Note Pyramid
Santal Majuscule
Rose, sandalwood and cocoa, each appearing twice across the composition: Serge Lutens Santal Majuscule Eau de Parfum is three materials arranged so that none of them ever quite leaves.
Sandalwood is the foundation of the whole idea and it is handled creamy and milky rather than dry, with a soft sweetness of its own. Damascus rose sits in it from the opening, deep and jammy and slightly spiced, nothing at all like the clean rose of a soap.
Cocoa is the third and it is what makes the scent memorable. It is powdery and bitter, not chocolate, and it does something odd and rather good to the rose: the two together smell like a dessert nobody has sweetened, with the sandalwood underneath keeping everything smooth. The repetition across the heart and the base is the reason it feels so solid and so unmoving in wear.
Three materials means there is nothing to wait for. This is a scent that announces itself and then stays put. Expect eight hours or more, heaviest in the first two, with a creamy, sweetish trail that clings to fabric and is still faintly there the following day. One spray is enough and two is generous. Cold weather suits it, evenings especially, and it reads as unisex, though it is a popular choice among women. Cocoa and rose is not a combination anybody else has made work quite this well. It came out in 2012.
The Paris house is small, and the decisions inside it have always come from one person rather than a committee. Shiseido, which brought Serge Lutens in during 1980 and put out a fragrance he composed in 1981, confirmed in 2015 that it intended to acquire the trademark.
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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