7
An Opulent White Floral
I love Serge Lutens. If I had to pick just 3 perfume houses for the rest of my life Serge Lutens would definitely be one of them (Guerlain & Hermes, would mostly be the other two). I've never worn a Serge Lutens I didn't like. This one is no different - I absolutely love it. It blows my mind everytime I wear it.
It starts off pretty intense with an intoxicatingly indolic Jasmine note slapping you in the face as soon as you spray it on. Definitely feels like Jasmine Sambac Absolute (at least tiny amounts of the natural, given that the current IFRA limit is a maximum of 0.25% in the concentrate) boosted with other Jasmine like aroma-chemicals(fruity Benzyl Acetate, Celery like cis-jasmone, waxy floral Hexyl cinnamaldehyde) and also a touch of Indole to really amp up the animalic raunchiness inherent in Jasmine sambac flowers.
Some Petitgrain, and Lemon peel to accentuate the green facets, with an intense citrus-y freshness - some Neroli oil dressed up with Orange crystals (powdery orange blossom note), Methyl Anthranilate (a very powerful tangerine accented orange blossom like note with lot of sweetness; commonly used for the quintessential fruity grape smell/taste in sodas, chewing gums, candy etc.) - to build that Orange Blossom heart.
A classical Muguet heart made with Florol (a creamy white floral note with a rosy tint) and Hydroxycitronellal (a very diffusive sweet, white floral note with green accents) and probably some other Muguet notes too - to give an overall smoothness & the massive floral elevation.
Tuberose = Benzyl Salicylate + Benzyl Benzoate + Methyl Anthranilate. Eugenol for some spiciness.
All this built on a very diffusive base of Iso E Super(cedary-vetiver/amber), Hedione (airy, fresh, jasmine-like) and a Musk accord built with a few different types of Musks - Ambrettolide (slightly fruity, Hibiscus/Ambrette seed-like facets), Musk-T(sweet, vanillic, diffusive) to aid the sillage & to introduce the muskiness right from the heart and probably traces of some powdery/animalic musk like Cosmone or Muscone.
This is how the current formulation feels when I wear it. Even without smelling the older formulations it seems quite obvious that this was a monster originally - probably with a lot of naturals, lot more raunch & definitely muskier in the base. The current formulation, with the black label, doesn't last too long on my skin (3-4 hrs tops on my skin/longer on fabric, with intense projection only in the first hour)- which doesn't seem to fit with the opening theme of this perfume or with the Lutens/Sheldrake style in general. I'd surely be looking for an older bottle of this - would be totally worth it. But whatever it is now is still very good.
If you love Jasmine and/or Orange Blossom then this is highly recommended. Absolutely glorious white floral, in the opulent Lutens/Sheldrake style. Masterpiece, really!
10/10
P.s: After spending a lot of time with aroma chemicals - smelling them repeatedly and building accords - this is how I read a perfume in my head these days. Once you get used to the various components it seems really difficult to miss them in a blend. Sometimes I don't understand anything in a blend though. But at other times I smell so many things that are not even mentioned in the pyramid. It's a beautiful feeling - the clarity to be able to distinguish individual components in a blend. I love perfume!
It starts off pretty intense with an intoxicatingly indolic Jasmine note slapping you in the face as soon as you spray it on. Definitely feels like Jasmine Sambac Absolute (at least tiny amounts of the natural, given that the current IFRA limit is a maximum of 0.25% in the concentrate) boosted with other Jasmine like aroma-chemicals(fruity Benzyl Acetate, Celery like cis-jasmone, waxy floral Hexyl cinnamaldehyde) and also a touch of Indole to really amp up the animalic raunchiness inherent in Jasmine sambac flowers.
Some Petitgrain, and Lemon peel to accentuate the green facets, with an intense citrus-y freshness - some Neroli oil dressed up with Orange crystals (powdery orange blossom note), Methyl Anthranilate (a very powerful tangerine accented orange blossom like note with lot of sweetness; commonly used for the quintessential fruity grape smell/taste in sodas, chewing gums, candy etc.) - to build that Orange Blossom heart.
A classical Muguet heart made with Florol (a creamy white floral note with a rosy tint) and Hydroxycitronellal (a very diffusive sweet, white floral note with green accents) and probably some other Muguet notes too - to give an overall smoothness & the massive floral elevation.
Tuberose = Benzyl Salicylate + Benzyl Benzoate + Methyl Anthranilate. Eugenol for some spiciness.
All this built on a very diffusive base of Iso E Super(cedary-vetiver/amber), Hedione (airy, fresh, jasmine-like) and a Musk accord built with a few different types of Musks - Ambrettolide (slightly fruity, Hibiscus/Ambrette seed-like facets), Musk-T(sweet, vanillic, diffusive) to aid the sillage & to introduce the muskiness right from the heart and probably traces of some powdery/animalic musk like Cosmone or Muscone.
This is how the current formulation feels when I wear it. Even without smelling the older formulations it seems quite obvious that this was a monster originally - probably with a lot of naturals, lot more raunch & definitely muskier in the base. The current formulation, with the black label, doesn't last too long on my skin (3-4 hrs tops on my skin/longer on fabric, with intense projection only in the first hour)- which doesn't seem to fit with the opening theme of this perfume or with the Lutens/Sheldrake style in general. I'd surely be looking for an older bottle of this - would be totally worth it. But whatever it is now is still very good.
If you love Jasmine and/or Orange Blossom then this is highly recommended. Absolutely glorious white floral, in the opulent Lutens/Sheldrake style. Masterpiece, really!
10/10
P.s: After spending a lot of time with aroma chemicals - smelling them repeatedly and building accords - this is how I read a perfume in my head these days. Once you get used to the various components it seems really difficult to miss them in a blend. Sometimes I don't understand anything in a blend though. But at other times I smell so many things that are not even mentioned in the pyramid. It's a beautiful feeling - the clarity to be able to distinguish individual components in a blend. I love perfume!
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RhythmnHues
