an erg, or 'sea of dunes') stretching from NE Niger into W Chad lends an unlikely name to a mostly floral scent by Paco Rabanne from 1988. Citrus, cassia bark, lavender. rosemary, and other green notes lead off into a heart of florals (carnation, jasmine, lily of the valley, and iris) and green and sweet spicy notes (anise, artemisia, tarragon, and cinnamon) on an amber-leather base (amber, cedar, leather, musk, patchouli, and vetiver). The overall impression is not only green-floral, but also warm and spicy with a touch of animal sweetness. (Oh, didn't I mention honey?) This is a scent that has cruelly been discontinued. I guess at some point, someone decided that guys didn't want to smell so flowery. Hah! What did they know? This is unique, beautiful, even daring — a creation for men not ashamed to be noticed and admired, even for a certain flamboyant style.

Has a spicy, civet (actually, in this case: florals) note in it that can be equated to Kouros. For comparative purposes, this is deeper and sweeter. There's more honey in this and a hint of orange. Yeah now it smells a lot like Orange Spice. Gives off a warm, confident scent. Another gem gone the way of the dodo.

I have tried Ténéré several times and found it to be different and intriguing. I took some time to ponder, as it has a unique character. The opening is a bit cluttered and dense. Eventually honey and rose emerge as prominent notes. I detect a tinge of tarragon. Leather is in the background, but emerges later on as more pronounced. There is a lot of complexity at all stages, but the latter stages have less clutter than in the opening: I prefer the heart and base. Since no one has listed the notes, I provide them here:

TOP NOTES: Bergamot, Cassia, Grapefruit, Green Note, Lavender, Lemon, Rosemary
HEART NOTES: Anise, Artemisia, Carnation, Cinnamon, Honey, Jasmin, Lily of the Valley, Orris, Rose, Tarragon
BASE NOTES: Amber, Cedar, Leather, Musk, Patchouli, Vetiver

Ténéré is no longer in production and that is regrettable, as it is a decent scent. Good sillage and longevity.

A bold floral among the muskier, more oakmoss and sandalwood drenched Eighties power frags. One of the best uses of rose in any men's fragrance to date, and certainly for the price.

Bright at first without becoming cloying; darker later without becoming brooding.

A very green / herbal opening — smooth and rich and dirty — moving quickly into a smoother and richer heart jam packed full of luscious rich notes, the leather and amber from the base are apparent to me from the very beginning. The heart notes are spicy / herbal / floral / and honey, while the leather continues its smoothness. The alliance of leather, amber, and honey plays a big part in the intrigue of Ténéré — such a strong, captivating effect. Amid this accord I found the loose end of the urine note the others talked about. I’ve met it before in Kouros, and I believe the urine note is simply an interpretation of the honey / jasmine accord. I certainly do not want to deny the power of the florals of the middle: they contribute a major character to the fragrance, and they keep the complexity and the edginess of the fragrance under control and hold the fragrance together by establishing an unshakeable base. The drydown is to die for — it is one of those ‘80s dry downs rich in amber, leather, wood, musk, patchouli, and vetiver. Ténéré is an excellent fragrance — perhaps too intense to be popular today — but it certainly is the kind of fragrance I admire and love.

I owned this once. Then I had a Dutch girlfrend and as soon as I saw the advertiement of this perfume on a dutch magazine I asked her to buy it for me because at that time they didn't have it in Turkey yet. It wasa very strange scent for 80's. I did not smell like an 80's smell. I guess YSL Kourus has changed the tendency and that is why Tenere was different. I had the feeling that it was a fresher PR classic with overwelming honey scent. My father used to put honey in his tea in place of sugar. Opening of the scent reminded me the this honey tes melange but more fresh like a minty tea, but 15 or 30 minutes later it was setteled down and found it's character. There were two things that I was affarid: people would think like I smell like honey and I would have a lot of flies and bees flying around me. But non of these were happened. Most of the time friends were asing what fragrance I was using, because it was much more different than the fragrances of then. Pity that I can not find it anymore. :-(

O.m.g. I thought this one was discontinued. Years ago I changed to Obsession, because somebody told my they stopped making this.
I remember a deep warm scent, associated with South European, Mediterranian countries. Sahara? Well okay...

An unusual spicy, smokey-floral scent with a unique character.
The original Paco Rabanne's signature base note is quite recognizable, but apparently Tenere was not satisfied with that.
Rather than to remain within the confines of its European heritage, it decided to head towards the African desert in order to mold the rest of its rebellious personality.
The aged-rose note gives it a barn-like smell which is slightly repulsive, yet strongly attractive at the same time.
While the top notes come-on fresh, it doesn't take long before Tenere shows its dark, introverted character.
Very unique. They don't make them like this anymore.

Bold floral, this Tenere. To this nose, it is a scent of flowers that have just died and are beginning to decay, burnished with some honey for balance. Most definitely an acquired taste, it is a cologne that you continually return to once you have gotten your nose around it. Similar in some ways to Givenchy's Insense, Tenere is much better constructed in my book. Best in early autumn and late spring.

it has some similarities to original paco rabanne and to kouros by ysl. It is a good cologne and I do recommend it. Suits a cooler climate better, since it is a warm cologne.

Unique scent! Floral with some honey and "a Paco Rabanne accord" I guess (top and base remind me of Paco Rabanne pour Homme). Starting with flower freshness. Lots of flower and honey notes in the heart but I wouldn't go so far to call this scent sweet. It is harmonious. Every note appear in right time and right on its place. It's nothing like "light scent". It’s not a "wind" but an "atmosphere". Not overpowering deep oriental but a floral oriental with light freshness. Don't know about a desert in this scent. I've never been to Sahara. Definitely not popular (huh! a man decorated with flowers; not dead and indifferent, but one that's alive). And not “too much spoken about”. Lasts very long on my skin. For the age of 30+. Good one to be a signature scent.