serge lutens: 63 posts

Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Serge Lutens L’Eau baffled me. A friend urged me to read the marketing information, saying it somehow helped him to understand L’Eau. “..these ruptures are at a given moment absolutely necessary if I don’t want to collapse, fall — if you will — in a cliché of myself and finish dying of boredom…” (WWD, 2/19/2010) Basically, if I want Serge Lutens to continue his dark mysterious tales, I need to put up with something different from time to time. Fair enough! Many of the previous Serge Lutens lite offerings have actually been quite interesting—the wholesome sparkle of Fleurs de Citronnier, the delicate opalescence of Gris Clair, the luminosity of the modern white musks in Clair de Musc. The main issue I have with L’Eau is not that it is a clean floral, but that it is not particularly interesting or original as a fragrance in this genre.

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Although many Serge Lutens fragrances are based on a similar oriental accord of balsamic amber, violet and pale woods, I cannot resist yet another new interpretation of Lutens’ trademark exoticism. Five O’Clock Au Gingembre fashions the darkness of amber and patchouli into a piquant morsel by building the composition around the classical gourmand notes—chocolate, honey, vanilla and sweet spices. In any other hands this would have resulted in tooth numbing sweetness, but perfumer Christopher Sheldrake (who created most of the Lutens fragrances) manages to strike a balance between oriental amber fantasy and gourmand richness. Dark and rich, Five O’Clock Au Gingembre nevertheless remains effervescent from top to bottom.

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Original (Shiseido Féminité du Bois):

Reformulation:

Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

When Shiseido Féminité du Bois was launched in 1992, its strong core of cedarwood (a traditionally masculine note) was truly avant-garde. It presented a break with tradition and a new vision for feminine fragrances. These days, feminine scents based around a strong accord of woods are more common in the niche category but also in the mainstream launches.  It is telling that Estée Lauder Sensuous, the first pillar brand release since Beyond Paradise, chose to take the rich fruity-woody character of Féminité du Bois as its starting point. Recently, Féminité du Bois was relaunched under the Serge Lutens brand, and once I got a hold of two versions, the original and the new, I decided to compare them.

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Star rating: 5 stars–outstanding/potential classic, 4 stars–very good, 3 stars–adequate, 2 stars–disappointing, 1 star–poor.

Pretty, classical, romantic… Un Lys is somewhat of a wallflower next to the quintessentially dark and cerebral Serge Lutens blooms like dramatic Tubéreuse Criminelle, voluptuous Fleurs d’Oranger, animalic jasmine of Sarrasins, or even dusky Bois de Violette. Yet, what Un Lys lacks in drama, it more than makes up by its bright, uplifting character. It is a fragrance I reach for when it has been raining too long or when I crave a waltz, for Un Lys is truly the olfactive equivalent of Strauss’s Blue Danube, given its radiance and romantic elegance!

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A few years ago, I attended a dance performance that was a mixed bill of classical and modern. After the audience was treated to two long modern pieces, in which dancing was somehow secondary to scenery, it let out a collective sign of pleasure and relief,when the curtain rose to reveal a classical ballet set. This incident illustrates my feelings about the latest launch from Serge Lutens. Having been uninspired by Nuit de Cellophane, bored by L’Eau and mildly interested in Bas de Soie, I find Boxeuses a welcome return of Lutens’ seductive, romantic and smoldering Oriental muse.

A woody-leathery composition, Boxeuses (which means “boxer” in French) will strike a chord in an ardent Lutens lover, especially those of us who yearn for Lutensian darkness and its tendency to perplex. The dominant element of Boxeuses is leather, which is set against a dark woody accord. Before the full richness of the leather drydown unfolds, the prelude of ambery-leathery and unctuous castoreum as well as incense-smoky labdanum sets the stage. Moreover, the contrast with sweet and floral notes allows one to experience the beautiful richness of smoky leather, crafted along the lines of Russian leather, which combines the birch tar smokiness and the animalic aggressiveness of isobutyl quinoline (classical leather aroma-material.)

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