To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes.
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
mc new-style – :
To my nose the very opening of this is wonderful, i defo get the apple and melon but that quickly fades away. The fruity notes are still there in the drydown but not as predominant. The honey comes out more in the drydown. Overall it is quite sweet and a little fruity but doesn’t overly excite me.
web-programmsit – :
EXTREMELY SWEET…80% honey & sugar, 10% coconut and 10% tobacco on me…. smells like cotton-candy.
only for those who don’t like their scents serious.
progress196 – :
As others have mentioned – the initial smell of this is awful. But the heart-notes and drydown is nice.
individ13 – :
The first five minutes of this scent smelled like stale urine on my skin. Fortunately I didn’t rush to wash it off, because this phase didn’t last. Eventually this develops into a concentrated form of hot toddy on my skin. Lots of honey, booze, with hints of tobacco and coconut. Nicely done, but just not my cup of tea.
and.2011 – :
Honey, syrup and brown sugar boiled together and left to simmer for a week.
kost02021985 – :
Splendid! What a perfect scent for late spring and summer! I was intending to buy Cuir Velours and received a sample of this beauty as a bonus. It was love at first sniff! Ended up with this as a full bottle instead of the other one! It smells sooooo good! Yes, I smell coconut and I adore honey, but this does those notes in diifferently. I do not get any tobacco, by the way (but yes, I adore Back to Black, sigh). Mmmmmm! Mmmmmmm! Mmmmmmmm!
serges191 – :
Outstanding fragrance! Sweet of course but in a very good way. The rum, tobacco and and coconut temper the honey and there is a little darker side in the drydown that balances the top notes perfectly. I also get a fruity note in the drydown. Great sillage and longevity, I love the smell. A blind buy, I am very pleased and is even better than I thought it would be. I have other sweet colognes in my collection but this is definitely one of the best. Reminds me a little of Nishane Fan Your Flames but I think this is even better.
hidoce – :
I’ve gone back to my sample 5 times now as something keeps drawing me back.The initial blast is a fruit explosion but that settles very fast. What I get in the dry down is a very nice tobacco that is tempered with a slight hint of apple or some fruit. Someone below mentioned this is what Back To Black should have been and I agree, this is BTB without the harsh tobacco twist. This is a great scent with better than average longevity and projection is just right. A winner in my book. Full bottle in the future.
cinemmancinem – :
I love Bertrand Duchaufour and his prodaucts but composition tobacco and honey is not for me.
this cologne is very excellent for lovers Tobacco and honey composition.
I Prefer this product to Tobacco Vanille from Tom Ford.
Sorry it is not for me.
5/10
begudi – :
This is a very sweet scent that instantly reminded me of a particular holiday. I asked my love what he thought of it and he uttered the exact word that came to my mind when I smelled it – Christmas!!! There are those moments in a relationship that solidify why exactly you mesh well with someone and this was one of those. The exact word that was in my mind and the exact feeling that this evokes is indeed Christmas. There is heavy berry, apple and fruit, with honey & vanilla and then this gorgeous shisa tobacco. It smells as though there are savory elements almost missing because it is so laden with festivity. You could almost expect to smell a turkey, a ham and stuffing accompanying it. This is not an everyday perfume but one that could bring comfort for me if I needed it. It’s like comfort food but with perfume.
me mooo – :
This is concentrated! I did three sprays on my arm and as the weather heated up the scent was extremely present. At least I know it’s a high quality concoction. I had to eventually wash it off as it was a bit too sweet for my taste. For fans of fruity sweet scents.
Vitaalkaa – :
I bought a bottle of this magnificent perfume last month and finally I opened it yesterday. It was great. I like the Fruity accord mixed with a sweetness note. I think the main notes are Leather and Honey.. It is suitable for cold seasons with good longevity and projection.
Рыжий73 – :
Sweet meh-ness…smells like the majority of celeb perfumes out there so besides the powdery dry down and it being a close-to-the-skin type of scent, I can’t say anything else about it.
sklif – :
Wayyyy to rich and thick like slumber house offering of kiste or something. Like a sweet cranberry on steroids times 10 strong. I don’t see this being wearable or even present. Maybe someone else olfactory sensetories will work in a different way and sense some other notes I don’t and will like it, but huge pass. I do know for sure this smells nothing like Hermes Ambre Narguile and some other scents that have been mentioned. I own them and like them a lot too.
britanec – :
This is too rich for me. The coconut is very fatty and opulent, in the manner of a blowsy tuberose; this then overpowers the absolutely gorgeous sweet tobacco.
The materials smell very high quality, and if you like tropical scents perhaps you will like this. For me, it is a scrubber: too heady.
Jostik – :
When I compare Or du Serail side by side with Sova Slumberhouse.
Serail is more muted than Sova,
The tobacco notes in Serail are in much better proportion.
Serailis also a bit sweeter than Sova.
Sillage is moderate
Like it very much.
doctor-h – :
This is exactly what Back to Black should have been.
The main differences are the replacement of almond in the kilian with coconut here and the coconut is given a real kick by the sweet beeswax and ylang.
However, the coconut really becomes a deal breaker for me as it simply turns into a bomb and has me really sad as I would certainly buy this on sight if it were as subdued as the apple (which I really wanted here).
This scent is also boozy! I think the excesses of rum spoils it too imo, crossing the line a bit too far into ‘hangover’ territory. It would have been truly great if she had toned down the coconut and rum a little.
But other than that, it’s all good.
The apple, or the smallest shades of it, is tart and lovely and a dash of mango at the start too. Bright, sweet fruity and coconut-rummy.
The sweetish apple note is really amazing, I again can’t get enough of saying I wish there was more, rather than the masses of coconut because for once it’s both a sweet and bold apple, like apple syrup. Wow.
This can be too heady-sweet and gourmand for many but a coconut-loving woman can definitely try this as a fun (but very expensive) bash.
Definitely a try but a buy, this will divide opinion a lot but it’s far far better than Kilian’s awful B2B -at least on me.
The quality is equal or even surpasses Creeds. I only wish she took out the tropical nut for something smoother or more mellow at the start like suede or more of the apple or lemon to freshen things a bit.
A good try, almost a hit!
My rating: 7/10.
Quality: 10/10.
Olegarh_74 – :
AWESOME. Beautiful coconut, rum, honey, mango and vanilla. I love this for those chilly evenings, careful on the trigger though, on me this thing is a beast. 14+ easily.
Axellot – :
I get too much sour apple…that tangy smell you get from apple juice in a can. Maybe its the cranberry that pushes it in that direction. The tanginess remains in the dry down… but I can’t help but associate this kind of tanginess with fresh urine. You do get a dry woody/smoky character underneath. Maybe the story is “a guy that drank too much apple juice to put out the campfire”?
shandra – :
Not for me. Really too sweet for my taste and I don’t dislike fruity perfumes. Actually Manguier Metisse from Huitieme Art is 1 of my favourites. But Or du Serail is like wearing an overripe pineapple round your neck. Maybe it is the honey that turns me off, like it does in Kilian’s Back to Black. I prefer Cuir velours!
Вадимка – :
Strong opening of tropical bitterness. This is a very prickly, in your face fragrance. The animalic vibe though not mentioned on the list of component oils, is very strong on my skin. The balsamic sourness then kicks in.. I feel like I have been marinated, seriously. This may be a great fragrance for a very sweet person who wants to show off hers or his beastly side.
timucs – :
Interesting gourmand. Sweet, sour and balsamic, I smell a lot of honey here with some mix of fruits, coconut and little tobacco. Pleasant but for some reason it just doesn’t grab me.
adorises – :
Well looking at the notes and reviews of this I was very interested. And it just so happens that a member of the community was kinda enough to even make a small sample and send it to me. I would name him but he wanted to remain nameless but thanks to him…
So what did I get out of this? Well heh funny story it was bound to happen eventually after all these years. But well I first used this on a piece of paper to test it on paper, and then sadly.. Accidentally split the rest all over my carpet.
…. -______-
So this review will only be how it smells on paper and my now carpet but on those its a huge fruity very sweet sorta pie bomb. It kinda reminds of Ambre Narguile actually. But it umm not as well done version. I dont eat pie, or really like it. But that one is so well done that I really enjoy it for what it is. This however is like a pie that just has to many ingredients bursting out of it, not very well balanced. I was really hoping to get some of this tobacco and other nuisances of the fragrance as again I really liked the notes. But on paper and well carpet sampling. I got none of this. Just a very messy fruity pie with more thick jam paste all over the place.
Pretty bummed about this, but for what its worth id still like to sample it on skin and hopefully this other facets will come out.
Asatessata – :
Very sweet coconut for me on first sniff. Quickly develops into rum and cedar, almost like I can smell the wooden cask. Left with very faint smell of musk. On drydown I get honey and laubdanum the most. Overall wouldn’t wear again. Seems very old fashioned and overly sweet.
Peryshko – :
The first impression, which lasts through all the stages of this perfume, is: Bertie’s other acrobatic creation, Vaara. The juicy, sticky-sweet mince syrup I get from Vaara (which I like, anyway). The association seems impossible if I compare the notes, but Vaara’s what I get. It must be the fruits andhoney combo.
If I sniff a lot closer, anyway, and my skin gets warmed by my exhalations, I get one of the most marvelous tobaccoes I’ve ever smelled, perfectly brewed, slightly burned and vivid, or also the smell of a wooden pipe which has housed the finest quality of tobaccoes for years.
There’s rhum, too, which adds warmth and volume to the mix.
I really like this perfume, but I wouldn’t wear it for myself, as a woman. It would be perfect on a sweet, gentle, creative man, a bit like Bertie.
qqqqqqqqqqq8 – :
Dolce, dolce, dolcissima fragranza… Prendete Layla K, Anbar Tola, Lei Mazzolari, aggiungete caramella mou liquida e miele e otterrete questo prodotto… oltre ad un picco glicemico.
Eccessivo.
bormah – :
A warm, tropical fruity floral that takes the genre to another level. The tangy opening dries down to a honeyed coconut base tinged with ylang, amber, and tobacco. The tobacco adds a smokey edge that prevents the fragrance from becoming too sweet. It’s big and lush, so spray cautiously as it has huge sillage. Refined? Absolutely not, but when you want a yummy, sticky, tropical blast, it’s just glorious. Totally over the top.
angel_rstd – :
i really like this one, not quite as much as bois d’ascese (which is more challenging and generally impressive) but enough to buy it. i really don’t get’coconut’ at all, but a wonderfully balanced tobacco/booze/woods richness that never cloys or flatlines. duchaufour has stretched a bit outside his incensey comfort zone yet OdS bears his trademark heavy/sheer effect, which over the course of a good 8 hour lifespan stays incredible cozy, vibrant and just perfect for this season (fall!). at times this smells very close to something slumberhouse might do if Josh Lobb went a little more ‘commercial’ with something like Baque or Sova. tobacco scents rarely work on me (duchaufour’s havana vanille also does though) but this excellent frag really connects to my nose. yummy!
kazak972 – :
I’m a huge fan of Naomi Goodsir’s line of fragrances and Bois D’Ascese have gained a holy grail status in my book pretty fast but, unfortunately, I can’t say I’m digging Or Du Serail as others do.
There’s an hyper-realistic fruit opening which is quite ok (mainly berries and something else kind of green/ sourish) but then, sweetness comes into play giving birth to a boozy honeyed-tobacco driven middle phase which is possibly the farhest thing to my tastes. There’s an overall coconut vibe going on which gave me an instant headache. There’s nothing to do, with very very few exceptions made, me and gourmands don’t get along at all.
The base shows sweetness to be slightly more in check but it’s a sort of been there done that kind of woody-musky-ambery thing.
It’s well done et all if you like the genre but I’m afraid it’s a pass for me.
Rating: 5.5/10
Memnb455JeomiWogkig – :
Or du Serail opens with strong alcohol notes, strong coconut and mango, sweet fruit, cloyingly so. Spice and tobacco are nice. The final drydown is lovely with a honeyed tobacco, but longevity is not the greatest. Overall I do not find this one to be worth its price.
KaZZZulka – :
the top note was quite promising. i smelled that kind of dried sweetish fruits mixed with tobacco (i guess the sweets was the red berries, the beeswax, & the honey), as it dried down right after 5 to 10 minutes. it changed a bit around & honestly i felt since the beginning the top note has that similarity & wasn’t sure what was it, and it showed up in the middle note quite clear. it has that mostly identical similarity with Tabacca by Costamor with an extra caramel & biscuits as of the addition of Teddy grahams. it is quite nice but not as the first 2 Naomi Goodsir’s. i won’t get this one cause i already have Tabacca 😉
Edit (6th Sept 2016) I was quite surprised how the coconut struck me when i applied it after 2 years! i never smelled this amount of coconut when i first applied it on my skin 2 years back! i’m sure it’s because i just recently realized that the coconut is one of my favorites note, AND the number of fragrances that i have sniffed the past 2 years made me differentiate notes quite well. Now, It is quite the natural coconut oil with tobacco, cognac, beeswax, honey, apricots, and vanilla. To be honest it’s not similar to “Tabacca”, as it has an enormous silage and longevity. It is quite well made, and superbly balanced. Naomi is quite a master in mastering my type of fragrances.
jimcostar – :
As a point of reference, I really enjoyed Bois d’Ascese but wasn’t very taken with Cuir Velours. A friend who’s quite into sweet and fruity scents had been raving about this one, so I was looking forward to taking it for a spin even though I knew it might not be to my taste. This is essentially a honeyed fruit and tobacco scent with a bit of musky cocoa peeking through. It takes some of the bigger commercial successes of what’s become a bit of a stale genre and casts them in a more grown up and articulate light while still retaining a degree of playfulness.
At the outset, the honey and fruits are strong, bordering on a tad sickly, but they tame quite fast. The honey is dry—somewhat akin to Tobacco Vanille, and certainly less powdery than Back to Black. The tobacco note is exceptional—what appears to be the same kind of chord that’s been popping up lately in scents such as Tom Ford’s Tobacco Oud. It’s somewhat dusty, hyperreal, and extremely cozy. The fruits seem to lean more toward berry than the standard cherry that this genre leans upon too often, and I think I might even be detecting some strawberry, but it’s all very well rendered. Rather than juicy or tart, the fruits might be described as somewhere between stewed or candied—not overly sweet or syrupy, yet still gourmand. The whole effect is like pressing your nose into a bag of flavored tobacco.
It wears fantastically—warm, but not cloying—taking the genre to the next level. But what surprised me is that Duchaufour is behind this one as, frankly, I haven’t been that moved by anything he’s done for some time. This is thoughtful and expressive as opposed to predictable and trite (although I will add that the dry down is a lame, off-the-shelf amber). It’s not reinventing the wheel, but it’s certainly building upon what has come along before with some style of its own. Wide appeal is clearly part of this fragrance’s design, but not at the expense of taste; there’s no cheap gimmickry or paraphrasing of what came before. Although it’s not exactly to my taste, it is something I would wear on occasion during the colder months. For fans of tobacco-centric perfumes, honeyed fruit scents, and Naomi Goodsir’s other releases, this should be on your radar.
spider199765 – :
Fantastic! It reminds me Kilian´s Back to Black a bit but it´s softer, more fruity, eatable, optimistic. A new must have for me.