L'Haleine des Dieux

Serge Lutens's Section d'Or has been, to say the least, controversial, due, largely, to the pricing. I think a lot of people have dismissed the line because of that, seeing it as some sort of soulless bid for the luxury market.  I have, now, three in the line.

Previously, I got L'Incendiare and Veilleur de Nuit plus a mini of Cannibale.  But when I first tried the line out, the standout to me was L'Haleine des Dieux (50 ml).  It took me up until now to finally get a bottle.  I haven't read many positive reviews of it (there are a few on Fragrantica). It just works very well on my skin.  It is very quiet and close to the skin.

Patty at Perfume Posse never tried this one, skipping it as it listed somewhere a pine note.  She was concerned it would be piney like Fille en Aiguilles or Chypre Rouge, which she didn't like (neither do I).  I really don't get the pine note at all here.  Some have compared it to Ambre Sultan, which I also dislike. I really don't get that either.  It doesn't have the herbal quality of Ambre Sultan.

Barneys lists the notes as amber, clary sage,  cashmeran and musk. Basenotes adds leather, cistus, pine balm, and vanilla, which seems about right.  More resinous-y than piney.

I also picked up a bell jar of Bornéo 1834.  I already have it in the 50 ml sprayer that was available briefly.  I've always wanted a bell jar of it, though.  Along with Muscs Koublaï Khän, I think the scent  really suits that presentation.  For some reason it just makes sense to me.

Bell Jars in Chicago!

My purple card eventually did show up, so today I decided to go to Barneys.  Fortunately, Patty was there.

I had every intention of getting Comme des Garçons Luxe: Patchouli but, would't you know, they had none in stock, although it was displayed.

The big news is, though, that Barneys New York in Chicago has started carrying the Serge Lutens bell jars.  I had noticed that Aedes de Venustas started carrying then and, since Barneys in New York and Beverly Hills both carry them, I was really wondering why Chicago wouldn't have them as well! Well, now they do!

(Recent news also has that a Serge boutique will be opening in Moscow.)

Anyway, after some deliberation, I decided to get yet another bell jar, this time, Fourreau Noir. This is my third fourth bell jar this year.

Of course, I don't have this particular bell jar.

Just now, I got a call from the building office that a package had arrived:  Pascal Morabito Or Black! Weirdly, I had found this on Amazon.com for something like $43! And it was from a store in fancy France!  Anyway, it was supposed to be delivered between December 14 and January 4... so it came very early!! I am impressed.  I am not sure if this is the old version or the reformulation (I'm assuming the latter), so I'll have to compare my mini with this.

This is the bottle I have.

Fourreau Noir photo from The Non-Blonde.
Or Black photo from Basenotes.

Serge Splurgin'

In which I continue with the mess this year started.  Two more Serges. Yep.  Including one more bell jar.

I was able to find a 50 ml export bottle of Bois de Violette online for a reasonable price (although, had I gotten it a year ago or so I would have paid maybe $40 less).  Weirdly, it was through Amazon.com sold by Parfum1.  It was a lot more expensive on the Parfum1 site itself.  Which makes no sense.  And Parfum1, always the best in my book, were gracious enough to include some nice samples of things I have actually not tried.  I need to buy from them more.  Lately, though, they seem less a discounter than legitimate sales outlet, so things are not usually on sale like they used to be.  But if I need to get something like ELDO fragrances, I might as well buy from Parfum1. Also.... is Parfum1 connected to Twisted Lily?  I thought so, but then wasn't so sure. Included in my order was a Twisted Lily post card, so I'm assuming so.

The bell jar i got was, as usual, through Barneys and in order to get a lousy $25 Purple Card (which I still haven't gotten, btw):  Santal de Mysore. The good news is that it smells even better than the sample I had from The Perfumed Court. Which means if there have been recent reformulations it has been for the better. Reading reviews online, I am kind of confused my comments indicating it smells of curry, or that there is no sandalwood. Well, I don't now what  you whippersnappers think sandalwood smells like, but Santal de Mysore is the closest scent I have gotten recently to true sandalwood.  When I lived in Japan, they used to sell folding fans on train platforms in the summer which were scented with sandalwood (I wonder if they still do, considering Japan's disregard, usually, for international sanctions). That, plus true sandalwood fragrances used to be more readily available and I have had a few. Anyway, I know a thing or two, thank you. I wonder if it is indeed true that Serge Lutens used real sandalwood they had reserved before it was sanctioned. It's beautiful in any event and not at all syrupy, as I have also read.

Bois de Violette photo from liberty.uk.com
Santal de Mysore photo from Fragrantica. 

Fumerie Turque

Continuing with my Serge obsession, I got a bottle of Fumerie Turque.  It arrive a couple of days ago.  Sadly, I have come down with a cold and have not been able to smell anything! I've smelled it in the past, so know what it smells like.  Still, would be nice to smell it now.

This is the second bell jar I've gotten this year.  In the past, I've confined myself to one bell jar a year.  I hope this is not a continuing trend.

Last night I saw Crimson Peak with my nephew Raffael. It was ok.   Nothing really exciting.

Naoki was here for three weeks and went home two days ago.  I'm off six days, but now I'm sick.  I hope I'm not sick the whole time.

Serge Serge Serge

So my bell jar of Mandarine-mandarin (I just now noticed the hyphen) came the other day.  Fortunately, it smells the same as my sample does (sometimes they don't!).  I'm really happy I got this.  I looked at my initial response to the sample from a couple years ago.... I wasn't impressed.  I think I was kind of overdosed on Serges at that time.  See that post though, for that really beautiful bell jar.

I got this at Barneys.  I also ordered two more Serges, Bois et Fruits and Cèdre from Beauty Encounter.  Both came in the mail today.  I can't try these all at once or I will probably be ill. So I will leave my thoughts for another day. Today I probably will wear Mandarine-mandarin, though.

Miel de Bois

Ok, yes, I did succumb and order a bell jar -- my fifth/third -- of Miel de Bois.  It arrived on Thursday.  I'm not sure if it's the way it smells dabbed versus sprayed, or just the smell of me that day, but I was getting osmanthus from it.... which I hadn't smelled from the sample.  What does this mean???!

Photo from Serge Lutens website.

Iris Silver Mist

I had two Barneys gift certificates totaling around $55, so decided to use them to buy a Serge Lutens bell jar.  I figured I should get Iris Silver Mist, even though the jury is still out on it.  Everyone adores it (I'm not so sure), and I think I should own it.  Andy at Barneys called someone, who turned out to be the Beverly Hills store, and it finally was delivered Friday.

The perfume I received is actually colorless.  I was trying to compare it with L'Artisan's Iris Pallida, and don't find a huge difference.  This is my fourth bell jar, after Bornéo 1834, Muscs Koublaï Khän, and El Attarine.   Truth be told the first two are kinda fakes, as I bought decants with 15 ml in bell jars of them from The Perfumed Court, and dumped the contents of my spray bottles into them.  So, if you don't count them, this is my second bell jar.

Andy was nice enough to give me a 10 ml sample of Byredo Accord Oud and a 15  ml of L'Artisan's Prémier Figuier.  I may give them both away.  I have the Premier Figuier Extrême, which I think I like better.  Fig works weird on me.

L'Artisan had a sale today, with lots of things on sale for $15 - $28 or so.  I grabbed a bunch, including La Chasse aux Papillons body creme, Mûre et Musc body oil, shower gel, and body milk, plus a gift set of Mûre et Musc Extrême (which I kinda hate -- it smells like grape Kool Aid on me).  I told Carmon, the manager of my condo building, about the sale, and by the time she went to the site, the sale was over.  I had made my purchase the same day!

I figure I can use these for gifts throughout the year.

EDIT:  The Mûre et Musc Extrême gift set did not come.  I wrote to L'Artisan and, unfortunately, they were out of them.  They gave me a 20% off voucher code, which I thought was nice, and will refund the amount for the set.  I gave my sister the dry body oil (I was at her house for dinner tonight [July 3]) and the Premier Figuier 15 ml.



Photo from SergeLutens.com. 

Orders and Purchases

I've ordered... but they haven't arrived yet:

Guerlain Habit Rouge eau de parfum.  I've been meaning to get this for a while now.

EDIT:  Arrived 31 May.  I'll have to compare this to my Beau Cavalier sample.  Sweeter than I remember.  Still, this may be the first Guerlain that works on me.

The Different Company Osmanthus.  

EDIT:  Arrived 5 June.  The lid unscrews.  This is remarkable only because the lid of Oud Shamash does not do this.  Is this an older bottle? Are the Collection Excessive bottles somehow different? The box was certainly more elaborate.  I've been looking online for discussions about the bottles and caps, but haven't found anything.  Even on the Different Company web site. Which is odd. Also, the box Osmanthus came in is black and grey.  I see there are also boxes with flowers on them from pictures online.  

Serge Lutens El Attarine.  My first bell jar, really, if you don't count Borneo 1834 or Muscs Koublaï Khän (I bought the bottles separately, either empty or with only 15 ml inside).

EDIT:  Arrived 4 June.


I bought today at Barneys:

Aedes de Venustas soap.  I already have the perfume, so I thought I would give the soap a whirl. I was also given a 12 ml bottle of Byredo Oud Immortel.

Yet Another Bag Event

Today I had lunch with Sara Dornacker from work.  We went to The Cheesecake Factory, where another co-worker, Laura Marshall, works.   Sara is, I guess a regular there.  Anyway, I am still stuffed.

Afterwards, we went to Barneys.  They were having their fall bag event.  So, yes, I bought some stuff.

First, I got Comme des Garçons Ouarzazate, from their Incense Series.  I'm meaning to get all five, eventually.  It's not as show-offy as others in the series, but I like it.  It probably would have been better in the summer, and it has been getting colder and colder, lately.

Next, I got Serge Lutens Louve.  I had a sample of this, and tried it recently.  I don't think a lot of people like this one.   The Perfume Guide only gives it two stars.  I do think it is very nice, especially now that it is getting colder.  I may have more words on this later, after I have worn it more.

Barneys in New York has begun carrying all the non-export line in what they call "cloche" bottles.  (The Serge Lutens web site calls them "flacons de table.") Prices are roughly twice what they are in Paris.  I guess that is to be expected.  I ordered five samples from Surrender to Chance (my first order since they broke away from The Perfumed Court):  La Myrrhe, De Profundis, Boxeuses, Iris Silver Mist, and Fourreau Noir. I figured I wasn't about to blind buy a $300 bottle of perfume, and these were the ones I was most interested in.  Surrender to Chance also sells empty bell jars for, like, $9.  So I got one for Bornéo 1834, which I have in the export line spray bottle.  Muscs Koublaï Khän and Borneo 1834 seem kind of perfect if they were in bell jars.  I figure I can decant my bottle of Borneo into the bell jar.  I had bought a 15 ml decant of MKK in a bell jar a few years back from the Perfumed Court, but I never decanted my 50 ml export version into it (they do smell the same).  The MKK bottle's label was kind of smudged when I got it.  The Borneo bottle is in perfect shape, though... so I think I will go through with it.  If I like other non-export scents, and they are not exporting them soon, I may plunk down eventually for a cloche bottle.  Why not?  The cloche bottles are 75 ml.

I also got a 1/4 ml sample of Amouage Homage.  I haven't tried it yet (nor have I tried the Lutens decants). I was looking for something else today, and I found my sample, or what's left of it, of Amouage Tribute.  I'll hang on to it until my bottle comes (it's currently on backorder), considering all this talk about reformulation.

Sara was acting very conspiratorial with Andy at Barneys, and she ended up buying Nuit de Cellophone, which I thought an odd choice.

26 September 2012 EDIT:

Sara smelled very good in Nuit de Cellophane.  It actually was a good choice for her.  Beautiful.  I guess I pretty much ignored it previously because it was a floral.  I still don't think it would work on me.

While I had been at Barneys, I tried Bois de Violette.  I'd like to try it more.  I have Féminité du Bois already, but it really does smell different from the Shiseido version (of which I have a 1 ml sample somewhere).  I think Bois de Violette smells more like the Shiseido version.... although, I would have to compare them.  Anyway, more research!

I tried my sample of Homage, and, to be honest, was kind of disappointed.  I gave my sample, for what it is, to Sara, because she liked it. I hope I am not disappointed with Tribute whenever it arrives. I'm saving the remainders of my Tribute sample so I can compare it with the bottle when I get it.