Serge Lutens Vitriol d’Oeillet Review: The Return of Floral Grandeur + 5ml Mini flacon Draw

  


The perfumes of Serge Lutens and I have a twice a year love affair. 
My absentee lover beckons; this scented encounter fills me with impatience, lust, and the desire to fall in love again. Although my scented lover sometimes disappoints, bewilders, even irritates me, our perfume history has been more pleasure than not. And when it is painful I still return.

 

 

 I can smell the scented signals from a distance,  and I place touches of M.Lutens fragrances here and there on my skin while I wait;  I read each  new  press release of an upcoming  Serge Lutens  like an oracle.  Once  I try each new  creation, I am attracted to the most complex, the fragrances  with a  little more sensuality, femininity and mystery. Many are puzzles I cannot always solve. (His last two compositions Boxeuses et Jeux de Peau"), pleased me immensely.

 

 My first image when I encountered Vitriol d'Oeillet was being immersed in an atmosphere of the 18th century, that of the Romantics. The magic of this fragrance, like the great poets of the time, can make me weep and laugh; songs of innocence (William Blake) tinged with seduction.

 

 


Vitriol d'Oeillet…  It suits the décor of its totally beautiful boutique located in the gardens of the Palais Royal…dark, mysterious, extremely elegant and hedonistic.

And it is very aptly named, with, a little note of humor, a reference to the vitriol. The  floral of the earth  that is between heaven and  hell…sulfurous acid infuses the spicy oriental.

 

For the first few seconds on the skin, the carnation bouquet explodes as if freshly cut at dawn, yet it is imbued with all the mystery of the night  lingering  in  the opening The notes swirl and beckon  around  the carnation enhanced by the  spice of cloves, cooled by violets. Ethereal, then  oriental   until   a double peppery note (pink and Cayenne)  piques the senses; for a moment you shy away but surrender to its heat and wander into the realm of the wanton and surreal.

 


The duality- the carnation in the button hole of an English gentlemen, and carnation between the teeth of a femme fatale. Serge Lutens revives floral grandeur (as he did with beautiful "Tuberouse Criminelle") but Vitriol d’Oeillet has a touch of the animalic lurking behind its sophisticated appearance. Perhaps a step into the night side, where its always three o’clock in the morning , the witching hour and danger is in the air.


Vitriol d’Oeillet  is sold exclusively at the Salons du Palais Royal (Paris) since the beginning of June and will be available worldwide on 1 September.

Editor's Note this is for comparison only, it will be Vittriol d'Oeillet, in its flacon featured above 

  

Emmanuelle Varron, Senior Editor

Art Direction and translation by Michelyn Camen, EIC


 For those not lucky enough to discover “Vitriol d'Oeillet” in Paris, we offer CaFleureBon readers a chance to experience this changeling carnation courtesy of www.sergelutens.com. Please enter a comment about your favorite Serge Lutens fragrance and if you are attracted to the dark side or the  bright side of perfumery in general and you are eligible to win a miniature 5ml
.
Draw ends July 21 2011

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77 comments

  • I love Lutens! Cedre is a favorite along with Jeux de Peau…I love the dark, plummy jam feel of Lutens, the heaviness that they leave with me…haven’t met one I haven’t liked…OK, maybe just one…

  • Serge Lutens Bois oriental and Chergui are my favorites when I’m more in the mood for the dark side and Iris silver mist for the light.

  • Wow… this sounds wonderful, Michelyn… Lovely photos, too. See, I KNEW that “sulfur” had suddenly become an “in” note!

    Of course my favorite SL’s are the naughty MKK and the gorgeous CHENE.

    JEUX DE PEAU is very interesting! Buttered brioche and aniseed… mmm

  • My favorite has to be Iris Silver Mist. For me it consists of the years of hoping to swap for it on MUA, finally getting a sample, waiting waiting waiting until my mom was able to procure it and visit the Salons du Palais Royal personally to pick up my very own bottle!

    As for dark sides.. I’m all for duality in perfumes… scents that are able to highlight both the light and dark sides intrigue and really fits my own tendencies to want more than 1 thing at a time~

  • Oh, yes, please!!

    I was a long time coming around to Serge Lutens but then someone stuck Arabie under my nose and I was hooked. I am still working through them, and have 2 bottles and a couple of decants, all lovelies. I think Arabie will always hold a special place for me, since it made me laugh out loud and is so much fin to wear during all the holidays.

    I love smoldering dark scents, and always think I veer to dark scents better for night and winter, until I look at my collection and see equal hearts and flowers. So, who knows? I love Chene and Russe, but love Fleur d’Oranger just as much.

  • Ambre Sultan and Arabie are two of my favorites. Notice I didn’t say favorite, I just can’t pin one down as my favorite.

  • I love any fragrance that states it is ‘dark and hedonistic’….My favorite Lutens, possibly Sa Majeste La Rose, or even Ala Nuit, or Clair de Musc………….I love them all!

  • There are a few of the Serge Lutens that i absolutely love, 2 of them are Rose de Nuit and Rousse as both bloom on my skin. I love dark fragrances because here in Wisconsin where i live the winters are definitely longer then the summers….so darker fragrances are welcome.

  • I have so many favorites that it’s hard to name just one, or two, or three. Right now, I’m cravng Rose de Nuit and Bois de Violette, but that could easily change. As for dark vs. light, I definitely gravitate toward fragrances that have a dark or animalic side.

  • ElizabethN says:

    I like the dark side of perfumes, but I am also experimenting with the light side now. Rose de Nuit is one of my favorite Lutens scents ( I would be hard pressed to choose just one!) for the darkness of the rose. There’s nothing exactly like it!

  • I like many of the Serge Lutens but Bois de Violette and Chene are my favorites. I find these both have a bright and a dark side. The dark side of these are the plants and flowers that flourish in lower light while some crave the sun and warmth. I think I like a little of both dark and bright in my fragrance most of the time.

  • I definitly like the dark side.I prefer smoky dark,resinous scents.Incense,oud,leather,animalic notes,pactchouli and vetiver,theese are the key ingredients in my favorite scents.
    One of them is Cuir mauresque,great fragrance with great leather scent.

  • the darkkk sidde!! I’m a sucker for the class feminite du bois! Out of all the serge lutens, it is timeless! Although, being Middle Eastern, the entire brand is after my own heart!

  • the darkkk sidde!! I’m a sucker for the classic feminite du bois! Out of all the serge lutens, it is timeless! Although, being Middle Eastern, the entire brand is after my own heart!

  • My favorite Serge Lutens is Douce Amere although it doesn’t get much love from too many others. I prefer perfumes from the dark side of perfumery-the depth and the changing characters of perfumes like Arabie, Rouge Chypre and even gapsp! Miel de Bois are what I gravitate most towards.

  • I have two favorite serge lutens exports douce amere sadly dictd and Bois et fruits smells remarkably like feminitie du Bois
    I think my grails to at least sniff Rahat Loukoum , tuberouse criminelle , mandarine and boxeuses

    Iris silver mist is gorgeous but too cool pn my skin, but is one of the most beautiful soliflores of any flower I have smelled

  • I am a dark sider too. Like everyone else, I have a difficult time picking a favorite Serge. I do love Sarrasins, with that “surge” of edgy jasmine.

    This is a fantastic draw; what a great opportunity to experience this intriguing number.

  • I think I end up liking the light side of perfumery most, but then I am in constant search for sexy fragrances!

    My favorite Lutens is Un Lys. I think it will hold a second place to Arabie, but I am still undecided.

  • arch.memory says:

    I own Jeux de Peau, La Myrrhe, ISM, and my beloved MKK. Frankly, I don’t get the reputed “dirtiness” in MKK, just that wonderful warmth. Like a big engulfing hug–in the nude perhaps, but an embrace all the same..
    And I’m definitely a dark-sider here. Though even I admit that a good light-sided perfume, like a good comedy, is a more difficult feat to pull off, and perhaps even more rewarding!

  • Definitely the dark side (and I love the first image used to illustrate this post–so perfect). I own Rahat Loukhoum, but also love La Myrrhe, Rose de Nuit, and many others (it takes a while to save up for an acquire these things). I’m half expecting the new carnation scent will move up to first place, though.

  • Oh, I have been eagerly awaiting this one!

    My favorite Serge Lutens? A most difficult decision but I will have to say Un Lys – I have worn it for a number of year and it’ss always fresh to me, a pure lily that is somehow not so pure under its shimmering exterior. Of course I also love many others from this line.

    When I first became interested in perfume I was definitely a “lighter side” person, fond of sweet and delicate florals. Then I discovered chypres and that all changed, and now I truly appreciate the dark side and I crave leather, incense, oakmoss and danger. 🙂

  • I have several favourites. I love the comfort in Iris Silver Mist, the childish happiness in Bois et Fruits. Then there are days when I long for the insanity of Tubereuse Criminelle or the dirtyness of Sarrasins. Thanks for a great draw.

  • systeme_d says:

    I have so many favorite Lutens. It is impossible to choose one. I love Daim Blond, Bois de Violette, Iris Silver Mist, and of course, Feminite du Bois.

    I think my love of chypres and spicy orientals probably pushes me toward the dark side of perfumery, but I have great loves from the light side, too. I’d say both Bois de Violette and Iris Silver Mist are among the “light brigade.”

  • Dark side apparently! Ambre Sultan with its rich exotic character is my favourite Serge Lutens’ composition. Arabie , MKK and Daim Blond do follow. Thank you for the draw!

  • A favourite Lutens?! That is a difficult one. If I had to choose one, possibly Serge Noire but I have a number of favorites from the line (and as a line, it’s the most represented in my collection).
    And I’m definitely drawn to the dark side of perfumery (as shown by my Lutens choice). 🙂

  • I cannot really say that I can draw a clear line between the dark and bright side of Serge Lutens fragrances. For instance Gris Claire… is extremely dark for me and Ambre Sultan as well. It must be the amber…
    Tubereuse Criminelle should be dark but it always puts a smile on my face because of the way tuberose is treated in this one. Sarrasins is supposed to be dark but it is the airiest jasmin I have ever smelled.

    I loved Vitriol d’Oeillet, more because I find the way it develops quite unique. It rivaled my ideas about how a perfume pyramid should stand!

  • chayaruchama says:

    I love may sides of Lutens, but especially the dark side; my favorite might be Santal de Mysore,Cuir Mauresque, Un Bois Sepia.
    I love Un Lys, Bois de Violette, Bois Oriental, too !

  • I love the darker side of Serge Lutens. My favorites of his are: Chergui, Cuir Mauresque, Rose de Nuit and Boxeuses. Please enter me into the drawing. Thank you.

  • Sarrasins & Boxeuses, mmmmm! I am equal opportunity when it comes to scents I love, but generally, I go to the dark side more often! Can’t wait to try this!

  • Serge Lutens and I hit it off instantly. I was immediately drawn to the darker side but have since come to appreciate and embrace the lighter side, too. Impossible to name a favorite: I love Ambre Sultan, Chergui, Fleurs d’Oranger, Fumerie Turque, Datura Noir, MKK, Gris Clair, Iris Silver Mist, Boxeuses.

    I happen to love carnation and I am eager to smell Le Maitre’s take on it.

  • OOh..I have many favorite SL’s but the top of the list is Fumerie Turque and Rose de Nuit. I am attracted to the dark side (esp. for Serge). Please enter me in this draw-it’s calling my name:)

  • RusticDove says:

    I love the carnation note in perfume and always say there aren’t enough carnation scents in the world – no, really I say that. So naturally, I’ve been dying to try this one!
    Count me as another dark side enthusiast. There are still so many Lutens I have to try, but so far I love Jeux de Peau, Chergui, Sarrasins ans Santal Blanc.

  • what a wonderful chance to try this- thank you
    I venerate Iris Silver Mist and I adore and wear Arabie
    I also like/love Chergui, Louve, Filles en Aiguilles, Miel de Bois
    I think I’m more enclined to the darker ( but not sweeter) side
    I have so high expectations for this year’s releases
    please, please, enter me the draw

  • Despite having owned many SLs in my time, my favourite is easy to pick: La Myrrhe. All of which means that while I thought I was a dark side person, I am coming to the conclusion that I am actually a light side person. Although I don’t think La Myrrhe is in the least cheerful, I prefer his more minimalist efforts.

  • kastehelmi says:

    This is an exciting new release!! Carnations seem to be a very unpredictable note, each “great carnation” I have sampled felt many steps apart from the others.
    I love carnation, but only a few of perfumes that do them the way I like.
    I love Lutens fiercely, and find choosing just one favorite excessively difficult–but I would say Douce Amere is the one I can’t live without. I am also enamoured with El Attarine, Fleur d’Oranger, A La Nuit, Tubereuse Criminelle, Chergui, Rose de Nuit….I love Un Lys and Rahat Loukhoum too, time to time…Even Bas de Soie and Iris Silver Mist are sometimes enjoyable on my skin in their icy glory.

    I am torn between the light side and the dark side of perfume–I want crisp, tender, clear pure fragrances, but I also need spice, sexuality, a lasting base that makes some people look twice, and look carefully. Lutens plays very well with both sides, that is why he is my favorite!

  • I haven’t smelled every Lutens, but I did like Louve very much, and was intriqued by the “toast” note of Jeux de Peau. And I am most definitely pulled towards the dark end of the perfume spectrum!

    (P.S. The Romantic movement in literature began in the late eighteenth century, not nineteenth Lord Byron, pictured here, died in 1824. Just sayin’).

  • I love Chergui, but only in the winter. Likewise, I find I love the dark side of perfumes in the cold, but in the summer heat it’s definitely the bright side!

  • My favorite Lutens is Filles en Aiguilles and I receive compliments whenever I wear it. And even though it doesn’t get much love I am very fond of Miel de Bois and I am hoarding the rest of my decant. Also love Chergui and Ambre Sultan (my first Lutens).

  • No perfume house has done so much to challenge my preconceptions, and very few perfume houses have taken me on such journeys as Serge Lutens. I love that they can be challenging, evolving, mysterious and maddening, but always, always fascinating. I have so many favorites, it’s not even funny…Boxeuses, Ambre Sultan (which converted this amber hater!), Fleurs d’Oranger, Bois de Violette, Chêne, Cuir Mauresque, Rousse, La Myrrhe, Tubereuse Criminelle…I love them all – the light, the dark, the contrasts and contradictions…

  • This is the perfume house that started my foray in the niche side. I have almost every Serge out,,,even the exclusifs. I can’t name a favorite,,,since it depends on the day. Every time I wear one,,,it changes! I do tend to like the dark side,except MKK. I wore A la Nuit a few days ago in the KS heat,,,and it was perfect! What a great draw!!!!

  • I do not have a favorite Serge Lutens, because I have never had the pleasure of smelling any of his creations. i am a newbie to the blogs and have read a lot about this and others of his. I would love to try this. I am most familiar with Chanel, and I love Coco…is that dark????
    Please enter me in the draw. Thanks.

  • My favorite Serge Lutens, and this is a very difficult decision, is Un Bois Vanille (which I happen to be wearing as I type). I am inexorably drawn to the dark side in perfume and Serge Lutens never disappoints in this regard. Un Bois Vanille in particular takes the normally benign scent of vanilla and turns it into something dangerously alluring. And that is why, across the board, I prefer the darker, heavier scents- they tend to be more complex, more evocative than the sunny, light fragrances…Serge Lutens is a master at creating these types of perfumes…

  • Thanks for the draw opportunity. Gosh, there are so many Lutens I love… pick a favorite? Hmm.

    I’ll say Rahat Loukhoum just because it smells so delicious to me.

  • I am going with the classic Feminite du Bois as I love its warmth and radiance. Arabie is another spice goody that transports me to another place. I wasn’t really an oriental perfume lover before I smelled some SL…I do tend towards lighter fragrances in general because I haven’t found any very dark ones that suit my skin.

  • My favorite SL – Bois de Violette!

    We’re all a bit of bright and dark, aren’t we? I like each at different times…but the dark side tends to draw me in more often.

  • I just read an article in Allure magazine August 2011 issue that is named French Lessons. There are 7 “lessons” to be learned from the article. Amongst others mentioned, Surge Lutens , Feminite du Bois, was touted as saying about its wearer,”I am super spohisticated, I am very chic”. I felt that was a powerful and accurate statement about my favorite SL.
    This article mentioned “the rules” for talking scent with a Frech woman”. I am a lighter side that lets the dark out to play at times that call for her to be shown.
    Thank you as always:)

  • My favorite Lutens is Five o’clock au gingembre. It’s delicious!

    I prefer the lighter side of life and perfumery 🙂

    Thanks for this drawing! I’m looking forward to smelling Vitriol d’Oillet

  • Rahat Loukoum and Santal de Mysole are my favorites (so far). I always thought of myself as being on the light side until I took inventory one day. Definitely dark side!

  • Felicia
    That is one of my three favorites it was under shiseido brand and debuted in 1992 before M Lutens went on his own
    To my nose and skin Bois et fruits I’d quite similar

  • @Patty : You’re right about the Romantic movement. It began at the end of the XVIIIth century, but more in Germany and UK than France. We had other problems to care about, at that time ! 😉
    Vitriol d’Oeillet is rather linked to the darker side of the French Romantics, symbolized by Charles Beaudelaire, in the XIXth century second

    @To all : It is great to read so many love words towards M. Lutens work. I have now 102 perfume bottles at home, and 15 (and two shelves) are dedicated to his creations. My first one was Ambre Sultan, my favorite one depends on the weather or my mood. I am an absolute fan of Tubereuse Crminelle, Santal de Mysore ans Five O’Clock Thé au Gingembre. And I love being on the dark side… 🙂

  • @emmanuelle @patty the great period of english romaticism was 18th century, i am sorry for the confusion as I believe emmanuelle meant that or I mis translated. I had alot of french to translate.. but it matches the fragrance. baudelaire is often a pretext in perfumery.. and he was quite dark and morbid IMHO
    Plus Byron was better looking and a poet , Blake was a visionary and a genius

  • My favorite SL’s perfume (and the only one I own so far) is Jeux de Peau. As to the sides… I’m probably more on a bright side, I think. But with short visits to the other one.

  • Michellle Hunt says:

    I do enjoy my sample of Jeux de Peau, and I would love to try 5 O’Clock au Gingembre. one day….I do love a well made gourmand!

    I tend to love darker, or should I say more subtle and deep perfumes….but I love glimpses of bright now and then…it is fun to highlight the various moods, or use perfumes to either reinforce moods or to change them.

    Thank you for offering this intriguing and special draw!

  • I adore Daim Blond probably most of all. But I also love Bois et Fruits, Chergui, Rose de Nuit, Iris Silver Mist is a masterpiece, and of course, Feminite du Bois. In summer Nuit de Cellophane. And anytime, Bois de Violette. I guess I like dark and light aspects of this artist. I live the nuit and the bois the best. I’d love this draw.

  • Though I do appreciate the bright side of life, I’m generally drawn to the dark side when it comes to art, music, and perfume. An amazing feat that certain special perfumes accomplish is to bring out both moods, the dark and the light, and different nuances in between, from top notes to drydown. Vitriol d’Oeillet sounds like it makes this magic happen. I would be thrilled to have the chance to be included in the draw! Thanks for the opportunity to try this beauty. Oh, and my current favorite SL is tough to choose- I’d probably go with Miel de Bois, but that may change as the seasons do.

  • Linda Peduzzi says:

    Daim Blond smells warm and wonderful on me. I have been thinking of sampling A La Nuit as I am longing for a strong jasmine scent. I would say that I am drawn to the light, bright side!

  • I think Un Lys just became a favorite, though I’m not sure I can label it The Favorite quite yet! I like the dark side… Always.

  • This not only was a beautifully written and very evocative review, but the illustrations tell a story in themselves. I wasn’t sure I wanted to try Vitriol d’Oillet before I read this, but now I’m sure I do. It was the portrait of Lord Byron that got me.

    Encens et Lavande is my favorite Lutens. I can almost see the smoke of the incense swirling about me when I wear it. The dark side is what most attracts me, although I prefer to think of it as deep rather than dark.

  • I haven’t tried all of Juletns fragranses but I dream about a bell jar of Bois de Violette. I fell immediately in love with it first time i tried it and i only wear it – from my small decant – on those days that feel… special.

    The dark always attracts me in scents, but i prefer to wear brights in clothes 🙂

  • d3m0lici0n says:

    My favorite Lutens is Fumerie Turque, I love it and I think it leans toward the dark side a little bit.

  • Z. Boudreaux says:

    I adore the dark side of perfume… always the rich, heavy, earthier ones for me. Occasionally something light will creep in- a mimosa at the right time of year etc…. a favorite if I’m just naming one is Santal de Mysore.

  • GalaBrand says:

    Mmmm sounds dreamy! Dark scents are beautiful especially when you find their sparkles.
    My favourite SL has to be Filles en Aiguilles, for conjuring up a warm Christmas feeling alongside a fresh walk in the woods. x

  • I love lots of SL fragrances. Feminite du Bois is on top of that list.

    I love the dark side, the darker the better. 🙂

  • My favourite SL is probably Fleurs d’Oranger and I think I am generally attracted to the light side of perfume, although that may be my summertime self speaking. I do, however, adore the scent of carnaations and pinks and am intrigued to find how they are treated in perfumes

  • My favorite SL is Bois de Violette. In general I think I’m more drawn to the light side of perfume, I’m really curious about this one though!

  • Have not tried enough SL to have a fave but I do really like Santal de Mysore Eau de Parfum and Fleur D’Oranger Eau de Parfum. Will look forward to this release.

  • fille en aiguilles, hands down.
    closely followed by vetiver oriental.
    and ambre sultan.

    dark side for me, obviously.

  • Madelyn E says:

    Beautfully written review. It celebrates the seductive and mysterious powers of perfume . Classical romanticism.
    I prefer neither the light nor dark side of perfumery rather the use of a bright chtpre scent to herald the delightful interplay of the art of love and flirtation.
    My favorite Serge Lutens is Daim Blonde.
    I would love to win this draw.
    thank you

  • Wonderful piece! Serge Lutens was the first line that sparked my passion for unique fragrances, and my favorite from the house is Fourreau Noir. Before discovering this non-export I rarely, if ever, wore lavender scents and could never seem to find one that was me (though Encens et Lavande was my go-to when I wanted the purp, there was something else I needed). For me it’s smoky, lavender deliciousness is equally perfect for bedtime comfort or a date night where anything could happen. My second favorite Serge is Un Lys, so I guess you could say I flutter back and forth between the dark and the light…and thoroughly enjoy the journey!

  • Favorite SL: Iris Silver Mist. It always smells a little different than I remembered. Preference for dark or light isn’t really predictable.

  • My favorite Serge Lutens is Sarrasins. In regard to a preference of light or dark, I prefer Dark. Through and through.

  • SoCalWoman says:

    My favorite Lutens is Chergui. My taste is all over the place too but I have more woody orientals than anything else so I’ll say seek the dark scents more than the lighter ones…unless it warm outside, like it is 90% of the time in SoCal.

  • sfonativeboy says:

    I have converted with Religious Fervor to the Fragrance CULT that is SERGE LUTENS…

    I read OTHERfragrance blogs that this would be a Powdery CARNATION fragrance…
    I imagined it …..to be a very modern take on the classic BELLODGIA by CARON
    which I love for its in your face CARNATION notes….
    softened by VANILLA, MUSK and CLOVE.

    Boy was I pleasantly wrong.
    This fragrance is really spicy. !!!!
    PINK PEPPER… PEPPER… PIMENTO(PAPRIKA) are ingredients listed
    and they are the are the strongest notes that hit my nose first
    they then remain there tingling
    much the way Jalapenos peppers tingle
    the lips and tongue
    This sounds ..terrible,unless you happen to like that kind of FIERY sensation
    SERGE LUTENS manages to soften this fiery concotion
    with CARNATION FLOWERS and a hint of CLOVE
    The NUTMEG is a hidden note .. I could not detect.

    The fragrance that it brings to mind for its similar
    unique spiciness
    If i could suggest such a thing…
    AMBRE GRIS by BALMAIN

    Both are spicy……and peppery and very masculine in
    an upfront manner.
    however, Vitriol turns into a light powdery spicy fragrance
    which then develops into yes…
    a sharp woody scent
    and back again ….

    A juxtoposition of scents…I know.
    a most unusual feat in of itself .
    that in the end .. is very unisex !!!

    Bravo SERGE!!and CaFleureBon
    You won me over again….with your complexity!