Liquides Imaginaires Desert Suave Review + Sheik Fantasy Perfume Draw

via Ermano from Pitti 2018

At this past September’s Pitti Fragrance Fair in Florence Italy,  Editor Ermano Picco, was overjoyed to introduce the new Desert Suave; the third and final entry by Liquides Imaginaires in their “Les Eau Imaginaire” series. Since 2012, Liquides Imaginaires co-founders David Frossard and Phillipe Di Méo have been designing and creating fragrances that speak directly to our higher, spiritual selves. Their scent series are always interpreted in three’s (the number 3 represents divine wholeness, completeness and perfection, and is found throughout world religions). Their perfumes are presented to bring ceremony and a touch of the unknowable to the wearer. (Here is our review of another of Liquides Imaginaires trios; the extraordinary Eau Delá series.)

Quentin Bisch and Nisrine Bouazzoui Grille via Instagram

The first fragrance released in the Eau Imaginaire triad was 2016’s L’lle -Pourpre, followed by Fleuve Tendre in 2017, and now for this year Desert Suave. Each is a representation of a dream location if you will, be it island, wilderness or desert. Signed by Givaudan Perfumers Quentin Bisch and Nisrine Bouazzaoui Grillie, Liquides Imaginaires Desert Suave is described by Ermano Picco as “The scented equivalent of meeting Lawrence of Arabia in your fantasies.” I couldn’t say it any better.

via national.com.uk

Desert Suave is a full-blown sand dune bodice-ripper romance novel of a perfume; it is over-the-top sensual and sexy. It is the inside of a fantasy Bedouin Tent; the floor covered in fine vintage Persian rugs, the smell of a spice chest thrown open, a dark viscous coffee being made in a small burnished copper Ibrik over a smoky open fire. Desert robes strewn casually over a sheepskin covered sleeping platform; the robes smelling like sweat, dates, camels and horses, then sprinkled with rosewater.

“I will only let you touch me, If your hands are so full of intention, 

That every brush of your palms feels Like you’re writing a novel on my skin.  -Azra T. “Braille”

Rudolph Valentino in The Sheik apped by MC

The scent of Liquides Imaginaires Desert Suave slinks out of the bottle and over your arm like a serpent from the Garden Of Eden. This is the fragrance of a sin waiting to happen. The first hit you get is the spices, roasted to perfection with the woody & oily/sweet sesame behind it. The Mandarin keeps things on the bright side, but it’s the cardamom that is so alluring and sensual. With the almost carnation-like peppery clove adding contrast and interest, you might find your thoughts wandering off towards a Rudolph Valentino Sheik fantasy. As the scent progresses, the rose, orange blossom and cistus add bitter-green and buttery floral notes that positively sing. Stately cedar pulls the fragrance down to a high-gloss polished floor with an almost teak-like aspect, where Desert Suave continues to make olfactive love to your body deep into the star-bright desert night. If you’re always on the hunt for a perfect spicy floriental that wears like Pierre Guillaume’s Un Crime Exotique, Dior Mitzhah, and Lutens Five O'Clock Au Gingembre (all three, fragrance landmarks) then you will be thrilled with Liquides Imaginaires Desert Suave. I know I am!

Notes: Cardamom, Clove, Mandarin, Orange Blossom, Rose, Date, Cistus (Rock Rose), Toasted Sesame, Cedar

Disclosure: Thanks so much to  Liquides Imaginaires for the sample. The opinions are my own.

-Robert Herrmann, Senior Editor

-Art Direction: Michelyn Camen, Editor-in-Chief

via Liquides Imaginanaires

Thanks to the generosity of Liquides Imaginaires we have a 6 ml. bottle of Desert Suave for one lucky reader in the USA, Canada, and the EU. The draw is for registered readers only, so be sure to register if you have not done so. To be eligible please let us know what you thought of Robert’s review of Liquides Imaginaires Desert Suave and where you live. Draw closes 12/14/2018           

Follow us on Instagram @cafleurebon @fragrantwanderer @liquidesimaginaires

 Liquides Imaginaires is available at @osmeperfumery and  @fumerieparfumerie in THE USA

We announce the winners only on site and on our Facebook page, so Like ÇaFleureBon and use our Blog feed…or your dream prize will be just spilled perfume.

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31 comments

  • That drydown of toasted sesame and cedar sounds incredible. I really enjoyed this reveiw!

    I live in the USA.

  • “Spice chest thrown open”!!! I’m already craving this new fragrance. I own several from Liquides Imaginaires and absolutely Love every single one. USA

  • Very beautiful review! Thank you, Robert!
    Especially I intrigued by this part: “Desert Suave is a full-blown sand dune bodice-ripper romance novel of a perfume; it is over-the-top sensual and sexy”.
    I like Liquides Imaginaires perfumes- for example Dom Rose.
    US

  • I love the quote by Azra T. I really enjoyed this review! Thank you for sharing it, and thank you for the generous draw.

  • ‘The scent of a sin waiting to happen’….what a fabulous description. I’d love to try this…my favorite type of perfume; an experience! I am in the US.

  • Thank you Robert for this amazing description. The comparing this perfume with Lawrence of Arabia intrigued me. I like spicy floriental perfumes, so have a chance to love this perfume.
    USA

  • BostonScentGuy says:

    Love how it’s referred to as a full blown bodice ripper! Also it sounds unctuous, oily, and thick…in a pleasing way if that makes sense! I am inexperienced with this brand and I’d love to try this one. I’m in the US. Thanks for the draw!

  • doowtnehpets says:

    Sounds like quite the fragrance. He makes it sound like the sexiest fragrance ever, but I’ll have to judge for myself. I live in Albuquerque NM USA.

  • Wow, this fragrance sounds heavenly. Robert’s description couldn’t be more evocative and mouth-watering! “A sin waiting to happen..” Yum, I would really love to give this fragrance a try! 🙂 Thank you for the draw. I live in Canada.

  • The fragrances sound so seductive and naught… would love to see how it performs. I live in California USA!

  • Robert’s review enticed me to need to sniff Desert Suave. I love his description of a bodice-ripper romance novel perfume and it slinks out of the bottle and over your arm like a serpent. That is the perfume that I love to wear! Mandarin, orange blossom, cardamom, and buttery floral notes are for me. I live in Colorado, US.

  • I have been yearning to try this one since I first heard about it. The Arabian desert is my dream location. Robert’s description of the bedouin tent made me swoon. He’s made me want to try Desert Suave even more (plus I am a fan of . Bisch’s work.) I would love to win this generous draw, thank you. I live in the US.

  • This is one of those reviews that you read and need to get a cold drink afterward. 😉 Cardamom and clove being two of my favorite spices, it sounds to be warm and inviting, a fantasy waiting to happen. Liquides Imaginaires is a house I’ve not yet explored, interesting offerings and I love the look of their packaging. I live in the US and thank you for this chance.

  • I love the notes in this one, sounds like a great one to wear during these cold months. Thanks for the draw! I’m in Canada.

  • An enticing review. It definitely peaked my interest. Please include me in the drawing. I reside in the US. Cheers!

  • Gorgeous review! I would love to try Desert Suave. I’m in the US and thank you for the draw.

  • A sin waiting to happen. Can I borrow this line for the title of my memoirs? Cardamom in fragrance is just so sexy! I love the image of the robes, especially when they are redolent of sweat and camels. I think I need this fragrance in my life. I have heard that this house’s Peau de Bete is another hardcore sex fantasy in a bottle. respect to this house.
    I live in the USA.

  • Robert, I just wanted to stop by and say your review is beautiful, reads like poetry. The whole fantasy inside a tent, image; I love it! Thanks for creating another must try for me. 🙂

  • “This is the fragrance of a sin waiting to happen.” Spicy orientals are my favorite and clove is a note that I adore. The review is so persuasive that I want to try this right now. Thanks for the draw and thanks for a wonderful review. I’m in the USA

  • Robert’s lovely description of the scent’s development is great – you can experience it while reading. This is a very tempting fragrance and one that I would love to try. Thank you so much. I’m in US.

  • Thanks for another great review, Robert! I love this description- ‘The scent of Liquides Imaginaires Desert Suave slinks out of the bottle and over your arm like a serpent from the Garden Of Eden. This is the fragrance of a sin waiting to happen.’ The scent sounds so sensual. I hope I get to smell this. Thanks for this opportunity. – California, USA

  • Monica Beaton says:

    Intriguing review Robert and Michelyn. I find the cedar note often sharp and hard to wear, but the spice of Desert Suave makes it sound sexy and something I could wear. I know a little bit about Liquides Imaginaires and many have to track a sample of this down to try. I’ve only just discovered the beauty of cardamon in fragrance…I’m curious. I live in Australia.

  • Valentino sheik territory made me laugh, thank you for the draw, in the us. Sounds lovely with spices, always my favorite!

  • The spices and especially the cardamom in this one make me think of a lovely Indian desert. I would be thrilled to try it, especially now in the middle of the cold winter. I am in the US.

  • Sensual and sexy romance novel inside a bedouin tent? Perfum slinking over arm like a serpent? Sin waitin to happen? Mmmm. I like it!
    I live in the EU.

  • This is the second fragrance that I’ve come across that has a sesame note, which intrigues me. Because sesame oil can smell awesome and yet skunk like. I guess this re-creates what Robert’s describes as “camel and horse” scent. Having worked for the circus the description conjures all types of scent memories. California, USA

  • My hands are so full with intention to touch this scent…
    The notes sound wonderful, and all the vision make me feel sensuous already…
    Thank you, I live in the Europe (EU)