Guerlain, Samsara, 7.5 ml. or 0.25 oz. Flacon, Parfum Extrait, 1986, 1992, Paris, France ..

The House of Guerlain is one of the oldest perfume houses in the world. It was founded in 1828 when Pierre-Francois Pascal Guerlain opened up his first perfume store on 42, Rue de Rivoli in Paris.

Pierre-Francois composed and manufactured custom perfumes with the help of his two sons, Aime & Gabriel. His unique approach was to personalize perfume for a specific person, place or event. Honore de Balzac commisioned his own eau de toilette during the writing of Cesar Birotteau, and the periodical La Sylphide, le Journal des Elegances, scented each issue with a different fragrance by Guerlain.

Guerlain catered to the high society of Paris, and obtained a very loyal following. The perfume house was so successful that Guerlain decided to open a flagship store at 15, Rue de la Paix in Paris in 1840. The house was at its peak in 1853 with it's fragrance Eau de Cologne Imperiale. This perfume gained Guerlain the prestigious title of His Majesty's Official Perfumer of France. This in turn led him to create perfumes for other royals such as Queen Victoria of England, the Empress Sissi of Austria, the Queen of Belgium and Queen Isabella of Spain as well as other crowned heads of royalty.

Pierre-Francois passed away in 1854 and his sons inherited the perfume house. Aime became the master perfumer, a tradition that would be upheld for the next master perfumer in lineage. Gabriel managed and further expanded the house. Aime, created several fragrances for the perfume house, these include Fleur d'Italie, Rococo, and Eau de Cologne du Coq and his greatest creation, Jicky.

Samsara is a classic for real Guerlain fans. The perfume was created by Jean Paul Guerlain in 1989. Samsara is a homage to the woman of his life, his true revelation of love. Sensual, sophisticated, woodsy fragrance, suitable for romantic dates, as well as for daily use. Samsara signifies "eternal rebirth" in Sanskrit and is part of the "wheel of life", a religious reference of Tibetan Buddhism. It evokes the perpetual voyage from one existence to the next, an invitation to serenity and harmony.

Guerlain has a long tradition of paying tribute to India at its most romantic, but Samsara goes even further by serving as a gold standard for sandalwood fragrances, the most quintessential Indian perfume. What follows is not just a review, but also a guide to vintage perfume hunters curious to smell Samsara in its former reincarnation.

The sandalwood that forms the core of Samsara is splendid .. a synthetic sandalwood combines the rose petal and cream aspect of natural sandalwood. The harmony between the two materials is what makes the sandalwood of Samsara seem gilded and radiant. Although natural sandalwood is one of the best raw materials available to perfumers, it is a heavy, opaque material that tends to suppress the top notes and make the fragrance stay too close to the skin. One inhale of Samsara will prove that it is anything but a wallflower. For those who like statement making perfumes, it is one of the best that there is, and those who love opulent oriental blends, should definitely make a point of sampling it.

Top notes are Bergamot, Lemon, Ylang Ylang, Peach, and Green Notes
Heart notes are Jasmine, Iris, Narcissus, Rose, and Violet
Base notes are Sandalwood, Vanilla, Tonka Bean, and Amber

'The top notes are juicy and fresh .. The heart is blooming in opulent flowers .. elegant, luscious, and delicate. The base notes hold the whole in a delicious combination of sandalwood, tonka, and amber ..'

Offered here is a pristine quarter ounce of this beautiful perfume from 1992. Never used. It comes in its original inner and outer presentation boxes. Some scuffing and damage to outer box. Hard to find now.