Fumerie Turque (2003)
by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

I get a strong leather accord in the opening, even before all the smoke. I was told Sheldrake draws inspiration from the places he frequents including a particular Moroccan marketplace; here I can thus picture myself at a stall which sells leather goods. Bitter sweet smoke arrives next as I walk pass a group of men sharing a hookah between them. Then little notes of rose and some unidentified fruits waft in and out of the dense tobacco smoke before honey and amber make their presence felt albeit lightly. Indeed, there are countless stalls in such a large marketplace.

Unlike By Kilian's Back To Black, FUMERIE TURQUE leans closer to the masculine at least for the first hour or two before it softens. It is also more evocative and multi-layered compared to Tom Ford's Tobacco Vanille. Yet I don't find it particularly compelling; maybe I'm just not romanced by the whole 'marketplace-inspired' concept.

This is one of the finest tobacco notes I've ever come across - powder-ish sweet/dry smoke.. almost the feel of being surrounded by a circle of smoke machines all going full blast. Very mysterious and nocturnal feeling without coming off as alarming. Unisex with ever so slightly below average sillage/duration compared to other Lutens fragrances. I find it incredibly impressive.

One of my favourite Serge Lutens. A very unique, dry and smoky masterpiece that is indeed intoxicating. The initial blast is somewhat medicinal but, with just a little patience, its charm soon emerges from its complex notes. Ideal for cooler weather and one of the few SLs that is definitely bottle worthy.

UPDATE:

I'm changing my rating from a thumbs-up to a neutral as, for some strange reason, it fails to last on my skin for more than a couple of hours.

[Original submission date: 10 April 2008]

I once wrote of Fumerie Turque:

“I understand the love that some have of this fragrance, and I understand the detractors, too.

On my skin this went on with a blast of brilliantly rendered tobacco smoke, which settled slightly over the first few minutes to reveal powerful notes of spiced amber and honey, not too far removed, in fact, from this house's Ambre Sultan. Honey underpins Fumerie Turque's heart, but this honey is not so heavy and enveloping as that found in Miel de Bois or Arabie. You're not likely to drown in it.

At about wo hours into its development on my skin, Fumerie Turque loses some of its balance and complexity. Some pleasing notes, including the currants and the rose, recede, and I'm left with honey, cigarette smoke, and amber. The tobacco smoke in Fumerie Turque doesn't seem to me to be as fully blended as in scents like Palais Jamais, Vintage Tabarome, and Habanita. In fact, when Fumerie Turque's smoky accord is in the forefront I smell like...well, like a smoker. As the drydown progresses the smoke and the sweet base notes alternate in dominance, until all that remains is smoke.

If I wanted to smell like a smoker, I would smoke. It's cheaper than wearing Fumerie Turque, if perhaps a bit less healthy. So while I appreciate Fumerie Turque's stature and quality I have no desire to wear it.”

I’ve since (to paraphrase Kubrick) learned to stop worrying and love the smoke. Having fallen successively for Black Tourmaline and Or Black, coming to grips with Fumerie Turque was perhaps inevitable. I'm now happy to wear it whenever I need a dose of olfactory warm and cozy.

Allow me to reiterate the notes in my own review: currants, white honey, candied Turkish rose, Egyptian jasmine, smoked leather, beeswax, Balkan tobacco, Peru balsam, patchouli, tonka bean, styrax, juniper, and vanilla. I had to do that because when I look at those notes it is like reading poetry to me.

I can only describe Fumerie Turque as it occurs to me and what I sense is a very tightly constructed, compact and dense incense fragrance. Not incense as a note of course, but rather, a composition which might yield the perfume used to scent incense meant to be burned. For me the impression of Fumerie Turque is that of an ever so slightly smoked sweet amber mixed with an earthy, leathery, tobacco accord. A beautiful and contemplative fragrance.

Sirupy leather with a dirt ash note.
Disgusting.