La Fille de Berlin (2013)
by Serge Lutens

If Sa Majesté La Rose is a rose soliflore, then La Fille de Berlin is a blooming, breathing rose upon the skin of you or someone you like. There is the rose, crimson, large and living, incredibly deep and vivid; accentuated with a touch of pepper, it is sometimes a bit icy and a bit metallic. There are some hints at fresh green notes and berries, but it is always about the rose. There is no surprise or twist here, as La Fille de Berlin slowly grows mellow over several hours to a base of rosy amber/woods/musk. There's no discernible amber or musk, as they have been rightly compromised to make way for the rose.

In a range that often gives us sweet perfumes, La Fille de Berlin is completely devoid of any sweetness. Its vivacity reminds me of Lipstick Rose, but it is perhaps closest to Rossy de Palma in terms of scent profile; but there are key differences. Rossy de Palma is more fresh-green, and there is a definite focus on patchouli in the later stages. La Fille de Berlin is all about the rose, left, right and centre.

La Fille de Berlin could be deceptive as a nice but simple rose fragrance, but I find it to be a tremendous tour-de-force composition, a rare specimen of graceful magnificence, transitioning ever so slightly from cool to warm, and a perfume of unparalleled beauty, and sometimes just a little quirky. It exists in the most crowded category of floral perfumes, but stands alone where no one else does.

I enjoy La Fille de Berlin even more in cold, crisp weather; otherwise it transcends fashion, styles, gender and the hour of the day. Perfection, irrespective of whether worn in or out of context, and it can be worn for weeks as it becomes a second skin. Lush, elegant, contemporary, urbane, intelligent, a complete head turner, and finally a bit emotional and remarkably memorable; deadly and devastating in the best possible ways.


5/5

The rose is peppery-sweet. The amber, musk, and patchouli have a balsamic buzziness about them. Rich, dark, deep.

I am extremely picky about roses and rose scents. Ever since I was little I imagined how they would smell--and then finally smelt the real thing and felt let down, until this scent. This is what I always imagined Roses to smell like--and it does not have the chemical scent that seems to get trapped in my nose and mouth with a lot of rose scents.

The perfume itself is powerful and opens full throttle--I would definitely suggest spraying lightly with this and avoid wearing this in the middle of summer (a mistake I made as the scent became overpowering). This scent is a full rose in bloom, and for me the perfume continues to become lovelier in the drydown. It feels plush, sweet, romantic but with a peppery firey hint that keeps it from going to saccharine. The scent never settles into my skin, I always feel like it rests just above my skin in a warm, luxurious scent.

Definitely a statement, dramatic, mature scent.

I never thought I'd buy or fall in love with a rose scent, and this perfume made me eat my words. I went through several decants, and finally purchased the full bottle and it was my first Lutens purchase.

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

I found Lutens' Rose de Nuit to be a light and lovely rose.

I find La Fille de Berlin to be a rich, deep rose with, as others have said on these pages, a jammy sweetness.

Two sides of the same coin and both eminently wearable, suggesting day and evening suitability.

I have yet to experience Lutens' first rose scent, Majestie La Rose, and wonder where on the spectrum this will announce itself.

For the purposes of this review, Berlin is a fine soliflore, and one that is quite unisex in my opinion, a rarity for a rose-centered fragrance.