Bas de Soie

This is now my 3rd review of this perfume. i have decided to condense my previous two into this because i tend to yap and i wont guarantee this review will be any less yapful So.. where to begin. this is a very complex and rather challenging scent, something you wouldnt expect from its simple composition. hyacinth, galbanum, iris, musk. how difficult can that be? yet, this perfume is extremely inconsistent in its behaviors. which isnt an issue for me, but may be one for someone looking to blind buy. The opening is pretty consistent. it starts with a clean powdery floral ionone filled musk, with a very purple, almost artificial grape-esque filter over all of it. this is beautiful to me because i love violet. it never goes into laundry detergent territory. the iris + musk in the back does create a sense of clean clothes inside an old wooden closet, but not in a modern aldehydic synthetic soapy fabric softener way. this is a good thing because why would you pay 240 to smell like a 4 euro product? then it goes in two directions. one of them is indeed a photorealistic hyacinth. The hyacinths i have smelled in real life smell honeyed, sharp, green, spicy, heady and strong. not in a jasmine way. i find spring florals to smell rather similar to one another ( daffodils and hyacinths smell similar for example). Bas de soie captures all of these facets except for sharpness. which may as well work in its favor. the iris becomes woodier, the galbanum shows up slightly, and the musk disappears (good, i dont really LOVE musky florals). the powderiness turns into a snow like powder, not all too different from the powder in iris poudre. its never dusty play-doughy or stale. rather, its a compact powder with the slightest addition of wax. Theres an earthiness in the background, way more soil-like than De Profundis from the same house. Snow, leaves, cold breeze, hyacinth, sun and soil. the imagery is a perfect rendition of a hyacinth blooming in the first spring suns. Its so beautiful. spring is my favorite season and this just makes me yearn for it even more. This version of the development is a 10/10 for me, and most likely all other lovers of spring. I dont know if hyacinths bloom in snow, i dont grow them outside. so maybe its all a delusion. but it still works. u might as well replace the hyacinth with a daffodil in this picture. I love this version and i would consider it a signature.. But thats not where it ends. theres a second route this perfume goes sometimes, sadly.. lets call this bas de soie v2 After the same opening, this perfume may decide to go extremely green on you. like, a crazy amount. v2 becomes a GRASS scented perfume full of damp soil. theres no florals or iris in here. The sharpness of the green becomes very overwhelming and almost gag inducing. like rotting leaves almost. If u try hard enough you may envision laying in the grass on a warm spring day, which it actually does come close to. i love that smell when im in that environment, but idk if it goes well on my skin. The dirty grassy greenness is juxtaposed with the musky cleanness mentioned in the opening. eventually it calms down and becomes less sharp and gross, which is pleasant but not very unique. It does evoke an image though. an image that fits the silk stockings name. it smells like fresh socks covered in damp dirt and chlorophyll after running in grass. theres no foot stench here, no. but theres a silky linen scent in the background while the bitter greenness persists. The greenness is nowhere near as good as de profundis, which is indeed an herbal almost medicinal green. I give this version of bas de soie a 7.5/10, because even though it goes rancid for a few seconds, the drydown becomes a nice green grass field which i do enjoy but dont seek out in perfumery. At least not with a development like that. I havent found a pattern in the way this perfume develops. it really does depend on the day. doesnt matter if i come straight out of the shower or if i use lotion or not. It may as well be my nose thats at fault. I have tried comparing spraying and dabbing but nope, if it chooses to develop one way it will continue to do so all day long. the only consistency is applying it to clothing, where it actually does retain its v1 smell. but the opening notes last longer and they dont develop much, as most scents dont on clothes. Longevity is great, projection isnt powerful. which may as well be a blessing since u wouldnt want others to smell rotten leaves as u walk by. Still, i love this perfume and i will choose to ignore its negatives because v1's beauty vastly outweighs the grossness of v2. Be careful though, this wont be an easy daily wear scent. Some will find it simple, which it may as well be. but making something good out of simplicity is no easy feat at all, and sheldrake did it very well here. Also why does everyone hate the bell jars so much? yeah its impractical but having extra steps to apply this perfume actually makes me enjoy it more. It makes me take the time to appreciate what im doing instead of spritzing and leaving my room. Theyre also really beautiful

"The iridescence of a dragonfly's wing." Wow. That's it. Hyacinth is among my very favorite floral fragrances in the world. It's the first sign of spring. It's the smell of my childhood, that laced with tulips and daffodils. It's a warm, clean, green scent with some honey and spice. Bas de Soie... what are you. Cold, metallic, iris with a pleasant powder (that says a lot coming from me). It's like a smooth stone. Completely not what I was imagining seeing the notes listed with hyacinth in the lead. It's not spring, it's green but a cold green. Smells like an art gallery. Like somewhere clean and air conditioned and full of beautiful people. The hyacinth is there somewhere, lacing through like the silk it's named after, weaving in and out to remind you of it's presence. It's a taunting hyacinth. The powdery note comes up higher and louder as it sits, but it's very pleasant. Very classy. You can imagine a lady powdering her face as she does her hair and slowly dresses herself. There is something spicy about it too, which sharpens the crisp blade as it snips through the soft floral. It feels the way your cool pillow does against your face after a humid hot summer day. It's so refreshing. So clean. So pure smelling. Virginal. It's wonderful, just almost makes an 8/10 which unfortunately rounds it to a 7.5. It's good. But it makes me think of children. Of something that hasn't been touched before. It's a strange clean scent. I seen a reviewer said it smelled like fresh cotton sheets, I can get those vibes too, but it's cold. And I don't feel a fondness towards cold cotton sheets forgotten in the wind. I want to love it though, because there is a hidden warmth about it. It's so taunting. Very interesting. Very unique. Edit: It just keeps getting nicer! I really appreciate this scent. I will come back to it in the future. It might get a bump up in the scale for me. I have a feeling I won't be able to get it off my mind. Edit edit (2022): Bought a bottle. I really love it. It's powdery, soft, extremely dainty and fem. Makes me feel like a lady. Darling.

A combination of fresh and cool hyacinth with powdery notes and green earthy undertone that tends to create a classic atmosphere. Hyacinth has a brilliant and beautiful reflection in this perfume and iris has given it an exquisite and luxurious look of soapy powder. The green and earthy sense of the perfume combines it with an old and classic charm. . لاین "گل های چیده نشده" سرژ لوتانز یازده عطر با محوریت گل های مختلف رو شامل میشه و با دِ سُوا(به معنی جوراب ابریشمی)نام عضو سنبل محور این خانواده هست. سنبل برای من یکی از دوست داشتنی ترین گل هاست که همیشه مشتاق تجربش در عطرها هستم و نماینده سنبلیِ سرژ از بهترین گزینه های این تجارب بوده. . رایحه رو آثارِ سبز، تلخ و خاکیِ باریجه آغاز میکنه. این حس سبز و خاکی فورا به عطر قدرتمند سنبل ملحق میشه و بعنوان سبزیِ ساقه و برگ و خاک گلدان به ایفای نقش میپردازه. سنبل با رایحه شیرین و خنکِ گلی نزدیک به موگه (تا حدودی یادآور کرم های دست و صورت)، دارای رگه های آکواتیک فلزی و یک ته بوی پلاستیکی آدامسی(که در سنبل طبیعی مخصوصا وقتی رو به پلاسیدن میره هم حس میشه) در مرکزیت عطر میدرخشه. این سنبلِ خیس و خنک با حس سبز و خاکیش توسط آکورد پودری قدرتمندی آرایش شده. ("یونون" ها که بوی زنبقی بنفشه ای رو بازسازی میکنن) زنبقی خاکی و نفیس که همراه با یک تلخیِ بادامی(کومارین) حالتِ خشک و غبار مانند پودر رو به زیبایی انعکاس میده و شمه ای از بنفشه خنک و پودری آرایشی که وجوهِ سرد و فلزی گلیش با سنبل مچ میشه. این هاله های پودری در مجاورتِ حس سبز و خاکی و سایه هایی از رز به عطر حالتی کلاسیک و کهنه میبخشن. به مرور رایحه با جرقه های ادویه ای و شیرینِ میخکی گزندگی و گرمای ملایمی پیدا میکنه و در نهایت زیر پتویی نرم و لطیف از مشک به خواب میره. . تنها عاملی که سعی در تعرض به کیفیت و واقع گرا بودن عطر داره حس شیمیایی فلزی آکواتیکِ خفیفی هست که در ترکیب با سایر مواد عطر برام رایحه تافت مو و لاک ناخن رو یادآوری میکنه و البته ناخوشایندِ من نیست. . در این کار هم مثل اکثر اعضای لاین گل ها، روح شرقی و تاریکِ عطرهای سرژ لوتانز کمترین نمود ممکنه رو داره و در فضایی نورانی شامه مخاطب رو نوازش میکنه. این عطر چندسالی هست که از شیشه های ۵۰ میل به شیشه های ۷۵ میلِ بل جار(زنگوله شکل) منتقل شده و همچنان در حال تولیده.

I really like this! I was a little nervous about testing as I had read that hyacinth can be a difficult note and I worried that hyacinth + galbanum + musk might be too much. But I have been trying to sample all different types of iris scents recently, having recently fallen for iris in a big way. Then the other week I tried on E.Coudray Jacinthe and Rose and was surprised to really love it, and I adore Heeley's L'Amandiere so I went ahead and gave this a try. The opening is quite bitter, I guess from the galbanum and hyacinth but within a few minutes the more bitter note subsides and the hyacinth comes through more strongly. I enjoy this it feels very lush with just a hint of bite remaining. It really feels like pushing your nose against a hyacinth bloom, it has a moist, lush damp feeling (does that make sense?Looks awful written down, I mean it in a good way!). About an hour or so in the galbanum seems to take its leave almost entirely leaving just a hint, and the iris and musk come fore. I really like this, it smells very unlike anything else I have tried. I don't really get the silk stockings thing in honesty. Although I guess I could imagine an aged pathe video reel of a woman sat at her vanity putting on her stockings, and she could quite feasibly be wearing this scent...I'm being taken in my marketing again aren't I?! Anyway, I like this. My husband dislikes the opening, finding it "acrid and bitter", but he thinks the heart and drydown are pleasant. In fact, he told me this afternoon that I smelled like "bluebells, chocolates and coffee grounds"! Decent projection of about 4-5 feet, excellent longevity for me of around 7-8 hours, it may have gone on longer but I resprayed at this point!

I can't believe I never reviewed one of my favourite perfumes before! I guess having my 10 year old daughter secretly spraying it on herself, and then commenting on how it smells like Maman, and how beautiful the scent is, made me pause. I said to her: "this is a bitter and difficult perfume to like; it's not fruity, nor floral, nor sweet. What do you like about it?" She said:" it actually smells sweet to me. It is just beautiful and I know I don't have kids' taste". Ok. Maybe what she likes is the smell of of Maman. But still, even then, BdS is a stretch for most children. So now, I feel compelled to write a review: BdS is one of my favourite fragrances. I am odd that way: I like über bitter fragrances and I guess a combination of galbanum, hyacinth (bluebell) and iris is my dream come true. The slightly rooty, yet somewhat powdery and sweet bitterness makes me swoon. It does warm up on the skin, and looses the first shock of full frontal metallic and bitter assault, but it never becomes a warm, embracing perfume. In this respect, it reminds me of Mitsouko -- minus the peach and the dry woody/mossy smell. I know these two are not the same, but somehow, they strike the same olfactory chord. BdS always retains its aloof, sophisticated and intellectual allure... I see a beautiful and composed woman serenely writing with an ink pen in a library full of musty books. This is a love or hate affair. My daughter and I happen to love it.