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| De Profundis limited edition, Nov. 2011 |
When I spoke to him for my book, Serge Lutens confided that he was now drawing inspiration from writers rather than raw materials or accords to find the themes of his fragrances. And his two next launches bear this out, with a nod to Baudelaire, Oscar Wilde and of course the fictional holy patron of perfumers, Huysmans’ aesthete Des Esseintes, including in their faintly sacrilegeous allusions to Catholicism...
Vitriol d’Oeillet is a fierce carnation that reminds us that "clove" and "nail" are the same word in French ("clou"), in the tough-powdery line of Bas de Soie, with hints of the lily which is really the carnation’s olfactory sister… Excerpt from the press release:
“After a moment of hesitation, the carnation – alias the clove pink – is what I am in every sense: this fragrance fraught with anger is my riposte. Its petals, laced with tiny teeth, hold out the solution: a burst of fragrant spikes.
Would it make you smile to know that the wallflower packs a real fragrant punch, that the pepper comes from Cayenne and that the scent of cloves lies deep within this composition?”
De Profundis takes its name from Oscar Wilde’s letter to Alfred Douglas written in prison as well as Baudelaire’s “De Profundis Clamavi” (“Out of the Depths Have I Cried). It is built around the funereal chrysanthemum and, fatally, incense. The potion itself takes on the emblematic colour of the Decadents -- and of ink, to drive home the literary point --, "the color violet (love restrained, mysterious and veiled; the canoness' color)", wrote Baudelaire, veering towards the ultraviolet which is the only light capable of illuminating black. Excerpt from the press text:
“What if the hearse were taking the deceased, surrounded by abundant flourish, to a final resting place in France, and leading altar boys, priest, undertaker, beadle and grave-diggers to some sort of celebration where they could indulge gleefully in vice? Now that would be divine!”
Vitriol d’Oeillet is part of the export line. It will be launched in July at the Palais-Royal, then worldwide in September.
De Profundis is part of the exclusive Palais-Royal line. It will be launched in October.
The limited edition bottles (including the one depicted above) will be available in November.
Both Louve and Serge Noire will also be edited in engraved bottles, the former with a Balinese puppet motif, the latter with a crucifix.
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| Serge Noire limited edition Nov. 2011 |
And finally, all of you in the throes of Tubéreuse Criminelle addiction will be able to give in: it is the next limited edition in the export line, as of November 2011.
I’ll be reviewing Vitriol d’Oeillet shortly – it’s already eating at my wrists…
L'actu 
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OOOh drat, just when I've managed to get an unopened BJ of Criminelle to my hopelessly smitten self Downunder!! At least I will be able to leave it while I spray the LEd with abandon...not that one can spray the inimitable marvel that way!
RépondreSupprimerY'know, I have been reflecting on its relationship with that other heavenly body Angel lately, and am now convinced there is a droll post-modern link in there somewhere!
I am pleased as a perfume lover that Womanity has scored too...I wonder if its strangeness hopefully heralds a bit of a renaissance in the great art.
Meanwhile Serge Noire is my one and only scrubber...
Bear in mind that it'll be late fall before you can get hold of Tubéreuse Criminelle in the export, so I'm sure your bell jar will be appreciated throughout!
RépondreSupprimerYou'd have to elaborate on the TC/Angel link, you've got me puzzled... As for Womanity, the perfumers voted on that, so it's not necessarily a good indicator of the way the industry is going.
I hope that mr. Lutens and mister Sheldrake are doing well?
RépondreSupprimerI remember reading everything by Baudelaire and Wilde not being my most radiant period in life
(I'm still smitten with Wilde's most cynical remarks though)
Mr Lutens probably also has very simple taste - he only likes the best. Can't wait to try the "Profundis" and read your review!
Illdone, I do so know what you mean: the periods during which I learned Baudelaire by heart are not my most serene. But they are certainly the most influential, and I suspect our common admiration for the more ultraviolet sections of the literary spectrum is the key to my affinity with Mr. Lutens and his oeuvre...
RépondreSupprimerYour Wildean take on his taste is certainly correct! Mr. Lutens *also* has quite a sense of humour though it doesn't necessarily come out as well as it could in translation.
As a confirmed Lutensoholic (I'm not quite sure whether that's the right word...), I have to say that any new release is cause enough for excitement. Which was right when you did me in by mentioning Baudelaire and Wilde, two giants in my personal Pantheon of Late and Great...Now, I suspect the anticipation will really do me in! One of my favorite flowers - carnation - in a Lutens interpretation - if that's not intriguing, I don't know what is! De Profundiis I'll have to guess at - and I never get that right! This is a good thing, since I like surprises, too.
RépondreSupprimerI always knew Serge Lutens has a sense of humor. I find it in many perfumes of his line. The jokes and the punchlines will creep up upon you when you least expect it, which is another reason I love so many - too much! ;-)
Thank you so much for this!
Tarleisio, I couldn't agree more, Serge Lutens' sense of humour is *also* olfactory -- though I suspect he's got a good creative partner in the British Mr. Sheldrake... I haven't gone too far in disclosing the effects of De Profundis because it's just waaaaaaay too early in the game.
RépondreSupprimerI believe that's what they call 'building anticipation' in marketing! :)
RépondreSupprimerIn any case, you had me at the...S...and color me intrigued!
Tarleisio, it's always a toss-up between being one of the first to break the news (I was a journalist too long to say I don't get a kick out of it) and respecting both the house -- they don't want their product to be old news by the time it gets out -- and the perfume, which I'd much rather experience at length before writing about it. Not to mention frustrated readers!
RépondreSupprimerTubereuse Criminelle in the export line!!! That's good news for us poor non-parisiens! I'm dreaming about it since I read what you wrote, trying to figure out what it can smell like- and criminally didn't visit SL at Palais Royal last August in Paris- and have poor chances to come too soon!
RépondreSupprimerI still don't know if I really love Lutens-Sheldrake, haven't tested much, yet, and something disappointed me deeply (fleur de citronnier or un bois vanille...) but I wear and worship Borneo and adore its camphoraceus start. Camphor and Tuberose- it must be paradise!
Iodine, I knew the good news about TC would be welcome with whooping cries of joy all around the world -- or at least, in the US and Russia, since apparently the Americans and Russians are the ones who come into the Palais Royal shop clamouring for it!
RépondreSupprimerBy now it's a huge line to explore... Fleurs de citronnier, which I quite enjoy, is very tame, I'll grant you, and Un Bois Vanille doesn't do much for me, but Filles en Aiguille and Serge Noire are quite fierce!
Just back from popping into the bedroom for a celebratory spritz of Tubey Crim. (Your reviews usually have the effect of getting me to spritz something.)
RépondreSupprimerSerge does a carnation? Yes, please! You know how I love the spicy stuff - this should be terrific. And what a fantastic name - I LOVE that. Can't wait to hear your takeon it, and I'll be drumming my fingers impatiently until September.
Amy, you're catching me in the midst of spritzing 50-count'em-50 decants for a friend's 50th bday, so I know from spritzing!
RépondreSupprimerYup, fabulous name isn't it? Don't you just want to say you're wearing that?
Fierce carnation?! Can't wait to read more when you review it. Thanks for the breaking news, even though we have a bit of wait as always to try it ourselves ;)
RépondreSupprimerQuestion: have you tried TDC's latest: Pure Virgin yet?
G., I know it's frustrating (see above). And no, I haven't tested Pure Virgin, or even smelled it. Haven't been in a department store for ages!
RépondreSupprimerThese two bottles are magnificient! Altar boys, priests and grave diggers shamelessly indulging in vice, I love it!
RépondreSupprimerEmma, aren't they beautiful? About that grave-side orgy, I was thinking of the painter Clovis Trouille who depicted a couple quite vividly... The Surrealists adored him.
RépondreSupprimerI want that opaque bottle of De Profundis so bad... Don't the limited bell jars retail for something like 800 euros?
RépondreSupprimerThe anticipation of new Serge Lutens offerings always gets me going. These sound quite interesting -- I'm having trouble imagining chrysanthemum + incense. I can't wait to find out what that's like. Meanwhile, I wore Tubéreuse Criminelle a few times this past week, and am enjoying it immensely.
RépondreSupprimerthroades, the "platinum" De Profundis bottle is absolutely magnificent, isn't it? Mind you, the perfume is such a fabulous ultraviolet colour it's a pity not to see it. No prices have been given out yet for the special bottles though...
RépondreSupprimerJarvis, I'm not sure I actually know what chrysanthemums smell like...
RépondreSupprimerCarmencanada, you're spot on about Clovis Trouille! De Profoundis may be regarded as the first piece of transgressive olfactory art.
RépondreSupprimerEmma, actually, Etat Libre d'Orange got there first with Charogne, another Baudelairian allusion... And on purely olfactory terms, I could think of several Comme des Garçons.
RépondreSupprimerThat's right, I forgot about Etat Libre d'Orange Charogne. I'm not very familiar with the Comme des Garcons fragrance line.
RépondreSupprimerEmma, I doubt any of the CdG are up your alley but as far as transgressing olfactory codes goes, they're the ones...
RépondreSupprimerI can’t hear carnation and clove and venom together and not think of Tabu, is there a reference here?
RépondreSupprimerAlso, Editions de Parfum’s Rubrum Lily smells exactly like lily from afar and strongly of clove at close range.
As a Borneo fan, I am ready for TC! I was not happy with Bas de Soie, and I can’t wear Cuir Mauresque.
--Nikk
Nikk, not a hint of Tabu -- no patchouli. I'd really be looking more at the Carons, Poivre, Coup de Fouet, Bellodgia... maybe even Floris Malmaison.
RépondreSupprimerDenise, I agree both of the bell jars are gorgeous. Though I'm not partial to the 'gothic' font used recently. In person is the juice really that ultraviolet-blue color? You know how some SL creations have shifting colors...
RépondreSupprimerOH MY GOD.
RépondreSupprimerTubereuse Criminelle!!!!!
Marcus
throades, in person the colour of De Profundis, when the light comes through the bottle, is nothing short of amazing.
RépondreSupprimerMarcus, yup. TC. November will be the time to stock up. And glad to see you back!
RépondreSupprimerAren't both chrysanthamums and carnations no-no flowers in France? Isn't the former only for funerals? And, can even the French easily pronounce Vitriol d'oeillet? Anyway, vive Lutens.
RépondreSupprimerCarla, the closest phonetic approximation in English would be "vee-tree-ohl" and then "d'oeillet" is like "duh" plus "yes" without the final "s".
RépondreSupprimerChrysanthemums are indeed only used at funerals, which is kind of the whole point of De Profundis. Carnations are bad luck for actors in France. I guess that's the point too -- Lutens's black humour at play.
so good to hear about the carnation - i've been hoping to find a great one for my mom, who loves the flower and note. can't wait!
RépondreSupprimercheers,
minette
Minette, if your mom can make it past the name -- not everyone is used to the Lutensian sense of humour -- there's a good chance she'd love it.
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