Two quick and somewhat contradictory thoughts sprung to mind when I first smelled El Attarine, the latest fragrance from the Serge Lutens exclusive* line. The first was to ponder how much longer Serge Lutens could possibly go on releasing three new fragrances a year based on this same rather narrow thematic palette. To my nose, many of the newer releases smell like riffs on older scents in the range — interesting riffs, to be sure, but how many riffs do most consumers, even rabid Serge Lutens fans and collectors, want or need? My second thought was simply to wonder how long it would be before El Attarine was selected as the limited edition export of the year so that I could buy a bottle…
It’s almost Halloween! Now’s the time to start preparing my infamous Kevin’s All Hallows Eve SlopPot-pourri(TM)! Here’s the recipe:
Take a large wooden slop bucket from a barnyard, rinse it in a cow (or pig) watering hole and then rub the inside of the bucket with a goodly amount of cat urine (for the best results, use the urine of an un-neutered tomcat); allow the bucket to dry in the sunshine.
Inside the dry bucket, layer each ingredient listed below between one-inch layers of kosher salt to which a handful of cedar shavings and a vanilla pod have been added:
50 pieces of charred cassia bark (the bark should be blackened and retain only the most rancid traces of oil and odor);
Ten 1/8-inch slices of Swiss cheese…
Serge Lutens has launched Serge Noire, the latest fragrance to join the lines' export collection:
A phoenix, the mythical bird of legend burns at the height of its splendour before emerging triumphant, reborn from the ashes in a choreography of flame, conjuring the shapes of yesterday in a dance of ashes.
The swirls of oriental grey enrich the twilight with depth and intensity…
Getting to know civet as a fragrance note can make you gag. Put some costus roots under your nose one fine morn and you may skip breakfast. “Investigating” ginger, doing your ginger homework, is more pleasant: take a crisp ginger root and rub it between your fingers, bruise it with your fingernail, and inhale its lively and clean aroma (bite into the root for added credit); smell and taste yellow powdered ginger; slowly chew a piece of sticky, candied ginger; drink an old fashioned spicy ginger ale; and finally, eat a moist slice of warm gingerbread, straight from the oven, washed down with a ginger infusion, made using boiling water and sliced ginger root (sugar and milk optional). You are now ready to recognize ginger in fragrance.
In his Five O’Clock Au Gingembre Eau de Parfum, Serge Lutens places candied (not fresh) ginger in a tea-time setting and surrounds it with foody notes…