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Kentyarik488 – :
One of the most hated and vilified of all the perfumes in the eclectic Serge Lutens line, this floral gourmand is actually a very pleasant fragrance which is meant to evoke the smells of childhood including the baby tooth reference in its title. The main note is a very natural heliotrope which is surrounded by notes of almond, milk, slight incense, and a slighter metallic note. Okay so this is edgy modern perfumery but come on naysayers, it is quite pretty and captures the childhood ambience very well. Unisex (feminine leaning) with moderate sillage and projection and good longevity. Try it without any inhibitions about it’s name and you may find it enjoyable.
barsu-olga – :
On me, it’s an icy heliotrope. The almond isn’t really noticeable, but it kinda … bolsters the flowers so it doesn’t tip into obnoxiousness.
It’s very pretty. But is it groundbreaking or edgy? Eh.
pabeSlubclalk – :
I’m in the REALLY like it camp. I find it somehow comforting. I think one of my grandmothers must have used heliotrope and almond scented something – lotion or soap. This doesn’t smell vintage to me (it’s not like Apres l’Ondee Guerlain which is an unwearable sort of vintage bathroom scent for me personally), Dent is just evocative or subtly nostalgic, a modern nod to a vintage scent profile. It gives me a calm and cozy feeling but it’s a light and airy fragrance. Anyway, I’d love to have this in bubble bath and lotion. This is what you spritz on after a long bath as you lounge around in front of a gas fireplace (no smoke or effort tending a fire) wearing a floor length vintage silk kimono robe, drinking a glass of wine, and painting your nails a classic red on a much anticipated evening to yourself. This doesn’t last long on my skin which is heartbreaking, I’d say 2-4 hours (depending how hot/humid the weather is) but I haven’t been able to try it in cooler, fall/winter type weather yet. *fingers crossed* it performs better in the cold.
metallcity – :
I personally really like this one a lot. It’s powdery, lightly sweet and the main smell of violates reminds me childhood treats – the dark purple bon-bon candy we were chewing on with my sister. I wouldn’t use this on my husband, it’s for women.The only let down is that it doesn’t last very long. After 4h needs a re-spray. It is very similar to Bvlgari Le Gemme Calaluna, which compare to this one lasts much longer however is also double the price.
loubajjidahsuasnd – :
A perfume called Baby Tooth? Are you serious!? Come on, Sheldrake. Knock it off.
Юлия24 – :
This smells like when you are 7 years old,drinking some creamy almond milk and break your milk tooth along with some blood.
ism878intitytek – :
I received a sample of this hot mess, and I am in shock that this came out of this house.
I have owned and proudly worn many SL creations, but this was just terrible in my opinion.
Now, perhaps my extreme dislike comes from my abhorrence of almond scents as well as heliotrope. Yes, that could be it. But I fail to get the connection/story of milk, metal, almonds, heliotrope and incense – well, the last one (incense) is a staple for Sheldrake, so that at least makes some sense.
I mean, is this a teenager with metal braces drinking some almond milk, burning incense next to a bouquet of heliotrope? Really guys, I’m trying. I’m reaching out to the far FAR reaches of my mind to comprehend what this scent IS. I can’t enjoy it on any level – scent or artistic approach. And it makes me sad, as Sheldrake is really one of my favorite noses.
kirvysha – :
Dent de Lait is another transparent floral by Serge Lutens, similar in style to La Vierge de Fer. However, Dent de Lait has an added pinch of vividness. The “milk tooth” opens with a very pleasant and lively sweet almond, but after that nothing really happens. The mild almondy sweetness embraces an abstract transparent floral and the perfume stays like that until the very end. I also catch very soft milkiness during the final moments of the fragrance. Additionally, Dent de Lait has some sort of bossiness at its core. The perfume may well describe the Serge Lutens woman with pale skin, dark hair and a plain but stylish and abstract look. Dent de Lait is also a very easy to wear fragrance. It is minimal and completely urban compared to some of the Serge Lutens orientals from the past. It feels tame even compared to some of his previous florals, such as Datura Noir. If you are willing to explore this new territory, Dent de Lait is a safe buy. It is the modern vision of Serge Lutens.
Dita1999 – :
Just milky fragrance. First creations by Serge Lutens were much more complex.
LeonEli – :
It happened with the most classic niche brands the same as happened with the leading producers of the music scene in recent years. Once considered innovators, over time their musical sound was incorporated into the mainstream and, realizing the opportunity, they adapted to it. Serge Lutens is a niche avant-garde house that has done just that and finished this transformation recently with the repagination of the brand’s commercial line.
Dent de Lait is the first release to be sold in the new presentation and in the size of 100ml and is, as expected, a Lutens that promises more in concept than delivery in practice – which is precisely what sells today. As with everything, there is always a plus side and a downside to this and if Serge Lutens’ perfumes have become more common, at least they have become less challenging to use as well.
Inspired by childhood memories, the poetically-named perfume of Milk Tooth is basically a floral musk that borders the functional aroma if it were not for the boldest touches of its composition. It is as if we had a memory of the aroma of clean towels that were recently passed and where we have the mixture of the aroma of the fabric softener with that of the product of ironing. On top of that, the vivid and intense memory of the metallic aroma of the aldehydes giving a glow in the first few seconds of the composition. What comes next is this soft aroma, with hints of fruity pear touches and light lactonic and almond nuances. It is a perfume that quickly softens and becomes a second skin, where the incense is more a suggestion than an accomplishment. In practice, it’s as if Lutens had made a niche fabric softener – it’s interesting, but it’s nothing out of this world and it certainly will not be a difficult perfume to sell.
erricsson – :
I’m going to have to brace myself and give this one another try because my first go round with Dent de Lait was not pleasant. Did anyone else get a screechy, laundry musk kind of scent first few go rounds? I had to scrub this off with alcohol. I expected heliotrope and almond and instead got a very soapy, aldehydic cheap white linen kind of scent. Maybe it’s just not my kind of perfume but man was I surprised by this one.
UPDATE: Ok, alot better in subsequent wearings. Yes it is an aldehyde/white musk fragrance (not usually my thing) but it has a soft and sweet “milky” floral undertone that is quite pretty. Reminds me of an Italian perfume for infants that my sister recieved as a shower gift many years ago. And Dent de Lait brings to mind the scent of a beautiful baby in a white Christening gown.
Arinappeple – :
This has staying power and garners plenty of compliments. If you can put the wacky premise/marketing to one side and enjoy it for what it is, then hopefully like me, you will get an amazingly special floral-gourmand experience. I get an iris/orris vibe from this, but I guess that is the metallic note mixed with heliotrope? This is quickly becoming one of my favourite go to fragrances!
silvanovich – :
I would have preferred to test Dent de Lait before reading its press release, different reviews and comments; even before knowing its name… The prejudice is like a vile revenge that is hard to get rid of and opinions referring to metallic notes and to the smell of blood unfortunately had done their job.
Fortunately I tested it and my opinion based only on the comments of others ended up in the bin. I smelled the mouillette and my wrist where I had sprayed the perfume and I’ll tell you – Dent de Lait is a beautiful perfume. It is clean and musky, slightly sour in the opening, but lays in tender powdery base, like a touch of baby’s skin. The metallic notes listed are nothing else than sparkling aldehydes, not heavy or soapy, but fresh and frizzy. There is nothing salty that could conduct to the idea of blood. Whole composition bases on soft cloud of almonds, heliotrope and white musk. The name – Dent de Lait – is metaphorical inviting us to reflect on our childhood, on the loss of innocence and the awareness acquired over the years. Serge says: “It’s like a wolf who passes from the taste of milk to the taste of blood”. We lose our teeth and we lose our childhood. By child we all dream to grow up faster, but growing up hurts, awareness hurts, being an adult hurts. And this contrast between milky powdery innocence and bitter shade of consciousness is presented in this wonderful fragrance created by Christopher Sheldrake and Serge Lutens.
The only thing I feel pity about is the new packaging – 100ml – it’s just ugly for me.
Lumen – :
After all the hype about the strange name and talk of baby milk and blood, I finally got a chance to sample Dent de Lait. As a Lutens fan, I’ve never been so underwhelmed by one of his fragrances. What this basically boils down to is a very light, vaguely sweet floral with very little sillage or staying power – something that has been done a hundred times before and much less expensively. There is a slight metallic hint in the drydown, but it’s nothing very interesting and certainly doesn’t add much.
Also, the bottle with the new SL branding looks horribly ugly compared to the older 50ml style and the exquisite bell jars. Even if I bought this, it’s not something I would care to display. My first Serge Lutens disappointment – I suppose it had to happen one day.
iux107intitytek – :
Beautiful scent, what I perceive the most is the almond, and heliotrope. Slightly floral and soapy, clean and comforting. My nose does not pick up any metallic notes. Serge Lutens scents appear simple but on closer inspection the quality is always undeniable. As always I find the added descriptions and associations of the perfumer are grandiose or in this case OTT. He kind of gives us a glimpse into the inner workings of his mind. How that translates to the actual scent is debatable, but I think always there is method to his madness. I enjoyed my sample and would definitely purchase.
Fil23 – :
the story behind this scent is very strange i agree. milk teeth & blood… yeah, sounds disgusting, BUT imagine this: a cheap (doesn’t mean bad smelling) creamy & a LITTLE BIT metallic SOAP. yes, SOAP! this is actually a very very safe CLEAN smell. creaminess = milk/almond, soft sweetness = heliotrope, metallic note = “blood”. not disgusting at all.
i like it.
forget the crazy marketing story! just try this wonderful clean fragrance and judge it yourself! 😉
Markus™ – :
Okay, tried this one today. Have it on my arm as we speak. It’s not as interesting as I thought it would be, I’m actually a bit disappointed in this – but it smells okay.
I got a bit scared when I saw the metallic note, because that usually never works on me. But I actually don’t get a very pronounced metallic note from this. Thankfully. What I do get is a feeling that reminds me a bit of static electricity – and that weird almost sparkling/crackling kind of sound it makes. Maybe this is the metallic notes in the perfume? Or maybe it actually is aldehydes. It smells a lot like it. Aldehydes + Metallic notes? Yes, we might have a winner.
Dent de Lait opens with this sparkling/crackling feeling combined with the smell of baby powder and sweet milk (like breast milk).
After about 10-15 minutes the initial “static electricity” thing goes away and I’m left with just the baby powder and the milk. It’s a fairly sweet scent, very soft and, obviously, milky.
There is something in the combination of the milkyness in this combined with that soft hint of incense in the background that smells a tiny bit similar to the drydown in La Religieuse, which I think is an interesting twist. It’s like the two scents have this secret connection – like the sacred bond between Mother (La Religieuse) and Child (Dent de Lait). This discovery made this scent a bit more interesting to me, on a philosophical level.
On my skin Dent de Lait keeps getting sweeter as it dries down, but it never smells too sweet, like a cake or a dessert. In the drydown the powderiness is gone, and the scent smells like a soft mixture of breast milk, vanilla and white musk – to my nose.
It’s a nice scent, it smells pleasant and rather comforting. But it’s not a very interesting scent. It looks and sounds more intriguing than it actually is. We have smelled baby powder in perfumes before, and there is quite a few milky perfumes out there as well.
Sillage is medium at first, but dries down to a rather soft skin scent. Longevity, on me, is about 5-6 hours.
Myrka91 – :
A note on the packaging;
I appreciate the move to 100ml bottles under the repackaged “La Collection Noire”, particularly when considering the value proposition of twice the quantity for ~1.5x the price of the 50ml bottle.
Aesthetically though, the 100ml bottle is an ugly sibling of the original; the typeface and label are both too large & commercial looking, and the atomizer (unchanged except for colour) is disproportionately small. Then there’s how ridiculous it looks towering over my Paris Exclusives bell jars…
maborak52 – :
Dent de Lait is an abstractly clean, quasi-gourmand floral fragrance with an intriguingly unsettling sharpness. Not at all as repulsive as Lutens’ inspiration would suggest; the approach is figurative, not literal.
Opening with an immediate, but fleeting, blast of bitter almond and aldehydic fizz, Dent de Lait quickly pushes rose nuanced heliotrope to the fore as the almond mellows to become sweet and milky. Here there’s a faint hint at coconut & white musk hidden somewhere in the shadows. Frankincense lends some bite in the heart as the aldehydes return, this time more metallic, with cold, sudden sharpness. The eventual dry down is one of a delicately aldehydic musk and heliotrope; cold and very clean.
There’s something nostalgic, almost comforting, about Dent de Lait – probably the sweet milkiness – at the same time though, there’s an uneasy tension. Utterly intriguing.
Easily a unisex scent, this is better suited to cool weather wear. Longevity is moderate during which sillage is moderate.
8/10
mussa91 – :
Dent de Lait opens on my skin with pristine almond and aldehyde. The almond here is at first slightly bitter, and mostly clean and blanched. The aldehyde doesn’t appear overly metallic to my nose, but rather mineral, fizzy, even glassy, reminiscent of those in Laine de Verre. The whole is like white flaked almond in a crystal bowl.
A honeyed milkiness, and a sweet-tart rosy powder soon emerge like a swirl, slowly devouring the distinct characteristics of almond and aldehyde, until all parts of Dent de Lait merge into an abstract, clean, rosy almond milky musky powder in the dry down, and remain so until it entirely fades away.
The sillage is moderate to soft, and the longevity is around 8 hours on me.
Dent de Lait is very much in line with Lutens’ style in recent years, with clean, cold, metallic/mineral aldehyde and an abstract, streamlined evolution. After reading Sophie’s review on Fragrantica, the rosy almond powder does remind me of Rahat Loukoum and Louve, but Dent de Lait in relation to those two, are more like La Religieuse compared to A La Nuit and Sarrasins.
While the contrast between cold aldehyde, and suave almond and milky sweetness is genuinely intriguing to my nose, my main gripe towards Dent de Lait is its lack of depth and evolution in the dry down. Without any earthy, woody notes to keep up the intriguing dynamics of sharp and soft, the clean sweet powder appears monolithic and repetitive with time.
Regarding the somewhat strange theme, Dent de Lait only interprets it metaphorically. Personally, I don’t detect any animalic or salty notes to evoke blood. Hell, I even wore it to the dentist’s one day, and still can’t make a literal link. And the aldehyde here is simply too crystalline; for a more violent metallic note contrasting with gourmand notes, I think L’Artisan Parfumeur Amour Nocturne and Deliria, and Lutens’ own Baptême du Feu might fare better.
Therefore, if you enjoy the latest Lutens’ style of clean, abstract, sweet musky powder and the glassy aldehyde, and would like a slightly more gourmand variation, I would encourage you to overlook the weird theme and give it a try. However, if you miss Lutens’ previous dark, oriental style dearly, I’m afraid that Dent de Lait would probably not be able to bring any comfort.
igorshcher – :
I’ll buy it!
Shut up and take my money.
I worship the Serge Lutens house which is the most exciting perfumer of My little universe.
Milk and blood? why the hell not.