La Dompteuse Encagée

I have now resumed my relationship with Serge Lutens’ perfume house. In the past , the samples I have tried adorned the fragrances with way too many spices and resins or edgy notes for faint hearted me . I just couldn’t pull them off despite appreciating their complexity and uniqueness. I have now amassed 7 bottles in two months after giving Datura Noir a more thorough appreciation. This lead me to purchase - Nuit Cellophane which I adore . Then I blind bought - La Religieuse, La Dompteuse Encagee , Fleur de Citronnier , La Fille de Berlin, and Fils de Joie. ( Love my white florals ). I agree with a reviewer that La Dompteuse Encagee (LDE) starts out quite similar to La Fils Joie with a cold blast of camphor/ menthol notes. I perceive Jasmine is included even though it’s not listed . SL is known for not disclosing all notes in their perfumes to keep their mystery . The initial blast is a mixture of Jasmine with tart, citrus nuances from the Frangipani and then it is quickly warmed by Ylang Ylang and possibly hyacinth and roses . I found LDE a skin scent after the initial 30 mins . Like a lot of Serge’s fragrances , the opening notes are quite a powerhouse overload then it softens . It quiets down with the frangipani blossom / almond accord which is quite subtle and takes a long time to expand . I actually find the almond is barely there in this fragrance . If I inhale the scent closely, I also get wafts of the fleshy , stalk like portion of the florals which brings a fresh, green element to the scent . I own Datura Noir and this does not remind me at all of the vanilla /Tuberose/ almond scent . I also don’t get bubble gum notes, loud white florals , sunscreen, beachy , or sharp notes . Drydown is not spicy or indolic on my skin. This is a naturally sweet scent and I do get a slight waxiness from the florals . The cool , metallic element is throughout the fragrance’s journey and is evident in a few of Serge’s fragrances that I own. This keeps the scent quite fresh and soapy, not creamy on me . I just find LDE simple , and linear in its development but that’s its beauty . It reminds me a lot of Nuit de Cellophane with its similar DNA - Jasmine, greeness, metallic soapiness with bitter- sweet almond. Many complain that it’s way too simple and boring for Serge Lutens house but I hope to think that there is a market for everyone . I prefer wearable , non spicy , inoffensive ,no quirky notes to surprise me. I just don’t want to appreciate one part of the fragrance’s journey and dislike the rest . I find this blind buy, unbelievably beautiful . So , so in love with this scent . 💓 It’s my favourite of the 7 bottles I purchased from SL. Overall, I think this is a well crafted , elegant , refined floral with no unusual surprises .

On that day, a nice lady at the perfume shop gave me a try a few strips of Serge Lutens. I was looking for a unique and strong oud, amber masculine scent, and she gave me La couche du Diable, Ambre Sultan and even Chergui. They all are a great fragrance. Then later she also gave me La Dompteuse. She said it was a new release. It was July 2021 last year. At that time, the first impression was ok and i was really not that impressed. I was really not looking for a floral fragrance at that time and definitely didnt want to smell of frangipangi! I was very picky about perfume, and i am half middle eastern half Indonesian so im used to the strong potent oud leather tobbaco combo. So I brought back all the samples, and for a whole week i couldnt stop smelling the La Dompteuse sample. I fell in love with it. It took me a while to finally decide to buy it. and now fast forward to year 2022, it has been my 2nd bottle and signature scent. My mother quite surprise because it is a very big transition for me from an oud-based tobacco guy to a floral guy very quickly. And i receive a lot of compliment from both gender. Dont let the initial 15-20 Minutes fool you. The first initial phase is a frangipani bomb. Very floral, more leaning towards feminine. I was born and live in Bali, and Frangipani is everywhere, even at my house. But The thing a like about La Dompteuse is that it has a strong Serge Lutens DNA in it. Lutens put a lactonic and almost metallic twist about it that makes it very unique. Its hard for me to notice almond here. Maybe its there but very light. Its like a summer fragrance but also metallic cold at the same time. It’s hard to explain. It has the same DNA like La Fille De Berlin, but different. I have La Fille De Berlin, it’s rosy but has metallic blood smell on it. Like a dry blood or taste of iron in blood for me. If Dracula has a perfume he must use La Fille De Berlin. la Dompteuse In my opinion has the same touch but it uses Frangipangi instead, so it has an airy, yellow floral summer vibe to it. Im surprised of plenty bad reviews here. I think this is a gem. Im glad it is not becoming viral like Chergui or ambre sultan or other SL fragrances thats being repeated over and over again by plenty of youtubers or influencers. La Dompteuse Encagee leaves a trail of floral, lactonic, metallic, airy scent that very noticeable but understated at the same time. It smells expensive but doesn't loud.

I'm very surprised by the negative reviews for this fragrance. I had blind bought a tester a while ago despite the bad reviews figuring since I was purchasing it at fragnet I'd be able to easily return it if my experience aligned with theirs. I'm glad to see that some of the reviews are now favorable since I am having the same experience they are having. I think this is a beautiful floral scent. As soon as I sprayed it on fragrances like Michele by Balenciaga, Henry Bendel's Jasmin & Tuberose, and Beach by Bobbi Brown sprung to mind. It has that same summer beachy feel to me. I'm also having a hard time believing that there are only 3 notes in this fragrance since there seems to be a lot more going on than what is listed. Luten's site is no help either since there are only the same notes listed there as here, just in flowery language describing the perfume. Despite no jasmine listed in the notes I am still getting that very strong here, so it must be an unlisted or mystery note. I am also getting honey, though that could be the honey sweetness of the frangi blossom or some other trick of the notes. Unlike some, I'm not getting Datura Noir at all. That has a pronounced sweet almond note and clear tuberose, whereas this has a light bitter almond note that soon blends in with the rest of the scent. Datura is also disappointing in the performance department compared to this, whereas I can smell this clearly and it lasts all day on me with just a few sprays. And while it does share the frangi of Beige and Prada La Femme, this doesn't share their effervescence but rather has a lotiony element to it of creamy bath products that I simply adore. I am so glad I took the risk as I am very happy with this blind buy. It is important to remember though that while other's opinions are helpful, there is no substitute for trying a fragrance yourself. Edit - 10/25/23 - Just a heads up that I wore this several times since getting it, and this is one fragrance that really needs warm temps to bloom on the skin. I wore it today in cooler Fall weather and while nice and I could smell it, it wasn't as beautiful as it is in warm weather, the hotter the better. All the floral notes really get pulled out then. That's really something great because there are not that many perfumes that can handle the heat without either disappearing or getting annoyingly oppressive or cloying.

4/6/23 just received this in the mail today and swoooon. where have i been? review coming soon after wearing a few times. Holy smokes this and Fils de Joie are bonkers-level delicious and sexy florals. True florals and not stewed fruits/resins. Feminine and beautiful. 4/20/23: OK! Coming back after having worn this about 2-3 times. This IS a beautiful floral, that's a bit hard to compare or describe. While there is a frangipane type floral element I don't think it's particularly similar to Chanel Beige or Prada La Femme. It is a very classic and safe floral (nothing stewed or edgy which is often the case with Lutens). This is definitely not a suntan beach vibe at all but more like a classic traditional almost formal floral. When wearing it on skin only, I get a slightly sharp, sweet floral. But when I spray on fabric (and do be careful since the juice is purple), an almond element definitely appears in the later dry down (1-2 hrs in). I absolutely LOVE this hint of almond and plan to figure out how to exaggerate this as much as possible. It kind of reminds me of a crème from L'Occitane or something creamy and almondy I've smelled before in a bath product or lotion. It turns out to be something a bit more unusual given this almondy element (which only appears on fabric), and a slightly sharp floral which gains a tiny bit of spice on skin in the way dry down. I am underwhelmed with it's longevity and projection so I've taken to over-spraying it like an absolute fiend. I bought a 100 mL bottle so do plan to spray about 10 times and also on my clothing. LOVE IT. EDIT: I’m very sorry to say I think the almond note I was getting might have been my my shampoo. After subsequent wearings I’m not sure if the almond note is truly present on me. Sorry, maybe I should delete this...I do still love the florals and this scent overall.

What a pleasant surprise...for house reputable for orientals, they do outstanding florals. Sofar, none of them disappointed me. Generally, I avoid investing in orientals because I'm rarely in the mood to wear them. Seems like waste to me. I love Datura Noir, but I will not buy another bottle. The new price in bell bottle seems excessive. I still haven't repurchased Fille en Aiguilles either for the same reason, although I do miss it. So, this Dompteuse is supposed to be a replacement of sorts. But not a consolation because it exided all my expectations. I love how unexpectedly cold it is. Fresh all the way. Narcotic too, but restrained and that makes it, oh, so sophisticated. It has more cosmetic caracter than most of exotic florals or beachy ones. It has poise and I love it dearly for it. It's surprisingly elegant. Intimate, there will be no people following anyone around or giving compliments. Only from close friends or family. Longevity is great, I had about 6 hours with it and considering how hot it is, that's fantastic. I will not be surprised if it behaves beautifully in winter too. Only the best solar ones do, all the others feel out of place, inappropriate. But good ones are consolation and dash of optimism when everything is gray, cold and damp. The notes are, as usual, incomplete. I smell eucalyptus, white peach and gardenia too. At least. Delightfully sensual, yet tasteful. The style in which is constructed reminds me a lot of Carnal Flower. And there is that eucalyptus I smell...