Samsara Guerlain 1989 Eau de Parfum

Perfumery lore has it that Samsara contained 30% sandalwood oil when launched. It’s also part of perfumery’s body of common knowledge that Samsara’s sandalwood is long gone. Apparently early iterations of Samsara used this botanical sandalwood as well as botanical jasmine and had a wonderful vanilla note. There was certainly more to the composition than that, but these 3 elements defined Samsara’s shape.

Sandalwood has effectively been removed from the perfumer’s palette, and in Samsara’s case, it’s been replaced by polysantol (more from perfumery lore), a powerful synthetic. Perhaps a lush, botanically derived jasmine might have been overmatched by the polysantol, but it appears that a jasmine-analogue of equal volume and shrillness to the synthetic sandalwood is employed as well. I imagine the vanilla in the early Samsara versions would have complemented the creamy tartness of true sandalwood. In the current Samsara the shriek of the polysantol combined with the vanilla gives us a new, sick-making gourmand note: butterscotch vomit.

Samsara is for me what Secretions Magnifiques is to its detractors.

When powerful aromachemicals are used in largely synthetic perfumes, imbalanced accords and compositions carry greater risks. For better or for worse, when aromachemicals are particularly strong, their effects are a leveraged increase in punch, sillage, durability. If the accords made with these strong chemicals are imbalanced (read: unappealing) the negatives will be leveraged as well. Whereas a haphazard mix of botanicals will likely read as muddy, Samsara’s polysantol-based composition is both horrifying in its gear-grinding volume and nauseating. Samsara creates a perfume sub-genre: the rancid gourmand.

Warm, deep and complex, this perfume evokes to me the very essence of sensual femininity and mature wisdom. It's cozy and enveloping, like a hug from someone you love and at the same time it exudes strength and maturity.

Jasmine, ylang-ylang and vanilla are amazing together, but it's the rich sandalwood that really shines in this composition, giving it sensual and even spiritual qualities.

For me, Samsara is an incredible confidence booster. This perfume has a soul of its own and it feels like a loving companion that soothes and reinforces you all along the way.

I can imagine a mature, dark haired woman wearing this, someone who's strong and beautiful and wise. A woman who can keep her mind clear and her heart open and who lives life gracefully, with empathy and reason at the same time.

Lasting power and sillage are the best I have ever known (I own the EDP). This perfume lasts for more than 24 hours on my skin and it easily projects across a 10 meter room, so I'd suggest applying sparingly. There was not one occasion when I put this on and no one noticed it.

A true classic.

Wow... definitely quite something to behold!

Probably one of the most sensual fragrances I have ever come across. It's almost as if every single sensual and tropical aroma was combined together in a single bottle!

This one is almost intoxicating from the start. For me, it's kind of a very grown-up mixture of rich, creamy white floral and dry, sheer-like Sandalwood, the overall result striking me as unmistakably feminine. Guerlain's perfumes are not always easy ones to like upon initial spray, you really need to give them time to fully appreciate their significance, and for me Samsara was no exception. The story goes that Jean-Paul Guerlain came up with this inspiration partly due to a woman he admired who only liked the notes of Rose, Jasmine and Sandalwood, and he decided to create a fragrance around these three very sensual notes. The result is incredible...

What I get upon initial spray is a very tropical-like, almost overripe fruit smell with a heavy dose of Ylang-Ylang which very much reminds me of banana. This is coupled with heady, indolic, almost fecal-like opulent Jasmine (one of my favourite notes in perfume), joined by a very fresh rose note, and all resting on a huge base of sheer, silky, creamy Sandalwood. This isn't a dry Sandalwood, like Tam Dao by Diptyque. This is a very creamy Sandalwood supported by the heavy white floral Jasmine and the creamy, banana-like Ylang-Ylang, giving a hint of an almost coconut-like vibe. The overall impression could also be a little soapy at immediate impression, but once you spend time with it you really get the full experience of a rich, tropical garden in bloom.

Because of the Jasmine/Ylang-Ylang combination, Samsara really gives me the impression of being almost in a tropical forest on a hot night, with the warm, heady aroma of sweet creamy coconut, green banana, Rose, and dry Sandalwood incense burning at a nearby Buddhist shrine. It really gives me one of the most exotic impressions I've ever smelt coming out of a bottle.

Speaking of the bottle, the Chinese-style red & gold finish really give it the impression of a precious urn filled with something valuable, or maybe even spiritual. It really highlights Guerlain's obsession with Asia (similar to the way the Shalimar bottle represented a clear fountain of water in the gardens of an Indian Palace), this one looks like it came out of a Buddhist Temple. I find that the bottle certainly fits the marketing really well...

I would say that this is very grown up, but not so strong or overpowering a scent, just very evocative and incredibly sensual. Wear it when you want to smell unlike anything else, just very feminine, sensual and exotic. Close your eyes and you just may find it transporting you to a faraway place, and a whole different experience. Personally I would find this incredibly sensual on a woman (as long as applied lightly as it can be strong in the opening).

A recommended must try... A special, exotic one from Guerlain.

OMG. Samsara could compete for space in my top 10. It is so "me."

It opens a bit green & citrus, and moves to the ylang ylang before heading straight for business ... powder, violet, powder, rose, powder, orris. Did I say powder? The powder is at the perfect level - not in your face or stiffling. However, the powder is there, changing and morphing, coming to the front, moving to the back, and teasing the senses. It's a changeable powder that is a powder lover's dream. It dries to a powdery, vanilla, tonka bean, amber on me.

Samsara is not an 1980s powerhouse, imo ... provided it is sprayed with caution. It's an oriental woody at its finest, bouyed by aldehydes. Ironically, it seems fresh & unique after the onslaught of edible, aquatic, and happy scents of the last 20 years. I've got the office-appropriate EdT, which is soft and close-wearing - very samsara. I will be adding the EdP to my wardrobe soon. I love it!

UPDATE - I acquired a part bottle of the EdP through ebay. The EdT is more woody, more wearable. The EdP is more floral, more oriental. Both are very good but I prefer the EdT to the EdP.

Feb
14
2011

Quite an alluring fragrance that has certainly stood the test of time and is hailed as one of the most popular fragrances over the last two decades.

There's lots of rich woodsy notes and enough smokey incense to balance this fragrance out nicely. Particularly in the drydown, Samsara has a rather soapy yet spicy-like quality that I really admire.

The woman that wears Samsara is pictured in my mind as being classy yet seductively sexy, dressed immaculately in black silk and surrounded by a cloud of cigarette smoke which she manages to make a sophisticated recreation rather than a repulsive one.

Samsara is in one word; class. Luxurious, inspiring and elegant.

I can't say that I'm overly familiar with Guerlain scents, but from what I've tried or smelt on others I've been highly impressed, and Samsara is no exception.

I wouldn't call Samsara a loud or particularly bold type of scent, instead it is rather intimate and mysterious. I feel that this particular quality makes it all the more appealing.

Just a few squirts of Samsara and I can guarantee you that you will feel almost instantly more attractive and confident. A true gem in a world of rather common and boring scents. Samsara will make you stand out.