Serge Lutens • rahat loukoum • Fragrances

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willowlady on 4/21/2013 7:48:00 PM more reviews by willowlady

Age: 44-55   Skin: Normal, Medium   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Hazel    

I visited the Lutens stand at Barneys last week and fell in love with this one. I tested Loukoum and when my boyfriend said: This is so you! I had to have it ;-) It's a very beautiful sweet fragrance, very subtle and feminine, so lovely and sexy.

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SmellyFaerie on 9/21/2012 12:31:00 PM more reviews by SmellyFaerie

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Brunette, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

I admit saying before that I usually don’t like sweets or sweet fragrances, but there are a few exceptions and Serge Lutens Rahat Loukoum is one of them. It is known as the most obvious gourmand in the Serge Lutens range, but so nicely done by Christopher Sheldrake, that it makes it almost impossible to resist to in those (few) days in which I am craving a sweet scent.



Rahat Loukoum was inspired by the homonymous candy (in the US; known as Turkish Delight) and it is available among the Serge Lutens Exclusives (Bell Jars). The notes include: almond, cherry, hawthorn, rose, balsam, tonka bean, aldehydes, honey, musk and vanilla.



It opens with a blast of aldehydes, which makes my nose tingle for a while and a strong and boozy cherry note, like cherry brandy. The cherry, as the perfume starts to evaporate from the skin, gets syrupy and subsides during the early stages of the drydown. What follows it is a huge almond note, amplified by heliotrope, hawthorn and tonka bean. Up until this point, Rahat Loukoum is definitely gourmand.



Later in the drydown, after one hour or so, comes my favorite part: the cherry-almond combo gets softer and, as it calms down, I start detecting some roses and vanilla. The foody aspects slowly vanish to a honey musk powdery drydown. And this is how it remains until the end, which may take a while considering this is a Serge Lutens.



In comparison to other Turkish Delight inspired scents, it does share some similarities with another Serge Lutens: Louve, from the export line. I own and love both, but Louve has less cherry, more powder and a marzipan vibe. When compared to Keiko Mecheri Loukoum, the Serge Lutens rendition is definitely less cloying, (on my skin, the KM smells as if the said sweet spent an entire afternoon locked in a car, exposed to the sun). It is also not abstract as L’Artisan Parfumeur Traversee du Bosphore.



Rahat Loukoum is cuddly, comforting and more suitable for colder months. The lasting power is excellent and the silage is huge when spritzed (which can also irritate sensitive skins, if spritzed immediately after showering), but moderate when dabbed. Makes me wonder if these are the reasons why the Bell Jars are dabbers.

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*TOP REVIEWER* kerriki on 4/16/2012 7:14:00 AM more reviews by kerriki

Age: 56 & Over   Skin: Normal, Fair, Warm   Hair: Brunette, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Brown    

Stunning rich cherry rose and almond confection that must be the Big Daddy of all these frags...but unlike most it just stays in balance, even going a bit sourly sexy and dry and perfectly rosey-musky as it wears. So different, not counting the copycats, pure genius, you must have this in a serious collection...

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TheEmpress on 5/3/2011 2:24:00 AM more reviews by TheEmpress

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Medium, Warm   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

Much harder to get in the US. and not worth the chase unless you are a man. Although it's unisex, it does tend to lean towards the masculine end of the spectrum. On the other hand Serge Lutens Louve is Rahat's twin flame. She (Louve) has the same exact powdery and almondy notes,only she's a lot softer and a tad sweeter. Both are masterpieces.

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*TOP REVIEWER* WentworthRoth on 2/16/2011 5:27:00 AM more reviews by WentworthRoth

Age: 25-29   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Blond, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Blue    

Notes: fresh white almond, crushed cherry pits, hawthorn, heliotrope, Turkish rose, balsam, tonka bean, aldehydes, white honey, musk and vanilla.

This fragrance opens with an almost edible cherry note that is framed by a sharp alcoholic note. Underneath of these two, I smell a third, softer, sweet and warm note. As the fragrance progresses the alcohol evaporates and the cherry note calms down considerably. From this point on, the fragrance smells more like bitter almonds than cherry on a bed of dry floral notes. The fragrance is still sweet, but less aggressive. My skin chemistry and some of the floral notes react weirdly to each other, because when I smell very closely, I smell something like swimming pool. Thankfully the other notes hide this effect and it is only transient. The main accord is a milky, sweet, clean almond composition. Aldehydes ensure the composition remains light and sparkly. A comparison to its sister scent Louve is inevitable and to me Rahat is the better fragrance. It is less soapy and synthetic smelling than Louve, the accords are more fleshed-out and the notes more vibrant. The dry down is characterised by honey and musk and fits the overall theme of the fragrance. Lasts for four hours on my skin.

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constantinova on 12/9/2010 3:43:00 PM more reviews by constantinova

Age: 18 & Under   Skin: Normal, Medium   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

actually when I first saw this I said myself what the f...k because of the name. I am turkish and the name is turkish. it means calming turkish delight. so as its name it smells like my favorite turkish delight. I dont like sweet fragnences but i would bu this one because it reminds me my friends, my family, my beloved istanbul, my turkish delights and my beloved country.

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*TOP REVIEWER* lavenderfleur on 8/2/2010 1:56:00 AM more reviews by lavenderfleur

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Red   Eyes: Green    

I really, really like this about 5-10 minutes after putting it on. The cherry has settled, and it blends well with the almond and honey. Unfortunately, I cannot get this scent to last more than an hour on me. I mean it's gone at that point. For the price, I expect more. If it lasted longer, I would probably shell out the money for a full bottle...I like it that much. Too bad. I'm off to try dupes to see if I can find something similar.

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bijouxqueen on 7/13/2010 11:01:00 PM more reviews by bijouxqueen

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Brown    

GLORIOUS! Who would've thought that a sweet-o-phobe like me would LOVE this? Only wish it lasted longer...

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*TOP REVIEWER* reikigoddess on 5/24/2010 8:53:00 PM more reviews by reikigoddess

Age: 36-43   Skin: Sensitive, Fair, Neutral   Hair: Blond, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Blue    

I tried this a couple of times before and didn't think much of it-thought it was too sweet actually. I'm so glad I gave it another go because I'm just loving it now. It's such a fun, youthful, whimsical scent and the sweetness really does pipe down after the first 10 or so minutes. After trying just about every SL scent (all the exports and most of the nons) I think I will finally have my own bell jar. I must say that the new non-ex. due out this fall sounds incredible also (another gourmand). Just for ref. I cannot stand KM's Louk. scent-just powdery and awful on me & I also tried SL's Louve. Louve is somewhat similar but not nearly as nice as this is.

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willowpost on 5/6/2010 8:30:00 PM more reviews by willowpost

Age: 36-43   Skin: Dry, Fair-Medium, Neutral   Hair: Blond, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

okay I won't go into describing the notes..... done many times before.

So here's a practical comparison:
Sampling both Serge Lutens Rahat Loukoum and Keiko Mecheri's Loukhoum and I am trying to figure out which is either FB worthy or worth getting a larger decant of.

I've had both on for 2 hours and the main difference in the drydown seems to that Keiko Mecheri's Loukhoum is much stronger than SL and is way more powdery. No powder with the Rahat Loukoum in it's drydown.

Tough call.... I am preferring the SL but hey, at the price I want to be able to smell it at little more 2 hours later.

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*TOP REVIEWER* blueelm on 4/13/2010 11:23:00 AM more reviews by blueelm

Age: 25-29   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

Strange. I don't usually like sweet, gourmand fragrances but I find this scent alluring.

This is very pretty and wears nicely on my skin without being overpowering. It has a strong play doh quality as it dries down, somewhere between marzipan and chalk. Honey, skin musk, sugar jelly, a tiny bit of fruit.

At first this smelled exactly like fruit jellies dusted in confectioner's sugar, and really I don't know of another scent that actually smells so much like rahat loukoum.

In the end this scent cleverly tiptoes between childlike fun and adult elegance. I'm not sure I've ever smelled anything like it.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Lisaandtheword on 10/24/2009 3:15:00 AM more reviews by Lisaandtheword

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Black, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Blue    

I liked it for a while, but much sniffing later I really prefer Delices & Oblique Rewind.. the cherry here is a lil sharp, & the rest is so close to Chergui.

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*TOP REVIEWER* stephhamilton on 10/2/2009 8:33:00 PM more reviews by stephhamilton

Age: 36-43   Skin: Normal, Fair   Hair: Brown   Eyes: Blue    

I love the initial burst of cherry and almond, I smell just like one of those almond frangipane tarts with the jam in them. It doesn't remain that intense it drys down to a comforting beautiful smoky almond cherry that stays close to the skin and is comforting and snuggly like wearing cashmere . This is what I was hoping Louve would be as its much easier to buy but that had to much of a powdery drydown and felt too sweet.

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*TOP REVIEWER* erica_74 on 9/28/2009 4:17:00 AM more reviews by erica_74

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium, Neutral   Hair: Other, Medium   Eyes: Green    

I only gave this 2 lipsticks because it reminds me of a fantastic trip in Paris back in 2005 (I purchased it then).
Besides the fond memories it evokes, it sadly is just pure "Depon syrup for kids" (which is a cherry flavored paracetamol syrup for fever and pain specially designed for kids and widely used here in greece).

Yukky and overly cloying, I almost feel the stickiness in my hands, as if I have spilled depon syrup on my wrists.

This is one of a few perfumes that always remind me that I am defenatelly not a gourmand scent lover....

Oh, and by the way (for those who think that I am yet another one reviewing a scent that is composed by notes I dislike), I love almond, I love bitter almond, and like cherries overall.
But this composition is just too much of all that!!!

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georgiasinclair on 9/22/2009 1:39:00 PM more reviews by georgiasinclair

Age: 30-35   Skin: Normal, Fair   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Hazel    

I really wanted to like this product - particularly since I have a full bottle of it. But it's just too sweet and foody for me. My boyfriend doesn't like it at all and says it smells like a teenage fragrance to him. While I think that's a little harsh, I get where he's coming from. On the plus side, it's a simpler, sweeter fragrance that still has the complexity of a Lutens creation.

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Mireille on 9/15/2009 9:24:00 PM more reviews by Mireille

Age: 36-43   Skin: Sensitive, Fair, Warm   Hair: Blond, Wavy, Medium   Eyes: Blue    

I keep trying this, as I have a decant and would like to love it. Alas, it just doesn't work for me. I like the top notes, which are everything they are supposed to be, cherry and almond. But when they fade, I pick up a dirty ammoniac smell, which is hard to shake. It does die down, and then you are left with a forgettable faint musk. As other reviewers have said, Montale's Sweet Oriental Dream and Keiko Mecheri's Loukoum are better examples of this type of fragrance

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flyingfox on 3/1/2009 12:58:00 PM more reviews by flyingfox

Age: 19-24   Skin: Sensitive, Fair-Medium, Warm   Hair: Blond, Wavy, Fine   Eyes: Green    

My favourite Lutens by far: a sweet, heavy gourmand oriental. Unfortunately it’s almost impossible to buy a full sized bottle, I have to travel to Paris next summer (don’t joking – but I live in Europe that’s true). Rahat Loukoum is the elder sister of Louve, which is a marzipan scented baby powder with a hint of maraschino cherry. You can smell all these things here but twice as strong as in Louve and with different accents. The deepest, heavier accord of this perfume is the sugary bitter almond dollop which is followed by the tart cherry note and the slightly powdery sweetness. However it’s gourmand it never becomes foody, remains unique and mature which I appreciate so much. I found Rahat the best loukoum fragrance all around. Keiko Mecheri’s is my other love, but KM Loukoum doesn’t smell exactly like the Turkish delight, it’s rather a sweet powder scent.

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marieantoinette on 2/14/2009 5:25:00 PM more reviews by marieantoinette

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination   Hair: Blond   Eyes: Blue    

If you don't care for almonds or cherries in your fragrance, then your review is rather worthless. I would never presume to negatively review a fragrance because it has notes that I hate when they are supposed to be in there. It is as absurd as blasting a floor cleaner for not working as a shampoo!
I love Rahat Loukoum - the confection and the fragrance. I love the fragrance so much that when I hear of a friend planning a trip to Paris, my heart palpitates. The confection comes in a variety of flavours - I love most of them, especially pistachio and rose. It would be interesting to have a Rahat Loukoum assortment but I digress.
SL Rahat Loukoum is the perfect blend of almond and cherry, without the blast of powder in the Mecheri version. As in any fragrance one loves, I wish it lasted longer (forever) but it is decent.
Whenever I wear it, I always hear "you smell wonderful" including from friends who swear they hate this scent. :-)

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*TOP REVIEWER* condesadepitimini on 1/7/2009 9:44:00 AM more reviews by condesadepitimini

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair, Warm   Hair: Blond, Fine   Eyes: Green    

Marzipan. Bitter almond all the way. Morello cherry.
All notes I dislike in fragrances (but I do like in food!):
I could not stand to wear it and i just spritzed once on my wrist.
Had to wash it off.... immediately.
Do I sound unpolite if I say "stink in a bottle"? really a scrubber to me. Sorry I cannot report on the drydown, as the frag did not live up the the drydown on me!!

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*TOP REVIEWER* Shwets on 7/24/2008 11:29:00 AM more reviews by Shwets

Age: 30-35   Skin: Normal, Olive   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Hazel    

This is a very intense marzipan mixed with cherry fragrance!
Within moments of applying i started getting this creamier note as though the marzipan scent was developing. In then goes through this chemical/synthetic phase and if it didn't give me such a headache i would have increased a lippy.

I like this fragrance but it just doesn't agree with me.

If you would prefer a simpler version (and cheaper) then I'd go for Auric Blend's Honey Almond.

Update (09/08/08): Just tried Etro's Heliotrope and it is a lighter version of RL minus the extreme cherry notes and marzipan. I highly recommend this if you find RL too strong.

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