cmewiththemhandz@guerlinaughty
Serge Lutens: the mythical man, iconic genius, and legendary artist
- #hidden_gems
- #niche
- #perfumes_that_feel_like
- #question
- #signature_scent
Lutens is a world-renowned creative, makeup artist, photographer, as well as artistic director. You might only know of his achievements in perfumery, but he isn’t a perfumer by craft. Kevin Aucoin comes to mind when looking at Lutens’s media, he did not live long enough to achieve as much as Lutens. However, being a genius makeup artist, businessman, and photographer, I feel the two of them are cut from the same purple velvet.
He worked for Shiseido beginning in 1980, and then came out with his eponymous line in 2000 after the release of Féminité du Bois in 1992 under Shiseido’s name. He collaborated with famous perfumers like Pierre Bourdon, Christopher Sheldrake, Maurice Roucel, and first with Jean-Yves Leroy.
Nombre Noir was “Lutens’s” first fragrance and incidentally Jean-Yves Leroy’s only creation in 1982. Imagine making a magnum opus and retiring immediately afterwards. I put Lutens in quotations not to belittle, but to uplift Leroy’s incredible work with famously large amounts of damascones as well as rose, osmanthus, and spices.
Nombre Noir is deserving of its own review, obviously, and stands as one of the top 10 creations under Lutens’s direction.
Féminité du Bois, released exactly a decade later, was inspired by Lutens’s fascination with Moroccan spices, woods, and culture. Lutens’s Salons du Palais Royal was opened in 1992 in line with the release of Féminité du Bois.
The most disheartening experience was going to Paris only to find the Palais closed due to Paris Fashion Week.
As a partial Frenchman, I was outraged and wanted to strike— as I traveled there with a friend with a specific intent to purchase his inaccessible bell jars. I instead walked the streets of Paris, shuffled to the Guerlain Store, rolled my eyes at the by Terry store, and furrowed my brow at the Montale store.
Serge Lutens’s Féminité du Bois was my introduction to “niche” styling. As I said, I regard niche to be a *~style~*, which leads to much discussion and discord amongst lovers of “niche.” I feel the pretentiousness of the community on basenotes contributed to the dilution of this term as, all along, Shiseido has owned Serge Lutens, and is probably the most influential cosmetics company of all time, having discovered hyaluronic acid from Rooster combs 🐔
With that said, please enjoy the content I will be making respecting Lutens’s legacy, which spans several brands, styles, and inspirations. He is the man who caused a seismic shift in perfumery and how “niche” was borne.
I would love to know your thoughts on this and Lutens in general— as well as the perfumers he has worked with.
Enjoy!
