La Collection

Timbuktu L'Artisan Parfumeur 2004

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7.8 / 10 741 Ratings

A popular perfume by L'Artisan Parfumeur for women and men, released in 2004. The scent is spicy-woody. It is being marketed by Puig.
Pronunciation

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Main accords

Spicy

Woody

Smoky

Green

Resinous

Fragrance Pyramid

Top Notes

Green mango

Cardamom

Pink pepper

Heart Notes

Frankincense Papyrus

Papyrus

Karo Karounde

Base Notes

Vetiver

Myrrh

Benzoin

Patchouli

Perfumer

Bertrand Duchaufour

Ratings

Scent

7.8741 Ratings

Longevity

7.3582 Ratings

Sillage

6.7575 Ratings

Bottle

7.7520 Ratings

Value for money

7.1133 Ratings

Submitted by DonVanVliet, last update on 03/26/2025.

Interesting Facts

The fragrance is part of the "La Collection" collection.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Eau d'Iparie (2016)

Treffpunkt 8 Uhr

Oud Shamash

Ivory Route

Ultimate Eau de Toilette

Sycomore (2008) Eau de Toilette

Reviews

23 in-depth fragrance descriptions

12/20/2012

2.5
Bottle 10
Sillage 10
Longevity 6
Scent

Drseid
821 Reviews

Drseid

Very helpful Review 8

A Fine Effort, But Not My Kind Of Thing...

Timbuktu opens with a bang. I get tons of frankincense and spice mixed with something dirty underpinning the notes which must be cardamom. The cardamom remains as does the incense, but the scent turns very soapy with some floral accents creating an interesting juxtaposition of dirty and clean. Vetiver joins the party late, adding some mildly smokey and earthy aspects to the scent in its later stages of development. Timbuktu is very unisex, and has great projection and longevity.

I am somewhat torn on Timbuktu... It really is a good scent and one of the best from the house of L'Artisan, but it really is not for me. Not a bad effort at all from one of the best noses on the face of the planet, Bertrand Duchaufour, just not good enough for me to recommend it without reservation. Still, Timbuktu is definitely sniff worthy and even FBW to those that enjoy similar scents. I'll give it a mild thumbs up and a rating of 3 stars out of 5.

03/03/2015

ColinM
516 Reviews

ColinM

Very helpful Review 4

Overrated woodie

The opening of Timbuktu is mostly centered on a sharp, almost austere vetiver-incense-cedar accord, dusty and dry, basically halfway the smell of slightly aged paper (something like In The Library by CB I Hate Perfumes) and the smell of “pure” wood – and by pure I mean the pale (and quite boring) smell of a woodchips warehouse. No trees and forests, just the smell of Ikea furniture out of the box. That, with a subtle salty-earthy vetiver note, something velvety and sweet (resins, I guess) and a light fruity-floral breeze with a gentle red pepper note. After a while the incense note gains a prominent position, a rarefied and thin balsamic-synthetic incense like in many CdG fragrances (Kyoto above all: quite the same synthetic woody-balsamic feel). That’s it. Really linear and quite plain, you may think it “hides” some complexity or something interesting is ‘round the corner, but... well, it doesn’t, it’s really just that. A synthetic incense-woody scent like dozens of others - not as “avantgarde” as the CdG’s, not as classy as stuff like Gucci pour Homme... Shortly: meh.

5,5-6/10

10/11/2014

7.5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 10
Scent

Insense
25 Reviews

Insense

Helpful Review 10

The origins of mankind

For me, this is my dream of the future: my place of desire, the mythic Timbuktu, where I want to be one day. Such is this amazing scent: quiet, spiritual, in peace and harmony with nature, and evocative of mankind origins.

10/07/2015

5
Sillage 7.5
Longevity 10
Scent

Fhaldara
60 Reviews

Fhaldara

Very helpful Review 5

Magical!

I usually avoid spicy and resinous notes, they always seem overpowering on me. In this case, curiosity, good reviews and the urge to try something new led me to buy a sample of Timbuktu. I was half expecting something heavy and overly spicy, but this is an airy wisp of spices carried on an unfolding trail of incense that settles quietly onto old woods. I immediately ordered a full bottle, and I'm sure it will be used often - we're well into fall now, and this fragrance feels perfect for our cold New England winters.

08/30/2021

8
Bottle 7
Sillage 8
Longevity 10
Scent

HugoMontez
76 Reviews

HugoMontez

Very helpful Review 5

Incense masterpiece!

Yeah, it is really a masterpiece. And you know that when you smell something different that fits you well and gives you different facets during the lifetime, plus makes you feel better and complete.

This is a incense scent with a green vetiver base and supported by fruity and slightly spicy elements. Sometimes I get berries, sometimes I get mango. I'm their website, they list red berries as a note but on Parfumo/Fragrantica they list Mango. I guess the mango association comes to a comparison of another scent that, to me, has a similar vibe and some similar notes. Un jardin sur le Nil by Hermès.

They both have vetiver, fruity elements (mango) and incense. The difference is that the Hermès is more green and watery and a bit more citrusy. This, in contrary, is a bit more resinous and airy. I love both but i find this one a more grown up version of the Hermès.

To me, it's a great summer / mild weather scent. It's refreshing due to the fruity facet and has character with vetiver and incense notes. I always prefer to wear vetiver scents during spring and summer time. They just work. And this one is no exception. Doesn't evolve much since the fresh fruity vibe starts to dry down a bit. It gets a bit more woody. But the sillage is superb. Not that it projects a lot but the sillage for the first hours is really alluring and relaxing.

Incense is a very relaxing note. And combined with fruits, resins (i detect a bit of myrrh), green vetiver and incense makes it perfect. Duchaufour is a master of incense scents and is capable of create this weird but great combo of fruits and resins (see Jubilation XXV). I just can't get enough of it.

I can't see any imperfections on this one. The performance is good, sillage/bubble scent is perfect, the smell it's outstanding and the price is decent for what you get. Overall, a must have fragrance, a classic and a perfect scent.

5/5

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