El Attarine (2008)
by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

I visited Paris in the spring and was set of bringing back a bell jar, and this was it. After going to the boutique twice, I ended up with this one.

The top starts off bright, and yes it does have some immprtelle/cumin in it, which gives it an edge. The heart is certainly honeyed, but not sickeningly so such as in Rahat Loukoum and not sweet as in Louve @Off-Scenter. The apricots dominate and as far as I' concerned, are just right in sweetness (in reality and in this composition). The drydown is composed of dusty woody notes that give a nice foundation.

I am very familiar with this line, and while this might be a brighter, woodier, stinky Daim Blond, I love it. I was looking for something distinctive and I got it. MKK seemed cuddly in comparison.

22nd September, 2011.

To my nose, powdery, synthetic, very feminine, fruity, floral, with a make-up accord. Smells decent, but not something I can see myself wearing.

26th January, 2011.

Curry. Unbelievably realistic, unrelenting curry. And then ... bonus! ... cumin!

Now, I really enjoy the cumin in Feminite du Bois and Bois de Violette. But this...I don't want to smell like this.

And, although honey, vanilla, and amber can go a long way towards saving an otherwise unredeemable scent for me, there is just no rescuing this one, no matter how much honey Serge throws at me.

8th July, 2010.

Sorry, but I’m not impressed. Among the last few Serge Lutens offerings have been a few that read like safe, muted variations on the house’s more adventurous scents. There’s Sarrasins, a cautiously watered down approach to the indolic white flowers and camphor theme from Tubéreuse Criminelle; there’s Louve, which is the super-sweet Turkish delight concept of Rahät Loukoum on training wheels; and now there’s El Attarine, which smells like a variant of the idea behind Arabie: fruitcake.

El Attarine is all about potent sweet roses, spices, and dried fruit, in what I consider the typical Serge Lutens manner. It’s both more fruity and more floral than Arabie, but it’s not quite as thick and heavy. It may be more approachable, but it’s also less distinctive. My advice: if you like this sort of thing buy Arabie instead. It’s bigger and gutsier, and you won’t have to fly to Paris to get it.

16th December, 2009.

For the people who hate Arabie and Santal de Mysore, this shouldn`t be nothing but a bad dream to be avoid.

I like it, although it is ridicilously Lutens like without any groundbraking aspects. Very safe, very pleasant fragrance. Has a bold curry/cumin note to create that special controversial edge. Apricotty, honeyed boozy with a gentle and refreshing floral note. Not suprisingly this one is very sweet and rich.

No complaints in the lasting power department, and the sillage must satisfy even the numbest nose.

16th September, 2008.