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Serge noire Serge Lutens 2008

7.5 / 10 364 Ratings

A popular perfume by Serge Lutens for women and men, released in 2008. The scent is spicy-woody. The longevity is above-average. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Spicy

Woody

Smoky

Resinous

Oriental

Fragrance Notes

Charred wood

Frankincense

Perfumers

Christopher Sheldrake, Serge Lutens

Ratings

Scent

7.5364 Ratings

Longevity

8.1269 Ratings

Sillage

7.3243 Ratings

Bottle

8.0227 Ratings

Value for money

6.741 Ratings

Submitted by DonVanVliet · last update on 12/12/2025.

Source-backed & verified

Interesting Facts

Apart from the name of the brand's founder, Serge also refers to a type of fabric that is created in a special weave called Twill.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to

Wanted

Mutamayez

Versilia Vintage - Ambra Mediterranea

Sandalo Eau de Toilette

Fou d'Absinthe

Fille en aiguilles

Reviews

39 in-depth fragrance descriptions

06/12/2016

5.5Scent 3Longevity 3Sillage

Oriane
140 Reviews

Oriane

3

Neuter Skin Scent

The listed notes for this fragrance are not in a traditional pyramidal structure. The listed notes are Patchouli, Cinnamon, Amber, Woodsy Notes, Incense, Clove, Spices, and Ebony Wood.

I was gifted a sample of Serge Noire, and I like it. I am surprised there are not more positive reviews of it. This is definitely a warm and spicy scent. I smell cumin, cloves, and incense mostly. There are other spices--I cannot delineate cinnamon from the lot-- but I do not have a highly tutored sense of smell, either. It is not sweet smelling to me. It has very little projection. It is a skin scent on me. Longevity is not very good. I expect it would wear longer on clothing than on skin. I find it enjoyable for myself to wear on the right day/night, but I do not imagine wearing it for others, and I would not say that it is sexy in any way. It is not especially feminine in the way some orientals such as Samsara are "feminine." It is definitely unisex, or more precisely non-sex. I would label it "neuter."

Fragrance: 5/10

Projection: 3/10

Sillage: 3/10

Longevity: 3/10

06/24/2025

ClaireV
969 Reviews

ClaireV

2

French onion sweat

The topnotes of Serge Lutens Serge Noire - smoky, dried fruit incense - draw me in every single Goddamn time, like a mermaid's song. And then I am dashed cruelly against the rocks that are this scent's downfall - the unmistakably oniony sweat of unwashed (male) armpits.

Ask me how I know. No, really. I first smelled this when I was visiting Mont San Michel with my family when I was seven. The children had sat down in a grumpy, sun-beaten heap on the doorstop of the nth church, refusing to indulge our parents any further in their unquenchable thirst for the various religious icons and tchotchkes of French medieval churches, which seemed to us to be identical to the ones we had back home, only a little older and grimier.

From our vantage point, we got to study the interiors of everyone's nostrils, skirts, and armpits. People passed over us; we were ignored, perhaps not even seen. A middle-aged man stopped under the mantel and leaned against the cool wall for a moment to gather himself, and in that moment, I understood that dried sweat could smell like onions and black pepper and celery - the makings of a mirepoix, practically - when suspended in droplets in the thicket of a man's armpit hair.

The onion sweat accord can be parsed out later as clove, cumin, black pepper, and incense. While I love clove in stuff like Eau Lente (Diptyque) and the Eau de Parfum by Commes des Garcons, I admit that it can come off as sweaty and metallic to an almost objectionable degree. But the operational word is almost. There's always something in those fragrances to reign it in herbaceous oppoponax, a bit of honey, some sandalwood. In Serge Noire, the clove business simply goes too far. It sidles up to the breaking point of human endurance and then waltzes brazenly past it, lurching unchecked into pure onion sweat territory whence it cannot be redeemed.

I keep trying it, hoping I am wrong or that my perception will loosen up, allowing me to glimpse the true beauty of this scent as others describe it. But as of May 2020, and upon my 14th attempt, I have to admit defeat

10/08/2019

CuirCuir
35 Reviews

CuirCuir

2

Incense + cloves = perfect

It is absolutely brilliant, master perfumer at work. Spicy smoke, very masculine. Cloves and incense are dominant. Not a huge fan of cloves but here it's perfectly blended in, not in a bothersome way. Give it a go to find out what's been missing in your life:))

12/12/2025

7Scent 6Longevity 6Sillage

valhelsingv
278 Reviews

valhelsingv

Spiced incense, I wish for more clove and less cumin

I don't think this fragrance is particularly challenging, even among SL scents (La dompteuse encagee is my nemesis :D). It's simply an incense scent with particularly dry woods and spices. I can smell a little bit of cloves and quite a bit of cumin. The other way around would've been much better. I find it rather mild, at least in comparison to other spiced incense scents I know, such as Sorcinelli's Quando Rapita... Serge Noire is not a scent I would see myself reaching for, but I'm glad I tried it.

10/04/2020

8Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

Pepdal
238 Reviews

Pepdal

Spice Lovers

Lovers of spice, particularly clove should probably put this on their list to sample. There is always something interesting to try from this house, and this one is no exception. Thank you for watching.

More reviews

Statements

61 short views on the fragrance

OceanCliffs

2 years ago

2

Peppery wood. Spicy. Smokey.
A nutmeg note reminds me of coca-cola.

Kanyezzy

2 years ago

2

One of a kind fragrance. Supposedly , this is Mr Lutens’s signature scent and we can see why. Incense with a touch of cinnamon and cloves.

NicheOnly

2 years ago

1.5Scent 4Longevity 3Sillage

1

ABSOLUTE DISASTER. Opens woody-spicy, vintage feel. But up-close, it smells a bit like a sweaty shirt in a dusty attic (feel of cumin).

Jbl775

3 years ago

8.5Scent 7Longevity 7Sillage

1

Most challenging Serge fragrance. Dark, spicy, bitter and ashy. It can wear you if you are not ready for it. Original but odd.

leocoll4

26 days ago

a spicy incense that doesn’t feel particularly unique but executed very well. leans the slightest bit savory

NoseatNoise

2 months ago

6.5Scent

I don't want to sound rude or disrespectful, but in a moment of the performance, it reminded me of the smell of used men's underwear...

Axiomatic

3 years ago

8.5Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

48

52

1972. The room is filled with incense. Batik fabrics envelop.
Patchouli devotees. Tantric caress.
New! Hallogallo.
Smell it all over your body.*

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Marieposa

2 years ago

8Scent 8Longevity 7Sillage

45

40

Clove fire breathes through the nostrils of the black horse
wrapped in wings of cinnamon and smoke
Benzoin soft and warming
Your heartbeat against my back

Translated · Show original