Gris clair... Serge Lutens 2019

He's got something. That can't be denied. What develops after a few minutes close to the skin, is in any case a round, cohesive thing, recognizably thought up and made by experts. And it is also only due to a small detail that I still have to wave off at the end.
The main theme is lavender. That's perfectly clear and unquestionable from the start. It has a rich, full character and dominates with gentle power the complete fragrance picture across all phases. So far, everything is excellent. The nutty toasty aromas that soon join it and already have something grounding, priming them, are also a perfect match. I think they are largely due to the tonka bean. So the familiar pairing of lavender and light gourmand sweetness forms here, as can be found in many other fragrances.
That was the nice thing about the scent. The stupid thing for me is a mixture of notes that I rather perceive as chemically alienating. For one thing, it's an accord that clearly reminds me of hot air, the kind that often blows at you from big bulbous clothes dryers. It's a crazy scent impression in itself, which I can still appreciate as a clever conceit because it permeates the entire scent in a great abstract way. Dry, clean, slightly cokey, ironing, maybe that's a good way to describe it. That dryer breeze or surge of ironing water turns the time-honored lavender-tonka melange into something much more modern, independent. that's what I like.
But there's still some little synthetic twinge to it that makes it tip definitively into unpleasantness for me. All together now reminds me of the scenting of a fashion store. A not so bad fashion store, perhaps, but still with this chumming lure character of a fragrance designed for casual feel-good. Don't get me wrong: feeling good is the best thing in the world and day after day my big inner goal, but this idea of feeling good here is already very superficial and in reality has a very shallow breath. You can't take even the most beautiful lavender seriously anymore. He disappears behind an aromachemienebel, which is really no joy.
Too bad. Maybe you can reissue the again without the put on Kladderadatsch. Then I'm on it immediately. However, then he would also lack the special. Anyway, we'll just leave it as it is and I'll move on. Thank you for the brief experience, Serge Lutens.