Seraglio

[LeBateleur]

In long-ago Arabia, harem girls rubbed an herbal poultice formed from a blend of sensual, luxuriant herbs and oils onto their bodies to prepare themselves for the Sultan’s pleasure. This lush, indulgent perfume is based on that ancient formula. Sweet almond and Mysor sandalwood enveloped by a heady veil of Bulgarian Rose, neroli, nutmeg, clove and orange peel.

 

In bottle: Lovely, lovely almond scent with the neroli peeking out from beneath. I could just sit with the bottle beneath my nose and savor it for hours.

 

Wet: The spices and something sweet - perhaps the rose - make an appearance and blend out the almond and neroli.

 

Drydown: Oh no, the almond is starting to go weird and powdery. Luckily, the orange and clove notes are emerging to disguise it a bit.

 

A few hours in: Yet another scent that virtually disappears from my skin in about 10 minutes flat. I get a hint of orange-and-clove pomander if I hold my wrist right up to my nose and inhale, but otherwise, it's gone. I really like both the in-bottle and post-drydown stages; it's to bad neither has any throw or staying power on me.

[maudlinrose]

Got this as a frimp, absolutely love it. Definitely want a bottle.

 

I dont usually like almond scents, but this one smells like a beautiful rich almost honey - and honey is one my favourite notes. Im not sure where the sweetness and depth to the almond are coming from, but this is the first almond blend I could wear fresh.

Edited October 5, 2016 by maudlinrose

[Casablanca]

On the wand, Seraglio is... almond. And orange. But mostly almond, as its high-impact, heavy-hitting self. Almond in boxing gloves.

On my skin, the orange and orange blossoms bloom, but almond still slugs away. The neroli turns toward orange lollipops on me, as it does sometimes, but the almond and a little spice seem to hold it partly in check.

In the drydown, I catch clove, and then nutmeg. But after that, the nutmeg seems stronger. The rose then does something unusual for rose and sneaks up on me. This is a lovely rose that pairs well with the orange and spice. The almond starts to settle down and let a better balance through. A quite nice balance -- this rose shows restraint, and doesn't bully through the heart of the fragrance in its turn. The only drawback for me now is the slight lollipop tone of the neroli, but that's just my skin.

Once the almond settles, this is a pleasant blend. Not long-lived on me, though.

[Cali]

WHEW this is really strong almond from the imp! Thank god it changes directly when applied on my skin, but now it's just a very strong bathroom soap. There's someting very promising in here, though it's not for me unfortunately.

[JuliskaMarie]

In the imp: Oh wow, this is a spicy, woody rose, with a little bit of citrus & almond! It smells amazing! The rose is holding this all together & that tends to disappear on my skin, so I'm a bit nervous about how this will go!
Wet on skin: No rose. Neroli, orange peel & almond with a little bit of spice. Completely different to in the imp, but not bad!
Dry on skin: Clove, nutmeg, neroli & orange peel. In that order. It's not a *bad* smell, it's just... Not something I'd really want to wear as a perfume.
After a few hours: Oooh, this is much nicer now - like a softer version of what it was like wet.
Verdict: This is nice, but I can't really see myself wearing it without a scent locket.

[sweetsiryn]

I'm in love with Seraglio, and now that my bottle is about to finish, I discovered that it has been discontinued and am quite devastated For those who love this scent; can you recommend anything similar? It is the combination of the roses, spices, neroli, orange, sandalwood and almond that makes it magical. And it is a perfect winter scent as it is warm and strong.

[Lucchesa]

Seraglio was something I tried early on in my BPAL journey and liked but never reviewed.  I retested this morning, and it's not a "me" enough scent to be devastated that it's been discontinued, though it is quite lovely.  Almond notes usually come on very strong when wet and fade quickly, and that is the case here, where it's all ALMOND for the first ten minutes before the rose, spices and citrus become part of the experience.  I don't wear rose very often, but this is a nice, middle-of-the-road rose, not sour, not too heady.  Kind of a warm rose, if that makes any sense.  I don't really smell the sandalwood, but I think it's there, unifying all the other notes.  No throw on me (which is normal for my skin) and average wear length.