Taklamakan

"Exotic oriental desert in a bottle." Taklamakan is a 2016 fragrance from Stéphane Humbert Lucas 777, a French fragrance house that specializes in heavy oriental scents by the namesake perfumer. I got to know the perfume line from Kafkaesque blog, and learned just how unique each of Lucas's perfumes are, but Taklamakan is the one that particularly speaks to me. I first came across Taklamakan at The Different Scent Perfumery in Berlin, Germany back in December 2017. Upon spraying it on my wrist, the scent stuck on my sleeve for 3 days and I was completely enamored by the sweet and sandy scent. I get notes of vanilla (not the sweet-sugary kind, but the Guerlainesque type that is more savory), guaiac wood (which makes this fragrance majorly woody), labdanum and benzoin. What really stands out about this fragrance for me is how dry it is, and thus reminds me of Andy Tauer's L`Air du Desert Marocain, but much less spicy and a lot more vanilla and labdanum. More accurately, it's the love child of L`Air du Desert Marocain and Dior's discontinued Mitzah, without the sweetness and spiciness. Both L`Air du Desert Marocain and Taklamakan conjure images of the desert; while the former invokes images of the Sahara, the latter does for the desert of the same name. As Taklamakan is a pure extrait, the longevity is enormous and can easily last an entire day, all 24 hours of it. This scent is utterly beautiful when worn during colder weathers, and becomes addictive when sprayed on a fabric and left to dry after a few hours. After being smitten upon sniffing it on my wrist, I decided to get a full bottle for myself at The Different Scent perfumery, only to be told that they ran out of stock... so I did the next best thing: buy the tester. Amazing fragrance in all, but be warned: it's a very potent fragrance that should be worn sparingly! Plus, the bottle design is utterly gorgeous!!

"Taklamakan" is a breathtaking, very dry precious wood scent, which rests harmoniously on a smoky vanilla base. My oriental dream come true! The guaiac wood in this fragrance is dark, mysterious and exotic. Guaiac (or guaiac wood) and especially the wood of the "Bulnesia sarmienti" comes from a tropical tree. Its habitat in South America is the forest of the Grand Chaco, between Bolivia, Argentina and Paraguay. Other types of guaiac trees are found in other tropical and subtropical areas of America. According to Fragrantica, the olfactory profile is described as "exotic wood notes that have tar-like, phenolic facets and convey smoky, asphaltic notes". Ayala Moriel, a Canadian perfumer of natural scents agrees and notes that guaiac wood has a smoky note: "rosy, honey-sweet and slightly smoky and waxy-oily, slightly rubbery aroma. It is often used in tobacco scents". Another one says it smells like "pepper and burning leaves". This then sounds like a very pungent smell, which only becomes apparent in the drydown and could spoil many a fragrance. When I once asked for this special wood note in a "Salon de Parfums" at Harrods in London, I was surprised that the salesmen did not know it, unlike oud. I wrote the name "guaiac wood" on a piece of paper in the dreamy hope that perfumers would create a few fragrances with this elegant tropical wood note. So when I left the Salon, I was tempted to say a Hawaiian greeting: "Hang loose, my surfboard is made of guaiac wood!" But I don't do that so often... Fragrance: 10/10, Longevity: 9/10, Sillage: 8/10, Flacon: 10/10.

انبوهی از روایح صمغی و دودی و چوبی و وانیل و زنبق گرم ومجلسی و مخصوص ماههای سرد تلخ وشیرین پخش و ماندگاری عالی. این حجم از نتها درکمال تعجب باعث بوجود آمدن یک عطر کمپلکس نشده و تک تک نتهایی که بینیتان آنها را میشناسد میتوانید احساس کنید. گاهی بوی کهربای خالص و دقایقی بعد دودی و بعد وانیل و سپس زنبق و پس از آن چوبی و حتی گاهی پچولی مرتبا نتهای مختلف خودنمایی میکنند و میروند در انتهای صف و مجددا برمیگردند. هیچ عطری ندیدم که چنین شفافیتی در نتها و چنین تغییر رایحه ای داشته باشد. این تغییر رایحه (که معمولا بصورت تک نت است) باعث میشود بینیتان به عطر عادت نکند و به اصطلاح شامه تان پر نمیشود و بهمین دلیل تا ساعتها آنرا احساس میکنید. اگر از رایحه اش خوشتان آمد در خریدش شک نکنید مشابهی ندیدم ولی در فضای آمبر آئورا (پروفوم روما) و آرمانی میر ولی با این تفاوت که زنبق و کمی هم پچولی دارد

Taklamakan is a very beautiful composition, especially if you are a fan of Ambery, resinous type frags. This is a somewhat linear fragrance, not too much development but in this instance, thats a good thing. It does not need it. Main notes are Guaic wood, an incense note from the labdanum, hints of iris and vanilla but the main player here is definitely the Benzoin. In fact, the easiest way to describe this frag would be a blend of Ambre Sultan and Tom Ford Amber Absolute wrapped in a Beautiful Benzoin note. Longevity and projection are both good. A winner for the cooler months. I currently just have a decant of it but this is definitely full Bottle worthy for me. Very Nice.

A lovely benzoin based Oriental which is enhanced with Bergamot, rose (prominent), patchouli, vanilla, tonka, birch, cade, gaiac, cedar, myrrh, orris, tolu balsam, labdanum, ambergris, sandalwood, and musk. In spite of so many elements, the end product is one of SHLs lightest feeling creations that has an understated yet luxurious elegance about it. The unisex perfume conjures visions of the spice laden caravans slowly crossing the Mongolian desert after which this scent is named. This perfume will grow on you and never overpower you, but its sweet spicy mysteriousness lingers and wins you over. Enjoy!

I might have a new favorite house. This is a fantastic mix of cedar, vanilla, and flowers. It's blended beautifully to where everything is mixed but I can still pick out individual notes. They all seem like they are in perfect proportion: the woods are powerful but softened by the flowers, musk, and delicious vanilla. This also strikes me as very versatile for spring, fall, winter, day or night. I can see this being an excellent date fragrance too. This is the third fragrance from SHL I have tried and I have loved all three. Absolutely gorgeous perfumery all around.

Update: silly me. I haven’t been in the desert, but was in a dry, sunburned, sandy Sharm el Sheikh years ago, and that’s why I found Taklamakan so fitting as the desert sand fragrance. Which it’s meant to portray anyway. Unusual, but amazingly good fragrance. Very dry and at the same time very warm: it's a smell of hot sand. The name suits it perfectly, having said that I've never been to a desert but I would imagine this is how it smells like. It's my comfort scent: feels like wearing an old, loved merino wool jumper. Great fragrance!

it`s name is completely accord with it`a smell.taklamakan which is name of a desert is embedded in this fragrance . it`s dryness rhoroughly pictured a hot desert while benzoin and vanila give it more warmness and make it mor oriental. in depth guaiac and labdanum give it smoky feel to it. it`s quite an amazing fragrance with balanced notes which own hi quality ingredients . totally it`s dry woody sweet vanilic smokey juice in a bottle . performance wise it has fairly beast longevity and moderate to high projection.

Breathtakingly great. Wow, dry..incense with musk resting on a smoky vanilla base . The notes listed are there but create notes that are just so great. I am not going to say this smells like anything. It deserves to be its own creation. It will soon be hyped so I am going to be one of the originals and order a bottle now. Price is perfectly fair, 50ml for under $200? Yes. I say this because the longevity is good and it projects just fine :) I dare say 10/10 :) ?

Ok, hear me out: Au Coeur du Desert, but with chocolate. Upon first blast, my skin gives off the distinct impression of dense, dry woods, and powdered dark chocolate (yes, not listed) - then comes sticky resins, incense, and deep earthy botanicals. Heavy, linear, yet full of character. Verrrrry luxurious, well put-together, and exquisitely gothic. I do so wish it would last longer though.

A delicious interpretation of a desert ... hot sand, hot air, a bazaar full of spices and resins. Taklamakan envelops you in a beautiful and persistent cloud... dry, woody, warm. The dry down is full of this absolutely perfect resinous incense, with a non-gourmand vanilla keeping every note in harmony. Long lasting, great quality and composition; a 10/10 for me.

Everyday wearable, warm, sandy, middle eastern vibe with French composition. I find myself reaching for it all the time after a long day. Nothing about it offends me and it gives me what I love in just the right amounts. Not explosive but not wimpy either, goldilocks perfume in my case.

The opening is a bit overwhelming and chaotic like a sand-storm, with every note fighting with each other. The drydown, however, is calm and serene, with the benzoin, vanilla and iris notes playing with each other harmoniously. This is a well crafted piece of art.

The only vanilla heavy fragrance which has managed to melt my heart. It’s 100% magnificent. I was waiting to be swept off my feet by a fragrance. So it turns out I love benzoin. I’m getting a full-size bottle without hesitation.

Quite easily makes my list of top 5 fragrances of all time. Period. If you are in to these types of darker scents, you owe it to yourself to get a sample of this asap!!

Labdanum baked over a fire of sandalwood, guaiac wood and cedar and you name them woods. No smoke, only the heat. And then it's the chocolate and the rose. Rose is yellow, a bit lemony and musky, a combination of musk and bergamot. I smelled once a quince-yellow, plump, gorgeous rose smelling like Taklamakan. Chocolate is dark and fragrant, not gourmand. It is an earthy smell, dusty and calming, like a rock scorched by hundreds of years of sun. Sadly, the sillage is intimate to moderate, and I wanted it louder.

There was this initial blast of freshness 2 seconds after applying, but that vanishes almost instantaneously. It's ambery and woody through and through, and it doesn't seem to evolve much since then. However, there is a floral note deep down that remains in the background. I tend to love resins, so this is right up my alley.

I really understand now people who said it smells like woody sauna :D Fragrance has this special DNA which almost all SHL perfumes have. It really smells in the dry down like hot sand or hot air in the sauna. It's interesting but not for me.

Ever so slightly softer, more delicate, and more floral than other benzoins I've come across. Manages to avoid the cliché 1920s throwback vibe. Is modern, but not pretentiously so. Def my favorite out of all the benzoins I've tried.

I think this is the best benzoin driven scent I have run accross. Smooth..great blending..a benzoin lovers delight!