Marien Lamare

Lamare opens with a smoky curl of incense, immediately setting a warm, oriental tone rather than easing in with citrus or florals. Amber quickly joins to sweeten and round out that smokiness, and by the time patchouli settles in at the base the whole scent has already found its shape - there isn't much of an evolving journey here, more a single warm, earthy accord that stays fairly constant from the first hour to the last. That simplicity works in its favour for anyone wanting an easy, no-nonsense oriental-woody scent without layers to decode, though it means the fragrance leans on volume rather than nuance, and drops to a soft skin scent once the initial hours pass.