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Tubéreuse criminelle 1998

7.5 / 10 251 Ratings
A popular perfume by Serge Lutens for women and men, released in 1998. The scent is floral-spicy. The longevity is above-average. It is still in production.
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Main accords

Floral
Spicy
Oriental
Animal
Resinous

Fragrance Notes

TuberoseTuberose CloveClove HyacinthHyacinth JasmineJasmine Orange blossomOrange blossom StyraxStyrax MuskMusk NutmegNutmeg VanillaVanilla

Perfumers

Ratings
Scent
7.5251 Ratings
Longevity
8.4196 Ratings
Sillage
7.7182 Ratings
Bottle
8.3170 Ratings
Value for money
7.246 Ratings
Submitted by Kankuro, last update on 11/17/2025.

Smells similar

What the fragrance is similar to
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Royal Mayfair (2009) / Windsor by Creed
Royal Mayfair (2009)
Tubéreuse by Olibanum.
Tubéreuse
Gardenia by Jo Loves...
Gardenia

Reviews

32 in-depth fragrance descriptions
Stinkypenny

33 Reviews
Stinkypenny
Stinkypenny
Very helpful Review 12  
A gothic, leather clad, chain smoker's tuberose.
This opens up with the strongest hit of menthol i've ever experienced. It reminds me of early mornings, going downstairs to roll myself a method filtered cigarette. It's spring, and my neighbours floral and unkept garden is sending beautiful fresh, cooled by the morning breeze , wafts of tuberose and jasmine my way. There is the early morning smell of the past presence of animals in the garden, and possibly a small den of hedgehogs or mice nearby.

It's chilling, refreshing, and energising. It makes you want to chill out, be easy, but also has a restlessness that lies within it. Very similar to smoking while having a glass of wine with friends. The nicotine and tannin heavy alcohol dance around each other, in a dark sultry way in brightly lit, bone cold room.

This is beautiful and yet so unsettling. It makes me want to start smoking again, and grab my old leather jackets, skinny jeans and generally nonchalant yet always sharp sense of style. This is brooding. The wearer needs to have a certain presence and sense of self to pull this off for it to make sense.

Only downside is the sillage isn't great, which is odd as the fragrance is so fragrant, one would expect it to travel... but it doesn't. It's not necessarily a bad thing as I could imagine the scent upsetting some more fragile souls, and it could easily become cloying despite it's frostiness.

I would highly recommend everyone find the opportunity to experience this fragrance for themselves. It is not a safe blind buy in my view... although i did blind buy it. This is definitely a challenging and polarising scent. A fantastic creation from Sheldrake and Lutens.
1 Comment
Flaconneur

49 Reviews
Flaconneur
Flaconneur
Top Review 7  
TUBÉREUSE CRIMINELLE by Serge Lutens
Tubéreuse Criminelle is a beautiful creamy white tuberose fragrance with tons of personality, spun by none other than Serge Lutens and perfumer Christopher Sheldrake. This fragrance is an interesting twist on the classic tuberose genre, so be prepared.

The opening is a strange, astringent wintergreen and camphor attack with whiffs of fragrant eucalyptus. This opening scent combination might have you checking for a gasoline spill, but don't worry. No fuel spills here. Over a short period of time, the opening metamorphoses as the tuberose fights its may up through the thick intense layers of green aromatics. You'll find a beautiful parade of florals, like jasmine, orange blossom and hyacinth following close behind. From the first time it appears, the tuberose ages and matures into an amazing floral extravaganza. The wintergreen and camphor are now but a whisper, but still standing in the wings just as a reminder. The tuberose is dusted with the scent of leather and just a bit of spice and smoke. The rich base of musk and vanilla give the florals a velvety and luxurious feeling.

Tubéreuse Criminelle is not your typical tuberose fragrance, nor is Serge Lutens you typical perfumer. This combination of wintergreen with the polar opposites of waxy intense florals and just a touch of smoke, is a memorable and exotic combination. This a perfect tuberose fragrance for men because of its aromatic green structure combined with the dry-down combination of leather and spice notes. If you looking for something completely different from a tuberose fragrances, Tubéreuse Criminelle might be it?
0 Comments
8Scent
Flavorite

241 Reviews
Flavorite
Flavorite
Helpful Review 8  
You've Been Struck by a Smoothe Criminal!
This is just as others have described, so I won't belabor the crazy roller coaster ride- it must be experienced. BenGay/Menthol burns the nose hairs at first whiff and I almost start to dry heave when I remembered the Obe-Wan voice in my head saying "Use the force...step away from the sample for about 10 minutes then return to it." Sure enough it was opening up on the paper enough so that when I handed the tester to my DH he said "Wow! that smells fantastic!" so then I decided this was the one and only sample I would test on today's smell adventure. Indeed we had the same macabre dance for about 10 minutes on my wrist...I begin to pray to several different deities that by the time we got to the Indian restaurant to meet our friends I wouldn't be wreaking of menthol-liniment and they wouldn't be whispering how I have aged so much in the last year, 'it really is tragic how's she has let herself go...' In the next 30 minutes I had a full bi-polar olfactory experience raging from mania- fear and sheer panic to deep regret to hopeful to curious appreciation settling into profound admiration and joy at the end over the gorgeous full sexy tuberose in peaceful, meditative pond of vanilla and a single drop of warm clove essence. The sillage of one generous spray also took a similarly ragged path on my nerves from deafening to just slightly over the top monster sillage to the perfect after thought and now after 7 hours is a nothing more than the 'careless whisper of a good friend'. I am almost wondering if I need to talk to a professional after this experience. I've been I put this on my list of top ten Tuberose fragrances every Perfumista must try along with Carnal Flower, Fracas, Vamp A NY. Is this something I could wear on a regular basis? There's not enough Prozac in the world!
0 Comments
9Scent
Kxnaiades

50 Reviews
Kxnaiades
Kxnaiades
Helpful Review 7  
Vicks et tuberose
This made me smile. It's Vicks vapour rub with tuberose and I love it. It smells much much better on skin than on paper so don't judge it on paper alone. Actually don't judge it at all on the opening. The opening is a little testy for those who are not forewarned, like I said it smells like Vicks or menthol(cloves, nutmeg and mint with some sweetness). The tuberose shows up when the opening notes calm down and they all get along very well together! I would never have thought of mixing a narcotic white flower with mint but hats off to Serge Lutens once again for another quirky and lovable twist on a familiar theme. Sillage is about an arm's length on me and the scent stayed with me throughout my day, sending up lovely wafts every now and then as I moved around. My jaded nose really loves wearing this and I'm happy to own a bottle of this interesting minx.
1 Comment
Mrsg37

32 Reviews
Mrsg37
Mrsg37
Very helpful Review 2  
Bombastic wintergreen/ tuberose
Bombastic wintergreen, menthol, bubblegummy opening, which I personally adore! It was just what I was looking for. It settles into the most beautiful, creamy tuberose with an undercurrent of the wintergreen vibe, GLORIOUS!
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Statements

42 short views on the fragrance
5
A tuberose in 3D widescreen and hi-fi 7.1 surround sound. Impressive!
0 Comments
2
“Baudelaire was right. Let’s give the flowers back to evil.” - Serge Lutens said it all, articulating perfection.
0 Comments
2
A warm and creamy, gently spicy/leathery, oriental-floral Mid season fragrance, with a challenging, medicinal spicy-green opening. Unisex!
0 Comments
1 year ago
1
How to say this without sounding odd: Pepto Bismol tuberose if you could remove the whole chalky-pink stomach-coating thing. I dig it.
0 Comments
1
Mentholated bandaids. Reminds too much tigerbalm/icy hot. The texture drowns out any florals
0 Comments
1
A characterful and "untamed" tuberose (and some jasmine). Wild and passionate!
0 Comments
42
39
Narcotic
Flower bubblegum bursts
That explode in greenhouses
Leafy green-ethereal hybrids
O-flowers and hyacinths
Cobblers' shops
Translated · Show originalShow translation
39 Comments
31
27
She waits until it's night,
then she sets off,
the truly criminal tuberose.
Killing everything in her path.
Translated · Show originalShow translation
27 Comments
25
23
Tuberose and her crew
crack gum machines
quickly destroy the evidence
then it's a flower party
on a sugar high
Translated · Show originalShow translation
23 Comments
24
19
Lutens crime
The victim suffocated with a giant bubblegum bubble
Type Doubble
Evidence photo
Decal
Perpetrator caught
It was the flowers.
Translated · Show originalShow translation
19 Comments
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