Fleurs d'Oranger (1995)
by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

the orange out powers the tuberose, which should not happen :D makes me happy for some reason. Right up there with Fracas and Carnal Flower for balancing power vs. grace.

21st January, 2012.

The scent of hapiness.
The title is FleurS d'oranger, and that's what it is, a bush of orange flowers. The strong neroli note is coupled with a fresh greeny rose for the start. Rapidly, tuberose and jasmine perform a dimensional presence and a sensual effect. All those white flowers share similars olfactives molecules and there are here melted togethers to perform an opulent floral scent in the typic Lutens tradition. Serge managed to create the perfect paradox between opulence and freshness, the same sensation you smell with white flowers in reality.
There is just a hint of spice (nutmeg and cumin), just enough to delicatly make the overall a little bit dirty.
Sensual, fresh and comforting as the neroli is.

22nd November, 2011.

Maybe my favorite tuberose and my favorite orange blossom. A wondrous creation in the classic French style. Heaven on earth.

17th September, 2011.

While wearing FIRE ISLAND this afternoon, I was reminded of my first Serge Lutens experience: FLEURS D'ORANGER, about a year and a half ago. My sample was of unknown origin (I found it in a gwp bag, and I honestly had no idea when or from where I had acquired it), so when I sprayed it on and discovered that the perfume was essentially the scent of super-concentrated Coppertone suntan lotion, I was a bit disappointed, for all of the same reasons that some people are disappointed with FIRE ISLAND.

I decided to give FLEURS D'ORANGER another chance and this evening seemed like a fine time, with the memory of FIRE ISLAND still fresh in my mind. The good news is that FLEURS D'ORANGER is not really a Coppertone clone. My earlier sample must have evaporated somewhat and changed in the process. Instead, what I find with this fresher decant is that FLEURS D'ORANGER is not unlike the drydown of FIRE ISLAND, with its tuberose, neroli, and musk, but with much more emphasis on the white florals (including jasmine) and also a kind of golden oriental amberish (not ambery...) quality where FIRE ISLAND was more "ozonic". This is a powerful little potion, big white flowers in a long lasting base that amplifies the already heady mix.

I recommend FLEURS D'ORANGER as a much more perfumic and feminine alternative to FIRE ISLAND. But if you don't like big fat white flowers, this may be too much.

3rd August, 2011.

I sampled this fragrance on a sunny February morning in Stockholm, as I was just beginning to recover from a case of winter bronchitis that had me home-bound and unable to smell anything for a few weeks-

Wow, I felt as if I had been given an injection of some kind of feel-good mega-vitamin! The sheer exuberance of this orange blossom powerhouse was definitely what the doctor ordered!

As the cumin notes began to make their presence known, though, I got a bit of a locker-room vibe- incredibly animalic, almost embarassingly so- I was glad that I wasn't in a roomful of strangers or on a crowded Metro...

Having recently tried other orange blossom fragrances by Prada and L'Artisan, Fleurs d'Oranger definitely stood head and shoulders above the other two for power and originality- but this fragrance seems built for seduction rather than for everyday use-

25th July, 2011.

Rambunctious ,full blooming, dripping orange blossom- sweet, heavy lidded and sexy . There is a hint of black tea in there somewhere that keeps Fleurs d'orange from tipping sideways into indolic hell . Yes, there's a hint of sweet tuberose but the orange blossom is 100 % there. Some similarity to 24 Faubourg but the Hermes is a lady and the Lutens is a showgirl .:)
Lasting power - very good .Sillage very good.

17th May, 2011.