Serge Lutens Perfume Comprehensive Review

Serge Lutens perfumeSerge Lutens perfume has long been one of my favorite niche house perfumes.  Since they are one of the few that have been around a long time not yet sold to LVMH or Estee Lauder (yeah, I know Shiseido owns them, but they seem pretty benevolent and hands off).  In late November, I decided to wear some of my favorite Serge Lutens perfume, which led me to thinking – hey, I’m going to go through them all.  So I did, and here’s my notes after each day’s wearing.  

  • Nombre Noir (1982) – The Holy Grail, the first, the one.  I’ve tried it in parfum and EDT, and it is interesting – rich, complicated – but because of the age and fragility of this formula, it lasts almost not at all and is gone. Kafkaesque has a long explanation of why this perfume was so fragile and complicated.  Let us rejoice that the didn’t actually bulldoze all the bottles. It is a perfume unicorn, one that disintegrates as soon as you put it on, but it’s a great few minutes.
  • Santal de Mysore (1991) – I am not a sandalwood lover, but if I were, this would be my one and only.  Spiced, smoky, slightly cuminy sandalwood, making a sandalwood exception for this. Mysore sandalwood, spices, cumin, styrax balsam and “caramelized” Siamese benzoin
  • Bois de Violette (1992) – My first Serge Lutens perfume, and I clung to it so hard, and now I can’t remember the last time I wore it. Well, fixed that!  “Woody violet wrapped in candy” is how I described it in the comprehensive violet post. Cedarwood, violet leaf, candied plum, peach, orange blossom, rose, violet, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, musk, vanilla, honey.  This perfume was my first realization that dainty violet wasn’t that dainty.
  • Bois et Fruits (1992) – Confession, other than Bois et Violette, I’ve not spent much time with any of the other Boisees.  Woods, spice and candied fruits, there is a lot to love here.
  • Bois et Musc (1992) – Soft woody musc, the one you should try if you want to dip your toe in musc or the one when you need something very wearable from this line. Cedar, plum, fig, peach and apricot.
  • [pullquote]“Perfume is potentially a carrier for the imagination. Perfume is thick; it is poison and pure desire; it is eros in person.” Serge Lutens
    [/pullquote]Bois Oriental (1992) – Violet, peach, plum, rose, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, musk, Atlas cedarwood, and vanilla.  Besides Bois et Violette, it is one of my favorites of the boisees.  A more transparent oriental with a light touch of gourmand.
  • Rose de Nuit (1993) – Dirty, dirty rose, my favorite kind.
  • Iris Silver Mist (1994) – Rooty, pungent, and just when you think you are going to smell like a cellar, this incredible little spice note arrives.  One of my top five Serge Lutens perfumes. Iris, cedar, clove, vetiver, benzoin, incense, white amber, clove, galbanum, musk, Chinese spicebush.
  • Un Bois Sepia (1994) – I always think of this as having no real home or place in the line. Sandalwood, cypress, vetiver, patchouli, opoponax.  It’s just not terribly memorable.
  • La Myrrhe (1995) – This requires some patience, which I had forgotten before I put it on – the open is horrendously bad, which makes it all the better when it turns into the beauty it is.  There are a billion ways to describe it, but I think the best is to experience it.  Mandarin, myrrh, lotus, bitter almond, sandalwood, honey, jasmine, amber, musk, various spices, pimento
  • Encens et Lavande (1996) – Lavender and incense, what’s not to love?  I’m not a big lavender fan, but if I were to love a lavender, this would be the one.  Incense curls up the sharp, annoying edges of lavender normally making my teeth grind.
  • Cuir Mauresque (1996) – Mandarin peel, orange blossom, burnt styrax, incense, cinnamon, nutmeg, amber, myrrh, cumin, musk, cedar, and civet.  I forgot this is one leather I really do love. Warm and honeyed, this is so gorgeous and deserves its happy spot in the leather perfume pantheon. If you are afraid of leather, this is the place to start and stop – who needs to smell another one?
  • Un Lys (1997) – The grown up sister of A La Nuit.  This is more indolic, bigger, it expands and finds new places to lay down its lily tendrils over a smidge of vanilla.  I love this so hard, it is stunningly beautiful and a joy to wear.
  • Rahat Loukoum (1998) – My relationship with this Serge Lutens perfume is never smooth.  I love whiffing this straight from the bottle, then I put it on and it either smells amazing for a while with almondy goodness, or it sinks into a muddy mess.  I want that open and the way it smells in the bottle to last forever.  What is wrong with making something linear?!  Well, lots of things. I really want this one to be linear. White almond, crushed cherry pips, white honey, musk and vanilla.
  • Muscs Koublai Khan (1998) – Starts off like armpit.  If you’re new to this, just relax. I used to think that open was just awful and now I adore it.  MKK opened my mind a lot about smell and that it didn’t always smell pretty.  “It is the smell of humanity. Not the idealistic or beautiful part of it only, but the real part, the well-worn place of skin and sweat and memory and emotion.  I can do nothing but bury my nose in this scent and breathe in all the misery and joy of being human. ” Civet, castoreum, cistus labdanum, ambergris, Moroccan rose, cumin, ambrette seed (musk mallow), costus root and patchouli.
  • Tubereuse Criminelle (1999) – When I first heard of Serge Lutens Bell Jars that were impossible to get, this was the one it took forever to finally swap my way into a sample.  Those of you newer to niche perfumery have no idea what it used to take to lay your hands on the Serge non-exports. An amazing tuberose with all that mentholated goodness pumping it up into projectile-force tuberose. Tuberose, jasmine, orange blossom, hyacinth, nutmeg, clove, styrax, musk and vanilla
  • Arabie (2000) – The smell when I was meandering through a Marrakesh souk.  I mean, literally, that smell.  I refuse to spray this on my skin because it lasts forever. I can appreciate it for 10 minutes, but not 10 hours. Cedar, sandalwood, candied mandarin peel, dried figs, dates, cumin, nutmeg, clove, balsamic resins, tonka bean, Siamese benzoin and myrrh.
  • Ambre Sultan (2000) – Honeyed amber.  I called it the bellweather in my amber review, and it still is. Amber, rock rose, bay, myrtle, oregano leaves and musk.
  • Douce Amere (2000) – Difficult for sure.  Bitter and a little weird while also being warm and licorice.  I think of it as signature Lutens.  Just check around the internets for the love/hate reviews.  Cinnamon, artemisia absinthium, anise, lily, jasmine, tiare flower, tagette, cedar, musk
  • Sa Majeste la Rose (2000)  – Happy rose, not smutty like its older sister, Rose de Nuit.
  • A La Nuit (2000) – The perfect, graceful, indole-breathing lily.  This is one I rate highly as a pick for a wedding perfume.  It plays around smacks you in the face with indoles, but just give it some time, and you’ll sail through that beautiful skanky beginning and begin your love affair with skank.
  • Datura Noir (2001) – One that I ignored for years because I could never quite make up my mind how I felt about it, and I fall into the camp where this smells different on me every time I wear it.  Sometimes a lovely gourmand, sometimes a little bitter, sometimes confusing.  
  • Chergui (2001) – Vaguely remember finding this incredibly overwhelming in how much it projected when I first tried it a decade or so ago.  It really is warmed snuggliness.  How was I so wrong?  Honey, musk, incense, tobacco leaf, hay sugar, amber, iris, rose and sandalwood.
  • Santal Blanc (2001) – I got absolutely nothing here. Even searching for a review of this nets almost nothing.  It’s a softer, more restrained sandalwood, perfectly nice.  Just not very memorable, but not all fragrances must leave some indelible stamp on your soul to be worth having.  Yeah, I don’t believe that either, but some people do.
  • Clair de Musc (2003) – The perfect musc for those who don’t like musc.  
  • Fleurs d’Orangeur (2003) – Yummy orange blossom. This one is so well-behaved, with just a hint of naughty in it.  I think I’ve only written about it once when I did my Orange Blossom perfume post.  I know March has been in love with this forever, and this is my one and only earlier review, which I stand by – “fleshy, dense orange blossom, cumin’ed to within an inch of its moral limits just on the open. Hang with it, that cumin plumps the orange blossom up, the armpitty aspects cool off pretty quickly, and it becomes a spectacular, lush, sensuous orange blossom.”
  • Fumerie Turque (2003) – Smoky and amazing.  I hadn’t worn this one in a while, but I’m so glad I did this and wore it again.  Tobacco, leather, styrax, patchouli, rum, white honey, beeswax, currant, Tonka bean, vanilla, jasmine petals and Turkish rose.
  • Un Bois Vanille (2003) – My gateway vanilla. Up until this, my experience with vanilla was those really heavy ones everyone loved in the late ’90s and early 2000s.  Wretched, overpowering things. Not this, this is vanilla, but softer, it lets you relax into it instead of smothering you with a vanilla pillow.  I still love it.
  • Chêne (2004) – Another Serge Lutens perfume miss for me. Normally I’m all over anything with immortelle.  It was tough finding reviews on this just so you could get a positive opinion.  Oak-bark tannin, cedarwood crystals, birch, immortelle flowers, wood saps, Tonka bean, rum absolute, black thyme and beeswax
  • Fleurs de Citronnier (2004)  – Completely inoffensive and wearable lemon blossom tinged with tuberose and musk.
  • Daim Blond (2004) – First Serge Lutens I tried, I believe, and it went into my spreadsheet as “ohmyyy, this is challenging.”  Well, not anymore. It’s great, with a lovely spiced apricot patina over the suede.
  • Vetiver Oriental (2004) – I normally adore vetiver, I could wear it every day, but I just can’t find love for this Serge Lutens perfume, no matter how hard I try.   I don’t hate it, just don’t feel anything at all about it. Vetiver, Guaiac wood, chocolate, musk, amber, sandalwood, labdanum
  • Borneo 1834 (2005) – Hiding in the stacks of a very dusty library and eating semi-sweet chocolate chips.
  • Cedre (2005) – Cedre is on of the Serge Lutens perfumes that will never rank high, but on resmelling, I don’t hate it. There is too much going on somewhere in this for me to wear it.  March loves it because, well, someone has to.  Nope, not that bad, just busy.  Tuberose, cloves, cinnamon, amber, musk, and cedar
  • Miel de Bois (2005) –  Remembering thinking this was cat pee.  Honey has grown on me and not in a pee-like way.  This combined with Chergui is brilliant.  I need to pair this with a tea fragrance, it’s just gorgeous.  Tea for Two?  One of the Malone teas?
  • Gris Clair (2006) – Lavender with training wheels.  Actually, it’s great all on its own and is one of the few lavenders that I find easy to wear because I’m not spending all day thinking “yikes, lavender is following me around!”
  • Chypre Rouge (2006) – Seething hate for this.  Old joint review shows March and I were at opposite ends on this.  I do not remember saying it was tears and buttcrack, but – well, I’m sure I did. Something happens when Serge dumps pine in his perfumes that isn’t good. Pine, thyme, beeswax, moss, vanilla jasmine, honey, patchouli, amber and fruit gums
  • Mandarine Mandarin (2006) – Forgot I like love this one too! Kafkaesque has a beautiful long review that does it justice. Chinese orange, nutmeg, candied mandarin orange peel, Lapsong-Souchong smoky tea, rock rose, labdanum, Tonka bean and ambergris
  • Rousse (2007) – Pretty sure I was one of five perfume bloggers that liked Rousse when it was released – still do.  Spiced and warmed cinnamon baking. Mandarin, cinnamon, cloves, spices, floral & aromatic notes, fruit, cinnamon wood, precious woods, amber, musk and vanilla
  • Louve (2007) – Almond, rose petals, jasmine petals, musk and vanilla powder.  I weirdly kinda liked Louve more than anyone else I know.  March said this “Wearing Louve is like sitting at the bar, flirting with the bartender, while you drink a rum and Diet Coke and eat the whole tray of maraschino cherries from the bar mixers.  It’s probably not good for you, and you might regret it later, but who am I to spoil your fun?”  I refuse to be Louve-love-shamed.
  • Sarrasins (2007) – I forgot how much I love this monster jasmine. It’s everything I love my jasmine to be, with a lovely leathery base.
  • Five O’Clock Au Gingembre (2008) – My memory said I hated this – my own words said my memory is crap. Beautiful spiced, smoky tea. Bergamot, tea, cinnamon, candied ginger, honey, cacao bean, vanilla, gingerbread accord, patchouli, vetiver
  • El Attarine (2008) – Why can’t I remember anything about this? I try to remember something, then do a sniff to see if what was in my head matches what was in the bottle. Nothing, zip.  Cumin, cedar, apricots, musk.  It’s one of the skankier Serges on the open, but has a beautiful oriental drydown.
  • Serge Noire (2008) – Like a crazy boyfriend you loved once and can’t remember why. Then you run into him, now certain it was the right thing to forget why you loved him.  Cloves and sweat.  This is one Serge Lutens perfume that has some of the most extreme reactions in the perfume-review universe – an excellent hallmark of a well-made Serge perfume. I’m still laughing reading it – Kafkaesque had a round-up.  My fave – “It starts out like a punch in the face and a savage cauterizing of the ol’factory with several murderous spices. Then ATTACK OF THE CLOVES and suddenly your feet are raised high above your head as you are hoisted in the dental chair preparing for root canal treatment. This surely must be somebody’s idea of a practical joke.” Patchouli, cinnamon, amber and black woods
  • Feminite du Bois (2009) – Booting the original Shiseido Feminite du Bois over to the Serge Lutens perfume line.  I still love this amazing thing in both iterations.
  • Nuit de Cellophane (2009) – “for those of you wanting to find a nonfreak Serge scent you can wear …” from my original review.  Pretty and fresh. Okay, it is L’eau Osmanthus.
  • Fourreau Noir (2009) –  From my original review – “Think of it like this, it’s the Sonic Drive-in where Encens Et Lavande, Chergui and Fumerie Turque all show up, their brakes go out simultaneously, and they all wind up in an incredibly interesting jumble on the menu, something like:  ‘Lavender Pancake Syrup with Hookah.'” It’s a treatment of lavender unlike any other, making it creamy and smoked.  I had not worn this since I originally reviewed it, and I put it on, forgot about it, went back to smell it and fell in love.  Beautiful stuff, but there are more people that disagree with me and Kafkaesque than agree. Tonka bean, lavender, musk, almond and smoky accents and about 300 other notes not disclosed.
  • Fille en Aiguilles (2010) – My mind is unchanged from 2010 – ” just-cleaned-after-a-Friday-night truckstop bathroom, and not in a good way.”  March loved it as did everyone else in the world, so ignore me on this.  Pine needles, vetiver, sugary sap, laurel, fir balsam, frankincense, candied fruit and spice.  This is the one Serge where I stand completely alone in the “hate it” camp against the entire Perfume Blogging World.
  • L’Eau Serge Lutens (2010) – protesting its existence in the Serge Lutens perfume universe.
  • Boxeuses (2010) – Leather, licorice, birch tar, fruit, plum, violet, cedar, styrax, incense, spices, cade oil are the notes.  I like it more now than I did then.  Boxeuses is one of Serge’s “busy” perfumes where the open is hate and I wind up liked/loving it after it’s been on for 8 hours.  That’s no way to wear perfume.  
  • Bas de Soie (2010)  – Should have loved it, these are my notes – iris and hyacinth.  Thought I might, and then just no.  Not interesting, the point of view gets missed somehow.
  • Jeux de Peau (2011) – Serge Bake Shoppe sitting in the woods, and I love this one for a refined run through gourmand without the souk kitchen. Milk, coconut, licorice, osmanthus and apricot.

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  • De Profundis (2011) – This is one I’ve verbally slobbered over a lot.  I’d be embarrassed about it and should be, but nothing will change my mind on it – genius, haunting, out of the depths I cry.  Chrysanthemum, gladiolus, dahlia, chamomile, peony, woods, hay, violets, incense and candied fruit.  2016 was a hard year with my brother’s death, and this is what I wore to his funeral because it reminds me that every life matters even after it ends.  See?  I try to be brief on this, and it never happens.
  • Vitriol d’Oeillet (2011) – Carnation dressed in worn leather over a white lace thong and teddy, perched on stiletto leather booties and rides a Harley custom painted in bright pink is what I said back in 2011, and I stand by that.  
  • L’Eau Froide (2012) – FRESH!!!!  Sorry, I hate the l’eaus, still protesting their existence.
  • Santal Majuscule (2012) – Best part of this Serge exercise is re-finding some much-loved scents of his.  Already reviewed this and loved it.  Perfume crack, and I blame the cocoa, which is gorgeous in this.  Sandalwood, cocoa and rose.
  • Une Voix Noire (2013) – Dying gardenia in a glass, Lucky Strike loosely held between your fingers, staring at your glass of Scotch. Perfect.
  • La Fille de Berlin (2013) – Rose bushes dipped in sugared roses. This is big old-fashioned roses with a lovely little musk drydown.  Tom explains it best – “In MKK the musk is dialed up to 12 while the roses are a whisper. In FdB it’s the other way around, but the dry downs share DNA.”  Rose, violet, pink and black pepper, musk
  • La Vierge de Fer (2013) – I remembered nothing about this. Smelled it again, for a couple of seconds on the open I was thinking, wow, I kinda — oh, nooooo.  Now I remember why.  I haaaaaated it, still do, always will. Lily, jasmine, amber, vanilla and sandalwood.
  • Laine de Verre (2014) – from the awful mainstream line. I have no words to tell you how very much I hate this aldehydic musk nightmare.
  • L’Orpheline (2014) –  Almost threw this into the L’eau disgust protest, but no!  The orphan, of course it almost got tossed in where it didn’t belong. Angela has a great review on it. Contrasting between one thing and the other, taking a scary journey through a patchouli swamp and settling in green incense.  Aldehydes, woods, fougere, coumarin, clouds of ambergris, patchouli, incense and Cashmeran.
  • L’Incendiaire (2015) – Incense of my dreams, it is subtle and perfect in every way, except the price tag.  Geranium, carnation, woods and incense.
  • La Religieuse (2015) – Had a hard time making up my mind when I reviewed it before. Not much has changed.  It’s pretty and not all that conflicted. Jasmine, civet, musk, incense. 
  • Cracheuse de Flammes (2015) – Section d’Or that was not memorable.  Spicy incense rose.
  • Cannibale (2015) – A complicated, spiced rose that changes about 20 times during its long life.  Burning resins, flowers, rose, frankincense, cistus, woods and smoky notes
  • Sidi Bel-Abbès (2015) – Section D’or perfume with a great note list that ended in tears.  Tobacco, beeswax, vanilla, tropical flowers, red fruits, Russian leather, cumin, frankincense, amber, benzoin, resins and spicy fougere notes.  How can you have a note list like that and wind up with something ordinary for a few hundred bucks for 50 mls?
  • L’Haleine des Dieux (2015) – This one I did not have to smell it, but assume it falls in the same pile as the other Section d’Ors (except two).  Amber, leather, cistus, pine, musk, cashmeran, sage, vanilla.
  • Renard Constrictor (2015) – Nothing really wrong with the Section d’Or fragrances, but with the exception of l’Incendiare and Veilleur de Nuit, they aren’t that memorable.  Renard Constrictor is too generic for the price tag.  Gardenia, tuberose, orange blossom, jasmine, civet,  ambergris, musk.
  • L’Eau de Paille (2016) – It’s a L’eau!!!!  No, no, no, no review on this.
  • Baptême du feu (2016) – Lighter, less interesting Five O’clock Gingembre.  Gingerbread, powdery notes (some say gunpowder?) mandarin, castoreum, osmanthus, woody notes.
  • Veilleur de Nuit (2016) – One of two Section d’Ors that I loved.  I know this is ridiculously expensive, but I just don’t care. It’s one of the few chocolate scents that I love.  An elegant chocolate?  Yeah, exactly.  Rich, warm, it is the perfect chocolate.  And you know what? I DROPPED it when I went to resmell it.  I’ll be crying over that for more than a few months.  

Dear God, that was unbelievably long and hard, but a great time visting with some much-loved Serge Lutens perfume friends I forgot how much I loved.  Looking as a whole at the house, it was pretty incredible what a variety of masterpieces and controversial perfumes they have made.  The last few years have been tougher and less innovative, which I think is natural for a line that’s been around for a few modern decades.  What I found at the end, covered in so many of these each day, was just what a wonderful scented world Serge Lutens created.  It’s a perfume world building on itself with each new release.  

Favorite Serge Lutens perfume you’ve tried or the one you want to try you haven’t found yet?  I’ll draw from the commenters and you can pick the 10 Serge Samples you want to try (Section d’Ors, you can just pick one, and it will be tiny because they are ridiculously priced, and some of them I ony have a few drops).  Yeah, Merry Christmas!  (samples provided by STC for the review and for the drawing) I’m also doing a drawing over on Facebook  on the STC page for the same sample set, so you can enter both places to win!

Winners of the Sauf sample set – paigeW and Tandaina. Just click on Drop Us a Note at the top, send me an e-mail, remind me of what you won and get me your mailing address. I’ll send you a quick e-mail to let you know I got your e-mail and it didn’t land in a spam filter and then get it on the way to you.  I only check Posse e-mail like once a week, so it can take a few days sometimes to respond there.

  • Mrs. Honey says:

    I had a sample of Santal Blanc. It annoyed me when I put it on (pencil shavings) but several hours later I was smelling this beautiful smell and I could not figure out where it was coming from until I smelled my arm.

    I bought a bell jar of Chergui on the evilbay when I first got into perfume (circa 2006). I bought a bell jar of Miel de Bois when I was in Paris in 2011. I have a mini of Feminite du bois. One day I will own Five O’Clock au Gingembre and Fille en Aiguilles.

  • Tatiana says:

    Kicking myself for not being patient about the crowded boutique when I was in Paris a week and a half ago. Should have waited it out and gotten a bell jar of Santal Mysore. Sigh.

  • Nemo says:

    What a great collection of perfumes!! Thanks so much for this compilation, it brought back some great memories, and lots of things to try!

  • ELIZABETHC says:

    I hadn’t thought of wearing them together, but now I will definitely have to try :)!

  • Jaap Donker says:

    Thank you for listing them all. I visited the shop in Paris this year and smelled a few of the rare ones. I wish I could have pulled up a chair in that shop and spent an afternoon sniffing and re sniffing and re re re sniffing all the scents.The one that I liked instantly is enscense lavande. But didn’t buy anything to add to my favourites at home. (I was in an ”do I really need another perfume” mood) Which are Cuir Mauresque, Daim Blond, Serge Noir, Bois de Violettes, fleur de Citron and for an amusing scent ride Miel de bois. I dislike the “foody/curry” ones like santal blanc and arabie. Ambre Sultan is too linear for me. Amber that is screaming amber for 8 hours straight.

  • Ingeborg says:

    Thank you for this interesting post. I own Five O’clock au Gingebre and it is good for winter and I can eaven tolerate it on days with migraines.

    I think Daim Blond is going to be my next FB from this line, or possibly Fleurs d’Oranger. I don’t care for pine needle in my perfume (associate it with cleaning products) so no fan of Fille d’Aiguiles even if friends have praised it.

    • Patty says:

      Same on the pine, and us Serge pine haters have to stick together. I normally love pine, so hating it this much whenever he sticks it in a perfume is odd.

  • Bobbie says:

    Thank you Patty. Your insightful notes will benefit so many of us. I’ve wanted to do a Serge project for a while and you’ve inspired me to order samples and get started. Best holiday wishes!

  • Undina says:

    DNEM, I just want to say that it was an impressive job, I enjoyed reading the post.

    My favorite perfumes from the line… Boxeuses and De Profundis (my only two bell jars), but I also love and wear (regular bottles or decants) about 10 more perfumes.

    • Patty says:

      Thanks, Undina! I’m going to have another go at Boxeuses, it was just so, so big on me, I amplified it like crazy, but I wound up loving it way long into it. it seems like it should be the perfect fit for me, so I’m puzzled.

  • mkirk350 says:

    I am glad you wrote and posted this article (and have worn or tested all of the Serges). I know I’ll refer back to it again and again. I love many Serges, but have not tried them all. Right now I have on Fleurs d”Oranger – one of my favorites. Good, even in winter.

  • Rachel says:

    What an amazing resource to have all these reviews in one place (the re-sniffing must have taken ages since all the Lutens scents I’ve tried are very long-lasting). I really love ISM and Cuir Mauresque, neither of which I own (though I hope to someday!), and also Santal Majuscule. I think Encens at Lavande sounds so compelling and your description has also made me want to hunt down a sample of Mandarine Mandarin. Of the ones I’ve tried, the only one that hasn’t worked form me is Bas de Soie – in fact, it was my first ever scrubber!

    • Patty says:

      It wasn’t easy, that’s for sure. Some I know so well, I just did a quick resniff to make sure that what I thought I knew about it was remembered right. Mandarine Mandarin surprised me. I don’t know that I ever spent any time with it before, and it is truly beautiful and gets not enough love.

  • Clarochka says:

    Thank you for this great list. I found Miel de Boris extremely difficult and had to sell it to a better home. I am very fond of La fills de Berlin, Chergui, De Profundis, Santal Majuscule are all amazing. I have to try Rose de Nuit!!

    • Patty says:

      You are welcome! Miel is difficult for sure! You have some great ones you like, but Rose de Nuit is pretty special. This coming from a not rose-hater, but almost necer wear it in perfume, with the exception of like 3-4.

  • Jackie says:

    My fave winter scent is Ambre Sultan. I find it warm and cuddly, but friends remark that I’m badass in it. Whatever. I love it.

  • Musette says:

    Just popping in here to say WOW! You know, every time I forget what an amazing writer you are, you do something like this to remind me. And ….wow! Your understanding and commitment to fragrance is …….wow! Now I gotta go open up the Uncle Serge box and sample some of these. Daim Blond is probably my favorite of his line(s) followed by De Profundis.

    (and DNEM, of course – just wanted to say WOW!!!)

    xoxoxo

  • SHMW says:

    Hope not too late for the draw. I love having all these descriptions in one place but it makes me realise I had a few unsniffed ones mixed up…….. great descriptions, though the thought of the dentist one is too awful to contemplate.

  • Karen A says:

    Fun reviews, and thanks for the draw! La Fille has gotten me more compliments, so definitely right up there. And I lovelovelove Fille en Anguilles, but can see where it might not work for others. And Serge Noire on me wore like a gorgeous incense, got a sample with an order and was really nervous to try it, given reactions to it.

    • Patty says:

      Berlin is so pretty. I’m thinking I ignored it when it was released or just gave it a casual sniff, not being all about roses. LOL on Serge Noire, it makes me happy when I find a person that loves it. I think it’s a cool fragrance and it does not lack boldness!

  • Miriam says:

    Reading all of these reviews in one place was great! Brought me back to the heyday of MUA where I swapped for many samples and learned a lot.
    I have loved and hated many in this line and many more I have not tried or have sniffed once in the store and gone, eh, whatever.

    I love Vetiver Oriental and have worn it a lot. To me it is smooth and streamlined enough for office/ school/concentration but deep and interesting. Love mkk as well but it’s pretty much the opposite. Santal de Mysore is a very curried coconut ish sandalwood and I love it to bits! One of my all-time favorites, which is so scarce I hardly ever indulge.

    Miel de Bois is a weird one which I adored and impulse bought many years ago. After a while I got the pee comparison and felt weird about wearing. Ambre Sultan is like the perfect amber and not boring but somehow I became bored with it.

    Chergui is one I thought I’d love and got a partial of it as well, but no. I have been meaning to swap/ sell but can’t bring myself to. Maybe one day I’ll get it? Same with Jeux de Peau. Got a partial bottle for about 25 bucks thinking it would be a sure thing but no.

    So, Cannibals. I weirdly love it. Like I am mesmerized and don’t even know if I enjoy it but I need to smell it. I think the whole expensive line is silly though.

    I’d love to try the other santals, florals like FDC, and many of the newer ones! Please do count me in

    • Patty says:

      Loved the old MUA, that started my niche perfume love. I’m going to try Vetiver Oriental again, I keep thinking I’m not getting something in there.

  • katrin says:

    Thanks for the wonderful review and the draw! Actually, I quite like the Eau’s, and am considering getting one (perhaps the latest) so that I’d have a Lutens which I could spray with abandon. This is not something I could do with most of the other perfumes in the line! and I’ve been sort of missing that. I like or love most of them. There are still some that I have not tried (in bell jars mostly). My first real love is Gris Clair (which I prefer over slightly more masculine Encens et Lavande), and there are some on my wish list, such as Tubereuse Criminelle, Daim Blond, La Religieuse. Bas de Soie. The only Lutens that has left me completely indifferent was De Profundis, it’s very cold and aloof. But surprisingly, I loved MKK from the first sniff and El Attarine. So my Lutens wishlist is long…

    • Patty says:

      I apologize for my Eau hate. It’s my general dislike for anything that has that fresh smell. de Profundis is difficult or can be, and I think it either works for you or not. i can’t imagine it ever being a perfume that you’d eventually love after starting off hating it – it’s just not one of those at all.

  • Sheila says:

    All about the jungle-y tropical florals: Un Lys, A La Nuit & Tubereuse Criminelle, though I haven’t yet tried Fleurs d’Oranger. Impressed by your aromatic adventure – you’ve conquered all the peaks! I was introduced to these Serge Lutens fragrances on the old MUA by great noses (one in particular) who shared my passion for perfume and lament the demise of the swapping function on the site. It allowed people from all over the world to connect and educate each other, regardless of their differences, and helped the environment by allowing all of us to get rid of stuff we wouldn’t use and acquire stuff we WOULD.

    • Patty says:

      Love his big white florals. Loved the old MUA, and then it turned into something else that wasn’t much fun. A lot of the people on there back in its best days left. I haven’t read it in ages. the swapping page was great, but I quit swapping when I’d get so many messages a day from people who did not read what I was looking to swap for and would send massive lists of what they had to swap, none of which I even remotely wanted. It’s a hard thing to do, especially when a feature gets popular and then overrun by people who aren’t respectful. I still remember my TC hunt for a swap, there was some out there, but I’d carefully comb through what they were looking for to swap, and I finally bought something on the swap list just so i could swap for TC! Boy, was i susprised when I got it, that open was an eye opener.

  • Neva says:

    OMG I wasn’t aware there were so many of them! While I was reading your post, I wrote down a list of the ones I’d like to try, so my list is ready 😉
    I haven’t tried many but my favourite is Feminite du Bois and Santal Majuscule and I’d love to try De Profundis most of all.
    Thanks for the draw and merry Christmas!

    • Patty says:

      Isn’t it ridiculous? I made that comment about doing it, then went and gathered them all up and was just gobsmacked at how many. Then I cried a little, did the math thinking doing 3 a day should work. Of course I didn’t do 3 a day and had like 15 or so yet to do at the end. Santal Majuscule is so freaking gorgeous, isn’t it? FdB is one I love, but don’t wear that much. It falls in the very busy column. so does de Profundis, though, too, but only barely, and it’s just enough to keep me mesmerized all the time I’m wearing it without getting annoyed. Tough thing to manage.

  • Maya says:

    DNEM I just wanted you wish you a great holiday and a wonderful new year. This is a great post. Sadly, I have tried 9+ Serge Luten perfumes and do not like a single one. I actually hate Jeux de Peau. So I am sticking to the lines I like and sampling new ones. I have found some great likes and new loves, so it’s all good. 🙂

    • Patty says:

      Hey, happy holidays to you too! Knowing a thing you do not like is helpful. If a line doesn’t work, it just doesn’t, and it’s best to not waste your time/money.

  • Libby E-Z says:

    i’m looking for the perfect fleur d’oranger, and thinking maybe it’s Serge’s?

    • Patty says:

      It could be! I have an orange blossom post, if you haven’t read that. it should be over on the side in the archives somewhere.

  • ELizabethC says:

    Thank you for the drawing. I love, love, love Serge Lutens. His Un Bois Vanille is what started my perfume obsession 🙂 I am also lucky enough to have a bell jar of La Myrrhe!

  • Rincoglionita says:

    Wow, what a great giveaway–thank you! I have a FB of Feminite du Bois and lots of decants and samples. I think my favorite of all is Fumerie Turque, with Ambre Sultan very close behind.

  • malsnano86 says:

    Oh Lord, Oncle Serge. I think at this point, there is no reason to enter me as I’ve tried most of these except the most recent releases. Serge has a pretty poor record of success with me. Out of the 42 I’ve tried, I enjoyed 14 of them, but in a “ehh, I guess I’d wear that if I didn’t have to pay for it” sort of way. (Surprisingly, I like Serge Noire. I know, I’m crazy, but I kinda dig that IcyHot vibe.) I absolutely hated and despised 19 of them, including Fleurs de Citronnier, GASP HOW SHOCKING but really it smells like toilet cleaner on me. I don’t like Chergui, I don’t like Bas de Soie, I really hate Fille en Aiguilles.

    And I love only one: La Myrrhe. Which makes me cry, it’s so beautiful.

    • malsnano86 says:

      Forgot to mention, thanks for doing the rundown for us, Miz P. What a fun read!

    • Patty says:

      I would be pretty sure you had! Really Serge Noire? I’m trying to think of anyone that loved it. I thought in theory it was amazing – there was not one person smelling it that didn’t react to it strongly, which is saying a lot for a perfume. I could almost see myself wearing it, but it was so strong.

      La Myrrhe is beautiful.

  • grizzlesnort says:

    Few full bottles of anything but Ambre Sultan is one of them. Please enter me in your draw. Thanks for this great review. I will refer to it if I win!

  • Jirish says:

    Can’t believe I still haven’t tried Iris Silver Mist. Must remedy that. Chergui and Cuir Mauresque were my first Lutens, later joined by Fille en Auigille and La Fille de Berlin.

  • solanace says:

    Chergui is my dope. Thank you for the draw and happy hollidays, Patty!

  • Alison says:

    Wow, I’ve smelled most of them and my favorites are Tuberose Criminelle, Daim Blond, and Fleurs de Citronnier. I also must check out this Kafkaesque blog! Please enter in drawing.

    • Patty says:

      Kafkaesque has a great blog with really in-depth reviews. I always learn something — well, lots of things. It’s my pick any time I want to know something more about a perfume.

  • Olivia says:

    I’ve only tried Louve. Oh my gosh, I didn’t realize he was so prolific in his creations.

    • Olivia says:

      Oh, and thank you for the chance!

    • Patty says:

      Really? Did you like it or were you one of everyone else that hates Louve? 🙂 Yeah, Serge has been busy. When I first ran into him back in like 2005? There were just the main ones, and then he has added at least two a year since then, sometimes more. I was surprised, too, when I realized there were over 70 in the line.

  • Rosemary says:

    This was a wonderful review, thanks for the time and effort, Patty! The only one I’ve tried is Iris Silver Mist, and although I preferred the iris in Hermes Hiris, Silver Mist did help me identify iris as a note I enjoy. After reading this review, there are definitely a bunch that pique my interest, L’Incendiaire and de Profundis near the top. Thanks again for the review and the drawing!

    • Patty says:

      ISM is more difficult than Hiris, which I also love. I still remember a weekend I spent with my sister in NYC. I checked into the hotel first, unpacked, then had things to do. She got there while I was gone, went in the bathroom, grabbed my decant of ISM and sprayed it in the bathroom as a… room spray!!! That was back when it was so hard to get. The bathroom smelled amazing the whole trip, though. I’d love to hear what you think about some of those once you’ve tried them.

  • Queen Cupcake says:

    Patty, your notes represent a ton of work! So, thanks for doing it. It is great to see them all on one page. I think I only have one SL: Un Bois Vanille, and I would love to win this draw, if only to ask for the weirdest ones so I can compare my notes with yours. Best wishes!

    • Patty says:

      Ha! I love Serge’s weirdest stuff. It was a lot of work, but a joy to revisit the entire line like that. I’m thinking of doing it with Malle for the same reason. Blessedly he doesn’t have quite as many perfumes.

  • SharShar says:

    Thanks for this! Great fun to read. I’ve tried a small smattering of Serges (1 ml samples. I have to stop doing that, it’s spray or go home for me). I keep coming back to 5 o’clock Gingembre and Chergui. Mmm, warm perfume hugs. But my absolute favorite thus far, surprisingly, is the oft maligned Miel de Bois. Honey is wonderful, and it’s easy to find a pleasant, straight-forward honey in just about any line…But a challenging, unusual reminder that honey is a gift of the animal kingdom and does not just spontaneously appear in plastic bear containers? A true tribute to bees. Miel de Bois is the entry that convinced me that I need to try every Serge I can get my hands on. A long road ahead of me, but hey, maybe I can skip the l’Eaus and the Section d’Overpriced.

    • Patty says:

      Yup, you can skip both of those. I know they have some fans, and I do love two of the overpriced d’ors (sadly). Miel took a long time for me to love, but when I did, it was incredibly fun to finally get it. Enjoy the journey!

  • BostonScentGuy says:

    Loved reading this little journey; I myself like to take a little tour of a house over the period of a week or few days or something…I particularly enjoy this with the precious bell jars I do have! My favorite Lutens is probably still my first bell jar–Fumerie Turque. Such a glorious scent, but it is tied with Chergui and Borneo, because I find it a bit easier to wear those. Fumerie smells perfect, but unfortunately gives me a huge headache–the only scent that really does that to me–unless I wear it with extreme caution (i.e. *very* lightly)–definitely a cruel bit of irony. Thanks for this review and drawing!

    • Patty says:

      Ah, glad you enjoyed it. FT is one I love, but I don’t wear it often, maybe that’s why. It never feels like me at all. Borneo even less so. I think that’s the thing with a lot of Serge, I love a lot, but they wind up wearing me because it’s a terrible fit and it bugs me because that’s all I smell all day.. But I love that this line has been like that. Even better, wearing so many of them at one time while I was doing this made the sum of them better than about anything I’ve done like that.

  • Janice says:

    This is a great roundup, and now I want to go back and revisit some of these, and track down some of the ones I’ve never tried. For what it’s worth, I completely agree with your description of Fille en Aiguilles. I own a few from this line but I think my favorite is Douce Amere.

    • Patty says:

      I feel better about the Fille. Forever and ever it seemed like everyone was in love with that… thing. It’s one of the few times I thought something was just wrong with me to not get the love for it.

  • filomena813 says:

    Thank you for doing this! I pretty much agree with you on most–especially the ones that I own.

  • Michelle Little says:

    I’ve never tried a Serge Lutens and there are so many amazing choices! I go for the heavy, animalic with amazing florals so that would help me narrow down choices. Thanks for this review Patty!

  • Eldarwen22 says:

    I have tried a few Serge Lutens offerings. My favorites are Iris Silver Mist, Sarrasins, De Profundis, Rose de Nuit.

  • Brooke says:

    What a wonderful giveaway! My hands down fave is Datura Noir, a friend told me that that it was “very me” and she’s not wrong! Please enter me, I would love to sniff some of the more challenging of the bunch. Thanks!

  • Audrey says:

    I still love Un bois Vanilla but would love to try the violette. Thank you for the chance. Amazing article.

  • Christine says:

    I had a sample of Un Lys given to me generously about 8ish years ago. Went through it and am probably going to buy a full bottle soon. (After water proofing the basement and the holidays because ouch!) but man – that was some lovely stuff.

    Thank you for this generous giveaway!

    • Patty says:

      Un Lys is perfect and I keep thinking it is one of my Top Five Serges, pretty sure it is, hoping it wouldn’t be edged out by something else. All of you wearing it today have convinces me I should too.

  • Philip says:

    I have tried Chergui and liked it. I like Sandalwood so the Santal de Mysore sounds interesting. To try many samples would be wonderful.

  • Morrigan says:

    Wow, what a giveaway! I’ve tried a handful of SL, my favourite is Fille de Berlin. It’s this perfume that single-handedly convinced I could love rose… and since then I’ve come to appreciate numerous other roses.

    • Patty says:

      Berlin is a really wonderful rose. I’m mostly rose-averse, with a few exceptions, as far as wearing them, but I love to smell them. Berlin is so retro great, though!

  • Kirsten says:

    Un Lys is my thing at the moment. Unbelievably perfect!

  • Laurels says:

    My favorite so far is Ambre Sultan. And I am with you on Fille en Aiguilles-I thought it was kind of interesting to smell from the decant, but unbearable to actually wear. Fir/pine notes just do not wear well on me.

    • Patty says:

      Aha, another Fille-hatah! The notes sounded so great, and I think there was a moment when it seemed like it would work, then that pine. Normally pine/fir are great for me, but the material they use gets all screechy in my nose and almost hurts me.

  • Connie says:

    Proud to say I’ve tried almost all of these except for the hoards of newer ones, which I can’t deal with. On the wish list are Rose de Nuit and MKK (I have De Profundis and Une Voix Noire). Would love to give Un Lys another try too.
    Serge is a great brand but unfortunately for me not as lovely now as it used to be.

  • rockinruby says:

    I’m surprised you find Douce Amere difficult; that one was always very easy for me. So many of the Serge scents that are staples for other people are difficult for me. But I found true love with Fumerie Turque, and I cheat a little on the side with Chergui. Once in a blue moon I might turn to Chene or Cuir Mauresque for comfort. The entire rest of the line have become vague memories at this point. I wonder if I should revisit them all as you have done, or if I should give them away.

    • Patty says:

      I think my difficulty with Douce Amere is in figuring out how I feel about it. It’s a puzzle I’ve never really solved in my head. I know, weird. There’s probably some to give away, I’ll bet, but revisiting to be sure was really helpful to me in deciding the ones I really loved.

  • Finanna says:

    Wow! I had to get another espresso to finish reading this post:) Not because it was boring, but I wanted to pay attention to each word of these wonderful descriptions. I wholeheartedly agree on most of them (l’eaux, Chypre Rouge, Cedre) but I am with the rest of the world on Fille en Aiguilles. Loved reading your description, though. Still need to sniff Veilleur de Nuit. Santa, can I get a trip to Paris (with a couple of nannies preferably)?

    • Patty says:

      LOL. 🙂 I feel so left out on Fille en Aiguilles. I wish I could get what everyone else gets, but it’s just so repulsive for me. I swear, it’s the pine note, it’s the thing I hate and can’t get past. I hope you get your trip to Paris with nannies!

  • What a great round up! The Serge Lutens fragrances fascinate me and I keep coming back to them but I haven’t found one that I love (yet). Un Lys came close as did Fumerie Turque. Thanks for the draw!

    • Patty says:

      Good luck on finding your Serge! Some of the ones I eventually loved were not that obvious to me when I first tried them. The line sometimes needs a bit of sit and think and re-try.

  • greennote2 says:

    There is so much in this line, there is something for everyone. Love Iris Silver Mist, Un Lys, Jeux de Peau (how different are all of those?). Not overly keen on MKK, Daim Blond. Tried quite a few, but still, so many… and which body part do I need to sell to get a bell jar? And they’re not even that big. But I shall love what I love and enjoy it. Happy holidays / Merry Christmas all.

    • Patty says:

      I know, it always surprises me how different they are, especially the ones I love and even the ones I hate. Other than the pine note he uses, that’s the only similarity I find in the ones I loathe. Bell jars actually are not that expensive if you get them in paris. I think like 140 Euroes maybe? Plus you get the detaxe if you spend over 200 euroes, and that’s lie 12% less. Euro right now is on par with the dollar. What annoys me is selling them here for $300 for a jar when they are half that in Paris. But they are the cutest bottles, I think, out there. Not great for application, you really need to decant into a spray bottle. But pretty!

  • furriner says:

    I love a lot of Serge scents. If I had to choose five, I guess they would be MKK, Miel de Bois, Mandarine Mandarin, Arabie, and Bornéo 1834. I’m not nuts about some favorites like Chergui and Daim Blond. Both Chypre Rouge and Filles en Aguilles smell like crayons to me. The only ones I actively dislike (and this includes the Eaux) are Ambre Sultan and Chypre Rouge.

    • furriner says:

      By the way, did you see that the Serge web site is selling the engraved bottles of De Profundis for only $870! http://us.sergelutens.com/purchase/exclusive-bottles/de-profundis-grave.html

      • Patty says:

        yes, i saw that, but I didn’t need to see it again. convincing myself that those gorgeous engraved Serge bottles are not worth the money is sometimes hard, except, well, I don’t have that kind of money to buy a pretty bottle! 🙂

    • Patty says:

      Great choices, except Arabie. 🙂 No, I know, I’m weird about Arabie, and it gets a lot of love. We do agree on CR and FeA – seething hate for both of them. No love for Ambre Sultan? Do you not like amber generally or just something about that one specifically?

      • furriner says:

        I’m not an amber fan, but especially hate Ambre Sultan, for some reason. It was maybe the first one I tried and it almost kept me away from the house.

        The only engraved bottles I might consider buying would be Mandarine-mandarin or Bornéo 1834. I don’t have that kind of money lying around either. Maybe if it was my only perfume purchase for the year!

  • sarahpatto says:

    Thank you Patty! Noble work. so many winners in this line… And they can’t be judged too quickly.

  • Sylvia says:

    Oooo I loved your post and read through everyone of your comments in one sitting! Thank you for writing such a comprehensive review. My husband bought me Santal Majuscule for my birthday and I adore it.I’d like to smell the other ones you loved!
    Merry Christmas to you!

  • lqtang says:

    I remember I really loved Daim Blond! I can’t find the little decant I had of it– think I’ve only worn it maybe twice? But I’ve also been obsessed with the idea of De Profundis (yay, Latin and medieval religion!) for a while now and definitely want to try it

    • Patty says:

      Same. the idea of de Profundis grabbed me long before I tried it, and the anticipation almost killed me. That it was more than I wanted was great. Daim blond is so cute, with all that apricotty leather.

  • crystesmom says:

    I cherish my tiny sample of De Profundus and hope to try many other SL’s someday. I am particularly interested in trying Boxeuses, as leathers are my first love. I also want to thank you for making this comprehensive review post of the Serge Lutens fragrances. I’m saving in every possible way for future reference. Thank you so much for this draw!

    • Patty says:

      de Profundis. Happy sigh. I wish I could suffer more through Boxeuses. It ultimately is so beautiful, but I hate it so much through the first four hours, and it’s stiiiiillll on my hand over a day later, despite many washings. Crazy persistent.

  • Tara C says:

    Great post, thank you!! My husband wears MKK and Fumerie Turque, I am partial to Sarrasins and Bois Oriental. Would love to sniff Veilleur de Nuit, hopefully this summer I’lll get the chance. The only one I absolutely hated was Serge Noire, total BO armpit dire stanky stench. Walked that sample straight out to the trash.

    • Patty says:

      That’s great your husband wears those two, he must smell amazing all the time. Serge Noire, OMG. I’m toying with the idea of letting my youngest son try it, he has interesting reactions to scents. His faves are Puredistance Black and Frapin L’humaniste. he hated Tom Ford Amber Absolute, so I’m guessing Serge Noire will be a gigantic, horrified no. Then I’ll let him read the reactions other people have had after I get his reaction. this sounds like a great idea for the christmas weekend. I’ll NEVER wear Serge Noire, but smelling it is like – well, like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. Everyone should smell it, it’s a perfume litmus test.

  • Spring-pansy says:

    Several that I like although I am not sure I’ve found MY Lutens yet. (Like very much: Chergui, Douce Amere, Un Lys, Un Bois Vanille, and sometimes even Tubey Crim. Please enter me in the draw!

    • Patty says:

      Finding The one in this line is work. I feel lucky I’ve got a lot of The Ones, but I’m drawn to weird and offbeat in perfume sometimes, so it’s a great fit.

  • Koyel says:

    This post is so impressive!!! Thanks for this, Patty; it’ll serve as a great reference. My favorite SL of the (apparently!) few I’ve tried is Féminité du Bois–a warm, spiced hug 🙂 I’d love to sniff Fumerie Turque. Thanks for the draw!

    • Patty says:

      FdB is gorgeous, and you could always just stop there and be happy, I promise. 🙂 But fumerie Turque is smoky and warm and so lovely.

  • HeidiC says:

    I commented on this over on the Facebook link — I’m so thrilled you went through with the 30 Days of SL! It was so fun to go back and revisit these — I bought the non-import sample set from STC a while ago, and have several samples of stateside-available ones. But I haven’t tried most of the recent ones, from about Fille de Berlin on, and none of the Section d’Or ones. I would love to own a bell jar or two — especially of Fumerie Turque! I wish I liked La Vierge de Fer — it’s the most badass bottle of the bunch, as is the name, but the scent does not measure up.

    Thank you so much for this compilation!

    • Patty says:

      I’m still recovering from how Serge’ed I was, especially yesterday as I was trying to finish up and found way more than three left on the list. the last couple of years have not been good. I think the Section d’Or was a mistake, other than doing maybe 1-2 of them on the high end. continuing the L’eau section was a mistake as well. Serge did weird and had a following because of that, and it’s like he got talked into some mainstream releases that were just awful. LVdF was screeching and horrible. I couldn’t even remember it when I put it on, and I thought it was a forgotten treasure for like a second and then ohnoohnoohnoooooo. Awful stuff, not sure what materials they put in there that made it as bad as it was. Luckily the line as so many redeeming scents that I’ll forgive them for the random stinkers.

  • Taxi says:

    Wonderful descriptions! I’ve tried only Nuit de Cellophane which seems to disappear immediately. I’ll have to try others.

    • Patty says:

      Yeah, Nuit de Cellophane seems like it should have gone in the L’eau line-up, it’s not very Serge-like. If you’re looking for something much more interesting, there’s a lot of great choices! I’m anxiously waiting for Neela Vermeire’s new Osmanthus perfume to release in the next week or so, Rahele. Love a great osmanthus.

  • Mocha says:

    Merry Christmas, Patty! Thank you for the fantastic retrospective. I am a big fan of the SL line and really appreciate seeing all these reviews in one list. I have tried a few SLs over the years and have a special spot in my heart for Un Bois Vanille and Santal Majuscule. Would love to try Mandarine Mandarin and De Profundis (by the way, so very sorry about your brother and I hope next year is much better for you).

    • Patty says:

      Merry Christmas to you as well! So have you tried UBV and SM together? I never thought of this until I saw them in your comment side by side. Hmmm. 🙂

      • Mocha says:

        Hi Patty. What a crazy yet brilliant idea, so of course I went ahead and tried it 🙂 You’d think that vanilla and cocoa would make for a perfect marriage, but nooo…. let me tell you, the sandalwood is amplified x10 and takes over the show. It’s like a sandalwood campfire with super crispy s’mores roasting somewhere in the background. Finally, in the power struggle between UBV (sprayed) and SM (dabbed), UBV emerged victorious from the campfire.

  • Caryn Spriggs says:

    Bas de Soie is what I am coincidentally wearing today and it my all-time favourite perfume (narrowly beating out a Balenciaga and a Chanel). Thank you for the review of all these … it is always a pleasure to read about Serge Lutens perfumes.

    • Patty says:

      Sorry about the Bas de Soie. i’m still astonished that it didn’t work for me, and I keep thinking I need to try it again in isolation from the others and for a longer period of time and maybe i’ll get it.

  • tiffanie says:

    Thank you for the exhaustive Serge round up. You’ve reminded me that I have Sarrasins on my jasmine must-try list. I hoped A la Nuit would be perfect but all I got was unwashed panties. I love lavender so Gris Clair (such a pretty name) is also on my list.

    • Patty says:

      Sarrasins is a great jasmine. So, listen, you sound like you think unwashed panties in a perfume is a bad thing? 🙂 It’s an acquired taste for sure, and i took a few years until i appreciated that level of smut in my perfumes.

  • Shelly says:

    Un Lys was NY gateway scent to Serge. I got it way back in the day when you could get decants on EBay. I forget what I had bid on, probably vintage Avon something or other, but it came with a small vial of Un Lys. Id never heard of Serge Lutens, but I was a goner. A few years after that I managed to save enough money to take a short trip to Paris and made a beeline for his salon with my hard earned money. I think I spent nearly an hour in there trying out every scent. I was in absolute heaven. I finally decided on two bell jars. One was Un Lys and the other was Rahout Lakoum. I’ve never regretted spending that money and I’ve never lost my love of his creations. ?

    • Patty says:

      LOL. This is alway show it starts. I can’t even remember how this happened to me. i think I was hunting for something, stumbled into MUA, which had a super-active perfume community and swapping board at that time, and started lusting for fragrances I’d never smelled, but read the descriptions. Un Lys is so gorgeous, I’m always stunned every time I smell it on how beautiful it is.

  • Diana says:

    Fumerie Torque, Rose de Nuit, MKK, Santal Majuscule and La Fille de Berlin are my favorites of what I’ve sampled from this line thus far. Haven’t tried anything released from 2014, onward, so would really love to have a sniff of those.

    • Patty says:

      You know, 2014 onward had a few problems, but I keep hoping that a company that came up with de Profundis and Une Voix Noire after not just a few meh releases has the ability to knock our socks off.

  • Fernando says:

    Nice survey! I own several of these, and your reviews reminded me of how good most of them are. And that I’ve got to grab me some Forreau Noire…

    • Patty says:

      I love that fourreau Noire, it’s just beautiful. Looking back more than a year on Serge reminds me of how great so many of his scents have been, so I’m willing to forgive most of the Section d’Or things.

  • Debbie Stahl says:

    I fell in love with Fleurs d’Orangeur and Ambre Sultan. And then went on to other fragrances. Your post has inspired me to discover more Serge Lutens!

    • Patty says:

      Those two are great, but he has some beautiful treasures in the line, and a great appeal to all tastes – hence some i loved and everyone hated and some everyone loved and I hated solitarily.

  • Jeanne says:

    Thank you for the interesting and very entertaining reviews. Merry Christmas.

  • GrandmaGaga says:

    Patty; loved your reviews, as usual….dry humor mixed with useful information! I believe the only Serge Lutens scent I have had the opportunity to try is Muscs Kublai Khan and it was so long ago, I can’t remember details. Would love to sample these…they all sound like ‘experiences’ I’d like to take part in.

    • Patty says:

      Get out!!! You need to try a few! MKK is such a beautiful skin scent. Serge was everything a few years back, but with more availability and about 7,000 more niche lines, it’s become one of many, but I have so many favorites in here. It’s really an amazing body of perfume work.

  • cynthia3403 says:

    Obviously I need to revisit some of these. And quite a few of these reviews are good for a chuckle!

  • Anna says:

    Wow, that is an amazing job, obviously a lot of work, so thank you. I have Sa Majeste la Rose and would like to try her dirty sister. I didn’t read the entire piece yet as it is too much to take in one shot.

    • Patty says:

      Yeah, I know. Somewhere halfway through this I realized how much it was, but it’s good to have it all in one place as a quick reference short review, right? 🙂

  • Christine says:

    Five O’clock au Gingembre is my go to scent. It’s probably…bigger than most of the occasions I wear it, but I love it unreservedly.

    • Patty says:

      I love that one, and I had forgotten how much until I went back to it. That’s the danger in smelling and loving way too many perfumes.