Fables d'Orient

This perfume is stunning!!! For all the iris/heliotrope/slightly spicy fragrance lovers like myself, this will be your dream. I got a full bottle immediately after the very first trial. For me, this perfume blooms in the crisp winter. What can trick you is that, although it's an amber-forward perfume, the note which is usually associated with "warmth", this perfume is actually beautifully cold. And another irony is that, although (to me) it feels "cold", it will nonetheless bloom in the cold weather. I don't think it fits warm weather. I got a "huh!" moment when I saw that somebody compared it to RM no 5, because it's true, but I would never discover this association myself (and I own a decant of RM no 5). To me it's like a child of RM no 5 and Dior Homme Original. In terms of masculine/feminine tendency, when I first sniffed it, I just fell in love, and I didn't have a particular association with it being either masculine and feminine. Instinctually, it felt completely unisex. On the other hand, when I "think" about it intentionally, I guess it does leans slightly more masculine, but you notice this if you really force yourself to categorize it. In terms of performance, it's rather moderate, but if you overspray a bit, then it holds longer and has bigger sillage. I think in this perfume, sillage is stronger than the projection. Longevity is quite good, over 5 hours. However, I do think that the price is exaggerated. I got it second-hand for half a price, otherwise it would really hurt. Why? Because even though it's great, it's not completely unique and intriguing, and it's not beast mode, and for that price, to me the perfume needs to have one of these qualities. When I wear it, it gives me this classic sense of irisy cleanliness and refinement (with zero soapiness/aldehydic or citrusy vibes). It's powdery, but dissolved, light fresh powder, not the suffocating, dense powder. It has this watery quality about it, sort of like you sprayed a water body lotion. LOVE!

I absolutely love L’Artisan and usually gravitate toward a lot of floral, but have been looking for a spicy scent for fall/winter that is not too vanilla-heavy. This just arrived today and I absolutely love it. The nutmeg is most pronounced, followed by amber, resins, and a touch of iris. The powder/heliotrope is most present upon initial spray, then quickly fades, and dry down is quite similar to Noir Exquis but with less gourmand/vanilla. As always I wish the Florals were more prominent, but this will provide the variety in my collection I was looking for. For comparison, I also have L’Ambre Extrême, Noir Exquis, and Fou d’Absinthe, which are all “likes” for me but don’t quite hit the spot like this one does (fou d’Absinthe is most similar). I’m curious to layer this with Mont de Narcisse to cut down the amber taking over on dry down.

Trying the sample from the house, damn, i knew this was going to be gorgeous!!! What a wonderful oriental perfume, powdery nutmeg with heliotrope, iris, sexy musks and amber to give it a sensual background sweetness. Definitely warm and cozy, sexy winter stuff. Reminds me of Rosendo Mateu 5 but this is lighter and more pleasant. Also some hints of Pegasus and Alexandria II. But not a copy at all. This is a scent of its own. This is gorgeous! Looking forward to see full presentation and price. EDIT: it's now part of my signature scents since 2 years. Absolute spot on!

I usually hate powdery scents, I find that the powder typically overpowers all the other accords, but not so much here. This is a beautiful, warm, inviting and smooth fragrance. I absolutely love this. I only wish it had better sillage and lingered for longer. I definitely need to overspray to smell it for more than an hour.

What a gorgeous, gorgeous fragrance. It opens with slightly spicy nutmeg and fades into a somewhat sweet, creamy heliotrope. A true unisex fragrance, I'd say. Also, the longevity of this fragrance is incredible - it lasted on my skin about 20h.

I absolutely adore this perfume! It is a masterpiece! Sexy, misterious, sweet, ambery... It just wowed me and had to get it! Probably one of my favourites perfumes of all times. Love it!

I audibly gasped when I smelled this. Gorgeous, warm, rich, spicy amber deliciousness (without leaning kitchen spice rack whatsoever)

A musky amber scent best for evenings

Fables d’Orient opens in a cloud of nutmeg dust, dry and spiced, its eugenol-tinged warmth settling like fine powder on skin. There’s a fleeting sharpness, almost peppery, before the iris emerges—cool, green, and root-like, its buttery earthiness softening the spice’s bite. The contrast is striking yet seamless, a dance between heat and silk. Simplistic, quiet warmth. The iris never powdery, never perfumey—just smooth, vegetal, anchored in a base that stays restrained, never tipping into excess. A well-balanced tale of spice and earth, neither opulent nor austere. One genuinely well-told!

Les Contes du Levant disappointed me but Les Fables d'Orient won me over! It is a fragrance full of nuances which offers a perfect balance between the powdery elegance of iris, vanilla heliotrope and the warmth of amber and spices. Musk brings sensuality to the whole. It's a secret romantic rendez-vous under the stars. Sensual, delicate and refined, I really like it!

This is cosy. and a bit boring if I'm being blunt. It's like a more wearable version of Alexandria II, very toned down and more office/everyday wear. While it’s commendable, the fragrance lacks that captivating uniqueness and beastly allure. At that price point, it should possess one of these remarkable qualities. But I do love L'artisan as a house :)

I do like this and I am such a fan of this brand, the bottles, the way they spray - really beautiful stuff. Haven’t found my scent here yet and this is great but becomes far too powdery and intrusive on me. Will keep checking them out.

Elegant and comforting. I like how this perfume evolves... but I can smell the coumarin too distinctly to be able to enjoy it. A lovely scent, just not for me.

Such a comforting scent... & intriguing! Unisex. P.s. I just received the 2ml tester yesterday, so will update soon.

A dry woody, spicy musk. I get Alexandria II vibes, Spice Must Flow or something from Lattafa. Not what I expect from L’Artisan, a bit aggressively linear and synthetic for me.

Very disappointing. I've tried two samples, from different sellers, thinking at first I'd gotten the wrong scent. I love myrrh and nutmeg scents, and especially amber and with the heliotrope note given here I thought I'd be getting a lush gorgeous rich myrrh bomb. Instead, it's very dry and bristly at first, then sort of disappears entirely into a skin scent. Too much musk, I suppose. I'm never a big fan of musk. Unlike the other reviewers, it doesn't smell at all familiar to me (and I have a very long perfume past). I think the name is the problem. It drags you in, like most good perfume names. Proof that there are many views of what "the orient" smells like. And a wide variety of fables too.

There's an aromachemical that this shares with Alexandria II that I just can't stand. Really unsure what it is but it's one of my rare visceral reactions that I've only come accross in those two scents so far. Almost like a nuclear powdery synthetic accord. Objectively doesn't seem like a badly built fragrance but my nose just cannot.

To my nose, this perfume is divine, as it combines features of some of my favorite “marine” (vs “dusty”) ambers and tonka. Cesare Paciotti Oriental Supreme (heliotrope+nutmeg+tonka - warm, powdery, nutty and I’d say unisex) , Amber Gris (by Perris Monte Carlo or Alyssa Ashley - it’s “that type” of amber that adds a slightly feminine spin to the masculine aspects of a fragrance) , and the drydown of Xerjoff 40 knots (this one has a marine side to it, rather masculine). If you like any of these you’ll LOVE Fables d’Orient, but not necessary the other way around, because L’Artisan’s creations are very sheer and have this watercolor quality to it which makes each ingredient transparent, diffused. The other three mentions are more dense, different from each other, but worth exploring as part of the same mixing palette. I’m contemplating a bottle, although each of the three perfumes I mentioned has a special extra kick to it, which is averaged in L’Artisan. Because of that, I’d reach for it only when I’m trying to be more subtle, avoid attention, but still smelling good. This isn’t particularly feminine, but isn’t barbershop-like in order to be unsuitable for women. If you have nothing like this in your collection - sample it. I wouldn’t recommend a blind buy. Also - the most voted resemblance here so far is Rosendo amateur 5. I understand why someone might feel they have similarities, but not if you have more experience with other fragrances - then #5 will feel too “nutty”, musky, sharper... unless mellowed by any of the aforementioned Amber Gris fragrances - then I would go and upvote the resemblance, but not so much if #5 is compared on its own. Alexandria II also comes to mind, but in the veeeery drydown of Fables d’Orient. I’ve always liked Alexandria II, but I avoided it, because it starts off too masculine according to everyone around me. So... if I’m to wear something in the same vein, through Fables d’Orient I can enjoy the sides of Alexandria II that I like. Overall, this is a fragrance I’d be more than happy to wear and I recommend it to anyone who likes sheer ambergris, dusted with heliotrope and sprinkled with nutmeg.

Here's the thing, I smelled this and put it on my skin and I thought it reminded me of something and I looked here and the common similar fragrance is Alexandria ii by Xerjoff. Straight up. If you want Alexandria ii, but you want to save $150 you can get this, but this lasts about 4 hours less and doesn't project quite as hard. Alexandria ii is explosive and is eternal with the resinous, Ambery, slightly powdery Iris, and is a real head turner. This is good, but it's almost exact. Xerjoff prices per cost of materials, and they are all the highest of quality, so in order to get the lower cost the only logical explanation would be less quality materials within.

There is definitely something masculinly piercing about this, but not in a locker room kind of way, rather in an oriental spice musk animalic kind of way. It is nice, and can easily be unisex, in a femme fatale kind of way. Might be the spice of the nutmeg and the animalic musc or even the myrrh and olibanum which definitely makes it more resinous. Not really getting a powdery vibe here, heliotrope is lost on this one, *I love this note, but more in the fluffy gourmands and spring florals. Very nice oriental more of a woody spicy musky scent than powdery to me. ** 180 samples up for swap UK - check my customs, get in touch with what you have! **

This is definitely a cool weather fragrance, the kind that makes you want to stay inside and cocoon by a fireside. There is a romantic smokey sweetness, which lends itself to evening time. The frankincense and the floral notes make this deeply seductive. There is something that is very warming about this fragrance in the way that a shot of brandy is warming. It requires a certain focus and intimacy, hushed tones, deliberation, and intent. Not for daytime, summer, or frivolity. Definitely unisex and definitely for time spent with only one other person. It’s pretty intensely alluring, but, only for the right occasion.

To me, this smells cozy but in a scented candle type of way. This could be a Kringle candle with something like a soft blanket on the cover. I wore it for a few hours but my brain refuses to read it as perfume. I think I would like it on someone else’s skin though. Maybe someone feminine who is really into late 90s/early 2000s fragrances. (A safe blind buy if that’s your vibe) I will say though that I love L’eau Papier and reach for it often but they are distant cousins at best. Plus, sadly, there is something in here that makes me sneeze when my nose gets really close to my skin. :/

I keep going back to test this bottle. It’s like an enveloping scent. Warm, spicy, dry sweetness. I can’t believe I’m going to say this but it’s like if a luxury house made a dryer sheet Fables d'Orient would be it. That’s not a dig because I would love my whole closet to smell like this. The only problem? I feel like I’ve got this in my collection somewhere. Even my 12 year old said it smelled familiar. Maybe in the vicinity of Iris Malikhân by Maison Crivelli? If you have a lot of bottles it may not be creative enough. If you’re new to fragrance then it’s a beautiful, easy yes.

This smells a LOT like Amouage Reflection 45, but with a thick syrupy coating. Great scent, lots of steamed rice and caramel besides the iris and very potent nutmeg

The undertone smells very similar to Thomas Kosmala’s #4 with added powdery notes. It’s very chemical and plastic.

One of the favs. Reminds me of Amouage Reflection, though it is a bit more bitter.

Amazing underrated scent.If u like Alexandria by Xerjoff try this

Woody musky iris . Best choice as a gift for your special man .

Immediately reminded me of ysl Body Kouros the silver bottle