A Perfumista Pilgrimage – Serge Lutens

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Guest Post by Jordan River

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Serge Lutens

sergelutens.com

sergelutens.com

Mr Lutens is the magician of the fragrant stratosphere. A self-described sorcerer. A virtual recluse who conjures mysterious and amazing perfumes. He puts the genie in the bottle and you get to take it out. He is A Spell Jar of Adventure. The gravitas of the critiques of his releases and by who makes for fascinating reading. Wax Samples are the entry point to this particular wormhole. You have been warned. The solid perfume is an almost exact scent rendering and an excellent method to choose what to explore further in these eau de parfums. After that you have three collection choices, La Fille de Berlin, Selective Distribution (formerly ‘export’) and Exclusives. And after that you have numbered limited edition flacons. The Exclusives come in bell jars that until very recently have only been available at the Paris store. Hence the need for a pilgrimage. All 36 bell jars will suffice you for 3 years at the rate of a bottle a month. Clever people place small glass marbles in their bell jar to raise the juice level after constant application.

What interests me is going further, not into the perfume, but deeper into myself, exploring my innermost depths to extract darkness from light, and make it just as visible – Serge Lutens

sergelutens.com

sergelutens.com

In 1992 Serge opened his house of perfumes called Les Salons du Palais Royal. His vision was for

a unique place in the world where one would come as an enlightened being to define oneself through one’s perfume, in order to stand out from the identity-free crowd which previous times had imposed upon us.

It is to this salon in Paris than many a perfumista has made a pilgrimage. The latest one to embark on a quest for a bell jar is our very own Portia. Which bell jar of Sergian notes is calling out to her as she leaves The Land Down Under for The Perfume Capital of the Universe? A dry dry desert wind, a night or tuberose, a cry from the depths, the sweat of Kublai Khan, blackened amber, or the atmosphere, if not the very voice of Billie Holiday? If you can guess (and if this offer is not edited out!) then a decant will be yours on her return (Ed: Better than a decant I have something VERY special for our winners Jordan. SEE BELOW). Careful here, Portia is unpredictable! I’m thinking Sarrasins. What do you think?

Jordan River

Jordan River

References and Further Information

Serge Lutens Bell Jars are now available in New York at Barneys.

La Fille de Berlin (Selective Distribution range) was launched at Les Salons du Palais Royal last month.

Serge Lutens Interview 1 – Denyse Beaulieu
Serge Lutens Interview 2 – Denyse Beaulieu
Serge Lutens
Serge Lutens US site
Serge Lutens – Information by Snap

WHAT YOU CAN WIN

As you know it’s our ONE YEAR BIRTHDAY WEEK. There are 3 prizes today for our lovely readers who leave a message in comments with a Serge Lutens fragrance I may have bought from the Palais Royal Store. Courtesy of the beautiful girls who work there I have 3 x Solid Sample Quartets to give away.

#1. De Profundis, Santal Blanc, Iris Silver Mist, Louve

#2. Chene, Un Bois Sepia, Borneo 1834, Vetiver Oriental

#3. Cuir Mauresque, Fumerie Turque, Boxeuses, Muscs Koublai Khan

Included is P&P to anywhere in the world

NO you don’t get to chose!!

HOUSEKEEPING

Entries Close Friday March 22nd 2013 10pm AEDST and winners will be announced in a separate post on Sunday 24th March.
Winners will be chosen by putting names on same sized papers, folded similarly, put on a tray and TSO Jin will pick them. He doesn’t even stop watching TV to do it usually.
The winners will have till Wednesaday 27th March 2013 to get in touch (portia underscore turbo at yahoo dot com dot au) with their address or I will give the prize to someone else.
No responsibility taken for lost or damaged goods in transit.

Best Birthday Wishes to you all.

Portia xx

73 thoughts on “A Perfumista Pilgrimage – Serge Lutens”

  3. Love this,Jordan! I haven’t tried enough of Lutens to even take a gander at what Portia will bring back to the land down under 🙂 ! and Portia is going to Paris? I am beyond jealous! My last visit there was 1995 with someone who wanted to see the sights…not perfume shoppes!

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    • Hey Brie,
      I am back from Paris about 2 weeks ago.
      It was beyond incredible. Hung with Neela Vermeire, interviewed Denyse Beaulieu, went to Serge, Galleries Lafayette, Guerlain and so many more amazing frag holes.
      Portia xx

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      • Yowza! how did I not know this…? time to get my head out of the fog :)!!! (or can I just blame it on middle age?) did we find out which Serge Lutens you came back with?

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  4. Oh to visit those places Portia visited!! Heaven. Someday I must journey to the mecca of great Fragrance Houses, and in my case, my hero, Serge Lutens. I would have no idea which fragrance Portia selected. All of my Serge captures are on the darker side. Since we are moving towards spring, maybe a lighter scent would do. Fleurs de Citronnier is my guess.

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  5. I’m going to guess El Attarine, because this is Portia we’re talking about and the unexpected is to be expected. Chergui is another real possibility. Sarrasins is my own favorite, so I’d like to think it was on Portia’s list. And outside the SL circuit, I want to hear (a lot) more about hanging with Neela.

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  8. Lord alone knows what Portia bought. I can only hope it was Der Profundis because I soooo wanna try the real stuff. I cannot say how many FB Lutens I have because my husband might read this. xxx

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  10. I’m going to guess Chergui. There are so many possibilities though it’s really hard to say what Portia would have picked. I can’t wait to find out.

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  11. I’m going to guess Chergui. There are so many possibilities though it’s really hard to say what Portia would have picked. I can’t wait to find out.

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  13. Hmmmmm… Ahhh. Paris and perfume, what a perfect combination. As for Portia’s pick? You never know, and I love it!! What about Une Voir Noir??

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  18. Oooohhh I went last year…and perfume tragic that I am, this purple shrine was at the top of my list! I bought 5….Sarrasins, ISM, Fourreau Noir, La Myrrhe, and Rahat. I’d already managed to get my hands on BJs of Criminy and Mandarin M. and have had decants and samples of them all! Lutens is surely the god of fragrance. Still kicking myself that I didn’t get de Profundis and El Attarine, but hell, I just felt too greedy! Anyway its just a good reason to go back…I could not believe the joy of discovering the world of other perfumistas via the internet a few years ago.

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  19. I’ve only been following this blog for awhile so don’t know Portia all that well. But my guess would be Datura Noir because it’s so dramatic or Sarrasins because it’s so mysterious. Even if I’m wrong, it was fun guessing! Thanks for the post and the draw!

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  23. I’m quite new to APJ, but I’m catching up with Portia’s old posts and watching her films (and hoping there will be more)… and I see a delightfully idiosyncratic style… and a sunnily-sultry, El Attarine kinda gal. Can’t wait to see what she chose!

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    • There you go Portia, you are kinda-girl!
      Hey Kesbah welcome to the APJ family. I remember discovering this site too and then catching up on all the previous posts too.

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      • No! No! NO!!! Not what I meant at all! Oh dear…

        To me, El Attarine has a vivacious sensuality. Not the languid kind. Not Swanson or Dietrich, but Clara Bow, Jean Harlow, Brigitte Bardot…

        Naughty Jordan!

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  27. Sadly I’m clueless on the actual scents so I am basing my guess on the name and description. Kind of how I bet the ponies – Fourreau noir

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  29. I’m going with Cuir Mauresque! It was my guess on your blog a while back and I’m sticking with it as I know Portia loves a good, soft leather. Plus, that one is sensuous as hell — which I definitely think would appeal to her.

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  32. I’m torn between Sarrasins and Der Profundis – or at least I would be if I made the pilgrimage. I think I’ll go with Sarrasins for its supposedly bright jasmine heart and soft leather drydown.

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