La Religieuse
Civet is what makes Serge Lutens La Religieuse Eau de Parfum the fragrance it is, and it is not a comfortable one.
Jasmine opens, warm and heady and slightly overripe, with the indolic quality that makes the flower smell almost like skin. On its own it would be a straightforward white floral, and it is not on its own for long.
Civet joins it in the middle and changes everything. Civet is animal: warm, faintly dirty, musky and sweet all at the same time, and it sits inside the jasmine rather than beside it, so the flower starts to smell like a body instead of a plant. Incense is laid over the top, cold and dry and resinous, which lends the whole thing an air of restraint it does not actually possess, and musk softens the joins between the two.
Civet and musk make up the base, so the animal quality is still there at the end, quieter and nearer the skin. Four materials in all, which makes this a short composition built on contrast rather than on complexity, and the contrast is the entire point: a clean white flower and a dirty animal note holding one another in place. Expect seven hours or more, with the first two carrying further than you may want them to. One spray is the correct dose and two is too many. Cold weather, evenings, and nothing resembling an office. It reads as unisex. The perfumer is Christopher Sheldrake and the year on it is 2015.
Perfume came late to him. Serge Lutens had already made a career in design, photography and art direction when Shiseido took him on in 1980, and the Paris house that carries his name now belongs to that company by an announcement made in 2015.
Please note: images are a guide only. Packaging and bottle design may occasionally differ from those shown due to manufacturer updates or promotions.
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