L'Eau de Paille

Some people say here that this one smells like ordinary, after shave like, generic, not like Serge Lutens...whatever, whatever. Look, pay attention to the name, “Eau de...”, of course this won’t smell like Tom Ford Black Orchid or those loud “oud” collections from many hyped designers, or wood & spice cocktail of Oriental Gourmand!! You CANNOT expect those, of course!!! It’s again, “Eau de...” so it has to smell soft and airy. And then the word “Paille” means “straw” so it’s like hay-like scent which exactly what’s in this creation! The main ingredients are ONLY 3. Hay, vetiver and incense. So you can’t expect more than that and yet the scent is quite conplex and unique considering these very simple and minimal ingredients. But it’s NOT weak!! No way!! Smells like Chanel Allure?? You gotta be kidding me!! It’s NOTHING like Chanel AT ALL! So far from it! It’s rather very sophisticated for a simple fragrance like this and both the silage & the longevity are excellent! If you think the performance is weak, just spray close to the skin and apply 2, 3 times more than mormal application. It’s an EDP but I always make sure I spray this about 10+ times all around my chest & neck, including my back side. To be honest, it’s a bit overpowering at first but I love the scent bubble around me that lingers all day!! As it settles down through out the day, it is super aromatique, unique, sophisticated, soothing and nostalgic. It’s just an amazing fragrance!! It’s simple yet one of the kind and that’s why Serge Lutens can bring this on the table. Definitely it’s his signature of this “Eau de...” collection. So nothing ordinary, boring, or synthetic but all luxurious, high quality, timeless and unique! People, you really need to wear this generously on your skin until you have the full experience of magic from the beginning till the end then you can really see you misunderstood about this one!! Don’t get fooled by the way the packaging portrays. I’m so glad I added this one in my collection, that’s for sure!! Two thumbs up and I borrow other people’s thumbs, too!!

For me, this scent doesn't smell of hay heaped into bales, but of hay that is drying in the field, loosely collected and not yet completely dry - a bit wet, green, and cold, but in the sun (I hope that makes sense). I love that smell, it takes me back to my childhood and the summers that I spent with my grandparents.

I love it, that's all I'm saying. At first it smelled like really mainstream somehow, but on the second try i realized it has its own character which is really nice. There are only 3 notes in this fragrance, so I didn't expect anything complex, and in fact I'm impressed of how simple but still elegant it is.

Elegant and uncomplicated freshie, office safe and work suitable, ideal for the summer heat. Not groundbreaking or innovative but still in its own category and interesting, no complaints, I love it.

This smells very good. I find it masculine, like a fresh new spin on earthy lavender but fresh. Just sampled from lucky scent and I'm liking it a lot right noe

Based on the "purported" notes only, I was "IN LOVE," and thought SL and I were back in business. (While I liked Orpheline considerably more than the reviewers--like Bois de J. et al. Kafa*** etc., I was one of the few that did of his new line). But his l'eaus etc., generally have not sent me to a happy place). So, I "blind purchased" it. However this scent did not agree with me at all, and, while I still think scents are not gendered, L'Orpheline et al. seem more geared to men--and smell better on my fiance'(my other tester). I think it's the hay-vetiver combination. Perhaps SL is making a departure from strictly unisex perfumes--though each will have to determine that for HIM or HERself. It is a strong vetiver (and while I like L.T. Piver very much, I'm not that into strong vetiver. Overall When I wore it, I found it dry--not wet, yes, in keeping with his copy, but not dry-acrid (which would appeal). Just dry itchy. On the "tester subject," I found it juicier and sweeter--a gentle low natural sweetness--like fresh cut sugar cane. Hmmmm. On my own skin, I was just dying to get a whiff of that (but didn't)--just a sort of male limey-vetiver aftershave smell. On "tester guinea"--I really began to like it, finding it warmer,masculine, and modern, "French subdued" (there are no powders here). There is a quiet skin-scent "controlled" aspect to it. I associate many traditional French scents, as having greater force, silage, leaving long trails of longing behind. This one is more an occasional whiff of warm grassiness; too, it blends green elements into the sweetness. So, on me it was VETIVER with citrus (bergamot?) aspect and a low unappealing musk dry-down. All that makes Chergui quite lovely is simply not in here (for those hoping for a lighter brighter Chergui): Chergui lovers-- "fuggedaboutit." I also don't smell "cereal" smells or any of that lovely dry grass essence that I do catch in say, Jeux de Peau (one of my favs); if you want cereal, that's the one to go for. On me this was fresh, even green, cold; on "Tester guinea"--I quite liked it, so he gets the bottle. Darn. On me, this smells "drugstore unmemorable" with nil silage and longevity. On the tester, it lasted about 10-12 good hours. The fourth hour was fading fast into a trace skin scent. So it is ephemeral,low silage--not opulent, or too fantastic scent that does not come across at all as sexy but rather simultaneously crisp and warm, green-grass light and sweet notes. Goes well with crisp cotton/linen. Spring summer scent. I ordered Paille direct from SL in Paris and Surrender TC now has it too for those of you wanting to try before buying (and I really, really recommend you do that).

Wikiparfum notes: Incense / Olibanum | Cereals | Vetiver | Blueberry | Fresh Cut Grass This reminds me of an abstract rendering of late summers when I was a kid. Picking blueberries and baling hay. Incense creating the feel of a drying heat. Happy. I tried the 2019 version in the other bottle style first and liked it, but prefer this version: less sweet in the opening, more dry hay feel in drydown, and a little more intricate. This excels in humidity. Balances the dryness and feels smoothed out.

Aftershave-y. Much more masculine than I expected. On the right guy this would be swoon-worthy On my skin - it's a no from me.

Very aromatic, green, vetiver scent. Oriental scents are not in my style, but I have to admit that this one is very pleasant.

not a fan of this, it smells like a sweet powdery department store vetiver + citrus. it’s very perfumey to me (on my skin)

The opening of L’Eau de Paille is mostly tonka beans with a smidgen of lavender, not dissimilar to most conventional fougere men’s cologne. After about 1 hour, the tonka steps down and becomes a discreet sweet background for an aromatic, herbal citrus note to stand at the front. Since it’s usually the citrus gives way to tonka in the dry down, this development is quite a surprise to me. Later on, L’Eau de Paille doesn’t have any substantial changes, only turns slightly warmer with time. The sillage is moderate to soft, and the longevity is around 8 hours. Although the reverse of citrus and tonka bean did surprise me, I still find L’Eau de Paille disappointing to me. On one hand, I’m not fan of most fougere fragrances, so this part is entirely on me; on the other hand, I didn’t find the interpretation of ‘hay’ as interesting as the mineral, edgy aldehyde in Laine de Verre, or the cold, minty incense in L’Eau Froide. If smelt with eyes closed, I wouldn’t be surprised if someone told me it’s from a commercial brand. If you happen to be looking for a conventional fougere type men’s cologne, I think L’Eau de Paille would work fine. However, if you’re interested in exploring the Lutens brand, I think you can save your time by skipping it.

Woodsy fragrance with a herbal touch of very prominent hay and synthetic terribly screaming and squeaking in my nostrils as an ungreased door and looks nothing like the smell of hay. Drying smoked vetiver is more pleasant and dry but says nothing. Finally, another fiasco more with Lutens. It happens with many low-quality designer are so synthetic and so unnatural that my nose rejects outright. If at least I understand it was cheap, but it is not. Rating: 2

I don't like this: hay can't be made sweet, hay has to stay green-herbal. Maybe it's not hay at all. But it is also not vetiver, not incense so I don't know what. It reminds me fougeres like Bleu de Chanel or Egoiste Platinum. But I do recognise that it smells like a predecessor of Gris Clair which, as a lavender scent, smells like L'Eau de Paille made right although even there I don't like the similarity with fougeres.

Oh no ! SL you break my heart. Utterly overpowering male cologne like 1 Million or some crappy things that are released nowadays. Totally generic, "in your face" and has absolutely nothing to share with the rest of the SL frags family : no complexity, no emotion, no story... And worst of all, no subtelty. NO WAY !! (sorry for you guys that love it, but this is not what i expect from SL)

My first encounter with Serge Lutens. Wanted to get to know this house and saw Eau de Paille at a bargain price online. Was not my first choice from this brand, but the price was a steal, so why not start with this one... I picked up my parcel and sprayed it on my wrist in the car. Wow... now I understand what the term 'niche' means... Better quality scent, more depth, better fine-tuning, a fragrance closer a work of art opposed to generic. I kept sniffing and sniffing my wrist and could not keep myself from still looking for the smell 6 hours later. It lasts a stunning 10 hours on me. I smell hay. Definitely. But also a lot more. Hard to pin down, but there is a depth and a balance that makes me smile. Fresh and not so fresh, sweet but not sweet, very natural smelling, nothing synthetic to my nose. I already ordered Fils de Joie and Batème de Feux. :) I think I will absolutely love this house!

Ppl talkin sh*t ain’t let the dry down hit once again... sort of like you arrived to the country so late last night you immediately passed out in guest cottage bed, all for you, at your friends country house. It’s your first visit and you’ve seen pictures but it was too dark last night and you were too tired to process anything once you reached your long awaited destination stay. This fragrance is in now as it’s the morning after- you’ve slept in late but not too late- for summer days are long here and it feels as though you could stay in these fresh cottage sheets made for you forever as you take in every nook and detail- in the bright old white cottage house. It’s a much needed thoughtless sigh as you expand your focus out to the sounds of the place you now have arrived to and may delight in the sensorial ways this morning, this air, this bed- is not like the last....

On my skin, L'Eau de Paille starts very interesting with rosy-floral notes with a slight citrus touch (based on citronellol in a good mix of enantiomers?). It is very refreshing and is a nice alternative for after-shower freshness for men instead of overly intense woody ambers and dihydromyrcenol. Coumarin and oakmossy notes (evernyl) push through within minutes and after about 10 - 15 minutes, the whole, nice fresh thing collapses into an aromatic fougère of a softened "Cool Water" type. It does not smell bad—but very mainstream. No surprises in the drydown. So this one is for you, if you want to smell different than all the other guys in the gym after the shower but need to wear something streamlined by the time you get back to your (banking or tax accounting) office. [Then again: who would take along a Serge Lutens perfume to the gym?]

Oh well, this is definitely not what I was excepting from Master Serge Lutens! Does it smell good? Yes, but so very commercial just like the reviewers b4 me have stated. The closest comparison that comes to my mind right of the bat is Chanel's Allure Sport Extreme. L’Eau de Paille doesn't smell identical, but the idea and the structure of the scent is the same. I haven't detect any of the three notes, instead this is just somewhat fresh, slightly smoky and pretty sweet scent built around the tonka bean, which isn't even listed as one of the notes. Very likable and easy to wear, but nothing like the typical SL creations. I'm not sure if I'll buy this or not...

This is the third "vetiver dominant" sample I pulled out of my yet to sample box, two I threw back as I'm not a vetiver fan but I guess the universe is adamant about me smelling it today. Well this isn't really the usual tart vetiver. In fact it smells mostly barbershop to me, and quite citrussy. Traditional herbal hay is lost here, no hay to me, just sweet barbershop, lots of citrus, a little incense although not really dominant. Vetiver and hay not really dominant in the way I'm used to. Turns quite soft and polite, spicy sweet. This doesn't really last on me...

I had a sample of this lying around and decided to give it a try in hope of finding a scent for the summer I understand the generic comments, but to me this is still different enough. Maybe it doesnt help that I am female and therefore have mainly tried the scents marketed to women in the likes of Debenhams etc. (Before venturing to places that sold more unisex fragrances) I actually dont really get hay that much, but I think that it where the sweetness on my skin comes from I'm only at the mid notes but so far I actually really like it!

Possibly the most underrated Serge Lutens fragrance. Its subtlety sweet and uplifting. The perfect, minimal summer scent. Despite many saying this is masculine, I find this to be perfectly unisex. In fact, when I first smelled this, I thought it would be better on a woman. Some have mentioned that this smells synthetic to them, but I'd wager it's the vetiver they're picking up. The composition is so simple that it would be easy to write this off, but this is one of the most versatile and affordable Serge fragrances you can get.

Generic, soapy, 'clean' fragrance with no hay or anything else (I live rurally and I know what hay smells like). Worst of all, it smells frankly cheap, like any budget thing you might pick up in a discount store for a couple of euros. Until now, I'd been lucky with the Lutens Eaux, especially Laine de Verre, which I like a lot, but this is a real disappointment from my (possibly formerly) favourite perfume house.

I love Lalique Homme (Horse), it has a beautiful hay scent that just takes me there! Last all day, I've been trying to find another hay scent. I had DG Intenso, but didn't do nothing for me. I have this scent coming to me, I hope it has another fantastic rendition of hay. One can never have enough hay, I'll follow up on my take when it arrives!

I really wanted the hay, but it's not quite there. First on it's fresh like coast soap; a green, soapy vetiver, no wood, no incense. Dry down is the same, a very pleasant fresh green scent but I get no hay or incense and really no wood. This is a green vetiver. Okay, but not FBW

I received a sample of this so I tried it, but I'm very surprised at the unisex classification because this is very much a straight up men's fragrance. I hadn't looked at the notes until now and no surprise. It might be nice on a guy but I can't picture a woman wearing this.

A soft citrus aftershave type scent with a little sweetness from the incense. Just the right side of unisex. Has a legitimate cooling effect when you spray it on so perfect for replying during the stuffiest days of summer.

Somewhere in the realm of Bleu de Chanel except within 2.5 hours the ghost of a skin scent is all that's remaining on me. Big swing and a miss from Serge on this one. At least the bottle is nice.

this is one of the most photorealistic freshly-cut grass smells i've ever tried!! i'm surprised there's no citrus in the notes lineup because i detect a tart brightness that reminds me of lemon

This is not what I was expecting--In a good way though. This is what I smell when I walk into an high end department store's cosmetic/fragrance area: Clean, soapy, expensive, high-end.

Voilá: Coumarin, Citronellol and Evernyl. A synthetic combination that is presente in a lot of comercial fragrances around the globe. Sorry, but this is not a Serge Lutens, or is it?

This one smells as a typical modern mass market fresh masculine fragrance. Ultra synthetic freshness in the direction of PR Invictus and CK Eternity Now.

I rather enjoy this little number. It's a sorta skin type scent..kinda fresh, kinda warm, kinda vetiver-esque. Nifty compact bottle. Unisex.

Břízová nálada by Antonín Slavíček 1897 ************

a common toner scent. dihydromyrcenol and coumarin.

Sweet hay water. Need I say more? ...Nope! Love it!