Serge Lutens Borneo 1834 is completely unique in the way it interweaves the cobwebby dusty patchouli notes with chocolate. An oriental woody fragrance that is singularly unique in the world as far as notes and how they are balanced against each other. This is in the Oriental Woody fragrance group.
from scentbound - "Borneo 1834 is the only fragrance I’ve come across satisfies my craving for old-worldly mysticism. I doubt this is an accident considering the backstory of the fragrance. Borneo 1834 starts with a realistic cocoa accord freshened up by white florals. The cocoa here has the aroma of a high quality cocoa powder that almost makes my mouth water. There is no sweetness here, just tangible powderiness."
from perfumeniche - "I think Borneo 1834 is remarkable – dry, dark, green, sweet, warm, smoky. By contrasting unmatched notes such as chocolate with green patchouli leaves, camphor with flowers, spices and woods, the undertones in each of the notes are highlighted: the coffee and nuttiness in the cocoa, the licorice in the camphor, the smoke in the mahogany and ebony woods. The end result is a fragrance which is incredibly sensual and powerful, which smells like it’s come from another time and far-distant place, blessed by holy men chanting in temples. From Borneo in 1834, I guess."
More information and Serge Lutens reviews can be found at:
| Perfume Name | Serge Lutens Borneo 1834 |
| Year Introduced | 2005 |
| Perfumer | Christopher Sheldrake |
| Gender | Unisex |
| Collection | Gratte-ciel (Skyscraper) |
| Notes | Indonesian patchouli, camphor, patchouli, cacao accord, mahogany, ebony, cardamom and ciste labdanum |
| Country of Origin | France |
This is a well blended chocolate - patchouli fragrance that many will consider a gourmand. Pleasant, warm, earthy, slightly boozy, linear, and inoffensive. Sillage and longevity are rather mild - becomes a skin scent with a couple of hours.
Heavy patchouli, slightly herbed, a dusting of dry cocoa powder sifted over the surface. Its sickly sourness reminds me greatly of Horizon from Oriza L. Legrand. I love that part of this fragrance, otherwise I was going to point out a similarly with Lorenzo Villoresi, sans the lavender. I don’t immediately pick up any amber, until I’m hit with a sweetness rising from within the cocoa powder coating, which makes me want to remove a star from my rating, but almost, because I do love the sickly sourness of Oriza. Patchouli is the Life!
This is a well blended chocolate - patchouli fragrance that many will consider a gourmand. Pleasant, warm, earthy, slightly boozy, linear, and inoffensive. Sillage and longevity are rather mild - becomes a skin scent with a couple of hours.
Heavy patchouli, slightly herbed, a dusting of dry cocoa powder sifted over the surface. Its sickly sourness reminds me greatly of Horizon from Oriza L. Legrand. I love that part of this fragrance, otherwise I was going to point out a similarly with Lorenzo Villoresi, sans the lavender. I don’t immediately pick up any amber, until I’m hit with a sweetness rising from within the cocoa powder coating, which makes me want to remove a star from my rating, but almost, because I do love the sickly sourness of Oriza. Patchouli is the Life!
... it is fabulous! If not for the bizarre, off-putting, sour opening of this scent I'd have given it 5 stars. To be honest, it smelled so "off" straight from the vial that I very nearly did not even try it on my skin - but I know better than to ever judge a scent based solely on its first olfactory impression without giving it the chance to work some magic on the skin, so I dabbed a bit on my wrists and the back of my hands and within about 20 minutes the strange dirty socks-sour-camphor-chocolate note at the top dissipated and the scent only continued to improve on my skin. It ended as a very, very, VERY sweet gourmand patchouli that I adore. So sweet, however, I'd have trouble classifying this scent as unisex - but scent is subjective and perfumes generally smell different on each of us, so to each their own. To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure if it's a scent that could become a regular go-to for me based on that bizarre gag-inducing top. If only I could skip right on past that I'd wear this scent constantly because the dry down is stellar.
The opening is boozy whiskey and cocoa with a bit of tang from the patchouli. This is my favorite part. As it mellows the booze softens to slightly camphorous and retains the cocoa and dry, earthy patchouli until the end. I was actually hoping for a "wetter" more syrupy quality but it is actually pretty airy considering the notes. It has an ambery quality and reminds me somewhat of Parfums de Empire Ambre Russe but is less muddled (and I found that one too much and nauseating). Also reminds me slightly of Tom Ford Noir Extreme. Borneo is completely unisex and seems like it would be good for Fall/winter. May appeal to those ambivalent about patchouli but has enough that probably won't appeal to patchouli detesters. I like it but not sure I'd buy a FB.
I was completely enchanted by this fragrance. I always thought that I disliked patchouli, but the quality of patchouli in this fragrance is fabulous. It is a fragrance that caused me to reflect on past times. I love wearing it in my garden.
My review for few other product were negative but this product is worth every penny of its price. It is long lasting and contains its base scent for at least 10 hours
I was a patchouli virgin and tried the patchouli sample set that included this fragrance. I loved it! It was the best of the three and was the patchouli sent I wanted. It has a strong start, but mellows in to a wonderful scent.
A work of genious. After trying so many patchoulis, there are non above this masterpiece.
I like this one a lot after it settles down. But like so many Serge Lutens one is faced with the choice of enduring a very offensive opening in order to get to a rich and wonderful olfactory experience. I almost bought this one, but decided once again I didn't want to only tolerate the first hour.
Chocolate! Patchouli! This is a nice fragrance. A mature nose will appreciate this fragrance. It's daring though; it's something you don't want to blind buy. Get a sample from surrendertochance so you can see if this fragrance is for you before you invest in a full bottle. I'm a guy writing this review, and when I wear this frag I get several compliments from women (ages 30 - 50).
A wonderful perfume, compared with Chanel exclusive Cardamom loses. It has a dry fall, but the opening is juicy and fresh, they feel pachouli leaves as before to save the silks while traveling from Orient to France. Cocoa is true cocoa not sweet chocolate, is the adult version with good materials of Angel, a few drops are enough. It is a master piece, rare jewel.
This had a strong, medicinal, camphor smell straight out of the bottle which literally had me shaking my head in surprise. Lovely! This quickly gave way to a dusty coca / chocolate smell that faded after an hour. A more traditional patchouli earthiness arrived, which lasted a couple of hours. The patchouli was a lot drier and cleaner than others I have tested, having none of the wet soil character that I associate with patchouli. Not to mention hippies. Rather linear, not really enough development over time.
