I was in Hoopers the other day, which is one of my two local department stores, and noticed that they are carrying Miller Harris La Fumee Arabie Ottoman, which is a limited edition variant of La Fumee.
I first tried La Fumee a few months ago and whilst I liked it (I am a sucker for incense and smoke in almost any form), I found that it performed quite poorly on my skin, with negligible sillage and longevity. It may have been just me, skin chemistry and all that.
La Fumee Arabie Ottoman also has the smoky incense, but with the addition of rose and labdanum, plenty of it. The Miller Harris website mentions oud (is there any perfume house these days that hasn't used oud as a selling point), but I honestly can't detect any oud note in the perfume. Mind you, I am not complaining, because I think it wears beautifully as an incense, rose and labdanum oriental perfume.
In the early stages La Fumee Arabie Ottoman is quite rosy, and to my nose labdanum is at the forefront, and actually, is the star player. There is some incense, and a subtle waft of smoke, but I don't personally think that incense is the centre piece. In the dry down I found more evidence of incense, but perhaps I would have liked a stronger presence, but that is my personal preference. The smoke is not heavy either, and is well balanced with the slightly musky labdanum. I also found quite a sweet note, which I think is vanilla. Fragrantica certainly lists vanilla as a base note. This note was far stronger on a scent strip and fortunately (for me) it is more restrained on my skin.
Overall I would say that La Fumee Arabie Ottoman is a delightful fragrance. After the original La Fumee I was pleasantly surprised and also very happy that it has far more presence and longevity on my skin. This is certainly well worth seeking out if you can track it down.
Note - as you will see, I mistakenly thought this was Arabie instead of Arabie. My apologies. In any event, it is still a very nice perfume!
Note - as you will see, I mistakenly thought this was Arabie instead of Arabie. My apologies. In any event, it is still a very nice perfume!
Wish we had Miller Harris back in the Sates these days. They seem to have lost a distributor or some other such catastrophe, but the scents are so good, they make me hope someone new would pick them up.
ReplyDeleteI have not been able to find La Fumee locally at all, though some online retailers have it for large bucks.
Blacknall, Miller Harris is very easy to find in the UK, but then I guess that makes sense since it is a British house. They have another limited edition called Rose en Noir, which is also rather good. Then of course there is Rien, and Fleurs de Sel, both of which are quirky to say the least!
DeleteThis sounds very nice, and like it might actually be wearable for me (I like my perfume to be fairly feminine, which often rules out very incense-heavy perfumes). I'll have to look for it.
ReplyDeleteNatalie, I think this one is fairly unisex, and definately not heavily masculine, I can assure you. It has a lot of labdanum as well.
DeleteMiller Harris have just brought out La Fumee Ottoman (it's fruity, apparently) and have no stock of Arabie left. I am desperate to get hold of some as I love La Fumee and kept putting off the purchase (I work about 10 mins from their Monmouth St shop..)
ReplyDeleteWas it Hoopers Tunbridge Wells where you saw the Arabie? I shall be ringing them in the morning..
Hi Caro. It was Hoopers TW where I saw it. At least I think it was Arabie rather than Ottoman (I hope so!). Give them a call and check.
DeleteCaro, if you see this, you will realise that I was wrong. Hope you managed to track down some Arabie in any event.
ReplyDelete