Timbuktu (2004)
by L'Artisan Parfumeur

I wish I could love this, I really do. I love the notes on paper, the idea behind it, the fact that it's based on the Wusulan perfume ritual of Mali--well, who knows if that's really true, but hey, they get points for weaving an intriguing narrative, and people pay good money just for stories, you know!

The problem is a single offending agent that ruins the whole composition for me, and which I assume must be the karo karounde because it smells like nothing else I've ever smelled before. Unfortunately, it's also the very heart of the composition. It's a shame, because I can faintly imagine what the fragrance might be like without it, and I think I would love that fragrance.

Too dry and much too like Terre d'Hermes to me (which I don't like but is "wetter"). Earthy and clingy like a boring girlfriend who won't let go. I have to say, it's a good scent, but I'd just can't wear it the patchouli turns me off.

This review is under revision.

Mysteriously floral and resinous at the same time, this combines the African karo karounde flower with frankincense and myrrh;it supports these with earthy vetiver and patchouli and crowns it all with spicy pink pepper and green notes of mango and papyrus.Unexpected combinations reveal Bertrand Duchaufour's art. This is an uplifting and cheerfully mellow scent, great to wear when you want to feel good.

Oh dear. I can't remember a packaged fragrance that has turned my stomach the way this one did. No kidding, I really thought I'd heave right there in the fragrance shop. I might have liked the smell better than Timbuktu, too.

To make matters worse, there was no opportunity to scrub it off before I had to appear at a business meeting. I spent the whole meeting wishing I could fart to cover up the scent.

The development? Well it got a little less pungent, and a bit sweeter, but not enough to make it wearable on me. Good sillage (heaven help me,) and lots of lasting power.

I'm going to assume it's my skin that is the problem, and not the scent itself. In any case, my idea of olfactory hell is being dipped in this stuff and then hung out to dry.

Just as in L'Artisans' Mandarine Tout Simplement, Timbuktu makes great use of my most favorite spice note - cardamom! I absolutely adore it, and am very pleased to find it so prominently displayed. Timbuktu is really a masterpiece fragrance. I say that because of all the vivid imagery it creates for each individual, including this wide array of perceptions...

'...Irish Spring soap'
'...angular beauty'
'...a fave L'Artisan'
'...sophisticated drydown'
'...Arabian bazaar'
'...fart to cover it up'

...and a few reviewers changing their minds about this frag after spending more time wearing it. For me, it is more of a masculine scent. A clean incense with perfect pitch! Put this one on your list of fragrances to try - definitely!