Sayat Nova
Bortnikoff (2020)

Opens with apricot and a dry vanilla in a syrupy and thick but not overly sweet blend. Initially I don't get much rum which I had feared would ruin this for me. I'm not a huge fan of boozy notes in fragrance.

Curiously, for a fragrance containing 3 different ouds it isn't especially oudy. The oud bringing a definite woodiness but not much "oudiness." There is a tobacco vibe but no tobacco listed. Perhaps the narcissus contributes here along with the oud and vanilla?

The booziness does increase in the heart and the overall vibe becomes boozy and sweetish with an earthiness running through. Oakmoss is present in the base along with a woodiness from the ouds. I'd say this is quite masculine but who knows anymore?

The juice is very dark and would stain lighter colored clothing. I like it but it does smell like something else though I can't put my finger on what. Probably another Bortnikoff.

I bought a decant of Sayat Nova after all of the rave reviews when it first came out. I wanted to see if it was as good as some people were saying. Well...it wasn't something I cared for much at all when I first got my decant and I thought it smelled strange and medicinal.

In fact, I took to calling it Sayat "Novocaine" as it's fumes felt sort of like medical anesthesia when I wore it the first time. If I was doing this review at that time, I would have given it a thumbs down...but it's grown on me some.

I can wear it now and feel more like the apricot is a fermented apricot and not an apricot scented knock out gas, so I've come a long way with SN. Is it my favorite from Bortnikoff and Balkrishnan? No, definitely not my favorite, but it is unusual and intriguing and I've come to appreciate it more with time.

My first review.

I'm fairly new to the fragrance hobby. I buy random samples and decants periodically. The current pandemic has left me with a lot of time to receive packages at home and read blogs. And my collection has grown.

I also rarely buy bottles. I have maybe ten, and some I've owned for 20 years. I have a ton of samples though.

I just bought Sayat Nova.

It's one of the strangest and most compelling things I have smelled. I'm not even 100% sure if it smells good, I just can't stop sniffing it.

It opens with a strong, slightly sour and fairly quickly fleeting blast of apricot. A dry vanilla is also prominent throughout. The drydown happens fairly quick and is extremely long lasting: natural smelling oud and a powdery smell (I presume from the oakmoss).

This isn't a sweet smell. It's very dry . . . I think? The vanilla is the smell of dried vanilla pods, not ice cream. The vanilla, at least on my skin, is so prominent however, it gives the impression of sweetness.

Like if you've ever tasted a milk stout ale (dark beer with lactose added), where it tastes like beer but a part of your brain goes "MILKY!" because it's so used to associating the lactose with milk? That's what this vanilla does. It's a dry, powdery, woody smell that tricks your brain into thinking it's a gourmand.

I love it.