Les Absolus d'Orient Épices Exquises

My wife and I were in Guerlain and I sprayed this on my hand. My wife was enchanted by this fragrance. She said it smelled amazing, and bought it for me immediately. She thinks it’s one of the sexiest fragrances she’s ever smelled. I have almost all of the Les absolus D’ Orient line. Most of them are really her preference on men. She’s very much into the Middle Eastern style fragrance dna and Epices Exquises may be the most true to that style. It’s a spicy cardamom, coffee, sandlewood, oud, and patchouli masterfully blended. It’s definitely a cooler weather fragrance, which I always find interesting that we feel that way. Is it ever “cool” in the Middle East? But I digress. I’ve also worn it on summer date nights because she loves it so much. It’s worked fine in summer evenings. It could be a signature scent for a well put together person who dresses well. However I did wear it on a hot summer day on the days she bought it for me, and I found it to be just too much in the heat. This is a tall, dark, and handsome fragrance. I get 10-12 hours on my skin. The projection is monstrous for about the first 30 minutes, then it still projects about an arms length for another hour or an hour and a half. Then it becomes a scent bubble in your personal space for a long long time. It became a skin scent 9 to 10 hours in. If you like sweet fragrances, this definitely would NOT be for you. There’s virtually no sweetness. It’s dark, woody, and that cardamom and pepper is almost culinary. The coffee note is more of a note that makes the cardamom full of what I’d describe as “flavor”. It doesn’t really give off a coffee smell. The patchouli brings it all together into something that really is a masterpiece. If you want to stand out and you have a lot of confidence, this may be for you. My wife is very turned on by this fragrance, but her taste in fragrances tends to be on the dark and heavy side. So consider all of this. And this is niche. As is the rest of this particular line. It won’t be for everyone, but if it is, you’re going to fall in love with it. Standing ovation for Thierry Wasser.

So my first sniff yesterday. On a blotter. Blast of black pepper! BAM! Fades quickly though, and cardamom - a cardamom bomb! If you do not love cardamom, do not this! I get the coffee / cardamom combo and there is something more can not put my finger on it. It smells like something I know. There is a “leather” note og perhaps it is my brain wanting for it to be there. The “oud” is barnyard/horsestable - but not stinky, and it “shifts” I mean, I can smell it and then it is gone only to apear again. Angelica also a main player for sure! The coffee is..like the scent it carries when you brewed a freshly grinded coup of coffee. From the finest arabica and well roasted. There is something familiar about it, it is comforting, “pretty”, then “masculine”. Some 14 hrs after I sprayed the blotter it is subtle - still very much detectable but definately not as nuclear as some of the other from the line - a plus in my book. Coffee, angelica (wow!!), cardamom and woody notes carries on. Resinous! Sandal wood? Hmmm not how I perceive it..to me more oak, the woody notes are more “sour” and earthy than “creamy” ! Perhaps it is the patchouli? Some...iris? I find it Guerlain - and would not call it mainstream but not so avantgarde that it is unwearable. It is inoffensive warm, cold and calm. A tad “introvert” - but not “reserved” if that make sense to you? Yoink! There it was - the “oak” reminds me of Room 1015 Electric Wood! Hmmm Take this all with a pinch of salt. I easely get carried away when I test a perfume. This one is very much a like for me, maybe even love. Something that I see myself using for date nights or smaller social gatherings. It is inviting. So wearing it, a hole different animal! Earthy and “dank” in the opening - love it a bit like Cœur de Noir! The “oud” at blame I guess. It does not last long, but the few minutes it does I am in Edgar Allan Poe heaven!

Love from the first sniff! Definitely my favorite in this Guerlain series! In tight competition with Heritage as my favorite Guerlain creation of all time. Blended to perfection, it comes as one its own delicious scent, and not as a cocophony of idividual scents fighting each other for your nose attention. For me it is not bad, but rather very good thing that I can't detect as an individual note coffee, oud or even patchuli here. Only cardamom and peppers stand out, and even they as one amazing spice accord. On the opening and first 2 hours it mostly smells to me as freshly cut Siberian pine wood and spices (former cabinet maker here). So it kind of third corner in triangle with other 2 of my favorite perfumes: Serge Lutens' Fille en Aiguilles and Comme des Garcons' Avignon (all while smelling nothing like either of the two). Epices Exquises definitely less sweet than Serge Lutens and has no smoke of Avignon. After 2 hours cardamom becomes more prominent, and at the third hour it becomes even more so one whole scent where no intividual accords sticks out. It lasts 9-10 hours on my skin, with 2 hours of strong projection and 4-5 more hours of moderate projection before becoming skin scent. It stays more than 24 hours on the shirt I wore when I used it day before. I think it is very versatile. I see it appropriate for any occasion, and although it is more of a cold weather type of scent, it can be used any time of the year, even on summer nights. Could even be used as an office scent if you go lighter on the trigger. To me it definitely leans toward masculine, but could be used by women as well. I think it is relatively safe blind buy for men. Final verdict: Scent - 10/10 Longevity - 8/10 Sillage - 7/10 Projection - 8/10 Versatility - 10/10 Originality - 8/10 Price for quality - 8/10 (if you catch it at discounters, 7/10 at retail price)

EPICES EXQUISES, translated from French means "exquisite spices". As I knew, Guerlain never disappoints me, this is another unique from the orient series, but I would rename this one to "magnificent spices". This fragrance is different from the others in the series, it is really refined, a unique effort has been put into the composition, in general, some say that it is not as intense or long-lasting as others, but from experience I can confirm that this fragrance lasts more than 25 hours on me! In the morning when I take a shower, it smells like I applied it before entering the bathroom! I can't smell it a meter away from me, but I definitely got compliments because the fragrance smells very nice around the person wearing it. It creates a very subtle and delicate trail behind you when you walk, these are not fragrances for the "Bay Guy" because few people understand Guerlain perfumes in general, and few of these "bar millionaires" will pay the necessary amount for an authentic fragrance, they prefer to buy the same ones for BGN 100 and claim that they are using the original, but alas... In general, this composition has signature/ingredients from Mon Guerlain and Shalimar, the fragrance is shared / unisex, it will appeal to ladies who appreciate the real, natural and to men, be they bachelors or not, because the perfume also has its male part, the combination is very refined, delicate and gives a density that opposes competing brands. Recently a guy I also got a compliment from, he had sprayed himself with Montale- Arabians Tonka, when he said my perfume was very nice, I could feel how montale despite the intensity and their clashing chemical ingredients, couldn't drown out the Guerlain scent, just could not! My review is 10 / 10 for GUERLAIN 68 Av. des Champs-Élysées, 75008 Paris, France

I sampled this back in March at duty free and I liked it from everythig else I had smelled. A few months later I bought a bottle and was strangely very underwhelmed so I left it aside. A few month's down the line (Autumn) I have revisited and this is becoming a real favourite! I get the Arabic coffee thing, galbanum, cardamom which to my nose results in something like a 'blue fragrance' aspect a the top which catches me by surprise each time. I quite like how unique and juxtaposed this combination smells and the way it intrigues me without fail. It obviously has faux oud in the dry down, something like deep caramel woodiness just as the transparent bottle's colour suggests, exactly like that! I do find similarities with Amouage Opus VIII (old version black bottle) and I sadly no longer have that so I am happy that I have something that reminds me of it in this offering. It's one of those fragraces that you don't think is 'much' but then it suddenly turns out to be 'much more' and that's where this wins.