Nahema Guerlain 1979 Parfum

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8.3 / 10 223 Ratings

A popular perfume by Guerlain for women, released in 1979. The scent is floral-oriental. The longevity is above-average. It was last marketed by LVMH.
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Main accords

Floral

Oriental

Spicy

Sweet

Woody

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Aldehydes

Green notes Peach

Peach

Rose

Bergamot

Heart Notes

Bulgarian rose

Hyacinth

Lilac

Ylang-ylang Jasmine

Jasmine

Lily of the valley

Base Notes

Passion fruit Vetiver

Vetiver

Peru balsam

Sandalwood Vanilla

Vanilla

Perfumer

Jean-Paul Guerlain

Ratings

Scent

8.3223 Ratings

Longevity

8.4155 Ratings

Sillage

7.7167 Ratings

Bottle

8.8171 Ratings

Value for money

8.315 Ratings

Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 02/26/2025.

Interesting Facts

A rose variety of the French breeder Delbard is named after this perfume.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Nahema Eau de Parfum

Chamade Extrait

Les Nombres d'Or - Rose Etoile de Hollande

So Pretty Parfum

Guet-Apens

Rouge Hermès Eau de Toilette

Reviews

6 in-depth fragrance descriptions

07/15/2012

jtd
484 Reviews

jtd

Very helpful Review 7

Classicism meets Disco.

Nahema smells like rose the way Paco Rabanne’s Metal smells like green flowers, which is to say scarcely at all. I know it’s hardly a secret that Nahema is a virtual rose, an implied rose. I see the parts, but I don’t see the rose. Not a complaint, mind you. I love Nahema. I see it as the spiritual predecessor to Gucci Rush. It’s Rush’s disco auntie.

I know that Nahema took advantage of new-at-the-time aromachemicals that were used elsewhere to amplify and extend actual rose. Here these chemicals are used to create a perfume of crystalline flowery fruit with balsams and wood. Actually this smells like a peachy iris on a base of Guerlain’s earlier stunner Chamade. The heartnotes are like Chamade’s, but stoned and giggling.

In the long run, the rather chemical nature of Nahema allows the fragrance to be focused on abstract qualities. Nahema isn’t floral. It’s glassy and shimmering, and its upper register is about an inch from shrill. These qualities give it it excitement and vibrance. Does it simulate a rose? Not to me. Is it a blast to wear? Every single time.

06/20/2012

7.5
Bottle 10
Sillage 10
Longevity 7
Scent

Gold
541 Reviews

Gold

Very helpful Review 5

A perfumer's triumph

This is evocative of a promenade in a fragrant, opulent rose garden, it is an hommage to the rose, and the name looks back to the orient, because this rose does not come from an English garden...
Sheherazadeh is the leading motive in Nahéma - and as the fairy tale develops, it shows a tender, warming aspect with vanilla, peru balm and sandalwood. In a way Nahéma is a precursor of many rose scents which were to follow later, e.g. the loud but gorgeous Paris by YSL. "Nahéma" is also one of those love or loathe perfumes - and that's a good thing. It counts among the most original, groundbreaking fragrances from the late 1970's with its fairy-tale story about the fate of two princesses from "Thousand and One Nights". Nahéma, the daughter of fire (that's what her name means) is driven by her passions and obviously, Jean-Paul Guerlain wanted to translate this idea of passion by using a whole caravan of flowers and damascones, plus a lot of warm, resinious notes. All these add up to a powerful perfume with an intricacy of floral beauty that is unique. A shimmering, dark, velvety "rose" hovers over the entire composition, it's a thriumph of the perfumer over natural, true-to-life accords, a perfume of voluptuous, rich, yet abstract flowers. If you think that "Nahéma" is too voluptuous for you, dab it on discreetly and give it a try. It's simply a masterpiece.

01/29/2012

7.5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 9
Scent

Sherapop
1239 Reviews

Sherapop

Very helpful Review 5

Sui Generis Waxy Rose

Guerlain NAHEMA is a truly unique creation. It actually reminds me of chewing on crayons for some reason. Not that I've ever chewed on crayons, but the texture feels the same to me as I imagine it would feel to chew on crayons. What is odd, however, is that instead of being put off by the slightly soft crayon wax, I actually love it!

In spite of all that has been written about the lack of any true rose in this composition, I myself do smell a dark red, very rich rose quality here. True, it is nothing like the rose notes of typical rose perfumes--whether soliflores or fruity florals. And I also prefer the quality of the rose note here to that of rose geranium, which often accompanies or substitutes for rose. What marks NAHEMA as distinct is that this "rose" is coated with wax: these "petals" are dense and thick and waiting to be shaved—or chewed.

Is NAHEMA the queen of all rose perfumes? I think that to make such a claim is to do a great disservice to this sui generis perfume, as it exhausts its own genre. It doesn't really make sense to compare this to anything else. It is what it is, and it's not what it's not. One thing is clear: it's definitely nothing like any other perfume known to me.

Many thanks to the generous fellow fragrance traveler who sent this beauty to me!

11/15/2012

9
Scent

Smellsogood
75 Reviews

Smellsogood

Very helpful Review 4

Queen Rose

The queen of rose fragrances for me. Nahema is a true Guerlain masterpiece that is like deep rose coloured devore, moving between thick and velvety and at other times sheer as chiffon and then back again. Nahema's constant movement keeps your senses aware of her for hours and hours but is never tiresome. This is review is for the parfum.

03/24/2022

BrianBuchanan
351 Reviews

BrianBuchanan

2

Rose, creamy soft and sharp

Nahéma is Guerlain’s attempt at a Lush Romanticism reminiscent of Sophia Grojsman’s work, which started with White Linen in 1978, and reached a peak with Trésor or Paris.

Like her work, Nahéma is a soft peachy rose. But typical of a Jean-Paul Guerlain, there’s a sharpness that counters the soft milky texture.
It’s fruity and sweet, but there’s a bitter note; pink, banana yellow, and green notes are there;
and notes that glisten on a pale milky background.
For a lactonic floral, there’s a lot going on.

The parts merge into a swirl of milky rose topped off with bright bergamot, which feels like a memory of Habit Rouge and Shalimar, and there’s a weak brown woody base.

Personally, this is not my thing at all, I don’t like it. I find the mixture of creamy softness and sharpness too contrasting, and not dreamy, as - surely - a peachy-soft rose should be.
Of course there should be -something- to give definition, but even though it’s too much at first, the sharp edge can't stop the profile from getting stuffy later.

I tend to dislike JPG’s work because of the strident tendency that often seems to be there, but I do appreciate other people like this sort of thing.
I think Nahema may have influenced Guerlain’s more recent offerings aimed at bourgeois old ladies, things like Oriental Brûlant and the Elixirs Charnels.

But, like his racist remark on TV, which brought the House of Guerlain to it knees, JPG seems to have shot Nahema’s romantic aspirations in the foot with his cutting personality.

Review of a tiny Parfum miniature.

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