Or du Serail

Or du Serail is my favourite of the Naomi Goodsir family. It feels very true to the brand, and has a cool dapper feel to it. It's also rather unusual when you examine it up close. I've had this since early 2020 and have used it somewhat scarcely once the initial "I just got a bottle, this is so cool!" excitement died down. Owning a bottle is still super exciting, don't get me wrong, I just purchased a few scents afterwards and the excitement transferred to them. I imagine this being the scent for a cigar bar, with a shot of whisky on the rocks. and I gave that a shot by suggesting it for a date, as a fan of whisky. I don't like cigars, it appears. Was a classy date, though. Beautiful leather chairs. The note pyramid is super complicated but once you give it several wears, it makes sense. On the surface this is a warm and boozy fragrance with a little bit of woods but once it develops, it becomes a little bit tropical and somewhat herbal (artemisia). The listed mate I initially couldn't detect because I'd never smelt it but I made it my mission to understand this fragrance fully. So, I made my way to a specialty tea store in my city and picked up some mate tea. I didn't care much for the taste (quite bitter), but I'd finally smelt it and the taste also assisted. I could detect it... a little. It's not prominent. The tobacco is also quite dominant, given time to develop. Performance wise, this is up there with the best. When people talk about 80s fragrances being huge, this is what I imagine. The materials used are obviously magnificent. I don't think there was any corners cut. Performance and quality were obviously of utmost importance to all involved, as was concept. I think this fragrance is a brilliant olfactory representation of Naomi Goodsir's style. I've been a massive fan of her ever since I saw an interview she did with Lee Lin Chin on SBS in 2003-ish. Her style has definitely developed since. If Iris Cendre was her as a student milliner, making hats out of bizarre repurposed materials ... Or du Serail is what she's become. Bertrand Duchaufour has created a 10/10 masterpiece which isn't surprising, given his catalogue of creations. In saying this, it is a smidgen expensive so it is worth trying first. I wouldn't call it overpriced, because its lasted me 3 years (and counting) but, as a quality niche perfume, it can be construed as prohibitively priced. This is something that one could call a special treat, or perhaps if someone asks you if you want a perfume as a gift this could be it.

A sweet, rich and surprisingly bright tobacco fantasy Or du Serail is, similar to very few fragrances I have encountered such as Spiritueuese Double Vanille or Benjoin Bohème, in my mind an olfactory anomaly, the equivalent to a restaurant meal that hits all of the sweet spots, putting you in a trance of sorts, a tingling all over my scalp and nape when I smell it. It is the tobacco fragrance I never would believe I would even be interested in, mango coconut into rum into honeyed tobacco with the darkness of cypriol and golden glow of warm spice in the back. I’m perplexed because I dislike anything tropical smelling in perfumery, because I’m normally reminded of sunscreen. Or du Serail surpasses anything I could expect of a tropical opening, tart fruity notes mixed with the intense honey, resembling a mango nectar and coconut sugar rather than a tropically flavoured candy, retaining however ample brightness and freshness. As the opening blast disperses I am treated to the richest tobacco accord with honeyed, fruity, spiced and slight smoky facets adding a gentle musty darkness, probably coming from cypriol, the Dechafour special. Amazing experience for as long as it lasts, around 6-8 hours, after which it caves into itself and vanishes into thin air. A bottle is already on its way. Benchmark sweet gourmand tobacco, unique, sexy on either gender and extremely addictive.

Beautiful fragrance for quite many occasions with great lasting power. I ran into this perfume when I was looking for a new iris fragrance. As Iris Cendre by Naomi Goodsir was quite inspiring, I decided to try the others as well. And it was a great decision!! For some reason I love tropical ingredients a lot, especially if these are well balanced, and the mango-coconut-rum impression mesmerized me immediately. I could almost feel the crispy coconut flakes on the mango in my mouth! I tried this creation first in colder weather, then I had a chance to test it at summertime too. In the cold I experienced quite strong performance, while in the warmer weather it disappeared faster. I found out that the mini tester had weaker performance than the actual bottle, as the final bottle has much better atomizer. Start is tropical and juicy, but also dessert-like. Mango and coconutty-rum is present quite from the beginning. This is very magical already and the honey character turns it even more desirable. Although it is a sweeter fragrance, sweetness not its main character. It is very hard to describe, but this perfume is more than inviting. If you want (the best possible way) a sticky fragrance with tropical and honey-like undertones, and great lasting power, this fragrance is a beautiful option for you.

Sixth and final sample of my set. I definitely kept the best for last. Immediately on strip this was a love and on skin, it performs very well for me. I feel this is a more complex (more "niche" I find is a derogatory, pretentious way to put it) version of Le Beau Le Parfum. I definitely get a lot of fruitiness in the opening, a blast of apple, mango and coconut flesh. If I smell it immediately upon spraying, I get a blast of alcoholic coconut rum (Malibu) which is really nice. Later on, it dries down into a woodsier, creamy coconut with a tinge of greenness (artemisia?). The florals I don't really get here (thankfully for me) and the honey I think just supplements the sweetness, I don't pick it up as a note which is good since I hate honey. A very interesting work by experimented perfumer Bertrand Duchaufour. It performs well and lasts a good 5-6+ hours on me before getting closer to skin and projects well the first 2-3 hours. So yes, I find this is a more complex Le Beau, just as sweet but much different in the drydown. This turns out to be a common theme in Naomi Goodsir's fragrances, they morph a lot from opening to drydown! I'll be enjoying this when fall comes, for sure.

What a freaking journey this thing takes you on... Upon initial spray, first sniff is “oh, fresh cinnamon apples” second sniff is “oh, raw honey” and third sniff is “ew wtf, pissed on rotten fruit”... not even joking everyone I had try this opening said the same thing Now you’re probably thinking “ew gross why would anyone want go smell like that”? Well thats because this fragrance doesn’t ACTUALLY smell like that. This is a freaking journey, remember???! The honey spends the next 5 minutes or so settling down as the rum and spices begin to amp up. The apple begins to peak back out from behind the screeching honey. Soon thereafter, it’s a creamy rum-coconut cocktail that is to fkn DIE for! This is where you begin to get transported to a smoky dive bar in downtown nashville. Rum, tobacco, vanilla is what you are left with. This scent develops the entire time you are wearing it and it is just such an olfactory experience from top to bottom. Probably my next full bottle (if i can learn to love the smell of pissed on fruits for 5 minutes, that is) Absolutely incredible stuff, worthy of all the high praise it gets.