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SL's Borneo 1834 or Arabie or Chergui?

post #1 of 19
12/29/08 at 1:55am
Thread Starter 
I had the pleasure of sampling Borneo and Arabie over the weekend and have found both scents to be exquisite and creative. SL's trademark chaotic opening with over the top spices and sugary sweetness almost put me off SL scents entirely, but perseverance won out and I've grown to like the gourmand-y nature of SL's scents. I haven't had the chance to sample Chergui yet (the SA told me that it will only be in stores next year in the bell jar). Right now, i would like to sample Chergui before making a decision on which one to purchase.

so I wanna ask you all, which scents do you prefer amongst the 3 and why? Thanks for reading!
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post #2 of 19
12/29/08 at 3:29am
Borneo 1834, is IMO, more 'wearable'. The cool, medicinal opening and chocolate middle work well in warm and cool weather - which is important for me here in Miami.

Arabie I like, but I can only wear it a few times a year, or it feels suffocating. Chergui is wonderful, but the sweet hay/tobacco notes tend to make it a cool weather scent for me.

All 3 are wonderful, though.
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post #3 of 19
12/29/08 at 3:57am
I love and have all three, and they are not much alike:
Arabie is smoky and spicy, all heat, dust and dried fruit, but does not turn sweet (at least not on my skin)
Borneo 1834 is a bit like a more sophisticated version of Angel, a beautiful chocolate & patchouli scent
Chergui is "the most Lutensian" of the three: honey, tobacco, leather, incense, amber, musk... the works!

It's best to try all three and then decide (if you can )
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post #4 of 19
12/29/08 at 8:09am
My vote goes to Chergui for all of the reasons Tigrushka mentioned above
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post #5 of 19
12/29/08 at 8:15am
I'd say Borneo, but that's only because I find it to be the least sweet of the three. I'd wear Chergui but I don't like enough to buy it, and I find Arabie too sweet and fruity.
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post #6 of 19
12/29/08 at 9:03am
I'm not of the camp that considers Lutens' fragrances as 'unwearable'.
Each Lutens creation has a very distinct mood and personality. Hence I find Lutens' fragrances wearable -but according to one's present mood and circumstances.
SO my opinion goes to Chergui, as I find it applicable to most situations.
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post #7 of 19
12/29/08 at 9:16am
All three are excellent choices. I prefer Borneo 1834 because of its amazing patchouli. Although decidedly unisex, Borneo 1834 has a very manly, sexy vibe. It is camphorous, earthy and spicy with the perfect amount bittersweet chocolate to augment its edginess. I agree with mikeperez23 in that Bormeo is the easiest of the three to wear in warmer weather.

Acquire samples of all three and test them on your skin a few times to see if you gravitate towards one more than the others.
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post #8 of 19
12/29/08 at 10:36am
I'm in the Chergui camp. Arabie isn't my cup of tea, and although I love Borneo, I find it to be a bit much after a while. Chergui was very difficult for me to love at first, but there was almost an "ahhhh" moment when I finally realized how beatiful it really was.

IMO, Arabie is a mess of spices, Borneo is patchouli & chocolate, but nothing more, and Chergui is a masterpiece of amber, hay, spices, florals, and has an infinite amount of depth and complexity.
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post #9 of 19
12/29/08 at 10:51am
As others have pointed out, these are all excellent choices. But Chergui is my favorite from your three picks as I find it the most versatile. It's a bit of a chameleon that can go very tobacco on certain days and others the tobacco note is no where to be detected. Arabie was my first niche scent and will always be near and dear to my heart, but it can come off as a winter holiday fragrance and therefore, I feel, less versatile. Borneo 1834 is a gourmand, probably the best gourmand ever made, but having chocolate in the base it can be a bit more demanding of one than one always wants.
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post #10 of 19
12/29/08 at 11:00am
Chergui is the most versatile with a decent balance of the trademark Lutens sweetness and some dry hay (although it can turn a bit sweet at times), while Borneo is the most linear, focused and most impressive in displaying a core note (patchouli in this case). I would opt for Borneo because I dont like heavy sugary notes .. i like them in moderation.

Arabie is just wrong .. its an overpowering mishmash of notes lacking any evolution or direction...this syrupy sludge just sits there like a 700pound gorilla at a Dunkin Donuts.
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post #11 of 19
12/29/08 at 6:42pm
Arabie isn't anything special and I didn't like the usage of patchouli in Boreno. I'd go with the Chergui.
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post #12 of 19
12/29/08 at 6:48pm
I personally don't think Chergui or Borneo are anything special or unique - especially for the price they go for. So I would go with Arabie - I love it!
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post #13 of 19
12/29/08 at 7:00pm
Thread Starter 
Hi all! Thanks for all your opinions so far I would like to ask owners of Chergui if the scent comes in a bell jar from wherever you purchased it? Is it a splash bottle or spray? if it is a splash bottle, do you decant the scent into an atomizer?

I tried wearing Arabie on my skin the other day and found that the drydown was very different compared to the paper test. On paper, Arabie smelled almost medicinal and acrid (I noticed that leather notes tend to smell rather strange when its on paper). But when it went on my skin, the drydown was deep, dark and smokey (and mildly sweet too) and smelled nothing like the drydown on paper.
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post #14 of 19
12/29/08 at 7:19pm
Chergui is one of the new exports, so it comes in a rectangular bottle.

Of the 3, my preference is Borneo 1834. I liked Chergui initially, but after wearing it more, I noticed it had a sharp note, probably lavender, that smells like ammonia to me. I am a bit of an unusual case in this regard, but I would still recommend trying Chergui to make sure you like it. Arabie was too clove-heavy for my taste.
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post #15 of 19
12/30/08 at 5:19am
Arabie just plain stinks and is totally unwearable for me.

Chergui - I have sampled many times, but it never said buy me.

Borneo 1834 - Baby, baby you smell so good - I must have a bottle of you.
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post #16 of 19
12/30/08 at 5:59am
I haven't tried the Borneo, but I pick Chergui over Arabie, which is just too spicy for me.
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post #17 of 19
12/30/08 at 6:29am
I think Borneo is the safest. A wonderful patchouli-choc blend, hard to go wrong if you like gourmand notes at all, and this one is so sophisticated. I just bought it and I'm very happy with it.

I think Arabie is wonderful, but I rarely wear it. Love to just smell it though. It is very powerful, though I don't consider it syrupy- it truly captures the scent of dried sweet fruit (dates, figs etc.)

Chergui is one that does not sit well with me. This one feels very sweet, and with the hay and tobacco adds up to nose irritation and headache for me, without even coming across as overly distinctive. I have a similar physiological problem with Fumerie Turque, the smell of which I actually prefer. It's quite popular on BN though.

I still like Ambre Sultan best of all
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post #18 of 19
12/30/08 at 6:42am
Thread Starter 
I tested Borneo on my skin today and the acrid dryness that was pretty evident on paper was totally absent. I got this rich marriage of cocoa and patchouli wafting off my arm and my friends were going, "where's that great smell coming from?"

I'm getting a 20% discount off any scent that I want (courtesy of a friend's aunt) this coming thursday, so I guess I have 2 more days to decide
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post #19 of 19
12/30/08 at 8:58am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ccck View Post

Hi all! Thanks for all your opinions so far I would like to ask owners of Chergui if the scent comes in a bell jar from wherever you purchased it? Is it a splash bottle or spray? if it is a splash bottle, do you decant the scent into an atomizer?

I tried wearing Arabie on my skin the other day and found that the drydown was very different compared to the paper test. On paper, Arabie smelled almost medicinal and acrid (I noticed that leather notes tend to smell rather strange when its on paper). But when it went on my skin, the drydown was deep, dark and smokey (and mildly sweet too) and smelled nothing like the drydown on paper.

I have the export (spray) bottle of Chergui as well...although both bell jar and square bottle are available (ditto for Borneo). Of the bell jars I do own, I decant a bit in a little atomizer to spray on. Some people use a cotton ball or their finger to dab it on.
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