Louve (2007)
by Serge Lutens Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido

Mostly almond with a hint of cherries over a mild vanillic base. Will not win you any cool points with your ~edgy iconoclast~ perfume friends, but is nevertheless a well-made, easy-to-wear fragrance that's feminine but not cloyingly girly.

12nd December, 2011.

Smells like Jergens Original Scent with more punch. A simple mélange of cherry, almonds, and vanilla.

30th August, 2010.

I sprtized this on my decollete and thought "Whoa! how did Mom's christmas cookies end up in my shirt???"

You know, the ones you cut with cookie cutters and then cover with thick frosting and little candies? I like these on a tray, just not on my person. Moving on...

Dry down gets better. Love the warm, resinous rose note that radiates out in concentric circles like slow moving molasses (yep, that sweet kick never goes anywhere)

This phase is along the lines of Caron's Pour une Femme, another warm, silky rose fragrance. But Une Femme pairs the rose with incense instead of amber and resins, whihch works better for me (as does the price, which is much less)

Like DoctorMod I was drawn to smelling my sweet self, and I don't really have any complaints about this other than i'm sure the persistant almond note would wear on me after a while. But try it if you can!

31st July, 2010.

I didn't really have high hopes for Louve, though I now see that my doubts were without foundation. I had a sample and I was prepared to use it on a quiet Sunday afternoon when there was no one to bother besides myself.

Oh my my my my! My first thought was "wine?" But not exactly. No wine ever smelled this rich and sweet. It was more like some fabulous apertif or brandy--Berry? Cherry? Spicy too--too gorgeous, too luxurious to be written off as just another gourmand.

Then, just as I was fully appreciating its intoxicating headiness, it all seemed to vanish. (Well, I thought, maybe I need a bigger sample.) Or did it? Throughout the rest of the day and evening an occasional whiff of sensual sweetness would creep up on me, and even after a lengthy nap (and competing with the BenGay rubbed into an extremely stiff and painful knee), it was clinging to the bedclothes, even lovelier than before!

Louve has great longevity (stronger and vastly more complex now than it was twelve hours ago) and a sillage that is sufficiently strong while not overpowering.

It is not often that I simply want to sneak off and smell myself, gratified by the thought that I truly smell beautiful--but I do when I'm wearing Louve.

7th June, 2010.

This smells like the day I was wearing Keiko Mecheri's Loukhoum at home, and splashed on some Coco later when going out. It was a nice combination - the very sweet almond confection, faint rose and the deeply fruity/spicy. Louve isn't quite like that, but similar: very sweet at first, which I like. I would not wear it to work but some days just require clouds of sweetness wafting around. Today is one of those days. That said I could not afford to buy a whole bottle and will have to make do with my combo above when my decant of Louve is gone.

24th February, 2010. (Last Edited: 22nd March, 2010.)

The top note is a strong bitter almond oil and though it is enough reppelling to me, designer does not think it is enough and it is followed by headache giving aldehydes. Really really bad.

23rd December, 2009.