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.

I've been craving fruity florals lately, particularly with a pear note, and haven't been too satisfied with some that I've tried. The pear note is either too sweet, or too synthetic, or too sharp, or drowned out by the floral notes, or overwhelming the florals notes. This perfume strikes the perfect balance. A polished and sophisticated fruity floral with a crisp, slightly unripe, barely sweet pear and a still green lily on the verge of bloom. It's fresh, light, and very clear. It slowly dries down to a creamy, musky, dull bloom lily and pear, on a sandalwood base. I'm not getting incense listed in the notes, and it is pretty linear, but that's okay because it smells good from beginning to end. The only thing I'm perplexed by is the metallic note. I have no idea what that should smell like since I have no other perfume, or ever smelled another perfume, with that note. I really don't know what I should be picking up to discern that either, except that there is an icy quality to this perfume that might be attributable to that. In the end, it doesn't really matter, because this checks all the boxes for me of what I've been seeking. Edit - 1/23 - I've worn this a few times since this review, in different seasons, and without exception it is always close to the skin except in the coldest months of winter. That seems to be the only time it projects.

I have a bottle for 4 years now and although I wore it several times, I never got the metal note listed in the notes until today. Maybe aging has caused that or the weather today, but as I was wearing it, I kept getting a distinctive metallic note. Prior to that there was just a very icy cold feel to the scent, which was very unusual and something I loved. The metallic note here is not like the metallic note that sometimes shows up in Fille de Berlin, which is the smell of iron in blood as some have described it. Contrary to the English translation for the name for this fragrance, it doesn't smell like iron but more like the smell of tin, which had me visualizing a tin of pears next to a vase of lilies. 🤪 Not sure how I feel about this aspect yet. Not even sure if I like it. I know I don't like when the metal note shows up in FdB, but that seems to be weather dependent and only happens during certain times of the year. Hopefully, that will be the case here too. Now, the only note missing that I've yet to smell is that elusive incense note that's supposedly in this fragrance. I wish I did so I could get the full measure of this perfume. Regardless, as of now, I still love this though just not quite as much now with that metallic note showing up. Keeping my fingers crossed that it is just a one off.

La Vierge de Fer is mostly a soft, creamy, slightly powdery lily with a sweet, honeyed pear. The sandalwood and incense blend add such a beautiful contrast against the fruity floral opening. Such an elegant and understated fragrance with the highly fragrant and sweet royal lily. I don’t perceive any metallic qualities of La Fierge de Fer, just a tinge of sweet incense. This is the most feminine scent I’ve experienced from Serge Lutens’s collection. I am not familiar with all of his creations but from what I’ve tried or own, this is absolute femininity in a bottle! I see this as a perfect wedding day scent because of its natural smell and clean beauty aesthetic. Also the fact that it is not an overpowering scent but it’s undeniably charming and alluring would suit perfectly with such a special occasion. As far as the performance goes, this is not a beast of a scent. It’s a reasonable moderate one, both on longevity and sillage. Obviously, over spraying will help boost the longevity and then expect to get compliments. It’s absolutely gorgeous! And highly underrated.

La Vierge de Fer is a cold and melancholic scent. It is reminiscent of a day in late autumn, when leaves have deserted the trees and that an early blanket of snow covers the landscape. It has a contemplative quality that fills me with calm serenity. This is green, floral, and powdery. The lily is very strong, I can detect the incense and sandalwood in the background, and I also smell this strange, metallic note. Without being sharp, I think this is why this scent makes me think of the beginning of winter, but the greenest of this fragrance make it also bright and well balanced. This is more a conceptual scent than one I would wear everyday, but I do appreciate this Serge Lutens offering very much. I never smelled anything quite like it. Edit: After finishing my sample, the idea of this perfume got stuck in my head and I went to get another sample. I simply cannot get enough of this perfume, it's incredibly mood inducing. I changed my mind, this Serge Lutens offering is FB worthy!

The "Iron Maiden" or "lily among thorns" concept behind this fragrance evokes, as others have noted, the contrast between the a pure, intemerate flower and the cold steel the encages it. Intrigued, I got a sizeable decant. The scent is undeniably well-made and unique. The lily, metallic notes, and pear mix together in a way that creates a detached cleanliness, bordering on soapiness. The incense is indistinct, not seductive, and the sandalwood is virtually undetectable to me. The scent is compelling, but does not elude to hidden promises or a successful conquest. If this scent were a woman, she may catch your eye, but that interest is not reciprocated or noticed. You may admire her beauty and virtues from afar, but she will always be unreachable and aloof. La Vierge de Fer is a successful artistic concept that needs the right wearer. Long-lasting on me, never becoming invisible to my nose. Projection is moderate. Little evolution during wear.

I have been wearing a generous dose of this beautiful scent for 10 hours and I am happy to say that it is still there as a skin scent and still possessing all its notes. I was not sure what to expect of Lutens last creation with the bizarre presentation notes he published at its launch. I was thinking Joan of Arc, swords and blood everywhere. Au contraire. This is a creamy beautiful scent, the best lily I have ever smelled. Sheldrake has captured just the creamy soft nature of the lily and none of the indoles- they are tamped down by an incensy metallic thread that is silvery but more in a metaphorical luminous way than in a heavy metallic way. This note blends so well with the soft incense that this is truly a heavenly scent. It is deceptvely simple, yet brilliant at the same time, every detail taken care of so that the whole is a glorious creation. I need a full bottle of this. Another Lutens/Sheldrake triumph.

The jury is out on this one for me. I've worn it twice, and liked it better the second time when I used a lighter touch. Too much is overwhelming, but a spritz or two seems to meld the notes together more effectively. Unfortunately, I don't detect any incense or sandalwood, and thing that they would add more to the composition if I could. I will let this sit for a while and see what happens. I do not have the bell bottle. I have the rectangular one. It definitely bears the unusual approach to perfumery associated with Lutens, but it's not so challenging that it is hard for many people to wear. Longevity and silage are moderate and it seems much more feminine that masculine if that is something you think is important. I will update if things change. For now, I definitely like it, but it can go either way once I get a handle on it.

a few weeks ago i purchased a secondhand bottle of la vierge de fer at a discounted price. it was still a pretty penny, do not get me wrong, but basically i was very pleased with my purchase. last night, my cat pushed the entire bottle off of my shelf and it crash-landed into the floor, shattering into a million pieces. the entire bottle immediately drained into the tiles. i am so crestfallen. i cannot fault my cat for what she has done — maybe she doesn't like metallic notes? — but it feels so personal. this is a magical scent and reminds me of my aunt before she became a born-again christian. i will get my hands on another bottle once the grief has passed but this is truly one of a kind. another win from serge lutens and we cannot be shocked. at least now my bathroom is probably going to smell like this forever

Sadness and Hope, Blood and Lilies flowers... A wet bouquet of blooming lilies - almost overipe - laid in a dungeon, a Human cage full of water. The place is dark but the bright flowers enlighten the jail, with its peacefull and sweet tranquility. I guess i’m influenced by the name and the weird Serge ́ s story telling, because i’m sure in a blind test i would have think that this is a classical white flower super clean scent! I thing i would have feel the tragic/dramatic touch though There is something melancholic about la vierge de fer. On the other hand, i read critics about it who judged its simplicity, and compared this Lutens as mainstream shampoo’s scent. I don’t know what to say... Maybe that it would be great if the mainstream shampoos could smell like this Iron Maiden.

Agree. The introduction is really weired...who cares? The scent is aaaamaaazing! I love lily of all kinds. But it took me a while to recognize it in the Iron Maiden. I bought the bottle because I loved the idea of the metallic lily...don't know why I didn't open the packaging for months. Finally I unwrapped the box and opened the jar. From this moment on I start to apply these drops every day realizing that this frag develops to something really new, never smelled before on my skin. It's an incredible chilly, alabaster-white almost translucent, mystic, ancient yet futuristic flower scent - a fresh alien blossom and at the same time familiar. Over-worldly! Looove it for all occasions. And I love lily.... I love THIS lily! 10/10 moderate sillage and longlasting on my skin

I smell honey in the dry down- absolutely intoxicating! And yet, this is cooling in the humidity; I enjoyed wearing this to the botanical gardens today. What I like about this perfume is it’s uniqueness for a white floral, simply because it is a lily. There is no mistaking this for jasmine, gardenia, or tuberose. The composition is subtle, but complex. I can smell all of the notes listed if I pick them out. But when I smell it all together it blends to form a wildflower honey made from lilies. Maybe the creaminess of the sandalwood, the greenness of the lily, and the natural smokiness of incense replicate a natural honey scent? A fruity floral that is not at all flirty... this is more like the Mary Magdalene of fruity florals.

In one word: effervescent. This is the epitome of a "sparkling" perfume. It's fizzy and light. The most prominent scents are lily and pear (equal parts lily and pear I'd say). This smells clean, fresh, feminine, and elegant. The pear gives it something fruity and green, the lily gives it a little soapy floral. It seems to be on a bed of aldehydes. If I saw the notes without smelling the fragrance, I would assume it's more mature (an aldehydic lily is quite vintage), however the pear really throws in a youthful component. I would say that this is for women maybe 35+. It's a perfect scent to pair with a fresh white collar shirt. Definitely a spring daytime scent. It reminds me a bit of Chanel's 1932 (another one of my faves).

Tender..innocent.... a fantastic parfum. The opening is fresh and almost release,releases all of the lily force. After a few minutes it becomes something never heard, something heavenly... fantastic. A beautiful fragrance that stands out a lot, (and I have a good collection of perfumes) but no one remotely resembles ... this scent makes me happy and full of love ... to me makes this effect ❤ :), the drydown is fantastic, perhaps the incense gives the fragrance an almost mystical aura,but gentle. high level perfume, still surprised and pleased by the fantastic parfum of Lutens.Thank you for this gift... I am at peace! Sillage: 8./10 Longevity: 8.5/10 Scent: 10./10 Overall: 10./10

It's quite surprising for me to learn that so many people find the name "La vierge de fer" (Iron Maiden) unsuitable for this fragrance. It makes perfect sense to me. At first sniff, the burst of incandescent lillies is accompanied by the crisp freshness of pears then the metallic notes enter, adding sobriety without spoiling the exuberance of the start. Although the SL description is somewhat different, to me, the reference to Joan of Arc is most evident: the exalted faith of a young girl turned fearless warrior, the bright light of divine guidance clad in a suit of armour. I love this and how it makes me feel. It is somehow "girlish"but it has layers. Sublime.

This feels like a wedding veil to me. In fact, if you were to get married, spritzing this all over your veil and letting it sit overnight in a tight plastic bag -- you would be like an early spring flower emerging from the frost, still dew-kissed. Immediately opens with the sharp twang of the metallic notes, then immediately in about a minute, the pear drops in - it is juicy, it is sweet, suddenly rounded out by the white creaminess of the lily. The sandalwood rides in with warmth, the incense a puff of smoke. The metallic lingers, like tears left behind. This smells like how galanthus would, if it were a beautiful young woman walking through a wet cemetery.