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
