Daim Blond, one of Lutens’s Eaux de Parfum Haute Concentration was inspired by (white) suede; it has the notes of iris, apricot kernel, cardamom, musk, heliotrope, and hawthorn, and is one of my Holy Grail fragrances. If I had to describe its smell with one word, the word would be Expensive. To me this is a smell of understated luxury, impeccable taste and natural elegance. Apart from smelling expensive, Daim Blond does indeed smell like suede, albeit suede that has absorbed its wearer’s rather sweet fruity-floral perfume.
Apricot and suede notes appear simultaneously as soon as Daim Blond is applied to my skin, these two notes are the most prominent to my nose and continue to go side by side and are noticeable till the very drydown. Other notes appear and disappear as the fragrance develops. Iris shows briefly among the top notes, cardamom and heliotrope pop up in the middle stage, and musk is quite evident in the drydown, doing what musk does best, bringing a little animalic oomph to the composition. The drydown also has a certain dark nuttiness/ slight powderiness that I associate with hawthorn, one of my favorite notes.Daim Blond is a sumptuous scent, it is rich, warm and, as much as I love it, I must admit it is often rather overwhelming in hot weather. It is however stunning on cold days and absolutely exquisite in minus temperatures; every note becomes clearly defined and practically sings in the icy air. The staying power of this scent is commendable, ten, sometimes twelve hours on my skin.
Daim Blond is available at Aedes, $120.00 for 1,69ml.
*The painting is Perfume Pearls by Trish Biddle.
Christina,
ReplyDeleteIt is a lovely scent, I hope you like it when you get to try it again! (me, I am all covered in Aouds :-)thanks to you!)
Well, I do like the auods, For example the Black one is quite enjoyable, like very very strong black tea almost, on me. Gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteCarnal Flowers will be on Monday or Tuesday. I wrote all these weeks posts in advance, so it will have to go next week. It is a lovely scent, but...not very carnal, is it?
You said it, C! It is spring-like, exactly!
ReplyDeleteRobin noted several times in her blog how light-ish and spring-like most recent releases are (for example Osmanthus Yunnan). It's strange isn't it, you'd expect for them to release something warm and snuggly wuggly for winter :-)
M, cracking up at the "if I had to describe its smell with one word, the word would be Expensive". That is so, so true.
ReplyDeleteIt is a great scent, but somehow I have never really fallen in love with it.
R, would you say you find it a bit too sweet? Too powdery?
ReplyDeleteThere is something about leather/suede scents, they always smell Expensive to me. Cuir de Russie (Chanel) is another example.
P., so let me get this straight, did you buy all that huge lot of Black Cashmere unsniffed?? I refuse to be blamed if you don't like it! I haven't even reviewed it yet. Will do soon. It smelled of am Orthodox church on me, of wax, incense and cedar.
ReplyDeleteOf all the leather scents (except for my favorite Dzing!), Daim Blond is the one I am most likely to wear. It is soft and floral to my nose. I still haven't popped for more than a sample, though.
ReplyDeleteI hear that Patou's Julye is the most remarkable leather scent to come out, though. One day, we'll smell them all, my pretties!
Cait
http://legerdenez.blogspot.com
http://bouncetime.blogspot.com
P, the you *must* love Bois de Violette! Cedar AND violets!!
ReplyDeleteCait,
ReplyDeleteI loved it so much, my bottle is practically done.
I must confess I am not very familiar with Patou. I must remedy that soon.
Aha! *Congratulates herself for such a good guess* Are you a proud owner of a bell jar?
ReplyDeleteawwwww! :-)
ReplyDeleteV, it seems we agree on Daim Blond then, it is rather overwhelming but lovely nevertheless. :-)
ReplyDeleteThis was my latest SL purchase (first Borneo, then Chene). luckily, I can get this one at Barney's, so I don't have to be as sparing as I am with the other ones.
ReplyDeleteWhen I fist smelled this one at Barney's, I didn't like it at all. The first hit I got off it was something like cherry cough syrup. I've found that more than practically any other perfumers, Luten's scents have to test-driven rather than just spritzed onto a paper tester. Some of them are quite shocking at first, then just wonderful; this is one of them. It's buttery suede scent takes a while to emerge on me.
This is one of my favorite Lutens scents. And I agree, at first sniff, it is overwhelmingly sweet. but then suede comes in and it all fits together perfectly :-)
ReplyDeleteAnyone know if there is a store in which I can go sample Serge Lutens in New York/Connecticut? I received a gift of the new Fleurs de Citronnier and don't love it - would like to exchange it for something else, but don't know where to go. Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteNeiman Marcus, Barneys and Aedes all carry Lutens. I am not sure what their exchange policy is, whether they would accept a bottle bought somewhere. Still, I am sure they all sell Fleur de Citronnnier, so it is worth a try, they might exchange it for something you like. Good luck!
I am absolutely crazy about Daim Blond. It is subtle yet screams seduction. It is more of a suede rather than a new leather jacket. Add a hint of orris, and it is as smooth as well...you can imagine.
ReplyDeleteAs for Montale, Aoud Queen Roses is heavenly. It smells of of field of freshly bloomed Bulgarian roses with just a hint of Aoud. I like Black Aoud, too. It is a little smokier but still delicious.
Cheri
Has Daim Blond been discontinued. I cannot find it anywhere online except from suppliers out of the country, or who only accept phone orders (?!) Does anyone have any information about where to purchase. I am not familiar with the scents I see at Saks and Neiman online, although I have several testers from Lutens, none of them seem to be offered a mere year and a half after I purchased Daim Blond.
ReplyDeleteI too love Daim Blond to death! It is smooth, suave and sensuous.
ReplyDeleteWhen you put this gorgeous scent on it reeks of class.