Hi there Posse! La Vierge de Fer isn’t one of the revered Serge Lutens fragrances. Patty loathes it and March loves lily as a note. When it was released in 2013 the reviews were very mixed and I wasn’t looking for a lily, thinking it would be a sad, wet, soapy wash of nearly nothing. Also, I already had DKNY Gold, which I thought was going to be my lily for life. Amusingly, when I’ve put La Vierge de Fer up as my SOTD on the FB perfume pages, saying how much I enjoy it, there have been some VERY mixed responses. Most people saying I’m crazy and it’s crap. Maybe the newer productions are nicer, or maybe I am crazy.
La Vierge de Fer by Serge Lutens 2013
Parfumo gives these featured accords:
Lily, Mineral notes
Well, the note list is no bloody help at all. There definitely is a lily, plus some other white flowers and I feel like there is a very cleaned up tuberose hiding in here. There’s a freshly peeled cucumber skin, some room temperature watering a very thin spread of butter. Of mineral notes I find nothing, well not nothing but it feels like a very tiny part of the whole, more like petrichor than my idea of mineral.
Pretty is the word that keeps popping into my head. It also seems to be a theme that many cheap imitations have come after. A couple of them that come to mind are one of the Juicy Couture oeuvre and Paris Hilton Fairy Dust, I think there’s also a Tocca that does a very similar thing. Difference being Serge Lutens still manages to smell luxurious to me (I could easily have had my snob activated here).
A perfect summer spritz. Definitely leaning traditional femme but it smells very good, and unexpected, on the dudes as well. Longevity is surprisingly good and projection is low key.
Surrender To Chance has samples
So La Vierge de Fer? Lover or hater?
Portia xx
I’m not at all sure I know lily (yes, the flowers do make me sneeze)…but for the price of a Lutens, I don’t want a “nice enough” frag, nor a “blew my socks off” one. Just a “pulled my stockings off, one by one and kissed my tender pink toes.” I have been gardening so if you saw my toes just now you would laugh!
HA! Image will take a while to unsee Queen Cupcake. though I don’t know how you look my mind instantly went to it happening to me. HILARIOUS!
Portia x
Didn’t even know it existed! But I will say, for sheer OMGYOUSMELLAMAZING! few beat the original Juicy Couture. I gave it to my late sister, who wore it beautifully. On me it’s not quite so… beautiful. My go-to lily is Cartier’s Lys Rose – love the stamens out of that one. xoxoxo
OOOH! I never heard of Lys Rose! Sounds fab Musette.
Portia xx
I actually like it, but not as much as some other lilies. It is easy to wear, but I like my lily a little more dirty. But for cleaned up l ily days, you can’t really beat it.
Yeah, that sounds about right Patty but I loved that it was no great love for you v]back then.
Portia xx
I like this one, although I’m not a huge lily fan and I know it is regularly panned. It’s not my favourite Lutens but it is a lovely spring floral that I enjoy wearing, like Byredo La Tulipe. Nothing fancy or super fantastic but pleasant and cheerful. Sometimes that’s all you want.
Yes! So true TaraC,
My BFF wears La Tulipe to great effect. It seems much more definite on her than me.
Portia xx
Bailer Vole was my first Lily fragrance which I like to wear in hot weather and, like Tiara, Shanghai Lily immediately stole my heart! I do like and own several Lutens so will keep this one in mind.
Baiser Volé is another lily love of mine too JenniferS.
Portia xx
I want to try this one. I love Lily. I really like Yosh Han’s interpretation.
Hey Gina,
Why do I think I know the Yosh Han version? Can’t remember smelling it but must have.
Portia xx
Activated your snob….got a chuckle out of that! Was never a lily fan until I tried Shanghai Lily which I loved and immediately bought a full bottle. Thinking it had changed my mind about lily, I happily sampled away but discovered Shanghai was my one hit wonder. You do have me wondering about mineral as a note.
YAY! Glad to get a reaction for the snob aside Tiara.
Shanghai Lily is pretty special on my for about 20 minute but then it kind of implodes. Yeah, it’s me not the frag. 100%
Portia x
Lilies as flowers make me sneeze. One of the few that do. There used to be an awesome website which had listings of all the Serge perfumes with the notes (Serge Lutens: Nearly all the facts) which sadly appears to be gone now. In any case, anything mineral sounds interesting to me, but lily sort of nixes that. Would def try this if I was some place with testers.
All lillies Cinnamon? Total bummer!
Portia xx