Sinan by Jean-Marc Sinan (1984)

I had a hard time finding much information on Sinan, a gorgeous spicy floral chypre. Like Alain Delon and Nico's doomed and beautiful son Ari, Sinan — the love-child of Coriandre and Paloma Picasso's Mon Parfum — must float in purgatory, its beauty the only solace for its obscurity.

Although it's not for everyone, Sinan has everything the adventurous chypre-lover would want: soul, depth, eroticism, and wearability with a whiff of the exotic.

Technically, perfumes in the Oriental category are amber-vanilla heavy and either spicy or sweet. Some spicy perfumes in the floral chypre category, however signify "Oriental" for me, if, to be Orientalist about it, we're talking "exotic" and evocative non-Western lands. The coriander, cardamom, patchouli, vetiver and moss in Sinan, shot through with angular green florals, is the olfactory equivalent of putting on a turquoise blue caftan and wearing big gold hoop earrings. (Think of brocaded silk, or LouLou de la Falaise during Yves Saint-Laurent's Orientalist phase.)

Top notes: Bergamot, green note, coriander, aldehydes, rosewood

Heart notes: Rose, geranium, lily of the valley, jasmine, orris, ylang-ylang, cardamom

Base notes: Patchouli, vetiver, amber, moss, musk, cistus

Sinan starts off green and herby (galbanum, rosewood, coriander and bergamot are lifted up by aldehydes), and its coriander, although prominent, is dosed with a lighter hand than it is in Coriandre. That funky, dusky herb note links to radiant and fresh florals whose verdant freshness is underlined but muffled at the same time by the intense note of coriander. Geranium's piquancy, lily of the valley's green facet, ylang-ylang's sharp sweetness are all lightly cloaked with the musty damp herbaceous blanket that is coriander.

I have so many questions about Sinan, though. First off, who the heck is Jean-Marc Sinan, and where did he go? Also, could that bottle, with the half moon top, be any hotter?

If anyone knows information on this Jean-Marc character, let me know. Until then, I will continue to sniff my wrists for a whiff of this beauty.

(If you're interested in my far-fetched Sinan/Ari metaphor, check out the trailer below for Nico Icon, a great documentary about the beautiful and self-destructive German femme fatale chanteuse.)

Comments

[dleep]

Do you have any idea where I can find this? I have been searching and can only find small decants. Thanks very much

[Perfumaniac]

There's always eBay: here's a listing for a vintage mini (.1 oz) that's never been opened and is in that gorgeous little bottle. Not cheap ($22), but a little goes a long way with this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/JEAN-MARC-SINAN-PURE-PERFUME-1oz-MINI-DISCONTINUED-/280534628019?pt=fragrance.

Good luck!

[ScentScelf]

I've been wondering what this one was like for a couple of years now...thanks for giving it life. Sounds like it has a lot of potential in terms of where my happy zones lie...except for the aldehydes...but probably worth a try, if the opportunity comes my way.

And for today's chuckle: Here's a listing for Sinan, appears to be the re-launch. If you've got $98,000 and some change, it's yours.

http://www.perfumecloset.com/product.php?productid=900

[Perfumaniac]

OK, ScentScelf, that was freaking hilarious. I took a screen shot lest it get corrected and people don't believe you. I think when they wrote "Lune Perfume #900" they meant "Loony Tunes Perfume #900." Some people might throw down 98K for Iris Gris. But Sinan? Reformulated?! Probably not. Thanks for the chuckle!

[Jonno]

Psst - that Lune is out of stock because I bought the last bottle for you as a surprise. Let me know if it was worth it, k?

[Perfumaniac]

Jonno, don't tease a girl, now! ;)

[robin]

I love Nico & own all her CDs! My favorite is Desertshore (which includes the haunting 'Ari's Song' sung by the young boy himself), but I also like The Marble Index for a couple amazing songs contained therein. Her later albums fail to move me, unfortunately. I own the Nico Icon documentary on VHS, it's pretty interesting.

I must keep my eye out for Sinan...I'm usually not a fan of heavy orientals but I really enjoy floral chypres. Strangely, I've been having major cravings for Poeme lately, which is a floral with a unique sweet-spiciness to it, almost like pumpkin pie spices; there's something very autumnal and gorgeous about it but it's incredibly strong so I must remember to apply sparingly when my mini arrives in the mail tomorrow. ;-)

[Perfumaniac]

Hey Robin, I was just thinking about Poeme (or was it Tresor?). So many perfumes I want to revisit that were contemporary for me and are becoming vintage. You should definitely try Sinan. I'd send you a sample, but all my paraphernalia's in New Orleans, and I'm in Orange County now. As for Nico, I love her. Her darker, later stuff is a bit hard for me to take, but I'll Be Your Mirror, All Tomorrow's Parties, I'm Not Saying, etc. My lord — I never get sick of her. And I love that her greatest regret wasn't that she became a hard-core junkie, but that she wasn't born a man! (Must've been the junk talking!) Poor Ari. Not sure why he popped into my head while I was sniffing Sinan, but I've been thinking about perfume in terms of music a lot, so bear with me as I make some far-fetched analogies!

[Cheryl]

Thanks for this. I saw it recently on ebay and wondered about it (cute bottle). It sounds pretty good! Oriental/chypre is my kind of perfume! Love "dusky" as as a characteristic.

[Perfumaniac]

Hi Cheryl. Coriander is probably not a note for everyone (somehow it is simultaneously piquant and dusky!), and it is prominent in Sinan. I really like unusual fragrances, though, and Sinan is interesting. Let us know if you end up trying it.

[Angela Cox]

http://monamourvintage.blogspot.com/
Have a look at this blog ,the designer is mentioned. It scared me by taking me back to 1972 and the first Roxy Music concert i went to when they were Avant-garde.

[Perfumaniac]

Hi Angela, What a cool blog! I couldn't find Jean-Marc, but I did find a lot of retro gypsy-hippie jewelry I want to blow money on. Thanks a lot! ;)

[Flora]

I always loved this back in the day, but I never bought it; where would I wear such a monumental perfume? Now that I am older and not afraid to wear this style of scent I regret that I never owned it, because it's very hard to find, and at auction it quickly goes above my price range.

[Perfumaniac]

Hi Flora. Monumental is a great way to describe Sinan. It's (relatively) easy to get little decants and minis of Sinan, but I see what you're saying about how expensive it is at auction. I saw a pristine bottle of the perfume concentration on eBay starting at (drumroll) $450! Wow!

[In Fragrante Delicto]

While there aren't any reviews on Sinan Lune, I just picked up the EDP and shockingly- it smells shockingly like the original Agent Provocateur on me, minus the longevity. Bought for $15 at one of the discounters, it's a more inexpensive alternative to AP.

[Perfumaniac]

First off, "In Fragrante Delicto" is an amazing name. Bravo. :) Secondly, $15 for Lune sounds better than $98,000! Now I'm curious about Lune, too, and need to sniff Agent Provocateur. So many perfumes, so little time...

[hellooooo eighties]

Just FYI, Gucci by Gucci smells identical to this.

[Perfumaniac]

Interesting, hellooooo eighties. (I just had to get the number of o's right.) I need to try it!

[Christine]

Jean Marc Sinan was my favorite perfume in the whole world. He is a French artist/architect who restored La Fontaine Centre of Contemporary Art in Bahrain. The Arabic influences probably explain the crescent moon on the lid of the perfume. Also, his love of deep, resinous rose fragrance is derived from Arabian perfumery, which uses prominant rose notes (even for men) coupled with woods such as sandlewood and oud. I truly love and miss this perfume. It was rich -- it smelled like money, no doubt due to its reliance on expensive damascones/damascenone components. Unfortunately, it did not keep well, and any old bottles will most likely be terribly "off" smelling, nothing like their former, glorious selves.

[Perfumaniac]

So glad you love it, too, Christine. Sometimes I see these available sealed, on eBay. Mine wasn't but it was still glorious...

[Scenthound]

Ah, bliss. I fell in love with Sinan back in the 1980's when it first appeared.
I was in Bloomingdales in NY when a sales person approached me and asked, " Would you like to smell the most heavenly perfume?" Heaven, indeed. I bought it on the spot.
For those that have never had the pleasure of wearing and smelling this perfume- simply memorable.
It came unto the scent horizon with fireworks and then poof, disappeared.
I found a parfumerie that sells it in Washington state, US. They sent me a sample however it read "Sina Live" whereas the one I had originally bought was simply called Sinan by Jean Marc Sinan".
I asked the sales woman about this and she stated tnat they re named it " Sinan Live" but is was the same scent as the original. I have also seen "Sinan Live" called " Sinan Lune."
Does anyone have info on this name discrepancy?
I must say too that the sample she sent me seemed " off" somehow- not as I recalled and I have a great sense of olfactory memory. The nose knows as they say.
I also question the above in that if it is no longer being produced and was made in the 1980's we are talking about scents that are almost 20 years old, would that not affect their original scent and composition?
Do note too that in my research I have come across a another perfume creator , Andre Sinan. Brothers? Naturally I have never smlled his creations.
Sigh, it seems that the heavenly ones leave us too soon.
Many thanks for any feedback or info.

[Thmathews]

I am desperate to find another bottle of Sinan. My husband bought it for me when we were first married in 1986. I have been getting it through secondary sources for years, but I can't find it now. Any leads will be appreciated.

[Perfumaniac]

eBay, people! If you don't mind paying a little extra, eBay is your friend. (Thmathews — I sent you a link.) Good luck!

[Kaye Lendermon]

Sinan by Jean Marc Sinan (about 1984) is my forever favorite fragrance. I can't find it anywhere. I think it has fallen off the face of the earth. Can you help me? If not, is there another Sinan fragrance that is close to Sinan?

[Thmathews]

Hey, there. Just got my order of Sinan from eBay. I'm in heaven. I'll never use eBay again (it was a nightmare), but am so happy to have the fragrance. And so is my husband! :-)