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.

. i absolutely agree with each comment down below .... I have EDT and love it ... absolutely love how it dries down into the calming, soothing sandalwood base. Although I don ́t have and haven ́t tried EDP I love Samsara .... so timeless, although I collect Les Classiques Samsara belongs to the best ever made sandalwood in the world!! And it ́s still very easily wearable ... on skin it dries down beautifully !!!! Hands down - this is masterpiece for each collector!!

I have the EDP and the EDT, and I wish I had every vintage and every formulation of this scent forever and ever amen. What a gamelan glory this is, the fragrance that most reliably induces a synesthetic response in me. An incandescence of wood and floral notes, sweet and chiming like marimbas, radiant and gleaming like old maple floors. It blows my mind, truly, that people say this is loud. It doesn't clang. It resonates.

I have a 30 ml of the edp, and a 100 ml of the edt, both from the bee bottle variants. And I love them! I have managed to use up half of the edt, even though I have many other fragrances. It is a fragrance I never want to be without! For me, it is mainly for summertime, or spring and early autumn. But it is always beautiful... even if I’m not wearing it for the day, I love to open the bottle and just inhale. Bliss.

This fragrance reminded me of Bella Donna by Jul et Mad, but a more subtle version of it--which I wanted to love but found it too strong and headache inducing. However, Samsara allowed me to truly enjoy the ylang ylang and jasmine notes. I'd say that this fragrance works well for the summer as it has this refreshing aspect to it.

I have the current version of Samsara and I absolutely love it. On me, it lasts for hours and the sandalwood dances with the senses in the most beautiful manner. I have both the edp and the edt of the current version and I love them both. The edt is woodier while the edp is deeper, but both are stunningly beautiful.

I think I have finally found my favorite creamy sandalwood! It's so warm, balmy, a creamy sandalwood and ylang ylang scent cloud with a dash of jasmine. P.s. I have the bee design bottle (EDT).

I'm very surprised as back in the day, I really did not like the old Samsara at all. To me, the old Samsara had a heavy screechy feeling to it. This new one though is very light and airy. I had decided to try the new formulation since hearing good things about it. I absolutely love sandalwood! There is very little vanilla detected here and it is mostly a nice light powdery sandalwood that comes after an opening burst of nice citrus. After a few minutes, the sandalwood softly blooms as it sits on the skin along with the other slightly sweet scents as a base note. I always like to test scents in the great outdoors as it helps me to detect any undesirable notes in the clean fresh air. I think this one will be a beautiful lady though in that regard. I almost bought another bottle of Shalimar instead of this, but I didn't since I still had some left and took a chance. This scent can be worn day or night in any season in my mind. I'm not regretting it at all. Definitely not a grandma scent. Tasteful, lovely.

My memory may be clouded but this does remind me of the vintage EDP I had long ago so I am happy I purchased a contemporary bee bottle EDT. I'm nothing like the woman described by @kkaattjjeess but the point is this perfume evokes the imagination of the wearer. I feel like a contented better version of my self who is ok with the bittersweet nostalgia this summons up when worn. To me, this one is comforting, slightly heady of florals, and smooth. It's feminine for certain.

I kinda like it. Very powdery with warm spicy notes. Definitely smell Iris, amber, vanilla, tonka bean and sandal wood. Great for winter. This one does last a moderate amount on time on my skin, but it is very light on my clothes and I had to spray it several times. افضل استخدمه في الشتاء فقط. العطر ريحته بودرية مع شوية نوتات سبايسي ودافية. النوتات اللي قوية في هالعطر بالنسبة لي زهرة السوسن (الايرس) و العنبر و الفانيلا و. التونكا و خشب الصندل. العطر ثباته متوسط على الجلد لكن على الملابس جدا خفيف ويحتاج اعادة رش عدة مرات.

The sillage and performance are so poor I regret buying it. It's like proudly wearing invisible but expensive clothes - ridiculous.

Oof. Absolutely adore the notes listed ... but this presentation is a no-go for me. On my skin, it feels dated, not classic. Very old-lady/80’s bathroom air-freshener. On the plus side, I got the reformulation in the bee bottle, and there were no performance/longevity issues. The scent just isn’t for me.

(This review is for the newest Samsara EDT in the same bottle as pictured above--the one with the inverted heart cap.) I've tried Samsara in a few different forms: the new version of the EDT I have now, the vintage EDT in the 1oz glass bottle with the golden juice and burgundy cap, and the parfum version in the squat red mini splash bottle with gold lining. My favorite formula is the vintage EDT, which was a potent golden elixir of buttered sandalwood, powdery purple flowers, and sunshiny ylang. It was very strong. The parfum in the wide red mini bottle was a whisper of sandalwood on lightly sweaty/salty skin. Very beautiful and intimate. On to the experience I just had with the newest Samsara...well, here is a little bit about it to prepare you. When I opened the box and sniffed the nozzle I thought "Oh no; aldehyde bomb." Aldehydes make me sneeze, but I still like them in perfume. I braced myself, then I sprayed it on my wrist. I was hit with a bright, fuzzy, acidic, aldehyde opening mixed with wood shavings that almost made me run to my computer to request a return for this. I had to sit through the brief warm-up to get to the heart of the new Samsara's song. After it melded with my skin heat and chemistry, I loved it. My husband complimented me on it right away and said "Wow, that smells very you." It makes a statement, but it doesn't demand too much. New version is an effervescent aura. Lasting power is approximately 4 hours. It goes through three main stages: Stage 1 is aldehydes and wood shavings which lasts about 5 minutes, and I don't care for this phase of new Samsara. Stage 2 is aldehydes simmering down, the sparkling aftereffect blending perfectly with powdery yellow and purple florals, and sandalwood peeking its head out. Stage 3 is buttery, powdery, smooth, golden, and addictive ONLY IF it's warm wherever I am (if my skin is cold, it's aldehydes galore, and the sandalwood only shows up as a flickering hologram). When warm conditions are present, the drydown smells like a wood you could lick, and that if you did, the bark would melt in your mouth. It still has that addictive creamy quality of the vintage, but in a smaller dose. It also amplifies the salty scent of your skin, but smells clean and doesn't become animalic. It's sensual and glowing. It beams like golden light off the skin. It gives the impression of poise, warmth, "a sense of serenity" (as advertised in 1990), and self-assuredness. Fun fact: I read online that Angela Lansbury and Sheena Easton both wore Samsara.

I bought this because my mum had the 1991 EDT in the year 2000. I would spray it and think... "who is my mother really??" Anyway, this new version isn't as punchy as I remember the 1991 EDT, which was really rich and stinky, and had a much darker juice. It's softer. The opening is a bit sneeze-worthy, sharp, white flora. I get the Ylang Ylang and Jasmine immediately, the Citrus is a little overshadowed. However, It's spicy and warm and well-blended. The opening lasts a while. Like 1-2 hours. The mid notes are smoother and rounder than the sharp opening, and the dry down is sweet and vanilla-esque due to the Tonka, with spice shot the whole way through from the sandalwood. I applied this before bed and my wrists smelt like shea butter with a bit of sandalwood and ylang ylang in the morning. A lovely, creamy, well-balanced and UNIQUE dry down. Not these generic vanilla and musk drydowns you get today. Very 90s. Smells like a 90s cool/ mean girl, born in the 70s, who has had a wild past, and is now a rich hippie (that's my mum lol). A classy, feminine scent that's still very wild. It does smell very vintage, but not quite as vintage as I would have hoped.

I’m completely confused about this scent ATM. There’s so much hate on line about the reformulation and I just don’t get it. Granted, it has been more than 20 years since I purchased a bottle until this one that I bought last week. I still adore this scent! Maybe I don’t notice any difference because I haven’t smelled the original since my first bottle in 1993, but it’s eternally divine and one whiff took me straight back to high school, university and the 10 years after that this was my signature scent. It’s intoxicating, complex and elusive. I just don’t get everyone complaining about the reformulation. I feel like one person on line said this and a thousand others followed just to say that their noses were keen enough to detect the difference. I guess I’m a dumb pleb. All fragrances get reformulated. I’m still in love with Samsara. Perhaps love is nose-blind. I’m ok with that.

People often say a perfume "smells like money" (they mean having money, not an actual dollar note lol), and I usually roll my eyes as 99% of the time it's a perfume that doesn't smell "rich" to me, certainly not in an old money way (*cough* Baccarat and and most popular niche perfumes). Samsara EDT however (I have this same bottle) smells like a young heiress that has just done a full on pamper routine and is getting ready for a function, wearing a silk robe sitting at their vanity, and they haven't even applied perfume yet. She's educated, speaks 4 languages, makes good conversation, has a genuine smile/laugh and does not have social media. This might have been a useless review and it's just about to not get any better as I won't go into the notes, lol.