Serge Lutens La Vierge de Fer is proof that to know what something smells like, the perfume’s name, description, and marketing materials often aren't enough. Serge Lutens’s references to Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, medieval torture devices, and the “essential nature” of lilies probably won’t help you pin down La Vierge de Fer’s nature. Years of sampling such Lutens favorites as Ambre Sultan and Chergui aren’t going to get you very far, either.
I’m going to gin up a new Vierge de Fer marketing campaign to give you a better idea of what the fragrance actually smells like. First, let’s rename it. Vierge de Fer is too harsh and enigmatic for such a gentle, romantic perfume. I know Serge would kill me, but let’s twist the title a bit and call the fragrance Maiden’s Dream. (I hear the groans already.)
For our marketing campaign, we’ll toss out the cubist painting of prostitutes and substitute a summer-dappled Berthe Morisot. I don’t want to make this too “July afternoon,” because the fragrance does carry a hint of metal and musk. So let’s move the Morisot to a country house the morning after a dinner party. The house’s inhabitants doze in their bedrooms while the maid clears away lipstick-rimmed coffee cups and dirty ashtrays. She has pushed the windows open to the garden to illuminate the warm, easy day.
Although Maiden’s Dream — ahem, Vierge de Fer — is based on lilies, many who smell it might not think of lilies right away. Unlike Serge Lutens Un Lys, which screams hothouse Casablancas, Vierge de Fer is more pink and soft and smells like part of a subtly blended damp jasmine-ylang-rose bouquet. The fragrance doesn’t buzz or shimmer, though. Its texture is fine and smooth.
A hint of metal — or blood? — touches the fragrance’s edge, sort of like putting your tongue to the back of a spoon. Although metal evokes something cold and smooth, Vierge de Fer is a warm fragrance. As its dries down, amber, vanilla and sandalwood step up and sweeten it, but only as another thread in the fragrance’s tapestry and not as a central motif as in some of Lutens's fragrances.
That said, to me Vierge de Fer’s most prominent quality isn’t so much how it smells, but how it wears. It’s a soft, intimate floral that clings closely to skin but persists all day. Like Frédéric Malle Dans Tes Bras or Hermès Jour d’Hermès, it’s the sort of perfume that creates an ambiance rather than drawing attention to itself. It’s hard to imagine spraying too much on.
Despite its name, I see Vierge de Fer as a “straight,” almost innocent fragrance. If you miss the Lutens kink of, say, Tubéreuse Criminelle, you can do as I did one day and wear it under a stack of Bakelite bangles, and enjoy the accidental mingling of the perfume and phenolic resins as your skin warms. Or, you can simply breathe in Vierge de Fer’s close, soft floral aura on its own.
Serge Lutens La Vierge de Fer comes in a 75 ml bell jar for $310. For information on where to buy it, see Serge Lutens under Perfume Houses.
Note: top image is Oriental Lily [cropped] by sidpix at flickr; some rights reserved.
$310 for gentle and romantic. No sale.
It’s a lot less if you fly to Paris and buy it there!
well, I’m probably too mature for a Maiden’s Dream, but since heavy orientals aren’t my thing anyway, I’m quite interested in sampling. And your reference to Berthe Morisot doesn’t hurt at all!
“Maiden’s Dream” is a dumb name, I admit. I wanted to do some sort of play on virgin and demoiselles, and that’s what I came up with. But the fragrance’s mood to me really is soft and dreamy rather than kinky or radical in any way.
Just trying my sample and very much like it 🙂 It is soft, slightly apricot and very pretty. I can see wearing this during our rainy, dark January days in Seattle. As for Maidens Dream, there is a cocktail called the Maidens Prayer. After a few of those I can see why the people in the house were still asleep 🙂
That’s so funny about Maiden’s Prayer! Maybe we can invent a Maiden’s Dream cocktail and infuse it with flower essences somehow.
No ravished ballerina here.
You got that right!
This fragrance sounds much softer than the actual name would lead us all to believe. I must try it. Nice review Angela and many thanks.
It was surprisingly soft and quiet, I thought. Do let me know what you think when you try it.
Hi to all, Angela’s reviews r always wonderful, and this is no exclusion.
When I saw the image the first time I absolutely loved the iron bottle, it’s a masterpiece I must have (someday…)
And the juxtaposition: the tough image & name vs. a gentle juice. Very clever, I think.
I read this whole thing as the story of the original Iron Maiden – Joan of Ark. Even the bottle is very much Her….
And what’s inside is very gentle; Joan was a virgin (I suppose from a big V). Fleur De Lys symbol theme is in play here….. Yep, all come together…
Need to sniff, but would love to get my hands on a bottle some day
I wonder: is it a real metal, the bottle I mean?
Joan of Arc–of course! Although it is hard to imagine this Vierge de Fer taking charge of the troops.
The bottle I saw was the standard glass bell jar. There would definitely be something special, though, about an actual iron bottle with this soft, contemplative juice inside. As you point it, it would be a surprising contrast.
Yes, according to the legends.
the iron is not just the armour but also the way she withstood the trials she didn’t bent . and that’s as you said comes up as “A hint of metal — or blood? — touches the fragrance’s edge, ”
Now I’m so-o interested to sniff….
That’s a marvelous image. I hope you find the perfume just as inspiring as you imagine!
So it’s redolent of a country house the morning after a dinner party? Color me intrigued. But oh wow is that a hefty price tag that comes with it.
Probably more like the garden outside with a whiff of the country house from being shut up the night before, really. And yes, it’s not cheap! Although it’s 140 euros in Paris, which is a danged sight cheaper than $310.
Is this especially expensive? Once I was at a Serge Lutens counter in Berlin and I remember it very clearly because I didn’t realize how hard it would be to try to talk about perfume with my language skills at the time. So I was like “Ich mag…..*struggles to think* würzig….Rauch?…und Holz?” and she looked at me with a look of anticipation while I struggled to string a sentence together. And then she said “ah” and sprayed someone on a blotter for me and I liked it so I asked for it on skin. I thought I didn’t like any Lutens except for Borneo 1834 and she chose the perfect one even with my terrible communication skills! And then she told me how much it was and I’m pretty sure it was 80euro?? Maybe this was after the Galeries Lafeyette card. I went home with 100euro in cash and part of my wished that I had bought it. I don’t remember what perfume it was. Maybe Cuir Mauresque (it doesn’t sound spicy and woody but maybe it is smokey and that’s why she chose it? Or maybe she could feel my essence and knew to chose it). I wish I liked the sound of Fourreau Noir because that little cat bottle is so cute.
I do not like florals but I do love perfume that “creates an ambiance rather than drawing attention to itself”. When I sprayed Love by By Kilian on and then tied my shoes, it was like someone put a plate of dessert in front of my face instead of like I was smelling perfume. It’s not my style but I did keep the sample because I love how it wears.
The exclusive bell jars are far more expensive than the export line. You can get a bottle of those for about $120 in the States.
I prefer the rectangular bottle from an aesthetic point of view. Is the cat bottle photoshop magic or does it exist because I only found it from one source.
I’m guessing the cat bottle is a limited edition.
Wow, nested comments! The SL Fourreau Noir cat bottle is real and limited edition and will set you back a cool €900 (approx).
Yikes! That’s not cheap.
So you’re not 100% sure which Serge it was that you fell in love with? As Marjorie Rose says, I bet it was part of the export line. It could have been Cuir Mauresque, but also maybe Fumerie Turque or Chergui (just trying to think of those that might be smoky). I hope you find it again.
Serge Lutens kind of confuses me. Aren’t the Palais Royal exclusives sometimes added to the export line for a limited time, right? I’m sure a lot of people see this as a blessing but I just think it’s confusing.
You can buy this perfume for $310 or buy it in Paris for 140euro? Why not only make it available in the Paris store? Why have both of these prices floating around? Why don’t they do the simple minded (me) a favor and either commit to the exclusivity or just end it all together. I accept that SL is a luxury brand is more likely to do the former.
Honestly, she wouldn’t let me touch the bottles so I couldn’t read the label and I have a photographic memory. I could have told her I like leather. I do remember saying Rauch (smoke) because I had to worry about if I pronounced it correctly and I said würzig (spicy) because I had to learn that word since I like spicy food. Talking about scent in another language for the first time is actually kind of hard!
I know it was not Chergui. I don’t think it was Fumerie Turque but I’ve been wanting to try that since I first found out what niche is and I had forgotten about it.
This was when I was studying abroad and my class was supposed to meet at the Alte Nationalgalerie and I could not for the life of me find this museum. I searched for it until I was so late that I just had no other options than to say “I’m going to Galeries Lafayette and getting macarons”. I’m always early and I never miss a day of class/work unless I’m really ill (or I get lost) so it was fun to skip class and smell Serge Lutens perfumes. Then a few weeks later I was just taking a walk and I just happened to stumble upon the museum. It has a lot of work by Franz Stuck. A perfume inspired by Die Sünde (which is in Munich, not the aforementioned museum) could be interesting.
I can definitely sympathize about the difficulty of talking about scent in a foreign language! I was just in Paris and had the same problem. I love your description of your afternoon when you couldn’t find the museum. Sounds like kismet to me.
The whole Serge “exclusive” or “export” thing is hard to figure out. If you go up to the end of the review and click on “Serge Lutens under Perfume Houses” you’ll see a whole explanation that Robin wrote up.
I like the way Salamandra interprets the fragrance and its story-name as a counterpointing of strength and delicacy. A friend of mine thinks it is an example of Lutensian wit – the soft floral versus the imagery.
Being a cynic, my immediate impression is that the dramatic story is there to make a splash and the perfume is made to cater to a wide audience – ie. to sell well. The same strategy as with Vox Noire and De Profundis.
There’s really nothing very dramatic about the actual fragrance–not that there’s anything wrong with that–so why not amp up the story, I guess? Still, I think Vierge de Fer will find fans.
Having recently read De Profundis I remember being fairly indignant when I sniffed my little Lutens wax sample. When a lesser work is titled after a greater one – and does nothing to actually comment on the latter – well, it just seems callous to me. Of course it is just my opinion that the perfume has very little, if anything, to do with either Wilde’s book or the psalm…
But now I’m talking about a different perfume!
Great observation and very true in so many cases. I suspect our civilization got desensitized by equaling mundane with Amazing. How many times we all hear the word when nothing amazing is going on. …. But that’s the conversation for another time, another place, right?
………….Coming back to the perfume and M. Serge in particular, have anyone noticed this thread in his latest explorations? They are all about women: Une Voix is – all Billy Holiday, La fille de Berlin is about Marlene D., no doubt( for me at least) . Now M. Serge gives us his interpretation of The Maid of Orléans. He’ writing stories about women, don’t you think? I wonder who’s next? I LOVE stories………..
I did notice that, in fact. Somewhere, and I couldn’t find it when I tried, I seemed to remember that Vierge de Fer had something to do with his mother. He loves strong women, that ‘s for sure, and I’m glad.
I guess to even the playing field, we’ll have to write something based on a great perfume. Perhaps a novel called “Blue Hour” (if there’s not one already) or “No. 5.”
I hope you do, Angela, I would certainly read it.
You’re so nice! Thank you.
Lol! I don’t really mind it not being a ‘great’ fragrance – since I most often don’t like the ‘great’ ones; but I think a name can bring out nuances and subtleties to a fragrance and can add to it in many ways. When its totally misnamed (for marketing purposes – if it is that) then its a missed opportunity.
“Missed opportunity” is a kind way to put it. Some less forgiving people might say “misled.”
I really want to smell this one, especially since I have accepted that it won’t smell like its name. Unlike in the case of the Le Fille Berlin one which also belied expectations (since in that case I didn’t know it wouldn’t smell like its name/marketing)..I see a pattern here though- the whole creating and shattering of expectations..:)
And I loved the sensory image of this perfume and bakelite bangles!!
The Bakelite bangles were a nice surprise mixed with the fragrance!
As for Fille, I admit not really smelling the strength of the WWII woman in it, but I only have a tiny tube to dab from, and that might make a difference.
oh- I probably wasn’t clear in my comment- I did not think Fille smelled anything like the marketing either (it is just that I expected it to be darker whereas I don’t have that kind of expectation with Maiden’s dream ;-)).
I get it!
Tks for clarification! Unlike Angela I’m VERY easy to confuse:)
I don’t think I’m a lily or jasmine girl, but I’ll always give Serge a sniff. Wonder if this will make it to Our Lady anytime soon? 🙂
First it would have to become an export fragrance, which might take a few years.
Yeah, kinda figured that, but a girl can hope!
They have so many other good things for sale….
Hopefully I’ll be able to sample it someday… I’ll sample anything SL comes up with. I admire most SL fragrances, even the ones that don’t suit me personally. I think some people are disappointed that he’s released some softer fragrances, but that doesn’t bother me. De Profundis is one of my favorites from the line.
On Fragrantica I saw incense listed as one of the notes in La Vierge de Fer. Is it similar at all to Passage d’Enfer?
I agree–I always want to smell something by Serge Lutens, whether I decide I want to buy a bottle of it or not.
No, it really doesn’t smell a thing like Passage d’Enfer. I couldn’t pick out any incense at all, but maybe someone else could.
This one is out of my financial league, unfortunately.
However, I happen to be wearing (the original) Miss Dior today. That one is slipping out of the mainstream and into the obscure, and by comparison to what you find at most department stores these days Miss Dior would be smelling as interesting as many of the newer Serge Lutenses. And for both strength and delicacy you need look no further than Miss Dior. In its day (1947!) it was considered a return to romanticism and femininity.
The original Miss Dior is one of my all-time favorites. It is freaky and addictive, and feminine, of course. The first time I smelled it, I didn’t know what to make of it. I kept going back, though, and now I love love love it.
I’m joining the Miss Dior love fest..:) I have a mini of the vintage and it is lovely. On saturday, I found the original but probably not vintage version in a antique store and contemplating getting it (if it is still there)..
It’s often hard to know what is ‘vintage’ with some of the Diors. If it’s any help, I bought mine in 2008, in the frosted bottle, and I think it’s quite wearable. I wore it today and it was lovely. I do also have a ‘vintage’ bottle in the ribbed clear glass bottle and b&w houndstooth box, 80s-90s maybe, and it is even lovelier but the top notes are a tad off. This was given to me by a wonderful perfumista friend and I treasure it.
Dioressence I much prefer in vintage. I got a decant from one of the decant services.
I second all this. There are legions of Miss Diors out there. Some are greener, some easier, some more leathery–but as long as that Miss Dior signature is there, I like them.
Oh me too. Miss Dior seemed so sharp and dry and weird to me when I first smelled it years ago. I remember disliking the houndstooth design as well, back when it was rendered in stark black and white. Now it is a cornerstone of my collection, and makes me feel so much better about not being able to afford bell jars!
A couple of years ago I bought a gigantic, 16-oz bottle of vintage, and I cherish it, too. Now I’m wishing I’d worn it today!
Thanks for the review Angela! I must admit I’m not the big SL fanboy that I was when first started my fragrance journey. Ironically, I got my decant in the mail this evening. I like it!
Isn’t it kind of a surprise how mild mannered it is? Even Bas de Soie has more attitude (lovely attitude, at that). The first time I sampled Vierge de Fer, I went out for a nice lunch and liked how it didn’t interfere with our food, yet I could smell a faint, lovely, unobtrusive smell.
I scored a sample of La Vierge de Fer from Barneys last Friday. I decided to do something daring and made it SOTD (normally, I would not try a new perfume on a work day because…what if I have to scrub it off?). Anyway, on me, it was an initial blast of juicy peach, sweet with a hint of sourness and then it was just a slightly fizzy blend of flowers which I term “anyflower” because I know it is more than one flower but cannot really distinguish what kind of flowers. With 3 spritzes, it had moderate sillage but longevity was poor (< 4 hours). Overall, while I think it is well-done, it is not for me – money saved!
Yes–money you can now spend on another perfume you love!
Another review that would sell this immediately to me. Fortunately – or not 😉 I cannot splurge that much on a scent! But I am going tommorow to sniff the regular line and buy a new “mate” for autumn and winter. I would love something that is more about ambiance then “whoot, here I am, smell me!!”. Musc or even Vanilla – I am willing to give Uncle Serge another try.
I hope you find a good one! I adore Chene for autumn (in fact, thinking about it now, I’m going to find my bottle just as soon as I post this comment).