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! :-)

[Perfumaniac]

Wow, talk about good news and bad news! What happened with eBay?! You're happy with the perfume, though? That's all that matters!

[brigitte]

I had numerous samples of this one in the mid 80s and wore it often yet never purchased a full bottle, even though I loved it. At the time I thought it was an unusual scent. Hard to believe that it has become so scarce (and expensive!) given that the dept stores were quite eager to give away so many samples,which leads me to believe that it may not have been so popular in its time as it is now.

[Paul Petrakakis]

There was also a men's fragrance from the same company called V. O. ? Version Originale. It was the first men's fragrance I had ever seen marketed in both eau de toilette and eau de parfum forms and it was elegant and had a powdery finish. It suddenly disappeared from stores in the late 80's and I was told employees of the company "took off with all the money" and the company folded. Any Sinan or V. O. frangrance products currently being sold are over 20 years old. Oxygen is the most destructive thing for fragrances so if a bottle of fragrance has never been opened, it might still smell much as it did when manufactured. Light does not effect fragrance as much as some salespeople claim, nor the humidity of keeping fragrance in a bathroom-after all, fragrances all contain a bit of water along with fragrance oils and alcohol. But those mini size bottles of these fragrances are stopped with plastic plug type caps and as they can evaporate over time, I suspect some air, which of course contains oxygen, can get into the little bottles and oxidize the fragrance oils so the contents don't smell quite right any longer. I wish one of the large fragrance companies would buy the rights to Sinan and V.O. just as Estee Lauder did with the Lanvin classic, Arpege, a few years ago. I would love to be able to buy and wear freshly produced V. O. again. I still have a bit and when I wear it I get compliments from people who really know and appreciate good fragrance.

[Perfumaniac]

Thanks for this information, Paul. I dont know much about this line, besides this cultishly loved perfume, Sinan. Its the worst when things are discontinued! Id keep looking for it on eBay. It may take a while, but youll find it!

[Alexandre]

Sinan was a wonderful fragrance. But I bought it in 1986 at THE Saks Fifth Ave across the street from Rockefeller Plaze for my wife (then my fiance)because of the gorgeous bottle at first. Little did I know how wonderful it would smell. A couple of years later, I went back for another bottle for an anniversary gift, but it was no more and would never return. A decade later I approached the same sales woman that had suggested I buy it (I remembered her still) and asked her what ever happened to Sinan. She smiled and told me a funny yet sad story of fraud and bankruptcy and then a disappearing act on the part of Sinan and his people and how no one ever heard from them again once they vanished with thousands of unfilled back orders and their formula. The lady thanked me for reminding her of the elusive Sinan with its luscious bottle because it had been a while since the days when many more people would come around asking for the fragrance.

[Perfumaniac]

Alexandre,

Thank you for sharing your Sinan story! Most of the time, I hear women lamenting about not being able to find their favorite, discontinued scents, but I'm grateful to hear a man's side of the frustration. Welcome to our world!

The story of the disappearing perfumer and his formula sounds like the beginning of an intriguing book I should start writing! I could find nothing about Jean-Marc Sinan. He must know that so many women (myself included) love his perfume! And yes, the bottle is gorgeous.

You know you can still get Sinan. At the Miniature Perfume Shoppe http://miniatureperfumeshoppe.com/Search.aspx?k=sinan, and sometimes on eBay (usually for ridiculous prices on eBay, but you never know).

Thanks for the comment!

[Jody Joy]

Years ago I bought a large bottle of the Eau de Toilette from a perfumery in Washington, D.C. When I Googled the name "jean Marc Sinan" I found lots of online stores that carrie an eau de toilette that seems exactly the same. Is this back in production now? Does the Eau de Toilette smell similar to the perfume? It would be interesting to track down manufacturer information - is it the original formula, who is producing it now, etc. I never smelled the perfume, but fell in love with the eau de toilette but hesitate to buy without knowing more about the current production situation.

[Rebecca Barre]

I received a sample of Diane von Furstenberg's Diane from Sephora and could not figure out what it reminded me of. It took me all day but, it was from a perfume my mom has had in her bathroom since I was a small child called Sinan by Jean-Marc Sinan. I went home and went to her bathroom and there it stood next to the Opium, it was still in that black box as it had been for over 20 years. I assumed that the fragrance would have changed over 20 years but I believe the black box saved it. I sprayed Sinan on one wrist and Diane on the other and made my mom smell! We agreed that Diane is much more floral probably because of the frangipani and violet. Their similarities I guess are the musk, patchouli, rose, coriander and wait, I've learned a new word from this beautifully written blog - Chypre. Sinan is old world perfection enveloping the skin with its elegance that magically evolves over the day and to me, that's what a fragrance should do! It was quite wonderful to know that I'd smelled something similar to Diane before and to then recall what it was, and for it to still be there in its true form and essence! Diane could never compare, it's just that it reminded me of it. I love Sinan and I will continue to keep it dear to my heart, in its' black box with the ability to open it and spritz it. I can then reminisce about childhood, my beautiful loving mom and the idea that the world was mine and that I should take hold and run with it. Sinan is extraordinary to me.

[Mary A. Wilkowski]

I must admit that I, too, was bitten by the Sinan bug and have yet to recover. In the mid-1980s, the fragrance was available at Liberty House in Honolulu. It was frightfully expensive, but its quality ingredients were immediately apparent. When I exhausted my supply I was devastated to learn that--like so many have reported--it had simply disappeared. ...and thus I set out on a decades-old mission to find it. I noted that Sinan had changed its packaging, from the purple-boxed, ever-so-elegant moon-topped atomizer to a rather pedestrian bottle in a grey box bearing "Sinan" in bold letters. Same fragrance, in disappointing packaging. Last fall I began to notice that Sinan "Lune" was available on E-Bay, in the same type of 1990s packaging--albeit white lettering on beige--for virtually pennies. A quick perusal on basenotes.com and fragrantica.com confirmed that only two notes separate Sinan "Lune" from Sinan "Sinan." Hey, I'm game, right?! I was not to be disappointed. Lune is a great chypre in its own right. And, while I can't swear that the fragrance is identical to the Sinan we remember so fondly from the mid-80s, it certainly passes with great aplomb!

[Perfumaniac]

Hi Mary, I've never tried Lune, but you make a good case for it! Sinan minis and full bottles (the original, vintage stuff), is still available: at miniatureperfumeshoppe.com and eBay. If you really miss the scent, go get you some!

[saline mcguire]

the best there ever was. why do people start something good then change or discontenue. If it's not broken dont try to fix it.

sinan is the best.

[Perfumaniac]

I know, Saline. I wish they still made this. You can get it at miniatureperfumeshoppe.com in mini form if you really want to revisit it!

[Alison Cain]

Hi I have just come across a perfect bottle of this still in its original box. I haven't opened it and I don't think anyone else has either. I may have to put it on e bay but for what I don't know, it seems very popular!

[Donna Gainey]

Sian is my absolute favorite colonge. I haven't seen it in years. Would love to know if it can be purchaced any more.

[Merrie2341]

SINAN IS THE ULTINMATE IN FRAGRANCES......the most beautiful thing I have ever smelled and it only gets better on you. Dry exotic nothing fruity or sweet about this GEM. Why it disappeared I will NEVER know. Any one wearing this all of a sudden will be very special Believe me..

[Abigait]

Por favor quisiera comprar el perfume Sian by Jean-Marc de Sinan donde puedo encontrar?

[ROBERT SCHUMAN]

I HAVE MET WITH JEAN MARC SINAN WHEN THE FRAGRANCE WAS JUST REALLY HITTING THE MARKET. I VISITED HIM IN FRANCE WHEN THE ORIGINAL WAS INTRODUCED (BROWN BOXES) AND WHEN THE LINE WAS CHANGED TO THE BLACK BOXES AND THEN THE BEIGE BOXES. HE WAS A FASHION DESIGNER.
HIS BROTHER BROUGHT OUT A LINE AND I BELEIVE HE USED THE NAME SINAN ALSO BUT NOT SURE. I HAVE NOT SEEN EITHER JEAN MARC OR HIS BROTHER NOW FOR ABOUT 10 YEARS. I ALSO ALMOST TOOK OVER THE DISTRIBUTION WHEN I MET WITH HIM AND THE PROPOSED BOXES WHERE GOING TO BE CHANGED AGAIN TO WHITE. I HAVE SOME OF EACH OF THESE DIFFERENT PACKINGS INCLUDING THE WHITE BOXES IN MY COLLECTION.

[Ann Carter]

The contributions above have me wishing I knew all the Sinan fragrances. My passion is VO. I told my partner if he stopped wearing it, I would take it on. Sadly, it disappeared. We bought it from online sources until it became prohibitive. Now we're down to sample bottles. I'm going to try ScentMatchers. If it's good, I'll go back for Sinan.

[Lynette]

I worked for Mr. Jean marc sinan here in Bahrain way back 2004. His perfumes were amazing and one of a kind!

[Jose Merino]

Could you tell me if in America there some store where sell the V.O. Jean Marc Sinan perfume.

[Lin]

Lune is very, very close to the original Sinan. And the VO for men is something heavenly, great on a man or a woman.