Songes Eau de Parfum

I love Songes. But of course I do, because I love jasmine. I have jasmine growing in my backyard and during the late spring and early summer you can find me near it more often than not as I take in its gorgeous scent one breath after another. Songes is the jasmine I know and love dialed up to Spinal Tap 11. But this isn’t rock n roll. This is the sound of a rich and emotional bossa nova ballad played by a guitarrista infected with saudade during a languid afternoon while you lay on a hammock in the tropics, heat and humidity kissing skin balmed by the occasional breeze, perfectly ripe tropical fruit in a bowl next to you for snacking letting loose the fragrance of its oils and sugars and juices into the air, the smell of your high quality tanning lotion occasionally making its way to your olfactory receptors. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, like a breeze all of their own perhaps from along the tropical forest tree line or the well-tended garden of your resort: jasmine, frangipani, and ylang-ylang. The smell is intoxicating to the point you almost cannot stand it. The crafted cocktail in your hand has nothing on the effects created by this fragrance on the breeze. As I smell it now for who-knows-what-number time, it still makes me weak at the knees, a sigh and moan leave my chest, eyes roll to the back of my head, a tingle spreads down my scalp and up my back - sorry, this is getting inappropriate isn’t it? Ok, switching gears, on to the technical stuff. Songes is a lot like No. 5. Songes is very obviously a jasmine evocation, white and musky floral with many dimensions, but the frangipani and the ylang ylang have a lot to say too, making this a floral amalgam much in the way No. 5, Joy, Arpege, and all of those other classics are that have won our hearts and noses. Speaking of Patou, this reminds me a lot of Chaldee. Songes wouldn’t be Songes without the frangipani with its white, rich, sweet, coconut fragrance that is certainly present at a Spinal Tap 11; without the ylang-ylang with it’s yellow, banana and tropical fruit and citrusy notes; without the richness of the vanilla, cinnamon, or musks bringing an extra layer of sweetness, animalic purr, and earthy depth that makes the perfume feel like a beautiful caress that goes on forever. Sorry, never mind, I’m incapable of doing an objective analysis of this. It’s too good for me to give a damn about that. Excuse me while I go melt into a hammock in a tropical flower garden.

Songes is the tropical perfume of my dreams! I have tested soooo many tropical fragrances and bought just a few (and my collection is large) many of them smell like sunscreen, cheapened w/ too much coconut, bogged down w/ unnecessary fruity notes but Songes is the tropical paradise in a bottle that I have been searching for. If you love white lilies (not listed above but I smell lily all the same) ylang, tiare, plumeria, and jasmine look no further than Songes EDP. This perfume is extremely humid, languid, and sultry. I do not get some of the negative reviews here. Songes smells exactly like tropical florals. It is so photorealistic I would swear I was somewhere in Tahiti instead of upstate NY right now. Goutal Paris rarely disappoints and many times I think I would be better off blind buying most of their fragrances instead of sampling the latest Niche brands. Silage and projection are enormous, which is what you want in a high quality and expensive perfume, any perfume really. This performs better than many I have spent a lot more on. Rest assured Songes is not for the faint of heart, it is a BIG perfume worn by someone who loves to stand out in a crowd, own a room and be the woman that everyone's eyes are on. Extremely sexy, sultry and bold this is a perfume fit for a vixen. Absolutely one of my favorites in my collection. Stunning, Stunning, Stunning! Edit the dry down is a tropical floral with vanilla dusting powder. Very elegant.

Dreamy, creamy and intoxicating white and yellow florals. The spices are quite pronounced too and give Songes a little extra to make it more memorable, sexy and stand out among similar fragrances like Lys 41 and Intense Tiare. So far it's my favourite among them and think it can be worn in any season and time of day, just maybe not in a high heat. If you like intense tropical flowers in a perfume definitely give it a try. People who are sensitive to spicy fragrances should be careful with it though, as spices are quite pronounced here. Makes me feel very feminine, alluring and beautiful when wearing this. The longeity and sillage are excellent, 8+ hours and a big scent bubble. Personally don't really like the bottle design much, especially that bow with a piece of paper on the neck, thankfully it has an elastic band and can be removed easily.

I definitely can recommend this to everyone who loves white flowers and a slight Caribbean atmosphere. This perfume workes so good for me - especially in winter times - causing a light and enhancing atmosphere. Compared to similar Perfumes like terracotta it has got a much better lasting power and projects more. Also the scent is smoother and due to its heart and base notes with spicy pepper, cinnamon and patchouli it develops to a skin scent with a spa kind of vibe. (On clothes you can smell it for days). I think this is the reason for me to use it so much - as other similar perfumes get annoying after some hours - this one gets even better. I prefer to wear it during the cold season as for summer I perceive it to be too strong for me.

I just received my decant today and I am wondering how could the universe keep this intoxicating, enchanting perfume away from me? This is elite tropical vibe in a bottle. The ylang ylang is not vegetal, it's custardy and the frangipani-tiare are creating an enchanting concoction. This is going to be my Summer 2025 signature. Just a heads up: This perfume is photorealism taken to 10/10 perfection. So, expect indoles. If you love smelling real flowers, you will LOVE this perfume!

Languid and buttery white florals melting over amber. Heavier and more dense than many "tropical" florals I've come across. Has me imagining a 60s starlet hiding away in a glamorous bungalow, dripping with tanning oil and sweat, a plumeria tucked behind her ear.

287 This one is hard for me to describe and compare (perhaps the powdery vanilla floral sweetness reminds me of Nuit Andalouse MDCI). I have the older version edp (not tried edt) and it is a dusty sweet powdery vanilla with tropical florals. There is a sweet softness that wraps you, in contrast to the florals-their fruitiness and indolic nature wakens you. The spices and patchouli makes this into a more grounded tropical rather than fleeting. That’s why this works in autumn too, the patchouli and spices that are nicely blended(but don’t stand out). I don’t get a cumin note, which I hate, but maybe it’s more noticeable in edt? I think the frangipani gives it that tropical tart fruity intensity, ylang that yellow floral lightly green creamy sweet note, jasmine and gardenia that indolic dry-down. In dry-down, you can also smell the roughness of the dry spices(cumin, but not obvious) with patchouli. It’s like the flowers are evolving from their strong sweet tart initial beauty to just dusty dry stems. All this and some sweetness. Shadows of past remain. It also has a vintage feel. 9/10 beautiful, mature, and jolting...Different from Terracotta-which is more vibrant and more fruity with a sweet vanilla powder and no rough spices. I love both, but they’re different.

Goutal is one perfumer in my book that can do sweet florals without it being too cloying. In general, this fragrance profile isn't really my thing, but if I'm going to go there--usually when not having access to my preferred scents--Goutal makes it both palatable and wearable. I was given a sample of Songes at a Goutal shop while re-purchasing Le Chevrefuille as a gift. So far, it's been a scent I might visit if I want something frilly and not-too-serious for the day. Ylang-ylang dominates Songes, and if that fragrance specifically is your thing, you might want to check this perfume out.

Having fallen in love with a sample of the EDT version of Songes dating from the noughties, I decided to splurge on a full bottle of the current EDP. Unfortunately, I'm disappointed. While it resembles the Songes I know and love, it is heavier and much more cloying. Obviously, an EDP is more concentrated, but the reformulation is the main issue here. The sweet, tropical white florals are intact, but it suffers from an overdose of vanilla, resulting in a scent that fails to stand out from the myriad mass-market syrupy florals found at every beauty counter. It isn't all bad - the opening is lovely, closely resembling the original EDT. The white floral accord that forms the crux of this scent is present from initial spray and is well-balanced, smooth and tropical. Clean jasmine, sweet ylang ylang and creamy, tropical frangipani form a beautiful bouquet. A hint of spice adds a nice edge. As it develops however, syrupy vanilla rears its head, choking the florals with overwhelming sweetness and weighing down the scent. A sweet, synthetic amber accord develops and it becomes headache-inducing. Sillage is strong and longevity is day-long - apply sparingly. Songes went from the perfect tropical white floral scent, centred around a beautiful woody-jasmine accord to this syrupy shadow of its former self. It retains some good points and will appeal to plenty, but this iteration is not for me. 2.5/5.

This one was amoung the first couple of samples I ordered after a perfume interest just bloomed out and I started my perfume journey earlier this year. Now I'm not wuite sure why this sample was ordered but I do like jasmine ans ylang ylang, the latter in small amounts, and also many of the spices mentioned. I felt like it'a a bit to much thou, too sweet, that the flowers are almost buttery heavy. After wearing it a couple of times it grow some on me. I felt a kind of motherly calming safety thing with it. My mother wear more quiet but vanilla/bensoen-sweet perfumes if any, and I think my grandmother wears something with white flowers and lotus. I started to sort of like it but it was to heavy and didnt fit me. Got back to it today after maybe four months, when the weather is sunny and semi-warm, and it was just to to much. I think this even got a small headache. So.. Not for me.

I would say Songes is less like Robert Piguet Fracas and more like a modern-day Tuvaché Jungle Gardenia. I love both of those so it’s a win for me either way. So, I’m also not saying this is Jungle Gardenia either. But this isn’t any Aerin or Estée Lauder white floral, nor is this a Piguet white floral, nor is this a Chanel or Gucci white floral. It’s tropical, and buttery and creamy, but also warm and fresh, but not the sharp, cold, metallic Estée Lauder Tuberose Gardenia neroli bomb. The cumin is done very well in this, but the first time you smell it can be a tad strange. But it’s very beautiful and gives it an edge. I saw some people warn that this is too strong and heady—I didn’t find this the least bit true. Perhaps in a time where people buy perfume to not smell like perfume it is, but I love the big bold fragrances. I was expecting something with nuclear projection and sillage like vintage Giorgio Beverly Hills, but it’s not (I do however own that! Ain’t no shame).

I smell so much incense and patchouli from this. From the bottle you can smell beautiful tropical flowers sweetened by vanilla and benzoin, creating a really beautiful almost biscuity effect but then, by spraying the perfume (both on the skin and on the test strip) immediately the base notes are overpowering (incense, frankincense, patchouli, the ambery, resinous benzoin and all the spices) they almost completely overshadow the beautiful tropical flowers. The final result with all these dark notes in the end takes me more to a Christmas church rather than to a tropical beach. It's a shame because I really wanted to love Songes, but every time I try it the effect remains the same. I smell this also on others, not just on myself. I don't find it a balanced composition with this dichotomy of sweet tropical floral notes and the incense/resinous/amber/patchouli notes. It's like being on a tropical island and in church at Christmas mass at the same time.

Guys is it just me - or it smells very similar like L'instant de Guerlain..? The are some differences, L'instant is kinda lighter, but from the first try of Songes I knew I have something very similar, it took me 2 hrs to put my finger on it but yeah, it's heavier sister of L'instant. Both beautiful, so if you like one, you'll most likely love the other too.