Serge Lutens Rahat Loukoum was created by Christopher Sheldrake. Turkish Delight is the inspiration, and this is verging on the most gourmand scent in the Serge Lutens line. Mostly cherry, almond, heliotrope on the open, a little tart, sweet, this is the spot on this perfume that I love, it's pretty addictive. The more gourmand/sweet notes blow off fairly quickly, maybe 30 minutes, and you are left with a softer scent, musk and honey, and the Turkish Delight is over as this dries down into a soft skin scent. Rahat Loukoum is in the Oriental Vanilla fragrance group.
from perfumesmellinthings - "Rahat Loukoum is a perfume that by all rights I should hate. I don't like sweet and I don't like fruity, but somehow I adore this. Marina calls this 1998 release "chewy", which is a fitting description for a scent that's named for the candy "Turkish Delight". It starts with a boozy hit of cherries as if you were starting the process of putting fresh ones up for the winter by boiling them in some sweet liquor, the boozy fumes palpable and heady. Almost immediately the candy starts to soften with almond and smoke. Well, soften isn't quite the word. It never becomes as soft as say, Lutens own Louve, which I bought at Barneys and abandoned when I acquired a bell jar of this. The hard-edged opening cooks down into a warm and sensual honeyed musk with just a trace of the opening spikiness in the heliotropic cherry/almond notes."
from thenonblonde - "Rahat Loukoum is probably the most gourmand in his already craving creating line. The first thing I smell in it is heliotrope, that almond-cherry combination that if you're lucky makes you happy without sending you into Play-Doh land. I have no idea what's the deal with the Play-Doh comparisons, really. Last summer when my two year old niece was here, I sniffed all the colors in the pack I got her, than sprayed several of my heliotrope laden perfumes, trying to find similarities, but never did. Play-Doh smells so plastic-like and rather disgusting, really. Louve, L'Heure Bleue, Luctor et Emergo and all the loukoum scents are heaven to me."
More information and Serge Lutens reviews can be found at: The Non-Blonde Now Smell This
| Perfume Name | Serge Lutens Rahat Loukoum |
| Year Introduced | 1998 |
| Perfumer | Christopher Sheldrake |
| Gender | Unisex |
| Collection | Exclusive Bottles - Resineux/Ambres |
| Notes | white almond, crushed cherry pits, white honey, hawthorn, heliotrope, Turkish rose, balsam, tonka bean, aldehydes, musk and vanilla |
| Country of Origin | France |
I had read other reviews warning that Rahat Loukoum can skew a little "playdough" or "cough syrup" like many other cherry-almond fragrances, and this was true. The initial scent was very astringent and medicinal. It did dry down to something a little less aggressive, but at that point it became boring. On paper I should love this scent but something about it was just off for me.
I'm hooked. Cherry almond is my new favorite. If this is Turkish Delight - I want more.
I had read other reviews warning that Rahat Loukoum can skew a little "playdough" or "cough syrup" like many other cherry-almond fragrances, and this was true. The initial scent was very astringent and medicinal. It did dry down to something a little less aggressive, but at that point it became boring. On paper I should love this scent but something about it was just off for me.
I'm hooked. Cherry almond is my new favorite. If this is Turkish Delight - I want more.
