Annick Goutal - Les Orientalistes

Trufflehunter, I really enjoy them, I have all 4 and they are full-bottle worthy for me. Musc Nomade is probably the lightest among the 4. I'll let those who are better at describing the scents, give you a better imagery. I do think that if you were impressed with Musc Nomade, you would find the other 3 rather unique and interesting as well. Would love to hear your thoughts of them once you have sampled.

Encens Flamboyant is often overlooked when discussions head into incense territory, but I rate it. I did a left / right comparison one day with the Armani Prive Bois Encens which I also own and prefer the Goutal, frankly. They are both great but the Goutal had more depth over time - the Armani just got a bit thin and dry for me, what L. Turin may mean when he says 'screechy'.

They are both cathedral like incenses - Encens Flamboyant felt generous and giving in a 'smiling statue of the Madonna' kinda way while the Armani felt a bit austere and 'cranky old cleric in the corner' by comparison.

I'll probably get shot for the purple prose - no offense intended anywhere - but best I can do right now . . .

Madragore is cool - nice for summer if you want an interesting change from the more citrus style cologne IMO.

Hope you have fun with these!

Trufflehunter,

I'm very enthusiastic about the Amber Fetiche. Not as 'heavy' or 'warm' perhaps as Lutens' Sultan, but with more spice; really very good. I've been less taken with the others you have coming (but enjoy other AGs such as Duel and Sables). - And, thanks for the tip - that's a reasonable price they're asking for the samples, especially with the free postage until the end of the week.

I absolutely love Ambre Fetiche and Myrrhe Ardente! Encens Flamboyant and Musc Nomade I thought were OK - but nothing special that were worth purchasing.

I also highly rate Sables, Eau du Fier and Eau du Sud.

My absolute favorite from them have to be Ambre Fetiche -- gotta love that orange amber fusion, and Encens Flamboyant.

I like all four but Encens Flamboyant is the one I own a bottle of. I agree with mr. reasonable that I don't think it gets its due when we're discussing incense scents. In that category it rates very high, for me.
Of all the samples you got it is the PdN New York that I like the best but I can say that I like Eau D'hadrien and Mandragore enough to own bottles of them. Eau D'hadrien is going to be a great spring/summer scent for you as you head into the warmner part of your year.
Post again after you've tried all of your samples and let us know what you think.

I'll second this, LOVE IT! One of my top 5, favorite frankincense creations.

Have all four but especially like Myrrhe Ardente.

My favorite, amoung favorites, is the Amber Fetiche. I own bottles of Myrrhe Ardente, Encens Flamboyant and Amber Fetiche, plus a body cream in Amber Fetiche. I'll wear the Amber by itself but the rest I wear layered. This collection did not hit my radar until I layered all three of these scents together. Together they are a traffic stopping combination...I kid you not. Amazing!

The Myrrhe is a sweet myrrhe scent. It's absolutely does not smell artificial or cloying, just the natural sweetness of the myrrhe gum. The dry down is dry.

IF is, as stated, a more complex incense scent. I find it much more complex than Avignon, certainly more so than the Armani incense. IF has much more of a punch to it than Timbuktu but much less than the two Tauer incense scents. IF goes lighter on the frankencense than the Taurers but then I believe the Tauers are unique in the percentage of frankencense in their formulas. (I'm typing quickly, so please forgive any spelling mistakes.)

The Amber is the stunner of the collection, in my opinion. When it first goes on & I notice this mostly with the body cream, there's a tiny bit of the smell of ashes. (I think it's the orange on my skin actually.) Weird, I know. It fades fairly quickly & is replaced with the most compelling, warm, buttery amber/orange cloud. It is incredible! Ask Nathan Branch, he has smelled it on me, as I wafted around Bergdorfs with our little group.

People stop and ask me what I'm wearing all the time when I wear the AF by itself but even more so when I layer all three. The three together are beyond incredible.

I do not like the Musc Nomad. I have a small body cream, which I have used to test the scent & it's all "soap", all the time on my skin.

The only one I like is Musc Nomade...Ambre smells like amber, Encens smells like incense, and Myrrhe smells like rootbeer.

Great deals can be had on them at various online discounters though...don't pay retail if you do fall for one.

Sofresh, you want my little body cream of Musc Nomad?

Oh & Sofresh is correct about finding the scents for less than retail online. That's how I got mine.

I enjoy both Flamboyant and Ambre Fetiche - both are long lasting and have nice sillage for me. I also tried Ardente but didn't like it so much - there was a note that clashed with me.

That was also my experience.

Interesting purchase there mate....I've been wanting to try Ambre Fetiche myself....I wanted to make a blind buy of the full bottle but then I stopped realizing the weather is warming up and I won't be able to wear it.....I've read on another forum that this has incredible sillage....

Trumper Sandalwood is my favorite.....very creamy sandalwood....incredibly long lasting and it throws out very good sillage too...

Looking forward to read your opinions...

I found this discussion and have revived it. I'm curious if anyone else has had my reaction. Most people find there to be a good amount of frankincense in Encens Flamboyant. I didn't think there was enough! That wasn't the dominant note for me.
Here are my notes:

Notes, according to Lutens site: frankincense essence and resinoid in the vielle église (old church) style, spices (black pepper, cardomom, nutmeg), sage, roseberry, woody notes of balsam fir, pure extract of lentisque (aka. mastic gum)

This is an interesting scent. I dont see anything flamboyant about it; rather I find it to be cool and cerebral in tone. In essence it is a bone dry powdery sort of scent like the morning breeze coming off desert hills. I think that characteristic comes from the peppery spices in combination with the mastic gum, the latter has juniper-like notes. These, together with the balsam fir, create an icy aura. To a certain extent Czech & Speakes Frankincense and Myrrh has the same quality. How about all the frankincense notes? They are OK, but dont last very long. For me, they appear briefly at the beginning. While they are evident, they are green, compelling, and invigorating. While there are fleeting coniferous aspects, in the final analysis I find that the majority of this scent is a cool and powdery sort. This compares somewhat to Blenheim Bouquet, although it is not as pine-y and there is no lemon. But it has the same frosty vibe. I appreciate it, but I wish the green frankincense note had a bigger profile.

I am writing this after spraying 10 minutes ago Myrrhe ardente, Encense Falmboyant and Ambre Fetiche. I received this today and all of them were blind buy. The only niche I own is Ambre Sultan, which I like a lot, so I dont know too much about niche scents.
And now my review: these fragrances are absolutely INCREDIBLE. I began first with Myrrhe ardente, and i was surprised, a lot of memories came to my mind, immediate connection fragrance-feelings, its beauty is undescriptible, the myrrhe (which i supposed is myrrhe, never smelled it) and the vanilla base are absolutely poetic. Encense Flamboyant: i don't smell incense in the way of gucci ph or visit, it is indeed a pine smell with an absolutely pleasant burnt touch, like if you were surrounded by pines, and you catch the smell of woods burning, it is also incredibly poetic and evocative. And Ambre Fetiche: i find this one quite different in intentions from the other two. Ambre Fetiche smells to me incredibly opulent, more aristocratic than Ambre Sultan for example, it is more romantic than reflexive. The iris is quite prominent, especially at first, and it reminded me immediately to Dior Homme. I felt in love with the three scents...they are really lovely.

Update: Ambre Fetcihe its getting smokier, it is fantastic!

One thing to note... Flamboyant in French doesn't mean exactly the same thing in English (at least it doesn't have to!) - and it means also "with flame" and if you sense the fragrance, you can understand that it represents the burning of the incense in the church... so in this sense, I think it is rather "flamboyant". It is one of the best "church" incense fragrances I know... which also brings a feeling of peace. So while in English it can mean something completely different (flamboyant meaning rather loud and outgoing) but in French/Latin, it means something a bit different.

Thanks for the new knowledge. Now it makes sense!

I am with you, except i own Myrrhe and Encens. Love Encens

I have mentioned this before, but i layer L'Heure Bleue with Encens Flamboyant. Please, someone else try this and see if you think it blends as well as I do. It completes two scents that otherwise remain extremely linear on my skin.

After a wonderful Diana Krall concert and a wonderful meeting with my scent-shop owner friend, with 12 samples of Annick Goutal, Etro, etc. I'm so happy, and I say: you are completely right. Though I'm not a great incense lover, but Encens Flamboyant is a terrific scent. I'm amused how beautiful it is.

I think Ambre Fetiche is great - I plan on buying a bottle. I need to give the others a full wearing.

Just recieve yesterday my bottles o AF and EF....I think both are wonderfully beautiful...most evocative and artistic blends....
I´ve never came across other fragrances that share such a development. From top to bottom the three stages are so easily recognizable and so enjoiable...
The are must haves and pieces of art....
BOth are wonderful but, Encens Flamboyant is the most natural smelling incense I have ever tried (specially the dry down which smells axactly like the boswellia serrata resin that i burn with charcoal)

Besides, the top notes of EF reminds me big time of the opening of Bond N9 Brookling...the same green sappy resinous ambience...does anyone feels the same?

cheers

Pablo

I really hope they have the Les Orientalistes at all places that carry AG. I just found out that they carry them at a mall on my way home from work. Maybe I'll take a trip over there on Saturday, hopefully I get my nose on these.

I also received yesterday an Etro Messe de Minuit sample. It's a beautiful church-like incense, but I wouldn't like to smell like that I think. I know Passage de Enfer, the Amouage incense-line, Villoresi Incensi - AF is the most wearable, most beautiful of all these.