El Attarine

Tragically, it has been discontinued. Like, really discontinued (people say this a lot about SL fragrances, and it's not true in 99% of the cases). Very hard to find, virtually unobtainable, and I am one a a few lucky ones who does have it, not just the decant, but the entire thing. This fills me with joy, although it will take a while to financially recover from this. Brand spanking new it came to me from France, it a box that has been produced and sealed 17 years ago. I only smelled it from the tiniest 0.5 ml vial 12 years ago, but I remembered it, just because it was so unique. I did not love it 12 years ago, probably because I was used to and wore stuff like Flowerbomb and Light Blue. It came to me with other Lutenses, namely Sarrasins, De Profundis and Jeux de Peau. El Attarine was my least favorite one. I opened my new bottle today. Consistency of it is unusual for a perfume, it is thicker and "oiler" than most perfumes. And it smells... I can't even find the words. My eyes did roll to the back of my head. It smells so damn good, that's all I can say, for I am not a master of words. Perhaps it's the very long maceration, but it is so, so much better than I remember. A gourmand, but a different gourmand. No vanilla, and no cake. Dried honeyed apricots (apricot is the most prominent note to me here), immortelle with its curry like vibes, cumin, perhaps thyme a bit? Maybe bay leaf as well? It is sunny, warm, kind and homey scent. One of the kindest Lutenses. Yes, not long lasting and probably one of the lousiest among Lutens in terms of projection.

Interesting and very unusual Oriental scent. The perfume opens with aromatic notes of cumin, immortelle and violet leaves. The heart is orange blossom and heavy honey. The perfume settles on a woody base of cedar and sandalwood. The unisex sweetish scent has moderate sillage and projection and good longevity. Overall, not for everyone (those who hate cumin please stay away) but those into unusual gourmands or Orientals will find this to be a real sophisticated treat. Enjoy!

for me, this bewitching honeyed cumin scent is one of the best fragrances ever created. its a crime that they discontinued it

El Attarine, created by my favorite duo, Serge Lutens and Christopher Sheldrake. This one took me a long time to grasp. I didn't like it at first. However, I sensed there was something different about it. It was an oddball. I wasn't put off by the cumin blast from the opening that likely scares most people, heck, I LOVE cumin. The opening of this perfume is arguably the best showcase of the spice I have encountered. It almost smells like pure essential oil. It wasn't that part. It was its build that felt unfamiliar. I find that Serge Luten's perfumes possess a traceable DNA, for the most part. And so, you have the cumin and immortelle cousins in Le Participe Passé, Bourreau Des Fleurs, and L'innommable, and while they are not identical, there is a similar pathway one can trace in all. My mistake was approaching El Attarine and expecting it to be in that vein. I was wrong. And once again, setting false expectations had me dismiss a perfume upon the first few attempts. This one, like a few others in the line, almost feels like a "Non-Lutens" or "Anti-Lutens" composition. You look at the notes and picture a syrupy-sweet and heavy concoction, only to be greeted by something that feels rather airy and transparent, more like a watercolor painting instead of heavy brush strokes. El Attarine feels like the Moroccan desert breeze blowing over a buffet of apricots and honey, carefully decorated with fresh immortelle flowers on the side and generously flavored with cumin, left to dry in the sun. Golden is a fitting color for this perfume, with shades of brown. These are the most prominent facets, although there is also a shy violet and perhaps even violet leaf next to some cedar and sandalwood that make a transient appearance and help round up the perfume. To my nose, El Attarine unfolds in two major acts. First, there is the cumin. This opening can be a deal breaker or pure bliss, depending on your affinity for this "controversial" spice. It almost has an oily texture and plays on the savory aspects of the material. The immortelle-honey-apricot pair is subdued at this stage, only gently whispering from underneath. Suddenly, a shy violet pokes its head only for a brief to introduce the second stage of the perfume, and my favorite, the "Golden Phase," where immortelle, apricots, and honey work together to portray this exquisite Oriental buffet seasoned with cumin and baked in the sun. What feels different from the other immortelle-cumin Lutens creations is how these accords are displayed in the composition. They seem rather fresh, not syrupy and cloying. The Immortelle feels herbaceous, dusty-dry, and unfaded. The honey feels diluted with water, and the apricots are crisp, almost making me picture their skin with a slight zestiness rather than dried apricots or overripe fruits like in perfumes such as Slumberhouse Kiste. This golden triangle is constantly supported by the culprit, cumin, while gentle woody notes infuse creaminess to the base and help provide a grounding layer for the composition. I love the dry-down. It goes like this forever at a low volume in the most sophisticated way, never cloying, always elegant, feeling like an everlasting sunny day. I believe El Atarine is one of the most special perfumes in the vast catalog of the house, one that requires more time to understand and appreciate, especially if one approaches it expecting to encounter the typical Lutens aesthetic. While undoubtedly it feels like a Lutens and Sheldrake creation, it bears a more emotional and contemplative execution and view. IG:@memory.of.scents

El Attarine is a seriously strange scent in that there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it. I smell all kinds of things, and they fade out then come back in, they mix together, and then they don't. There is no top/middle/base pattern with notes that make any sense. It's like someone just threw this together at the last minute. The first thing I notice is an odd velvety scent, kind of like sueded violets, and it's mixed with tangy, unripened peach and sweet apricot skin. The notes conjure a texture, versus a recognizable scent profile. And you'd expect velvety, suede notes to make up the base, but I only get them in the top. I'm in love with what I smell at first! It smells shabby chic. Kind of vintage and pretty. Dusty but innocent violets. At very random times I feel like my nose is playing tricks on me, because I smell something nutty, almost like chopped pistachios that have been cooked in sugar syrup, like there is a drop of PHI Une Rose de Kandahar mixed in by mistake, but take away the rose, and you get that nutty, syrupy, orchard fruit scent. The heart smells entirely different from the velvety violets I fell in love with at first. It's like wildflowers with a touch of aromatic cumin. Either my chemistry is drastically different from that of other people, or perhaps a reformulation has taken place, but this is most definitely not a cumin nor curry bomb. There is really nothing foodie about El Attarine, mostly it is a Fruity-floral. I have to really press my nose to my skin to smell any cumin at all. I own a bell jar, so I can splash to my hearts content, but sillage is truly abominable for something that costs $315 + tax. It annoys me that I have to splash because this is not a body splash for babies, it's perfume with a matching price tag. At this price point a couple of dabs should do the trick. While I like the scent, messy and disjointed as it is, I would never repurchase something so weak. Longevity is not great, about 2 hours before I need to refresh.