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Serge Lutens PARAFFIN samples...huh?

post #1 of 16
3/23/08 at 5:13pm
Thread Starter 
Serge Lutens is putting out these sample cards of their fragrances in solid paraffin form, four to a card. I've gotten EDP vials before but I've never heard of these! Can these samples be worn on the skin or are they just for the nose? This is totally new to me....I hope someone else out these has used these and can help explain what they are all about before I potentially waste some more money.
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post #2 of 16
3/23/08 at 5:30pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by zestyfresh View Post

Serge Lutens is putting out these sample cards of their fragrances in solid paraffin form, four to a card. I've gotten EDP vials before but I've never heard of these! Can these samples be worn on the skin or are they just for the nose? This is totally new to me....I hope someone else out these has used these and can help explain what they are all about before I potentially waste some more money.

They're actually not paraffin, more like something soft like bee's wax. Yes, you rub them on. They really don't contain any top notes and only represent the dry-down.
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post #3 of 16
3/24/08 at 12:33am
Quote:
Originally Posted by zestyfresh View Post

I hope someone else out these has used these and can help explain what they are all about before I potentially waste some more money.

They are actually free.
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post #4 of 16
3/24/08 at 1:12am
They'll give you a pretty good idea of what the fragrance is like, but before ordering a bell jar, one should try to get ahold of a liquid sample as well. I found Un Lys, for example, to be different enough in the liquid form compared to the wax sample - I actually liked the wax sample version better!
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post #5 of 16
3/24/08 at 1:54am
They're free, and they're the perfect way of experiencing what the scent will dry down into. As Shisedio is a Japanese company, they commissioned SL to make samples like this because the Japanese don't like top notes, mostly base. Some that I hated as wax samples, I have loved as liquid samples, and viceversa, try to sample what you think you'll like in liquid form before purchasing anything
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post #6 of 16
3/24/08 at 7:15am
I don't know where you got the idea that the Japanese don't like top notes in their perfumes? (Perhaps you could show me some data on this?) I've always been told SL sends out wax samples because of regulations regarding shipment of liquids.
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post #7 of 16
3/24/08 at 7:46am
Chandler Burr, and the SL SA when I was trying to push for a liquid sample of Fumerie Turque have both said stuff about the Japanese not liking top notes, and this has been evident from when I was at Tokyo International Airport, in the Wako branch all the fragrances were sprayed onto pre-labeled cards, and when my mom asked for a card, the SA smiled and gave her the pre-sprayed one

I noticed something else unusual: throughout the floor every fragrance was paired with a single, well-used test strip, labeled with its name -- Fragile, Beautiful -- and impregnated with the scent. No clean strips were provided. There is a reason for this: apparently the Japanese dislike top notes, and by sampling perfumes this way you eliminate them. So the incandescent top notes of, say, Anna Sui's perfumes, which in the United States are a huge part of their allure, are actually dispensed with in Japan. Source: http://www.chandlerburr.com/articles...Tmagprint.html

Of-course, this may be generalisation, and some Japanese people may love top notes, but the mother of a Japanese friend of mines collects fragrances, but doesn't open/use them, I believe this has something to do with the whole Japanese preservation of cleanliness.
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post #8 of 16
3/24/08 at 1:47pm
I agree that in wax samples you will not smell top notes, f.e. Borneo in top notes has a very prominent chocolate note, Iris Silver Mist - very prominent carrot note, Rahat Loukum - cherry pits in the chocolate note.
Wax samples are rounder (like perfume)
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post #9 of 16
3/24/08 at 2:11pm
I have never smelled or encountered any of the paraffin samples and honestly I have no desire to.

From what I know about the Serge line, these scents need so much concentration, attention and time to really experience. I would feel like I"m wasting my time with these wax samples, getting just an impression of one part of a larger much more complex scent.

If it weren't for generous Basenoters or decanters like The Perfumed Court I would never have had the chance to 'understand' most SL scents.
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post #10 of 16
3/24/08 at 2:15pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by zestyfresh View Post

Serge Lutens is putting out these sample cards of their fragrances in solid paraffin form, four to a card. I've gotten EDP vials before but I've never heard of these! Can these samples be worn on the skin or are they just for the nose? This is totally new to me....I hope someone else out these has used these and can help explain what they are all about before I potentially waste some more money.

Thanks for posting this thread.

I just received these cards also and thought "What in the hell am I supposed to do with these?!".

I really doubt that they will help me experience the fragrances properly.
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post #11 of 16
3/24/08 at 2:18pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by petruccijc View Post

Thanks for posting this thread.

I just received these cards also and thought "What in the hell am I supposed to do with these?!".

I really doubt that they will help me experience the fragrances properly.

I like these wax samples, and I wish Borneo would be such as in wax sample.
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post #12 of 16
3/24/08 at 2:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vivek View Post

I noticed something else unusual: throughout the floor every fragrance was paired with a single, well-used test strip, labeled with its name -- Fragile, Beautiful -- and impregnated with the scent. No clean strips were provided. There is a reason for this: apparently the Japanese dislike top notes, and by sampling perfumes this way you eliminate them. So the incandescent top notes of, say, Anna Sui's perfumes, which in the United States are a huge part of their allure, are actually dispensed with in Japan. Source: http://www.chandlerburr.com/articles...Tmagprint.html
Of-course, this may be generalisation, and some Japanese people may love top notes, but the mother of a Japanese friend of mines collects fragrances, but doesn't open/use them, I believe this has something to do with the whole Japanese preservation of cleanliness.

I think that it's more like the Japanese don't like to wear fragrances, period.
When I was in Japan last year, I thought it would be clever of me to wear Mitsouko. But, being the Ugly American that I am, it proved to be a big cultural blunder. Everytime I got into a taxi, the driver would grunt his disapproval, the same with the waitresses in restaurants. I bought a bottle of Tactics while there and thought a Japanese product would fair better, no dice.
I went shopping at Mitsukoshi, a giant department store and all the fragrances had the "well-used test strips" that Burr refers to. So well used in fact, that they were actually kind of dirty, so I don't think it has anything to do with cleanliness.
Also, the Comme des Garcons and Yohji boutiques did not carry any fragrances.
At the Lutens boutique in Paris, there are test strips made for each of the bell jar scents, this is how you test them. I believe they are made daily, in the morning, before the store opens. They represent the dry-down of the fragrance, since this is what you are really buying.
So, the wax samples serve the same function. Have you ever seen solid parfum compacts? It's the same concept.
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post #13 of 16
3/24/08 at 5:11pm
I wonder how well the Lutens sell in Japan .. I can imagine the japanese calling this house the "Godzilla of fragrances"..
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post #14 of 16
3/24/08 at 9:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by zztopp View Post

I wonder how well the Lutens sell in Japan .. I can imagine the japanese calling this house the "Godzilla of fragrances"..

My friends in Tokyo brought me shopping and I mean shopping. I did not see one bottle of Serge Lutens on offer anywhere, including in the free standing, 12 story, Shiseido building.
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post #15 of 16
3/25/08 at 5:00pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Prince Barry View Post

They are actually free.

How do you get them for free? I saw the set posted for sale on eBay and considered bidding--but not now. I definately want to get the full effect of the fragrance, top notes and all, especially if I'm considering purchasing a full bottle or even a good-sized decant. But free samples....wheeeeeeeee! Who can resist that?!?! I have a sneaking suspicion, though, that these freebies are not available in the USA.
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post #16 of 16
3/25/08 at 6:39pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by zestyfresh View Post

How do you get them for free? I saw the set posted for sale on eBay and considered bidding--but not now. I definately want to get the full effect of the fragrance, top notes and all, especially if I'm considering purchasing a full bottle or even a good-sized decant. But free samples....wheeeeeeeee! Who can resist that?!?! I have a sneaking suspicion, though, that these freebies are not available in the USA.


Please don't buy them. You can get them for free if you have some patience...
"You can always send for the PETIT LIVRE DES PARFUMS, which is a delightful collection of five folders containing small wax samples (i.e. solid perfume that you can use on your skin) of most of the Exclusive fragrances, plus a booklet with detailed, poetic descriptions of those scents. The Petit Livre is FREE and all you have to do is to send your name and address by mail to:
Les Salons du Palais Royal Shiseido
142 Galerie de Valois
25 rue de Valois
75001 Paris
France
or by phone:
Tel: 33 (0) 1 49 27 09 09 (Dial 011 33 and then the rest of the number without the 0 after the country code)"

 Quoted from Serge Lutens Blogspot
I hope this helps!
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Basenotes › Basenotes Forums › Fragrance Discussion › Male Fragrance Discussion › MFD Archive › Serge Lutens PARAFFIN samples...huh?