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Serge Lutens Chergui: A dry wind my *ss

post #1 of 30
12/2/08 at 8:26pm
Thread Starter 
I bought Chergui blind based on the hype here on BN and adoration from other blogs (and therefore, knowing I could easily sell it). This is a cacophony of contrasting notes and god bless is it sweet. Its sweet up there with TF Tobacco Vanille. And there is this annoying "milk" note that makes me ill. It lasts forever but not that you could tell because there is very little sillage. If you like it, I'd like to understand why because I simply don't get it. Off to the selling block this goes.

TNMA
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post #2 of 30
12/2/08 at 8:38pm
Well, I never bought an expensive niche frag, but I have swapped for a lot of samples. Some I like, some are interesting but not really wearable, and others are incredible (meaning I can't understand the thought process behind them; an example is Bois Farine). But even those I like, such as Costume National 21, just seem to sit there and become boring or nauseating after a while (or have terrible longevity, like Safran Troublant). Of course, some have notes I just don't want to deal with. I'm glad I found BN, especially for the reviews and discussion of the "cheapos." If there was just one expensive niche frag that got all the attention, I might have blind bought it. Thankfully, there were so many that I decided to focus mostly on the cheapos (and any niche samples I could get in swaps). I still have trouble believing how good so many cheapos are, especially in terms of wearability.
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post #3 of 30
12/2/08 at 8:44pm
I agree, it's not a dry wind scent. Very sweet indeed. Regardless, it's still a very nice scent. It's very bohemian smelling IMO.
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post #4 of 30
12/2/08 at 9:20pm
It's sweet, but not as sweet (on MY skin) as Tobacco Vanille and it's much more complex also. I get no 'milk' note, thank goodness because I hate lactonic notes in my fragrances. What I get is sugary, suntanned leather. And hay. Lovely stuff.
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post #5 of 30
12/2/08 at 9:24pm
I tried this on Sat @ Barney's in Beverly Hills and I really dug it alot and almost bought a bottle until I had to drag my gf from a $700 handbag purchase. LOL. Very sweet indeed and quite exotic, a winner in my book and I am plan on getting a sample to see if it is bottle worthy.
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post #6 of 30
12/2/08 at 9:27pm
Like many trademark Lutens, Chergui can disintegrate into Marrakech baklava hell if not sprayed properly (only Arabie is the exception..my god that fragrance scares me). I use no more than two sprays of Chergui, sprayed from atleast 3 inches away from my body...this allows the hay and tobacco notes a bit more breathing room, and even brings out the iris; the second half of the act is ofcourse sweet sweet honey musk and amber but by that time I am either ready to refresh or get into a shower.
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post #7 of 30
12/2/08 at 9:33pm
Chergui is one heady heady monster with tremendous amounts of sillage on my skin. I get tons of hay and leather with the tobacco peeking out once in a while, with the leather prominent throughout the progression.

Wonderful stuff, I agree
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post #8 of 30
12/5/08 at 2:18pm
Although I never endorse blind buys, a friend of mine asked me for a recommendation to blind buy a mens fragrance that he could wear at night, for the cooler weather we're experiencing here in S. Fla. I recommended Chergui and when he finally received his bottle this week, he instantly fell in love with it.
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post #9 of 30
12/5/08 at 2:25pm
on my skin it was way too cloying and heady...and i used only 2 light sprays of it... i got over it in time and sold off my bottle to java.
i totally understand where TNMA is coming from on this one...

it's a classic and a one of the best Leather scents out there. but, simply not for me it seems. it's safe to buy a 5 ml decant first to see if you love it enough to buy the 50 ml..coz this is way too potent...and a 5 ml will last a long time.

sometimes i do miss it though. strange. but it's ok. i can live without it too...i better start saving for the mighty MKK...
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post #10 of 30
12/5/08 at 2:29pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bigsly View Post

Well, I never bought an expensive niche frag, but I have swapped for a lot of samples. Some I like, some are interesting but not really wearable, and others are incredible (meaning I can't understand the thought process behind them; an example is Bois Farine). But even those I like, such as Costume National 21, just seem to sit there and become boring or nauseating after a while (or have terrible longevity, like Safran Troublant). Of course, some have notes I just don't want to deal with. I'm glad I found BN, especially for the reviews and discussion of the "cheapos." If there was just one expensive niche frag that got all the attention, I might have blind bought it. Thankfully, there were so many that I decided to focus mostly on the cheapos (and any niche samples I could get in swaps). I still have trouble believing how good so many cheapos are, especially in terms of wearability.

What is your defintion of "cheapo"?
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post #11 of 30
12/5/08 at 2:37pm
most of the Lutens fragrances are too feminine, too cloying, or just too unwearable.

i tried Chergui a few weeks back, and it did NOTHING for me....as have all the other Lutens stuff.....the only one left on my list is Musc Koublai Khan, which have high hopes for----but i'm not holding my breath considering the lack of suitability on me that other Lutens scents have shown.....

I think some Lutens stuff is more an exercise in art than in wearable fragrance. Ambre Sultan is like a masala filled pile of burning leaves----a great scent for EXPRESSION, but a scent i find quite unwearable....i really just don't wanna smell like that! still....it is quite interesting i must say. The audacity of it all....
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post #12 of 30
12/6/08 at 1:22am
Moral of the story: quit buying blind.
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post #13 of 30
12/6/08 at 6:46am
You don't have to "get it" , if you don't like it, you don't like it, simple as that.
A huge majority on BN likes it. I'm surprised you're surprised though.
The reviews on BN about Chergui were very accurate,.. so why buy blind.
It is mentioned several times that it it sweet (helo..it's Lutens) and it has a hay note.(the milky note you refer to?.to me it's a green figgy note.)
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post #14 of 30
12/6/08 at 6:59am
Love your rationale (buying something blind knowing it's desirable from others), so I trust you will have good luck selling it.
I agree that it's quite sweet -and thus a little difficult to wear by me- although not as sweet as TF Tobacco Vanille (which is like a hundred kilos of sugarcane on a square centimeter, despite its excellent richness and depth of tobacco notes). Weirdly, I like both Arabie and El Attarine, which are both quite sweet.

One important comment however: it is NOT lactonic, the "milky" note you decribe is due to fatty esters* and is accounting for the "suntanned" vibe that Mike above gets from it (and which he describes in more sophistication of course than I do here).

(*fatty esters are largely responsible for the suntan smell we pick on various fragrances)
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post #15 of 30
12/6/08 at 10:33am
Thread Starter 
I plan on inserting the sprayer to determine if ZZ's rec works; I've been dabbing it on and perhaps its been too strong.

To clarify, my complaint is not about sweetness; if you look at my wardrobe, I have plenty of sweet scents. I do own Tobacco Vanille, after all.

Its the "chaos" of the scent as if it has multiple personalities all going on at once. Furthermore, the reviews and the responses here reveal a leather note...I get no leather. At all. Nor tobacco. If either of these were clearly defined, I may have a different assessment.

I also find it leans heavily on the feminine side, similar to Fumerie Turque.

As for my milky note, I am now intrigued and I will pay more attention for the suntan vibe or hay.

I have no doubt that this will sell very fast on eBay thanks to all your positive comments!

TNMA
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post #16 of 30
12/6/08 at 10:38am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jenson View Post

on my skin it was way too cloying and heady...and i used only 2 light sprays of it... i got over it in time and sold off my bottle to java.
i totally understand where TNMA is coming from on this one...

it's a classic and a one of the best Leather scents out there. but, simply not for me it seems. it's safe to buy a 5 ml decant first to see if you love it enough to buy the 50 ml..coz this is way too potent...and a 5 ml will last a long time.

sometimes i do miss it though. strange. but it's ok. i can live without it too...i better start saving for the mighty MKK...

I'm with you. This stuff is so cloying on me it gives me a major headache. Arabie, on the other hand, while it has the sweetness of dry fruit, is not at all syrupy or cloying on - it really is dry fruit. Yeah, MKK, that's one brilliant power-stink.
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post #17 of 30
12/6/08 at 10:49am
to me chergui is not sweet at all. i have (and enjoy) Cedre...it can't get sweeter than that...

Helg nailed the note perfectly. Suntan. this one's Suntan extreme. heady milkiness with a leather done so right....

guys, if you didnt like Chergui, give Tauers Vetiver Dance a try. very similar( only a reference, don't crucify me for this) in it's sillage..only difference, it's not cloying....matter of fact..thoroughly enjoyable.
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post #18 of 30
12/6/08 at 11:02am
oh...and another thing---i keep hearing people say Chergui has leather in it.....as far as i see----i see NO leather at all.....i'm starting to think that some people who have less exposure to leather are counting 'other' scents as leather. I guess it is a subjective thing, depending on what sort of 'leathery' smells you are thinking of. But in the classic sense of a leather scent----something like Chergui doesn't qualify at all.
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post #19 of 30
12/6/08 at 11:16am
I can see why people would like Chergui, but it's just not for me. I've actually had a hard time finding SLs that really vibe with me. Something about them is just a bit too 'candied' for my taste, though I can definitely appreciate the artistry. To date the SLs I like are Vetiver Oriental (which I own), Un Bois Vanille (love vanilla), Borneo 1834 (love patchouli), Iris Silver Mist (love iris) and Douce Amere (love absinthe).

I ordered samples of the 'bois' limited editions (Violette, Fruit, Sepia), and was totally disappointed in all three.
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post #20 of 30
12/6/08 at 1:20pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by everso View Post

oh...and another thing---i keep hearing people say Chergui has leather in it.....as far as i see----i see NO leather at all.....i'm starting to think that some people who have less exposure to leather are counting 'other' scents as leather. I guess it is a subjective thing, depending on what sort of 'leathery' smells you are thinking of. But in the classic sense of a leather scent----something like Chergui doesn't qualify at all.

I smell leather in it. Of course it's nothing like Tuscan Leather, Dzing! or Nostalgia and it's not a leather prominent scent on my skin, by any means. But sniffing it (even from the bottle) I get a distinct birch tar leather note, that hits the back of my nose. Sugary leather.
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post #21 of 30
12/6/08 at 1:55pm
I didn't get the dry wind vibe either. More like a sweet perfumed candle blowing in with the breeze...!
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post #22 of 30
12/6/08 at 3:56pm
I don't get leather either. For me it's hay and sweet pipe tobacco. Next to MKK, it's my favorite Lutens creation. Actually, the two layered together is totally amazing. They need to be sprayed and not dabbed as ZZ mentioned.
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post #23 of 30
12/6/08 at 6:38pm
Hm... if what you're all saying is true, I'd better get some spray sample vials... I keep trying to figure out Chergui but no matter how much I mull it over it's not all that fantastic to me! Maybe it is just because I'm dabbing from a vial.
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post #24 of 30
12/6/08 at 7:01pm
Yes, it cannot be classified as a leather scent like in Heeley fine leather or a Knize ten or a Dzing!. but, it does have a rock solid leather note and that along with an amber note acts as an achor to the hay, tobacco with vapors of honey..
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post #25 of 30
12/6/08 at 9:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by bbBD View Post


I ordered samples of the 'bois' limited editions (Violette, Fruit, Sepia), and was totally disappointed in all three.

The only Bois that is really worth having is Feminite du Bois. The others are interesting, but are more like sketches next to the FdB masterpiece.

And Bois du Sepia, all I can say is "WHAT???" It smells like an aquatic oriental mishmash, quite disturbing.
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post #26 of 30
12/6/08 at 9:37pm
Chergui does get plenty of hype here - and I think it deserves some - but "dry"? It's anything but dry.
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post #27 of 30
12/7/08 at 6:18am
I don't get it--it shouldn't exist. I'm the god of taste. My nose is the hype that should prevail.
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post #28 of 30
12/7/08 at 7:54am
Having tried it from a vax sample, I liked it. But again, the lesson is obvious: before buying it ever, I should try it from at least a real sample.
Anyhow, I really love my Fumerie Turque decant and don't find it feminine at all.
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post #29 of 30
12/7/08 at 8:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by killer_vavoom View Post

i don't get it--it shouldn't exist. I'm the god of taste. My nose is the hype that should prevail.

lol!
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post #30 of 30
12/7/08 at 9:14am
Chergui reminds me of thick, raw honey over dry hay. I find it dry, but far too sweet to be a 'dry desert wind.' Andy Tauer's L'air du Desert Marocain and Montale Original Aouds/Oud pur Oriental do a better job of creating a dry desert wind atmosphere.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ruggles View Post

I don't get leather either. For me it's hay and sweet pipe tobacco. Next to MKK, it's my favorite Lutens creation. Actually, the two layered together is totally amazing. They need to be sprayed and not dabbed as ZZ mentioned.

Count me among those who have failed to find a leather presence in Chergui. BTW Layering MKK with Borneo 1834 works very well. It's like chocolate,vanilla, patchouli swirl with camphor and cardamom fighting for dominance with the animal notes.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Asha View Post

And Bois du Sepia, all I can say is "WHAT???" It smells like an aquatic oriental mishmash, quite disturbing.

Un Bois Sepia smells too much like several other fresh and clean woody fragrances on the market. Not very distinctive as compared to others in the Lutens oeuvre.
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