Gujarat
Olympic Orchids

I recently ordered a six-sample, you-pick-'em pack from Olympic Orchids, and my overall impressions are mixed. On the one hand, I can smell the quality, care, and intelligence behind them, and they last for days. On the other, there's a kind of fuzziness to them as well, the olfactory equivalent of a slightly out-of-focus photograph or a radio station not quite tuned in for maximum clarity.

Gurjurat is one of the more fully realized of the samples. It starts off with that most dreaded of notes for me—cumin—but that quickly quiets down and gets folded into a cacophony of spices that hits the nose like the entry into an exotic foods bazaar. I know that sounds cliche, but the ad copy blatantly states that "exotic" is the intention. And it succeeds perfectly.

About 30 minutes in sweet overtakes the savory. Maybe it's the mango, which I can barely detect, or the tropical flowers, none of which I can identify, but what I smell most overwhelmingly in the middle stage are those anise seed candies that come at the end of a Indian meal.

From there, the composition grows slightly smokey but at the same time citrus-ey. There's a distinct lime or lime leaf smell in the dry down that remains for the duration, an interesting development since citruses are usually top note material.

Even though Gurjurat is ultimately not a scent I would wear, it gets a thumb's up from me for telling such a compelling story. It's fun to spritz on the back of my hand and sniff throughout a lazy day at home, but once my sample is gone I don't think I'll feel the need for a full bottle.

I just can't get enough from Olympic Orchids. Wow. Spicy turmeric, cardamom and curry are unleashed in conjunction with hints of saffron. It's smokey, spicy and floral all at once-I've never been to an Indian celebration but this feels like it's transporting me there. In particular, the cumin adds a nice layer of smokiness that smells entirely sensual. Citrus (lime in particular, and peach-mango) come through as well to give Gujarat some much-needed sweetness to help round out the musky-spicy top. This is a very complex experience: I'm getting a multitude of "smellsations" at once. Spicy, floral, sweet, savory: it's intoxicating.

One reason I love this house so much is you can tell that they don't use cheap ingredients: everything smells high-quality, is well-made and natural, and is almost shockingly cheap. Here again is the case: projection is above average, not enough to fill a room but past arm's length. Longevity is very good as well, 7 hours and counting.

After the first 30 minutes, the resinous dark base plays a more active part in the overall experience. With this, hints of oud come through as well. This is one of the best woody Oriental juices I've ever come across. As a note: this isn't a gourmand in any way, despite the curry and cumin. The drydown remains spicy and smokey, and here all the notes slowly become less distinguishable.

Just fantastic. Get a full bottle if this sounds like something you may possibly enjoy, I promise you won't regret it.

9/10

Has a fizzy root beer thing going on, like Willy Wonka root beer bottle cap candy...but better and with huge effervescence.

In execution and performance more than anything else, Gujarat is quite unlike anything else I've smelled. the scent wafts up almost three-dimensionally, a carbonation that refuses to be ignored and finds its way to your olfactory system whether you like it or not, undiminished by the amount of time and/or space it took to get there. Like many Olympic Orchids scents, it's powerful stuff.

A playful yet somehow blissfully sardonic scent that I doubt many (myself included) would be willing to try to pull off that often.

Still, I could see Gujarat absolutely working on many, and even becoming a signature for some brave soul. There's no doubting it's originality, and coupled with the way it positively dances off one's skin, Gujarat earns a thumbs up from me.

Curioser and curioser. Discard fears of curry – the spices in this one are muted and polished to a golden sheen. The overall impression is warm and woody with a ripe mango fruity note peeking though. It shouldn't, but somehow this works and touches the spots other perfumes don't even care to reach. The drydown is a touch disappointing – too much turpentine and the air of long closed rooms in a hot, dry climate.