I had very few expectations from Sarrasins, the 2007 non-export Serge Lutens. I never enjoyed À la Nuit, Uncle Serge's earlier jasmine-centric perfume or most of his sort-of-soliflore creations. I also found the deep purple juice a bit disturbing. Eventually I had to start testing it, though, and my first sniffing of Sarassins at the Paris Salons confirmed that Sarrasins was hardly even related to poor À la Nuit (my skin makes this older Lutens smell cheap and flat).
The indoles in Sarrasins are there at the top but they are wilder and deeper than in À la Nuit and many heady jasmine/white florals move toe the line between perfume and bathroom air refresher. Instead, Sarrasins is wild and animalic, like a werewolf that has fallen asleep in your summer garden. There's nothing gentle or delicate about this Lutens, for better and for worse. It's constructed in such a way I find it a little different every time I dare revisit. For someone who doesn't shy from animalics in perfume, it's quite surprising that I have such difficulties wearing Sarrasins. I like it, really, I do. I appreciate the complexity, the civet-like and leather note and the obviously supreme quality of the jasmine (is there some ylang-ylang in the heart? On some days I get a round and creamy feeling from the floral part).
The thing is that Sarrasins wears so uncomfortably on me it makes me want to jump out of my skin. I can't explain why, and it's especially weird because the perfume has a beautiful skin-like salty note I absolutely adore. It's the other stuff, the larger-than-life jasmine bush, the obvious floral quality that never goes away and claims all of my attention at every moment. It's just not me and after several hours of coddling this demanding creature I find myself running to the shower and scrubbing every inch of skin to get rid of it.
It never stops me from trying again after a while, though.
Sarrasins is one of Serge Lutens non-export perfumes (125 euro, 75ml), only available from the Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido in Paris.
Art: Serge Lutens
Nice critique! Sarrasins is one of my favorites, but I save it for vacation time, preferably tropical, when that headiness won't be such a monster. (Datura Noir also works for me in these conditions.) Might be worth a try for you as well?
ReplyDeleteOh Sarrasins! My favorite of all the Lutens...and I love my Lutens! It literally takes my breath away every time I wear it and I dive into a deep state of ecstasy! To me, it truly has an inky smell...and I'm not imagining it because of the color of the juice LOL! It has the exact same musky warmth of MKK but is much more subdued. I think the leathery, animalic aspects are intensified when sprayed when abandon...and I do just that...in the heat of summer...layered with an equal amout of MKK! YIKES!
ReplyDeleteOh, my, I at least want to try it!
ReplyDeleteWerewolf in the summer garden. Now I have to try it.
ReplyDeleteSmart review of Sarrasins. Indeed you put it right, Sarrasins seems to draw its own category of "hard to wear".
ReplyDeleteWhen settled on the sky, the perfume's main accord ask for your attention, while remaining soft and affable.
I own a bottle, I wear it few (but it proves nothing). Like you, this lovely "jasmin-peach out of nowhere" is rarely a tune I want to hear a whole day long (good longevity!).
When I'm always ready to swing with Joy edt.
I've just ordered this along with 6 other Serge Lutens non exports and am interested to try them. I find his export range not very exciting and I've had and tried 9 of them. I had read that dabbing instead of spraying might help and I will try that with my Arabie as I don't like it sprayed. I love the licorice and vanilla in Un Bois Vanilla but find the dry down isn't anything but that. I'm hoping I like the export range a lot more than his non export.
ReplyDelete