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docijus – :
Its a pleasant wear. Unisex now in vibe..great for fall and winter. Nothing outstanding or head turning, but comforting and warm.
AQBA – :
I love it. Sables is indeed a rare combination of power (the subtle, not “in your face” kind of) and introspective softness. It has the kind of harmonious “dyalectics” i love, and thus without beeing too controversial in itself. It s like a deep conversation with yourself, using simple words, an elegant syntax and a soft tone. Long lasting, on me it has the exact structure depicted by its ingredients, and strangely enough i can still feel the immortelle on the long run too, maybe as the strongest, and on my hair it turns into something sweeter (as i was wearing it, i was asked more than once if my hair smelled like cofee -must be the black tea or/and the cinnamon). It smells bitter sweet (maybe more bitter than a woman would usually wear, but again this is not my first love of men fragrances – i still wear encre noir, e.g. – my point being don t blind buy it, especially if you re a woman). It smells.like cold and heat at once, herbalia and mineralia at once (the gourmand ingredients are only there to sustain the core idea of .. well.. sands..). It s smart and sensuous at the same time, it s a happy and sunny (not exuberant) result of a continuous trip, and simply a very beautiful, and naturally elegant perfume.
4ipseska – :
Immortelle (maple syrup) upon an amber base with mild spices. The immortelle is dominant most of the time but it’s paired with a nice dry tea smell. The combination is interesting and I like the smell, but I’m not too keen on smelling like this too often, as it becomes too much after a while.
7/10
hlk364elipseskism – :
I don’t care if this is for men, it’s a masterpiece and I’ll wear it often. The blend is soft but the stuff goes on and on, very persistent but without crisping your nasal hairs, no part of this is harsh, burnt or overdone, it’s wonderful….if you like Immortelle. If you don’t, then leave it, all the more for us. Don’t buy it blind, you need a run up to this stuff. 10/10.
aftor – :
REFORMULATION ALERT!!
I’ve just tried “Sables” in the new Goutal bottle. You can smell the immortelle and sandalwood but fresher and VERY watered down. There’s some citrusy accord present there. It smells like Sables mixed with l’Eau d’Hadrien or Eau de Monsieur.
sashalomakin – :
I think is the most near recreated perfume that reminds me the beautiful holidays in the north Corse in July.
Very penetrating, long lasting but not intrusive: I fallen in love with perfume
In my opinion, another perfum that go pretty near this scent memory and this sensation is Herve Gambs “Domain du Cap” is more “fresh” and I suggest it
In conclusion I like that because reminds me Mediterranean wildness; be aware of that, try it and love it.
sergei_fok – :
This is a stunning herbal fragrance which I was craving to test for a long time. It’s quality shines through amazing note of mighty immortelle.
As a herbal beauty I like it more as a popular T.Swinton Like this.
But… it’s clear now, these fragrances are just not for me. I love many unisex perfumes but it seems I’m leaning more to feminine scents at the end of a day.
Anyway, I’m happy to have chance to test it.
karkasny – :
Phew! Not too often I can cross one OFF the want list as definitively as this. Good for the bank balance, at least. So this is a grudge match gone right: for this is a brute encounter my old nemesis, immortelle – in a mix so pungent, here, that I was utterly convinced this was a spicy-oriental with a disastrous overdose of over-toasted, bitter cumin and fenugreek. And I *love* spices in perfume, even including cumin, even in some scents like Arabie where it repels other people – but Sables gave me a startlingly unfriendly whiff of really nasty, cheap curry powder gone stale and dusty.
But in fact it wasn’t spices which were going so wrong for me here – it was that lurking immortelle again, ruining and overwhelming everything else – on my skin at least. So overpowering I get absolutely no pepper or cinnamon either. If immortelle and spice are your bag, this will be a must try – but on me it’s a sandstorm I most definitely do *not* want to lose myself in.
Dourgerog – :
I blind bought it because of the hype. All I can smell is Pickle my grandma used to make. When she used to the pickle pot, Sables like aroma spread in kitchen…
Performance wise its a beast, I could smell it a week after sprayed it on my shirt…
It is one of those scents one should try before purchasing a full bottle.
KALIHA – :
I’m too afraid to try the current reformulation. I have the vintage older version and it’s wonderful. I would feel depressed if the current version is drastically different than the original version. The original made me think of burning brown sugar in a good way.
Shora_81 – :
from all of the Goutal releases Sables sticks out as utterly unique and particular – special attention is due to most of their 1980’s releases, many of them are landmarks in their terrain, e.g. the original Vetiver Eau de Toilette, and maybe, possibly most strongly, so is, Sables. A true masterpiece, something that must have lead the path for designer releases like Dior’s Eau Noir, or being adored by Rick Owens & Michèle Lamy. Sables remains in a singular position so that no other fragrance really covers what this is doing – the impression of sheer heat, shrugs in the sun, hot soil and even the often mentioned curry / fried fenugreek seeds all make sense here – and as with all truly great perfumes, there is this something else that no other immortelle centred fragrance has – simply fantastic. Now the sad news – it has been messed with quite a bit some years ago when the packaging at Goutal changed – and regrettably it is mainly available only in their Paris shops … however upon a visit to Paris some weeks ago, and smelling there again this current version, it seemed to have been improved a bit – which would be a rare case of a reformulation getting corrected again … no 1:1 test made yet
Azar26 – :
When I first went down the rabbit hole of perfume obsession, I was drawn to the scent of immortelle without knowing what it was exactly that I was drawn to. Once I started finding various perfumes with this essence, I started seeking it out. Atelier has a Blanche Immortelle that is pretty good, but I had yet to try Sables. Well, trying has led to buying in one day! Immortelle is also in several Serge Lutens (JDP).
Where other people routinely smell “curry”–I smell summer, dried grasses, a bit of wild fennel with its black licorice/anise qualities, herbal/medicinal, and very sweet; I smell Saturday pancakes with the requisite maple syrup but also a warm wind blowing across dead leaves, dry dirt. It’s just fantastic, interesting, introspective and comforting all at once. I might think this would have some kind of sex appeal on someone else, but to me it’s just very soothing and enveloping. While definitely hovering on the edge of gourmand, it skirts it by a hair. The strongest element is, well, immortelle, with sandalwood far in the back, a hint of pepper and an anise note that burns off in the first two minutes. There may be tea (I don’t find it) and there may be cinnamon (perhaps that is the “anise” to my confused nose). Given the comments, it’s certainly a try before you commit type of fragrance, but, if you know you like immortelle, I highly recommend this. It’s distinctly better as it warms to the skin–I found it gaining–not losing strength. Unlike what others experienced, projection was low to minimal.
Edit: got the FB. Projection is HUGE!!! SILAGE ENORMOUS, LONGEVITY….my bedroom smells of this from a days ago series of spritzs.
Zoowsretcitte – :
This is one of the strangest and one of the most comforting things I think I’ve ever smelled. It is a real challenge to my nose, accustomed as it is to sweetness from more conventional notes. Even though the burnt sugar is unmistakable, it is elusive and have to work for it. But then there it is, fully. It’s as if I keep losing sense of what it is I’m smelling! I think I’m loving it.
I experience this as herbal, but not green. It smells like dried flowers and herbs being sorted on a warm day, perhaps on a wood bench heated by the sun. The herbs are not too green or bitter, maybe chamomile, bark, and calendula flowers. There’s a dusty smell about it that is not off-putting, but rather the nature of dried things. I get no fenugreek or curry… The pepper keeps it dry, and the amber smooths out the edges. The sandalwood is milky and soft. I’d reserve this fragrance for certain fitting occasions, as it is a little challenging, and so very tenacious.
lynkarri – :
This is beautiful, haunting and a very unusual take on an ambery, herbal fragrance. However, immortelle (on/to me at least) smells unmistably of curry so whilst this id lovely, it isn’t what I’d choose to smell of.
Nasihat – :
Spicy, herbal, sweet, burnt, smoky….and it smells like heat on a stone surface…glorious rich hot swirls of dusty spices…this is what the spice, melange on Arrakis/Dune smells like. Some say curry, I say burnt sugar and spices with lots of herbal, dried flower nuances. Addictive, strong and warm. Scrumptious!
rgkgpduobp – :
Finally got to try this (It’s harder and harder to find Annick Goutal)..
Even though the notes share little similarity, I think it’s closer to Fougere Bengale than Immortelle Tribal, as it is much smokier & spicier than the latter, and the sandalwood isn’t as milky & sweet.
olegik01 – :
Towards the end of the popular animation movie “Ratatouille”, Anton Ego tastes his dinner cooked by Remy and almost instantly he is transported back to his childhood. Upon sniffing Sables, within seconds, I had an identical “time travelling” fascinating experience.
So, here I am, a young boy once more, enjoying his carefree summer holidays, spending the day with family & friends at the beach. It is almost miday, the air is dry & hot and barely cools our sweaty faces. It smells peculiar yet welcoming. Standing on the rocks of the nearby cliff, resting from our exloration adventure, we can hear the wind swirling upon the sand, stealing the sea’s saltiness, mixing it with the air’s friendly warmth & the pungent odour of our golden flowers. They were “ours” because they were “golden” and because we were the “brave” ones to conquer the top ! 35 years later, I think I can still smell the freshly cut immortelle flowers in my hands.
Sables is a strong sentimental perfume that envelops my senses with its spicy, smoky sweet, peppery aura and daring temperament, softening to an embracing and comforting dark woody ambery aroma, that eliminates the passing of time.
It tells a story.
9/10
JASTREBKILL – :
I love the original version of Sables and was saddened to see the degree to which it was toned down in the reformulation. Anyone who really wants to experience this frag in its glory owes it to themselves to grab a bottle of the original off of eBay. The current version (which is already being heavily discounted) is a shadow of its former self.
Lorbettytm – :
My mother used to dry immortelle flowers in the attic. They smelled all herbal and sunny, bringing a touch of summer even in the middle of winter. Lately I have been on a nostalgic hunt for a good immortelle fragrance, and one of the suggestions I got was Sables by Annick Goutal.
This turned out to be one of those fragrances that immediately conjures up an image in my head: Full sunshine, immortelle flowers growing in dry soil – almost sand dunes – next to the sea. It is reminiscent of Andy Tauer’s L’Air du Desert Marocain, not in its notes but in the very similar quality of dryness. The immortelle really stands out as the lead actor, with cinnamon in the most prominent supporting role on my skin. Possibly it is what some describe as the caramel or syrup note in immortelle that leaves me with the impression of sea, since there is a certain saltiness to caramel.
My sample has a sillage of at least arm’s length and very good longevity. After over ten hours it is still distinctly discernable on my skin, a mellow mix of dry herbs and cinnamon. Unfortunately I don’t know which formulation the sample comes from: According to some, the current version has longevity issues.
Is it a “masculine” or a “feminine” fragrance? I think this is just as gender specific as the sand, the wind and the sea.
louidor – :
This is the definition of extreme by modern standards! It can be a “love or hate” thing or a “love AND hate” even for some. Without a doubt one of the most tenacious fragrances I have tried and what many would describe as a “heavy” scent. Very challenging at first but eventually morphs into a sweet, antique amber scent full of sandalwood and labdanum goodness.
jevogupd – :
This is unisex. It is VERY herbal. It goes on a little boozy but becomes this wicked, rich, very dry, herbal, tobacco scent. Not like pipe tobacco but like the real stuff that is dried from a field. It reminds me of some natural perfumers stuff I have. Not my thing.
vte934speagoessenda – :
I know it says for men…I love it. Nothing like it in the notes, but I get Wonderfully heady Maple Syrup poured over Celery seeds! It lasts around 12 hours for me, the last 4 or 5 deeply herbal smelling & close to the skin. Lasts amazingly on clothing or bedding. I get that it could be love or hate, so I would test first, but if you are after something unique this may be it.
pko-spoireefe – :
I can’t stand this scent. I bought it because of the reviews. I really enjoy spice scents, but this is beyond repugnant. Big headache inducer, very old school, slap in your face bomb smell. Try it before you commit. Selling/swap my 3.4oz of this.
Paninn – :
You are taking one last stroll through your immaculate lemon groves before retiring to your imposing mansion. The summer wind catches your nose in its toasted cinnamon swirls as you climb the stairs to your grand balcony – you rest on your dazzling gold handrail as you look out to meet the gaze of the sun and it’s sinking glow. The sea and sky are bathed in endless reds and golds as the sun departs this world…everything is swept up in the mapled haze of wild immortelle. A strange thought reaches out to you – why had I been turning all to gold when a world of gold already existed in the rays of the sun? You shed your golden tears at the thought of all the damage you had done – your greed and ignorance had unraveled all that was great in your once meaningful life. Your obsession became your prison and this prison, your grave. A mysterious stranger showed up to bury your body – they filled the halls of your golden palace with the soft tendrils of incense while planting an ever-hungering moss with every step. Your body and your palace were never seen again, swallowed by another’s greed and lost to the callousness of time.
Day 79 – Golden tears
Listening to: The Gathering – Monsters
Notes: I fell in love with this gem in its original form some three or four years ago – from what I remember, the newest formulation sticks relatively close to the original. That being said, this is a simple wonder that highlights the true beauty of immortelle and accentuates the fascinating nuances of what it smells like in nature! It opens with a blast of dazzling lemons and a dusting of powdery cinnamon before meeting and impossibly realistic immortelle with the slightest hint of earthy greenness and smokiness. The earthy and syrupy heart lasts a good 6 to 8 hours before taking on more of a honeyed oakmoss presence – the sweet oakmoss is met with just a touch of earthen patchouli which sweetly accents skin for a other 4 to 6
hours. A truly beautiful fragrance that recalls countless moments I’ve experienced in nature – to me it is tragic and bittersweet. Hopefully you will find the beauty within its golden embrace.
romancrimea – :
Wear it when there’s a heat wave …it’s glorious
aleksey2378 – :
I was looking at the list of ingredients for Sables and interestingly, it mentions Evernia prunastri (Oakmoss) and Benzyl benzoate which, according to wiki, is a component of Tolu and Peru balsams. I do not see those notes listed here. I must say that when I first tried it I say this reminds me of something, and after I looked at the ingredients is when I realized… YES! It is the unmistakable smell of Oakmoss, that bitterish, resinous smell… Anyhow, I am not a trained nose, and I have never smelled immortale, so go figure…
It is a beautiful fragrance, definitely not “on trend” with the fragrances of its era and for sure completely “out of trend” with today’s offering. Its dry, herbal, bitterish, and evolves beautifully. Sometimes you get whiffs of amber, sometimes it’s resinous, it’s fresh like being in the middle of a wet wood trunk in the jungle… who knows. From the middle to the drydown, the sandalwood envelops the flower beautifully, with that characteristic “milky” smell of the sandalwood complimenting the bitterness of the immortale.
I do not think this is gourmand at all. Far from it. Also, I do not get any of the references to food that other reviewers had mention.
I had Eau de Monsieur a long time ago and I would swear that they smell identical.
On a hot summer day you must use judgement with the application of Sables. On a chilly day I bet it would smell wonderful if you go heavy handed.
Smell great my friends.
251172 – :
A very high end,classy and elegant Masala, Fenugreek heavy. Hugely creative and avant-garde juice in the mid 80’s. The most flamboyant and creative Chef’s in our French Hotel bathed in it. Goutal was ahead of the times and we all learned how to roll the name in conversation. Always in a way most Paris(ian)
Trouble is, that I was never flamboyant and only mildly creative.
My taste for Curries has always been Cumin and Cinnamon heavy, Fenugreek light.
In the 80’s I could’nt understand why anybody would really want to perfume themselves in this way.
Recent tasting has reinforced that view.
Always be a peasant I guess!
woummiseets – :
[Review originally posted on MakeupAlley in 2005]:
A stunner. Sables, as is common knowledge here, uses the unusual immortelle flower, which Victoire Gobin Daude also uses in her Biche Dans L’Absinthe–bought this for myself but as the name in French is my namesake and because of the special, sandy spicy smell, my husband has appropriated this now as his signature scent, wearing “me”…not much to add to the reviews below except that this scent really is somehow bracing, I cannot only feel the vast expanse of the sand dunes, but can feel and almost smell the wind from the ocean, with the green view of dune plants whipped by the breeze. An SA for Annick Goutal said she prefers it on sensitive and artistic types with fiery personalities…I liked reading that Catherine Deneuve wears this too…
x-besenok – :
This is so deliciously rich and complex! I never thought I could like a spicy scent. I was wrong. At first spritz I was worried I’d sunk money into an old man/woman scent that would suffocate me with its bitter/sour pungency. However after half an hour or so (not a long time considering the immense longevity of the fragrance) it smooths out and settles into this absolutely intoxicatingly deep blend of spiciness balanced perfectly with subtle maple syrupy sweetness. Not a fresh scent at all despite the tea note, which only serves to open up the many spices. I detected hints of curry ( from the immortelle) and pepper and mmmm the cinnamon. Never thought I could accept curry, but I am. Also this could be a masculine fragrance but sits comfortably between masculine and feminine. I can picture it either way. Anyways this is a delicious keeper. Very unique. Very sophisticated.
Also I think I got my hands on the original ( lucky me! ) and the sandalwood is still very detectable and it along with the amber helps blend everything together.
Update: since I’ve been wearing this my sisters all say I smell like curry
Hohol8108 – :
un accordo creato per ridestare vecchie memorie, questo sables, concepito da AG per il marito musicista, in ricordo delle vacanze passate sul mare della Corsica. al di là delle reminiscenze romantiche, questo profumo è come un punto fermo attraverso cui oscillano sentori contraddittori: è verde ed erbaceo, ma dolce e resinoso, è speziato e sciropposo allo stesso tempo. l’inizio è quasi intossicante: elicriso, con le sue caratteristiche di erba dolce e prepotente. su questa nota persistente si snodano poi tè nero, ambra, benzoino, cannella, sandalo, pepe per ricreare la sensazione di dune roventi da cui provengono anche sentori erbosi in prossimità del mare. ottimo.
Svin – :
This is all about the accord between immortelle, which smells like fenugreek, and sandalwood. At first, the immortelle is very powerful, then gradually the sandalwood takes over. It’s the point in the middle, when the two are in evolving balance, that’s marvelous. It goes from smelling a little too literally like an Indian grocery store, to something more abstract and evocative. What’s beautiful is how the warm, spicy, woody, base brings other ambient aromas into focus and elevates them. I was walking around looking for odors to appreciate, even funky ones. Great stuff! Very long lasting.
The sample I tested turns out to be from a recent bottle, post-reformulation. I’m happy about this, in that the new stuff, which I like, is significantly cheaper than the vintage. I am of course curious to try the vintage formula, which has strong partisans on this page.
petrycho – :
Hate hate this one…strong opening and pungent almost repulsive . Share some notes with mancera’s sand Aoud and what i get out of sable is basically it: strong dry desert type of “sand”
poliwan2010 – :
When I first heard about Sables, I was immediately eager to try it because of its promising name – I love the idea of smelling like a shortcrust cookie, sounds delicious, especially if that scent has been transformed into an actual wearable perfume by a competent house like Annick Goutal. In fact I was so keen that I ordered a little decant in a sale without noticing the “for men” designation. I’m so glad I did, because it might have kept me from trying this beauty, that’s by all means very much unisex in practice.
I asked my friend who’s into very feminine scents if she thought this was too masculine to be worn by women, and even she didn’t think so – I’ve honestly encountered many unisex scents that are more masculine than this one. She did say that she liked it “although I’m more into sweet scents myself”, which might sound puzzling because I think this one is pretty sweet too, but I do understand what she means. This isn’t sweet in the way of desserts and sugar, in fact it doesn’t smell very edible at all. It’s more like the ingredients used in that lovely cake than the cake itself: warm, dry spiciness and a good helping of slightly burned syrup – wonderful! I’m not very familiar with immortelle, so I’m guessing that must play a big part in this quasi-gourmand deliciousness, and it probably also explains the slight, pleasant medicinal vibe in the opening.
Just as great as the scent itself are the longevity (all day at least) and projection (powerful to the point of being too much right after spraying once or twice, and just perfect after a couple of minutes).
So this is actually everything I hoped for – a very nice, high quality, comforting almost-gourmand that doesn’t lack class, perfect for just about any occasion in autumn and winter, for both men and women. I’m so glad I came across Sables –
I definitely see a full bottle of this somewhere in my future, and it’s also cured me from my fear of trying scents “for men”.
baltika78 – :
Sables is an excellent soliflore immortal flower.
Half gourmand half oriental fragrance opens with great force and bravura one cinnamic odor with fine cinnamon corseted into this immortal wonderful smoky sweet smelling hay, something dark, luxurious and very special.
It is in the drying, when the layers are assembled with the immortal core Santal Mysore and balsams. This fragrance reveals all its splendor and grandeur with a wonderful caramel trail can last more than a day.
In the end, all this mix is a kind of sweet syrup rich and opulent laden with high quality and complexity.
Perfect projection, impressive durability (more than one day).
And you would like to have Lutens or Amouage “Sables” in his spectacular collection of fragrances.
Another great work Goutal.
Rating: 8
karim – :
I am in grad school. It is Christmas and my Hungarian boyfriend is taking me to meet his parents in his home country. He has told me little of his family. At the end of a small highway, we stop and a friend of his meets us with a horse drawn sleigh. After an hour, as twilight sets, we approach a clearing, where a castle emerges before our eyes. Speechless, I am lead to a grand planked door. It opens revealing roaring fires, candles, roasts, wines, crytal, leathers and velvets. A handsome gentleman, pipe in hand, warmly greets me. This is the smell of Sables.
alena2000 – :
Sables (very roughly pronounced “SAHB-luh,” meaning “sands” in French) is regarded by some people in the fragrance industry, including Luca Turin, as one of the best scents to come out of house of Annick Goutal. It was released 1985 and made by Goutal for her husband, the cellist husband Alain Meunier.
Top notes include immortelle (also known as Everlasting flower) and cinnamon. There is pepper and black tea at the heart, and sandalwood and amber at the base. Sables is classified as an oriental woody, but I don’t find it woody at all. The sandalwood is a faint afterthought in the dry down, and no other woods are very prominent. “Oriental” certainly fits for various reasons which I will talk about, however.
Immortelle has an infamous reputation for overtaking many of the fragrances that it is part of. It has been said to have a smell that rests somewhere between burnt sugar and ham. (I get the first, but not so much the latter.) Instead of creating a perfume that was commandeered by the aggressiveness of immortelle, Annick Goutal decided to not hide it, and in fact give it a pedestal of its own – in this case, a base of pleasant, shiny amber propped up with uniquely chosen, heady spices.
In the opening, I definitely get the sugar in the immortelle, which seems like it comes straight off of a crème brulee; the “ham” doesn’t come to the fore as much as a distinct fenugreek note. At the very top, it can see like a treacly sweet maple syrup. But if that turns you off, all you need to do is wait for several minutes. Sables takes you on a rollercoaster ride of a dry down.
After several minutes of the blast of pure maple syrup, you start to detect a pepper note, along with a fennel-anisic accompaniment that gives Sables a noticeably medicinal heart. This is where you’ll also pick up on the cinnamon. This sweet, medicinal, herbal stage is by far my favorite stage of the perfume. The base is something like a sweet vanilla with just the barest touch of sandalwood, with the lingering medicinal notes that never really go away. This is a scent that lends itself to darkness, literally and emotionally. It rouses in me a kind of prurience that makes me wonder about the kind of relationship Annick and Alain had in order for this to be created especially for him.
For a fragrance this unique, longevity and sillage should matter less; what makes Sables so sought-after is its unrepentant uniqueness. Nevertheless, Sables lasts a long time and projects quite well for a few hours, after which it begins to sit more closely to the skin. The 100 ml EDT retails for $115, but it can be had for half that if you look around enough.
Final thoughts: this is probably going to be what is referred to as a love-or-hate fragrance. I think it’s perfectly unisex, but between the sweetness, the licorice vibe from the anise, and the other spices, it might be best worn around people who already know the smell. This seems to be a regular pattern for me, but I’ve worn this about a dozen times. The first couple of times, I hated it, but it has slowly grown on me. This probably isn’t something I would purchase a full bottle of, but it is vastly underappreciated. For me, this really rests out there on the far horizons of perfumery (at least as far as I know it), and deserves much more attention than it has received thus far.
Said Jahra – :
I bought it blind buy based on reviews and I don’t like it.
It smells like old Arabian lady also herbs and spices shop in arabian bazar
dimon03 – :
Burned caramel with a touch of coffee. It is a little bit different from other caramel gourmand fragrances, but not original either. Does not smell complex to me either, alhtough I must try it again and see how it evolves.
Lesya2206 – :
(Sables, vintage. Pronounced ‘saabluh’; French for ‘sands’).
More than just a caramelised, maple syrupy, herbal elixir. Cool-warm, fresh-deep. Juxtapositions at every juncture. Quite perfect actually. I wear this and inhale the romance of the story behind it.
The late Annick Goutal herself, with the assistance of perfumer Isabelle Doyen, composed this song of a fragrance for her cellist husband Alain Meunier to remind of the Corsican dunes from their ‘vacances’.
And what a ‘chanson’ this is. Very unique and completely unforgettable – like the sound of Bocelli’s voice beautifully interpreting Les Feuilles Mortes. Goose pimples every time on my skin…yes every time.
After thousands of pounds spent buying and sampling fragrances, I laboured for a long time and finally drew up a list of some 30 fragrances that meant anything to me. This is my ‘had list’. Love them all. But over and above them all, Sables is the only one that had the power to put to sleep the perfumista in me, raising and immortalising my love for it.
At age 35, I’m more than satisfied calling Sables – as one member puts it – the ‘signature scent of my soul’, becoming the only scent I choose to wear.
It is authentic, and stirs up such deep and meaningful pleasures in me that I can only compare to the feeling I get when I stand behind my lover, arms wrapped around her and being lost in her smell as I brush her hair aside and gently kiss her neck.
Or even the satisfaction I get when my double bass presses against my belly while I pluck it’s thick, gutsy strings and bring it to sing it’s deep, sincere and mellow song.
May the memory of Goutal long be preserved by the continuation of this great work.
ЗлоДефка – :
I’ve got the new reformulation and I am very happy about Sables. It has a lot in common to Chergui than at first smell one notices, but they are in the same path.To say that Sables is just a mapple syrup scent is a very simplistic approach. Sables is a very rich and ambery scent that in small doses can be worn even in warmer weather. It’s very woody as well and, of course, the immortele is very nice and I wound’t mind it being a bit stronger, perhaps as it used to be? It’s less dense than Chergui but have the same endless longevity. where I can smell a chocolaty vibe in Chergui, in Sables it’s more like coffee, and that’s why a think of the colour brown when I smell them both. Also, another good news is that for less than 50ml of serge Lutens juice I got a full 100ml bottle of Sables. Couldn’t be happier.
zuluza3 – :
I originally sampled Sables without knowing if it was the reformulated version or not.
I enjoyed it, so I pulled the trigger on a full bottle. Unfortunately, the sample I have is of the original, and the full bottle is the reformulation.
Don’t get me wrong, the reformulation is a perfectly decent scent. However a lot of what I loved about the original has been stripped away with the newer version. I’m wearing the ‘vintage’ sables on one wrist, and the reformulated on the other right now, and there is actually quite a difference.
The original is darker, sweeter, louder, much more unforgiving and boozy. The new version is lighter, milkier, much heavier on the sandalwood and lighter on the immortelle. I suspect in the eyes of most people this is a good thing. For me however, I rather liked the pungent, syrupy, over-the-top original more, and this new formula