Sables

I’ve discovered recently that I enjoy Helichrysum in several fragrances that I use. I had used the essential oil of helichrysum a few years back and needless to say, it was an extremely pungent herb on its own. In Sables, it becomes otherworldly when blended with the notes of Cinnamon, Pepper, Black Tea, as well as Sandalwood and Amber. It’s rich and fragrant, sweet and spicy, and best of all, long lasting. Upon its origin it was created as a feminine fragrance, but the lines have blurred regarding fragrances and whom they should be worn by, so whether male or female, if you enjoy it, wear it. It works as an elegant layering scent as well and adds a beautiful dimension to most any niche or elegant designer fragrance you add it to especially dark fruity, rich wood and herbals.

This is a really nice spicy sweet unisex fragrance. Classic amber spicy oriental. If this was released in the early 1900s it would be considered feminine, but times change and now men are wearing ethyl maltol bombs. To put this in the era of patchouli hippies, it is noticeable, but not dirty nasty. The vanillin is rich and blends well with the cinnamon. This is really great stuff.

Unexpectedly AMAZING Layering Combo for ya'll. YES!! Ive found that Sables is amazing for layering believe it or not! I was gonna Gate-Keep the following combo, but its just too good! Ok, so hear me out ya'll. I layered a spritz of Gutal's -Sables over a spritz Moschino's Toy Boy and WOW! The combo is really fantastic! Now, Toy Boy is a bit stronger and projects more that Sables so I spray that first that way Toy Boy halps Sables push out more as wrll. Ya mostly get Toy Boy, with this combo but Sables adds so much richness, depth and complexity and they both last just about as long! Its RRRREALLY great! If anyone tries this combo let me know whatcha think eh? Happy Layering!! CHEERS!!

1st wear: herbal and warm combination, slightly dualistic. 2nd and 4th wear: moth bags you put in closet to protect from moths now: moth bags with a bit of dusty dry patchouli it is unique in a vintage way which is not my cup of tea, i prefer sweeter scents and edgy in a different way. crazy how brain interprets a single scent differently the first 3 or 5 times you wear it

Something about this smells like brut or Stetson or something else. Kinda old school. The maple syrup smell is nice.

Immortelle smells different in the garden than it does in fragrances. In the garden, it is a tad bitter and medicinal with a papery texture. In fragrance, it has a different profile entirely — caramelized sweetness and a fenugreek-like maple syrup smell. It’s down to Sotolon, and Sables runs with it. Immortelle is the star, balanced with dry cinnamon, tea and black pepper. I write with no small of confidence that if you love immortelle in perfumery, you will love this. And if merely like it, or less, it won’t capture your heart. There’s no shame in that. It didn’t capture mine. I merely like immortelle. I prefer it as one note of many. Since it’s the star in Sables, I wasn’t overly fond of this. You’re unlikely to want to scrub it off, but you might not find your inner zen wearing it. As always, your mileage may vary.

Strong maple syrup and wattle. Sweet but not sugary. Huge sillage, lasts all day. Interesting, unique, strong.

This smells like a happy memory to me, like late summer before uni starts. The immortelle is wonderfully blended with the cinnamon to lend it extra warmth, the black tea note gives the scent a bitter edge. The sweetness is almost impossible to describe; it's herbal and never overwhelming. Yes there are maple syrup and curry notes but you only smell them when you focus on them or try to pick them out in isolation: really, they're just facets of the incredibly nuanced smell of the immortelle flower.

Despite a rocky start to my relationship with Sables, repeated testing ultimately won me over. This versatile fragrance has become some of my favorites, suitable for year-round wear and for both casual outings and elegant business dinners. I feel confident and at ease when wearing it, and I highly recommend Sables to anyone seeking bold and unconventional fragrances that won't overpower their surroundings. My rating: Highly recommended! (7/7)

This might be one of those rare instances where the recent formulation is better than the original. *Reviewing the round, scalloped glass bottom btl. First thing you should know is I am an absolute #rideordie for immortelle, and Sables delivers sunbeams of liquid gold worth of it. But unlike, let's say, Voyages Imaginaries L'Eau Immortelle where the immortelle is floral, wet, and green, Sables delivers a sunnier, dusty immortelle wedded to a light suede note and cinnamon. Very dead-of-summer, hasn't rained in a month. A note on the cinnamon: it's not cinnamon stick, it's cinnamon leaf, which is lighter, sweeter and less punchy than what you think of when you think of cinnamon. It works really well with the immortelle, kinda genius pairing, they compliment each other in surprising ways! The black tea almost gets lost entirely for me. It seems to be serving an agrestic role in the background, helping with that dead-of-summer feel. I wouldn't know it was there until you took it out, basically. Amber/sandal base is the safe choice here, but probably the right choice as it keeps everything on track and creates that soft vibe a lot of us are looking for. I feel like anybody and everybody could rock this. Summer into Fall. Don't know about Winter or Spring, but you do you. 😉

This smells like a cup of coffee with cream and sugar had spilt and dried on a couch made with high quality leather. Not like actual coffee, but the smell of it after it’s dried on something. I personally enjoy this smell

For anyone who has been waiting for a full BNIB bottle of the vintage version (100ml) I've got an extra.

So now I've discovered another great classic vintage fragrance previously "hidden" from me. I gravitate toward vintage scent profiles because I simply think they are better than modern ones. Sables is interesting in that it is trying its best, intentionally or not, to be a Gourmand, and is perhaps the earliest significantly Gourmand scent I've yet encountered. The classic Spicy Orientals from Shalimar to Opium and Cinnabar are certainly not full Gourmands. I have a bunch of essential oil and other extract samples that allow me to smell notes in isolation. I don't yet have one for immortelle, so I'm a bit in the dark on it. But evidently, the "maple syrup" accord is coming primarily from that note. I'm sure cinnamon is a contributer. But I easily get the maple syrup, or "ginger snap cookie", or burnt sugar accord. Sables has a similar vintage intense cinnamon as Giorgio for Men by Giorgio Beverly Hills, which is of the same time period. It also seems to me like a more vintage hybrid of a Salvatore Ferragamo La Commedia and maybe a Serge Lutens Jeaux de Peau. This is a nice, easy-to-wear scent. Great fall scent. So I just bought a bottle. It'll go in my cinnamon scent collection.

I have a couple of sealed bottle to sell (the vintage version, squared) in EU. @alexolympia6 SABLES, Annick Goutal by @goutalparis I got hold of the original formula which is so rich in Elicrisum (Immortelle): unapologetically dry! Compared to the current formulation, there is no smoothness and cozy comfort from the sandalwood. This is a summer in Corsica with the winds tintillating your nostrils with the herbaceous, licorice, and maple syrupy smell of Immortelle. Notes of pepper and balck tea support the immortelle giving it a dusty smoky texture. This is Annick Goutal's homage to her husband and for me her masterpiece. Projection wild (as I like it) and longevity 10+ hours easily! Consider following me on IG @alexolympia6

I’ve already reviewed this I think but my thoughts keep changing on this more than any other perfume. I will say this is a winter scent only for me. I hate gourmands so when I first tried it I was disappointed in its sweetness but I’ve grown to really like it. Then I haaaated it and gave it to my mom. But she wears it and I remember why I liked it. It smells like a ginger snap cookie with a toasty sweetness that feels mature and stable. Update: this review was for the newest formulation and a year later and I now have the original juice as well. There’s really no need to hunt this down. Sorry to say but not much has changed I don’t think and I’ve been wearing them both all month. I’m typically pretty sensitive to these things and it’s not worth shelling out hundreds to these scammers. I got mine for cheap thankfully but I’d be really devastated if I paid what the others asked for. That being said this scent is an all timer for me now and every negative feeling I had about it is gone. The newest formulation does get stronger over time so just hang in there. And a depth to it has developed that makes this far more than just an immortelle bomb. This is a masterpiece amber with such a unique character I love you annick THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. Update again: okay I see the added complexity to the original formulation now…. The newest is more than enough to satisfy but the original manages to stay away from gourmand territory far better than the newer one. You get more of that herbal grass thing going on. But if u just mix Parfum d’empire mal Aime with it you’ll get a scent maybe even better than the original. I’m glad I have it now tho

The immortelle flower smells like maple syrup. Maybe a little more toasty-brown than the real thing, but still powerfully reminiscent of breakfast foods. How do you make an immortelle perfume that doesn’t make you think of pancakes? Well, apparently, you can’t. Sables is a basically a soliflore. If you want to smell like maple syrup, you’ll like it; if you don’t, you won’t. Myself, I’m confused that this is a thing people buy, but okay, I guess.

So is it burnt cinnamon or coffee?

I love "Like This" so I wanted to try samples of other immortelle scents and I found this one. Okay, strong dry spices, classic / old fashioned, with a little syrup sweetness, I get all that, and I appreciate all that. But then it also smells greasy? I do not mean sweaty, there are some 'sweaty' smells out there I enjoy like cumin / black pepper / some leathers. Not sweaty, greasy in some other different way. I'm not sure how to explain it but that's what it brings to mind.

Wow. As someone who loves immortelle in perfumes this one is absolute heaven. The immortelle, creamy sandalwood and coumarin in Sables create that feeling of dense summer hayfields blowing in the wind under a clean blue sky. Skin is warmed and tanned and peace reigns in this world. Under these sweet dried grass and powdery wood notes lie amber and a soft leather but to me they are not the stars and not even that important- it’s the immortelle that makes and defines this gorgeous fragrance. It’s labeled as being for men but to my taste is completely unisex. Sables lasts 10 plus hours on skin with moderate sillage.

First impressions: this is not for the weak stomach, it may cause one to feel nauseous. It has a very strong sweet tobacco smell thanks to the immortelle. Very masculine to me but it is interesting piece of perfumery and anyone who appreciates perfumery will understand this better. I couldn't tolerate more than one spray for the overpowering tobacco. The color of the juice is gorgeous like ambery honey and slightly brown. Edit 21st February 2025 Dior Privee Tobacolor : staggering similarities; very sweet with lots of tobacco

First of all, this is not an 'easy fragrance' to like. This is for initiated users. It's an advanced piece of perfumery. Not everyone will be into this. As a reviewer, and more so a consumer of other people's reviews, I would like to have this sort of information clear from the beginning. Immortelle is such a difficult note for me. First I didn't think I liked it at all, but the more I experience it, the more I like it. I remember trying this almost two years ago, and I immediately felt almost repelled by it. Again, it's not easy to like. It's very heavy. It's very intense. Ok, here is the picture I would like to convey. It's something my grandfather could have worn. An older gentleman wearing a yellowish trench coat with loafers. It's from another time and place. The immortelle and cinnamon makes it warm, then there is some sweet tea in the middle. I was not happy about the sweet aspect initially. I would have liked it more without this sweetness. It makes it just a bit too intense for me. Sweet and spicy in a very intense combination. I don't get sandalwood specifically. And I think the pepper is quite camouflaged with the spiciness of the cinnamon. I can barely tell it's there. Although, overall, it's definitely warm spicy. For me, it's mostly about the immortelle and the cinnamon, with a tea-like sweetness. Not very appealing from the start, but I find immortelle, with its bitterness, somehow it always starts to grow on me. So in the end, I quite like it. I'm definitely intrigued. When you get to know it, it's quite nice for fall. I would never buy a full bottle of this, it's just not my style, but I can appreciate the composition, and I understand why some people are into this.

The unique, bone dry and punchy spice of immortelle and cinnamon is really gorgeous. I am not as familiar with immortelle as a note, but I look forward to exploring it more - where as hay tends to go soapy to me, it brings a sweet grassy warmth. The tea comes across as crushed dry leaves that have been sitting in a tin in the back of a spice cabinet. Feels very at home on the cusp of fall.

Came across too masculine on me. I didn't get much sweet from it.

The immortelle is so heavy, even in cool weather that super rich dessert/tobacco quality is just too much for me. No complaints about performance or value, I just can't see myself reaching for this. Recommended for those that want a floral that leans HARD into gourmand territory without really having any gourmand notes in it.

If you think this smells of IHOP pancakes, I question your ineptitude of scents. This smells exactly how described, by Annick herself. A warm cup of spiced tea by a flower bed of immortelle, along a hot setting sun. This is a master piece, given it's time period. I always accredited Paco rabanne for one million, which is deserved, but if you want to go further back, and want something stronger (more pure masculine) this will not do you wrong. Sensual, even though I can call this unisex, it's best worn on a man. A well dressed man. This gives me vibes of Le couvent Ambra as well, a spicey, tea based Ambra with no vanilla. Amazing stuff here. If you smell this, you will soon realize, Annick was light-years ahead..

#562 in my "Tour de Fragrance" Tragically designer Annick Goutal lost her battle with breast cancer at age 53. I lost four of my five aunts to breast cancer which is a good reason to write an annual check to the Susan G. Komen Foundation (komen.org). Ms. Goutal released this fragrance for men in 1985. I don't know what she knew of men in general, but I'd not be surprised if at least one of them liked a plateful of pancakes for breakfast, and a cup of hot Earl Grey. "Sables" smells like that, somewhere between molasses and a good ole Vermont maple with a sprinkle of cinnamon on buckwheat cakes, and a cup of black tea. My idea of a good start to the day. But not my idea of a men's fragrance. Still, gourmand lovers will probably like this though it isn't really very sweet, and it certainly won't offend anyone, but you will smell like you just had breakfast at IHOP (International House of Pancakes for you non-Yanks), so not an office scent. Date scent only if your date wants to hit Denny's at 2AM for the after midnight menu ("Moons Over My Hammy" Mmmmm!). This one's not for me, and at $100 I wouldn't blind buy this. Get the decant, smell it for yourself and then decide.

50 years old, or thereabouts. The nose immersed in a bouquet of immortelle. Dry, aromatic, indeed fine. Herbs burnt under a blazing sun. It doesn't suit me, it doesn't lend itself to my life, but I can't help but appreciate it. It reminds me of grandmothers, gardens, helichrysum bushes and summers. Its sandy yellow-gray, its omnipresent presence, that very 80's feel of thick carpet underfoot in a hushed room filled with bouquets of dried flowers. Beauty.

Like a lost precious chest on your vacation house, hiding memories of your family past. Visions of tobacco, rum, and writing. Yet, does not feel classy/vintage the way something like Kouros or many YSL fragrances do. Very warm and sweet on its projection, and a very unique skin scent. As you approach the crate, tones and shades of dust hit you, and memories of a time you really did not live. I totally want to rewrite this review and smell it again. Stood out as a fragrance for the rest of my life.

You know how for each major note/accord there is that one perfume that will always remain the reference? This is Sbles for the note of Immortelle. Oh, and I am talking about the very first EDT version of it. The subsequent and the current one are just not the same, actually, the current one is a shadow of what this beauty originally was. The closest most accurate thing to Sables is smelling Immortelle absolute. Sables, however, it's more complex, refined, and wearable. For those who love the note of Immortelle, go get the first EDT version of this. It's probably going to run you a pretty penny and some looking for, but you will not regret it, in my opinion, it is worth it.

Once most of the initial balsamic blast dies down this is an immortelle with a sweeter side, the combination with cinnamon yielding an almost caramel-like accord at times. I've never been to a Corsican beach—before reading the background I thought the namesake sands were a reference to the desert to be honest—or anywhere near an actual immortelle plant for that matter, but the imagery works for me because the scent itself is so warm and glowing in nature. So much so, that I find it difficult to fully shake the association with the sort of heat spray you'd apply to aching muscles. While that might make me self-conscious about wearing it outside of my own home, it still totally fits the overall warm comforting feeling somehow. Once again I find myself fascinated by immortelle: I can't stop sniffing it and basking in its glow, or thinking how appropriate it is that the strong scent is apparently as everlasting as the flower itself. Ideally I'd like to find a more subtle, everyday wearable take on it. As for Sables, it is so strangely entrancing, I could see myself owning a tiny bottle of this, stashed away somewhere, for my own private enjoyment every once and a while.