Serge Lutens Chergui

Oh dear, I wasn't expecting this. I used to like Chergui. A lot. I haven't worn it for some time now, but trying it again today, it came across cloying, over-sweet and just a bit nauseating. It's always been a strong perfume on me, like most Lutens, which aren't known for their light, fleeting sheerness. I think it may have had something to do with the fact that today was quite overcast, humid and rainy at times, which just seemed to amplify all that Chergui-ness, like a suffocating and scratchy blanket.

For some reason, every time I smelled Chergui today, I wished I had sprayed on Costamor's Tabacca instead, which on my skin manages to seem dry yet sweet at the same time, and thus very well balanced.

Layering Serge Lutens

I'm not sure about you, but I have never been a huge layerer of fragrances. I'm not sure why, but perhaps I've always been loathe to combine two fragrances that on their own are gorgeous. If it's good enough on its own, why corrupt it by coupling it with something else, no matter how beautiful that might be too? Recently however, I've been dabbling a bit with combining some of Serge Lutens' perfumes, with surprisingly good results. I'm not going to go into too much detail, but two combinations that really hit the sweet spot for me were as follows:

Ambre Sultan and Sa Majeste La Rose - I suspected this would be a good combo, and I wasn't wrong. Amber and Rose, a match made in heaven, in my opinion. There was something about this development that reminded me surprisingly (or perhaps not) of Amouage Lyric Man. I love Ambre Sultan at the best of times and combined with the dewy purity of Serge's export rose, it reached a sultry, heady height. Yum.

Chergui and A la Nuit - I originally paired  A la Nuit with Ambre Sultan and it fell flat. Combined together the amber never emerged, while the jasmine dominated. However, jasmine and tobacco is a great pairing and with Chergui thrown into the mix it was a totally different story. I was reminded a little of Nuit Noir by Mona Di Orio, but not as skanky. Surprisingly this combo was quite dry, whereas on its own I usually find Chergui to be quite sweet. It worked really well on the hot, humid summer day we were experiencing.

What I find really showed in both these cases is that layering works really well when you combine a soliflore (or a relatively simple, linear perfume) with a more complex one. In these cases both Chergui and Ambre Sultan are  complex, rich arrangements, while A la Nuit and Sa Majeste La Rose are all about jasmine and rose respectively, and quite simple (but not inferior). The result is both stunning in each case, but not stunning for some; I asked my wife to sniff my wrist with tobacco and jasmine on and she said I smelled like a woman. Well, I happen to think women smell very nice, thank you very much!

Does anyone else layer? I would certainly recommend giving Serge Lutens a go. I'm sure there are many others in the line that would work too. 


Well folks, that's the end of June. Halfway through 2010 and I wish you all very happy perfume adventures for the next six months.