Chypre Rouge (2006)
by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

Chypre Rouge manages to avoid the fruit syrup overdose that ruins so many Sheldrake-Lutens fragrances for me, favoring woods and moss instead. Along with Gris Clair and Sa Majesté la Rose, this is one of the few outings in which Sheldrake and Lutens do not overindulge their shared taste for dessert, and it works for the better!

That said, I'm a little bit puzzled by the controversy over Chypre Rouge. It strikes me as one of the more wearable fragrances from this house, but it hardly excites me, for better or for worse. In fact, in a line that either provokes or fascinates me, Chypre Rouge is simply forgettable.

Serge Lutens Chypre Rouge: hey now, it's not as bad as the review make it sound :) i was totally prepared for a ultra sweet concoction, but it surprised me in that department in first impression. it's no way as sweet as say cedre (i enjoy my cedre btw). it's very resinous to say the least, the openin accords are muted , fruity, smoky with a slight vegetal accord. the honey/vanilla combo kick it up by mids with the fruity gum accord still present. i think it's this fruit gum accord which didnt stick with many. patchouli though listed is not a prominent note..if anything, just a whisper. it's definitely ambery sweet with hints honey and moss towards the base with the "frutiy accord" still whispering on...

its no ambre sultan, gris clair, daim blond or cedre, yet, it's a "fun" fragrance. and my first (fun frag) with serge lutens i must say. there is nothing serious about it. it's a beautiful concoction by every means but, i would not recommend this as one of the top 5 scents from this line to anyone.. nice but not worth it.

I made a thread on Basenotes community forum, 31.8.2007. The title was called "SL Chypre Rouge - A COMPLETE KNOCKOUT".

It went like this :

"I feel such a fool now for ignoring this scent when it was released, and that was until yesterday when I finally sampled this in the late evening hours.
Don`t know exactly why, but I just didn`t find Chypre Rouge`s concept that intriguing. That was stupid, I now know, but at the same time the humble expectations towards this fragrance left great amount of room for a pleasant (to say the least) surprise that I got to experience.

BAM!! It was love at first sniff and in seconds I realized that it is time to start saving some money – immediately.
By time it got even better and better, and the lasting power turned out to be completely flawless.

It is easy for me to say that to me this is one of the most marvellous masterpieces by Sheldrake. I haven’t got the chance to try them all, but this ties my SL favourites with Miel de Bois and Muscs Koublai Khan. For instance, I think this is way more satisfying scent comparing to Fumerie Turque, Chergui, Ambre Sultan, Borneo 1834, Arabie etc.

Wow, what a strange and hypnotic juice this is. It has Lutens / Sheldrake written all over it, yet it is not directly comparable to anything I’ve ever smelled.
A completely mesmerizing mixture of thick, sweet fruity oriental style notes, mixed with foresty nuances by pine and moss. A great, evergreen accord here indeed.
It also has a great spicy, herbaceous accords. I get slight cumin or curry, even if it is not listed. This adds a delicious, slightly controversial edge to it.

All in all, the name is absolutely appropriate here, since I haven’t, after all, smelled anything so (dark) red smelling fragrance in my entire life.

While I was sniffing this fragrance last night, I was on a walk by the dark forest nearby my place with headphones on, playing Brian Eno`s On Land Ambient 4 album. Great many different images ran through my mind, and I swear I was set to lose my mind completely.
One thing that occurred to my mind was that great scene in the last episode of Twin Peaks, where Dale Cooper was about to cross the border of our plane into the Black Lodge.

I haven’t feltl this much for any fragrance in a long, long time. No need to tell you that I must have it as soon as possible."

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Well, I have owned the bottle of this now for a long time already, and I love it more than ever. Chypre Rouge is one of my alltime favourites. I simply wouldn`t want to imagine my life without it.

Foody and fun, but dry down has a very intense burnt note. It isn't offensive, but it's odd. Alot like a burnt incense note. I like it, but it's not really what I"d wear as perfume.

At first I liked it but my nose was overwhelmed at the time with all the other SL scents. This starts out too much like a hard candy and something you'd expect a girl's body spray to smell like. The pine in the beginning is offputting to me. It turns into something like a candied or macintosh apple candle. Weak and stays close to the skin. Does not last very long for this house. Not so good.

not for the fainted heart.
the opening is repulsive, like cheap red wine gone bad. Very strong and sweet, like a warm candy bar.
The dry down is... grape?
Longevity very bad on my skin,after two hours gone. strange.