Elie Saab Le Parfum : Fragrance Review

Star rating: 5 stars--outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars--very good, 3 stars--adequate, 2 stars--disappointing, 1 star--poor.

Once upon a time, the woods were for men and the flowers were for women. Coco Chanel and her perfumer Ernest Beaux rebelled against these stereotypes by creating Bois des Iles, a dark woody composition that was as elegant as it was shocking. The new generation of feminine woody fragrances, from Estee Lauder Sensuous to Bulgari Jasmin Noir, layers the woods so heavily with the floral notes that the character becomes blurred.  Unfortunately, most fragrances in that family are what I label as “acrylic florals”—possessing in equal measure the strident sharpness of woods and the neon brightness of modern floral notes. Elie Saab Le Parfum is the latest example of this genre, a cross between Sensuous and Narciso Rodriguez for Her.

Elie Saab Le Parfum is a debut from the Lebanese fashion designer Elie Saab, who became famous for his elegant designs. The fragrance was created by perfumer Francis Kurkdjian, whose trademark musky floral accord forms the core of the composition. The moment it begins to unfold on the skin, the bright orange blossom and gardenia notes set its tone. The rose tinged patchouli reminiscent of Narciso Rodriguez underpins the white floral notes, while the layers of musks give  Elie Saab the smooth feel of lacquered wood.

While I do not find Elie Saab Le Parfum appealing, on a technical level, it is a well-crafted fragrance—it lasts well, has great diffusion and a coherent character. Of course, this is not enough to make a great, or even a merely good, perfume. Elie Saab is loud and relentless, with a persistence of sharp woody notes that borders on irritating. The press release describes it as "an ode to light." If so, it is like being blinded by a projector, an almost painful experience.

Elie Saab Le Parfum includes notes of orange blossom, jasmine, patchouli, rose, cedarwood. It is available in 30, 50 and 90 ml Eau de Parfum. It is currently available at Harrod’s.

Sample source: PR 

Comments

[Suzanna]

Sounds like an LED floral to me--and I love your "acrylic floral." You can just smell that one; it's lurking at every fragrance counter just waiting to commit an olfactory crime.

[Elisa]

I tried this a couple of weeks ago and described it as a cross between NR for Her and Alien. Either way, very familiar territory.

[violetnoir]

I found this to be a solid mainstream release, but I would not buy it.

Hugs!

[sweetlife]

Laughing -- and I especially love your first line. Also: saving up your olfactory dessert post for a little later today. Skimmed the beginning and it made me so hungry I must go eat lunch, first. ;)

[Flora]

Acrylic floral -perfect! It does sound terribly conventional, which is too bad. Elie Saab occupies about the same high end design territory as Badgley Mischka, and their signature perfume is fantastic. I expected better from ES.

[Victoria]

Ah, my fellow dessert lover! :)

[Victoria]

I also had much higher expectations for it. You are right about the similarity with BM! I somehow thought that it would be just as fun and memorable.

[Victoria]

I agree, solid and forgettable.

[Victoria]

I can see that too, it has a similar radiant floral quality paired with a woody-ambery note.

[Victoria]

>>it's lurking at every fragrance counter just waiting to commit an olfactory crime

This made me laugh out loud! :) Thank you!

[Maria]

Thank you for the review. This perfume was a suprise to me. I find the begining really good, it smells so much different from mainstream perfumes, a bit dark, sexy, a bit odd, it smells like a FK, may be a easier version of Absolue pour le Soir. I was like, wow, they made it. But after 10 minutes starts going worse and worse in a common teritory, some white flowers, artificial. Such a dissapoinetment. I was mostly suprised to read how happy was FK with it. I don't know, may be they just used cheaper ingredients in the end. Sad.
It will be intersting to see the appeal to the public because I think the first part is not for everyone. But the rest might find many fans.

[Carrie Meredith]

I found that there is a delicious musky undercurrent to Elie Saab Le Parfum, that if they just focused on that or let it sing more clearly (and take a couple other things away), it could be in line with something from Amouage. As it stands, it's a very American, and as you say loud, standard entry into a market already flooded with such perfumes.

[maggiecat]

I'm looking forward to trying this - the scent strip I found in Allure was appealing, I thought, but it's hard to tell from that. I've begun to find that American perfumes all seem too loud and heavy to me, but I keep sniffing around anyway. I thought the scent strip had a nice Adult Woman vibe, as opposed to the fruity florals that so abound at the counters. But I'll see what happens when I spray it in person. Thanks for the review!

[Lynn Morgan]

To Flora: really; you like Badgely Mishka? I thought it was the reason they went bankrupt! That and their tendancy to create clothes that can only be worn by women with severe eating disorders! I admire the artistry of Elie Saab's clothes- his Oscar dress for Halle Berry is justifiably a legend- but the perfume sonds seriously pedestrian.

[Victoria]

I see what you mean! The drydown is the most disappointing part. It is just so predictable.

[Victoria]

So true, standard is a good descriptor to apply to it. Wish it were not the case!

[Victoria]

Do let me know what you think when you smell it! I like your "Adult Woman" description very much. :)

[Victoria]

Hey, I like it too. It is a fun fragrance, especially when one is in a mood for some fruit. :)

[sunsetsong]

Walked into my local Boots and this fragrance wafted towards me. No mean feat when the sample spray is around 40 feet from the door. At the time, I had not tried ES LeP but usually have a quick potter round the perfume counter, and a little spray of whatever takes my fancy. OOOO - Elie Saab I thought, lovely gowns let's spray this one.

It immediately reminded me of Giorgio (eeek!!), I did wear Giorgio in the 80s I confess, but my sense of smell was majorly curtailed by my huge cigarette intake at the time. I def cannot handle Giorgio now.

As ES Le P dried down, I recognised the perfume which had greeted me at the the door. This frag is seriously radiant and has immense lasting power. I find it altogether too much in its fragrance form but would like to try the body products.

[Luxury Activist]

Very elegant concept but not sure the fragrance is as elegant as it should. I saw better orange flowers in the market like Classique JPG or Alien Thierry Mugler.
LA

[Natalia]

ES le P indeed has a "grown up" feeling to it, which i love, and it's very likable, too. it didn't turn all that artificial on me, but it was seriously SWEET - and super long lasting. the image of an "adult woman" wearing an evening dress with some ice cream and syrup on top just can't be taken seriously...

[YellowLantern]

I obtained a sample of this one and it is all high pitched sweetness on me. Like orange blossom dissolved in a pound of simple syrup. I simply cant take sweetness of that magnitude on me when it's a floral composition (I can tolerate sweetness better in wood or amber based scents though). I agree with your projector comparison.

[Melissa]

I read a good review of this and a few positive comments. So, against my better judgement, I went to Nordstrom and gave it a generous spray. The opening bright floral notes were loud but tolerable. But they were quickly joined by the sharp woody notes that you describe and that emphatic patchouli that can be found in so many mainstream fragrances. Just when I thought I couldn't enjoy it less, the musk seemed to glue it to my skin, making it pretty much impossible to scrub off. Not my kinda fragrance.

[donix]

for me it smells very similar to Today by Avon ;-)

[Gail14]

Nothing special, but definitely tolerable. Trust me...there are worse fragrances out there!

[RusticDove]

My mom wanted this for her b'day, so I got a bottle for her. When she put it on, I was immediately reminded of... something. Every time she walked by... hmmm, what is that familiar smell? Then it hit me - it smelled very much like SJP Lovely on her. I really liked Lovely when it came out, but grew so tired of it. So unfortunately, every time mom walked by & I caught a whiff of Ellie Saab, it just kind of annoyed me. lol

[Victoria]

I can definitely see that! I just find it very jarring and loud.
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