Samsara(1988)

Created by Jean-Paul Guerlain, Samsara opens on bergamot, green notes, and lemon, moves through a heart of jasmine, ylang-ylang, and iris, and closes on an overdosed sandalwood base with vanilla, tonka bean, and amber. Guerlain reportedly conceived the fragrance for his wife, drawing its name from the Buddhist and Hindu concept of the cycle of rebirth, and built it around an exceptionally generous quantity of Mysore sandalwood at a time when access to that material was becoming increasingly scarce. Samsara is widely regarded as one of the definitive sandalwood-jasmine orientals of the 20th century, remaining part of Guerlain's core catalog and frequently cited as a benchmark for warm, meditative, sandalwood-driven perfumery.