Qom Chilom
Stéphane Humbert Lucas (2014)

Perhaps I had a bad sample; I got the barest amounts of cherry! I got more camphor, than anything, for the first half an hour. I got occasional wafts of iris, a little heliotrope. The middle towards, the back end became all dusty, old wood. Very faint patchouli then poof! Nothing. It was all over in 1 and a 1/2 hours. Disappointing.

Boy oh boy, this is a scent full of back story and purpose! Qom Chilom is meant to pay homage to what I've known as "hookahs" (water pipes) in the US: Fancy contraptions that give users a taste of fancy flavored tobaccos, originating in the Middle East. I haven't used a hookah, but I am familiar with the typical smells that "hookah bars" tend to dole out all over the area!

Qom Chillom has a lot going on in it, as Stéphane Humbert Lucas had intended. It is supposed to tell the story of a typical hookah experience that cements so many communities in the Middle East (specifically, to the city of Qom very near Tehran, Iran).

Here, I experience a sharp tangy cherry-raspberry opening (like the syrups that flavor tobacco used in hookahs) to a near-cough syrup vibe. Soon, the story moves to showcase the floral and starchy woody elements also common in hookah formulas in a stark, rubbery way. The ending of Qom Chillom leads to a more leather-musk finish, then a sweet almond and vanilla pairing which is supposed to recognize Persian sweets.

Performance-wise, the sillage is light moderate, and longevity is decent (not great). Qom Chillom seems to tell its olfactive story in bullet points and then subsides!

Still, a highly interesting, multi-faceted scent that is a pleasure to read about and even more so to experience! :-)