Sira des Indes (2006)
by Jean Patou

I sampled this yesterday and was very surprised...my nose got very little of what the reviews suggested. I immediately detected an underlying sweaty, body odor type smell that I was hoping would go away with the top notes. Alas, it did not, if anything it got worse...which is very strange, because I sampled it on paper. I was able to somewhat enjoy the lovely red berries and pear, but that musky sweaty note just ruined everything for me. It almost smelled like cumin, but worse...

Jan
13
2009

28th March, 2011.

The previous reviewers have done a great job of describing all the aspects of Sira des Indes, so I won't do that. I'll just add that even though I despise most of the fruity/floral offerings in recent perfumery, I actually like this one because it has a little something that separates it from the rest. It's really subtle so the sillage doesn't project much, at least not on me. Most men may find it a little too fruity-floral-feminine, but personally I'd love to catch a whiff of this coming from a guy standing in the hot summer sun. I have the EDP and my only complaint is that it doesn't last long enough. I find myself having to reapply it an hour later.

23rd January, 2011.

I love all of the Patou fragrances and only wish they'd come out with a few more. They use the finest quality Grasse jasmine which smells totally different from other jasmines and I can always pick it out. In Sira des Indes there is also natural red champaca, which smells similar to ylang-ylang, and orange blossom. This adds up to a sweet, nectar laden floral, with a divine natural sandalwood drydown. It rarely gets recommended to people looking for tropical florals, as tuberose is in fashion these days, but this is much more the ticket for me. Bliss. I hope they keep making it and you grumpy guys continue to stay away!

21st February, 2010.

The pink bottle and the blast of synthetic tropical fruit that opens Sira des Indes do not bode well for my enjoyment. After some time the unpromising top notes are tempered by soft champaca and suede-textured woods, then joined by a chorus of smoothly blended culinary spices. The resulting accord is relatively sweet, powdery, and very, very soft in texture – the olfactory equivalent of those cloths used to clean glasses or buff newly polished shoes.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that the chemical “froot” flavor persists in strong enough guise to detect alongside the gentle florals, and the product is – you guessed it – yet another fruity floral fragrance. Woo hoo! Surely the world needs more of these! After all, there’s only so long the scent of your shower gel will endure without reinforcement, right?

More good news: the stuff doesn’t last all that long, so that within two hours all that’s left is a white musk and powdery vanilla drydown. While that’s hardly exciting, it’s a bit of a relief from what has gone before. Oh where is the Patou that brought us Joy, 1000, and Patou pour Homme?

14th December, 2009. (Last Edited: 30th November, 2010.)

Uh-oh, fruity! The opening is quite fruity, but, surprisingly, I’m not as indifferent to it as as with other fruity opening accords. I guess, like most Patou fragrances I’ve tried, this one is done with discretion and elegance. No kidding… I actually sort of LIKE this fruity – floral opening. I did smell the banana at first, and the pear, but they were somehow muted… perhaps the cardamom. I didn’t smell the berries, and I usually love berry notes, so maybe they contributed a lot to my appreciation of the accord. More subtlety and sophistication in the heart: I can’t really identify much in the smooth floral heart accord except the jasmine (I never miss jasmine… my favorite) and milk note. I enjoy how jasmine and milk complement each other: they are both so richly middle tone in vibrational intensity. The middle is floral, I guess… it’s not flowery, and I have difficulty separating out the individual floral notes: It would be a good background for something more interesting taking place in the foreground, but I don’t think it holds up on its own. There is no bass or high vibrational level to balance the neutral middle. The scent has become a little too dull. The base doesn’t change the drabness. It’s a well-made base of good notes and it smells quite natural, but it needs a little more going on in the foreground.

I started out enjoying in spite of the fact that it’s another fruity – floral. The structure of the fragrance is impeccable, but it needs more drama, more counterpoint, more anything. I suppose it is a discreet, well-made, non-offending fragrance for the office, but I don’t see it very much more than that.

14th November, 2009.

If "Guerlain" has a gift for designing scents to suit dusk and sundown, the house of "Patou" excells at capturing the essence of dawn and early morning. Permeating through every Patou potion is a burst of shimmering sunshine---not like the loud, bleaching beams of midday, necessarily, but the quiet freshness of a new day. "Sira des Indes", the last magical inclusion in the house of Patou, wears with the same quiet optimism as "Joy" but where "Joy" develops into nylon-stocking, powdery-musk-smoothness after an initial burst of floral notes, "Sira Des Indes" develops into something richer in texture. The bulgar/wheat protein notes lend an air of rolling beads of honey and oil, while a subtle banana adds tart creaminess. It all actually reminds me quite a bit of Serge Lutens "Douce Amere", with that same fascinating contrast between savory and sweet notes; however, "Douce Amere" has more of a dry "cut" between cured fruits and sweets, while "Sira Des Indes" remains liquid and honeyed throughout drydown. It's intoxicating, highly sensual, carnal...but with a freshness that will never allow it to be described as "dirty" (something of a relief to modern noses; those trained to find disinfectant and surface cleaner to be the smell of "sexy"). I loved how this wore on me, so well, in fact, that it's earned "signature scent" status in my collection. Can't beat Patou!

17th November, 2008.