Guerlain - Les Deserts d'Orient - Page 2

absolutely mouthwatering!! and considering they are middle east exclusive and we probably won't be able to get them, even more desirable..

Oh, we'll get them alright

Just maybe not at the corner store.

thanks for this!! just found out from reading they are available in belgium and ship internationally and also their boutique in paris, and i'm due to go to paris in the next two weeks!! weeehey!!

To tease us with these three new perfumes, and then NOT to release them here in the Western hemisphere, is

MEAN MEAN MEAN

yes, three times ...

by GUERLAIN !!!

When can we put our greedy hands on a decant ???



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By comparison: A few connoisseurs here have discovered these three beauties of the East:

AL HARAMAIN - Attar Al Kaaba, Haneen and Marwah

If that trio were introduced - as a set - in the Western hemisphere market, it could turn out to be a success also, just based on the novelty and the QUALITY of these Arabic perfume oil oud blends.

I'll check these out when I'm in paris, next month. It's always nice to have an excuse to visit a Parisian Guerlain boutique.

Since everybody is chasing after these three new scents, it is only a matter of time for GUERLAIN to make them available on this market also. To get a more general - and less well-heeled - audience, they can re-bottle them into a smaller set - call them "Exclusives" and sell them here to the masses. Right now, the high price tag is also a drawing point, but since it all boils down to sales, when re-bottled and re-advertised, if those are scents of quality - and they probably are scents of quality - then they will SELL ... even if re-packaged.

I have to say only one rocks my boat: Songe d’un Bois d’Eté.
The other two I'm not crazy about, 2nd one is a gourmand and the 3rd one is rose based (well the 2nd has rose as well), my skin/nose cannot stand rose in any perfume and I already have quite a few gourmand perfumes. But the first one, ooooooh, LEATHER, DRY, PATCHOULI, CEDARWOOD, MYRRH, LAUREL, drooling & making noises like Homer for chocolate, bacon and Marge.

1. Thanks for the general heads up, Hedonist. You're a champ.
2. Love the percentage descriptions! I'm gonna start using that.
3. I like the Guerlain copy on that big brass plaque thing! Very classy.

Agree.

Very nice trio from Guerlain. One can only hope that small samples might be popping up on Ebay soon.

I can recommend this link for wonderful reviews of the trio by our fellow Dimi: http://www.facebook.com/monsieurguer...34455923234191

thanks Mr.G, I'm officially sold.

I have a question & I hope it doesn't annoy too many people; Is incense (the chemical ingredient) especially cheap? I am pretty tired of it, personally & it seems to be in just about everything.

I saw these at Galleries Lafayette in Paris this weekend. I tried Songe d'un Bois d'été (I wasn't interested in the other two.) I hate to say this, but I was really, really disappointed. I don't know what everyone is talking about with the leather note. It was sweet, sweet sweet in a very Thierry Wasser kind of way, with nary a leather note in sight. Totally unmemorable in my opinion, although the bottle is lovely.

I dunno about cheap but it seems to get paired with ouhd almost as much as rose, so maybe that's one reason. Also incense frags were the first to get away from the "no scent" scent trend in the late 90s. Now it's common place.

These showed up here in Saudi a little sooner than I was told. I just bought a bottle each of all three!

I haven't had a chance to do much with them other than smell them on paper. Looking forward to wearing them this week.

So far I haven't found the bottles themselves to be as attractive as the photos led me to believe. They're relatively plain sans all the atmospheric lighting. Maybe they'll grow on me. They do come in nice boxes. BTW, they cost the equivalent of $245 here. Not sure what they are selling for elsewhwere.

Well the bottle art surely looks stunning on photos. Can't wait to get this trio. I've read mainly great reviews. noggs, post your impressions here soon :-)

http://www.guerlain.com/me/en/base.h...ic-fragrances/

These fragrances have only been available here for about a week, and perhaps it is too early to assess sales patterns, but the manager of our local Paris Gallery told me that so far sales of Encens Mythique d'Orient were well ahead of the other two. He thought that it was because it was gentler and smoother than the more overtly masculine Songe d'Un Bois d'Ete and not as floral as Rose Nacree du Desert, and appealed to both men and women.

I'll wear Rose Nacree tomorrow, Encens on Wednesday, and Songe on Thursday.

I look forward to hearing more about the floral and the leather and fingers crossed they're not vanilla-guerlainade sweeeeeet! Hopefully, if they are sold in the US, they will keep the beautiful arabic writing on the bottles - it's gorgeous! Thank you for posting on this and for the lovely photos.

I'm so very late to the party, but I still wanted to thank you, Hedonist, for taking us shopping.

I have read that Rose Nacree was the sweetest of the bunch. I am wearing it today (had it on less than an hour, though) and don't perceive it as being that sweet. It may be sweeter than the others, but I wouldn't call it sweet, especially in comparison with so many other contemporary fragrances. The sweetness is soft and gentle and balanced by the saffron and oud.

Thank you, noggs - that's great news so far.

these are the most beautiful perfume bottles I've seen in a LONG time.

They feature in this months Harrods magazine , so Im assuming ?????

These are available at Harrods right now - £160 each.

Anyone know if these are available in the Dubai airport?

I tried the three fragrances

Songe d'un bois d'été is the one that suits my taste the better
It is on the masculine side; woody, smoky, spicy and leathery; no sweetness; perfectly balanced; excellent ingredients; the official description is rather faithful to the fragrance
maybe it is not completely original (there are many other oud-based fragrances); but Guerlain had not its own (except the initial formulation of Habit Rouge EdP that contained oud, but certainly not such a quality oud)
sadly it is an overpriced exclusive ...and not a mainstream

the two other fragrances are strange juices to my nose
Rose nacrée is a sweet oriental pastry (reminding of La Petite Robe Noire in a "haute couture" version)
Encens mythique is I don't what ...

Quick reviews as I managed to try these out in Harrods yesterday.

Rose Nacree was my favourite and I picked up a bottle. I enjoy this composition, beautiful rose with a backward glance at Nahema's hyperreal and slightly peachy rose but with the sweetness delightfully blunted by smoky oud along the lines of Dior's Leather Oud. The rose and oud are a dynamic blend constantly shifting but neither ever outdoing the other. Great stuff.

Songe d'un bois d'ete the other one I bought. Similar smoky oud to rose nacree but a stronger saffron note which roughs things up and reminds me of the saffron note in Cuir Lancome. Very dry, woody and pleasingly masculine. A complicated scent which I need more wearings to get to grips with.

Give them a go!

Took a trip to Knightsbridge today and these are in Harrods. Now 6 hours later I have two smelling ribbons here in front of me (as I only liked two of the three). Both smell very good but one smells glorious! Dammed if I know which ones which. One smells dryer and lighter....dry, airy, aromatic smoke...the other, the one that is really grabbing me, is extremely deep and rich with a delicious dark smell of sweat and honey, dark, fruity, non-sweet honey. I think this must be the rose one, I think it has rose in it. Ah well, better I never find out which one's which and what's called what, as I'll never, ever be able to afford either.

They are available in Dubai Airport. I passed though it last Thursday and was really thinking of buying at least one of them. But then I managed to hold out and thought there'll be a return trip in a week's time and I'll be able to get them then anyway and I don't have to carry them on my holiday. Now that I saw that they're available in Harrods, I'll be buying them in Harrods instead.

Plus I have to say SAs in Dubai Airport are REALLY pushy

I received decants of the three of them. The surprise for me was the rose one, it is so beautiful. I did not find any of them sweet. Encense is the only one I have given a full wearing, I loved it, it is very well blended and it is definetly not a churchy incense. It does not smell anything like Silver Factory, but somehow it reminds me of it in feel and weight. I sprayed the leather one on my husband and he smelled divine. Can't wait to try it on me. I hope Guerlain makes them available worldwide.

I have to give them a full wearing and then I will report.

I am privileged to have the opportunity to sample these. I have only tested them on my arms yesterday, but my first opinion is:


That is spot-on. It somehow starts off like a typical rose-oud combo and then shifts into oriental rose pastry territory. What seems to be the saffron made for short moments where the scent smelled slightly off, but this seemed to shift slightly rather quickly. Longevity is good but not as outstanding (nearly 24 hours) as with the other two. It's interesting for sure, but not special enough to warrant the exclusivity game.

Encens Mythique d'Orient is hard to describe. It is sweet initially and there is something about the whole accord about half an hour into it, I was not sure whether it would be smelling a bit 'too cheap' or 'too synthetic' for my taste. The card enclosed said that it used real amber gris from New Zealand and I can see that. It then fairly quickly progresses into a very softly smoky haze of fragrance (sillage is fine) that is certainly alluring. I have to admit it, I like this Thierry Wasser composition and I need further testing to see if it is for me. I love how it lingers on nearly forever and it is very beguiling.

Songe d'un bois d'été did nothing special for me. Something synthetic bugged me - it must be the ISO E Super then - until the later drydown where the composition seemed to 'mellow' into what could have been more natural and inviting. This perfume has an M7 kind of appeal. It is harsh, dry, smoky and woody and I - as usually - see no leather here.

I finally got a sample of Rose Nacre du Desert (that was the one I really wanted to try). It is in a way, a somewhat muted fragrance and not as sweet as I expected. I would say it is about as sweet as Byredo Rose Noir or even less so. The rose is there, certainly. It is not a bright rose; it resembles more the dried petals one might find in a drawer; it does feel dusty. The oud is soft, nothing like the sharp oud in the Montales, although it remains a constant, darkish background as the fragrance develops. It is beautifully done, but I still prefer By Kilian Rose Oud.

I found some interesting reviews on the Perfume Shrine (no affiliation whatsoever
http://perfumeshrine.blogspot.com/

I feel a compulsion coming on....

I sampled these a few days ago and was pretty much underwhelmed. All I can say is that they're missing that distinctive Guerlain flair (and I'm not referring to the Guerlainade accord) and just smelt like your bog standard niche releases. In my opinion, the Guerlain magic is sorely absent.

Encens Mythique d'Orient smelt rather synthetic - there was a note in the composition that I didn't particularly like. Think Tauer's Incense Extreme but not as convincing.

Songe d'un Bois d'été is probably the sweetest offering but smelt very similar to something I tried in the past. Perhaps Nasomatto's Duro? I'll need to re-sample it again...

Rose Nacrée was the best one out of the three but how many rose scents does the world need?

Personally, I don't think these are worth the money - there's nothing unique about any of them that justifies the high price tag.

They are available at Doha airport (Qatar). I tested all three and decided on the Encense. Mystic and hard to define, unisex. I like the Rose scent as well, but it's probably a bit too femine for me, being male. I found the most masculine fragrance, the Bois Ete to be too strong, sweet and overpowering for me.

- - - Updated - - -

They are also available at Beirut airport, an airport with a surprisingly extensive selection of speciality perfumes. After picking up the Encense in Doha, I was still thinking about the Rose. Initially thought it may be too feminine, being based on roses. But it is just really very beautiful, and the rose scent is dry, natural and balanced with spices and oud. Therefore, I couldn't resist, and purchased one bottle.

There may be other rose/oud fragrances out there - I don't know - I am not an expert, but this perfume is stunning.

Smelled these today. The Guerlain boutique, got these very tiny samples sent to them. They literally got one small vial of each. Anyway, the SA was kind enough to let me smell them. They said they may eventually get them....I guess we'll just have to wait it out. :/

1st Fave: Encens Mythique d'Orient~Beautiful, a subtle sweetness to it. Stays sweet for quite a bit, but it starts to warm up after a while, maybe it's the ambre gris or the patchouli? I couldn't really detect the Frankincense. When I saw it had incense, I thought it might smell like a sweet Dior Mitzah, but luckily I was mistaken. This one takes the cake of the three.

2nd Fave: Rose Nacree du Desert I smelled it quickly and knew immediately I liked it, however I was too distracted with the previous one because I fell in love with it so I couldn't really pay attention to this one.

and 3rd Fave, well actually not a fave at all, Songe d'Un Bois d'Ete: I really disliked it. :/ (Don't throw your tomatoes at me) And I thought I was mistaken, so I kept trying to go back and smelling it again....and again...and kept whisking it away saying, WOW that's bold. I saw someone compare it to Dior Leather Oud...I respectfully disagree. With Leather Oud, the oud isn't crazy overpowering that you can't enjoy the other notes to it....it is balanced. The Oud in this one is STRONG and very pungent. So much, that I couldn't really smell anything else. It made me feel like I needed to shower. LOL

I love the Rose Nacree which has a dry and spicy rose scent. I feel I am transported to a Persian Garden, and it can be applied to men as well as to women. It lasts forever with a very good outreach.

The Songe is too strong and overpowering for me. I had to take a step back after I tried it on a paper strip. It is masculine, for sure and heavily spicy.

The Encens has nothing to do with incense in the traditional sense. It is light, complex and mystical, perhaps floral as well as slightly spicy. It is also very powdery. Thus, I feel it will appeal more to women than men.

I agree.
Putting aside the fact these are not my style, I found them just so-so.

FYI, for anyone looking for these in the States, they are available at Bergdorf and Saks (NY only).

I ended up buying the Songe d'un Bois dEte. The rose one was nice but nothing special to me, and the incense one was so light and devoid of incense that it didn't appeal to me.

I ordered the same today from Saks. Should have it next week.

Songe d'un Bois d'Ete is one of the greatest liquored up dry woods desserts I've ever smelled. Judging it close up on the back of your hand will have you wondering all kinds of things. I tried it that way a few times and put it up, thinking I disliked it. It wasn't until I sprayed it on like I would normally wear it that I realized it's one of the best fragrances I've ever worn.

I wore this last night. I found it initially very similar to Leather Oud and it was hard to shake the strong associations and enjoy it as a stand-alone fragrance. I think what I enjoyed about it is that it's not as strong as the Dior (which sometimes can be too much), whereas the Guerlain faded nicely and wasn't so oppressive. I have to give it a full wearing, I only sampled it, but I found it very likeable.

I agree! Just stunning and, as often happens to me with Guerlain, the real magic only happens with a full wearing.

Just received my bottle - I agree it is an easier wear than Dior Leather Oud and the magic reveals itself in the beautiful unfolding of the scent over a full wear of several hours.

alfarom,

Great when that happens. :-) Glad to see Guerlain still making a few good ones.


mp,

I loved Leather Oud as a sample but wearing it became too much, too dry-bitter-astringent-whatever, too much cardamom oppressing me. Sold my bottle. Thought it was interesting what Mr Reasonable said about Demachy and Wasser working in the same LVMH lab.


cazaubon,

I hear you on all of that. Songe d'un Bois is rich! ".......richness without heaviness and luxury without one iota of vulgarity........"

Yup, couldn't disagree less

I want Encens & Songe, actually. I like Rose Nacree, too, but have decided I'm not much of a rose guy. Wasser has been doing all the right things for the shareholders, no doubt about that (Idylle and LPRN and now the Shalimar Initial stuff) but it's great to see him stretch out a bit and play completely outside the flanker thing or riffs on the Guerlinade.

If he can bang out the odd left of field one every now and then amongst the 'Guerlain for a new generation' stuff (a lot of which is damn nice stuff) then I'll be perfectly happy.

Which one of the three is the best...meaning most unique and sexy? I want to blind buy a decant. Thanks.

I agree.... Encens Mythique, if you can accept its quiet nature. It's very longlived and alluring though. Maybe, the best Wasser creation in my book...