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vtarasovstr – :
A tremendous yet strange Lutens release whos ‘past’ which has been mentioned in some SL statement can be traced back to the some of the heydays of the brand. Namely to those stubbornly intense and well-constructed releases from the 2000’s that became a landmark of Lutens. The most obvious Passé that’s played out here oddly enough is Chêne – unjustly one of the most obscure Lutens, which is, still to date, a superbly exotic wood driven perfume, timeless excellence – yet, used to be a bit more tricky to find. Le Participe Passé feels pretty close to Chêne, being a more fleshed out and multifaceted upcycling of it. I also can see some trecks into the territories of Fille en Aiguilles, yet even to Ambre Sultan, but in a microdose. I rank the perfumes mentioned above amongst my favourites of the house from their 2000 range – and don’t mind such proximity.
eduardik – :
Starts green (artemisia), soon moves to woody/smoky, resinous territory and stays there until drydown. Not much surprises – if familiar with most SL (linear) creations – actually this feels too safe, unlike SL. Bitterness appears later on as artemisia residue. No sweetness on my skin whatsoever, nor caramel, cumin, leather.. – I am quite puzzled by the above listed notes, on my skin this is one bitter, balsamic, smoky creature from beginning till the end.
This strikes me as one of those tranquil, almost meditative, introspective fragrances, not suitable for casual wearing. Not very strong, not light or easy either. Unisex more on the masculine side, suitable for lovers of smoky, woody, resinous stuff on the trail of Olympic Orchids Kyphy or DEV series, yet not as deep or rich. A boring look back at the familiar? Redundant? Maybe. Try and see for yourself. As for me – resinous and smoky should be anything but average.
Gabriel – :
This new offering from the eclectic Serge Lutens line is a resinous woody chypre which nicely showcases the beauty of the Egyptian balsam resin. The perfume opens briefly with some fruity notes where one can detect a variety of fruits including slight citrus. It rapidly moves to its resinous heart which includes the Egyptian balsam resin and other tree resins. This balsamic heart stays throughout the length of the perfume. As it dries off completely, one can detect hints of moss, leather, caramel, cumin and patchouli emanating from the dense resinous heart. This perfume shares some similarities with another offering from this line Arabie, although it does not have the spices Arabie has in it. The overall feeling is warm, comforting and enveloping. Unisex with strong sillage and projection and tremendous longevity. Some may classify this as a winter scent, but it seems suitable for year long wear. Enjoy!
mank – :
Mood in a passive voice
Named past participle..this Lutens dives back to it’s woody resinous past.
Lutens comes back to the beginning, like an old memory, the embodiment of a hazy rememberance of those days long gone. A beautiful soft focus balsamic resin hovers in a soft smooth cloud with fruit nuances and a wooden heat as if embers were glowing under a powdery gray ash. Im not sure immortelle is in this composition as it usually tears thru anything it’s associated with, and if it is..it’s the most restrained version I’ve experienced to date.
It’s contemplative, and would be stunning in the fall and Winter. To sum this up..it’s subtly nuanced..like a fond dream or memory. Classified as woody Chypre on the Lutens website. Unisex.
lav038 – :
Le Participe Passé opens with fresh mandarine surprisingly coated with tiny sparkles of aldehyde, reminiscent of the similar aldehydic opening of Laine de Verre and Dent de Lait, but of course much much softer in the case of Le Participe Passé.
The fragrance is then swiftly dominated by resins, which I perceive mostly as benzoin and opoponax, surrounded by immortelle and over a slightly boozy woody undertone. They combine to form a soothing, suavely basamic woody smell, which is not unlike Lutens’ own Chêne but Le Participe Passé is more resinous in comparison. There are occasional suggestions of caramel and chocolate but they never fully unleash their sweetness. Dried fruits are also hinted, but it smells more like the smooth leathery texture of dried date skin than stewed molasses.
There isn’t much of any change once the fragrance settles into the smooth and comforting resinous woody dry down. The sillage is relatively soft, while the longevity is about 8 hours on a hot day.
On its own, I find Le Participe Passé very enjoyable and very fitting to Lutens’ signature woody oriental style. But its ressemblance to Chêne leaves me conflicted. I love Chêne and the ressemblance itself is not necessarily problematic, it’s that Le Participe Passé feels like a glossed version, with the interesting woody details covered up by sweet resins. While this makes Le Participe Passé more cozy, it loses some characters in return, and it’s not like that Chêne was the more difficult or eccentric one among Lutens’ offerings to begin with, which it certainly is not.
But still, its price and availability compared to Chêne is definitely an advantage. If you happen to be looking for a versatile, cozy, easy-to-wear woody balsamic fragrance, you may want to give Le Participe Passé a try.