mardi 3 août 2010

Boxeuses by Serge Lutens: Tough Plum


Boxeuses is a spectacularly modern, insolent name for a fragrance: the French for “boxer” both in the feminine and the plural, a hint about the gender ambiguity of this new interpretation of the Cuir de Russie, as well as its oscillation between attack and feint, toughness and softness. It could also be, much in the way that the house of Lutens drew perfume back to its Arabic origins, a roundabout allusion to the starting point of French perfumery: the scented glove, whose use Catherine of Medici brought to Paris in the 16th century, along with the perfumer (and purveyor of poison) René the Florentine. And with its bitter-charred top note piercing its smooth skin, Serge Lutens’ newest Palais Royal exclusive, to be launched in September, does indeed conjure a poisoned glove… But one for contemporary femmes fatales whose great-great-grandmothers wore Chanel’s gender-bending potion in the 1920s.


Boxeuses is a Lutensian Lutens. Unlike the clean-musk L’Eau or the ultraviolet and green haze of Bas de Soie, it reprises the original codes of the house: the spices, dried fruit and plum-violet-wood accords inaugurated by Féminité du Bois (in fact, it could have been called “Bois et Cuir”). Following the rich sillage of Boxeuses is like wandering back into more familiar rooms of Serge Lutens’ olfactory palace and finding that while you were away, he’d shifted elements of the decor. Where Cuir Mauresque played on shades from orange to tawny – aldehydes, mandarin, orange blossom, cumin, myrrh – Boxeuses pulls leather towards a darker spectrum, from tawny to plum to black, with references that owe less to the Orient than to two landmarks of French perfumery, Cuir de Russie and Femme, the great ancestor of Féminité du Bois. It is, in fact, a Cuir de Russie with the iris swapped for a plum/ violet accord.


What Boxeuses unveils is what I’d call a leather illusion: a halo of materials producing the effect of leather in their centre -- as though the scent itself had the rounded hollow shape of a boxing glove -- with a continuum of notes that go from sweet to caramelized, boozy, burnt and smoky.

The leather first punches through the sweet top notes of liquorice and cherry, paired up through their common almond and caramelized facets and livened up by a discreet celery note, like a tiny green glint in the anisic darkness of the liquorice. The dark, mouth-burning caramel facets of the top notes are then picked up by immortelle, which brings in its characteristic burnt sugar, spicy, almost alcoholised aspects; these tie in with prune/rose/wine/tobacco facets of damascenones to conjure a boozy effect, Armagnac or a plum spirit. The plum, framed in peach, violet (ionones) and patchouli, conjures the legendary Prunol base that first appeared in Femme and was reinterpreted in Féminité du Bois.

The violet in turn introduces the woods. The smokiness of the sandalwood and vetiver deepen that of the birch tar; the former’s milkiness melds with the lactonic effect of the plum. As Boxeuses dries down, patchouli veers into a dark chocolate effect that seeps into the sweet, musk-laden base... A sweet, fatty note, possibly bees wax, conjures the oily texture of the softest leather throughout.


All of these notes I’ve deduced, since no list is given out; I may be wrong on some materials, but not on the effects. But speaking about the structure doesn’t convey the feel of Boxeuses: a punch in the gut wrapped in yielding fine leather. One “boxeuse” lunges; the other feints. After all, you’ve got to be two to fight, and these boxers come in the plural. But Lutens is neither of the fighters: you’ve been sent to the carpet moaning with happiness, and he’s the referee. Ten... nine... eight...


As I have received enough Boxeuses to share, I am doing a draw for a 1.5 ml mini-atomizer sample. If you want to participate, drop a comment… and try to say a little more than “I want in”, it’s much more fun that way…


THE DRAW IS NOW OVER, SORRY FOR LATECOMERS!


And don’t forget, if you’ve missed it, to read the interview Mr. Lutens gave me in June.

132 commentaires:

  1. Oh my. Cuir de Russie and Femme? A punch in the gut wrapped in yielding fine leather? Sign me up! I am breathless with anticipation.

    I have been enjoying the green iris-hyacinth of Bas de Soie (with that simultaneous smoothness and scratchiness that silk can have), but Boxeuses sounds even more up my alley.

    Is this available for purchase yet at the Palais Royale, D?

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  2. Jarvis, it's in the write-up: to be launched in September, which means it'll probably be on sale in a month. Time to catch your breath...

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  3. Oh, good gravy. Yes, please, I'd really like to smell this, please, so please enter me in the draw, please.

    The violet makes me a little nervous, but I know I like plenty of fragrances that have a well-blended violet note buried in them, so I'm being open-minded. Besides -- anise? Caramel? Leather? Yes, please. Not to mention the fact that I almost never don't love the things that you love. It's becoming a convenient shortcut for me -- Denyse loves it? Then I'd better smell it.

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  4. Amy, the ionones are part of the prunol-type base (do you love vintage Femme? it's got'em) so we're not talking sugary violets here. The anise is more a connotation of the little celery note and the liquorice than a note proper.
    And, yes, if Denyse loves it...

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  5. What Jarvis said. Sorry I don't have anything more interesting to add D., you've punched all my buttons and left me speechless. Too bad it's not an export! (Though that doesn't make it impossible to get a hold of, just a little more time consuming. I'll bide my time with vintage Femme, Chanel's vintage Cuir de Russie parfum and FdB in the meantime...)

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  6. This sounds wonderful. I have slowly come to appreciate birch tar/leather notes more and more. I admire Féminité du Bois but find it a little bit too sweet--of the several similar or follow-on scents to FdB I prefer Bois et Musc--but FdB with a leathery punch to it sounds just about perfect.

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  7. Please enter me for the draw!

    I was in The Perfume House last week and forgot to ask if they had these in yet. I was unfortunately being led astray by various other houses at the time. I have been there enough that I can ask "what's new that I might like?" and they always come up with something tempting.

    Kristen (crowflower

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  8. Alyssa, my buttons are punched in pretty deep as well. But I'd say if you love those three it's a blind buy, at least for a decant.

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  9. Janice, this is pretty sweet as well, with the licorice... But the leather dries it out.

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  10. Kristen, it won't be at the Perfume House anytime soon since it's not exported, so don't regret that you didn't ask. The only way to get it is to have it brought back from Paris! But it's only coming out in a month.

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  11. This one sounds wicked, and I'm not seeing a ticket to Paris in my near future.Please drop my name in the hat.

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  12. While the notes bear little resemblance, I can't help but think of Bandit. I am chomping at the bit for this one; I can smell the leather of the bridle from here...

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  13. Carter, no resemblance to Bandit -- I think you may have read "liquorice" and though about the liquorice facet of isobutyl-quinolin. But it's really miles away.

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  14. A draw for the very long anticipated Boxeuses? My curiosity as at the maximum. Am I in for the draw? ;)
    Every bit of your review makes it harder to wait until it is launched - apart from the immortelle you mentioned. Is it well woven into the fragrance or a dominant single note standing out?
    It will be particularly interesting to compare it with Cuir Mauresque and the leathery touch I get from Sarrasins.
    Larimar (basenotes)

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  15. This sound gorgeous! I am not too fond of Cuir Mauresque but love CdR... and plum and violet...

    Please enter me to the draw. :)
    Pelle

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  16. Larimar, of course you're in, you've be rolling those drums long enough! You needn't worry, the immortelle is a tiny effect tucked away in the blend, not a star player. I'm not even 100% sure it's there, though comparing notes with a couple of people who came over to my place and smelled it yielded the same impression.

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  17. Pelle, I did a side-by-side with Cuir Mauresque and it's really quite different. You're in.

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  18. D--just meant the tough-but-beautiful factor...but, no, I don't *smell* Bandit in my brain when reading about Boxeuses...different animal altogether.

    Love the photos, BTW...both of them!

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  19. Oh, THANK YOU!
    says a happy Larimar - too kind of you!

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  20. Amy, beats showing a woman with boxing gloves on... and I love that I found a picture of a tough broad with a boxer of the canine variety. Helmut, naturally.

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  21. Oh, I want to try this! I did not find Bas de Soie very appealing, to me it had the same skankyness as Amaranthine and some Eld'O-fragrances. But Boxeuses sounds like it is more up my street.

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  22. Jorid, I wouldn't have thought of a common point between Amaranthine and Bas de Soie in a million years, I wonder what's causing this? Maybe some green note? Hmm... You're in.

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  23. Oh, boy. I have heart palpitations. I feel faint. Leather. Cuir de Russie? Plum and violet and boozy and smoky and...

    Do you know, I have a lot to thank you lovely perfume-blogging ladies for. For one, back in the day when I was too poor to buy any perfume (not a happy situation), I came across perfume blogs as a sort of "scent-by-proxy" approximation of the real thing, and along the way, I discovered Serge Lutens.

    What I love about his unique approach is not only that he's completely unfazed by "trends" in the sense that he always plays with expectations and perceptions of what the next Lutens will be. I never know what to expect, or what stories would unfold - what I might adore with a fury and a passion, and what I might not - love, like or outright loathe. At least on my skin.

    Whether it's the opulence of "Arabie", the rummy, yummy sap&sexy "Chêne", or the "Fleurs d'Oranger" that puts the va-va in my voom, I never know what journey his perfumes will take me to, or what splendors I might encounter on the way.

    If that ain't genius, I don't know what is. So, please, as a long-time fan of the vintage Cabochard and also Cuir de Russie, I'd like to be entered in the draw.

    If only to experience what phantasms and mysteries I could conjure out of Boxeuses!

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  24. Tarleisio, what a love letter! I know what you mean: with me and Mr. Lutens, it's a love story that goes back years now... Of course you're in!

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  25. Hey, I'll go for it. I am interested to smell this given my recent conversion to Cuir de Russie. I had some on the other night to go out on the town, and I realized that Cuir de Russie is one of those scents that is so beautiful it hurts. Seriously. There are a small handful of them I own (Une Fleur de Cassie is another), and I simply marvel that it took me so long to smell it. I even love smelling it on my shirt a few days later...it's still wonderful. So, Boxeuses intrigues me, even more so because I feel like I'm in a boxing match with many of the Lutens scents. It's a challenge to wear them and I want to see who wins.

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  26. Thank you for the review. This sounds incredible! I started drooling at the mention of plum and by the time I got to violets and Cuir de Russie I was all ready for a knock out :D

    I love plum notes, I got a bottle of Cuir de Russie extrait a couple of weeks ago and I'm contemplating a bottle so Bois the Violette after draining my sample so it goes without saying that this review got me pretty excited.

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  27. Jared, you're right about the Lutens being a little... pugilistic. Either you wear them or you're worn by them! I utterly adore CdR and Une Fleur de Cassie, both up there in my scented pantheon! You're in.

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  28. Abyss, Bois de Violette is also up there in my great scented loves... I'm against layering on the principle that perfumers know what they're doing, but if by accident I wore some CdR after spritzing on some BdV I think I wouldn't smell half bad...

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  29. I think I have never tried a really "leathery" fragrance and I'm really curious.
    When I tried Kelly Calèche for the first time, I thought it smelt like a leather bag, but then I read a lot of reviews saying that there was no "cuir" at all and that Kelly Calèche was nothing but a floral.

    I don't have had the chance to try Cuir de Russie nor Femme, so I don't know if I would like Serge Lutens Boxeuses. Your review made me curious.

    Please, enter me in the draw.

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  30. Isa, see, you got leather from Kelly Calèche, which was the intention: you're luckier than me! Cuir de Russie and Femme are absolute necessities for perfume lovers (the latter in the vintage: look for bottles with a box that's got black lace on an off-white background).
    You're in.

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  31. This sounds really nice. As I am unlikely to be in Paris any time soon, I'd love to be entered into the draw for this. Incidentally, I can't wait for Cuir Mauresque to arrive on Britain's shores later this year. I've only ever tried the wax sample of it, which while giving a feel for it, is not quite the same as trying the real thing, I think. I've tried Bas de Soie a couple of times and quite like it, although I find it quite potent, particularly on paper.

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  32. This sounds very good to me-
    Unless it resembles Serge Noir :-(
    It doesn't, does it ?
    Please, tell me it ain't so...

    And count me in, if you'd be so good ;-0

    Bises !

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  33. Michael, I've never really been too keen on the wax samples, though they're better than nothing and quite nice to take along, say, on a plane trip when you only have a carry-on. Bas de Soie, I agree, is a potent little potion. You're in!

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  34. Ida, absolutely not in the same ballpark as Serge Noire: not a smidge of incense in sight! You're in, and bises back!

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  35. See, I kept reading "Cuir de Russie" and "Femme", and couldn't actually read any other words. Which reminds me, D -- I love the vintage Femme EdC I got from you a while back. Even more than the vintage PdT and vintage parfum.

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  36. oh, I would participate, if it is possible. I very like Lutens, Cuir de Russie and Femme... your rewies sounds amazing!
    Does Boxeuses have some similarity with Daim Blond?

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  37. Jarvis, CdR and Femme can do that to a body, can't they? Happy you love the EdC, I enjoy wearing it very much as well.

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  38. Tatyana, you're in! I saw someone comparing it to Daim Blond and you could say that the osmanthus + suede in Daim Blond has some echoes in the peach/plum + leather in Boxeuses, but the leather materials are very different.

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  39. This is one of the most beautiful reviews I've read! My mouth is literally watering at the prospect of it. As a lover of Lutensian Lutens fragrances (one of my favorite adjectives), CdR, and Femme I might have to book a trip to Paris sometime soon. I have just even finished a 7.5ml parfum of CdR...wondering (with the impending release of Boxeuses) if any of the both smoky and then smooth/supple leather would make it's way into this Lutens, but made juicier with that plum note. I like the sound of plum/black as a color association with the smell! I would LOVE to be entered into the draw if US folks can.

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  40. Nick, thank you, and you're in the draw! My own bottle of CdR parfum is living in the refrigerator so I never really think of using it (the paradox!) but I've tried the edt in the heat and it does wonders...

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  41. Wow this sounds awesome, right now leather is the note that I'm getting into, and besides trying to win this one, I'm waiting Cuir Mauresque to reach US stores, the other ones that I tried and like are Tom Ford Tuscan Leather, Clive Christian "C" and Parfums d'Empire Cuir Ottoman, hopefully I can win this sample and try it.
    Please enter my name in the draw, thanks!!!

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  42. So...could I wear this in the heat, or is this one of those cooler-weather-typical-heavy-SL orientals?

    One more question: Would you like to smell this on a man?

    I'd love to smell it - please sign me up for the drawing. Thanks for posting the link on Basenotes!

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  43. I love Femme, Cuir de Russie, Feminite du Bois (and Daim Blond as well), so I would really like the opportunity to try this. Not all of the Serge Lutens fragrances work on my skin, but when they do they are amazing. I'm a fan of leather i perfume, as long as it's not too harsh and masculine. But the combination of plum and leather sounds divine!

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  44. I have the feeling I'll be the boxeuse that faints at the first punch, as I'm still trying to figure out how far my tolerance for leather goes. Still, I'd love to try this.

    This was a beautiful review D, I read it all in one breath!

    -Mila K.

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  45. I adore plum in perfume. I wonder if this will bear any resemblance to the infamous Nombre Noir?

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  46. Boxeuses sounds like a fragrance that I just might enjoy-alot! Unfortunately my trip to Paris is in August and this is not available till September,darn :(
    Please enter me in the draw. Is it likely I'll get samples of this when I'm at Serge Lutens Palais Royale?

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  47. P.S. Of course I meant to say-Please don't enter my name in the draw if you think I can get a sample while in Paris :)

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  48. I've been dying to try this one. I love plum and leather, and the two combined just about makes me giddy with joy. I'll be getting a sample of this as soon as I'm able, no doubt :)

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  49. Thank you so much for the fabulous review! I was not into leather, but perfume has sure changed that! Now I can't get enough. And when you add a little floral or some spice, I'm all for it. I would love to win a sample, so please enter me into the draw!

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  50. D., you could review white vinegar and have me frothing at the mouth to buy a huge bottle! But you had me at your reference to Femme (I wore it for something like 20 years, right up until the most recent reformulation) and Cuir de Russie (a bottle of extrait was my Christmas present to myself). Every note and facet of this scent sounds glorious - please count me in!

    And thank you for another wonderful review.

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  51. This is a flash of synchronicity for me-- I am contemplating a small bottle purchased yesterday in Mendocino CA, of "Elisir de Medici" and have been thinking of that Catherine, her great love, her perfumes and her poisons. I spent part of last evening reading the wiki bio of her, and looking at images captured on the internets. Thank you for mentioning her role in the history of French perfume. I would love to be in the draw for Boxeuses. Mary

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  52. Boxeuses sounds decadent, delicious... Plum and leather and spices? I'm not even sure I've smelled plum in perfume before! And I do enjoy a leathery fragrance, especially when it's softer, as this seems. Your review really has me wanting to sample Boxeuses!! :-)

    I am so intrigued by the name, and the concept... I get that leather can refer to boxing gloves, but... plum and spices? Hmm, I think I must go ponder... Thanks for such a wonderful review!!! :-D

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  53. Holy cow! I saw that you had posted the review, gave a quick read and made a mental note to come back...and look at the action here! Legions of Lutens lovers!!

    Naturally, the Femme + Cuir de Russie would call like a siren to many. When you added Feminite du Bois into the lineage, however, I was sent pondering just into whose lap the Boxeuses would fall when it comes to me a certain perfume friend: she, a violent lover of vintage Femme, me, a vigorously enchanted proponent of FdB. Our positions are so clear, I have actually (gasp!) gifted her with a bottle of vintage Femme I scored, because I felt in the end, it should go to the one who would love it most. I did this even though I knew full well that one day I just might fall as deeply under vintage Femme's spell.

    That, dear D, would be my way of saying "oh, yes; I, too, would be interested in a sample..."

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  54. When the SA pulled out the bottle of Boxeuses for us, she accidentally pulled out a factice of the gorgeous LE bottle. We thoughtfully sniffed the scent strips she had dipped. Boy were we disappointed! I thought maybe it was Eau de Boxeuses, with notes of wet paper, lol.
    Of course, then we tried the real Boxeuses, yummmm. I was so disappointed it wasn't on sale yet! I agree that it fits right in the Bois family, as you suggest.
    After reading your review, I'll need to revisit Cuir de Russie and find a sample of Femme, as I've never tried it. The reference leather I've recently enjoyed is Tabac Blonde parfum.

    Much as I'd love to try it again, I'll pass on the draw so someone else can try it who hasn't been in the Palais Royale recently. I already decided that a bottle of Boxeuses will be on my list come September ;)

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  55. As usual you've made this a total lemming for me: caramel, leather, cherries and celery? I can only slightly damn him for only keeping it in France. If I sweetly offer a heartfelt apology for the whole "freedom fries" idiocy on behalf of the US could he at least fast-track it to guest appearance in the export line?

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  56. faintly_macabre4 août 2010 à 04:36

    I love the synesthesia of fragrances. And purple is one of my favorite colors. Does anyone have a perfume that conjures up red for them? I've yet to run across that experience.

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  57. I used to manage professional boxers, and any scent that can conjure even an ounce of the drama that involved is championship material! I'd dearly love to try this -- thank you so much for entering me in the drawing.

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  58. The plum, framed in peach, violet (ionones) and patchouli, sound so interesting, oh hell, entertaining. Plus it would be nice to check out some heart notes other then the standard rose, orange blossom,Jasmin combos. Please count me in. The two different pictures really seem to portray the different sides of "Boxeuses", you are so good at this.
    Ross

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  59. Just discovered your blog and I love it! Hopefully I can win the sample! Keep up the good work!

    Melanie

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  60. Mike, I've worn Boxeuses in Provence in 27 to 30°C temperatures and did fine! And, yes, I'd totally see this on a man: triple yum!

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  61. Considering the amount of comments, it seems my chances of winning are not great. Oh well! :)
    If I read it correctly from your review, there is a dark /noir aspect to this (and it doesn't even have that in its name)? :)
    I really like what you wrote about it but from my SL experience so far, I just know that whatever I imagine from your words is not even going to come close to what it will smell like once I try it. :)

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  62. Marte, same here, I don't like my leather to be harsh and this one isn't. You're in!

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  63. Dixie, my mini of Nombre Noir is in terrible condition, but as far as I can tell, there's not a huge resemblance (maybe some wine-y/plum aspects of the rose?).

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  64. Cymbaline, as you may know the SL exclusives don't come out in liquid samples, only wax ones, but I'm not sure they'll have them made up. Or that they'll be pulling out the tester bottle for a sneak peak. You can ask, though. No harm in that!

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  65. Lilybug, see above. Your only chance will be with the decanting sites. Meanwhile, you're in.

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  66. Rappleyea, thanks! Never tried my hand at white vinegar, though God knows I've got a fetish for it: it's miracle stuff to have in the house!
    Your name's in the hat...

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  67. Mary, Catherine of Medicis played a huge role in the history of French perfume, and hence, of perfume, period.
    And you're in!

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  68. Olivia, the plum is there to soften the leather note, as iris and flowers do in Chanel's Cuir de Russie, a feminized version of a masculine genre.
    I'm also wondering whether there wasn't a wordplay in there between the French slang word for a punch in the face, "prune", which means "plum"... With Mr. Lutens, you never know...

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  69. P.S. Plum being the colour of bruises, of course!

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  70. ScentScelf, I love both, and there's no reason why your friend and you couldn't split a bottle of Boxeuses, should it come to that...

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  71. Ggs, glad you chimed in as the only commenter who actually smelled it!

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  72. Tom, you know how he is... no swaying the man! You're in.

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  73. faintly_macabre, red is a difficult one to do in perfume. I can only think of the Comme des Garçons series, Harissa, Sequoia, Palisander and Carnation...

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  74. Natalie, don't know if any scent is up to that, but you're in!

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  75. Ross, I'd say there were still some floral notes in the heart (the celery effect may come from a component of jasmine, for instance), but they're definitely not the stars.
    You're in.

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  76. Ines, Serge Lutens has done "noir" in his perfume names over and over! The black aspect comes, to me, from the liquorice and birch tar.
    Anyway, you're in just the same!

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  77. I used to be enamored of Russian leather perfumes, though I've seldom used them, lately.
    I love the idea that the scent we associate with leather is in fact a fragrance in its own right to begin with, used to mask the unpleasant smell of leather itself.
    Boxeuse sounds darkd and deep, and I like my leathers that way... I am just a bit scared about the liquorice: many Lutens seem to conjure a huge and flat haribo reglisse on my skin... But I am curious and would love to be eneterd in the draw!

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  78. Zazie, if you tend to bring out the liquorice, you might in this one too... But your name's in the hat!

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  79. Cuir de russie and Feminite de bois are two of my favorites. I've been waiting for a review of boxeuses for a long time and yours sertainly shed some light on what it might smell like. I am so curious now and can't wait to smell it myself. I'd happily participate in the draw of the 1,5 ml sample you have.

    /lulllull

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  80. my goodness this sounds incredible! The name is perfect- as you say very modern and adventurous but also with a nod to older leather fragrances. I really, really want to try this asap! please do enter me in the draw, it would make me very happy indeed to be able to try some

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  81. Thanks so much for the review! This sounds great to me, I can't wait to try it. Now the only problem is that if I end up loving it I'll have to find some way to procure a bottle since I live in the States...

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  82. Philip, that's the eternal problem with the Lutens exclusives, isn't it? You're in.

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  83. Slightly bowled over at how many people have managed to comment ahead of me...obviously I'm not the only one intrigued by your review.

    Love the idea of a cross between CdR and Femme, violets and plum sounds gorgeous, and a new cousin for FdB can never be a bad thing.

    I'm a little worried though by the treacly-caramelly bit, but of course I won't know whether it's a deal-breaker until I try it myself - a trip to Paris is the solution, but in the meantime I'd love to be entered in the draw, thanks!

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  84. Parfymerad, there's nothing treacly about this. When I said caramelized it's not because it's got the sugary intensity of Angel but because both the cherry and liquorice notes have got burnt sugar effects. The birch tar dries it up.
    And you're in.

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  85. Sounds delicious, and I do want to be that lady in the photo, what an image! Aspirational. Please do enter me if it is not too late.

    Gorgeous writing!

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  86. Lucy, I forgot to credit it but it is of course by the unique Helmut Newton! You're in.

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  87. oh my...If I ever needed another reason to travel to Paris , this is it !
    My God woman you are a torturer...your description sounds fierce , and tantalizing . And the photo you chose is , well , perfect !!

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  88. Carol, there's *always* a good reason to come to Paris: Paris!

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  89. Uh-oh this review was worth the wait. When you were generous enough to share your sample of this with Silvia and I a couple of months ago we were also sniffing Vamp and that received most attention. However when I reached home and went to bed it was Boxeuses which I kept sniffing, it reminding me of the feel of Daim Blond but the scent of vintage Femme. It also felt as if Attrape Coeur had ditched rose and started to wear a soft leather jacket. Thank you for also supplying the other scent associations (Cuir de Russie, the Bois series) which lead me inexorably down the path to love. No need to include me in the drawing since I'm already a goner for at least a decant when the time comes. Love that dog's face. Nicola

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  90. Nicola, you're right, somehow in there there's an Attrape-coeur vibe as well! God, there were a lot of beauties competing for attention that evening, weren't there?

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  91. Please Denyse, say I don't need this one.. I own and love Jolie madame (leather and violets-check!), Cuir de Russie -check! and Cuir Mauresque -check!
    Madame Rochas is sitting in my closet in a teensy miniature. Can I dab them all on and believe I own Boxeuses? So many fumes, so little time.
    Thanks for anther heart- breakingly beautifull review!!

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  92. Illdone, I'd leave the Madame Rochas out of this, she'd be out of her league... You're in.

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  93. Thank you for a beautiful review :) I can almost not wait for this! Cuir de Russie and Feminite du Bois are some of my favorites, so I'm really exsited. I've been a little disappointed with the latest releases, exept from Bas de soie Which I love. Is Sheldrake the master behind?

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  94. Bee, I can't believe I forgot to mention Christopher Sheldrake! Yes, he's still Serge Lutens' partner-in-crime, and it isn't entirely impossible to imagine that his in-depth knowledge of Chanel's Cuir de Russie was not lost on this scent...

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  95. I adore the damascenones in Feminite du Bois, and which I first smelled in Nombre Noir, the winey/prune note gives them a lush, round, full feeling. I am eager to see how it works in fragrance with feminine and masculine qualities. Please enter me in in the drawing!

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  96. I'm happy Serge has made a new leather besides Cuir Mauresque. Your description that Boxeuses goes from "sweet to caramelized, boozy, burnt and smoky" makes my mouth water. Here's hoping my nose doesn't bring out a slightly 'cheap' tinge like in Fourreau Noir.

    Will you be buying a bottle Denyse?

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  97. Trhoades, only if the taxman lets me. It's lean times over here as I slow down my other activities to write my book... But I'd say it's full bottle worthy. Fourreau Noir wasn't a big success with me either: I can't say I'm fond of the top notes.

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  98. Violet, caramel, leather, woods... Oh, but I do want to try this one. I have Cuir de Russie but SL leather wouldbe nice too. Is this on the export list?

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  99. Krista, no it's not, it's a Palais-Royal exclusive, unfortunately. You've got a shot at the draw!

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  100. Love your review! The idea of the "feminine boxer," the soft and the tough, really makes this sound appealing to me. Yes, please enter me in the draw!

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  101. Would love to try Boxeuses! And can not wait for export edition of Cuir Mauresque which is coming very soon.

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  102. You describe it admirably but I didn't get much of a sense of whether you liked it or not. Did you like it better than Cuir de Russie or Cuir de Mauresque? (Am not criticising the review, am just curious!). Either way, I'd love to find out for myself so I would love to be entered in the draw.

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  103. London, I wouldn't write with so much care about something I didn't like, it's just that I'm more of the analytical type so I seldom gush. And I don't tend to rank things in terms of "I like this better than that". They just give off different vibes to me, which is what makes me happy.

    And you're in!

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  104. as the very proud owner of two of the ultimate HG's (IMHO) vintage Femme & vintage Cuir de Russie I absolutely have to have this 1 ....please include me in the draw

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  105. Oh dear Lord, a descendant of Femme and Feminité du Bois with leather? I am salivating and hyperventilating, that sounds like my idea of heaven in a bottle. Beautiful writing as always, too, and of course I'm in.

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  106. Anonymous, I'll need a pseudo at least, otherwise it becomes too confusing...

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  107. Dear Denyse,

    you're generous draw offers always get me out of reading mode to writing mode:) I love reading your informative posts, but I feel that my knowledge of fragrance history& of materials is nowhere around the standard of your blog and I wouldn't have anything to say that's interesting to the others. Despite years of smelling and testing, I'm still a novice.

    As for leather scents, now that is a category that I somehow missed so far. I find Kelly Caleché compelling, even thinking about buying it, but that's light leather, right? From the real full-blown leathers I've only smelled Bandit and Dzing. I love the former, but I feel months would pass by without the proper occasion to wear it.

    Boxeuses is such a quirky, creative name!

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  108. Kata, leather is amongst the most "divisive" note in perfumery, and though most perfumers dream of working with it, they are well aware that it is not overly popular (hence the relatively small size of the family: it doesn't even rate a category in Michael Edwards' scent wheel). Bandit and Dzing are very different animals, totally divergent views of leather: Boxeuses is also different from both.
    In a word, you're in.

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  109. Sounds like this guys ideal scent, I was already layering Femme and Cuir to sleep in....

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  110. This sounds gorgeous, based on your description Boxeuses might be similar to Histoire des Parfums Marquis de Sade? Anyway, I really like it when perfumers take the typically sweet frutiy notes and darken them up. Yum! Oh, and I would of course love a sample of the Boxeuses. Thank you!

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  111. Klara, it shares the same principle as Marquis de Sade but not the same feel. Though I admit I haven't worn Marquis de Sade past an initial testing: somehow the name grated on my nerves, not because I have an aversion to the marquis (I wrote my thesis on one of his novels) but because I felt the Histoires de Parfums fragrance had nothing whatsoever to do with him. You'd search in vain through eight tomes to find the least allusion to leather (unless you count the whips).
    Getting off my soapbox: you're in!

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  112. Oh, I hope that I'm not too late to the party. Leather with a plum/violet accord? Gut-punched, bells rung, but thankfully, still on my feet and excitedly waiting for September.

    I like a lot of leather scents, but vintage CdR is probably the gold standard for me. And the smooth, round plum aspect of vintage Femme drops my eyelids to half-mast. Your description of Boxeuses is fabulous. So please, enter me in the draw.

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  113. Melissa, no, you're not too late: I've deep into writing my book and have been lazy about doing the draw! You're lucky to own CdR in the vintage: not having access to the US eBay (thank you LVMH for that firewall on eBay France!) I don't have a single shot at owning one some day, but Elisabeth de Feydeau, who worked for Chanel before the reformulation, says Boxeuses reminds her of it.

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  114. Yup, I'm the type to come back and see what other comments have come in...you never know what you will glean...like:

    There's an Attrape-Coeur vibe in there?

    Oh, dear. I feel sunk before I even get on the ship.

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  115. Scentscelf, saying Boxeuses resembles Guet-Apens may be overstating the case, but you could definitely love both...

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  116. I'm so glad Lutens has returned to being "Lutensian"! When I think of Lutens, I get the synaesthetic image of dark purple/plum anyway, so Boxeuses sounds like it's right up my alley. I can't get enough of the dark woods of Feminite du Bois and the soft, sueded plum of Femme, so I am chomping at the bit for a whiff of this one.Thanks for the mouth-watering description...

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  117. Perfumaniac: oops, sorry, just as you were writing I was announcing the winners of the draw... :-(

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  118. Ce commentaire a été supprimé par un administrateur du blog.

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  119. WOW! This is sounds so gorgeous. I want to try this.:)

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