La Vierge De Fer

This is my 8th FB purchase from the Serge Lutens in the last two months . Yes, a bit excessive but my current obsession is with his tamer , floral fragrances . I have now reacquainted myself with Serge Luten perfume house after falling in love with Nuit de Cellophane , La Dompheuse Encagee , Fils de Joie, La Religieuse , La Fille de Berlin , Fleur de Citronnier and Datura Noir. In the past , I found numerous fragrances within the SL house to be too hard hitting , too edgy, too resinous or spicy for my tastes , only to try the mentioned and be swept away by his more subdued and simpler fragrances. Yes there is a market for us faint hearted 🥰. With regards to the fragrance , La Vierge de Fer, based on other fragrance platforms , I believe there are additional notes and they are :- Lily, aldehydes, LOTV, Jasmine , generic amber , white musk and vanilla. I agree in part. It’s opened on my skin with very strong, sour ( maybe the citrus notes mentioned ) pear notes with aldehydes. The pear notes were very prominent till dry down where it subsided . Combined with the aldehydes , the pear notes were very synthetic smelling and revolting . It ruined the perfume for me . Then , the white musk and the aldehydes created sharp powdery notes with the pear and this clashed even more. I found I couldn’t appreciate the other notes as the revolting pear notes clung to my nostrils . Once the pear moved to the background , there was a freshness / cleaness of the scent and some reviewers mentioned it resembled fabric softener . I didn’t get metallic notes at all . I found this very strange as a few of the SL’s perfumes I own have that icy coolness about them yet this one lacked it for me. There was a sweetness of the vanilla and the Jasmine. However , there seemed to be a tug of war between the sweetness of the base notes and the and soapyness of the white florals . Jasmine was evident , vying for dominance over the Lily and making the fragrance sweeter. Not indolic Jasmine which is how I like my Jasmine . The perfume became a sweeter, Lily and Jasmine but with the still prevalent soapiness. This was a skin scent to me and it’s longevity was between 5-7 hours . I thought I would love this perfume but unfortunately , the pear notes ruined it for me. Sadly , this one will have to leave my collection .One of the tamer SL’s fragrance that I didn’t like .

I expected an aquatic fresh pear opening, but on me no pear or aquatic notes in sight. Basically a lily throughout, and barely any metallic notes too. I was hoping for an uplifting juicy freshness, instead it is soapy on me, which I don't like. (Also I could swear I used to have some product that smelled similar to this, but I really can't remember what it is exactly that this reminds me of) Edit: okay I was a bit too quick to judge yesterday. It is a lot nicer than I thought initially. Still it is definitely more on the soapy fresh side than on the watery fruity fresh side. I can smell the lily clearly, with not a lot of pear. It does have a slight cold feeling. Still it is not something that I want a full bottle of. Edit 2: The Iron Maiden is gripping me!! I went out with it on and kept getting wafts of 'something delicious'... It was her! The soapy feel is starting to clear up and I start to pick out more fruitiness. Especially on fabric I get more pear. I'm gonna keep testing Edit 3: The iron maiden took me on quite a journey but I came to love her over the past few weeks. She is twisty and never exactly the same on my skin. But always feminine, bright, floral and sweet with a bit of a twist. She is clean but alluring, bright but sexy, light but then suddenly very present and intoxicating. It last pretty well on my skin and very long on clothing, and that is in winter now at the time of testing. I suspect more in warmer temperatures. I imagine myself wearing this to all kinds of occasions in all kinds of weather, but maybe a little bit more daytime appropriate. I have bought myself a 50ml bottle second hand Edit 4: This has become one of my most worn perfumes. It is just so elegant and perfect for when I want to feel clean, put together and on top of things but still feminine. It is cooling and refreshing but can also be alluring. To me it works in all seasons as it has this cool white quality that works well in summer but also fits a frosty winter landscape. Not overly sexy, so I wear it to work a lot. This smells white to me and pairs really well with minimalist and formal outfits. Too bad that it has become so much more expensive...

I'm testing La Vierge de Fer right now; I've been wearing it for about an hour and a half. This is a lovely lily fragrance, and I'm one of those people that can wear white florals well. That being said, I am very, very glad that I didn't blind buy this, like I had originally wanted to. Asking $310 for this fragrance is a bit much (bell jar or not). Would I pay $130, if it were put into the spray bottle group? Maybe. I get the lily note and also something that makes me think "cool and light" so that must be the metal note; floral and refreshing. I didn't get any incense, which is a disappointment, as I think that would have been the deciding factor for me, in making this worth the purchase. It is a unique combination but sadly for me, there is no incense and no spice to back up my lily, and I can find nice lily fragrances for much less than $310. This is soft, feminine, and very, very pretty, and if all of the notes in this fragrance come alive on you, I salute you! I am very happy to have tried it; I am always grateful for the opportunity to try something, even if it doesn't agree with me or "hit the mark" like I wanted it to. This one is just not "grabbing" me. I'll happily use up my sample, though. I ordered a sampler of five Serge Lutens perfumes, so I'll be trying more of them throughout the week. Happy sniffing! :) edit: I've been sampling other Lutens fragrances and my skin seems to be "eating" them, for lack of better description. Has anyone else had this experience? La Vierge de Fer had a close scent bubble on me at least, but didn't disappear. And I've received some compliments on it, so now I will reconsider what I wrote earlier and think I will ask for it as a birthday present ;) ....I still have some samples left to go, so we'll see. This is soooo pretty, and I hate to totally dismiss it. I just wish that when I'm wearing it, it would give me the incense along with the lily, for the price tag. I only smell lily and "coolness/light" (no other way to describe it, sorry). But it is a big, proud, magnificent white lily! To be continued...

Although far removed from the stewed fruits and syrupy woods of the bulk of Serge's work, LVdF is still most definitely a Lutensian frag. It shares a good chunk of DNA with Une Voix Noire, and more than a passing relation to Sarrasins, De Profundis and A La Nuit. LVdF opens with dark green florals. The opening is deep, and rich, without being at all thick or creamy. Think emerald stained glass rather than white porcelain. The florals here are sharp without being piercing. It's certainly a loud, white floral, but not in a traditional, bombastic sense. I find this lily spine to be 'pure', rather than 'clean'. It's a relatively uncomplicated note, clean in it's simplicity, but not especially "clean" in a soap and musk kind of way. The experience is rather ethereal. Otherworldly, strange, metallic. There's a touch of sweetness from the pear, gently stewed/sugared in traditional Serge style. But where Une Voix Noire turns sweet and dank and smoky, LVdF heads in a different, far less human/animalic direction. The middle reveals a crystalline lily playing out over icy cold, razor sharp metallic notes, with a hint of cold incense in the background. Much like Une Voix Noire, this strikes me as an artistic vision of a soliflore, rather than a photo realistic representation. It captures the impressions and associations of lilies rather than the actual scent, and is all the more stunning for it. The overall impression is transparent, dark, cold, a little sad even. But simultaneously painfully beautiful. Cold steel and emerald green, with iced lilies dancing above. Performance is pretty decent. Sillage is at the upper end of moderate, and longevity is surprisingly good. Despite being largely a soliflore, this sits equally well on a man or a woman. The metallic underscore makes this unusual enough to defy gender stereotypes. Enjoy on cool evenings while indulging in shady dealings and questionable life choices.

I'm back again with a new review, because this fragrance has captured me totally and has become one of my most special and most worn fragrances. This is a fragrance you have to get to know, because despite its seeming simplicity it has many facets depending on weather, mood and surroundings. What always stands out to me is this juxtaposition within the fragrance. Elegant poise and razor-sharp focus, but also soft femininity and an alluring quality. The very fresh and cold metallic pear and lily, but then this slight warming and comforting sandalwood and incense. It changes, and I love that about it. I wear this a lot when I want to feel put together and focused, while still feminine and approachable. No matter how it changes, it always smells feminine and clean to me. Serious, but not heavy. It gives me focus, drive and a bit of an edge that makes me rise above anything on my path, wether it's a good or bad day. White collared shirt or feminine dress, it can be minimalist or complex. But it's got that refinement that goes together with some maturity, someone who is on top of things. It lasts and projects very well, easily giving me a full day on skin and on clothes a lot longer. I can wear this in all seasons, but it feels more daytime then night for me. I must say, I bought it when it was still available in the tall spray bottles. Now that it's only available in the 75ml bell jar, I think it has become overpriced. It's worth scanning the second hand resale market for this.