Samsara Eau de Parfum

Where to start? The year was 1989 and I was only 13. Still in elementary school when my aunt gave me a red, octagon shaped perfume sample with the rest of my birthday gift. This was the first perfume I've ever received, and it made me feel oh-so-grown up. It was love at first sniff and I cherished my Samsara EDP sample for years to come. I only used one drop here and one drop there on special occasions, only inhaling this heavenly aroma in between...that is until I was 16. I've finally managed to secure my first job, and guess what I spent my first paycheque on? An enchanting, glamorous bottle of Samsara EDT. This memory still makes me smile, it felt like I just bought magic in a bottle. I never forget the sexy, red box and carefully removing the cellophane that enveloped it. It was 30 ml and a beast in a bottle. Just one spray lasted me over 24 hours. However, this was the only perfume I owned, and I used it sparingly, but when I did, Samsara was everywhere. Samsara is a time-machine that can take you to places when you inhale it. Coming of age in the 90s was something special. Wild nights, lovers, and good friends emerge from long tucked away memories. Samsara is also a scent that's forever entwined in my mind with memories of cigarette smoke and sweat that was ever present at parties when we danced the night away and underground rock clubs where we all smoked indoors. When I smell Samsara, it brings a bitter-sweet smile to me face, a longing for times gone by, a longing after people who drifted away over the years or already crossed over to the other side. One knows that these times and people are never coming back, so you see, that is why Samsara is bitter-sweet and hauntingly beautiful to me. This is why I can never be objective... and please don’t ask it. How could I when it's not just a perfume to me? It’s a faithful companion who has accompanied me from childhood to this day. I’ve now lived half of my life and well into middle age, but I still love Samsara just as much, if not more, when the day we first met. If there’s a perfume soulmate, then that is Samsara to me. It broke my heart to learn of its reformulation (twice I believe) and its final discontinuation. But I understand. I wouldn’t want Mysore Sandalwood to go extinct, would you? That is the heart of Samsara. Every other accord was built around this creamy, earthy goodness. Exotic flowers, like jasmine, ylang-ylang, and beautiful notes of rose, along with playful, fruity peaches and refreshing citrus plays this mesmerising symphony called Samsara. There are other components in this magic potion too, like vanilla, tonka, violet, or iris. Though it opens with fresh and playful accords, it soon develops a beautiful floral centre. But like a comforting, well-loved cardigan, it finishes with that warm and cosy amberish sandalwood dry down. Some say it’s a masterpiece, the brain and olfactory child of Jean-Paul Guerlain, and I must agree. I’ve never met a perfume like this. Over the years, I searched for other favourites, but each time I tried, I failed. Looking back, I now realise that I searched for Samsara in every perfume. This wasn’t consciously done, but now I know that Samsara has set the course of my perfume taste for life. As time has passed, I’ve owned many iterations of Samsara, but the jewel in the crown remains the original formula. It has heart and it has soul and lived life to the fullest with me. But my hope for the future is that Samsara will reborn again, that Mysore Sandalwood will once again thrive in India, and then Guerlain will consider releasing Samsara in its original glory to be loved by new generations to come. It would only be fitting for a perfume named Samsara, don’t you think? Samsara is Sanskrit and it means the cycle of death and rebirth, to which life in the material world is bound, the metamorphosis of the soul; reincarnation. So, you see, it’s not just some dinky little perfume, it’s complex, deep, and full of meaning. Please do excuse my rather lengthy and emotional review, but given my love for Samsara, let’s face it, it was never going to be a short and simple one.

There is nothing that compares to the original Samsara. I have tried every sandalwood-dominant scent on the market and they just do not hold a candle to this beauty. I am not one to write poetic, over-the-top reviews on here, but the person who said there should be poems written about this perfume, just might be on to something. It is a masterpiece and I am devastated that Guerlain reformulated it. This was my grandmother’s signature scent, she wore Shalimar in the 80’s prior to its release, which I also like — but this perfume is what made me love perfume. It was so distinct and left such a strong scent trail that I knew when my grandmother had been over my house, even if she already left by the time I got home from school. I was in middle school at the time, but I remember sitting down at her vanity and finally seeing the red bottle and asking her if this was the perfume that she always wore and she said yes, then she pulled out a tray from her dresser cabinet with about 50 other bottles on it and let me test all of them out. So I asked her why she always wore Samsara, and she said “because no one else does, it’s special, and it just suits me.” I agreed, after smelling the 50 or so other scents, I actually couldn’t agree more and still do to this day. It gained more popularity after it launched, but it wasn’t something that I smelled everywhere. The 90s were the era of very fresh, aquatic, citrus-forward unisex scents by the time I started buying my own perfumes. Not Samsara though, it was special with its deep alluring sandalwood, exotic ylang-ylang, powdery iris, and intoxicating jasmine. My grandmother knew how fond I was of it and how out of my price range it was as a college student, so she bought me a bottle once I turned 20, and I wore it for special occasions only, because of what a sillage beast it is. As I got older, I became a little more daring and started wearing it more often and let me tell you, it is a compliment magnet. I couldn’t believe how many people never even heard of it, as the compliments were always followed up by “what IS that? It’s so different/unique.” I ended up going through the entire bottle eventually, so my husband replaced it with another bottle of the original, and now I have a very little bit left, so he got me the reformulated clear version. Sadly, it’s not the same. The sandalwood is still the best out there, it’s still a longevity beast, but there is some depth missing from it and it doesn’t project like the original. It’s like they watered it down and removed a bunch of the notes that made it such a complex masterpiece. Honestly it smells like they took the iris out completely, which is really disappointing. I guess it truly was that unique and special, I can see it not appealing to everyone but I am a devoted fan of the original. ESPECIALLY since my beloved grandma passed away last year. I refuse to use what’s left in my last red bottle because smelling the cap reminds me of her. She was disappointed with the reformulation too and started wearing Flower by Kenzo layered with the reformulation. On her, this worked and it was as close to the original as I’ve smelled yet. However, it’s a combination that unfortunately doesn’t work for me, my skin projects the Kenzo and not the new Samsara, but hey — it may work for you and may be worth a shot if you miss the original as much as I do. It seems like a lot of other fans of this fragrance agree with my thoughts on the reformulation, and I hope you will all write to Guerlain and express your disappointment as I have.

I discovered Samsara through my Grandma. Every time she'd visit, she would leave behind this beautiful trail of scent. I asked my mom why she smelled so good and her answer was, "expensive perfume." I was only 7 or 8 at the time so that answer was sufficient for me. As the years passed, I began to purchase my own perfumes in high school and college...Tommy Girl, Cool Water, Light Blue, you know - the same stuff all the other high school/college girls wore at the time. Yet, they did not compare with my Grandmother's scent. Finally, I asked her what it was that I was smelling; I couldn't get it out of my head. Her answer: "Shalimar; when you're old enough, I will buy you something you'll like even more." So, on my 23rd birthday, I opened a box and inside it contained Dune by Dior and Samsara. I am assuming she thought they were a bit more age appropriate and probably thought I wouldn't want to smell exactly like her. I liked them both but Samsara had that quality like Shalimar...unique, rich, mysterious; something that an exotic princess would wear. Since that day, Samsara has been my go-to scent for those days I don't want to smell like a fruit cocktail, or a dessert, or a bouquet of flowers. Not that I mind any of those types of frags - roses, pomegranate, and vanilla are three of my favorite notes. However, Samsara is a major departure from those notes. It's exotic jasmine, spices, and sandalwood to my nose. The jasmine is not "floral" though - it's exotic and mysterious. It is powdery, spicy, and woodsy - simply perfect. I have seen many reviews referring to this as an 80's or 90's scent or an "old lady" scent. I think it gets those reactions because it is NOT a floral, or a gourmand, or fruity, or a fruity-floral-gourmand perfume. Trust me, this is anything but an old lady's perfume; it is a WOMAN'S perfume. Even better, my husband adores this scent; I was wearing it when we met and he told me that he couldn't get my scent out of his head. This one does turn heads, it will leave an impression on people, and if you fall in love with it the way I did - I'm not sure if anything will ever satisfy you the way this one does. There's nothing out there like it. It's exotic and bold, but amazingly, doesn't seem to offend people. I get a lot of positive feedback when I wear this, and even if I didn't, I wouldn't care but just one of it's many attractive qualities. Like most Guerlains, it has lasting power and significant sillage..one little spritz on the neck at 8:30AM and I can smell it until 9PM when I take shower. Just like Shalimar, this is one of Guerlain's masterpieces and I hate to sound like this because I'm a fan of many modern fragrances from this decade - but they just don't make perfumes like this anymore.

EXOTIC VINTAGE Sandalwood! Opens with a burst of smoky, bitter-green ylang & iris and transitions to a buttery yellow floral & sandalwood-vanilla with powdery & milky touches - like wood chips soaked in cream. This is the scent my 12 year old self bought in Disney's Epcot Centre at the France pavilion (this and Colors de Benetton (OG) from the Italy pavilion). At the time it was everything I wanted to be; grown-up, sophisticated, exotic, although I had trouble wearing it and regrettably ending up giving it to my aunt who was salivating over it. After that I could smell it in the attic whenever she sprayed once on the main floor, and I wanted to take it back. Contrast to Samsara EDT Guerlain (1989 clear bottle): I find these very similar. Side by side I find the EDT has the iris dialed ever so lightly higher and the vanilla dialed ever so slightly lower. Having said that, the biggest difference to my nose is the strength. Both have great performance, but the EDP develops more powerful & exotic. and the EDT develops more smooth & mysterious Contrast to Samsara EDP Guerlain (Bee Bottle): Very similar to my nose, but the vanilla is dialed higher here, and the sandalwood here, while beautiful, isn't the Mysore sandalwood. Contrast to Samsara EDT Guerlain (Bee Bottle): Very similar to the EDP (Bee Bottle) but slightly more iris and slightly less vanilla, with still having a beautiful creamy sandalwood. Contrast to Un Air de Samsara Guerlain: A light wearing, green version of the original. Although the note cascades are quite different, I'm reminded of this version by Un Jardin En Mediterranee Hermes in their openings, both having a green, oriental floral vibe. UAdS dries down more in keeping with the Samsara range, while UJEM dries down with a sweet, fruity fig. Contrast to Venezia 2011 Laura Biagiotti: These have been compared, but at first I couldn't detect any similarity. Imagine a cafe in San Marco's Square upholstered in red velvet with gilded marino glass mirrors and fixtures. The ambery-plum scent of unsmoked cigarillos wafts up as you crack open a package and you take a deep breath and sink back into a red velvet booth with a vase of ylang. Raisin pie is on the menu, and the once invisible server now moves around the tiny byzantine cafe in a cloud of chiffon and Samsara like Greta Garbo in The Grand Hotel. How could you have not seen her before? Overall: Amazing performance and a masterpiece imo. This version is my favourite, and it's perfect for those occasions that call for a masterpiece of exotic and mysterious proportions. It's a long time love for me. 10/10. Enjoy!

This evening I'm wearing Samsara from the colourless glass bottle (before the bottles went red) and I also own (and like even more) a tiny 2ml extrait I have from a mini-wide-red bottle (looking like a censer). Samsara is one of the few perfumes where I would only ever buy vintage bottles rather than present formulation (I don't enjoy hunting down vintages and when I do, I feel guilty wearing them). Nevertheless, with this specific fragrance, the loss of the natural Indian sandalwood unfortunately ruptured the effect of the perfume in newer formulations (bee bottles onwards). I say ruptured as, smelling this now, I think Samsara was always a very finely balanced proposition and ready to collapse at a moment's notice. Even in early versions, it's hairspray-esque, loud, slightly obnoxious and has a hissing quality to its core floral of jasmine and ylang-ylang. It's huge and heady, radiantly sun-like but slightly suffocating. It is also fundamentally beautiful - it's amazing how, some 60 years after the release of Shalimar, Guerlain were able once again to bottle a total fantasy of "The Orient" - and the way Samsara used to fly off the shelves (at least where I grew up in the UK) was testament to their success. The vintage extrait is deeper and richer still, with an amplified jasmine and sandalwood of incredible smoothness, almost glossy. Virtually all modern "sandalwoods" I smell now (including Australian) have a certain scratchy quality which is blessedly absent in early versions of Samsara, the latter being smooth quite literally like butter. It's this smoothness which allows one to enjoy what's really a brash and outrageous floral rumbling underneath, the sandalwood note gives the entire structure and legibility to the composition as a whole. Like a floral thunderstorm spirit of yellow and white, trapped and raging in a serene wooden vase sitting on a desk overlooking a hot and humid cityscape, in vintage this fragrance is utterly dreamlike. I think Guerlain did an admirable job of reformulation of Samsara when the original sandalwood became unavailable, but the sad part is that there's simply no acceptable substitute. I find present formulations are very light, fizzy, champagne-like: much more floral and, heartbreakingly, much less woody-creamy. The excesses of the original are rendered more apparent and less forgivable, to the point where I'd no longer bother with current Samsara... One of the few cases where, at least for me, the older versions are the only ones I'd care to own!