Rahat Loukoum

Oh my gosh - wow - delicious! It's a sugar trip fantasy with a touch of the Arabian Nights. Since treating myself to a bell jar (delivered to Cambridge from Paris), I've been drenching myself in the nectar that is Rahat Loukoum. Yes, it's a gourmand fragnance, but it's 'the' gourmand fragrance. I actually detest the overtly artificial candied trend that seem to typify celebrity fragrances at the moment (and even some more reputable lines have fallen victim). But Serge Lutens has delivered such a beautiful gourmand using such high quality ingredients - that last all day - how many perfumes achieve that nowadays? On application, it's like one has been minaturised like Alice in Wonderland and dropped into an empty candy jar that used to house candied cherries, Turkish Delight, marzipan, warm Madiera sponge and very fluffy marshmallows. It is immensely comforting, soothing and it actually does seem to satisfy my sugar cravings (so might even help me avoid sugary snacks!). Like many of Serge Lutens perfumes, Rahat Loukoum seems to reach the parts of you that other perfumes don't. I'm still a loyal Guerlain fan, but as my husband recently said - he's starting to fall for Serge Lutens' perfume in a big way. They are so rich, so thoughtful, so full of stories ... and they last and last...which for me says quality! If you love candied perfume, Rahat Loukoum will blow your mind. Thanks Serge - another brilliant gem in your crown! Note: I see that some folk feel this perfume is similar to Louve (otherwise known as the cherry bomb!) - I've owned both and personally I didn't feel they were similar at all. In the end, I sold my bottle of Louve - I actually enjoyed the experience of being doused in ripe cherries, however, I wasn't so keen on the dry down which felt like being doused in baby powder.

Just used up the last drops of my 10 year old sample while comparing it with Keiko Mecheri's Loukhoum. It's been so long since I experienced this beauty. I am truly sad that my sample is now gone. This perfume is still available, but frankly, I am scared to drop $300 on something that might have been tweaked and has lost what made it not just "gorgeous" (newer versions are still amazing perfumes), but without exaggeration breathtaking. Unfortunately, many many old bell jar classics lost the "it". I still love newer Sarrasins or De Profundis, but old ones nearly made me cry when I tested them years ago. I don't want to have the same reaction to Rahat Loukoum. For now I will treasure the memory of this spectacular fragrance. As to what I love about it... everything. The cherry, the almonds, the raw honey. It is a lot more nuanced that Keiko's creation, less powdery, sharper. As to comparing it with Montale's Sweet Oriental Dream... just no. Sure, they are similar like a cheap gas station coffee is similar to top quality coffee made in French Press. I like Oriental Dream too, but Rahat is just levels and levels above it. It's just... Serge Lutens is The GOAT. No question about it in my mind. Every time I get distracted from my endless testing and sampling and go back to experiencing my old favorites from him, I get this overwhelming desire to sell off my entire collection including samples and just stick with Serge.

It took me a long time to come around to Rahat Loukoum. The name literally means Turkish Delight and this is pretty much what the scent smells like. I love eating Turkish Delight but smelling strongly of it will always be a slightly questionable decision! The main challenge to the scent of RL is the extreme sweetness paired to a powdery, gelatinous texture. It's strikingly accurate to real turkish delight, from the powdered sugar exterior to its jelly core, hyper-realistic. This really is tooth-meltingly sweet and almost brutal in just how sugar-loaded it smells. The overwhelming scent is one of super sweet almond with powdery notes, with rose and vanilla support which become apparent as it goes on. Even as the scent fades away on the skin (at around 6 hours) it remains sweet, only turning into more of an almond musk. This is softer (in texture, not strength) than its cousin Louve, RL is more obviously gourmand, less industrial and with a less intense benzaldehyde. The big win in Rahat Loukoum is the simultaneous powdery and gelatinous texture, and it is a very lovely scent if wafting out from under clothes (jumpers or white shirts) on a cold (or at least cool) day. It will be too sweet for many people, however - spending time with it does help one to get accustomed to the unrelenting sweetness. Makes me want to brush my teeth a little bit... and then go to bed.

I don't know who was the first to "invent" and launch a Turkish Delight perfume in 1998, but to my nose SL's creation (I'm talking about a wax sample) and Keiko Mecheri's LOUKHOUM smell almost the same. Mecheri's rendition is a bit heavier on the honey note, and the Lutens is very heliotrope-y. That's the only difference between them to me. I have to note that neither of those smell like Turkish delights to my nose, unfortunately, although both are exceptionally yummy. It is rather some kind of powdered sugar with almonds and heliotrope, and a hint of rose water. Strangely enough, leathery TRAVERSEE DU BOSPHORE from L'Artisan (another take on the same theme) smells much more "loukhoum-y" to me. It also certainly reminds me of LOUVE, which is more about almonds, but still smells in a very similar way. I think if you need a powdery sweet Turkish delight perfume, you better choose just one of them, because they are all very similar. My choice would be LOUVE (as I love almonds), but since it is now only sold in Paris and packed in bottles withoit sprayers (it probably states for "luxe" but is a complete nonsense to me), I would then choose Mecheri's LOUKHOUM. And TRAVERSEE DU BOSPHORE as loukhoum with a twist (and with pistachios instead of almonds).

What to say... amaretto, amaretto, amaretto. I've always wanted a perfume that smells like amaretto, and after countless bottles of perfumes that had "almond" notes in them, I have finally found THE ONE. It has a certain thickness, a warmth which would probably not work well with our swamp of a summer (the humidity is killer here) but when fall comes, this will be me 24-7 until early spring. It is really that good. I will layer it with another rose (maybe guerlain) for a more turkish-delight feel, and on its own for a pure amaretto scent. When worn by itself, it is so present and poised...elegant, sexy, delicately sweet. it is most definitely there, but it teases, flirts a little, pushes away a little... 4-5 hours later, just when you think you've perhaps lost it, it comes back, and you can't really help but smile. I have had so many compliments when wearing this, from both men and women. Friends want to hug me just to smell me! The greatest thing about this (besides its utter drool-worthy scent) is that not a lot of people have it/know it, so you won't ever be in a situation where everyone smells the same as you. Gorgeous AND rare. What more can you ask for?