L'Eau d'Armoise

I love artemisia, especially so in the hot weather, but usually this scent is unlucky: instead of artemisia in perfumes there appears to be absinthe. Which, actually, isn’t bad at all, but I wanted artemisia! In the “Artemisia Water” Serge managed to catch the right note. The scent is light, surprising and unconventional. Official pyramid is following: herbs - spices - bitterness. But it reveals like a movie! In the top notes - a distinct gin and tonic, not a cold drink in a misted glass, but a warm smell floating in a bar. Also a faint echo of bergamot appears to be there, or maybe some kind of strong liquor, like aftertaste on the tongue, when you just took a sip of burning alcohol. Then the utter bitterness of something green comes, not necessarily the artemisia - when I trim a tamarind tree, the cut branches smell very similarly, a lot of green notes and some kind of woody scent appears. The bitterness of a freshly cut wood - that’s what it is. But my favorite is in the base: close to the body there remains a smell of bitter fall, smell of fallen leaves, softened with a hint of sweet wood smoke, as if lemon jam was being cooked on apple wood fire somewhere far, far away... Such a philosophical fragrance! In the end it seems to tell us: “So be it...”.

I am hesitant to assume a condescending role, positioning myself as someone superior in understanding or taste. However, upon perusing reviews that delve into descriptions of sweaty armpits or scents inducing nausea and even grievances about the perfume’s longevity, I cannot help but wonder about the varied approaches individuals adopt towards perfumery. It appears as if some may lack the requisite perspective on the brand or the fragrance they are evaluating. In the case of L’Eau d’armoise, I see it as an unparalleled embodiment of mugwort, a herb renowned for its pronounced bitterness among the notes employed in perfumery. Mastering its incorporation demands a level of artistry generally associated with perfumers of such high caliber as Serge Lutens (or Christopher Sheldrake, which is the same... but that's another story). Notably, L’Eau d’armoise has been created by Serge Lutens himself, an unusual fact nowadays for his eponymous line, and that alone warrants appreciation. As for longevity, I am relinquishing the burdensome narrative embraced by those with limited imaginative capacity. Instead, I choose to embrace the fleeting nature of a perfume that endures for just a moment: a sensory ephemera reminiscent of a memory worth cherishing.

Fantastic! I don't know what immortelle smells like, but I certainly know bergamot, and I absolutely know the smell of artemisia: I grew up on the central coast of California, spending my free time as a youth in the coastal sage scrub habitat along the ocean bluffs. This is almost exactly the smell of Artemisia californica, or California sagebrush, the dominant species in this coastal scrub plant community. To this lovely artemisia note the bergamot lends a fresh, bracing, bitter citrus which we all know and love. There's a bit of clean white musk underneath all of this, holding it together. This perfume is simple, to the point, and stunningly gorgeous. It is what Jo Malone's Wood Sage & Sea Salt really should have been. Like walking the coastal bluffs of Montaña de Oro in thick summer fog, wearing a wool overcoat and sipping earl grey tea. This is the smell of my spiritual homeworld. I'll be buying a full bottle as soon as possible. 90%

As someone who has no prior familiarity with mugwort, the first thing I thought of when trying L'eau d'Armoise was pine. Over its wear time on the skin, it gradually shifts from cool and slightly camphorous to a gentle and herbal warmth tinged by the grassy sweetness of immortelle. There is dew, tree bark, and perhaps some distant flowers. The overall impression is that of a landscape painting, attempting to capture a meadow as it transitions from dark into dawn. There is a naturalistic quality that almost seems more in line with the scents of Diptyque, rather than the expressionistic complexity of Serge Lutens' more popular offerings. L'eau d'Armoise has decent longevity but modest projection, and so is a fragrance one would wear much more for themselves than for the perception of others. The scent profile is inoffensive, generally speaking, but someone would have to be very close to you to detect it anyway.

This is so herbal and gorgeous. It's zesty, green, beautiful and overall very well-balanced and easy to wear. It's unisex and will look good on anybody. It smells delicious, like a green summer field, with notes of spice, florals, greens and zesty citruses in the background. I do not perceive it as feminine at all. I do agree that it slightly slightly remind me of absinth for some reason (maybe because it's green booziness with light spice notes?). It's a surprising and unique scent that's good and universal for any occasion. Overall, I am very impressed. It reminds me slightly of Sisley's perfumes as they are always green and mossy to me, and also are perceived as light ones. It also reminds me slightly of Jo Malone's newest green collection (thistle, achillea) as it has a very similar "light" green but zesty theme.

In late summer and early autumn, especially on a misty, damp day, the sprawling fields of mugwort that grow at Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary in Natick, MA perfume the air with their scent that is sweetly camphorous and tranquilizing. It is reminiscent of sage, juniper, and chrysanthemum, with an ineffable quality that can only be described as the smell of cool dew. L'Eau d'Aromise smells just like this. Sweet mugwort dreams. Spray this on your body and your linens for the perfect fragrant nightcap. Footnote: To those who keep referencing wormwood, mugwort/armoise (Artemisia vulgaris) is a different species from wormwood (Artemisia absinthium) and while there are some similarities, their scent profiles do differ.

My signature fragrance. Didn't fully understand this one until I woke up late for work one morning. Got ready, doused myself in this, stepped into a cab, and headed to work. Driver went through the park. Early SF morning. Grey skies, forest fully enveloped in thick white fog. Remote by Tetsu Inoue politely blaring in my headphones. Unrolled the windows and it struck me how wonderful this perfume is. Its cold bay fog in a bottle. So confident, different, and tranquil. Otherworldly and delightfully aromatic. I bought two bottles and intend to stock up a bit more. Need to carry a bottle around in my purse at all times.

I love this. It smells like fresh herbs, slightly bitter, extremely cool and inoffensive. It’s not a loud scent, it’s an essence of added freshness, a gin and tonic scent minus the sharpness of alcohol - like a wet forest on a summer night. For me it’s the gem of SL L’eau line and what I wanted the original one to be - like opening up a green artemisia stem, it smells the way cold water feels.

Bitter, green absinthe, with the sugar cube implied. It reminds me of the Mallorcan liqueur Hierbas, which is made from the various local aromatics. Opens mint-lavender herbal and settles to a lovely anise-laced absinthe murk. I'm surprised again to love it.

My favourite from the SL L'Eau series. Fresh green bitterness (basically mint and artemisia), that's the best way I can describe it. Soft sillage, but good longevity. On my to-buy list! Spring/Summer days, 30+ Edit: now got a full bottle!

Huge fan of this scent! It's a truly cool, atmospheric scent that reminds me of the air before a storm hits. It unfortunately doesn't last long and the projection is intimate, but it would be perfect for scalding hot weather!

The opening is very fresh herbal and reminds me of classic men's cologne, but the dry down is very spicy, a little bit bitter, pleasantly green, but also kind of salty. I want to eat it on a tomato.

you will smell like those woman with black veils on their faces from Dune.... this is something else guys... out of this world, literally, you will smell like a royalty from Dune... lm in love...

Subtle, breezy herbal goodness with an unsweet aniseedy twist. Very light but also very longlasting, an aromatic breath of fresh air, just a hint of hay-like fading foliage to ground it. Lovely.

Oh wow, oh no, what, I thought I smelled something really delicious. I really would have thought that I just smelled something amazing.

My favorite bedtime scent. Calm, herbal, airy and incredibly soothing.

L'Eau d'Armoise, I come across L’Eau d Armoise (for short : LEdA) by chance. After one meeting where I have chance to sniff 3 of Les Eaux, I like theme. There are great cologne fragrance. However, I didn’t have chance to sniff LEdA. I am blind buy this solely when I am looking for bitter fragrance yet there a note I do like it soft herbal smoke effect (immortelle). L’Eau d’Armoise, the bitter-sweet, softly musty yet clean, slight earthy combination of Artemisia and immortelle seems seamlessly merge into each other. It is pleasant herbal experience that both clean and herbaceous at the same time. Behind the aroma of herb, there is light aldehydic property (notice the slight sharp, soft powdery feel) and aquatic property (fresh, dew, watery effect) twine the clean feeling in the far back. Apart from other notice Mint, Clove or Geranium. I think another key player here is lavender and soft white musk in tiny amount play a show in the back ground. Support herbal tone. LEdA in anyway, is a good herbal juice thar wrap wearer in cologne manner, not citrus heavy. Master blend as you could notice the difference herbal piece. Time to time, it is nice relaxing afternoon in Summer after all.

This is nice, just nice. Once again Serge has captured a realistic smell in a perfume. I always say most of the time the name of a Serge perfume usually gives you an accurate description of what they're going for. This translates to "Mugwort Water." The brands write up really adds to this experience. "How could I have known when I distractedly picked a leaf from a bush and rubbed it between my index finger and thumb, that mugwort would later speak to me from a perfume bottle?" This one is very light, herbal, green, leafy and slighty floral. This actually reminds me of a better version of Mediterranee by Molinard. The use of immortelle in both come across as similar. The main difference is that I don't like Mediterranee because of the overly strong calone note. I like this. It's pleasant, light, airy but unfortunately quite faint. I have a sample and I can tell the performance won't be anything special as most noted it's quite weak. As I said, it's nice but just nice. Perhaps this would be nice to over spray on an extremely hot humid summer day. I have a sample and that's fine for now. May not be full bottle worthy for me. Still good.

Very nice. To me it smells like a fancy gin and tonic. Quite a bitter herbal/medicinal opening (which I happen to love), but it sweetens and deepens as it dries down. I was thinking this would be just for summer, but I find myself wearing this in mid-December and it's strangely perfect--it has a snow & evergreens feel, too. I was expecting it to disappear immediately on my winter skin, but it is holding its own. I'm on this unexpected Serge Lutens spree because several SL fragrances have appeared at really good prices at my local TJ Maxx. I have made so many unfortunate blind buys at TJ, but Lutens is 3/3 at this point.

This is a godsend relief in extreme heat! It's beautifully bitter and refreshing, like a big gulp of tonic mixed with full glass of ice and some citrus peel sqeezed in! Keep it in your bag during the day because it is ephemeral it needs reaplying, but the light formula is what keeps it so delightfully fresh. Anytime I need a boost I spray some on my chest and arms and in a second I feel like fresh out of cold shower. Seriously I don't understand something so simple could be 10/10