Les Déserts d'Orient - Songe d'un Bois d'Été (2012)
by Guerlain

Start with Shalimar Parfum and make it more abrasive using middle eastern ingredients and you end up with this perfume.

Too far from old Guerlain spirit, but is a very comforting and carefree fragrance in its own right, more in line with Italian niche fragrances.

If I had been blindfolded while testing this scent I never would have guessed it was by Guerlain. Tiny Jasmine and cardamom. The patchouli, cedar, oud, and myrrh are dry - windswept even. Saffron comes and goes. This mellows on my skin after a couple of hours into an Almost mellow sweetness. Guerlain has succeeded in creating a desert scent. I believe this would smell better on a man. Overall -- not bad.

Sharp oud, cedar and patchouli make this a very unpleasant experience for my nose. I get no neroli, no jasmine. There was a very brief Angel-like berry-ness upon first application, but that quickly faded. Now I am left with a piercing smoky wood that for me makes this scent a scrubber.

Stardate 20161013:

I loved this on paper. Thought it was the best one since LVMH acquired them.
And then I put it on my skin.
Not good. The cumin and the oudy note is not well blended. They try to give it a traditional animalic accord but fail. I think cumin is too piercing here.
It does settle down to a decent frag.
I could give it a thumbs up but the price and my expectation after paper sniffing will not let me

Well who would have thought that Guerlain would come out in this day and age with a dirty leathery spicy fragrance done for a gentleman. On first application I get the cumin body odor fragrance mixed in with a leathery woody oud and saffron. The jasmine is used wonderfully to tame the beast so it puurrss and does not growl on your skin.lol

I get the associations with Dior Leather Oud, but this has been created in a more classy way. The scent is very sensual and intimate, the balance between the dark notes is offset well with the floral jasmine.

As time goes by and the spicy cumin note settles down and this scent just gets better and better. It goes into full seduction mode, the oud, leather and floral touched myrrh does smell like you could don suit and become a Lothario for the night.

I would say this fragrance is for the gentleman who wants to attract the ladies. Very well done!