Desert Suave

Blind bought because I’m collecting Quentin Bisch frags. I didn’t know what to expect at all with this scent. When it arrived, I sampled it and learned I needed to let my bottle macerate for a few days. The premature testing didn’t turn out well and I was scared to touch this scent again-it came off as sooooo strong and rich and concentrated, I worried I’d suffocate others around me. But, Christmas was approaching, and I got a spiced gumdrop vibe from this scent, so I bravely sprayed myself all over. And what a delight. It took a few hours to realize I liked the scent. It’s so different from anything I tried before, my brain couldn’t understand what I was smelling. The scent also evolves as you wear it. When I spray, it’s a bit more like strong vintage spicy cologne with a super sweet candied date dominant note. Then after a few minutes, it begins to mellow out and turn more candy gourmand. The cardamom initially reads like liquorice to my nose but mellows into more chai as it dries down. The dates are sticky sweet. It smooths out and begins smelling like a strong sugary candy spicy gourmand, with some Christmas vibes. But this isn’t just for Christmas- This scent lasts forever. It’s rich and projects all day and night. But something happened in the drydown overnight... I woke up and I kept smelling a beachy tropical smell. Coconut, spicy sandalwood, the sun baking on an expensive wood patio aromatic kind of feeling. I realized it was the next day drydown of this scent. Then I realized that the spicy sunbaked sandalwood note i was smelling is nearly identical to the sandalwood base in Simone Andreoli’s Malibu Party in the Bay, which is a extrait high end clone of Virgin Island Water. The next day drydown of Desert Suave really reminds me of a VIW type scent, only swapping the citrus for cardamom spice, and if you candied the coconut. Once Desert Suave begins to fade, the dates fade into a sugary syrup scent and a sandalwood base comes through more, but the way the sugar & wood interact, it gives me summer sunshine tropical vibes instead of winter Christmas candy vibes. I wonder if I can accelerate this scent into summer by spraying lighter and sitting in the sun for awhile...? This scent is powerful. Feels niche. Very sugary “vintage candy style” gourmand with strong spicy notes and enough woods to push away the “Cloud wearing cupcake chasers.” You need to have confidence to wear this. It’s a delightful journey from Holidays to Vacation. Happiness in a bottle. It’s probably one of the top 5 most unique scents I own. I will be buying a backup. I love it!

I wore this as my scent of the yesterday since I was fortunate enough to obtain a sample, and this morning, I'm still smelling it radiating from my skin. The sample I received was 0.7 ml, so a very little goes a very long way. I did use the entire sample, so performance may vary depending on how much you spray. So, obviously, this has beast performance and for the price, I would expect nothing less. This is a beautiful scent. In my opinion, completely unisex. I agree with some of the others that the sesame doesn't stick around long enough but overall, this is a magical elixir. I don't actually think that the sesame disappears but that the fragrance is so well blended that you can't isolate it much once it dries down. The combination of all the notes together turn this fragrance into something truly special. The company, Liquides Imaginaires, want to transport you to a different mindset with their creations and I couldn't help but envision myself lounging around a beautiful oasis in the desert when I caught wafts of this throughout the day. It is warm, rich, woody and sweet. At this writing, it's just under 20 hours since I first sprayed it on and it is still projecting from my skin. The projection for the first 8 hours was enormous, and the sillage was extremely good for the first 7-8 hours as well before it finally started to settle in closer to the skin. However. even though it's been so long since I first sprayed it, it's still radiating within arms reach. I'm not trying to sniff it, I just keep catching wonderful wafts of it as I move my head around. At the price, I wouldn't recommend a blind buy but in my opinion, it is definitely worth the hefty price tag. I would always recommend sampling before but I can't imagine anyone not loving this fragrance. It really is something special. I'm looking forward to testing out more from this house. Smell : 10/10 Longevity : 10/10 Projection : 10/10 Sillage : 9/10 Overall : a masterpiece.

To @Bucket_list who said: "Layers fantastically with L'Ile Pourpre" ...well I love you. I received 5mL splits of both L'Ile Pourpre and Desert Sauve layering the second a few hours after putting on L'Ile Pourpre and right before I went outside on a very muggy, 90% humidity, 88°F day in NYC. At first spray I was not impressed and mostly got pretty florals (dry though) and just alcohol. Immediately I thought of the TX Lavendar from Boyds of Texas and how dry the lavender notes were in that perfume and wondered if I should just get a full bottle of that. Well nvm - no shade to that scent but I want to layer L'Ile Pourpre and Desert Sauve for the rest of summer, every day, as long as I can afford it! The heat IMMEDIATELY made everything come to life. The tart fig and herbal chaos of L’Ile Pourpre started humming and gave off something like an "iced tea ~potion~", while Desert Suave wove in like sun-warmed spices in a humid hot wind. My skin turned into an altar of resin, juice, and ritual. It’s giving fever-dream oasis priestess. The projection and trail is so enchanting I had two men arguing over what they were smelling when I was checking out at my wine shop. The drydown is this whispery veil of cardamom-slicked fig and incense—less “I just showered” and more “I don't mind walking in the rain (that I summoned) in a sheer silk slip.” Also, this lasted. Not nuclear, but strong and persistent. Every time I moved, I got a different facet. Layering holy grail unlocked!!!

I love this perfume. Really great stuff, evokes some very interesting vibes of gourmand, creamy, floral and the desert dry warmth of the title. I think the opening is almost fruity but I don't perceive it as smelling like dates, but it's definitely sweet but not in a sticky way. Then comes a clever twist which evokes a North African vibe to me giving the desert aspect but not just by using dry heat but a creamy woody, warm sand and spiced air approach. Sandalwood would be a perfect basis to do this and if I hadn't read the notes prior (given they are accurate and cover all the accords etc which they rarely do) I'd have said this was sandalwood but it's a clever concoction. The white floral aspect adds a creamy waxiness probably supported with resin/vanilla 'amber' but smooth and spicy with cardamom too. Just to mention the note in the opening is something like a really classy grape soda, not just a cheesy methyl anthranilate sort of orange blossom accord but a much more palatable and interesting one and it's disguised in what is a unique experience. Having said that...I've smelled perfumes similar to this before (I want to say Serge Lutens had one?) but few as modern and well rendered, I have to say the musky, creamy drydown of this perfume goes on and on, but not in an annoyingly tenacious way. I think it's fantastic!

Awesome pick-up for relatively cheap--$92 for a full sealed bottle from MaxAroma. Score! I'd only smelled this once before and only remembered liking it, so this was close to a blind buy. Well, this can just about qualify as one of the best blind buys I've ever done. I think the descriptions here give a good enough sense to make you make the decision to buy or not, for those on the fence. This leans masculine for sure. Great fall/winter scent with its smooth spices, but could see it being okay in the heat... mainly because the one time I tried it before I bought it was actually in the Summer! Longevity is incredible. All day performance, and it didn't become a skin scent until after I showered ~12 hours after spraying. Could still smell it then. Super high quality smelling ingredients as well. Comes across pretty natural to me. The bottle is really cool. The cap is the best finished cap of any fragrance I've encountered. As a watch enthusiast, it gave me that sort of vibe. They also included a travel pouch to protect it. Definitely a nice extra. This was my first purchase of this brand! Of my relatively large collection, I think this is a standout choice.