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dimanche 8 février 2009

Serge Lutens Nuit de Cellophane: In Praise of Delicacy


After the charred, clove-y blast of Serge Noire and the edible sun that is El Attarine – which I see as a weaving of several threads explored over the past ten years – Nuit de Cellophane finds the dark magus of the Palais Royal in a mellow, purring, white angora kitten mode.

This isn’t the first time Lutens goes soft on us: Fleurs d’oranger and Fleurs de Citronnier are both light-handed compared to much of the Lutens oeuvre, as is – inasmuch as jasmine can be toned down – the elegiac Sarrasins.

I am particularly delighted to see the Lutens-Sheldrake tandem use osmanthus as a star note, because I’d been hoping for it: Nuit de Cellophane somehow segues on the apricot facets of El Attarine and the indolic-leathery undercurrents of Sarrasins while considerably lightening up, both in mood and texture.

As has been remarked on boards and blogs, several major perfume houses – Chanel with Jacques Polge and Chris Sheldrake’s Beige, Hermès with Jean-Claude Ellena’s Vanille Galante, Annick Goutal with Isabelle Doyen and Camille Goutal’s Matin d’Orage -- have recently released fragrances that have an airy, silken, easy-to-like quality. Fragrances that don’t require a major commitment to be understood and worn. Maybe perfume houses need that to boost sales in the downturn. Maybe we need that ease – I certainly do, and have been turning more and more often towards this type of scent, enjoying their low-key, discreet sensuality rather than opting for the major-commitment-for-the-day, bang-for-the-buck bottles.

Nuit de Cellophane, though very different in style, has the same breed of delicacy. Despite the nocturnal name, it is a solar scent, opening with shimmering mandarin top notes anchored to the mandarin-like, stained-glass, candied facets of myrrh – there may also be a sprinkling of aldehydes boosting the effervescence.

The orange hue of the mandarin is matched by the apricot roundness of the osmanthus flower; the jasmine comes out with an indolic growl before melding into the evergreen astringency of tuberose. The latter material is listed nowhere in the notes, and simmers under the layer of jasmine. In fact, the effect of Nuit de Cellophane suggests layers of increasing density, from the sunny gossamer gauze of the mandarin-apricot to the flesh-like petals of jasmine, onto something that has the fuzzy, velvety texture of apricot skin and the thickness of suede – the leather-like facet of osmanthus, underscored by a smidge of castoreum and the barest whiff of civet, rising after several hours on the skin.

A vegetal-animal hybrid then; a chimera, but with an oddly edible quality. As though you could choose either to offer its female floral flesh to be eaten -- “abricot” is sweet French slang for the pussy-- or scratch its silken belly. This one won’t bite back.


Image: Edward Steichen, Nude with Cat, 1903

26 commentaires:

  1. Oh! Your review makes it sound so beautiful.

    I have a friend of mine who loves Chanel Beige, but since I'm never near a Chanel boutique, perhaps I can purchase her a bottle of Nuit de Cellophane and she'd be just as pleased . . . ?

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  2. Would that be the beautiful, slim friend in your latest post? Well the scents are really not that similar: I just get the same sort of vibe (Sheldrake's contribution -- a Chanel/Lutens cross-pollination?).

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  3. I can't wait to go and try it. Finalement.

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  4. Octavian, I can't believe you haven't yet! It's been in the Palais Royal since last week and will come out internationally in March.

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  5. I obviously need to get busy and get Patty to get a bottle! It sounds wonderful.

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  6. March, you totally do. This is vying with Vanille Galante for the first full bottle I'm buying as soon as a couple of euros crawl in...

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  7. Mmmmmmm....

    I only hope the real thing is as lovely as what you've created in my mind. A danger of good reviews. :-)

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  8. Just like for A la Nuit, Nuit de Cellophane is composed of jasmine and osmanthus which are nocturnal flowers ("fleurs de la nuit" according to Lutens), even though they feel solar.

    Softer Lutens scents...I think it 's all personal perception (to the exception of Clair de Musc). Fleurs d 'Oranger used to be my favorite Lutens until they messed with it in 2005, to some, it was the most wearable sexiest orange blossom, to others too strong, spicy and heady. I wear scents the way Lutens intended them to be worn (he hates spraying fragrance and strong sillage and often mentions the notion or concept of "parfum bijou" that one wears like they 'd wear a broche). Dabbed on Serge Noire is one of the most etheral/transparent ashy/incensy woody scent but sprayed on, it 's just like what Tania Sanchez described it, cloves on crack gone wild!

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  9. Garde Rose -- I'm a heretic, I spray anything that's not pure extrait. In fact, until I started decanting a bit of the bell jars in atomizers, I used to bemoan the fact that SLs didn't last on me.
    Another Fleurs d'O fan here -- I still have a bit of the original bottle left!

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  10. Alyssa: I know. I sometimes worry about things like that. Lots of people over at Makeup Alley have been less than impressed (possibly because scents like Chergui or Arabie are perceived as SL templates), but I think this fragrance needs time to unfold all its facets.

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  11. This one is such a disappointment for me. The notes sound like heaven, but all I get is a very soapy, synthetic jasmine. I wish I got what you describe!

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  12. carmencanda, I scored two bottles of the original FdO last month on ebay (the first export edition, black on beige label), they were from england. I save them for this summer!

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  13. Anonymous, I was browsing the MUA forum and saw you weren't the only one to be disappointed... Clearly, this one will be as divisive as every Lutens fragrance!

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  14. Garde Rose: Congratulations! Colour me pea green with envy! ;-)

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  15. Super sexy review! Meow :-)

    Jasmine, apricots, suede.....sign me up!

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  16. Trish, well, I guess I'm feeling a bit... in season.

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  17. All the better for an indolic jasminey fleshy juice, no?

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  18. What a lovely, sensual review, it could entice anyone!

    I can hardly wait to try this - my skin magnifies white florals and I too have been waiting for SL to create a perfume with Osmanthus as the centerpiece-paired up with the fabulous Lutens jasmine, I can't imagine I won't love it.

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  19. Just caved in for a bell jar of El Attarine and was rather hoping this wouldn't be my cup of tea. Reading your beautiful review, I think this is a whole teapot !

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  20. Trish... I guess it depends on the taste of the gentleman (there does need to be one, somehow).

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  21. Flora, for some reason I'm finding that my skin eats this one up (or else I've been applying too little from my sample) -- you're lucky if you amplify white florals!

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  22. Silvia, well at least you won't have to jump through hoops to try Nuit de Cellophane before deciding if you need it -- teapot is quite an apt expression, what with the osmanthus and the jasmine/
    And congrats on the El Attarine: I still haven't got it, as it was promised by "monsieur", who hasn't come through yet, and I won't cave in!

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  23. I was somewhat less enthused, even thought I can see the prettiness, for reasons of reasoning (ie. non canonical) and aesthetics (ie. rather commercial smelling) both.
    I can well see that a game of retrogade "sneak upon the aficionado" is happening across the niche board, so I am inwardly chalking it up to that, but I can't help to wonder whether the wondrous strangeness of last year's turnout (Serge Noire, El Attarine) is not to be experienced again for many years...

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  24. E., you never know with Lutens. He did do several tamer fragrances over the years in his non-Palais Royal line (Clair de Musc, Fleurs de Citronnier, Santal Blanc...). I'm sure there are more unusual offerings to come but for the moment, I'm kind of grateful I'm not getting too buffeted around by this: it's just not the right time in history...
    That said, there's more to Nuit de Cellophane than meets the nose. It's just stealthier about having its say.

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  25. Argh. So many new SLs I haven't tried. Argh.

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  26. A., there's at least the two exports that'll be available in your part of the world... Hey, there's a lot of stuff out in the US that I don't have access to in Paris (but of course, none of it is Serge).

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