Soir d'Orient
by Maître Parfumeur et Gantier

Stunning fragrance, probably one of the best perfumes produced. It smells of leather, amber and the most exquisite aoud I've smelt. It makes the aoud scents by Amouage and Montale smell like Wal-Mart knock-offs.

I try to use only one spray or a drop when I wear it. I did the mistake of liberally spraying it the first time I wore it and it's such a heavy and rich scent it comes off cloying.

It's one of the most opulent scents I've come across. I rarely wear it but when I do, it's for a formal occasion when I'm wearing a tuxedo.

2nd December, 2010.

If you have not found out yet, this fragrance was a limited edition released in two very small exclusive batches; one in the middle east and one in the boutique in Paris. You can say it is a flanker of Ambre Precieux. At least 1 out of 3 reviews I've read about it, and surprisingly it is reviewed a lot for such a hard to find fragrance, people have complained that it's identical to Ambre Precieux after the top notes are gone. As a person who holds Ambre Precieux as his favorite fragrance, and my nose has been familiarized with through several years, I can say that is Not the case.

Soir d'Orient opens with a stunning high quality animalic oud note for the first few minutes, the aoud slowly morphs into a more medicinal oud until it settles into the leathery middle notes about 20 minutes later. The middle of this fragrance is Leather, Leather and more leather. The leather here has a warm, grandparent room vibe to it. A couple of hours later the dry down, which is almost identical to Ambre Precieux, settles; Beautiful Sandalwood, Vanilla, Amber, with several spicy/herbal notes. It also attains Ambre Precieux very soft, creamy feeling. I am sure many people wouldn't understand from reading reviews of Ambre Precieux how it can be creamy, but it is. And all of the Ambre Precieux qualities are present throughout the life of the fragrance, but it definitely does not smell identical to it.

But here comes my complaint about this fragrance;
The top notes: Magical, sexy, addictive, animalic, just as PigeonMurderer described it "Intoxicating". One of the best high quality ouds I have smelt in my life, and I have tried quite a few being a middle eastern.

The middle notes: Soft, animalic leather, old person room vibe (in a good way). It's nice, but here's where the fragrance gets ruined for me, it is pleasant, but not something I see myself wearing, nor do I enjoy it, unless I want to be reminded of my gone grandmother. The leather notes last a good 6 hours.

The Basenotes: Ambre Precieux with traces of the leather.

This fragrance would be the perfect perfume for me, my holy grail if you may, if the oud notes were more prominent, And if the leather was toned down or completely gone. But for now, I'll search for a similar Aoud and layer it with Ambre Precieux, as hard as that may be. I can only hope MPG will create a strong oud fragrance, instead of this 10 minutes teaser.

As much as I was frustrated with this experience, this is still an all around good fragrance, final rating of: 8/10

If you find a bottle of this fragrance, grab it. It's not for everyone, but it's still too good to have been as limited.

17th October, 2010.

This is Ambre Précieux with well aged, animalic oud. The first impression is very leathery and animalic oud with sweet amber and vanillic base in the distance.
In my experence the oud is very much engaged to the top notes, and while that starts to settle down and perhaps even fade away, for the one it is very easy to detect that this fragrance indeed was composed from the Ambre Precieux.

While the oud lasts, this smells truly wonderful, it`s unique and quite much intoxicating too. Hot, leathery and animalic.

But when that "scam" is reveiling, when the AP is coming to play, then you could see my smile getting freezed, and finally; nothing but the tears are real.

14th September, 2008.

I got a sample of this about a year ago, just revisited it, and fell in love. The oud is up front, rising from the skin like a bitter, smoky drug. Amber and leather quickly emerge, and then the notes melt together into a mysterious, narcotic vapor. There is an underlying but understated sweetness that may be vanilla, or just further development of the amber. Although it bears a passing resemblance to other ambery scents, this one stands out as deeper, more sophisicated, and in the end just lovelier. I began a mad search for it online, only to discover that it was a limited-edition fragrance that has been discontinued. How I wish I'd bought a bottle (or three) when I had the chance! I always seem to fall for the unattainable ones. How sad to discover my HG scent after it has vanished from the earth.

28th August, 2008.

A sweet 'n heavy Oriental number that breaks absolutely no new ground, even within the MPG's own line of scents. I don't get any aoud here (at least, none of the heady Montale type), but there's lots of amber and vanilla plus some spices and maybe a dash of sandalwood. Been there, done that...

22nd December, 2006.

A surreal, almost magical scent. No other scent I can think of is more deserving of the word intoxicating. The oud smacks you in the nose the minute this touches your skin. Exotic, medicinal, and pungent, and, as some have said of it, both “high” and “low,” oud seems to add a wet earthy woodsy quality to a scent that both envelops and supports the other notes. Of all the oud scents I have tried - quite a few when you count the Montales - this is by far my favorite. It is masterfully blended. Within 15-20 minutes the oud has melded into the overall scent, adding an exotic air of mystique. The rest of the scent is equally dark, compelling, and mysterious. Amber, leather, and some herbal notes, maybe some vanilla as well...imagine Ambre Precieux crossed with Lonestar Memories – and of course add a dash of oud – and you'd be on the right track. Darker and more leathery than Ambre Precieux, smoother, classier, more refined, and not as earthy or dirty as Lonestar Memories, Soir d'Orient has a wonderful, intoxicating, head-spinning effect. And with notes like oud, amber, leather, and vanilla it of course lasts a very long time. I only wish it were more readily available...

13rd September, 2006.