L'Eau de Paille (straw water) is the latest in the L'Eau series from French niche house Serge Lutens. A quick recap of my reaction to the first three is probably in order — if you have found the brand's foray into "anti-perfume" enchanting, you should probably stop reading right about now.
L’Eau Serge Lutens (2010): reasonably nicely done if you want a clean "anti-perfume". Which I don't. If I did, they're already thick on the ground, and I could surely find one much cheaper than this. But whatever.
L’Eau Froide (2012): also reasonably nicely done, but teeters dangerously close to what I think of as "generic department store man smell, sportified". Still, Froide is my favorite of the pack, so far. That said, I wouldn't buy it, not even if I found it on the markdown shelf at TJ Maxx.
Laine de Verre (2014): "as though Serge Lutens decided to take (relatively) recent consumer preferences for clean, and push the envelope as far as it could be possibly pushed with modern chemistry". I feel a little sick to my stomach just thinking about it. If I ever smell it again, it certainly won't be on purpose.
So why am I even trying L'Eau de Paille? Well, it's Serge Lutens, and old habits die hard. Plus, the name and the visuals drew me in: I love hay notes. A nice dry hay (this one was advertised as "a dry eau, for those who don’t like to get wet") would presumably suit me just fine.
Wearing L'Eau de Paille was therefore not a happy surprise — there are vague bits of the promised vetiver, incense and grains, but mostly what we have here is more generic department store man smell, this time of the fougère variety. It's flat, sweet-ish and fresh; the most prominent notes to my nose are probably vetiver and tonka bean. I hate to accuse a fragrance of smelling synthetic, because there are perfectly marvelous fragrances that smell entirely synthetic, but this smells synthetic in a not-marvelous way, as though they'd taken a bargain-basement modern masculine fougère, and watered it down a bit, and then added another dollop of vetiver and tonka bean. It doesn't smell like hay or straw, and it's not really all that dry.
L'Eau de Paille is the most conventionally masculine of the four in the series. The lasting power is good.
Verdict: Yawn. L'Eau de Paille does not smell unpleasant, so I guess you could say I like it better than Laine de Verre, but of all the series, it strikes me as the least interesting. In a million years I don't think anybody who smelled it blind would recognize it as a niche product at all, much less a Serge Lutens.
As always, if you've tried it, do chime in, whether you loved it or hated it.
The quick poll: name 3 Serge Lutens fragrances that you think anyone new to the brand should try.
Serge Lutens L'Eau de Paille is available in 50 ($110) and 100 ($160) ml Eau de Parfum. For buying information, see the listing for Serge Lutens under Perfume Houses.
Not at all surprised by your reaction, though I’m disappointed that it skews generic. My 3 picks for those new to SL would be ISM, Borneo 1834 and Feminite du Bois. Not all picks for me, mind you, but appropriate pillars of the brand.
I probably should have made it the best 5 picks? I am interested to see what 3 people come up with, I’m having trouble even thinning the list down to 5.
Ah well, as you would say, money saved.
My three would be Arabie and Bois de Violette as two of older fragrances that many of the early and mid-period SLs seem to be derived from, and La Fille de Berlin as an example of the current state of the house. None of these are my favorites, but I think they give a good overview of the house and all still pretty much smell like thay always have (ISM, Chergui, FdB, and Tubey all smell differnt to me than they used to smell).
I have not smelled new bottles of any of them in ages. Maybe I just won’t, ever.
Those are great picks! I think they’d be my choices, too, and for the same reasons. The only one that makes me waver is Ambre Sultan. Arabie has always been my favourite of the export line, and it inspired quite a few later Serge creations, like El Attarine, so I feel it might give the best idea of the Lutens line, but I feel like Ambre Sultan inspired a lot of other niche fragrances, is one of the best sellers and is therefore representative of what Serge Lutens used to mean to perfumistas. Three is a hard number…
I would say Douce Amer, Iris Silver Mist, and, and, and, I’m not sure about the third. Fille en Aiguilles smells very Serge-y, to me, with that stewed-dried-fruits accord, so maybe that one?
So glad somebody picked Douce Amere
Ditto! I need to wear that tomorrow.
I am profoundly disappointed in these clean Lutens scents. I feel as if I don’t understand why he would sell them, but of course I do understand: to make money. But I still think they’re worthless and despicable.
If I were introducing someone to the Lutens brand, I would want to ease them into his aesthetic, so I would start them off with Un Bois Vanille, his most accessible and conventionally appealing scent, while still having enough of interest (coconut, sandalwood, that smidge of licorice) to raise it above standard-issue vanillas. Then I would have them wear Jeux de Peau, a delicious gourmand, still accessible but thoroughly unconventional. Then I would probably have them sit through the entirety of Chypre Rouge, which is extremely peculiar but multifaceted and arresting — obviously a niche scent. I figure that would either scare them off or hook them for life.
I sort of “got” the point of doing one or two. But 4 seems like more than anybody needs, and this one is just so dull — that’s extra pointless.
Jeux de Peau is a good one to show off the odd-ball side of Serge!
That’s so funny, I don’t find Jeux de Peau that weird though my boyfriend did not care for it at all.
Iris Silver Mist, Bois de Violette, and A la Nuit. It’s hard not to include La Myrrhe and Daim Blond. For examples of how challenging the line can be, I’d recommend Feminite du Bois and Vitriol d’Oeillet.
Iris Silver Mist might be my only definite, so far.
I generally like violet, and Victoria at BdJ and I think Luca Turin gave it five stars, but I can’t figure it out. It just smells like dust and light violet to me. Another one I need to explore more…
Fumérie Turque, Chergui and Arabie. I know this is very biased, but this is the style in which I think Lutens reigns.
Those are good choices because you’re right, they’re very representative of his style.
Agreed, although I would pick different ones.
Which would be your three Lutens orientals?
You are right, which convinces me we need more than 3, because he also makes arguably the best iris and the best jasmine ever. So we need room for florals.
I struggled very hard with florals when coming up with my list because A La Nuit is an astonishing jasmine and he has THREE great roses as well as a carnation, an orange blossom, a gardenia…. Eventually I just gave up and left them out entirely. Anybody who explores the Lutens canon will stumble across them sooner or later.
Which of the jasmines do you like best?
I would add À la Nuit and Rahat Loukoum, then.
I like A La Nuit.
I feel like I can smell the Eau de Paille just from reading your review. And it’s not a genre I love, so I’ll be skipping this one.
Not pillars of his collection, but ones I find fascinating and worthy: Chergui, Tubereuse Criminelle and Douce Amere.
I apologize if you smell it too
Gris Clair, A La Nuit, Chergui.
I kinda wanna say Serge Noire, because it’s really Serge-y and divisive.
I like “Serge-y”
You know, it’s funny – I am NOT a fan of the line, and I’d never buy a bottle, but I sort of liked Serge Noire. It’s weird, but fun weird.
I like Serge Noire a lot, too. Very smoky, nice to wear on a rainy day.
Chergui, La Fille de Berlin, Gris Clair–a motley mix
That works!
Iris Silver Mist, La Myrrhe, Bois de Violette, Tubéreuse Criminelle and Ambre Sultan and for those who prefer jasmin over tuberose, Sarrasins.
I think the most recent Lutens I tried was La Fille de Berlin, which I like, a lot. But it’s not as distinctive as his renditions of both jasmin and tuberose.
Really, any jasmine fiend needs to try both A La Nuit *and* Sarrasins.
True!
La Fille de Berlin..beautiful on a woman and I think it would be very sexy on a man.
I think more men should smell like roses — apparently they wear a lot of rosewater and rose scents in the Middle East — and I like Fille very much, though I don’t own it: it would be my choice of the Lutens roses, for sure. (My go-to rose is Rossy de Palma Eau de Protection, so dark.) I bought the L’Occitane hand cream Roses et Reines a week or so ago: I wouldn’t wear the EDT (too much berry) but a tiny smudge of the cream is just the thing.
And just tried Pre de Provence Rose de Mai hand cream this weekend — strong, YSL-Paris type rose. I might have to buy a tube.
For a newbie, I would go with Gris Clair, L’Orphaline and Chergui.
Thanks!
1. La Fille de Berlin
2. Sa Majeste la Rose (good rose by rose comparison for good roses!)
3. Diam Blonde
Sa Majeste really is gorgeous, and even I tend to forget about it.
New to the brand, huh? My gateway was Gris Clair (actually) – and that started the love affair. I would recommend that for sure. While SL is know for his orientals, they aren’t my fave of his. I’m doing 5, sorry Robin!!!
1) Chergui
2) ISM (of course, my all-time fave)
3) Tubereuse Criminelle
4) Probably one of his roses (though I don’t care for them much) Fille de Berlin or Sa Majeste la Rose
5) De Profundis (just because I love it so)
6)….okay, and either Mucs Koublai Khan or Rahat Loukhoum
Wow, I’m a total liar.
Hard not to do 5. 6 really is cheating, but notice I still have not managed to come up with a list
Gris Clair was my first niche purchase!
I’d go with my faves:
1) Borneo 1834
2)Bois de Violette
3)5 o’clock eau Gingembre (sp?)
I’ve only tried one of the Eau (the 1st)and that was enough.
You were smart to stop at one.
I’m nowhere near trying all of the SL scents, but the ones I like well enough to buy full bottles were Rahät Loukhom, Chergui and Arabie. I have decants of Chêne and Cèdre, and want to revisit Rousse. MKK, Borneo 1834 and Cuir Mauresque were OK and Mandarine Mandarin was thin and weak.
For a new starter (and I’m not that far from being one myself) I might go Arabie, Chergui and Chêne. I wonder what my choices will be after another year of perfume fun! :^)
Ack, I forgot about Mandarine altogether.
My fav SLs: Cedre, Douce Amere, Chergui. I also have UbV, but it is SO sweeeeeeeeet. I really need to try that monster Tubereuse Criminelle.
Yes you do! But I hear it’s reformulated.
I think I smelled this at Sephora last week. I say I think, because I smelled next to nothing on the paper strip, and maybe my nose was already tired from a brief pop in to smell something nice on the way to work, but come on!
Anyway, I’d recommend
1. Chene (oh if I would have known to get a bottle back when it was at discounters, but I was new to the perfume game)
2. Chergui, because it just smells great, and people like to smell it. (Cuir Mauresque, Gris Clair and many others fall into this category. SL may be an innovator, but he also just makes unusual scents that plain ol regular non-perfume type people delight in the sillage/comment on/whatever)
3. Sarrasins, another that I don’t have, but wore a sample and it gave me plenty to think about the whole day. Opposite category to the above.
I got a half price bottle of Chene eons ago, and have worn it more than I thought I would. Keep looking!
My favorites Serges of those that I’ve tried are ISM, Bois de Violette, Five O’clock eau Gingembre. Oh, and De Profundis. I am still interested in sampling Arabie, Borneo, and Chergui. I guess Kelly isn’t the only liar. ????
No, you’re in a good club today.
I recommend you try Chegui, it’s on everyone’s list because it’s a masterpiece. I have yet to try ISM, among others.
I am SO not a Serge fan… wouldn’t even be tempted to pick up the Eaus in a store. Part of my reason to be under-impressed is probably that I think the line excels at genres I don’t love, and another part is even the florals, I don’t love. The only one I do love is La Myrrhe, and I can’t explain it.
However, if I were to pick out a few for a SL newbie to try, they would be Iris Silver Mist, Chergui, Feminite de Bois, and Fleurs d’Oranger.
Fleurs d’Oranger has a strong cumin note…
It does. But used to hear about it more years ago than I do now — rarely if ever see it mentioned in the SOTD!
I think it has been reformulated, because I didn’t notice any cumin in my (post-2012) sample, and because other people have mentioned that it isn’t as skanky as it used to be.
I sampled it about two years ago but I have no idea how old the bottle wasan it came from STC. I gave away my sample, the cumin was total skanky armpit on me. I just couldn’t get past it.
Miel de Bois – as an example of how well Lutens polarises wearers, which is kind of representative of the nature of all his scents
Love Miel de Bois
Feminite du Bois, Chergui, Ambre Sultan. And De Profundis, that makes my heart stop. Errr… More!
Cedre, because SL is all about cedar, if you don’t like cedar, you’re going to have a tough time with a lot of his line. And you have to try some of his more (in)famous scents like MKK (which I can’t smell) and ISM (carrot juice).
I know I have tried one of the L’eaus but it was so forgettable that I have forgotten which one… Don’t think I will bother with the rest.
You are smarter than I am. If I try the next one, somebody should remind me.
What? No one had mentioned Boxeuses unless I totally missed it! The other ones I would recommend are Iris Silver Mist (my gateway to the line) and De profundis.
I have never tried the L’eau de Paille and may nust give it a passing sniff the next time I’m at Barneys (or Saks which I think now carries SL).
This is exactly the list I was going to write in: Boxeuses, ISM, De Profundus. If I could go to five A la Nuit and FdB. Actually these latter two would perhaps be better for starters than ISM.
Do give it a sniff, who knows? I’m sure it has fans.
Oh, difficult… Iris Silver Mist definitely, and Feminite du Bois, and a warm spicy oriental (am clueless as to which one)… but what about Tubereuse Criminelle? And one of those gorgeous roses?
I would say Feminite du Bois before any of the other Bois series.
Iris silver mist, Borneo 1834 and de Profundis. All excellent.
Perfect, and you stuck to 3!
I think this is my list of the next three I’d like to try.
I completely forgive him for his terrible L’Eaus because his older perfumes make me so happy (I own at least one dozen FBs (thank you fragrancenet!) and could never choose just 3 among them).
I forgave him the Eau series originally, but then he did the luxury line (already forgot the name) and I became a little less forgiving.
I’ve tried maybe ten of them, and feel as though I’m still new to the brand. For what little it’s worth, my three would be Ambre Sultan, Fleurs d’Oranger, and Tubereuse Criminelle. No, wait–scratch Fd’O, and substitute Muscs Koublai Khan. (I’m getting a sense of how difficult this must be for most of you.)
I love jasmine, so thank you for the reminder that I need to try Sarrasins even though A la Nuit was not for me. I must not be able to smell a big part of it. All I got was unwashed panties. Perhaps that is what A la Nuit is supposed to smell like? Could be a good thing if that’s what one wants.
Serge Lutens is such an imposing character. Une Bois Vanille scared me out of my socks. La Religieuse was so odd it was like a smack in the face. It put me off trying anything else from the line, but the suggestions in these comments have me interested again.
Uncle Serge should name his next fragrance “La Fille Avunculaire pour lui” so we could all have a bit of a laugh and then go back to being puzzled.
A La Nuit is a bit indolic. Or maybe very indolic, it depends on your tolerance level
I though both Eau froide & Laine de verre were bad. Cold and heartless.
My three scents from Serge is Rahat loukum, Iris silver mist &
De profundis.
L’Eau de Paille is not as cold. I still don’t like it.
Yeah, the Eau releases haven’t been that interesting for me. It’s a good idea, but that’s not what I like Serge Lutens for. I love him for making Sarrasins, Bois de Violette and La Myrrhe and Iris Silver mist! Although, if I had to recommend three perfumes to someone new, I’d say go for Ambre Sultan, Feminite du Bois and A la Nuit. Just to introduce what SL (to me) is all about.
the recommendations (Ambre Sultan, FdB and A la Nuit) are exactly the ones I would go for as a Serge Lutens 101.
NOT arguing with you, I promise, but wondering why you thought it was a good idea if it’s not what he’s known for? I ask just because most of the serious SL fiends (apparently, including his own staff) were upset about it even before they smelled them.
I am not sure it was a good idea even if they’d turned out to be much better than they are. I think trying to widen the appeal of a brand like Serge Lutens weakens it in the end — that is, part of the appeal of the brand to begin with was its “cult” status, which I think has definitely changed over the past 5-6 years. People used to go crazy when there was a new SL coming, that’s really less and less true all the time. He’s becoming “just another” niche brand now.
Three sniff-worthy:
Feminite du Bois. Originally the actual raison d’etre of the opening of the Palais Royale store. It was the only thing sold there together with it’s four fractions Bois et Fruits, Bois de Violette, Bois Oriental and Bois et Musk. FdB is still a wildly original fragrance and the first predominently woody feminine.
Ambre Sultan. Not the first upscale amber, but the best I have encountered. The herbal, oregano top note makes a nice contrast to the sweet, but not overly so, base.
La Myrrhe is not one I would wear myself, but I admire it as an update on the classic aldehydics, with more resins and less flowers.
Other essentials for *me* is Chergui and Muscs Koublaï Khan.
Thanks so much for the mini-reviews!
For a newbie, I don’t think I’d do ISM – it seems a bit too extreme. I remember wrinkling my nose at it until I “got” iris.
So I guess my picks would be De Profundis, Ambre Sultan (I think this is a decent amber “gateway” scent), and Chergui.
Your comments crack me up, Robin. I loved reading these.
Ha, but at least with ISM, then you know what you’re up against if you want to be an iris fiend
MKK, Fleurs d’Oranger, and Arabie (the three I like the most).
Nice!
Who’s going to give L’Eau Froide a little love? OK, I will. I live in the tropics and when my DH wears this, or I just spray a puff in the conservatory on a way-too-sultry afternoon, it takes the temperature down 10 degrees and everyone says, “Ahhh….!” My favorite SLs to wear myself are Chergui, which can still make me swoon, Gris Clair, and Bas de Soie, which for some reason smells great on me (I get lots of compliments when I wear it). Rousse and the Berlin Rose round out the set.
Thank you so much for stepping forward!
(And +1 for mentioning Rousse, which has had very little play here today. Also surprised we have so few fans of Chene.)
My first SL perfume were
1) Chergui
2) Jeux de Peau
3) Cedre (perfume I have most complement on by people in general)
and I was a newbie (10years ago) so that will be my pick
I also have a soft spot for Cuir Mauresque so I need to sneak that one in.
I’m a huge SL fan, but haven’t tried any of his new ones past Jeux de Peau… Looks like I should consider myself lucky