Fleurs de Citronnier
by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

Serge Lutens Fleurs de Citronnier

Citrus scents should be worn in the summer. It is almost like "Don't wear white after Labor Day" as a scent rule of thumb. Except when someone as skilled as Christopher Sheldrake decides to prove it wrong. Fleurs de Citronnier was created in 2004 and if you want a cool-weather citrus this is the scent for you. This starts out with a razor-sharp neroli bolstered by citrus. The heart holds onto the citrus while introducing honey, tuberose and iris into the mix. Depending on how you feel about white flowers this is where this scent will excel or flop for you. The tuberose becomes prominenent for a decent amount of time but with the honey and citrus cutting it, it never gets out of control on my skin. Iris shows up and really smooths this out. As we move into the base, nutmeg is the perfect transition to the musk present there. The florals and musk make this citrus with oomph and one that is best worn on a sparkling cool spring or fall day.

The opening is very pretty, bright, green citrus floral. The good trip ends there. I'm SO disappointed - this turns to pure honey on my skin far too quickly (and I can't help but think "honey and lemon flu medicine", sadly). Oh well, at least there's one Serge Lutens I don't have to lust after!

Fleurs de Citronnier is a very light lemon blossom fragrance from Serge Lutens that is nice enough but the main adjective that comes to my mind to describe it is "insipid" and at Serge Lutens' prices, I expect to be dazzled. If you'd like to try a truly beautiful lemon fragrance, l would suggest Mona di Orio's lemony amber masterpiece "Lux".


Here are the notes, per The Perfumed Court’s website: Lemon Blossom, Neroli essence, Tuberose and Musk.

VIBERT speaks the truth about this fragrance! There are only two additional points of interest I'm compelled to add:

Fleurs de Citronnier is very powdery, especially throughout the heart notes. (I actually sneezed each of the 3 times I sampled FdC!) In the drydown, I detect vetiver pretty distinctly. In fact, the latter stage of this fragrance's development gives FdC it's unisex rating. Enjoy!

Open Fleurs de Citronnier and crisp neroli with white flowers ride out of the bottle on dry, powdery woods. This brisk and refreshing accord is a pleasant surprise coming from a house known for lush, sweet, heavy orientals. The citrus and woods accord here actually borders on astringent - it's that snappy!

Some of the expected Sheldrake-Lutens sweetness creeps in as the scent develops, and the fleshy, indolic aspect of lemon blossom follows close behind. The two add a layer of warmth and complexity to what might otherwise have been a rather hollow composition. None of the heavier notes are overdone, so the overall effect remains extremely bright and bouyant. The base, built on a light, sweet vanilla and clean, powdery white musk, stays close to the skin once the drydown begins.

If many of the Serge Lutens fragrances are sweet, thick cordials, Fleurs de Citronnier is a champagne cocktail: effervescent, a bit tart, and unlikely to ruin anybody's appetite.

It may have lemon flowers, you bet, but I get pure orange blossom here. Light and uplifting and complex and heady all at once. The honey notes are especially nice here, but without coming off as cloying.

Definitely NOT like any other Lutens I've smelled to date. A big thumbs-up for FdC.