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Chergui 2001 Eau de Parfum

Ranked 77 in Unisex Perfume
8.1 / 10 1844 Ratings
A popular perfume by Serge Lutens for women and men, released in 2001. The scent is spicy-oriental. The longevity is above-average. It is being marketed by Shiseido Group / Beauté Prestige International.
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Main accords

Spicy
Oriental
Sweet
Woody
Resinous

Fragrance Notes

HayHay ImmortelleImmortelle Russian leatherRussian leather

Perfumers

Videos
Ratings
Scent
8.11844 Ratings
Longevity
8.21482 Ratings
Sillage
7.51430 Ratings
Bottle
7.71304 Ratings
Value for money
7.6622 Ratings
Submitted by DonVanVliet, last update on 11/17/2025.
Interesting Facts
The fragrance is part of the Collection Noire collection.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to
Chergui (Confit de Parfum) by Serge Lutens
Chergui Confit de Parfum
Chergui Limited Edition by Serge Lutens
Chergui Limited Edition
Les Zazous by Keiko Mecheri
Les Zazous
Elite IV by Bois 1920
Elite IV
Volutes (Eau de Parfum) by Diptyque
Volutes Eau de Parfum
Tabac / Tobacco, Oud & Vanilla by Aaron Terence Hughes
Tabac

Reviews

117 in-depth fragrance descriptions
jtd

484 Reviews
jtd
jtd
Top Review 11  
some of its parts
Chergui is apparently one of the best sellers in the Lutens line. When I test it and read the list of notes, I'm a believer more or less. I can make out the notes I'm told are there. Yes, there is hay, tobacco, musk. But lord know I've nearly derailed going too far into the madness of a 'list of notes'.

'Notes' are in fact suggestions. But what lies behind a set of notes is an intent. Does the list of notes describe? Or do notes try to convince, that is, lie? Somehow, despite the recognizeability of the notes, I'm not convinced by Chergui. Testing, on blotter and on skin, I say yes to the notes but no to the whole package. It doesn't suggest a Moroccan wind, as the fable goes. Notes aside, Chergui shares the sensibility of many mainstream men's fragrances of the past 10-15 years. The strategy, for want of a better word, is Creedian. Sell it as nich-y, but aim for the height of the bell curve.

I don't mind the strategy. As I've mentioned about the current Guerlain line-up, the big sellers in a line should better the odds that the lower-selling oddball that I love will remain in the line. Either that, or the take-away for the perfumer is that the bell curve is a sales strategy and every perfume should should be a best seller. I try to be optomistic.
1 Comment
Drseid

828 Reviews
Drseid
Drseid
Top Review 10  
Hay, This Is A Good One...
Chergui opens with a sweet dose of sugary hay. The heart notes appear shortly afterwards, showcasing a deep pipe-like sweet tobacco amber combo, with clove-laced honey and incense accents. The scent winds down with the tobacco and amber combo receding, while joining a pleasant musk base finishing off the scent's development. Longevity is quite good, with average projection.

I am not a sweet scent fan at all, but I definitely like Chergui. The tobacco and amber combo is really addictive, and the incense just compliments it so well. I think the scent is very unisex and would work for just about anyone. I have only smelled a handful of scents from the house of Lutens to date, but I am quite impressed. Chergui is highly recommended to all, but a "no brainer" for sophisticated sweet scent lovers, IMO. It is a gorgeous composition earning an excellent 4 stars out of 5.
0 Comments
Njdeb

63 Reviews
Njdeb
Njdeb
Top Review 9  
A hot, dry desert wind
One thing that I love about Serge Lutens scents is that so many of them paint a scene so vividly in my mind.

Chergui evokes the image of a ghosttown somewhere in the arid expanse of the American west, where a hot dry wind blows dust and tumbleweeds through deserted streets and abandoned buildings. I see this town at dusk, with the last remains of a blazing sunset. The feeling is eerie, but calm, and you can almost sense the life that used to inhabit the place.

If this aroma were a color, it would be red - burning embers, spices and hot baked earth. Honey and amber lend a golden sweetness that offers relief from the dry heat and almost desolate feeling of this scent.

Unlike some Lutens that I really admire but have trouble wearing (ie, Arabie and Douce Amere), I have no trouble with this one. It is a deep scent, but not overpowering and (perhaps owing to the musk) melds well with my skin. Just a beautiful perfume.
1 Comment
Pepdal

238 Reviews
Pepdal
Pepdal
Top Review 8  
Chergui review
This isn't the east wind that picks up spices, dust and heat. It is the east wind that infiltrates nomadic tents and absorbs the odours of honey, tobacco, animal bedding and dusty iris and rose.
Chergui is a cozy, dusty blanket seeping sweetness. From afar it stays linear, but as i am want to do when i wear this, i cannot stop smelling close and recognising its various elements taking turns at showing themselves.
Moderate projection and excellent longevity.
Try this in warmer weather as well. It blooms.
1 Comment
Deefit

33 Reviews
Deefit
Deefit
Very helpful Review 8  
The hot desert wind
Wow! A thousand times wow! It is not often that I immediately am captivated by a fragrance, let alone a niche fragrance. I'm usually quite picky but when I received this bottle in a swap (thank you again Tomaz) just now and I took the bottle out of its very carefully packaged box, I got a very promising first whiff of what is inside this bottle.

So, I took off the cap and sprayed some on, carefully. Just a little. Carefully brought this to my nose, exhaled a bit and then softly inhaled..

WOW!

This has a note that I recognize from Santal Majuscule, only it's softer in Chergui. More round, and sweet. Most Lutens' I've smelled were very strong, usually too strong for my taste. But this, wow! I'm so very excited by this! When I picture a Moroccan desert wind, it makes it even more beautiful. I am totally captivated by it and I can't stop smelling my wrist.

So yes, I know this has a vast group of people loving it but I was a bit scared that besides sweet it would have a particular note in there that would put me off. However, this is not the case. It's balanced nicely and the ingredients are pure. The quality is better than many mainstream or designer scents, though I can't imagine a lot of people disliking it. I think it's safe to say this is one of the more approachable niche offerings out there?

I'm somewhat glad I did not get a bottle of Santal Majuscule, as I have been doubting about that one for a long time. I really liked that, but sometimes I felt like I didn't want to smell like that. But now, Chergui has come along. Bringing me that part of Santal Majuscule I really loved but in sucha sweet, round and refined way. I am a VERY happy man!
0 Comments
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Statements

316 short views on the fragrance
9
Hayish dominant immortelle on faint leather. Lacks complexity and a bit too tonkatastic for my taste. Dry and warm, fitting its name.
0 Comments
5
3
Sweet hay and leather opening. Rough up close but leaves a gorgeous scent trail. Tonka like sweet and barely woody drydown. Classic
3 Comments
4
Chergui is a spicy, powdery tobacco with some sweet honey, dry hay and a hint of incense. Dark, resinous and with a fresh floral touch.
0 Comments
11 months ago
4
Strangely it smells kind of soapy
0 Comments
3
Opens dry, spicy and slightly floral. Dries more powdery and sweet with honey. Has tobacco throughout but it is not the star of the show
0 Comments
3
Extremely sensual and gently spiced floral musk. Much lighter than you’d think. Unisex and very easy to wear, phenomenal
0 Comments
2
Slightly grassy, like clean patchouli hiding behind classically creamy, oriental notes. Lightly powdery and resinous. So, so easy to wear.
0 Comments
2 months ago
2
Opens up with a sour tobacco straight out of Vrsace Dreamer, does a u-turn into fluffy hay and sweet amber+tonka
0 Comments
2
2
Very hyped, but I find it powdery, almost soap-like. Oldschool sweet. This was the first parfume I tested, which I wanted to wash down.
2 Comments
2
Sanfte Gewürze, honigsüßer Tabak, getrocknetes Heu. Warme orientalische Note, weich, reich, umhüllend. Ein Maßstab für Trost.
0 Comments
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