SULEKO
DJELEM

2013

PERFUMER
Cecile Zarokian

carnation
immortelle
clove
amber
hay

‘On a hot summer day, you are blinded by the sunlight. A smell of dry hay rises from the endless fields. This wild nature is very familiar to you. Carried on a breeze laden with spices you run to join the gypsies dancing. The sun warms you as the multi-coloured shawls shake to the sound of the music. Undulating bodies approach and recede; necklaces jangle to the rhythm of the music, the sensual, all-encompassing scent of amber echoing the peppery fragrance of carnations, with spicy notes of clove. Radiant, sensual, totally free, you let yourself go to the sound of the music, taking full advantage of the present moment. The violins take precedence over the guitar, the dark scent of the immortal spreads and only your mesmerising eyes appear behind your large colourful shawl.’ – Suleko

REVIEW

Djelem is one of the more intriguing fragrances that I’ve sampled in a while. I couldn’t place it and didn’t fall in love with it directly, but I also couldn’t ignore it. I wore it alongside Baba Yaga, which is a fragrance that I would wear more easily. Yet I think Djelem was my favorite of the two, solely because of how different it was.

Picture the sort of spiced fruitiness of YSL Tuxedo and make it very dense and syrupy. What I got from Djelem was an almost boozy, mulled-wine-esque fruitiness. I got hint of stewed pear, but also a lot of spices.

Not that it smells close overall, but perhaps because of the enigmatic immortelle note, this has an abstract, special kind of feeling that Ganymede has as well (Djelem is much more liquid to me and less contemporary).

Definitely a fragrance that I didn’t figure out while wearing it, but very interesting to try.