La Serpentine

Got this in the sample set (which I initially bought to check out Ghost Pine and Holy Oak) and I'm blown away with how much I love it. Opens with bright, juicy, literal peach. Then mellows into a dark fairy tale: a ripe peach sitting ripped open, oozing unpasteurized honey, on a wooden table in a dilapidated greenhouse that's overgrown with moist vines. A dark little snake slithers by. Humid. Naturally sweet (NOT cloying, not synthetic) with a natural tartness that wafts up through the humidity. It's sexy in the way nature is sexy: moist and dark and mysterious and feral, with pops of color. Absolutely true to nature. I prefer it to Pêche Obscène from the same perfumer, which feels like a brighter, more straightforward peach. This one's darker and juicier. Ordering a full bottle asap.

One of my favorite scents to date!! Its "Man eater" by Nelly furtado in a bottle. It has all the complexity of pêche obscène with an added musky sophistication. Very sensual and velvety on the skin and such a pretty dry down too!! The dampness of the oak ties incredibly well with the peach, and gets smoothed by the osmanthus. It gives it this chic "dirty and feral" beauty to an otherwise fruity bottle. It also has the perfect balance of musky to floral, and binds the scent so well when wearing it that sweating makes the perfume even sweeter and sexier I kid. You. Not.

A good chypre with a patchouli note and the surprising top note of peach! It settles into a dark and sensual fragrance after the peach wears off. I'm not one for fruity notes - but this perfume is THE exception. It's my go-to when I need to be especially brave, or do something way outside my comfort zone. A LVNEA stand-out to me, and I've tried them all.

A sweet dark peach. An amazing expression. Kudos to lvnea! Osmanthus is also detectable and gives a nice extra touch to the final result. Wish it lasted 2 more hours tho. Great job!

Oooohh, I prefer La Serpentine over Peche Obscene by far! The lack of jasmine here makes it just the perfect dark earthy peach I really wanted! So, so good <3

summertime peach for citrus aquatic haters damp and dank and beautiful as hell

Deep, dark, feral, and powerful. If I had to pick four words to describe La Serpentine, those would be my choice. It may well fall into the category of "challenging," especially for those unfamiliar with the darker side of chypres. This fragrance opens with a strong blast of damp, earthy patchouli, so dirty it borders on filthy. At this stage of the fragrance, the woody notes have a distinct "underground" quality to them, like the roots of an ancient tree. The mossiness of La Serpentine is a holistic, natural oakmoss, which means that there is an inherent undercurrent of rot mixed in - just like a real forest, life and death tangle inextricably, coexisting in the same ecosystem. This fragrance is a great representation of what that life cycle smells like, organic matter thriving and breaking down, each in their turn. At the fragrance's heart, there's a true-to-name reptilian musk present, noticeable but not strong enough to smell like a snake's den, and that's balanced out by the wafts of peach and osmanthus that begin to emerge. The wood and patchouli still mostly dominate, though. Finally, in its dry-down, La Serpentine is at its most magnetic, when the notes all seem to soften and balance out. It maintains excellent projection and longevity even at this stage. The temperature of the composition is decidedly cool, like the aforementioned forest floor, or the smooth scales of a snake's underbelly against your skin. For lovers of beast-mode patchouli scents, this may be a holy grail. If you hate patchouli or earthy scents in general, steer well clear. I strongly recommend sampling this one before buying a full bottle.