Gujarat Olympic Orchids Artisan Perfumes for women and men

It's maybe a bit much on the sandalwood for me. I do like the curry leaf smell, but I wish it did smell like curry!

For me a sandalwood fragrance.

The Olympic Orchid line boasts natural high quality ingredients and this is evident throughout the range. I was excited to see the mouthwatering combination of lime and ginger in this creation, but like other reviewers, this turned to a soft oud. Gujurat is predominantly an oud fragrance on me, however the oud is softened by the fruits and flowers. Not that there's anything wrong with that.....

The opening of Gujarat is a thing of rare beauty. Birch tar in all it's smoky glory, tropical mango, something bittersweet and herbal(maybe the marigold) and the greatest baritone of all, agarwood. The first images are a sidewalk on a burning afternoon in New Delhi. A raven-haired girl with a mango lassi sits in an old wodden chair. Kids palaying and laughing in the background. Mouthwatering vapours escaping from the windows from a home nearby.
I 'm going to give it the ultimate compliment. Only L' Artisan's Timbuktu gave me the same sheer excitement the moment i put it on.
This one is a modern classic and it's a surprise because it doesn't go the well travelled route of spice load to portray India. Indeed the spices are here but the lighthanded treatment gives them a whole new weight, like gauge hoovering above everything else. In the end the perfume settles in a slightly sour rose-oud combo, not so unique as the beggining , beautiful nevertheless.

Gujarat's huge ingredient list sounds like a recipe for an exotic Indian banquet, but on me, the fragrance opens with a large dose of sandalwood and oud.
The latter are not the entree, they are the doorkeepers which bow your way into the rose, saffron and cardamom main course, which feast is comfortably consumed on a pillow of mango and marigolds.

Yet despite my culinary similes, this is NOT in any way a foody perfume on my skin.

Much as I adore Indian food - one of my two greatest favorite cuisines (with French) - I don't cherish smelling like it. I was a little afraid of the curry leaf and the cumin, and am decidedly unfond of lime notes, which often turn too masculine for my tastes.

However, the blending of Gujarat is so well done that I don't get anything but an exotic wonder laid over an equally exotic base. Each component triggers a little olfactory memory of Asian spices and spaces, but none stands out as reminiscent of any other exotic perfume, not even an Arabian attar.

Gujarat is a brilliant exotic composition, unlike anything else I have ever smelled, and definitely full bottle worthy, a 9/10 for the fragrance, the projection and the staying power.

PS: If you haven't purchased Olympic Perfumes' tester package, then I suggest you run and do so - generous samples, so you can really get down with each sensory experience, all gorgeous discoveries, and at a very reasonable entrance fee.
Disclaimer, because I do tend to gush so : Not affiliated, just a fan.

I love the smell and taste of all the Indian spices that I am aware of, and I do appreciate the smell of Gujurat. However, I found that I do not want to personally smell like this, as it is rather masculine and evocative of import shops and SE Asian restaurants. It develops over the day, and is richer and deeper as time goes by, and it is evident that it is made with quality materials, with thought and creativity. So instead of wearing it, I have dabbed a bit of it onto the walls of my foyer, linen cupboard and bathroom, as it is lovely in those settings. I think I would like it on a man, but cannot quite imagine the kind of man who could carry it off - as it really is so exotic.

Wonderful! The smokey notes cut like a knife through the sweeter elements making this fragrance totally unique. Probably more masculine than feminine, it is ideal for a cooler summer evening. It isn't often that one gets a chance to smell a completely new idea; most current perfumes are copies of what is "trendy". Not this beauty!

Oh! One whiff of Gujarat and I'm back in India! The spices. The rose attar. The incense. The food. The ever-present haze and aroma of wood smoke from family cooking fires in the air.

Gujarat lasted a good 12+ hours on me, drying down over time to a beautiful, warm and true sandalwood. Very complex, very unusual and very appropriately-named. If you enjoy rose, sandalwood or Indian attar perfumes, give this one a try.

I received Gujarat in a box of samples that I purchased from Olympic Orchids. When I tried it I was immediately struck by smoke, lime and tagetes, caraway (cumin?) and turmeric. Upfront this is a very masculine scent. As it dries down the fruits, olibanum and flowers barely appear with a sharp chili accent and then a sandalwood finish. I have tried it several times and can't say if it is too masculine for me or not. I am still trying to get my nose around it. I can say, though, that it is complex and interesting and that I enjoy trying it again and again. The deluxe sample box I purchased was filled with many very generous samples making lavish use of the Gujarat sample possible.