Category: Serge Lutens
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Point du Jour by Serge Lutens (2024)
Cleanliness is an interesting proposition in perfumery – against the usual impression of removing in order to make clean, a ‘clean scent’ must add – this is its unique and paradoxical logic – and is the manner in which all fragrances must operate. Point du Jour by Serge Lutens is…
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Cèdre by Serge Lutens (2005)
Cèdre by Serge Lutens (2005) It would be highly tempting to dismiss this scent directly off the cuff if you knew nothing about it other than its name, as some sort of outrageous trash with this semi-hairspray bubblegum style top note on opening. “This is supposed to be cèdre [cedar]!”,…
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On Rose: Six Roses to Know
Taste is not static! Would you believe that I once found rose fragrances unappealing? I can’t either. Rose is now one of my most highly worn notes, and I am captured by its ability of metamorphosis between compositions. Here are six rose fragrances (of the many other roses) that I frequent…
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On Vetiver: Vétiver Oriental by Serge Lutens
I have never actually liked vetiver-centric perfumes. This is a subjective fault I am happy to admit, and in fact, it is something that I should admit to. Readers would know that I place Malle’s Vetiver Extraordinaire, L’Artisan’s Timbuktu, and Chanel’s Sycomore in particularly high regard. Readers would also know that…
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Gris Clair by Serge Lutens
I cannot think of a fragrance that captures solitude and reflection more effectively than Gris Clair, altogether able to find itself quiet yet intense. It is indeed a scent of light grey, but in no way evoking a melancholic mood. Instead, it is the olfactory equivalent of isolated deep thought.…
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On Rose: The Soliflore – Sa Majesté la Rose by Serge Lutens
I have a deep respect for the soliflore, it’s more complex than it seems. From a constructed perspective, the soliflore requires careful and considered bolstering; a harmonious balance between simplicity and complexity. A fragrance with too many movements in its evolution loses its soliflore quality, transforming the singularly emphasised facet by…
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Cultural Juxtaposition: Bois de Violette by Serge Lutens
The result of clashing temperaments, Bois de Violette combines a melancholic Victorian floral with a phlegmatic oriental stewed wood and fruit accord. The high-waisted attitude of the melancholic Victorian floral focuses here on a single floral note of violet, with its ability to capture a mood of elegance and prim…
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Ambre Sultan by Serge Lutens
Amber as a perfume category is difficult to distinguish. Amber is one of those illusionary accords that expresses itself well in isolation. Take an amber with its spicy, herbal, sweet oscillations, bitter crunchiness and malted smoothness and you have a complexity done simply. An amber perfume is a perfume with a…
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Une Voix Noire by Serge Lutens
Our dark voice is heard. She rumbles. She roars. Une Voix Noir is a stretched take on the gardenia flower, as if taking its heady white purity then twisting it with an unfamiliar comfort unusual for this style. As a reference to ‘purity’, Chanel’s Gardenia sufficed, with an illusionary gardenia flower constructed from…
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Bois Oriental by Serge Lutens
Serge Lutens evokes spiritual demons. His perfume as art are recounts of tales magical; tales of his life and other’s lives both optimistic and tragic. Simple philosophies encapsulated in perfume. The tragedy of a female in La Fille de Berlin is shared unequivocally with many others. The tension of terror…
Olfactics 