Description
1. Yet another girl!
Yes, if you believe that she is the abandoned part of me. Child, I have cut the world in two. On the one hand, a girl, The Vanquished – not the loser! – and more precisely, that which germinated in her and which in myself, I raised; and on the other, a boy, The Victor. For a child, the world comes down to three people: himself, his mother and his father. Without everyone making such a clear-cut choice as mine, each one will be dependent on it throughout his life.
2. Did your choice present itself as the mother?
Not the mother, her wound; I bore it. It is undeniably an identification. As for each and every one of us, I owe my life to chance. The famous throw of the dice appears exemplary to me – it is a sacred number – it is the one which leads us there where we should have been born or not to have been. I shall not recall the significant episodes of my destiny but, between what was and what I felt, the difference was greater. However, the child is the clairvoyant: he foresees. Since I accorded all the qualities of the feminine to the wound, she named me.
3. From now on, should we understand that the masculine was denied in you?
From what to my eyes was officially required: the army, authority, power, order, moralism, yes. I was at war with the Male: Maleficence. It can be expected that from this moment, I invent a woman and bring us up to date, it is the baptism of blood.
4. Coming back to the orphan girl. Is this you?
No, originally it was a virgin territory, it attracted me but I didn’t recognise myself there; this territory which I denied was that of men. My mother, she was the wrath and I, her son, its revenge.
5. And the father, where is he?
The father is the declared enemy. I was hatred on Earth, on Father. Of the mother I was the figurehead, and of the father the assassin. The wound did not heal. I could blind myself but I could see: the father was immortal. From him I keep the feminine which he betrayed.
6. How did you recover the road to perfume in this labyrinth?
It is the memory, forgiveness and like this, what we have today, it was able to survive: From the dust. It is not only in the feminine but it also has no plural. It is the wake of my life, that which remains when all has disappeared. It is the invisible which, veil after veil, there where it is forgotten, fades into grey.
—Serge Lutens
L’orpheline was launched in 2014.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfpGoLuTMGA&rel=0
vitalik2 – :
To me this is more feminine.
I can’t say I don’t like it, though.
I don’t see how this can be made only with incense and musk since I smell flowers as well.
Sometimes I try fragrances that I don’t understand.
DiYez – :
Smells like 100% patchouli first on, fades to a lovely true wood incense then goes on past to that gaiac alcohol scream that doesn’t work on me. Too bad, because it’s very very lovely in that fifteen minute middle stage
timoshka – :
Incense and musk? Probably wouldn’t just get that when you try it – it’s very floral, powdery… violet and iris along with a deep incense. Not as light as the juice’s colour.
uggs outletf2 – :
i can be an ice queen — l’orpheline whispers to my soul. The Freeze you first encounter is a facade ! it’s armor !! the initial cold blast does not linger for too long, and on me, after a half hour or so (what is time when you’re in a trance ?) an astoundingly comfortable sweet but-not-sugary-nor-soapy creamy woodiness and glorious musk emerges from the cold metallic shroud. it’s not warm, but it’s alive. a most unexpected turn ! this stage lasts for hours, and remains very close to the skin. which, to me, is the true essence of l’orpheline: it is intimate, and you must break through the metal shell and get close to attempt to know it. the incense is a constant thread throughout, to my great pleasure (and relief, as it is my favorite note). someone described it as a sad melancholy scent, and i agree. i adore that about it. a fragrance for a grey day, she’s not quite what she seems.
rvl1962 – :
Smells like an upmarket version of Jovan Musk. Not a great deal of incense, but my incense filter is pretty high because I am around it fairly often. Nice, but underwhelming.
What is all that murky prose under the notes? Was it something composed in French and run through an online translation app? Terrible modernist wordclutter.
EdupeMounioni – :
Yep, incense and musk sums it up. I can barely smell it in a 28 degree temp. room!!. It’s ok but very underwhelming. It doesn’t develop on my skin.
It hangs around for an hour or two but as a skin scent.
aforismo.ru – :
There’s something in here that I just hate. It’s sweet in a chemical way. Is it the embalming fluid mentioned by another reviewer? Whatever it is, it bugs my nose and throat and smells just off.
EDIT: It gave me a bad coughing fit, so I had to wash it off. Plus points for longevity, I guess; it survived multiple washes.
aaaajjjjuuu – :
Abstract and more conceptual than other SL releases of its time, L’orpheline is one that repelled me at first – surely by Serge’s design – but one I have nonetheless come to love.
Opening in a dark haze of frankincense and myrrh, and elevated by cold sharp aldehydes, L’orpheline is straightaway taciturn and standoffish. As the incense intensifies and the aldehydes scatter to the shadows, an abstract pepperiness lends nuance to soft, humid patchouli. All the while the composition grows creamier as Cashmeran Wood carries the composition through to the middle.
With intoxicating myrrh still swirling, slightly sweet amber and dark, if snarl-less, musk come to rest upon the middle’s milky, creamy woodiness. Past the middle, L’orpheline’s billowy incense shifts from its hitherto high church altar to something cozier, marrying the woodiness as it does. The eventual dry down, like a cashmere scarf, is both delicate and warm as incense lends fluffiness to the ever-comforting creaminess of now wispy Cashmeran Wood. From stone-cold to invitingly warm, the composition’s transformation from beginning to end is captivating.
I am surprised to read so many reviews below that mention fougère characteristics or a sweet floral opening. I get none of that. Mine though is a La Collection Noire 100ml bottle, maybe there was a reformulation with the repackaging?
Unisex but definitely masculine leaning – deceiving given the name, I know – L’orpheline wears better in cool weather. Longevity is very good at 12-14 hours with moderate sillage.
8/10
tolstjak6 – :
I’m a little disappointed. I love musk and I am a freak for incense. And I like several others from this line an awful lot! So when I saw the notes on L’orpheline I made a point of trying it so I got a sample and gave it a full wearing. It isn’t bad. But I have been wearing Eau de Noir from Bourbon French which has the exact same incense/musk notes and that one is such an all day, classy, dirty, churchy, incense and musk powerhouse that… well…
I’m just underwhelmed by the Serge Lutens now.
Not Serge’s fault. Like I said, this isn’t bad and I LOVE some of his other fragrances!
6 out of 10.
pypeerold – :
I didn’t know the notes and barely read fragrantica’s page before buying a bottle. Well, I received it today. And of course, I let my significant other smell it, who HATES perfume, but who’s nose is also infinitely better than mine. (She has a full time pregnant lady nose/senses) ((She should also be a parfumeur, I’m telling you, her nose is extraordinary))
So, I spray my inner wrist and let it settle, it smelled so interesting that I had to get her opinion, which I hardly do,, due to her perfume/my hobby loathing. She’s hovering over the stove, cooking tacos (where the good women SHOULD be) I tell her to sniff my wrist.. She immediately scuffs, but she does that with everything. I go in again with my wrist, to my surprise she didn’t smack my hand away, she sniffs once again, “Eww this just smells like, dead flowers.. this smells like an old, dying woman. NO! This actually smells like decaying flowers, at a funeral, that’s exactly what this smells like a funeral home and that stuff they put in the bodies. EMBALMING FLUID, yea that’s what this smells like, dead flowers and embalming fluid) )
Now, that I’ve actually sat down and read the fragrantica page, 1: My lady has the greatest nose ever, for someone who hates and never wears fragrances. 2: I kinda love this fragrance, but it definitely should have “Comme des Garcons” written on the bottle, somewhere.
Btw, the good women thing was a joke, sarcasm, a jab…
sleenuils – :
it’s lovely but completely vanishes on my skin. half an hour later i’m like…i did put perfume on, right?
rjn366InsuffBooni – :
very sweet and floral opening, soap, soapy soap, musk is not as annoying as the white musk, it is a great musk.s, I confirm a mild metallic note and also a well-known cipriata.ora goes to the old style female side with hints of wood sandal.the incense fatigue. is almost imperceptible. there is smell of church but not strong. smells of some scent of narcissus rodriguez.
the smell is delicate, sweet and balmy. there is pepper in the composition. is a good relaxing scent for elegant evenings. but I expected more incense.
vote 7/10
great performance.
elegant scent to dine out, very delicate.
I believe overrated.
if you are looking for an expensive alternative to prada infusion of homme and prada amber this is great.
more on the female side.
little incense. very sweet moss.
BFG – :
A forgetablely adorable Lutens offering.
The opening in the first few minutes instantly reminds me of Armani Prive Ambre Soie, a reduced formula though. I hate to say that it is less rounded, less quality and slightly annoying to my nose due to a huge doze of Iso E Super, despite all this, the spirit of Ambre Soie is still there.
Being overhasty it then evolves into a soapy sandalwood vibe you might have commonly seen among dozens of so-called sandalwood shampoos or body wash products if you’ve ever been to South-East Asia, where the only difference you can tell them apart is just Iso E Super. All of this can be also seen as a reduced Azzaro Visit for Men which is another Iso E Super bomb with sandalwood nuance and a bit more sophisticated. That probably explains why L’Orpheline achieved a huge bussiness success in the niche community in asian countries. You would never know how popular it is in these regions.
Well, it is definately not one of the most memorable Lutens offerings, but still worths a try, especially for those who are obsessed about a pro-longed fragrance to coordinate their sandalwood body products.
Rating: 6.0/10
bbabah – :
On my skin it turns like more sophisticated and longer lasting version of Salvatore Ferragamo F Pour Homme, the original one, in red. I find it pleasant and safe scent.
Maybe it lacks of originality and distinctive character, but it sure wouldn’t be offensive to anyone.
So I’m assuming most of dislikes here not as much for scent itself, but more related to price you will be paying for what you getting. And this is exactly reason this perfume getting only “Like” vote from me, while Ferragamo F getting “Love”, even I do think L’Orpheline classier and better performing, because it’s not 5 times better, as price is.
deniux1230 – :
Wore my sample of this today for my first visit back to church in years. Based on the notes (incense & musk, 2 of my very faves), I thought this would be a HUGE hit for me. Alas, it seems to be going all metallic on me, and smells exactly like an Axe body wash I had years ago called “Cool Metal.”
I actually enjoyed the smell of it back then, but I like my incense to have more depth and be sweeter. This is very cold and austere on me. In fact, I’d go as far to say that this feels very “sad” to me. Honestly, this perfume kind of makes me DEPRESSED. It has a loneliness about it.
I have to say, it did nothing to get me amped up for my first visit back to church in awhile. In fact, I felt like I didn’t belong there, like I was an unwelcome entity. Definitely the WRONG choice.
I could see wearing this to a funeral on a dreary day. But not a funeral where you “celebrate” a life well lived. Moreso, a funeral where you feel like you have no good memories of the person that passed. Not dislike or bad memories. Just … Nothingness.
I think this would definitely smell better on a guy. But it’s got to be a guy who’s outgoing, full of smiles, vivacious. Otherwise, it will only make one further depressed.
tim222 – :
Ach Orpheline. I reviewed you 2 years ago and I still have the same bottle. I do love you, and I do wear you, and you do surprise me by being both so unsurprising with your cleanliness and then being shamelessly fizzy and sharp. You’re like a summer rain with a few mosquito bites thrown in. It’s love, but as love for an energetic child one loves best when it is tucked up in bed and snoring.
Ferdinantr – :
I like this. The smells remind me when I was still a toddler and my mother brings me to the temple nearby for praying. The sweet and smoky scent reminds me of the good old days like a sacred temple. There’s a metallic-like notes and this fragrance stays very long on my skin.
perec6666 – :
philosophy gustav klimt 1899
deric – :
آلتي الزمنية
متى اردت ان اعود طفلا
lost417 – :
It’s like asking a spicy, peppery smelling skeleton that has just risen from his grave for a cigarette at a cemetery. Lighting up that cigarette and maybe some incense to honor the dead while noticing the faint smell of flowers resting on graves nearby. Then, leaving that place to smell a mixture of all those scents settling into a fleshy musk.
petrucho82 – :
I do not smell incense at all or musk. In the bottle it smells floral. At first application, it is the weird Serge coumarin note like a spice jar. Then, a berry comes through. A sweet berry. This is a skin scent that is like a light musk to tempt someone if they nuzzle you but nothing anyone at the office or outside of hugging distance could smell. I am running my nose up and down my arm after spraying about 10 sprays. And, I have a nose. It is very sensitive and attuned. I like this but don’t love it. Blind buy I probably would not have bought. But, my SL collection grows out of control as I get bottles for $50 or less.
Newendaar – :
Leave it to Christopher Sheldrake and Serge Lutens to take the current “clean” genre and turn it into a weird modernist piece of art. L’orpheline is definitely SL’s take on the modern clean/musk fad, and it’s a pretty successful one, at least in my opinion. It’s actually more the kind of thing I’d expect from Comme des Garcons, with it’s ultra modernist minimalism. It reminds me of those grey and white, emotionless science fiction movies where you know it smells like nothing but cool, purified air. There’s an overall impression of that molecule cetalox (JHaG’s “Not a Perfume”), cold and dry, with a white tea note that possibly comes from the incense. Hours later, during the long dry down, I get a musty ink note. Like other fragrances of this type, I find that sometimes I can smell it, and sometimes it seems to disappear, but it will last for hours and projects like a *monster*. As I enjoy these kinds of austere, minimalist fragrances, and this is strange but well done, I will probably be adding it to my collection.
spq912speagoessenda – :
Perhaps an interesting fragrance if you like hanging around wooden coffins. Musk and incense equal coffins. I guess there is logic there. It unfortunately transported me back to the shores of the Ganges and the burning ghats. I don’t intend to hang around again whilst a body flickers on a pyre!
That creepy musky sweetness combined with the smells associated with an intensely burning fire. It would be the perfect scent for Morticia or Wednesday. Not a big sillage (thank goodness) but it hangs around forever. A bit like those smells on the ghats!
serrlokkins – :
L’Orpheline puzzles me, plays hide and seek with my senses. She is mysterious, complex, evolving, but at the same time minimalistic and very restrained. L’Orpheline settles into a an earthy, woody, musky skin scent once the incense has lost its intensity and has been transformed to ashes. I imagine the inside of an empty coffin. Some find L’Orpheline comforting, but to me she is more creepy than anything else. I have enjoyed my sample of L’Orpheline very much, have tested it many times, but this is not a fragrance that I would add to my wardrobe.
Xeroxuossc – :
Night starts,transparent and a little pungent.. is a perfume with much pain,evokes a painful past but as “off” from this fire. I like the incense notes in the background,as if it were the smoke left by a distant past now only ashes… now there’s Orpheline. It ‘a rebirth, very beautiful and evocative fragrance, definitely among the best of Serge Lutens. Mysterious, solitaire with a sweet background. I love it, it gives me strength and serenity. Beautiful! The sillage is normal,the longevity lasts long on me… more suitable for cold autumn days.
Sillage: 7./10
Longevity: 8./10
Scent: 8.5/10
Overall: 8.5/10
Makasino – :
A gentle, sweet and balmy scent – barely a musk but a smooth one with some woody notes in there as well. I love this Serge Lutens because it doesn’t knock you down and isn’t strange just for the sake of being strange, it’s just a great scent. Perfect for spring weather, and maybe a bit better for men because it’s somewhat simple and straightforward. This could be worn everyday. Very classy and with just enough of a smokiness that it’s just a tiny bit unpredictable. Drydown is great, it is gentle but it lasts a long time.
jwgz – :
I really didn’t like L’Orpheline on my skin. It smelled a bit cloying and sweet.I could smell the incense but the musk was amplified, and it also had a more “common” scent than his other releases. But, it stayed with me, and it did morph and get better over time. After a few more attempts I realized it did not suit me–but it did suit my fiance’. When I wore it, it reminded me mentally of him. I spritzed him one day–and lovely. On him it is more incense with a light musk–the musk definitely comes through but it is not animalic but soft, fresh, sweet with the incense tendrils wrapping it. And on his skin it smells novel and different from other fragrances; it really becomes him and makes him stand out, but it won’t clear an office–just gently wafts around him, occasionally making one think, “What’s that lovely scent…”?, makes me want to get closer. For such simple notes listed, it is more complex. I get myrh, possibly a pinch of vetiver, a hint of frankinsense, even a whiff of clove and pepper. Call me crazy, but Serge Noire smells similar. Test them on clothing. Wait 5 minutes. SN is more woodsy/amber. LO is more ethereal, lighter.
St_Gleb – :
Master piece, it is not iso it is magic of SL perfume.
Sometime Musk or old Book smell or what so ever finally don’t wait buy it use it.
You’ll stay imagination about this perfume with complement from your partner
Halaponga2 – :
A smokey fragrance with soft hints of incense and something fresh which I cannot give words to.
It is a perfume that makes me feel calm on a stressful day. It is not really a fragrance to put on when on a date or going out. But if you do, it is a fragrance you smell more close to your skin and not from some distance away, a very intimate perfume.
But it is a Serge Lutens: it reacts differently to each and every person. If you want to buy it, try it on your skin(!) and decide after a couple of hours. Let the smokey fragrance develop first on your skin.
іван – :
I get the sneezy woody aromachemicals. I get the “violets and mint”, or rather an abstract cool floracy. I get the pale wisp of incense and the cleaner than clean musk. All of which is interesting, alluring even. But somehow, I feel no desire to wear it on myself. It feels like L’orpheline is lifeless in the most direct sense – not dead, but never have been alive, not animate at all. For a scent with a name and backstory like that, this seems strange, disturbing. You fail to feel compassion for this orphan, only alienation.
rjhieyjd – :
What a beautiful smell. a very clean smell yet musky and smoothly done. I almost seem to detect like a clove like incense in the background. It kinda has that I’ve smelled this before thing going on, but it’s really nice and I am not sure why more people are not hyping this up
2z1k – :
انك لذو حظ عظيم ايها السيد الانيق سيرج لوتنس ،،، ولكن هل الحظ وحده هو من يجعلك قادرا على استدعاء طفولتك واحلامها الضبابيه وصياغتها على شكل عطر؟
اعتقد انها موهبه عاليه ايضا ربما تعادل موهبه صانع عطورك كريستوفر شيلدراك والذى يبدو مطيعا للغايه وطيعا للاستجابه لرغباتك المحلقه.
طفوله مؤلمه وجروح غائره فى عمق روحك تركها الموت فى قلبك ،،فما كان منك سوي ان اردت احياء امك مره اخري واستعادتها من العالم الاخر وصنع هذا العطر لها وتسميته تسميه غريبه ربما اردت بها اختزال كل ذلك فى هذه المفرده L`orpheline
(( اليتيمه )) .
يحتفظ سيرج لوتنس بالهرم العطرى سرا ،،،سرا من جمله الاسرار التى يختزنها داخل روحه ويغلق خلفها الابواب بمزاليج لا تصدأ لانه يقشرها كل يوم كعاده العجائز الذين يقتاتون على الذكرى .
مايثير جنونى كيف لهذا العطر ان يصير بلسما للاحزان ،،،العطر عجيب الاثر به لمسه كريميه حالمه من اخشاب الصندل مع لمسات من البخور والورود فى وجود العنبر واعتقد ايضا انه يستقر على خلفيه مبهره من المسك ٠
(( بردا وسلاما ))
اول ما جال بخاطرى وانا استنشق نسمات هذا العطر ،،،ان تصير انامل هذه السيده بردا وسلاما لهذا اليتيم وجراحه التى سارعت بالالتئام بلمستها الرقيقه .
العطر فى استناده على لمسات البخور الشرقى والميره مع الخشاب الكريميه يشابه -الى حد كبير كما يدعى محللو العطور- تاثير خشب الصندل الميسورى شديد الندره ويعتبر خير بديل لمحبى عبق الاخشاب ،،فلا تتوقع ان تشم عطرا بخوريا مثل افينون او كاردينال فالعطر مختلف تماما بتاثيره الكريمى الباودى المسكى الرائق الشديد النعومه ،ربما يكون اقرب لاسلوب المينيماليزم الخاص بجيزا شون ربما فى اعتماده على المركبات الصناعيه كالالدهيدات والايزو سوبر e
على الرغم من ان ماء العطر داخل القنينه المميزه اعلى نقاءا وتركيزا وذلك يفسر سعره العالى عن باقى المنتجات الا اننى اراه عطر ذو فوحان وثبات متوسطين وقد يكون هذا مقصودا لهذه النوعبه الحالمه الحسيه.
يأتى العطر فى زجاجه ٥٠مل بما يقارب ال١٢٠ دولارا.
shlem42 – :
I agree about the toothpaste(
Abisolasmadia – :
Ok, so why all the rather negative reviews about this perfume?
In my humble opinion, I think that this fragrance is one of the nicest that Serge Lutens have created.
Admittedly, the story about this perfume is the biggest load of old claptrap I have ever read in my life, but setting all that aside, this is truly magnificent
It opens with a shower of pepper, spices and the sweetest of incense.
I was hooked at first spritz, but this lovely juice seems to change as it warms up on my body. It becomes stronger, sweeter, more incense focused and quite frankly, has spent the whole day wafting up under my nose, thoroughly delighting me. I could eat myself I smell so good!
Seriously, this has stayed with me all day from first thing this morning through to the evening and I can still smell it.
I would say that if you love heavy, spicy fragrances which lean towards the oriental, then you are going to love this.
A superb, rich scent which I feel will come into its own over Winter /Christmas season, although it’s a pretty warm day today and it smells divine!
After wearing this for three days consecutively, I have just ordered a FB and I can’t wait for it!
merkuld – :
This particular girl is feisty and a touch temperamental, what my grandmother would have called a “pepper pot”.
Accordingly, L’orpheline’s top is a sharp, spicy black pepper, and an almost antiseptic bit of pine, and the mildest whisper of dry lavender. On paper, a rather contrary combination, but on my skin, sharp and sudden as a lightning bolt, and not at all unpleasant.
Once she’s had a chance to settle down a bit, her middle section is a sharp, resinous wood, and a very dry incense, smoke without fire or its associated warmth.
Only at the very end on this scent’s very long lifespan (easily 12 plus hours on me) do I get a soft musk, which all of the hard edges in the earlier sections keep from drying down into too soft and safe a powder.
I love this fragrance, as it clearly communicates the idea of incense, without ever being obvious, linear or hyper literal about it.
Welcome home, little orphan. Welcome home.
hovo1981 – :
This scent conveys brilliantly Serge Lutens’ esoteric thoughts about a time-space continuum and about us, human beings, -caught in between.
L’orpheline is a child of her Father and Mother, and hence, destined to bring together the opposites: Yang and Yin, Black and White, Life and Death within herself into Holy Trinity.
She is light fighting against darkness and despair; life in conflict with death.
She is constantly ‘trapezing one paroxysm of anxiety to another, skipping always on the peaceful region in between’.
Her ups or downs depend on her angle of view.
What is above is below.
Her choice is neither right nor wrong.
Her free spirit never discriminates on life sources.
Why should she discriminate the afterlife?!
She encompasses all: air, space and solitude as the whole.
She discovers her own nature here, her ‘blue and white climate’.
And she thinks she has found a way to master her sorrow with her reflection.
What an illusion!
Mystical perfume! Peppery, smokey, balsamic musk with its aura of detached airiness, unfulfilled quest for wholeness and hunger for love.
This silver siren reflects a perpetual inner energy; and therefore, she might come across as a little bit too agitating, relentless, monochrome.
But what a Beauty!
And with her ‘glimmer of a smile’ she whispers to you: ‘ You can be ambitious or happy, but never both!’
Take it or leave it…and then relax.
I love her abstractness, her dreaminess, her nostalgia. Love You, L’orpheline!
maksim00700 – :
This sample has sat around for a while, without much consideration. I have a couple incense fragrances so it didn’t offer much to tempt me. But I was pleasantly surprised! It’s significantly different from those I have, and also unlike any other incense scents I’ve tried.
L’orpheline opens quite masculine, deliciously so. I smell lavender right away, quickly followed by some kind of menthol-like scent. Angela at NST got a similar impression and was reminded of Gris Clair. However for me the menthol-like aspect of Gris Clair is very strong and off-putting whereas in L’orpheline it’s kind of vague, and bleeds nicely into the incense, a cool presence.
The lavender too fades but what builds and builds is the musk. I say it’s unlike many incense scents because it’s also really a musk scent. I guess all the press was intended to give this scent a churchy feeling but it couldn’t be more off-base – this is one seriously sexy incense. Wispy, cool and animalic, also very long-lasting L’orpheline packs more of a punch than you’d think. Also, the smooth incense really keeps a reign on the more bitter aspects of musk, so if like me, musk turns quite acidic on you, this may be one to try.
Better than I expected and one of the more unique Lutens. I’ll happily use up my sample then we’ll see.
artman1977 – :
Tried this at Liberty’s in London, it was an instant like.
Though couldn’t remember the notes ( didn’t ask either) I could immiediatly get the musk , kind of sweet and some incense too. It softens and I get a slight bergamot or lime touch , but not listed here.
Pepper is probably another not listed one and it’s that note together with the sweet musk that made me think of Jil Sander JIL .which I love but mostly wear in winter actually. It is not a copycat , just a touch of the soft musky stage, reminding me of it.
The incense is not that smoky or harsch , more like a nuance giving it a darker feeling to it. Beeing a unisex and all, I would still call this more on the feminine side, due to it’s fragile lightness. It is longlasting but need a respraying after half a day or so. No strong start or weak end. It is faboulos as it is…
And one day with lesser bottles in my drawers, I’ ll definately will get a full bottle.Could easily turn into someones signature. As knowing some of S L other creations…this is not a typical one. Therefor I strongly advise you to try it!
vfysx29 – :
I get masculine-leaning tendrils of incense fumes with touches of white pepper and pine, after a brief, powerful burst of what smells like patch at the opening. Brings to mind no fancy imagery for me, just a soft but manly embrace.
It is much too masculine on me w/ any more than the tiniest dab of my sample, as I find many of Lutens’ heavier scents to be.
P.S. Gasp! Figured it out: about an hour in, the drydown reminds me of Narciso Rodriguez’s Amber Musc, super hard to find here in the US. Very similar on/to me!
winkus – :
All of these people comparing “L’Orpheline” to smoky Gothic churches are undoubtedly letting their imaginations and a penchant for hyperbole get the better of them.
This doesn’t smell like church pews, or incense. It smells like toothpaste and Parma Violet candy. Cold, sterile and synthetic. I was reminded of “Moon Dust” from the horrendous MiN New York line; it has a similar ‘dentist surgery’ vibe to it.
Yuck.
dm230780 – :
More Iso-E-Super + ambroxan, yay! What a dull, artless, liquid snoozefest. A meal of bread and water is more exciting.
sgd129Negeltzex – :
I am not sure about this one – it’s perfectly pleasant but has changed its impact on my psyche completely from yesterday to today. Yesterday I tried this in Harrods (London) on recommendation of my sister who was convinced I would love it. I’d been smelling and spraying different perfumes with a friend for 2 hours, but we had a break, came back, sniffed some coffee beans and as predicted I fell for this perfume immediately. It was like a combination of weird (“OMG, it smells like baby. Do I like the smell of baby? It smells of happy baby, freshly washed, sweet and gentle and creamy”) and fizzy (“this is like Gucci Rush. Different, more gentle, but Gucci Rush, right?”). So I bought it. So this morning, no distraction, i have put it on a paper strip and I am trying to find out why it doesnt smell of Gucci Rush Baby anymore. Instead it smells like a perfectly fine, slightly soapy male aftershave. There is a bit of Incense, a tiny bit of smoky tar, but mostly it’s that thing in musk that makes perfumes smell soft and soapy. And, occasionally, there’s the Gucci Rush hint of fizzy cherry bomb, for a fleeting nanosecond, then I lose it again. It’s a lovely smell, I am glad I own it and I will happily wear it. But it isn’t what I thought I was buying yesterday. (I also bought Comme des Garcons Black, which, if you like smoky incense & catholic church, is where you find it. Like someone battering your face with a large wooden crucifix dipped in Frankincense oil.)
bovm – :
I tested it and had a similary strong déjà-vu reaction like other reviewers. Mine was emotional and I knew it was recalling something from my past in the early 90ies.
Alfarom, glad I read what you wrote: Yes exactly, it has Helmut Langs bones. Oh, or more correctly: a Helmut Lang T-shirt on;-)
I feel drawn to it while knowing that I would never like it without this connotation.
VOLYN – :
هر روز بعد از خوردن صبحانه که مثل همیشه سیب زمینی بود ، ساکت در کنار اجاق اتش می نشست و از قاب پنجره دنیای خارج رو تماشا میکرد ، این ششمین روز بود که مداوم باد در حال وزیدن بود و درختان دیگر تاب تحمل این همه بی رحمی را نداشتند ، ایا در روز هفتم نیز همچنان باد خواهد وزید؟
دختر با نگاهی ساکت و بسته با چشمانی تاریک و تار از پشت شیشه غبار آلود تنها صدای تنهایی ، سکوت و روز مرگی حاصل از زندگی خود را میطلبید … صدای فریاد او را میشنود در این فضای وهم ناک و غم زده از پس رایحه سوختن کندر در این سراب آتشین تنها صدای خاکستری و غمناک او را میشنود : ” مادر من ابله هستم ”
و انتظار همچون باد بر پیکر دختر بی رحمانه زخم میزند … انتظار انتظار انتظار ، جهان رو به تباهی است …..
در ابتدای رایحه این عطر رایحه ای تند ادویه ای که در ابتدا خنک بوده و حالتی نعناعی دارد شروع میشود که کمی شبیه ابتدای عطر L’Eau Froide می باشد ، ولی این رایحه خنک نعناعی به زودی خارج شده و حالت ادویه ای تندی بر عطر حاکم میشود ، رایحه ادویه ای نیز به زودی کم رنگ شده و حالتی چوبی پیدا میکند که رایحه ای ملایم و شیرین نیز در این بین احساس میشود ، در این مرحله رایحه ای چوبی به همراه کمی رایحه ظریف و جزیی شیرین با پس زمینه ی ادویه ای بر عطر حاکم است ولی بعد از این رایحه دودی کندر همچون سیل تمام این رایحه چوبی و ادویه ای را می پوشاند ، رایحه کندر در ابتدا بسیار تیز و نافذ است ولی در ادامه با افزایش حجم این سیل خروشان به صورتی تقریبا ثابت و یکنواخت احساس میشود ، کندر و حالت بخوری و دودی بر عطر غالب است ولی به همراه رایحه ادویه ای و کمی چوبی که توانسته انددر این حجم سیل کندر کمی خود نمایی کنند .
رایحه کلی عطر بخور کند غالب با پس زمینه ای ادویه ای چوبی با نسبت حدودی 50 درصد بخور 20 درصد ادویه و 30 درصد رایحه چوبی ملایم .
نکته : حالت خاکی هم خیلی کم در عطر مشهود است
نکته : بر اساس سایت ها نت های این عطر بخور و مشک می باشد ولی من برای لحظاتی جزیی رایحه ای شیرین و ملایم که شبیه مشک باشد استشمام نکردم . احتمالا مشک همان رایحه ملایم شیرین چوبی مانند خواهد بود .
فضای عطر : حالتی خاکستری ، وهم آلود ، گنگ و در انتظار با امیدی بسیار ظریف به آینده .
this perfume reminds me the turin horse by bela tarr
Blackman602 – :
I tried, but I just can’t reconcile this with Serge’s history; I don’t know where the company’s head’s at anymore. This maps onto the L’Eau genealogy of air-conditioned minimalism. And like L’Eau, it’s perfectly fine as a barely-there scent, but it’s totally at odds with the Lutens legacy.
This is equal parts fizzy, balsamic, musty, camphorous, and peppery in the faintest ways imaginable. It’s transparent, but not in a glassy sense (as glass would be more substantial than this); it’s more like a sheet of vellum or fiber draped over skin. Ghostly incense and a barely-there benzoin form the bulk with an herbal tinge that’s not dissimilar to Kilian’s Vodka on the Rocks. There’s a faint sweetness that reminds me a little of Odeur 71, but that’s really it. You’d be hard-pressed to call it a perfume at all.
I love minimal aesthetics and I love light skin-scents as well, but I just cannot reconcile that the company that brought us El Attarine, Sarrasins, Chene, and so many other contemporary classics has put this out. It’s tantamount to handing Rothko a single crayon, or replacing Slayer’s guitars with flutes. I don’t dislike it, but I do dislike that it’s a Serge release.
alex-khrebtov – :
Ok, I have no problem with Iso-E-Super or Ambroxan. Most modern perfumes are packed with both. We also had it simply bottled and sold. Wow!
Now SL t