Saffron

It's a quite cold fall day, and I just have to re-post how good this is. The price to quality ratio is just out of this world! Earlier in the day, I tried Sel d'Issey, which just wasn't working, so i tried to wash it off. SdI lingered and I layered this over it, and 😍😍😍 The lingering mineral, salty, fresh & floral nuances of SdI, mixed so beautifully with the dense, boozy, sweet vanilla of 'Saffron,' with only the tiniest spritz. Very powerful. Worth every drop!

I've just acquired this so tested it next to Guerlain's Oud Essentiel, as I saw a comment about them being similar. This opens much sweeter and golden, because of the saffron. For a short while they smell almost identical, then as they die down the Guerlain remains dark and smokey whilst this becomes almost honeyed as the fruits emerge. It's beautiful, and I paid less than £9 for 100ml so it's extraordinary value for money.

To me, it smells sweet and oriental, very similar to Shaghaf Oud, Rose Gourmand For Her and Sheikh al Shuyukh Luxe Edition. I smell other notes which are not listed here, such as rose, oud, praline/chocolate, vanilla. If you love gourmand Oriental fragrances, this is for you. On my skin, it lasts around 6-8 hours. I got it for less than 10 euro.

Sweet but not in a sugary way, smokey, woody fragrance. I can detect some incense in the dry down. Burnt hay and honey. The combination of scents is gorgeous. It was a blind buy and I can say I am impressed, reapplying doesn't bother me as it's so cheap. It doesn't smell cheap though, no, it is a very elegant and sophisticated fragrance.

Performance is really good and lasts on clothes FOREVER. The fragrance is saffron meets semi-sweet dried fruit with incense and maybe tobacco on a vanilla base. So far it has been very linear until it dries down to mostly vanilla.

As other reviewers have made note of, this is inspired by Lancome's Oud Bouquet and smells very similar to Lattafa's Oud Mood, shares some similarities with Swiss Arabian's Shaghaf Oud, Lattafa's Sheikh al Shuyukh Luxe Edition, and Ahmed Maghribi's Cafe Oud. If you have any of the above, then you do not need this one. Longevity on skin <5 hours, on clothing 6-7 hours. For a Monotheme fragrance, that is stellar. This smells straight up like a woody gourmand- there is sweet vanilla and praline, caramel sweetness, saffron (but not clinical), rosy elements, warm smooth amber and a bit of musk in the dry down. This is an inexpensive way to wear what can be a quite intense DNA, in a more wearable formulation.

Boozy, saffron, velvety, leathery, musky, subtle sweetness. Pretty interesting, sophisticated. But could have used tempering the booziness of it. It's a bit too punchy in that regard, but it does make a statement. After an hour or so a sharpness/dryness shows in the background, likely from a super-amber material. After about 3-4 hours it loses much of its projection. Aroma-wise, this is the best stage of this fragrance. Still has a little bit of a dry bite, but overall it's a velvety/suede feel with a mild sweetness that's reminiscent of dark/bitter chocolate. There is also a noticeable amount of a smokey vanilla showing up too.

This keeps getting better, the saffron has become even warmer since I’ve had it for a while. The fruits in here smell more like dried fruits so this isn’t overly fruity to me just a little sweet. I’m not sure if it’s oud or just a mix of incense/smoke + woods but it’s really good, not animalic oud at least. Smells so well blended and the notes go so well together. Oriental, sweet and warm. A new favorite!

Very similar to Shaghaf Oud, which in the ends has more punch and costs pretty much the same. Also the longevity is mediocre, while Shaghaf is nuclear. I will keep my bottle but for layering with Jaguar Classuc Gold (a perfect combo that adds honey). Solid but makes little sense unless you wish for a "softer" Shaghaf Oud.

This is an absolute saffron bomb! Very true to its name. It’s bold and loud, very unisex. After a while the woody notes blends with the saffron and that combination is surprisingly stunning and unique. Leaves a beautiful trail and has great longevity too.

Blind buy. I normally like fresh, musky and bitter scents but I've been trying out more gourmand scents lately to expand my perfume pallette. So I ordered Saffron / Monotreme just for fun. The Saffron smell diffuses a couple of minutes after spraying but it has a slightly smoky, smashed fruity and flowery scent. Almost like a Christmas pot-pourri from the 1990s. It's not fresh at all. It's like a fruity spirit or brandy. It's nostalgic but not my cup of tea. It is much better than Rose Oud from the same collection. The scent that is supposed to be Saffron smells more like caramel and Amber. It doesn't smell like Saffron, that staple spice in Persian cuisine, which grows in North Eastern Iran.

it smells like dry tangerine skin. and a bit like syringe from a hospital.

This is (for me) horrible. Probably not the perfume per se but the oud "component" used in it (norlimbanol?) makes me almost instantly gag. It feels very cloying, piercing AND caused a phantom smell, I could smell it 2 hours after just a sniff, yet not a drop on me. I was testing different middle eastern stuff a month ago and had the same experience with one of the "oud" ones, can't remember a name, it was again horrible. I should probably accept that there is a group of scents that just don't work for me.

Sweet saffron fragrance that is just the right intensity to enjoy any time. It's not thick or gourmand or complex. It's cheerful yet comfortable. This is "saffron" + "wood" and it smells similar to oud fragrances but this leans to milk chocolate, honey, hay, and flowers, but as I said, it's not unctuous. Remember, saffron is crocus but this isn't a spring flower smell it's earthy. It also smells similar to carob. This fragrance is unusual and high value if you can find this discounted for 10E. Very easy to give to someone. Easy to like and not challenging. But it does not evolve. It retails for only 22E from Monotheme.

Ugh what to say. I don't like it at all. I sprayed it four hours ago and I feel overwhelmed and uncomfortable. It is a very heavy and invasive fragrance. I have a terrible headache. It is long-lasting, it evolves but for the worse. I love this perfume house but Saffron No! It is a musty and synthetic smell. I don't perceive any woody notes. It is not a delicate smell nor can I define any note. Blind purchase and big MISTAKE!