Gujarat

Gujarat's huge ingredient list sounds like a recipe for an exotic Indian banquet, but on me, the fragrance opens with a large dose of sandalwood and oud. The latter are not the entree, they are the doorkeepers which bow your way into the rose, saffron and cardamom main course, which feast is comfortably consumed on a pillow of mango and marigolds. Yet despite my culinary similes, this is NOT in any way a foody perfume on my skin. Much as I adore Indian food - one of my two greatest favorite cuisines (with French) - I don't cherish smelling like it. I was a little afraid of the curry leaf and the cumin, and am decidedly unfond of lime notes, which often turn too masculine for my tastes. However, the blending of Gujarat is so well done that I don't get anything but an exotic wonder laid over an equally exotic base. Each component triggers a little olfactory memory of Asian spices and spaces, but none stands out as reminiscent of any other exotic perfume, not even an Arabian attar. Gujarat is a brilliant exotic composition, unlike anything else I have ever smelled, and definitely full bottle worthy, a 9/10 for the fragrance, the projection and the staying power. PS: If you haven't purchased Olympic Perfumes' tester package, then I suggest you run and do so - generous samples, so you can really get down with each sensory experience, all gorgeous discoveries, and at a very reasonable entrance fee. Disclaimer, because I do tend to gush so : Not affiliated, just a fan.

There's something very amazing about this complex fragrance. When someone smells Gujarat, one of these two situations would occur: Either (1) you haven't ever visited India, then this fragrance is a spicy & woody fragrance that smells exotic, Or (2) you have visited India, then Gujarat evokes India for you. I tested this on some of my friends & this theory was proven :D The opening is really amazing; simultaneously bitter & sweet, floral & smoky. I can clearly smell high dose of saffron in the beginning, and also dried vanilla fruit. It is spicy, herbal, floral & a bit woody in total. The dry down is mostly woody (oud & sandalwood) and a hint of specific herbs and spices combination makes it very special. Unique in my opinion. You may find it odd, but if you have enough audacity & love eastern scents, I suggest this one to you. I think this is kinda personal; I feel something divine when I smell Gujarat.

OMG this stuff smells great...one spray on my wrist and immediately got hit by a heavy dose of fresh and sharp bergamot, curry leaf, roses, and spices. This has some of the key ingredients often used in authentic Southeast Asia curry, but it absolutely does NOT smell like the finished product aka pot of curry. The agarwood used in here gave it a slight hint of animalic undertone, but zero funk or barnyard, then immediately followed by a combination of ginger, mango, turmeric, and floral notes. This a complex scent, very opulent and heady, plus the projection and sillage are outstanding. Longevity is great, same as everything else I've received (8 different 100ml full bottles total) from this house have all been beast mode. If you like oriental type scent this is definitely worth a sample. It's a crime for a gem like this to be hidden away and not being talked about more often.

I received Gujarat in a box of samples that I purchased from Olympic Orchids. When I tried it I was immediately struck by smoke, lime and tagetes, caraway (cumin?) and turmeric. Upfront this is a very masculine scent. As it dries down the fruits, olibanum and flowers barely appear with a sharp chili accent and then a sandalwood finish. I have tried it several times and can't say if it is too masculine for me or not. I am still trying to get my nose around it. I can say, though, that it is complex and interesting and that I enjoy trying it again and again. The deluxe sample box I purchased was filled with many very generous samples making lavish use of the Gujarat sample possible.

I won this scent (among others) in a giveaway on Ellen Covey's (owner of Olympic Orchids) blog. I really, really adore the beginning of Gujarat! It has one of the most complex openings I have experienced so far, full of oud, varm spices, a hint of curry, something a bit coldly medicinal and a bite of chili if you put your nose too close! I am intrigued by the dicotomy of hot and cold here! The drydown is less complex but equally lovely, I get mostly tumeric and oud. The sandalwood is mysteriously missing on my skin, but I'm not very fond of sandalwood so that's just fine with me! Great projection and longevity!

Wonderful! The smokey notes cut like a knife through the sweeter elements making this fragrance totally unique. Probably more masculine than feminine, it is ideal for a cooler summer evening. It isn't often that one gets a chance to smell a completely new idea; most current perfumes are copies of what is "trendy". Not this beauty!

Absolute banger from Ellen Covey. It’s spicy with a beautiful drydown that’s hard to describe. Woodsy, spicy, floral, and a sort of slight menthol note to make it mysterious. This is one that could be unisex, but isn’t constrained by the usual citrus based boredom.

Fenugreek and cumin fade to a boozy, rich, spicy concoction that is just wonderful. Great scent.

This is really unique. So much going on here and the scent really develops and changes over time. It opens with the nasal assault I've come to expect from Olympic Orchids. I have to say, I'm not a fan of this aspect of the house, but learned to let it air out before making my final judgement. I halfway wonder if that is from the Night Flyer sample that was in the same box as everything else. After a few minutes I get a Spicy cola vibe, a melange of southeast asian spices, all surrounded by a powerful sweet and fruity accord, not sure what it is, but has a strong indolic nature. The sweetness slowly fades and you really start picking up a medicinal ginger or galanga root note, almost camphorous. I also get a green rindy lime note and this is the part I love the most. It reminds me of the smells of cooking thai curry, bringing to mind the galanga and the kaffir lime leaves. There's also a definite nose tingling note of capsicum lingering in the back that almost makes the whole experience fresh. I was about to apologize for rambling, but that really captures this scent, a confused rambling walk on some fetid back alley in Mumbai. Not sure how I'd wear this, but it's definitely interesting enough for a sniff now and then for something really different.

This is one of the most complex fragrances I have sampled in a while. The closest I have been to India is a few square blocks in Manhattan called Curry Hill which is primarily Indian restaurants and shops. The smell aroun there is primarily food and Indian body products, spices, and incense that is soldd in the stores. Nice smell actually. This fragrance is nothing like the sanitized version from that neighborhood. On me it is a spicy,dry, smoky experience. The florals aren't evident but may add some faint softening to the mix. It evokes a bustling, hot, overcrowded city. It makes me feel like I'm on an overcrowded bus in some Indian big city at the end of a hot day with sweaty people and bus exhaust coming through the window. The sweaty cedar and smoky oud make me slightly queasy as if I'm getting car-sick from that harrowing bus ride. This is not a pretty scent but it is one of the most evocative scents I have tried in recent days. It has overtaken Tauer's L'Air Du Desert Morocain in that respect. I think this is a brilliant scent but I would probably never wear it.

From the notes I expected something unpleasantly foody, like curry, but Gujarat is actually lovely, more like a dense spiced fruity dessert. The fruit feels apricot-ish with a touch of rose; the spice is dry and crackly. Over time it becomes a bit more about amber and dry spice (maybe saffron), a mellow golden ambiance. And then the fruity, damasconey, glowing rose takes center stage and combines with the golden spice to make Gujarat a dramatic rose-centered floral. I feel a little bit of woods as well, and maybe a hint of marigold, but mostly this is Big Rose. Gujarat reminds me a little bit of Montana Parfum de Peau (similarly composed of golden-brown haze + big fruity rose) except Parfum de Peau is much more animalic and bitter, while Gujarat is more about dry spices & woods. I like it. It’s a big, complex, dramatic feminine scent with a strong personality, and smells both familiar (spicy roses have been practically their own genre, since the 90s) and unexpected (these aren’t the familiar pumpkin-pie spices you see in most “spicy” scents).

It opens with a sharp, piercing, I-just-got-punched-in-the-nose scent. Then it turns into a striking woody/fruity/spicy scent that I can’t pinpoint. It becomes warmer on my skin and I get notes of sunny concrete and a marketplace where spices are sold. Then it sort of melds into almost a dusty bookstore mixed with motherly familiarity. Maybe I just spent a lot of time with my mother in dusty bookstores... Overall this is a very interesting and sophisticated fragrance that I can see being worn to a very high-class event. Perhaps the opera or an art gallery.

There was something in Gujarat that I couldn't quite place. It reminded me a bit of dirty laundry. Well, I did some research and it would appear that smell is spikenard/jatamansi. I like it. It's interesting. In addition to this note I get a mango verging on rotten, curry tree, caraway & tagetes. Sort of a mix of food, sweat and medicinal herbs. Gujarat is a fragrance that paints a picture, that of a hot, bustling Eastern city. I appreciate that, but I don't know that I would actually wear Gujarat.

Im hit with a wall of spices. It really captures India beautifully. It transports me home in one sniff. Many of the notes in this I cant stand but they work beautifully together. The initial brocade of notes is way too much for me but after a short while it has calmed down and now a spicy unisex oriental . A not overpowering woody spicy dream. I think this is what hoped Kenzo Jungle Elephant would be on me. Anyone fancy a takeaway?

Oh! One whiff of Gujarat and I'm back in India! The spices. The rose attar. The incense. The food. The ever-present haze and aroma of wood smoke from family cooking fires in the air. Gujarat lasted a good 12+ hours on me, drying down over time to a beautiful, warm and true sandalwood. Very complex, very unusual and very appropriately-named. If you enjoy rose, sandalwood or Indian attar perfumes, give this one a try.

An interesting scent but I finally realized I would never wear it. It smells like non-sweet Indian spices mostly...the dominating vibe is sort of minty with mustard oil and turmeric powder at the beginning...with the mustardy turmeric taking over as it settles. The oud and saffron probably bring out this mustard oil smell.

Fascinating. A truly unique combination that still has that recognizable Olympic Orchids DNA. Strong herbal opening — almost mentholated. Then it eases into the spices. This isn’t really “perfume.” This is scent as transport to another world.

It's maybe a bit much on the sandalwood for me. I do like the curry leaf smell, but I wish it did smell like curry!

Spicy curry, sweet mango, sour lime, woody, and a bit bitter and animalistic. There are similarities to Kyphi by the same house. However, Kyphi is more herbal, less sweet, more amber and less wood in the dry-down, simpler and more calming in my experience. Gujarat is busier, sweeter, fleshier, woodier, more Indian spice-wise, and more animalistic. While Gujarat is interesting, I think there's too many cooks in the kitchen.

Smells really interesting. Very earthy. I smell the curry prominently. It smells like less wearable Kenzo L'Elephant -