Contes du Levant

POAL comparison is somewhat accurate. Yes they are both chypre-rose fragrances but this is much less jammy and sweet, more tangy and cypriolic.

It is very similar to portrait of a lady by frederik malle very good sillage

Spicy/Earthy rose perfume On paper strip the opening is peppery and spicy, and I can already smell some rose. The sweet green rose note balances the spiciness very well. However, on my skin the rose comes out in a later stage. I mainly get the bitter earthy patchouli. As an Asian, I always tend to associate patchouli with herbal medicine, which brings me a feeling of calmness. I actually bought the bottle after testing on paper because I fell in love with the spicy rose opening; however, when I wore it for the first few times, I also appreciated the medicinal opening on my skin. I really enjoy how it develops on my skin after rose comes into play. The sweet rose note works well with patchouli and incense, adding some "softness" to it and making the perfume less "rough". At this stage my skin smells like Chinese medicine shop with some vintage wooden furniture and some rose in the background. While on paper rose seems more dominant. It smells spiced rose jam, somewhat creamy. I prefer the drydown on my skin. It is deep and dry, a bit smoky and leathery. The longevity and sillage are both reasonable.

It's rose, it's patchouli, it's incense-y, it's slightly resinous from the labdanum. While the dry down is a bit different, the first phase of the perfume smell 95% like Portrait of a lady. The lack of raspberry makes the rose slightly less jammy. A much cheaper (but still expensive) and very good alternative to POTL, especially for men who are averse to the idea of wearing sth called "Portrait of a lady".

Olives, leather kinda smells like molinard cuir. Plus some roses. Smells good but idk don’t think its very close to portrait of a lady to me

Very in the vein of POAL or Eau Capitale, just a little bit more unisex, no berries, more labdanum ambery tones.

A spicy/peppery rose surrounded by incense. Contes du Levant is quite pleasant but - for my part - has nothing exceptional, I find it lacks 'depth'. With a name like that, I expected something much more oriental and exuberant. However, it remains nice but a little 'dull' for the price. No crush for me.

I got a sample in the mail today. For me, the rose and pepper really come out during the first 2 minutes and then they fade into the background of what smells to me very strongly of cedar and beeswax. These aren’t listed, and no one else is saying it, so I don’t know if this is just a weird personal perception, but I MOSTLY get cedar and beeswax. It is really so lovely with the smoky patchouli rose in the background. Update: I’m a cellist and after wearing this for a while, I have to say BRO this is so cello-y to me. Not the golden honey romantic cello, but more of a dark baroque cello. I feel like I need to go play Vivaldi by candlelight (beeswax candles because the more I smell it the more I notice beeswax,) surrounded by roses. Really getting addicted to this scent.

Tres grande ressemblance avec Portrait of lady , Je trouve que Contes du Levant est un plus masculin grace a la note de l’encens qui lui donne un aspect Virile Si vous aimer Poat vous allez aimer Contes du Levant

Lazy composition using an off-the-shelf proprietary rose/labdanum/incense base product. Smell the dry-down of this alongside Rosa Nera Oud by Angelo Caroli if you don’t believe me.