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 -

7th I received a free sample from a previous purchase and the smell was intriguing and not like anything else. Smoky incense, lime, resins, and a tiny touch of curry spices. Based on the sample, I purchased a travel size looking forward to what I smelled in my sample, but then....CUMIN BOMB!!! I mean this literally smells like a bottle of stinky freshly ground cumin (or Indian curry or dirty socks to some). I gave it a few tries, using it in different temperatures, hair, skin, clothing (cotton vs synthetic), air. It was just not usable, not even as an air freshener. I read the reviews before I bought a larger size and the review that warns you about her experience with this being a CUMIN BOMB (my words), is right on the nose! I wish I listened! It was horrific and nothing like the sample that intrigued me to buy the travel size. It’s a shame... I sprayed it once in our apartment building and the neighbors were wondering who was having curry for the whole week. The cumin smell would not go away and I had to correct my mistake of spraying GUJARAT by using another perfume to cover it up (and that was not an easy feat). I tried to exchange it, but Ellen was not having it and claimed that the smell was not cumin...Hmm...I am an experienced cook of 25 years and an Indian curry lover, and I believe I know what CUMIN smells like. Regardless of what it was (CUMIN, curry leaf, fenugreek, caraway), it smelled bad, at least as a perfume, unless you want to smell like you just made Indian curry (and your apartment will smell like it for a week after making it—personal experience)...TG for Indian restaurants just for that reason alone! If only Ellen would tweak this perfume and remove the CUMIN-like smell, it would be great! So be warned, just like reviewers below me said, the GUJARAT sample is interesting, but the bottle size is not representative of the sample (perhaps spraying it changes it for the worst). At least I did not buy a whole bottle like the reviewer below (so sorry), but I was turned off by Ellens denial that it's a cumin-like bomb.. I don’t know if I will purchase from her in the future. I do have some other scents from her and will post more reviews about these. So unless you want to smell like an Indian restaurant or dirty socks or a bottle of CUMIN...you have been warned, again...;) This one went into the trash 0/10-not savable.

'Gujarat' by the extremely talented Ellen Covey is a bold stunner. The perfume starts off in a cloud of spice and smoke, like the frantic cooking in an Indian kitchen. The list of spice ingredients is a mile long but prominent are notes of turmeric, tulsi, fenugreek, ginger, chili, and saffron. This can be a bit overpowering for some. But it quickly begins to dry down to reveal its base of mostly just beautiful sandalwood and holy basil. The perfume is amazing because it does truly capture the essence of this vibrant state in India whose culture is defined by the amazing food and bright colorful happy people and their artistic creations. This is not a crowd pleaser and many will be put off by the rather strong opening of this oriental spicy beauty. Give it a bit of time to evolve and settle into a true Western Indian beauty on your skin. Very bold and beautiful! Note: Tulsi [Holy Basil] is an expectorant. Some may experience slight coughing at start but this is a medicinal property of the herb used.

Here are my own two experiences: SAMPLE: Interesting! Beautiful! This smells exactly like the green casing from a walnut picked off the tree. Spicy and aromatic. We had a tree in the woods near our home when we were growing up and even though the casing would leave a nasty brown stain on our skin, we LOVED the spicy exotic smell. I need a full bottle FULL BOTTLE: BLECH!! The full bottle smells of harsh cumin and coriander oil concentrate that can't be washed off. I'm dismayed that Ms Covey is unwilling to return it, consistency between sample and bottle weren't experienced, and it's too bad. Had I experienced consistent product, OR had I experienced customer service I'd feel better about Olympic Orchids.

Unfortunately, this one does smell like curry on me. I love spices in perfumes and loved Kenzo "Elephant". And I use my fragrances for aromatherapy at home. However, Gujarat just does not work for me. It is too culinary to enjoy it. Also my 6 year old offered his unsolicited opinion when I was applying it: "Mama, I do not like your perfume. You smell like a tiger." Whatever it means.

The first fragrance from the house I've sampled so far that I don't enjoy. The spikenard in this gives off too much of a putrid smell to my nose when mixed with the fruity mango and other elements, and just makes me feel uncomfortable/nauseous. I can tell it's put together well, and I imagine for some that smell just elevates the other notes but it doesn't work for me.

i get lots of spices, particularly curry and caraway i think. soon after i get the oud and some lime and other woods. i haven't smelled anything quite like this. it's really smoky and almost rubbery. some combination of notes is reminding me of cola. so yeah a dry spicy lime turns into smoky, rubbery cola on my skin. really interesting but not wearable for me.

Smells like wiping my fingers off with a Wet Nap after eating a saucy plate of BBQ ribs. Specifically Gates BBQ if you’re familiar with KC BBQ. It’s not an unpleasant smell, I mean I love BBQ, but not sure I’m wanting to smell like it. I wish I didn’t have this association with the perfume, but it’s all I can think of.

In brief flashes, I can tell curry is in the mix, but to my nose this is a well-blended mélange and not simply one particular note. Quite soon after spraying, I get a very strong accord of marigold, which I was surprised to find quite pleasant in this setting. (I garden, and I've always found the smell of marigolds to be rather off-putting, so this was a revelation - a pleasant surprise) This is not for the faint of heart-- though I didn't find the fragrance to be huge and overpowering-- it's just that distinctive and will not be to the taste of those who crave fruity florals, I believe. There's a very herbal quality in this, almost medicinal, but I find the whole to be quite pleasing and worthy of further exploration. When I say this smells medicinal, I must distinguish that as therapeutic in the way of a lovely herbal bath or massage, rather than the idea of choking down a nasty cough syrup. This one soothes me. With the proper energy, this fragrance could have a tractor-beam effect on others, but attitude is everything. The juice is light in color, but the smell is almost a dark olive green. The quality of the materials seem true and impressive throughout on this fragrance. I'm looking forward to exploring this further, as well as other offerings from Olympic Orchids.

The opening of Gujarat is a thing of rare beauty. Birch tar in all it's smoky glory, tropical mango, something bittersweet and herbal(maybe the marigold) and the greatest baritone of all, agarwood. The first images are a sidewalk on a burning afternoon in New Delhi. A raven-haired girl with a mango lassi sits in an old wodden chair. Kids palaying and laughing in the background. Mouthwatering vapours escaping from the windows from a home nearby. I 'm going to give it the ultimate compliment. Only L' Artisan's Timbuktu gave me the same sheer excitement the moment i put it on. This one is a modern classic and it's a surprise because it doesn't go the well travelled route of spice load to portray India. Indeed the spices are here but the lighthanded treatment gives them a whole new weight, like gauge hoovering above everything else. In the end the perfume settles in a slightly sour rose-oud combo, not so unique as the beggining , beautiful nevertheless.

I love the smell and taste of all the Indian spices that I am aware of, and I do appreciate the smell of Gujurat. However, I found that I do not want to personally smell like this, as it is rather masculine and evocative of import shops and SE Asian restaurants. It develops over the day, and is richer and deeper as time goes by, and it is evident that it is made with quality materials, with thought and creativity. So instead of wearing it, I have dabbed a bit of it onto the walls of my foyer, linen cupboard and bathroom, as it is lovely in those settings. I think I would like it on a man, but cannot quite imagine the kind of man who could carry it off - as it really is so exotic.

This is my second Olympic Orchids sample, and while I appreciate it's spice cabinet frankness, it is not how I like to smell :-). Would that I had discovered it 10 years or so ago when I was infatuated with spice scents, Corso Como, Oriental Lumpur, Divine L'Homme Sage and SL Borneo and Arabie come to mind ...... if this is your perfume world Gujarat will be perfect for you! I get full unmitigated indian spice drying down to a sweet sandalwood and a bit of curry, without the floral, fruit or woody nuances some people are getting. I have a feeling that this line doesn't suit my chemistry .... darn!

I don't think this is a perfume that any Indian would make but it definitely reminds of India. The opening 45 minutes is a disorienting blast of sensations, much like India. After that it settles down into a quite delightful mix of a woody base, a touch of the saffron, and a more subtle blend of the smoke, spices, and florals. At 15 minutes I was nearly ready to give up, and at 45 I'm singing the praises of Dr. Ellen Covey yet again! She is a real great!

The Olympic Orchid line boasts natural high quality ingredients and this is evident throughout the range. I was excited to see the mouthwatering combination of lime and ginger in this creation, but like other reviewers, this turned to a soft oud. Gujurat is predominantly an oud fragrance on me, however the oud is softened by the fruits and flowers. Not that there's anything wrong with that.....

Wow. Smells like cooking a nice indian feast with lots of tumeric curry and chilli, and even a mango lasse on the side. It smells like that indian meal you love eating. Very interesting, not sure if I could use up a full bottle though. **Drydown is more subtle, the strong curry goes and what is left is a nice warm but softer spicy lovely complex oriental floral.

For me a sandalwood fragrance.