Le Participe Passé

Serge Lutens is my favourite fragrance house, and when it comes to things I love, I’m fanatical. Admitting defeat doesn’t come easy to me. When I unpacked my decant of Le Participe Passé, I was on the verge of calling this a mistake on not just my part for getting so much as a decant, but also, uncharacteristically, on the house’s part for creating something so sloppy in vision and execution. If ever more proof that bottle sniffs are meaningless were needed, this would be the perfect evidence: all around the bottle hung a heavy scent of caramel popcorn, sickeningly sweet to the point just the thought of this on me was dreadful. But being the brave perfume enthusiast that I am, I sacrificed my wrist... turns out, to a unique, intoxicating, addictive experience. The first blast was an aromatic men’s cologne, but within an instant two things happened: the alcohol scent that is the hallmark of such cologne disappeared into thin air, and the sweet base came in full force. Just like that, Le Participe Passé became two separate perfumes simultaneously. On top sits the slightly bitter aromatic blend. I love the descriptor “fresh spicy” for it, because there’s a bite to its freshness, which clears your airways and snakes itself down to the back of your throat. This is a pleasant experience, although unmistakably masculine. Below something slightly, subjectively off-putting is happening. I do not like the scents that are appearing and mixing. These are the things I do not enjoy: maple syrup pooling on the plate, grounds burning inside as the machine squirts watery coffee into a cup. It’s the breakfast from hell. But no, there’s something synthetic missing from this mixture, something I know I smelled in my childhood but cannot pinpoint. So begins my chase after the elusive key to deciphering what it is that I’m smelling. I glimpse scenes from my childhood, the terrible pine shaped car scent, that feels close but the answer flees once again. Was it when I was playing with dolls with a friend? I remember the layout of her Mum’s living room, there must have been something there. But what? I have no idea. It smells waxy. Two distinct fragrances keep unfolding separately. Now the maple is moving towards the top, it’s becoming a forest. Below, dates are being cut open. They’re sticky inside, waxy. Wax. That ought to be the synthetic note I feel. I’m dizzy. The wax is disgusting, but not only that, I’m trapped inside a Proust nightmare: my brain is flipping through images, scenes, possible answers. What is it that I’m really smelling? The answer is all the farther away than the reach of my grasp, now that there are spices unfolding. This hunt and the fact that I sprayed just one perfume, yet there are, without a doubt, two different perfumes developing are disorientating. The world spins fast, I see images of a spice bazaar, I remember Arabie, my favourite perfume ever, just a blast of a spice market; Arabie... Wait, no, the more I dwell on this remembrance, the faster I’m losing my obsessive track. I cannot be swept away, and yet, and yet... I see two visions: the dank, dark, misty forest on top; below I’m a wanderer in the desert. I reach for the dates, put several in my mouth, I bite on them... and they’re half-molten wax, not dates, but a candle, filling my mouth with a chemical taste. I feel sick. And then I land on the answer, so suddenly, so abruptly that I feel suspended in the air. I know where I know this smell from. It’s a fall candle in Bath and Body Works. I’m little, a child who’s excited for the freshly opened store. I love candles, I have my pocket money, and a goal: I will smell everything, and find the perfect candle to take home, to make mine. I reach for the fall candle, and it smells nothing like it’s supposed to, it’s all synthetic, it’s all sickening... The moment the realisation hits as if a thunder, more revelations: I know what is happening with Le Participe Passé, and why. First of all, yes, it’s magic. How is it possible to achieve two separate perfumes developing separately within the same bottle? This is master perfumery. This is unmatched. And this is so apt: two different timelines, eventually converging, melting into each other, forming a whole... The forest is Lille: Lutens’ home of origin. The desert is Marrakech: the home he chose. This is Serge’s past meeting his present, bottled. Gradually, the forest turns into pencil shavings, falling on top of the dates, off which the wax melts, taking its unpleasant memory with it. Now the two perfumes have converged, and they’re one. It’s the present, shaped by the past. The past, intruding upon the present: dates enveloped by burning woods. There’s a fire in the woods. There’s a fire in the desert. Smoke fills the cold, humid night. The dates are sweet, so fleshy and so sweet. You should be choking, for the smoke fills your nostrils, the sugar your mouth. There’s a sharpness in your throat; a perfect roundness in your mouth. You’re holding the memories of what has been, and all the dualities of life. Of identity. Of yourself. Of fact and fiction. An ever-changing fragrance for an ever-changing reality. A perfume in flux for the person in flux. Spice, smoke, camphor, sugar, cacao, dusty castoreum in constant rotation, endless transmutation. You cannot pinpoint the scent, you cannot pinpoint yourself. Who are you? What is it? Quantum beings in the amalgamation of space and time. Le Participe Passé is poetry written in redolence. The sort of masterpiece that weakens you, that breaks something and liberates another within your core; the sort of art before which you cannot help but fall to your knees...

As anyone who has read many of my reviews and can recall them, immemorable they might be, they will know that I'm worn out on ambers. We've been on this ride for the better part of a century from Emeraude and Shalimar to where we are today, with countless numbers on our retail perfume shelves and too many that are awful, thick, bulbous, sweet, muddy messes of splintery balsams and sickly vanilla. Serge Lutens and Sheldrake almost reinvented the wheel with Ambre Sultan, one of my favorite ambers of all time, and it seems with Le Participe Passe they're making another attempt. So, I steel myself in anticipation of smelling yet another amber, but it's from Lutens so I don't feel the need to steel myself too much. Although, I suspect a ruse. It wouldn’t be the first time Serge tries to trick us, and I think he hints at it in the name, The Past Participle. This smells to me like a mash-up of the past, Ambre Sultan with some serious borrowing from Chene and Fille en Aiguilles (and maybe some of Chergui too). Place those three/four on a Venn diagram and where they meet in the middle is Le Participe Passe. There is more than enough Ambre Sultan in Participe to see the overlap of the spices, patchouli, vanilla, resins and balsams. Where LPP deviates from AS in the amber genre is that LPP has a massive overdose of sweet labdanum (sort of calling to mind Chergui) that wasn't nearly as big and sweet in AS. This has the effect of steering away from the very dry, herbal and sandy quality of Ambre Sultan into a gourmand direction. The immortelle and boozy rum type notes from Chene compliment the directional change, and the dried and sweet fruit and resinous evergreen sap from Fille nearly complete the picture of LPP. One final and last difference to LPP compared to the others is its size and volume: this is a big, loud, and bold perfume. It will completely take over your skin, fill the room around you, and hang around for hours and hours. Be careful applying this perfume; less is more at the start until you figure out how it works for you. Big, bold, and loud though it is, on my skin - though maybe not yours - it isn't crowding me; it isn't cloying or impenetrably thick. I dare say I could actually wear this loud and bold gourmand amber in the summer (if I do, I will take my own advice and start with very small amounts). So, is LPP a bit derivative then? Yeah, maybe. It seems like maybe a half-hearted attempt at a new type of gourmand amber. But where it succeeds is pulling some of the greatest hits from Serge Lutens's woody spicy amber perfumes over the decades, and, rather than being a compilation album of stand-alone tracks, it's actually well thought-out, remixed, and remastered so that the greatest hits album feels like it could be a completely new album full of hit tracks. Gourmand is not my thing. Amber is not my thing. Sweet is not my thing. And yet, I'm really loving LPP. Do I want to splurge on a full bottle or just layer some of the other SLs?... Haven't made up my mind on that yet.

I love it! Love the name and the juice. I have pretty much all the "older" Lutens, and this conjures up many favorites: Fille en Aiguilles; Arabie (though more subdued on that one); Chene; Baptême du Feu (definitely that one, with a weaker pot pourri); Chypre Rouge; Feminite du Bois, and whispers of even Borneo with a brief moment of chocolatey patch. If you're a fan of his original oeuvre, then this is sure to please, because while it conjures up the past in the present--it is balanced, full, rich and lovely, and unique--still. Someone below commented on its "derivative" nature. Perhaps, but to me it is the sum of the parts of Lutens, the best parts. In fact, if there was one Lutens to keep in this particular vein--it might well be this. LPP is rich, resinous, sweet (though not tooth-achingly in the way Bapteme or Arabie can be), a bit dried fruit and petals, "winey" and autumnal with a dark heart center. The artemisia balances what could be too sweet and foody with an herbal anchor, morphing the dried compote aspects. Thankfully, I don't get caramel--as in straight-up caramel. The sweetness does not feel that trite, or "Prada-ish." Longevity and silage on me are through the roof. My skin doesn't seem to retain a lot of scents, but I typically do well with Lutens--and this one in particular. It goes on strong and lasts for hours, leaving quite a trail. As an English teacher, I thoroughly enjoy his apt name for the juice. It is now, acting now, and has happened/ acted in the past. It's the base, the original that is in the present, with the past--to happen/will happen, has happened, and it can be an adjective as well or even a noun as with what we call "verbals." Le Participe Passe' does all that, without being "out of date" (passe').

This is a complicated one, but in a way, it's exactly what I was looking for without even knowing it. I picked it up as I was craving something that would replicate the magic of smelling SL Chergui for the first time. Upon trying this, I think I might give layering the two a go. This is a good, strong, full-bodied fragrance. I can see some people thinking it might smell a little 'musty,' maybe due to the cumin, but it doesn't turn me off. Upon wearing this fragrance on my wrist for about 7 hours and experiencing nearly its full journey, I'll describe what memories it brings to mind for me: this smells like my birthday parties from my childhood. Two of my cousins also have early February birthdays, so the family would have a joint party for the three of us at my aunt's log cabin in the woods, where we could toboggan down the hills while the adults caught up with each other, and then come in for dinner and cake. This smells like coming in from the cold to the crackling fireplace and the homemade cake baking in the oven. It smells like my grandfather's hugs after he came in from smoking vanilla cigarillos. It smells like the patchouli oil my aunts (twins) wore on both of their wrists, whispering past my nose as a slice of cake is placed in front of me. It's warm and sweet and inviting, and gives the feeling of being cozy in a place where time doesn't exist. While these scent memories are obviously personal to myself, I recommend Le Participe Passe to anyone looking for a cozy, comforting scent that pulls a little off the beaten path.

Salty Black Balsam I absolutely hated this the first time I tried it. Now, I truly love it! The opening has an aromatic feel you have to pass: a pine forest under darkness, green blueish needles, trees swaying calmly, night. This almost oldschool fougére-leaning moment is nice enough, but actually my least favorite part. All of the pine notes fade in about one hour or less and then, the heart of Le Participé Passé is fully in focus: Black oozing, gooey, salty licorice balsam! I think LPP is first and foremost a salty fragrance. Dark, sticky and molasses-like in smell and percieved texture. With an overdose of molecules found in maple syrup, fenugreek and brown sugar, it's quite extreme. The "caramel" note is not sweet at all, not really burnt either, but as dark as it can get before turning bitter. Regardless of the treats one tends to think of, Participé never sweetens. It stays a dark, balsamic "amber" of warm molasses, jujubees, and dates, licorice root (no anise). The lack of sweetness makes Le Participe Passé a rather unconventional and difficult to place within either the amber or gourmand category. I'm happy I got a bottle of this since it's now discontinued. It will last quite a while because 1-2 sprays is usually more than enough and it stays on for a long time. I love it on sunwarmed skin, especially on summer evenings in golden light.

LE PARTICIPE PASSÉ "The past moments that arise in the present have many aromas. I have interpreted what most evokes the past." Serge Lutens. Wow! What a delicious fragrance! The opening is a bit aromatic, herbal and very bitter that it could come from artemis. With a pinch of citrus. But also very camphorated (And here to my surprise it brought back certain memories of the past, that medicinal smell of the syrup and certain drinks that were consumed in my childhood) Then it quickly gives way to a fruity and softly smoked mixture. Turning even warmer, resinous and caramelized on the bottom. But it is not a sweet caramel, this reminds me of a strong black coffee aroma and burnt caramel. It even smells like burnt caramel, bitter and spicy. With the addition of a slight sweet touch and something animalic that gives it the cumin and leather. Then in drying it becomes warm and sensual. To my nose it is an exquisite perfume! And on my skin it works wonders! but I do not recommend buying blind. The substantivity on my skin is excellent! with strong to moderate diffusion. In general terms and summarizing: Le Participe Passé is a purely Oriental fragrance (Resin, warm, spicy, amber, earthy and smoky). I am delighted with this wonderful creation by Christopher Sheldrake.

I am listening to Messiaen's Turangalîla Symphonie: Jardin du sommeil d'amour as Le Participe Passe settles on my skin, and it is an appropriate soundtrack to its enchantment. It is another magnificently elliptical creation from Serge Lutens, brimming with all five tastes in its incantation: sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami. An apt description eludes me, as sonorous elements weave in and out: the green artemisia pinching me gently, the cumin sodorifc and gritty, with pine needles and sap swirling in burnt caramel and fresh coffee grains. The heart reveals a musky and mildly licorice-like angelica root, and what my nose detects as the perfumers' aromachem levistamel, reminiscent of caramelized sugar-coated lovage and celery. Further into the dry down, I discern immortelle absolute amongst the layers of many resins, balsams, saps and syrups. A kaleidescope of tawny, sepia, garnet, and crimson. The base is lingering pines, earthy dusty traces of the preceding cabalistic sensory orgy, over smoldering cinders and aged leather. What a thrill ride and a treasure to behold all at once, so moody and bizarre, much like myself.

LE PARTICIPATE PASSÉ "The past moments that arise in the present have many aromas. I have interpreted what most evokes the past." Serge Lutens. What a beautiful perfume! The opening is aromatic, herbaceous and somewhat bitter from mugwort with citrus and floral nuances of bergamot, but also very camphorous, giving way to a fruity and gently smoky mixture. As the hours go by it becomes even warmer, resinous and caramelized at the bottom. (Balsam and caramel) But this is not an overly sweet caramel, it reminds me of a strong aroma of black coffee and roasted caramel. It even smells like burnt caramel, somewhere between sweet and bitter. Cumin brings harmony to the amber accord, with animalic and spicy nuances intertwined with leather. The dry down becomes very warm, amber and sensual. In my opinion it is an exquisite perfume! And it works wonders on my skin! But I don't recommend buying blind. In general terms and summarizing: Le Participe Passé is a purely oriental fragrance, (resinous, warm, spicy, amber, earthy and smoky). The substantivity on my skin is excellent! More than 10 hours. With moderate diffusion.

Le Participe Pasee is a very sweet, fruity, mildly spicy fragrance with a heavy resinous base. I love that it’s a sweet, burnt caramel, ambery and resinous scent centred around the infamous (these days) note of cumin. While I don’t particularly love cumin note in every fragrance, here is built around some of my most favourites notes or accords, like caramel, warm amber, a very pleasant patchouli, artemisia, sweet fruits. There’s a nice balance between sweet, spicy, fruity and fresh notes. I am surprised that there is no incense listed in the notes, because I get that burnt caramel feel throughout the day, as long as it lasts. And it lasts and projects, hours and hours on. This is a powerhouse of a fragrance on me. The most potent Serge Lutens in my collection. Absolutely delicious creation! Recommend this for fall and winter season. Perfect for Christmas season, it will go well with gingerbread cookies and mulled wine.. Warm seasons it will be too much for sure! Why does this beauty have such a low rating I can’t understand. This is an outstanding fragrance.

Uncle Serge seems very decent, but he is a serial killer...of the contents of the wallet and of the soul...or vice versa if you want it that way. And it also has a co-author in the person of Christopher Sheldrake. I managed to test any of their creations, it left me with likes and loves. This masterpiece starts quite herbaceous-aromatic and seems to tend towards a masculine perfume. But nope ! Immediately the resins perfectly combined with burnt sugar, not too burnt because it retains some of its sweetness, will become predominant turning the perfume into a "feminine unisex", yes?! It lasts for good hours with a strong projection. It changes a second time in the base, when the resins fade into the background, giving way to a pine wood accord so natural that you have the impression that you have a freshly split pine log in your hands. Man, the perfume is so beautiful that words seem incapable of truly describing it. Test and see for yourself. 5 of 5, 10 of 10? More... :)

I may have written a review for this before, but I recently rediscovered it in my collection. This is more than just a perfume for me—it’s like a vibe or an aura. The caramel is very wistful, it’s sort of like the smell of actually making caramel sauce with brown sugar and butter. It sticks close to the skin like that, while the resins remind me of a church or a temple, like incense and varnish and dry wood. The artemisia is very green, vegetal, and ethereal, expertly tying the fragrance together. It’s like being in a warmly lit little cafe in the middle of the night, all brown sugar and book spines. Could be worn anywhere by any gender, but I think it might really shine in the fall. If I had to pair it with a scent already in my collection, I’d say it goes nicely with Replica Whispers in the Libary by Maison Margiela. Lasts hours and hours (and months on my coat!) projection is close to you, but not a skin scent.

Fragrance with a POP! Immediately after spraying you get this strong punch of dark roasted coffee, nuts and burnt sugar (yes, it is not sweet in that basic vulgar way - you get very dark, almost bitter caramel, but still coming across in a very pleasant way). I would not believe I will say that, because I thought the fragrance I’m going to compare it with is absolutely unique, but the initial phase is very similar to Baruti’s Perverso. However where Perverso continues its dark broody trail and turns one notch darker with the tar-like facets, here comes the light! Lutens shows its lighter fruity peppery side, I can smell something like dried oranges. All and all, this is beautiful experience and very surprising discovery. I hope it will get the attention it deserves. Certainly one I aim to buy. It costs fraction of Baruti’s price and does its thing in a slightly different, but equally satisfying and gorgeous way.

Gosh, this one is so beautiful. Smells like winter at the mountains, in the heart of a holiday resort where everybody goes out to eat caramelized stuff and drink mulled wine. Very unisex, first few minutes lean on the masculine side for me because of the strong coniferous blast but then it sweetens with the burnt sugar note and leans feminine for a while until the drydown which remains quietly woody and ambery. Good sillage and great longevity, not for sure a compliment getter because it's not a classic beauty but it gets noticed nonetheless. Edit Note to self that might benefit others too: best not to wear this indoors. I wore it at the office few days ago and, in the afternoon, after my colleagues had lunch, someone came in and asked what is this smell here, seems like you had some roast chicken with honey. So, yeah, while I love Participe Passe so much, I shall be wearing it exclusively outdoors.

My impression changed overtime using this perfume. First when I smell the sample from my dear friend, I would imagine a very nice temple with smoky incense (even though there's no incense here). Second time when I heard the guy from the perfume store explained of the notes, the caramel is all over my sense. And now after a quite, it smells just like burned caramel using matches, a bit sweet and cuddling. And now I'm in love and already bought a full bottle. The sillage is strong but not offensive, and projection is insane. It's more for me using this for occasion where I would go to the bookstore or some cafe alone or with friends. Formal office use can be a bit offensive to some people who not used to strange perfume. Overall, for me, it's a perfect perfume. A perfect 10/10. P.s: do not buy blind this haha.

This is supposedly a nostalgic scent, and it certainly has that quality for me. Sixty years ago I received some small samples of proposed mens fragrances from P. Robertet, a perfume supplier in Grasse, France, with a personal note addressed to me, which was a big thrill at the time. One of them, called Vetuclub, had exactly this burnt, rich smell, and it has remained in my mind ever since. Going back even further in time, I recall an incident when my teddy bear had been left too near the fire. His ears got scorched, and that smell is likewise imprinted on my brain. This perfume does have a certain burnt quality of a type shared with another perfume material, immortelle or everlasting absolute (helichrysum). For me it is as French as a string of dried onions, and very much a remembrance of things past.

This smells like maple syrup to me, haha. I was not expecting this to be gourmand, but it is. Straight from the bottle, it smells like syrupy caramel goodness, and on the skin, it keeps that same energy but with more nuances such as the slight nose tingle you may get from the pepper. If you put your nose directly where you've sprayed this it can smell waxy or a tad candle quality -- but you won't need to do that. Le Participe Passe has the projection and sillage we all want from fragrances but most lack, this is gonna be a holy grail scent for me. It's super cozy and inviting while still being unique enough to stand out on its own. I've blind-bought all my Serge Lutens and haven't had one miss yet -- so this house is a must if you are a decadent olfactory nut. :) 10 outta 10 amen 🛐

I’ve learned to not pay attention to ratings of Serge Lutens fragrances on here, you should just assume that the juice is substantially better than how it’s rated. This one is a prime example. There’s so much depth to La Participe Passé, I had to just take a minute, lay down, and close my eyes to take it all in. Lutens and Sheldrake don’t create mass appealing “bangers”, they use parfumerie to create architecture, memories, 3D realistic moments in time. I’m not the first to say it but I think it’s an apt descriptions, this is like eating pancakes for breakfast on the porch of a smokey log cabin in the forest. I can smell buttery pancakes with maple syrup and smoke from the fireplace blending with the clean mountain air that’s filled with the scent of tall pines and underbrush.

**sampled from dab bottle** Upon application, I smell immortelle, sweetness, and a faint pine resin smell. There is brightness in the background, likely coming from a well-balanced bergamot. If I concentrate, I can pick up the spices, leather, and patchouli...but overall, it's just a lovely blend. It stays fairly linear, but deepens and becomes less sweet as it dries down. It's a major love, for me!! 😍 I wish I had more of this! I actually haven't tried any of the scents in the "reminds me of" list, so I can't compare to those, and honestly I have actually never smelled anything quite like this before! However, there's something about the quality of the sweetness in the opening hour that is akin to the opening sweetness of the Baruti scents I have tried.

Mood in a passive voice Named past participle..this Lutens dives back to it's woody resinous past. Lutens comes back to the beginning, like an old memory, the embodiment of a hazy rememberance of those days long gone. A beautiful soft focus balsamic resin hovers in a soft smooth cloud with fruit nuances and a wooden heat as if embers were glowing under a powdery gray ash. Im not sure immortelle is in this composition as it usually tears thru anything it's associated with, and if it is..it's the most restrained version I've experienced to date. It's contemplative, and would be stunning in the fall and Winter. To sum this up..it's subtly nuanced..like a fond dream or memory. Classified as woody Chypre on the Lutens website. Unisex.

This doesn't smell like a perfume but like someone else's cherished memory. I'm at a reading desk in a large, old, impossibly high-ceilinged library. Dust particles dance through shafts of sunlight. I can smell the leather of old books and the faint mustiness of decades-old carpet. I'm in the company of thoughts that have already been thought, waiting for new thoughts of my own to take shape. This is sun-dust and old books in perfume form. Also: caramel, leather, cumin, pepper. Personally, I love it. It's cozy, warm, sweet, and just a little mysterious. I usually like to sit with scents for at least a few weeks, or months, before buying a FB, but I pounced on the first bottle I found. No regrets.

This is def a signature scent for artists and performers. If wearing this when you meet your idol, they'll tell you you smell amazing 👌, and they may want to hug you. It's sexy and so unique, it's intriguing; inspiring longing in someone just by passing by. Lightly sweet with leather notes, it never gets syrupy. Because of the bergamot my husband likes it a lot so might have to share this one. In the opening somehow my nose picks caramel coated strawberry. If you like holiday scents, spicy warm candles - this one gives me delicate powdery sweetness /earthy. It's kinda like eating a caramel in the middle of a Moroccan market. It's absolutely excellent. I'm in love.

Oh god I’ve hit the jackpot I’ve been in a trip overseas for a while and entered a branch of Sephora which had this scent on the discount counter which was surprising to me I’ve never seen a “serge” on the discount isle so I had to get it and I did A blind buy no doubt that turns out it’s one of the greatest fragrances I tried this year IT’s second to amber sultan in creativity and I would argue that it’s definitely what I call a perfect Gourmand I genuinely felt like a bottle of maple syrup Loved it from the opening to the dry down Lasted all day projected for a very good while I loved it and it sat on my cupboard of honor with amber sultan and the others

Something about green-gourmand translates in my head as magic. Happened for me more vaguely with Eau Duelle, and now very pointedly with Le Participe Passe. I'll save the details for a short story, suffice to say this one doesn't stop at stories, it creates whole damn worlds. Lutens is possibly the most quality house I've tried-- everything is rich and real and interesting, but this one speaks directly to my DNA. It's magic. Distilled into liquid and somehow available to just... buy. This is the first time I've considered how crazy that is. Like, does the FDA regulate freaking magic now?

I love it!! Caramelly, cuminy, balsamic, almost medicinal but in a good way. It smells like some Chinese medicines I used to take as a child when I was sick (Pei Pa Koa, if anyone knows), with just a hint of woodiness. Upon first sniff, all I get is caramel and cumin. It's a very warm and smooth and rich scent, slightly smokey; there are no notes that are startling or jump out at me. Le Participe Passe has the perfect amount of sweetness (re: not a lot) and makes me feel warm and timelessly feminine. I don't smell fruit or citrus at all.

iconic and beautiful serge lutens perfume, le participe passe is probably my favorite balsamic perfume at the moment: in the opening you get this really deep resin and balsam note, that almost reminds me of coffee or liquorice; after a while the resin softens and reveals a creamy and sticky caramel base, sweet but not too much, while the deep liquorice-like balsam note evolves into a deep leathery base. definitely the most mature and unique caramel perfume ive smelled so far, so sad that they discontinued it... 10/10

At first I didn’t like this parfume and oh, I was soo wrong. Now it’s my absolute favourite and I even wear it at night. I love how it’s enough to spray it only once or twice and you can feel it all day, this happens very rarely to me. The smell - smoky, rich, strong and warm at the same time, not too sweet, absolute unisex. I don’t think it’s very casual or easy to wear, but it surely is a fancy one. Also I can’t image this at summer as I find it perfect for the dark season.

This is one of my absolute favorites. The opening is a lovely blend of caramel, spice, and patchouli. The caramel isn't too sweet--it's just hovering on the edge of burnt, with a bitterness that keeps this scent from being overwhelmingly gourmand. Throughout the day (and I mean the whole day! this stuff lasts!) the caramel gets a little syrupy-sweet, and the fragrance gets a little more herbal. It's aromatic, comforting, and warm. Perhaps unusual, but delightfully unique. :)

Another blind buy win for me. This ended up turning out real similar to another favorite fragrance of mine, Seattle Chocolate by Olympic Orchids. It is very similar, just smokier and instead of evergreen notes in SC, it has the stewed fruit accord SL is famous for. This is a very deep and strong fragrance, if you like smoky and resinous with a touch of fruit and pine notes, this is the winner here. Easy safe blind buy for deep and dark fragrance lovers.

A god tier fragrance, absolute artistry, rated low because it’s so flawless and unique that the Sauvagistas can’t handle it. The smell, buttery pancakes with real maple syrup cooked on an antique cast iron served in a smokey mountain chalet during a brisk spring morning with snow still in the ground. This is not a gourmand, not sugary. This is a moment in time, a still-life painting in a fragrance.

This is a beautiful and sexy Masterpiece (perfect unisex) - in between Chene and Chypre Rouge. It got this vintage but modern sexy make up (lipstick and rouge) vibe to it, also the note ot sweet Lakritz, just fenomenal stunning! In the drydown i get also a sweet Ambrarem vibe from it. Performance and silage - the same league as Interulde Man and Rose Flash. Onkle Serge stakes again at his best!

This is very nice. It opens with full on caramel spice, then dries down to be basically identical to Fate Man. So for me it's a less bold, less complex Fate Man. It's very similar to the spicy skyscraper Serge Lutens scents such as L'Inommable or Serge Noir. The elephant in the room for me is tobacco. There's loads here to my nose. Lovgevity is mega, more than 16 hours and still noticeable.

Serge Lutens Le Participe Passe (2018) - spicy caramel - #christophersheldrake goes back to rich and opulent Lutens-style with this Resinous and Balsam heavy perfume. From the initial smokey blast, the resins take form mixed with sticky freshly cooked Caramel. What makes it interesting is how it’s balanced off with green & herbal Artemisia, Spicy Cumin and Black Pepper. A looming presence.

Wow...so far it's like being in a bakery with fresh baked bread in the air, while enjoying a caramel macchiato and a chocolate pastry...but somehow you're also in the middle of a field of herbs in the summer at the same time. Classic Serge! Definitely a collector’s piece for Serge fans, but it isn't for your run-of-the-mill mass-appealing crowd. I'm super glad I picked this up!

Wow, this is so yummy. Hot caramel poured on your skin, in the lush and invigorating way only Serge Lutens can create. You know immediately this is a Lutens creation. Sweet, yes very sweet, but also mature, rich, deep, bold and soothing. A wonderful fragrance to have when it's snowing in Paris. Edit: The company is discontinuing this beautiful fragrance! What a shame.

Truly suits its name. Of days past, burnt caramel mixed with a near dead candle on the Christmas tree. Both cabin in the woods and an old mansion's study, wood so rich and fresh feels like it's bleeding sap. Reminds me of home, maybe since it is surrounded by fir and pine trees. Nostalgic, bittersweet in both the feeling and aroma.

It reminds me of Fille en Aiguilles but denser, sweeter, and thicker. Think sweet rum that evokes dimly lit hidden bars... It's a suave scent. The sillage is enormous and the scent is VERY strong. Longevity and projection are nuclear. I think this would be best applied as a tiny dab. Even the lightest spray of this is A LOT.

very resinous and a bit leathery, a bit tobacco, a bit pine tree, a bit like iodine; resinous and sweet in the top but the drydown is very dry and herbal with mainly artemesia, leather, and woody patchouli, the herbal kind; then for me it turns into a chamomile tea; really interesting fragrance and glad I grabbed it

To my nose...at first sniff..from my new sample..on my skin: Polo Green with caramel and honey. The "piney" effect dissapates rather quickly...and the evenual drydown is: MAGNIFICENT. I am amazed by this scent and surprised. Full bottle necessary...ASAP !!! Decent longevity so far....and good sillage. O-M-G !!!

This one is really fun! It’s the perfect cozy Autumn scent. This is a Fall Festival in a bottle. It’s caramel corn and a maple toddy. It’s smoky and spicy and aromatic. It has a gorgeous leather base that carries it through. It’s interesting and unique and I’m so glad I have this in my collection now.

Salty spicy caramel cloud tethered to earth by sensible bergamot and bitter-spicy artemisia and pepper. The cumin note had me hesitant but it only adds a bit of savory dirtiness to the resins. This might not be a gourmand but it smells strangely delicious in an exotic and enticing way.

Ah it’s glorious. Rich and elegant with a perfect balance of some sharpness from artemisia in contrast with the balsams and touch of caramel at the base. Perfect cold weather scent that just warms you up from the inside. Worth hunting down a bottle.

Absolutely my favorite fragrance in my collection. From first sniff, I fell in love with the rich, captivating scent. It has a sweet, but not too sweet, warm, almost coffee-like aroma. Captivating. Nothing else compares.

I get a ton of dried fruit on my skin, I was worried I smell like compote. Luckily some smokiness saved this for me, the base notes are really nicely balanced - not too sweet and not too heavy.

I wonder what the Egyptian balsams and resins are? Smells like opoponax to me! Really love this perfume for its "burnt" character. I think of dates, maple syrup, dates. Very nice indeed.

very much agree with the review below me. this is an awesome blend with a perfect juxtaposition of sweet and balsamic, its quite deep and complex.

so unique, delightful and jammy, dried figs covered in a dark caramel sauce. incredible performance as usual with Serge.

The dry down smells a bit like CHENE, so I guess if you like that and wanted it a bit darker, this is it.

smells like caramel, kinda resinous/smoky. would really like this on a woman, not really unisex though.

Smells like an oldschool sailor, Rigabalsam (a type of eastern European bitter), tar and unwashed skin.

Caramel by Serge. Love both of them, so this is something made for me <3