I have a problem with chilly notes in perfume, I can’t tell you why, it is, like it is. For me a perfume is something very sensual and even a well-done Cologne can be sensual, in a way. I am a woman and I want to feel like a woman. Maybe for a man, but my boyfriend didn’t seem to be very impressed of L’Eau Froide although he is mad about incense scents.

L’Eau Froide gives me the same effect I’ve already had with Craft by Andrea Maack, M/Mink by Byredo and the whole Blood Concept line. Chilly metallic notes make me feel sick.

To give you a short impression of what’s inside the bottle nevertheless: L’Eau Froide is a variation on a theme. While L’Eau was a burst of Ambroxan and smelled very clean and synthetic, L’Eau Froide is L’Eau plus incense and an aquatic accord. Crisp with a mint note and yes, maybe comparable to smoking a menthol cigarette outside in the snow. It’s chilly, but for me it isn’t inherently consistent. The mixture of incense with aquatic notes is really strange.

I am not a cold-blooded creature, that’s for sure. And I prefer the warm, woody, spicy or sunny incense scents like Ouarzazate by Comme des Garçons or Louanges Profanes by Parfumerie Générale.

L’Eau Froide will be on sale world-wide in March. At the Palais Royal in Paris it is already available.

Please tell me if you disagree! How do you like chilly scents? And on which occasion do you wear them?

Category: unisex

Perfumer: Christopher Sheldrake

Year: 2011

Notes: lavender, aquatic accord, musk, vetiver, mint, Somalian incense

www.sergelutens.com

Photo: Nirrimi Hakanson

I was lurking about the purple vial for weeks. Several friends of mine, who came to my house, fell in love with it, but De Profundis (From the depths) hasn’t touched my soul.

Chrysanthemum flower calling. I don’t refrain the Baudelaire and Oscar Wilde inspiration, much has been written before. This strange flower sits on a musky base like an accusation. It seems as if it is telling me “Why don’t you love me?“ – “I don’t know, because you look like poison and I love life.“

How many times did I dab a little bit of De Profundis on the back of my hand to retry the fragrance. Deep under the surface I smell warm skin, but the chord of funeral flowers is too heavy and smells quite synthetic. De Profundis is sweet but too sharp at the same time. The musky base isn’t bad but too clean for being seductive. Overall very artificial, too much aldehydes, very artsyfartsy. After one hour De Profundis remains very close to the skin, later on it fades out quietly. The passing bell.

No, we will never be lovers. And now my friends can come to steal the prey.

Have you already tried De Profundis? Do you like it?

De Profundis is from the Paris exclusive range and only available at Les Salons du Palais Royal or via the website of Serge Lutens.

Category: unisex

Year: 2011

Perfumer: Christopher Sheldrake

Notes: chrysanthemum, dahlia, violet, green and woody notes

www.sergelutens.com

Woohoo it’s getting cold outside. Summer is definitely over in this part of the world. During the last days I have been looking around the perfume counters to get new inspirations. Here are my personal recommendations for the autumn perfume wardrobe.

Tell me your likes and dislikes for the colder season. What do we need? Amber, vanilla, leather, woods, pipe tobacco and everything that makes us feel comfy. Or do you try to escape with more summery scents? Anything you want to recommend?

Montale: Blue Amber
An overwhelmingly warm and powdery amber scent with vanilla and patchouli. My absolute autumn darling amber. Stunning!

Nez à Nez: Marron Chic
A wonderfully powdery iris perfume that gravitates into the direction of a gourmand scent but instead morphs into something leathery. Adorable and very close to the skin. It’s like a calm winter Infusion d’Iris. Iris roots covered with cocoa powder – chic, not too sweet, brilliant!

Dior: Dior Homme
Justice… an iris scent for the boys, because iris on men’s skin is so gorgeous! For me Dior Homme is one of the best men’s perfumes you can find beyond niche perfumery. Sparkling bergamot, powdery iris and a woody base, love it. Simple and chic. You haven’t seen the short movie Un rendez-vous with Jude Law for Dior Homme? You should!

Technique Indiscrète: Délivre Moi
Délivre Moi (Rescue me) is a beguiling, musky honey scent with a calming aura, a suede note and a very cool vintage twist. It feels like being covered with warm beeswax – delish. No wonder, that singer Mika bought the entire stock of Délivre Moi at the Jovoy boutique in Paris last week. Relax, there will be fresh supply for you!

April Aromatics: Bohemian Spice
Bohemian Spice, which was part of the Summer of Patchouli Love 2011 contest, is like a cat, cuddling with you. The warm, woody and earthy formula with a special vanilla chord and soft benzoin is better than a cashmere blanket. The fact that it is all-natural makes it even better. Nathan Branch described it as “a layer cake of citrus, incense and spice accords slathered in a thick patchouli cream.“ That’s it.

Comme des Garçons: Kyoto
Because you need at least one incense scent for the cold season and Kyoto is the one. A very moderate incense with a wonderful cedar note. Sophisticated and simply amazing. I love this stuff, it’s my favorite incense perfume for men. Intoxicating.

Atelier Cologne: Vanille Incensée
Incense bathing in creamy vanilla. The drydown is powdery and very sensual. I found this very alluring. Impressed.

L’Artisan Parfumeur: Tea for Two
If it’s not vanilla for you, maybe you like some chai tea flavor? Tea for Two is a dry, leathery, spicy and warm companion for the dark season. It smells a little bit like Dzing! diluted with tea. No wonder, both perfumes are created by the same perfumer, Olivia Giacobetti!

Serge Lutens: Chergui
I prefer the older Serge Lutens fragrances and Chergui is my personal favorite. I like to contrast the cold autumn storms outside with a warm desert wind from Morocco – the Chergui. This scent is a spicy, leathery, honeyed, musky, elegant, warm oriental with notes of pipe tobacco and sandalwood – all we need for underneath our trench now.

Oscar de la Renta: Esprit d’Oscar
Press the autumn escape button. Esprit d’Oscar was a real surprise for me, I tested it by accident and found it lovely from the start. The lemony opening and the soft heliotrope in combination with the allure of the white florals makes it a really wonderful feminine scent for the daytime. The kind of cosy baby-powder-almond-flour scent (typically for heliotrope) you need to have in your perfume wardrobe to feel comfortable when the weather is getting nasty.

Photo: via stoleninspiration

I don’t know what happened to Monsieur Lutens but I feel that something has changed. I’ve first noticed it with Bas de Soie. The perfumes are getting more floral, transparent, less oriental, less spicy. They feel more and more French, loosing its Moroccan or let’s say oriental background.

Vitriol d’oeillet (Vitriol of Carnation) is very clean and light. A scent around carnation seasoned with different kinds of pepper, nutmeg and clove, but the spices are reduced to a minimum. They reveal a licorice effect which turns into a slightly powdery, minimalistic musky base. Is there some violet in it? Seems so. When I first heard about it, I thought it would turn out rather oriental, but it is very French in a way, elegant, comparable to Bas de Soie, but less sharp and less intense. A very clear and kind of simple scent, which I can imagine for the early morning. It feels like a quiet garden when the sun has not yet fully risen, neither are the flowers in full bloom. I associate a sophisticated French businesswoman on her way to the next meeting. Very B.C.B.G. (bon chic bon genre), a French term meaning good style, good attitude.

To be honest, it is not the kind of perfume I would wear. I feel too young and too passionate for this scent. After half an hour it has nearly disappeared and you can only feel an idea of a perfume on your skin.

Category: women

Perfumer: Christopher Sheldrake

Year: 2011

Notes: carnation, clove, cayenne, black pepper, pink pepper, nutmeg

www.sergelutens.com

Memories are part of our life. The perfume Jeux de peau (‘Skin games’) reflects a childhood memory of Serge Lutens: his “golden point“ on his way back from school, to the bakery, which is allegorized by the golden color of the perfume. It was little Serge’s daily duty to buy bread for the family and entering the bakery was always a magic moment with all the delicious smells that came out of the bakehouse. Jeux de peau is a tribute to this recollection.

I’ve waited impatiently for this new release because I had heard that it would be about buttered toast. My favorite food as a child was buttered toast. I did not need anything else, warm toast, butter and a little bit of salt. I was really addicted to this taste. But, Jeux de peau is more about pastry with an oriental undertone than about bread. So, if there is no more bread: Let them eat cake!

In the opening you will find a cereal accord that some of you might already know from Lann-Ael by Lostmarch. Buttered cookies with a slightly salty note. There is also a hidden flower which I could not figure out at first: it’s osmanthus, a yellow-golden flower that is known for it’s smell of dried fruits. And indeed you get dried apricots, blended with licorice, spices and sandalwood. Which kind of spices did Serge Lutens use? To me it smells like cardamom, slightly ethereal, and pepper. And there is a tiny little bit of coconut hidden in the pastry. To include coconut without producing something cheesy, that’s high art. Yosh has managed it with Ginger Ciao and of course Tom Ford with Black Orchid. The woody notes bring some grounding into the scent and I think that also men are going to love it. Women are going to love it on men, definitely.

Jeux de peau is a warm gourmand scent that turns you into a state of well-being. Absolutely wearable with a good staying power.

Category: unisex

Perfumer: Christopher Sheldrake

Year: 2010

Notes: cereals, butter, vanilla, osmanthus, licorice, spices, dried apricots, sandalwood, coconut

www.sergelutens.com