Samsara Shine by Guerlain

We could call her the academic cousin of the Red Bottle sisters: neither too close nor too far from the original, keeping just enough distance to avoid being a copy while retaining the essence. The opening is similar, but the fig leaf alters the dry-down, making it greener and fresher; the sandalwood is there and noticeable, yet it doesn’t dominate as it does in the other versions. Longevity and sillage are notable, making it ideal for any season. It feels natural thanks to that fig leaf which emancipates it from its sisters. It is not just another version, but a work of its own that uses familiar chords to create its own structure. The bottle, a piece by Robert Granai, is sleek and leaves the red behind, featuring a gold atomiser that distinguishes it. My luck was that someone gifted it to me.

I always believed this Shine would be an ultra-devalued version of the first Samsara, something light and citrusy without the character of its predecessor. How wrong I was. Samsara Shine maintains the same quality of notes, that opulent and narcotic side of its sister; it does not lose a gram of essence. The difference is that it lowers the power of the sandalwood and raises the floral aspect. The oriental touch is reduced without losing that beauty of the creamy sandalwood. Vanilla and citrus play a tertiary role; the beauty of the jasmine, ylang-ylang, and a calmer sandalwood take centre stage. A beauty. Without doubt, those who like Samsara will love this version and not be disappointed.

Samsara Shine is considered a green floral due to its components, but its soul is truly sweet. That sweetness of the ylang-ylang, and especially the fig leaf, gives it a special soul. It is a dense floral, perhaps a little greener at the start, with a high content of original Samsara, especially from the Eau de Parfum. The fig leaf with the ylang-ylang makes it enormously full of personality (sweet, but not bakery or cream sweet) and those green notes make it a little lighter without being very noticeable; they are there to lighten the load and make it airy, but it is by no means light; it is as deep as its sister, and not because of the vanilla, as it does not load it. It has been a pleasant surprise: I expected a green floral more in line with my tastes, silly me looking at those notes, and at the same time, I have found here the Samsara that could truly be mine, the one I could handle and with which I could feel more comfortable. The original is too much for my nature, not because it is strong, as I have very potent perfumes that I use calmly, but because Samsara must be lived; it is the sandalwood and ylang-ylang that make it special, and those ingredients on my person are a struggle. I accept myrrh, cinnamon, and resins much better. It is the Samsara that anyone should experience after trying the Eau de Parfum and feeling overwhelmed by its power, wanting to have it but seeing that it did not reach to dress it as it deserves. Its sillage is good for the first hour, then it stays close to the skin firmly for six hours, and the fig leaf, sandalwood, and ylang-ylang dominate and conjugate with mystical grace without making us feel so overwhelmed.