Soir d'Orient
Sisley (2015)

A profoundly beautiful creation, Soir d'Orient turned out to be a holy grail of sorts for me, as I was on the pursuit for a rose incense. An added bonus for my nose is one of my other favorite notes: geranium. I have Ai incense from Blackbird, and this eau de parfum closely resembles the dark, lush ambience of that incense.

The opening has that hallmark galbanum that seems to be thematic of Sisley fragrances (see Eau de Campagne), but here, it is paired with saffron, imparting this almost tannic, astringent quality that soon yields to a black pepper. Here, an almost trigeminal effect occurs, as the roses and the geranium leaves bloom with radiance. However, this is not sunshine radiance but more an opalescence in an ocean of onyx.

I am in a temple in some primeval woods, incense envelops me, something feels almost cabalistic. I am not merely writing a review in my spare time between work, but I am elsewhere. This is the elsewhere that perfumes can often take us, when we want to escape the here and now, we want to be the embodiment of this elsewhere.

The dry down is one of repose: mossy, earthy, gentle, reassuring. This is not a scent for the provocateur so much as its for the dreamer. Masculine on men, feminine on women.

Top shelf.

Honest to God, I actually picked it up at a thrift shop for 99 cents and figured I could use it as air freshener.

Man's perspective: I have a pretty gifted nose, I can dissect notes as well as the rest, but I'm not picking up any of the complexity described above. I detect only one thing in this fragrance: a rose bomb. What others have described as "rich," I would say are dense and opaque, and so cloying a rose note that it drowns out nuance of any kind.

If I were sitting next to a woman wearing this, I would honestly be annoyed and have to move away. I wear women's fragrances if they are basenote-y, but rose florals (Brits love 'em) are not quite my thing in a man's fragrance. This one would be impossible for any man to pull off in any situation.

All-in-all, it reminds me of that cheap-smelling Marshall's and TJ max "Tea Rose" fragrance, which, to its only benefit, is at least a bit sheerer.

Im actually surprised that this fragrance doesnt have more reviews.

Im not at a loss for words, but Ive certainly smelled enough scents that have take my breath away. This would be one of those perfumes. Off the top of my head, Im thinking about another perfume that doesnt smell, remotely, like a proper ladies scent. That's Black Cashmere/Donna Karan. Note: this doesnt smell anything like BC, but it reminds me of BC inasmuch as you cant smell it and say "oh, yea...this was just made for women".

this is that smoky rose fragrance, done right. On one end of the "smokey rose" sphere, you have Royal Potion Black, on the designer side of things. On the niche side, you have Soir D'Orient.

Wow this is a stunner. Absolutely gorgeous fragrance. If you love deep luscious unisex fragrances, then I suggest you get your nose on this one!

A dark but surprisingly wearable scent clearly intended to cash in on the oud trend, despite its lack of oud. It's largely woody, peppery saffron with rose in the background. There's also a sweet green candied pine smell in there that's responsible for a lot of Soir d'Orient's appeal, taking the edge off the saffron while giving a laudably intelligent sweet brightness to something that could have been a goth nightmare.

Given time, the base is largely frankincense and lingering pine, with a touch of patchouli to give it a jammy depth.

All in all, I like it but don't love it. It manages to take ingredients that have been overused lately in the niche and luxury markets and make them smell like something new and different, which definitely earns a thumbs up, but it's hard to shake that this is just another player, albeit a good one, in a crowded field, so I just don't really feel like I need a whole bottle.