Chypre Rouge is the latest fragrance release from Serge Lutens, and happily for those of us in the United States, it is in the export line so you won’t have to jump through hoops to get your hands on it. It was created by perfumer Christopher Sheldrake, and the notes include thyme, pine needles, pecans, fruit gums, honey, beeswax, jasmine, patchouli, amber, vanilla, moss and musks.

Like so many other Serge Lutens compositions, Chypre Rouge starts with something like stewed spiced fruit, here underscored with pine needles, toasted nuts, and something that smells like a sweet dessert wine. It is both sweet and heavy, and while the notes list only thyme, the curry spices that so frequently appear in the Serge Lutens line are very much present in Chypre Rouge; if, as advertised, it “was inspired by Serge Lutens’s memories of fall in his native Vendée region of western France” (via osmoz), the memories would seem to be filtered through his more recent experiences in Marrakech…

Read the rest of this article »

Fleurs de Citronnier was launched in 2004 by Serge Lutens, who founded his eponymous line in Paris in 1992. The fragrance was created by perfumer Chris Sheldrake, and has notes of lemon tree blossoms and petitgrain, neroli, honey, tuberose, nutmeg, styrax, iris and musk.

Serge Lutens, alone among niche perfume houses, never disappoints me. It is not that I love all of the perfumes in the line (there are several that I cannot stand); nor is it because he is known for creating such eminently wearable fragrances (even some of my favorites, like Miel de Bois, can hardly be characterized as wearable). Rather, it is because the fragrances are almost without exception intriguing…

Read the rest of this article »