Ciel de Gum

I bought Ciel de Gum last year, not knowing that it was soon to be discontinued. Honestly I don't understand the latest business decisions of the MFK brand (or, rather, the corporation that bought this once great Maison) - I mean, they have discontinued all of their best and most original scents (APOM Pour Femme, Ciel de Gum, Absolue pour le Soir, Le Beau Parfum, Lumiere Noire Pour Femme) and only kept Baccarat Rouge, Petit Matin and Grand Soir, plus the most likeable Ouds and the very bland and uninspired Aqua, A la Rose and Gentle Fluidity lines. Perhaps these discontinued scents weren't selling so well as Baccarat or Grand Soir, but they were the ones that made this house stand out from the crowd (and the present day perfume market is definitely overcrowded). I feel that the Maison has lost all of its niche credibility, which is such a shame. Worse, it looks like monsieur Kurkdjian himself has lost interest in his own eponymous brand. As to Ciel de Gum, it is indescribably wonderful - slightly smokey/incensey in the beginning, before it reveals its floral heart; and then it turns into the most delicious amber-vanilla-cinnamon combo. It lasts all day and projects magnificently. It sits exactly in the middle between Grand Soir and Absolue Pour Le Soir and complements this soon-to-be-extinct ambery-oriental branch of MFK goldies. Several years ago, in my first review of Ciel de Gum, I also compared it to Shalimar EDP and Chanel Coromandel; I forgot to add Chanel Coco to the list of "inspirations", but it should definitely be there.

Got a set of samples from the MFK website to test out some of his most famous offerings. You get two free samples with every purchase so I just bunged in a couple of randoms I thought I might like. Basically chose this one because of the weird story about it being inspired by the smell of a shopping centre. After all the hype about fragrances such as Grand Soir, Oud Satin Mood, and Baccarat Rouge 540, take a wild guess as to which fragrance in my little haul I completely fell head over heels for? None of the others even came close to making me say "Oh my God!" like this one does. Ciel de Gum, as some others have mentioned, does start out with plastic, chemicals and petrol, but that's the absolute best thing about it! I can't explain why I love this part of the scent so much, but I'm obsessed. It definitely smells like melting plastic and rubber swimming caps, over sweet flowers and my godmother's house in the eighties. The general impression is that it smells expensive but unusual, a warm floral vanilla that's really lovely. I keep sniffing it when it's on my skin, burying my nose in my wrist to get another hit of those petrochemicals. To those of you who might be put off by my description don't worry, the chemicals only last for the first half an hour. You might be glad that those thirty minutes are up, but that's when I'll be re-spraying to enjoy the delicious rubbery opening once again.

Ciel de Gum is a bold oriental done with precision and using great materials. A sophisticated, compact, french interpretation of a middle eastern kind of ambered rose. The main spice here is a warm cinnamon,there is amber mixed with vanilla and something that must be benzoin or opoponax and sandalwood that create a sweet resiny depth. I've smelled part of this idea in Dahn al Oudh Anteeque by ASAQ where the rose and oud blend so well that it's hard to know where rose stops and wood begins, all over a resinous middle eastern amber. Ciel de Gum is like a timepiece in both the precision and compact execution of its design. Yet it still evokes the ideas of the East, incense and church, autumn and winter holidays, and maintains a modern european aesthetic. Ciel de Gum creates the feeling of space--like a large room with a giant cathedral ceiling. I get compliments on the dry down. It's sexy and classy. Definitely great for cooler weather, might also be one of those spicy orientals that glows in summer. Fragrances that come to mind when I wear this--but are nothing like this in their affect and construction--are Caron Parfum Sacre, Miller Harris La Fumee Ottoman, Yves Rocher Voile D'Ambre, Scherrer Nuits Indienes. Maybe a memory of vintage Obsession. They are also rosy ambers with spice, but they are languid or more classical. If you like them you may really like this.

So beautiful and evocative! This might be my favorite out of the 10 MFK fragrances I tried. I have no idea why it isn't more popular, but maybe I just love it more than usual because it stirs up memories and feelings in me, some of my childhood and some of the better parts of later, more difficult times. It also smells really good though. The opening is woody and very peppery, the pepper in this is leaning more towards black than pink pepper to my nose. It makes me think of being in the woods or a sauna, but also of hot dry air close to the desert. I get resinous notes, almost like tree-sap but in a good way, and a cinnamon that doesn't lean towards holiday pastries. Underneath that all lies the main note, a creamy and warm vanilla that has some similarities with the one used in perfumes like Addict or Manifesto L'Elixir, rounded with a hint of narcotic jasmine. This smells natural and elegant, and despite the strong spicy, woody and resinous notes it never turns scratchy or overwhelming, just comforting and dreamy. I hesitate to put this on my wishlist because it's expensive and I only see myself wearing it on very limited occasions, it makes me feel a little hazy... But I guess I'll give in soon because it's so lovely.

I think I've solved this one. Respectively, Ciel de Gum and Grand Soir are a Tale of Two Styraxes - Liquidambar (Levant "Styrax") and Benzoin (True Styrax). Ciel de Gum is representative of the oil of Liquidambar orientalis (variously known as Levant "Styrax" oil and Turkish Sweetgum oil). This sweetgum "styrax" oil is a different product from the benzoin resin produced from tropical trees in the genus Styrax. The hydrocarbon styrene is named for Levant "styrax" (Liquidambar/Sweetgum), from which it was first isolated, and not for the true genus Styrax (Benzoin) itself; industrially produced styrene is now used to produce polystyrene plastics, including Styrofoam. To me, this would explain why Ciel de Gum reads so similarly to Grand Soir, via its ambery cinnamon vanilla heart, except Ciel de Gum features the hydrocarbon glaze of petrol, pleather and styrene.

Such a beautiful, snuggly, soft fragrance! It opens rather oddly, but after 15 minutes or so, it mellows into an amazing fluffy vanilla. The cinnamon is strongly present in the opening, but it's not sharp or overpowering at any point. To me, it doesn't smell like anything you grabbed it out of the spice cabinet - instead it makes me think of eating a honeyed cinnamon pastry while wearing a cozy cashmere sweater. Would recommend highly, but I find it difficult to justify spending that kind of money on ANY fragrance, no matter how much I love it. If you have money to burn, you should definitely sample this! Edit: I ended up getting a full bottle of this - it's just too delicious to pass up. It is not nearly as popular as it deserves to be - please get your hands on it before they discontinue it!

I live in a suburban neighborhood where there are a lot of trees and a lot of grass growing in front of our lawn. Unfortunately for me, the top notes of this remind me of the fertilizer that you put down to make your grass greener. Perhaps it is the phosphorus that is in both of them. It kinda ruins it for me. Once it dries down, you do you get a beautiful Amber-vanilla scent which I love very much and always will. Unfortunately I can't get past the top note scent for $300. I did order it through the mail and wonder if perhaps the heat may have changed the composition. I'm going to try again this evening to see if it's not the same. I really hope it isn't because I had high hopes for this and fought hard to get my hands on it. if this does change I would consider this to be a high 9 out of 10

Here's yet another proof that official lists of notes are rubbish. As soon as it touches my skin, MFK Ciel De Gum turns into Chanel Coromandel's doppelgänger. It's vanillic, chocolatey, balsamic, spicy and a little smokey. Another possible inspiration for Ciel De Gum is, of course, Shalimar - the fragrance that inspired Coromandel itself. In comparison to Shalimar EDP, Ciel De Gum lacks leather and lemon; everything else is pretty much the same. Interestingly, given the prominence of cinnamon, I sort of expected to be reminded of Chanel Coco, but nope. Anyway, I really like Ciel De Gum very much, but since I already own both Shalimar and Coromandel (and Coco), this one would've been totally redundant in my collection.

Pm me of you have a partial bottle to sell at a reasonable price. people asking over $500 for this are insane and will just be sitting on it permanently. I recently received an official sample from an collector. Incredible blending. No one note jumps out on my skin. Wearing it side by side with Reflects d’ambre- CdG feels like an Extrait and RdA feels like the EDP of the same fragrance. CdG feels like a sweet dense spiced amber where RdA feels more spiced floral with an Ambery dry down. Be layered “to Russia with love” as a very close dupe but it’s not nearly as well blended but wears like an EDP with an obvious profession, a solid choice for those who want to know what CdG is like.

Ohhh what a surprise i had with this perfumes!. It remember me a lot to Jean Paul gaultier 2, one of my favourite perfumes of all times but now dissapeared. It is a bit softer and more flowery but also lovely. The opening is very very close to JPG2 but during the dry down the Jasmine gets a more importante Rolle. The longevity is quité good while the sillage only moderste-soft. Perfect for summer nights ir daytime use un winter. Unisex although probably more liked by women Scent: 9.5 Longevity: 8 Sillage: 6 Quality/price: 8 Versatility: 8 Originality:6 Global: 9

This reminds me incredibly of Carthusia Ligea (that's also a cheaper alternative). This is a sophisticated take on spice, amber and flowers. It's deep and interesting but still fresh and crisp. Although I bought it for myself, I'll be passing it on to my husband as it doesn't quite hit the note for me. I need, if only a slight, more feminine nuance. On him? Divine.

This is what Mugler's Alien smells like when she gets settled, buys an expensive mansion on planet Earth, works as a CEO or creative director of something and plays golf on weekends. Tamed and sophisticated jasmine, warm, balsamic and cozy.

I have a full bottle that I’m selling samples from. I had another bottle that I sold samples out of. Only one bottle left. If interested, message me . I’m on Mercari and eBay if you want to check my references .

Oh my gosh... I'm going crazy... This is amazing ❤️ very interesting vanilla, little bit of cinnamon, amber. Warm and light, cosy, not strong. Beautiful!!

A heavenly floriental , smooth, warm, gourmand, spicy but not too spicy, soft and everything nice!

I saw this for sale at a boutique in NYC about a week ago. I'd say it's arrived.

this is like ambre nuit dusted with cinnamon. so good, so good!

Grand Soir with a leathery petrochemical sheen.

one of the best (if not the best) from mfk

It's amazing. A fragrance like no other.