Samsara by Guerlain vintage EdT and extrait

Hey Posse peeps, I madly love Samsara by Guerlain and have a bunch of vintage EdP, EdT and extrait hoarded. You may have read me talk about being a Guerlain squirt bitch as one of my first jobs and buying Samsara for my Mum. She wore that bottle to the dregs and always told the complimenters that it was a gift from her son. I think maybe her real gratitude and love for it coloured the way I see perfume. Not just a part of getting dressed but also part of how we feel about our lives and the world we inhabit. Mum’s perfume became a story.

So strange to finally think these thoughts. That was back in the 1980s. Mum’s been gone since 2001. Still I’m learning things about our far too short time together and my molding as an adult. Mother’s Day here in Oz is on May 12 so I grabbed them out and gave them a whirl. I’ve got them back out to write for you all about them because it was so enjoyable .

Now only listed now on Australian, US and French Guerlain sites in EdT and EdP. Extrait seems to have gone the way of the dodo. What a shame.

Samsara is a memory fragrance. My wear of it is colored by links to my past. I’ll do my best to give you an accurate ride but obviously YMMV.

Samsara by Guerlain 1989 vintage EdT and extrait

Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Top: Ylang-Ylang Peach Green Notes Bergamot Lemon
Heart: Jasmine Iris Narcissus Rose Orris Violet
Base: Sandalwood Iris Vanilla Amber Tonka Bean Musk

Opening spritz is creamy tropical flowers and fruit, a little sharp. It doesn’t take long to settle on my skin and become a slightly banana-ish yellow floral with BWF aspirations. Mildly flower feral, it wears in parfum close and seductive. When I add the EdT it becomes a larger, more exhibitionist fragrance. A glamorous shimmering dense silk brocade of a scent.

Once the initial extravaganza calms I’m left with a nebulous bouquet backed by a sweet, dry-ish vanilla and creamy resinous sandalwood till fade. Recently I read that even back in 1989 Samsara was mainly faux sandalwood, doesn’t matter to me. Lastly I smell sandalwood and musks. The musk might even be the real deal. It really smells like it.

Some people talk about how outrageous and overbearing Samsara is. That’s definitely not how I experience it. Maybe because of my Mum reference Samsara is a warm, elegant, vanilla/sandalwood fragrance that is both otherworldly and incredibly comforting. Back in the 1980s Samsara was armchair travel to faraway places, a hint of the multifarious peoples of Asia and the Middle East. Even then I knew world travel was what I wanted to do as a life hobby.

Tom reviews some Guerlains too, including Samsara.
Surrender To Chance has the modern EdT

Do you remember the early Samsara? Love the modern?
Portia xx

*Todays post is reimagined from a piece I wrote years ago but it still holds true, words have been changed for less colonial reference and the whole is edited to sound more like me now.