Serge Lutens Douce Amere
 By TomAn older Lutens (out in 2000); Marla on this site as well as March at Perfume Posse wrote earlier about anise scents, not mentioning this one. Seeing that there wasn't a review here I thought I would throw in my two cents. Anise usually not something that I am a big fan of in fragrance: it's sometimes amped up to toothache-inducing sweetness or is just not working on me. Douce Amere is one that is neither. The listed notes (from Luckyscent) are absinthe (Artemisia absinthum) , cinnamon, anise, lily, jasmine, tiare, tagette, marigold, musk, and cedar. What isn't listed and is most likely a combo of three or four of the former is an incredible, buttery milk chocolate smell that nicely balances the anise. The whole concoction is is silky-smooth and manages to be deliciously gourmand without being too literally edible, the chocolate fading and becoming more about the whiteness of the tiare. The whispery cedar and musk in the drydown take this from the bakery to the bedroom; it's still sweet, just more lusty and less Lolita. I do think of it as one of cold weather scents, though. I can imagine it could go sickly-sweet in heat, especially humid heat. Douce Amere is one of the exports, available at every retailer who carries Serge Lutens, $120 for 50ML Labels: anise, Serge Lutens, Tom |
posted by Marina |
12:03 AM
17 Comments:
Tom, it's one of my favorite SLs! I love the way the absinthe keeps a lid on the white flowers and other sweet things, and how they play off against each other.
I was really sorry this didn't work on me, as the top notes were good. On my skin the absinthe was atrociously bitter. I kept it for a few weeks, tried several times with the same result, and eventually had to swap it away...
I normally do not wear scents with anise, but Douce Amere is a grand exception. The notes are so beautifully balanced. On my skin, everything blends perfectly into a creamy, but slightly naughty confection. Love it.
Oh, dear...sounds...intriguing. Comforty, fortunately...fortunately, because I can put it lower on the priority pile. For now.
Glad you've added it to your "reviewed" pile. :)
I don't spend enough time w/ this scent. Must get it out before our weather really does go into full force humid oven mode.
I love this scent; the immediate smell of absinthe drives me crazy, and I love the base notes of cedar wood and musk. It reminds me of mysterious, lustful moments. It’s a bit naughty, but nice !
I'm so far behind on the Serge Lutens train that it's embarrassing. I've only sniffed two of his scents - Daim Blond and Un Lys - both on paper. Part of the problem - I live far, far away from any shops that sell SL, and I've seemed to find too many other interesting scents to sample through mail that poor Serge has been sorely neglected. Douce Amere sounds really wonderful, as do a number of others scents. I need to get on the ball and start chipping away at them!!! I'd love to own a bottle...
D-
I agree totally!
mimi-
I hate when that happens!
melisand61-
I'm not usually mad about anise either but this one is very nice on me.
ScentScelf
Thank you!
elle-
funny you should write that; I wrote this review two weeks ago when it was about 58 degrees. Today it's 90 and I couldn't even consider it. Definitely a cool-weather scent.
SweetFumesbopper (god I love that name!)
It is just naught enough, right?
Karin-
It can be very difficult if you aren't near a Barneys of somewhere else that carries them. It isn't a company that I would buy blind from..
In theory I don't like the thought of anise in perfume-however that doesn't end up stopping me from enjoying perfumes that have the note..Examples: Aimez Moi and Douce Amere..I have enjoyed my samples of Douce Amere- there is something very smooth about it that I love and I like how it dries down on my skin- It actually works for me as a 'pretty' scent that I don't have to pay too much attention to.Actually what I mean is- I enjoy it more when I don't pay too much attention to it (i.e sniff my arm obsessively).
Lavanya
Lavanya-
That's it exactly!
beyond taste, there is weather as I could test empirically this past week,when temperatures in this mediterranean city went from 22 centigrade to 39 centigrade and down to 18 centigrade in three days. Then it emerged, more pungently than ever, that temperature is more relevant to scent than almost any other factor. As with white shoes in the fifties, there should be a fragrance weather linked code of etics. Mm? It is uncivilized to wear Vanisia or Chypre Rouge or Douce Amere at 39 centigrade
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