Keora

This review is for the original version of Keora, made in 1983, splash EDT in a glass bottle with carved bird top.......... Keora is deep, dusty, soft spicy, and powdery. Keora fragrance is based on the kewra flower that grows wild in Burma, the Adamans, and in Southern India. The male kewra flower used for perfumes is similar to a rose scent, but has also a fruity, spiced peach smell. This flower is also used to flavor foods in India, such as a rice pudding called Kheer. Jean Couturier's Keora is powdery, musky, dusty, sweet, but not too sweet. Amber is sweet, but it's wrapped in vanilla and mellow spices. I detect spices such as nutmeg, cassia, cloves, cinnamon, mace and cardamom. All the ingredients are expertly blended, softened by vanilla, musk, and the exotic fragrance of keora flowers. Keora is very long lasting, 12 hours or more, with projection of about 12 inches to 6 inches after drydown. A truly beautiful, unique fragrance that could be unisex. According to notes listed here, looks like this current version of Keora may have deleted the spices ? but still retains the softly spicy keora flowers. I must try this current version soon.

Wish I'd seen the bottle with the lovely bird cap, before I ordered the less-exciting one topped with a golden onion dome. No matter; hopefully I'm getting the same juice. Update: this is a benzoin-forward amber floral with a woody backbone that dries down to something with the slightest hints of chypre. Smells like ylang-ylang to me, although it isn't listed as a note. Could be the jasmine and spices, since ylang can have that spicy-sweet aspect. The rosewood stands out, almost smells like opoponax (a beloved note to me!) I really like this perfume, it's similar to other vintage classics I'm familiar with; Shalimar, Emeraude, and Chantilly come to mind, but Keora is less citrusy. Definitely more benzoin here than in Opium or Cinnabar. This one is for the powder lovers!

It is true that Kéora's lineage can be traced back to the iconic ambers such as Shalimar, Emeraude, even Tabu, but what Keora shifts forward, among considerable benzoin and assortment of spices, are ample yellow flowers. Mimosa and Ylang-Ylang color it a warmer, brighter hue, their radiance reaching through its dusky richness. A column of woodiness strikes through Keora and the savory ripeness of animal notes, including an ambergris accord, just touch the surface, contrasting with its resinous sweetness. It seems to have gotten lost in the swarm of resurgent ambers released in the late 70s and early 80s, but is so deserving of merit for its diversion from its time-tested template. It's lovely.

Just like people below me said, this perfume is in the likes of Shalimar EDP, but without its notable and heavenly vanilla and with added yellow florals like ylang-ylang, even though they're not listed. Its base is spicy, resinous, ambery, warm and woody, due to the benzoin (which is aplenty), palisander wood and tonka, and a slight touch of ambergris also makes its presence. It's more powdery and brighter than Shalimar. I frankly am very happy to own a bottle, I think this is quite beautiful!

After reading the reviews I was very curious to smell this scent. I LOVE amber, and like vanilla, and this EdT is a bargain for less than 10 euros in the Netherlands (Kijkshop)! Surely the list of notes mentioned above is very incomplete, as Joliecat mentioned, because Kéora is mainly spicy. I sprayed on a tiny bit, and got an explosion of scent. My first impression was: nutmeg and cloves. Lots of it. Plus (here I consulted my Indian cookbook and turned to my spice shelf) doses of mace, fennel, cardamom, saffron, cinnamon, ginger, pandanus, kentjur, turmeric. It reminded me of an Indian/hippy EdT I owned when I was a teenager, called Parvati, which was very spicy/patchouli. Kéora is also very, very oriental. The vanilla is not very overt, also I don't detect any typical amber. Musk, yes. After one hour I smelled some smoke, cream and leather, as it became more powdery, reminding me more and more of Rumba. To sum it up: a scorched Asian spice bazar, or an Indian sweet dessert containing lots of spices that got a tad burned. Quite nice! Actually, very nice, but one must be in the right mood for it. This is a scent for overly confident, assertive dark-haired ladies. And ditto men.

Besides the most famous releases I don't know much about vintage perfumes. I mostly get information about them on that website. This one really caught my attention. Somehow it is not so expensive to buy online in the US so I gave it a try. I got the older formula, the bottle with the bird top. Back to the perfume. It's a beautiful spicy one. It smells like a fresh spice box you just opened mixed with the highly feminine floral. No synthetic mess. Then comes the vanilla and amber and it becomes quite an addictive smell. It has the quality of vintage perfumes from the 80's. I dabbed some of the liquid on a tissue and let it in my bedroom. The whole room smelled like Keora and this was perfect. I would not wear this one on a daily basis though. I'm not "femme" enough for that. It's for occasions and winter time only for me.

It is a very longlasting and heavy perfume. I have a new bottle and it is ready for swapping. This perfume is too long lasting and too sophisticated for me. Give me a email if you are interested.

"Keora" and I have been running into each other in several places and countries. I have seen it priced way up and sold as a bargain...yet somehow I was always looking for something else or I could never find a tester. Finally I decided to give it my full attention and test this potion in its pretty bottle (which is made out of thick glass that is quite heavy) with its cute tassel. At first spray a complex and spicy incense wafts to my nose and I feel transported to the 60s where there is a Peace & Love party in full swing yet all the guests are posh and are wearing silk Kaftans and designer jeans. The spicy indian food is delicious. The smell of hand-rolled incense is lingering in the air and mixes with the expensive and exotic body oils the guests are wearing. "Posh Hippie" is the thought that comes to mind...and I like it! It's more complex than the listed notes imply. It's smooth and beautiful and I have the urge to wear black silk and emerald velvet and adorn myself with that special necklace that was gifted to me from a loved one who visited Egypt. An intricate elegant design of silver, vibrant lapis lazuli and velvet green malachite....Beautiful and colourful and this is the perfect scent to wear with it. It's an amber spicy and (smoke free!) incense-ey beauty (and contains lots more notes that are so well blended that I cant really tell them apart) and I can only sigh and enjoy the wonderful result on my wrists. Keora is for all those people who hoped/expected that Juicy Coutures "Peace Love and Juicy Couture" was an elegant hippie scent. And for all those with a penchant for the mysteries of the East with its colourful Souqs, its intricate jewelry and scented temples, but who don't want to smell like cheap smoky incense. Keora is not linear in it scent evolvement...no, it's a pretty mix of notes that evolve and have always a smooth amber vibe to it. Cross my palm with silver...and I'll predict that if you like the above mentioned things you'll adore Keora. Silage is: amber yumminess and spicy beauty - Longevity is: 8+ hours. Enjoy!

If this reminded me of a Shalimar I think I would run a mile but it does not! While Keora does possess that warm, vintage embrace that shields the wearer from the cold, cruel world, it does not have any Guerlinade which is always a gamechanger when it comes to fragrance. That iconic ingredient put the House of Guerlain on the olfactory map. Having said all this, Keora does not need to compete or compare itself to Shalimar or any other perfume for that matter. Being a sister of the most beautiful Coriandre not only puts her in a class of her own, but promises, without a shadow of a doubt, that she is a unique and exceedingly well crafted fragrance. The art of myriad notes which evolve as if in a symphony of perfume is sadly a dying art but Keora manages to be everchanging, showcasing its melange of soft florals, vintage animalics, slight citruses and warm, cozy resins. Beautiful and well worth finding a well preserved version with the beautiful cap!

It was Christmas. And I needed a stunning gift for another perfume lover who shares my passion for vintages and has a number of my favorites already. At Perfumecritic's instigation I purchased a Keora vintage edt... and have to agree. This is a lovely, old fashioned treasure! First off, I may say that to us it's not that long lasting or loud. (I smell it a short arm's length away, no closer.) Past the initial 10 minutes it's low on sillage to everyone here who tested it, which is perfectly OK. Sometimes you want a deep beauty that doesn't waft into the next room! Over time, I've noticed my recipient wears it most often on her hair, which then takes on a darkly seductive aura. Wow. Trying to describe such a powdery/vanilla/incense/woody fragrance can be difficult. For me personally, it is as if someone bottled Tabu and Shalimar together, toning both down with talcum powder. This might not sound appealing, but it IS. Vintage lovers rejoice! <3

I bought my EDT 100 ml bottle together with Sanderling EDP for 18 euro. Bought it blind because at our kijkshop you can't smell what you are buying at least very rarely. And i am happy i did. It's true it's very heavy perfume and lasts ages. I was afraid it will be similar to Obsession or Moschino looking at the notes. But it is not. For me it's just casual oriental smell but even casual it's one of a kind. Initial spray (which gives huge amount of liquid) is very heavy with huge dose of artificial vanilla. But as soon as it settles i get beautiful vanilla with tiny bit of flowers in the background. It's also mega powdery. It's definitely baby powder, reminds me of the one from Johnson & Johnson line. Somehow it gives me right from the shower feeling. I really like it and i don't regret a bit blind getting it. Sillage is enormous.

Notes written here up are totally arbitraries. They could just write "we have no idea about notes in it", so: Top: Bergamot, Lemon, Rosewood, Mandarin, Neroli Heart: Rose, Jasmine, Iris, Lily-of-the-valley Base: Benzoin, Ambergris, Vanilla, Vetiver, Patchouli, Russian leather, Tonka, Civet. This smell a lot of patchouli (main note), well blended with civet leather amber vanilla tonka and some bergamot rosewood. A sort of different kind of Shalimar like Tom Ford Noir, a very oriental hippie style. Very deep fragrance, too heavy for my taste. I am talking about the vintage version with a bird between flowers on top.

Seductive smoky-citrus-vanilla fragrance, to start with, retro, yet you can easily wear it nowadays without feeling you are in someone elses's shoes. Indeed Shalimar-ish taste at the opening, but its getting more ambery and smoky-spicy with time, rather than vanillic, I would wear it for night out with classy dress and heels, it requires chic from you and possesses one itself, definitely.

I agree with drug store classics, it’s as if Emeraude and Tabu were mixed together. I totally get that, but not sure if it’s my thing yet because I’m getting a lot of civet with a little finger nail polish remover as well so I prefer those on their own over Keora. I do love the name, though and to be fair my bottle is a mini vintage so maybe it’s spoiled. I will revisit eventually.

Smells like a weaker, slightly sweeter and powderier Shalimar. I compared both in vintage bottles side by side after smelling Shalimar and thinking.. "I've smelled this before!" Shalimar is smokier, deeper and a bolder whereas Keora is a bit more feminine. Keora could definitely pass as a dupe. Both spicy amber's are worth giving a try, though they may not be for everyone.

I updated the list of notes (that's why the vanilla has so many votes) and purchased a vintage bottle. Wow!!!! This stuff is amazing; a patchouli, ambergris and vanilla bomb with strong rosewood and civet accents! I'm VERY curious as to how the reformulation compares. Review forthcoming :-)

Finally I can wear it.I don't mind the notes,I only feel very comfortable in this daring patch with hints of vanilla and flowers that I don't recognize.But the sum is more than singular parts. Perfect for storming days,in mood of "Wuthering heights".Beautiful.

What an unexpected and pleasant surprise!! A spicy fragrance I can wear and it not only smells the same on me as it does in the bottle, but it's the exact mix of scents I've been searching for - I will definitely purchase more!!!

Sometimes Shalimar needs an occasion to wear. This can be a daily driver and save Shamilar for special occasions.

Would love to try this but can't find it in the UK.

A dead ringer for the original Shalimar.