Top Notes 
Ylang-ylang
Mandarin orange
Italian bergamot
Heart Notes 
Jasmine sambac
Tuberose
Aegean wallflower
Turkish rose
Base Notes 
Patchouli
Vanilla
Haitian vetiver
Indian sandalwood
Sherapop
1240 Reviews
Sherapop
Very helpful Review
5
Well now, this is truly beautiful!
One of the most delectable perfume testing experiences I've had has been taking my time meandering my way through the wonderful box of 10ml bottles of the Parfums MDCI Paris collection. I don't recall exactly how much I paid for this pleasure (although I'm sure that it was less than one of their bottles), but it has been worth ten times that amount. This box is bursting with beauty.
A case in point, ENLEVEMENT AU SERAIL is a classic oriental featuring big, luscious jasmine. There's really no comparison to true, high-quality jasmine in a complex perfume carefully composed, and that is exactly what ENLEVEMENT AU SERAIL is. I was wearing Creed JASMIN IMPERATRICE EUGENIE yesterday, which is also gorgeous, but it is a much simpler creation, featuring a rich vanilla base and glorious jasmine in perhaps historic concentrations.
With this MDCI Paris creation, I feel almost as though the core of JASMIN IMPERATRICE EUGENIE is present, but it has been dressed up a bit with some complementary flowers--ylang, tuberose, rose, and wallflower are all listed among the notes--and enough patchouli and woods to add depth but without turning this into a patchouli perfume.
There seems to be a dosing issue these days with more and more patchouli being added to perfumes perhaps in response to consumer behavior, but I do not think that every floriental perfume needs to be a patchouli bomb, and ENLEVEMENT AU SERAIL is not. This is a well-balanced use of patchouli and woods to enhance not compete with or mask the flowers. I cannot say that I smell the other flowers--beyond the jasmine--as individual notes, but again I feel that they are there supporting the jasmine and making it seem much richer than even the finest soliflore.
I really love this perfume. It's perfect for wintertime and a welcome reminder that real perfumery is still being done here and there... Call me a "bitch" if you must, but I do not believe that every single person on the planet was meant to be a perfumer. It takes both talent and hard work to create fine perfume. The person who created ENLEVEMENT AU SERAIL, Francis Kurkdjian, has earned the right to be called a perfumer.
Needless to say, I respectfully disagree with Callas, below, and I also have no idea why anyone would even begin to compare this perfume to Guerlain MITSOUKO, with which it has very little in common, it seems to me. This is a floriental perfume, not a fruity chypre.
A case in point, ENLEVEMENT AU SERAIL is a classic oriental featuring big, luscious jasmine. There's really no comparison to true, high-quality jasmine in a complex perfume carefully composed, and that is exactly what ENLEVEMENT AU SERAIL is. I was wearing Creed JASMIN IMPERATRICE EUGENIE yesterday, which is also gorgeous, but it is a much simpler creation, featuring a rich vanilla base and glorious jasmine in perhaps historic concentrations.
With this MDCI Paris creation, I feel almost as though the core of JASMIN IMPERATRICE EUGENIE is present, but it has been dressed up a bit with some complementary flowers--ylang, tuberose, rose, and wallflower are all listed among the notes--and enough patchouli and woods to add depth but without turning this into a patchouli perfume.
There seems to be a dosing issue these days with more and more patchouli being added to perfumes perhaps in response to consumer behavior, but I do not think that every floriental perfume needs to be a patchouli bomb, and ENLEVEMENT AU SERAIL is not. This is a well-balanced use of patchouli and woods to enhance not compete with or mask the flowers. I cannot say that I smell the other flowers--beyond the jasmine--as individual notes, but again I feel that they are there supporting the jasmine and making it seem much richer than even the finest soliflore.
I really love this perfume. It's perfect for wintertime and a welcome reminder that real perfumery is still being done here and there... Call me a "bitch" if you must, but I do not believe that every single person on the planet was meant to be a perfumer. It takes both talent and hard work to create fine perfume. The person who created ENLEVEMENT AU SERAIL, Francis Kurkdjian, has earned the right to be called a perfumer.
Needless to say, I respectfully disagree with Callas, below, and I also have no idea why anyone would even begin to compare this perfume to Guerlain MITSOUKO, with which it has very little in common, it seems to me. This is a floriental perfume, not a fruity chypre.
1 Comment
kittea
Yatagan
Tubereuse
Globomanni
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