Samsara Eau de Toilette

Guerlainade, that wonderful, dreamy, plush "powder" suite of impressionistic accords that swirl through decades of Guerlain releases like real familial DNA is such a peak calling card. If you've smelled Mitsouko, Shalimar, Vol de Nuit, Vetiver, Chant d'Aromes, even Habit Rogue, likely many others, then you'll instantly know what family Samsara is from. It's unmistakable - she has her daddy's eyes and her grandmother's smile: "That's a Guerlain" A chic time capsule, Samsara is a toasty warm, drier, and simpler Shalimar descendant for the late 80s / early 90s business professional "cool girl" that fused prep-school cred, city loft-living, and bohemian in one. She's either an architect, a writer, or commercial real-estate broker. Every kid's favorite effortlessly chic and always busy young aunt. Kate McCallister might even have put on a spritz. Was this woman a revisionist fantasy, or a true archetype in time? Perhaps a bit of both. Sparkling, sharp (and for me, yes, sneezy) 80s / 90s "perfumery" citrus aldehydes start strong, even for an EDT, but quickly give way to a sweet warm golden melange of creamy ylang-ylang and jasmine type white florals and then the star, a layered heart of graham crackery, buttery, yet dry and sun-worn sandalwood. Hints of vanilla, biteable but not gourmand are there as part of that cozy Guerlainade haze. I associate it with putting on something expensive, but comforting - silk, furs, even a chunky wool sweater. The general heft of quality textiles. It's your mom coming to check on you in your bed when they came back home from a night out. Remember when parents did that? It is inviting, and unfortunately easy to over apply. Like other Guerlains and as an EDT, while strong it luckily does tend to burn off into something more intimate, sandalwood and said Guerlainade fusing with skin and lingering on clothes for ages in a much closer bubble. I'm not wearing something that smelled good, but "I" smell good, even if only I, or a select few ultimately know it at the end of the day. And, well "That's a Guerlain"

This is one of those that either works for you or it doesn't... and it works for me wonderfully. I have never tried the original formula so I have nothing to compare it to, but if this version is *this* stunning, I cannot imagine how incredible the original was. Samsara is delicate and intuitive like lace or embroidery. But she has depth in the form of pale, spindly roots that reach far into the recesses of the earth. She begins with a breathtaking citrus sunrise, reminiscent of airy, lemon poundcake. Soon after, the day breaks open and the jasmine does too. Ylang-ylang too joins in on the chorus of powdery pollen decorating the earth like glitter. A joyful day sinks into an extravagant twilight full of music, dancing, laughter and when overcome with groove-induced tiredness, drifts away into a heaven crafted out of golden, buttery sandalwood. Your sheets are creamy silk and you're getting the best sleep of your life. For those who love to throw on chunky metallic or statement jewelry pieces with their casual wear to look more put together and those who are often told that they are "old souls". Absolutely full bottle worthy... and I don't care if you tell me I smell like your grandma.

I had to come back to update the value on this one from OK to great. This Samsara EDT lasts all day, and I have never once regretted putting it on or felt that it wasn't appropriate to a given situation. If that's not a great bargain, I don't know what is. If I could wear only one perfume for the rest of my life, it would be some iteration of Samsara. I hope Guerlain never discontinues it. Other fragrances cannot begin to approximate its unique balsamic thrall. Update: The performance on this formulation--both sillage and longevity--are outrageously good. The comment right above mine makes me worry--my bottle is about halfway depleted, and when I run out, I hope against hope that I don't get a dud. I have vintage decants to use as my baseline--this formulation from 2022 or 2023, in the bouchon coeur bottle, isn't identical to those (how could it be, without genuine Mysore sandalwood?) but it's close enough that I'm satisfied. Still, it sounds like other Fragranticans are disappointed? It's worrisome because Samsara, the Samsara that I recognize and love, has no real equivalent--similar perfumes might have many overlapping notes, but they're distant cousins at best.

Biggest dent in my current collection (accounting for time owned): that's got to say something. Samsara smells like home and makes me feel like the optimal version of myself. I have written a good half-dozen reviews of the various formulations and vintages, but the fact is that I am absolutely content when I wear this current formulation of the EDT, the least expensive version of Samsara and a good value for the money, because its performance is outstanding. I don't ever want to be without a bottle of the EDT and the EDP both, and I hope I never need to be. Please never discontinue this one, Guerlain. Along with Nahéma, it is the treasure of Les Légendaires and certainly the best of the "modern" ones. I love them all, even polarizing Insolence and Champs-Elysées, but nothing compares to Samsara.

I honestly don't understand the numerous complaints about this EDT in recent years. I wore Samasara EDT in the 90s, and while this version in the new heart bottle is softer, the original DNA of the scent is exactly as I remember it. Spicy, smooth, slightly woody, I'm not getting much vanilla or powder at all. I would need to overspray for it to be beast mode, whereas with my very first bottle just one spray would achieve that. However, I don't need this to be beast mode to enjoy it. Two or three sprays and I'm good. Still beautiful and nothing else comes close.