Le Somptueux

For me, cinnamon overpowers the saffron a bit too much. I prefer and I love saffron-heavy fragrances (like the ones by byredo, mdci, jo malone) but this one definitely leans spicier than the others. I still enjoy its peppery and leathery accents a lot. it's a nice and a unique fragrance. I smell just a little bit of honey as well after the opening!

Shalimar-esque, but not quite. Instead of drawing inspiration from Shah Jahan's gardens, Somptueux reminds me of incense wafting through gilded hallways. It has a similar softly sweet but desert-dry vanilla, but instead of decorating it with offerings of dried flowers and musk attar, Somtueux focuses on delicately rolled cinnamon and saffron incense and a smooth, dusty leathery base. Deep beneath, there is also a touch of sweetened peru balsam and just a smidge of oud- the woodsy kind. Sometimes, I smell honey as well, though I do not know from which note this impression comes from. I do love the cinnamon here, because it seems that vanilla+cinnamon would lead this to feeling like an autumn candle, but it remains firmly on the side of incense. However, I really miss the intense musk that Shalimar contains. Somptueux is very smooth and romantic, but I wish it had a stronger oud or maybe some civet in it to give it more oomph. As it is, it is perched between a like and a love.