I refuse to title this review "vintage perfume". I just won't do it.
My bottle is not from 1985 (the yesr Goutal launched Sables) or even close. It's from the end of the previous decade or early from this one. I have cats older than that.
Sables by Annick Goutal is inexplicably labeled as a masculine. I think it's a perfect example of a gender-free perfume. it doesn't matter who and what you are when it comes to Sables. You just need to really really love immortelle and its fenugreek/maple syrup smell. Yes, there's a mellow sandalwood and amber dry-down that leads the fragrance into calmer waters, but from the very first spray to the last whiff I can capture, this is a major immortelle perfume. More so than anything else in my personal collection (and I'm not one to shy away from this note). The husband smells the spice notes better than I do. Apparently there's cinnamon (I get it) and pepper (completely alludes me). He finds it as easy to wear as I do and doesn't get the controversy around immortelle. It smells great, end of story.
When it comes to sweetness, I Goutal's Sables less gourmand than ELdO Like This and not as syrupy as Chypre Rouge (Lutens), both I love (probably even more so than Sables). Projection is average, as is longevity, unless you saturate yourself with it like a waffle. I don't know how the current version (in the more elegant box) measures up, beyond a quick sniff I got which seems more mellow than the juice I have. It's still easy to find the older bottles with the more elaborate labels and boxes.
The current version of Sables by Annick Goutal is available at the brand's boutique and from Aedes ($149, 100ml). Please comment if you've smelled it recently and how do you think it compares to the original.
Photo of a butterfly on an immortelle flower via smartup.rs
I was fortunate to get a very good eBay deal on this some three or four years ago, when I was just starting my forays into niche perfume. I still love Sables for being so unique and mesmerizing. The story goes that Annick Goutal was inspired by the smell of fields of immortelle under the hot Corsican summer sun and as someone who lives in the Mediterranean region, I can definitely recognize that feeling in Sables. It's oddly comforting.
ReplyDeleteIt's a wonderful image and fantasy for a dreary winter day with temperatures in the 20s. I can dream of sweet yellow fields.
DeleteCan't help it - the whole "vintage" thing freaks me out. With gritted teeth and not much grace I've resigned myself to the fact that perfumes from my high school and college days are now completely in the vintage category, but when they label perfumes from the mid '90s as vintage I want to throw things at my computer screen.
ReplyDeleteLove Sables, but made the terrible mistake of wearing it during a very difficult time. Now it feels like a shadow of that period is following me around whenever I wear it. I no longer ever wear perfumes I really care about during times of crisis. I still wear perfumes, but only those I like, not love, and will be willing to abandon after life returns to a more normal state.
Anna
If Sables is "vintage" than we're prehistoric relics. I'm annoyed beyond words.
Delete"Saturate yourself with it like a waffle" made me giggle out loud.
ReplyDeleteI only know immortelle from ELd'O Like This, which I love and from some L'Occitane skincare products, which I didn't love. The L'Occitane products were gentle and worked well enough, but the fragrance of those products bothered me. I've never sniffed Sables, and I'd like to - then maybe I can determine if I really do like the immortelle note or not. :-)
The one L'Occitane line I do not like is Immortelle. Most of it breaks me out or irritates my skin. I don't think the scent is true to the note, it's just annoying.
DeleteUnfortunately, I can't abide the smell of immortelle (at least, not in perfume; those fields of immortelle under the hot Corsican summer sun that @patuxxa mentioned sound rather glorious), so I've never been a fan of Sables. And I haven't tried to new version. So why am I commenting at all? Well, I've always felt a bit pathetic that, as a perfume lover, I couldn't appreciate this 'fume from a brand I typically adore. (That, or I'm just putting off doing work...) As for the "vintage" situation, all I can say is: oy. Now I really feel old. ;)
ReplyDeleteThe other day I heard the term "pre-reformulation" Britney Spears. I just about died.
DeleteI got my bottle over ten years ago and I haven't smelled the current version. But must wear this one soon, find it very warm and cosy.
ReplyDeleteI think we can skip all the new versions as well as their new releases. The line is no longer what it was, so once again it's "vintage" for us purists.
DeleteOh I love Annick Goutal but its so hard to get here now. I have not met one that I did not like!
ReplyDeleteI like or love the majority of Goutals. My next mission is to find an older bottle of Duel.
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