La Fille de Berlin Serge Lutens 2012 Eau de Parfum

A sample of this new creation from Serge Lutens fluttered directly into my mailbox from Paris. Finally! What has the master come up with for such a city with so much changeable history and stories?!?!

Then came the big disappointment!

I landed olfactorily in the staid economic wonderland and in a small town in the countryside in the late 50s!

I associate this scent with old color photos or color films in Agfacolor. Over the years, the colors fade. The red holds up the best. That very specific red of Agfacolor. Not as vibrant as Kodak or Technicolor in film but as red as a raspberry candy. Slightly pastel. Along with that, freshly watered potting soil in the once-popular plastic pots for evergreens.

The rose in "La fille de Berlin" comes across very delicate and sweet. Later, an earthy base note joins in. The whole thing is very down-to-earth and staid. Very restrained, just as one imagines that time today.

I love the colors of old films. It seems a bit quaint today, and one smiles gently when Heimat films or light comedies from the 50s and early 60s flicker across the screen. I wouldn't want to live in that time anymore. The staidness also had its significant downsides.

Serge Lutens should pay less attention next time to the invented story around it and instead delight us again with extraordinary strong scent compositions.