I realize what Im about to write down does not align with the fragance pyramid above but I have to be honest about what I perceive. For me I get the notes of vanilla extract, resin, benzoin, juniper, hay, Sandlewood and tabacco. I owe a lot to Serge Lutens. His fragrance Fille En Auguilles sent me on a fragrance journey for years and I'm still reeling. The rest of the SL scents dont take me so far, including this one. But dont get me wrong, I like Chergui and I think it is a fragrance more personal in style, and that it was created to serve a purpose rather than to impress or call attention to itself. For those who treasure balance and consistancy in their lives, I think this fragrance will serve them well. As is stated on his site Chergui "creates an effect that involves suction more than blowing". So, obviously Lutens is aware that it does not have a big projection and that it is instead rooting a person, having a settling affect. It does have good longevity, leaving a warm resonous aroma for hours that sort of hovers very close to your body and blends making it feel very natural as if it is your own actual body's smell. For that reason it is comforting and grounding. This is a scent I would layer, I have not done so yet but I think it might serve very well as a base that would nicely project and involve other fragrances.
A honeyed up amber and tobacco with a hint of powdery iri. And sandalwood in a supporting role. It's sweet and boozy out of the gate but the tone gives way to the lighter iris and sandalwood features, which for me spoiled the potential. I like most of what I've sampled from Lutens and there is no doubt Chergui is a high quality and popular scent. Not one I'd wear often though and I prefer the amber-resinous Amber Sultan over Chergui. The wife likes it more than me, but I can still give it a thumbs up.
Smelling Chergui for the first time in 2020 is a disappointment for me. Sure it's well made, and it's exactly the genre of fragrance I like, but there's nothing special about it, when one has known Amouage, Tom Ford, L'Air du Désert and countless other interpretations of the same themes.
At first, Chergui's not bad;
like dried meadow hay,
moistened with glyerine from tart glacé cherries.
But it's linear, and,
as it loses nuance and savour
boils down to an herbaceous-bland-oriental with a sharp cutting overtone.
They don't harmonise too well,
and by the end, it
gets a bit
snarky.
3*
Honestly, there's nothing groundbreaking here, and you know it. (yes, you). It doesn't smell bad, but it's a big meh for me. This perfume is the definition of overhype.
Neutral leaning towards thumbs down.
There is an interesting "cola" type smell in the background, maybe the tobacco, honey, and incense/amber? I would like to smell more of it, but a boot full of powder(iris?) is curb-stomping it into submission. This is not the "makeup bag" Dior Homme type of iris(my preference), but a tin dish full of powder type of iris.
Unisex is an overstatement, this is full on feminine. I'm not waiting for the "cola" smell to reveal itself from under iris' boot, this is getting scrubbed....