Bas de soie 2010

Bas de soie by Serge Lutens
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6.9 / 10 227 Ratings
A perfume by Serge Lutens for women and men, released in 2010. The scent is floral-powdery. It is still in production.
Pronunciation
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Main accords

Floral
Powdery
Green
Woody
Fresh

Fragrance Notes

HyacinthHyacinth IrisIris

Perfumers

Ratings
Scent
6.9227 Ratings
Longevity
7.4171 Ratings
Sillage
6.4158 Ratings
Bottle
7.8153 Ratings
Value for money
7.718 Ratings
Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 10.04.2024.

Reviews

10 in-depth fragrance descriptions
5
Bottle
5
Sillage
10
Longevity
10
Scent
ChapeauClack

16 Reviews
ChapeauClack
ChapeauClack
Helpful Review 14  
Nostalgic and Carnal
Wearing Bas de Soie is a case study in nostalgia, carnality and whatever unique subconscious connections may exist between the two in a given person's mind.
Emotions aside, this is a smooth green floral with a dominant powdery iris note of utmost quality. Except, it is absolutely impossible to keep emotions aside while wearing it.
The green and floral notes are woven into a delicate web of leaves, grass blades, rose petals, violets, hyacinths and irises. This accord, comprising the surface of Bas de Soie, reads from a distance as a perfectly clean, powdery floral, slightly reminiscent of makeup and utterly feminine. But below these tangled flowers and out of plain sight, hide the sweet little nestlings with a floury, fuzzy, funky smell all of their own. Once I notice those little birds playing hide and seek among the foliage and blossoms, it's quite impossible to stop thinking of them, and I keep sniffing my wrist just to make sure that eventually they find their way home and are snugly tucked in that floral nest of theirs.
And then there are the silk stockings. But not just any silk stockings. This is the scent of the stockings my grandmother kept for decades hidden away in the darkest corner of that bottomless abyss that her wardrobe was to the six-year old me, along with the fabulous 50's crepe de chine cinched waist dresses, her wedding corsage from the same era, and the scary snake like coil of a chignon allegedly made out of her own virginal braid that she had cut off before her wedding night. Those stockings smelled of floral soap bars that perfumed the wardrobe, a little bit of dust and melancholy of time passing by, but most amazingly they still held on to the vibrantly sensual aroma of a young woman's flesh.
And so it is. Ever so feminine and constantly alternating between the strange, the carnal and the intensely nostalgic, this fragrance is like a living, breathing woman, perfect on the outside, torn up by emotions inside.
2 Comments
jtd

484 Reviews
jtd
jtd
Very helpful Review 8  
a chord of paper, metal and flowers
The strategy of seeding the recognizable with just enough menace to haunt without causing panic is a classic approach in perfumery. The indole enhances the cleanliness of the white floral. A bit of civet cuts amber’s sweetness and gives it some shadow. In Bas de Soie, the iris doesn’t start with much of a carrot seed note, but it winds up there and takes on a bit of that gorgeous papery iris scent in Chanel 19 (edt especially.) The hyacinth starts pretty, grows more muscular, and then actually gives a hint of the metallic seaport of Secretions Magnifique.

I don’t find BdS the simple, linear functional scent that others appear to deride. It is coherent, and although not as outré as some of the SL icons, it doesn’t hide its seamy side.
2 Comments
10
Bottle
5
Sillage
7.5
Longevity
7
Scent
MemoryOScent

37 Reviews
MemoryOScent
MemoryOScent
10  
silk fetish
Bas de Soie is one of the latest controversial Serge Lutens releases. They have been controversial because they mark a an incredible departure from the dark oriental style of the house. Or, according to others because they are linear and uninspired. Bas de Soie was referred to as a conventional take on iris, more conventional than Iris Silver Mist anyway. I recently bought a bottle of this from a friend so this is my take on this rather controversial release.

It opens with a powdery but not sweet iris note. Actually it is part powdery, part lipstick-y, part doughy, very close to the iris note in Chanel No19. Very quickly a sour dimension is added to iris bringing to mind Iris Bleu Gris or Infusion d’Homme. I love this sour iris note because it doesn’t feel as clean and detached as iris usually does. It is happy and a little dirty in a green way. Floral elements become apparent, a note that smells like chrysanthemums (the same ingredient used in De Profundis?) and a cheerful hyacinth note. All this happens very quickly. It takes about twenty minutes to observe the powdery iris turn into a green floral. No darkness hidden in the corners of the composition. And this is when things start to become… interesting. What is this that I smell? Is it really what I think it is? The nuclear fallout of Secretions Magnifiques? Can Serge Lutens be playing with radioactive material? Apparently he can. After the top and mid development that prepares for a floral, slightly creamy composition, a steel knife cuts through the silky woven web of feminine notes and starts to peak through. But it doesn’t stop. It slashes the comfortable flowers and powder with a disturbing force. Very quickly I am forced to forget the comfort of the opening and have to face the reality of the threatening raw egg white note that has made Secretions Magnifiques a legend. Here the volume is turned down and I never get to the point of having a gag reflex but it certainly isn’t comforting. In modern day and age I do not how many people remember what a clean laundry hanging on the line, drying under the sun light smells like. No heavy detergents, no musky fabric softeners. It smells like this. A smell that is definitely clean but is too close to egg whites for comfort. It dominates the drydown, changes the focus completely and makes me feel like an idiot because apparently I have been looking the wrong way.

Bas de Soie above all is an ironic scent. Like many of Serge Lutens fragrances it manages to tell a story. Not one of his usual stories from his trips to the Orient. This is a sex story. The story of young woman preparing for her hot date with someone she recently met. She is excited, thinking about what will happen later that night. She does her best to look her best. She puts her make up on, scented powder, lipstick. She sprays a playful but not innocent floral perfume. She chooses an elegant not-too-short black dress and she slips on a pair of magnificent silk stockings, the eponymous “bas de soie”. They are joy to touch and be touched by. The night is electrified. Everything is going according to plan and the two end up in steamy foreplay. He is particularly appreciative of her legs which makes her very happy because they are her crown jewels. He delicately takes off her stockings and then all his attention is absorbed by the black, airy ribbons of silk.

Despite the notes the composition is not feminine because it is completely devoid of any hints of sweetness (I always thank Serge Lutens for making dry florals) but it is definitely a very individual scent. People smelling it on me have mostly loved it, except the ones that have been exposed to Secretions Magnifiques and its smell has been etched forever in their minds.
10 Comments
5
Bottle
8
Sillage
7
Longevity
6
Scent
Gold

541 Reviews
Gold
Gold
Helpful Review 4  
A conventional silk stocking
A very conventional, yet pleasant scent. When the first onslaught of green iris notes is over, the heart is quite smooth, but not very "interesting" in terms of "innovative or creative" potential. The name "Silk Stocking" seems appropriate, since it is a smooth scent, very much like a discreet fragrant veil. "Bas de Soie" reminds me of Chanel No. 19 and the recent No. 19 Poudré, but the legendary No. 19 is more interesting and daring in spite of its cold, harsh aura.
"Bas de Soie" sits right between "Poudré" and the original No. 19. It's worth trying if you're into green iris-fragrances, but it is not 100% convincing.
0 Comments
8
Bottle
2.5
Sillage
2.5
Longevity
9
Scent
Fanny

66 Reviews
Fanny
Fanny
5  
Bas de soie
Aloof and dignified.
A pale flower that is unapproachable and lives for itself.
The opening briefly reminds me of some of the classic chypre flower scents, but BdS has almost no colour which I actually like.
An abstract canvas in black and white, like a Mondrian, clean and perfect.

Sillage: extremely minimal
Silkyness: extremely soft
Longevity: one hour
0 Comments
More reviews

Statements

5 short views on the fragrance
EnaccordEnaccord 3 months ago
9
Bottle
8
Sillage
8
Longevity
8.5
Scent
Dependent of temperature changes. In winter it smells like dusty iris, while in summer reveals a thorny metallic scent.
0 Comments
HolscentbarHolscentbar 13 days ago
8
Scent
Opening in which I don't really understand what I feel, then it magically opens into a gorgeous, airy and calming floral
0 Comments
PallidusPallidus 2 years ago
8
Bottle
9
Sillage
10
Longevity
9.5
Scent
Hyacinth, frozen iris & dusty galbanum cuts like a metallic razor the air around me, while enveloping me in a superb green dry halo.
0 Comments
DanushDanush 5 years ago
A forest creek next to a hyacinth and iris covered meadow. One of my favorite spring scents.
0 Comments
TruckladyTrucklady 5 years ago
7
Bottle
7
Sillage
8
Longevity
10
Scent
Indigo; that is the colour of Bas de Soie. Zhivago's Lara wore this during that time in the cottage, when he penned the poem to her.
0 Comments

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