Serge Lutens • Borneo 1834 • Fragrances

Where To Buy?

Kelzilla on 5/1/2013 8:40:00 PM more reviews by Kelzilla

Age: 36-43   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Red   Eyes: Green    

Here's a link to a great review of the EDP. I dont think I could put it any better.

http://www.theblackthornorphans.com/

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*TOP REVIEWER* YoHarajuku on 2/26/2013 5:12:00 PM more reviews by YoHarajuku

Age: 25-29   Skin: Oily, Fair, Cool   Hair: Blond, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Hazel    

After trying the dire Sarrasins and Koublai Khan I was expecting more of the same with this one. But its certainly not as offensive as those and much more wearable. Very rich and dense and for me I pick up a Iiquour scent. I tried to love it as I'm a big fan of any "exotic" style fragrance but it wasn't to be. Its just a tad to heady but its one I will revisit in the future to give another try.

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*TOP REVIEWER* TaniaRides on 3/6/2012 10:16:00 AM more reviews by TaniaRides

Age: 19-24   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brown, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Green    

I was hoping to get more cocoa and amber from this, but I only get a hint of cocoa for the first 30 seconds on my skin, and then this quickly settles into all patchouli all the time. It's a sweet, earthy, almost honeyed smelling patchouli. And it's way too simple for me. After a while, it's a bit like patchouli and a whiff of lavender-y men's cologne (?).
I've found my ultimate patchoulis in the Reminiscence Paris line and Thierry Mugler's Angel, and this doesn't even come close to smelling as well rounded and rich as any of my other favorites.

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*TOP REVIEWER* zeynepd on 8/22/2011 3:25:00 PM more reviews by zeynepd

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

smells uncannily similar to davidoff zino.

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*TOP REVIEWER* WentworthRoth on 11/14/2010 1:33:00 PM more reviews by WentworthRoth

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

Notes: patchouli, white flowers, cardamom, galbanum, french labdanum and cacao.

The first blast is dark chocolate and patchouli, as if I was smelling an exotic dark chocolate bar. On me the chocolate is the headnote, vanishing soon to leave me with the patchouli and the spices. I am sure the white flowers, albeit undetectable, do their part in creating a well-rounded, balanced scent. I would describe the scent as dark, dry, woody with just enough spices and flowers to not make it bitter or too dry. Due to the labdamum the dry down is very pale and sweet. Lasts for more than 5 hours.

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jaritos on 4/26/2010 2:57:00 AM more reviews by jaritos

Age: 30-35   Skin: Dry, Warm   Hair: Black, Curly, Medium   Eyes: Brown    

i love it forever. it smells like dank colonial oppression - what dark desires. chocolate, tobacco, patchouli, and teak - perfect.

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Beejoux42 on 3/31/2010 7:01:00 AM more reviews by Beejoux42

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Fair   Hair: Red   Eyes: Brown    

This is a huge patchouli blast! I understand patchouli leaves were used to keep away moths - this could clear a county of moths! And the chocolate note does not work for me either, it is too stale and musty to be pleasant.
I always appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into Lutens work but this one is just not for me.

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cors on 3/28/2010 2:45:00 AM more reviews by cors

Age: 19-24   Skin: Sensitive, Medium, Warm   Hair: Black, Straight, Fine   Eyes: Black    

No edible chocolate here but dry, dark and bitter cocoa powder. I get more coffee, tobacco and patchouli than cocoa. It does smell like two clashing fragrances worn together and is intoxicating from a distance, but a little confusing up close. I think it is rather different from Angel and A*Men. I normally enjoy masculine scents, but I do find this a little too much for my own use. As with most Lutens, the longevity is amazing but do apply sparingly.

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*TOP REVIEWER* suzi2qs on 2/10/2010 9:21:00 PM more reviews by suzi2qs

Age: 44-55   Skin: Combination, Medium, Warm   Hair: Blond, Coarse   Eyes: Green    

This fragrance is a masterpiece. Got a small decant about 2 months ago and that first spritz was a blast of patch and camphor. Then came the resinous drydown and the dry cocoa accord. There is nothing girly or floral in this juice, it is a pure alien landscape. A one of a kind composition that I imagine would not be for everyone. For me, it is raunchy, smoky and right in line with how I want to smell everyday.
I only wish Serge would put out complimentary products to go with this like body cream, body wash, bath oil, shampoo, laundry detergent, toothpaste..............
Full bottle is on the way. If I ever get back to Paris I'm getting 27 bell jars

8 out of 8 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No

*TOP REVIEWER* tessture on 1/2/2010 12:05:00 PM more reviews by tessture

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

First on it’s cocoa and patchouli in a strong but great blend, with faint wood notes. It warms up to a softer woody cocoa, and cardamom makes an appearance, warming the patchouli and knocking off the edges. Galbanum shows up as a faint high note of forest floor or wet wood in the background, but doesn’t last long, taking you back to dry cocoa and wood with the faintest, sweetest patchouli that I actually like. I don't care for patchouli, but this lacks the oily dirty feeling patchouli usually has on me. The notes blend in harmony and smell delicious without actually being gourmand. I get a faint plastic note at the half hour point, but it doesn’t detract enough from the overall impression to matter. I think it comes from the synthetic smoke notes, not unusual on my skin. Still overall, this is a very warm, woody dry cocoa fragrance, perfectly unisex and not actually gourmand. It dries to a close skin scent in about an hour, but it persists for a long time.

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*TOP REVIEWER* stephhamilton on 12/30/2009 8:07:00 PM more reviews by stephhamilton

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

pipe tobacco , antique furniture in a library thats what this smells like on me with a faint hint of a chocolate cocoa type note. Its an amazing fragrance but its almost more of a fragrance I wanted to experience rather than something i really want to wear. I can't think of a circumstance when i feel i could carry this off at the moment. (it is the middle of summer and stinking hot here so I might try it again in winter and see how it goes then) I think it would have been more me if i had gotten a little bit more of the chocolate accord.

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SmellieKat on 12/24/2009 8:23:00 PM more reviews by SmellieKat

Age: 44-55   Skin: Normal   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Green    

Borneo is amazing - I can't stop smelling myself! Bought this in Seattle a couple of weeks ago - it reminds me of the city with its dark, coffee, licorice, "dirty" features. I love patchouli but haven't been able to find a perfume to perfectly captures that note. Enter Borneo. Since I found it, I've wanted to wear nothing else, which is very unusual for me! One day I wore Dune and another, I wore Geisha Rouge, but both days, I was jonesing for Borneo. While I have a huge perfume collection, only a few have captured my heart upon first sniff; Tea for Two, Ambre Sultan, Jardin en Mediterranee, Sycomore...and now, Borneo. Wonderful for women who don't want to smell like fruit or flowers.

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lily_vert on 11/28/2009 7:44:00 PM more reviews by lily_vert

Age: 56 & Over   Skin: Dry   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Brown    

My new winter all day scent. I love woods and I love patchouli. What I get from this is about two hours of soft raisins or licorice and then a complete morph into faint chocolate patchouli and finally a powder that is sublime.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Mac789 on 11/9/2009 10:57:00 PM more reviews by Mac789

Age: 44-55   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

Although Coromandel is my benchmark patchouli fragrance, Borneo is a close second.



Both feature what smells like cask-aged patchouli, but there are distinct differences. Those familiar with Coromandel will notice in Borneo a more distinct (although indistinguishable by species) floral note, plus an interesting licorice-like tone that appears in the center. These two weave together and then gradually fade into the patchouli base. Smoky labdanum and shredded brown tobacco edge the far base and turn darkly herbal-powdery.



I can barely notice the cocoa and have to work to find it.



Borneo's top is a bit problematic for me; it's strongly galbanum/camphor and almost unpleasant to a nose accustomed to the more elegant Coromandel. The heart notes almost win me over, but later, much later, the floral reasserts and behaves peculiarly and possibly unattractively. It's almost as if the floral were designed with an afterlife, but its reappearance doesn't enhance what started out as a woody, smoky base. A further detraction is a latent and very unexpected "perfuminess."



I do like the licorice tonalities in the middle of Borneo, and overall it's an exciting, genderless interpretation of patchouli. I prefer Coromandel for its cohesive fluidity and lack of shocker elements, but Borneo is what I'd select had Coromandel not been released.

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ethan1481 on 9/15/2009 11:18:00 PM more reviews by ethan1481

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

It's really a freak coincidence; I originally ordered Nuit de Cellophane, but when I opened the parcel, it was Borneo 1834. I was kinda upset but then I decided to give it a shot. I was kinda disappointed on the first sniff, however, the scent lingers and develops into a darker and deeper scent. My frist impression is Chocolate... then it changes .. to chocolate with tobacco, then the dry down is Patchouli and tobacco with a slight hint of coacoa (chocolate).
To tell you the truth, I was pretty impressed with this perfume. It didn't instantly make me fall in love with it. It bonded with me with time.
I don't think ladies will want to wear this fragrance on them, coz it's too masculine.. IMO.
Too expensive, so I will not repurchase.

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persimmons on 7/8/2009 10:21:00 AM more reviews by persimmons

Age: 30-35   Skin: Combination, Fair-Medium   Hair: Black   Eyes: Brown    

An exquisite cocoa scent. It starts bitter and medicinal , and right after comes the cocoa, darkly rousted and beautiful. It dries into a lovely patchouli / tobacco drydown. A very dry scent with just a hint of sweetness. Not at all feminine, but this will not stop me from wearing it. A real masterpiece!

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*TOP REVIEWER* drvogue on 4/2/2009 3:38:00 PM more reviews by drvogue

Age: 36-43   Skin: Dry, Fair   Hair: Brunette   Eyes: Hazel    

This is an ever changing scent. It starts with chocolate, then moves on to the patchouli, all the while carrying a stuffy library note or moldy wood house (both of which I actually like). The drydown is very masculine, like an aftershave; which is really weird because the reviewer below compared it to Angel. I am only giving it 3 stars because it is not wearable for me, just a bit too intense and weird.

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*TOP REVIEWER* Wyrmiax on 3/10/2009 7:26:00 PM more reviews by Wyrmiax

Age: 44-55   Skin: Very Oily, Fair-Medium   Hair: Brown, Straight, Medium   Eyes: Hazel    

I expected this to be something of a shocker, but it was less rough than my husband's beloved patchouli oil. The beginning was a pleasant light patchouli (similar to Patchouli Patch, maybe a bit more complicated).
I disliked the drydown, though--it sweetened considerably on me, ending up about halfway to Angel.

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mametsuki on 2/5/2009 6:20:00 PM more reviews by mametsuki

Age: 44-55   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

The complicated formula is so intoxicating that you are left to wonder if you are being drugged! It's such heady scent of tabacco, musk and a faint whiff of cacao, that you are left very impressed. It lasts a long time and everyone that has smelled this on me, loves it!

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*TOP REVIEWER* WinterWheat on 11/12/2008 6:22:00 PM more reviews by WinterWheat

Age: 36-43   Skin: Other   Hair: Other   Eyes: Other    

Borneo 1834 reminds me strongly of Fifi Chachnil after a night at the bar. The tobacco note in Fifi has already been smoked (in a room hazy with incense) in Borneo. I find the patchouli intensely earthy, like a roll in fall grasses and leaves. It's a dusky, sexy, smoky, serious scent that captures the deeper, drier notes of Fumerie Turque. I barely get any chocolate, or at least it's not recognizable as such to me. The drydown reminds me a bit of CdG Luxe Patchouli and Le Labo Patchouli: the patch is dry with an almost raspy quality, not sweet or sour or "sweaty" as other patches can be. This scent is stunning and spooky and not for the fainthearted or those who like to smell "clean" or "fresh." Borneo makes you smell like someone with an interesting past.

10 out of 11 people found this review helpful.     Was this review helpful to you? Yes   No