L'incendiaire

Oh wow! This is a stunner. Very much in the vein of those heady, sweet leather fragrances like Tuscan leather, Clive Christian C, golden boy, AdP leather....etc etc... But crucially this has much more of a delicate touch. When I say that don't get me wrong it's just as deep as the counterparts I've mentioned but possibly has more dimensions in that I definitely smell more of an incense bias. It's sweet, warm, smoky and I can surely see why the name is becoming. Additionally it's more wearable (on a regular basis) than a Tuscan leather type scent. It has a touch of the noble incense about it, saffron smoothness and although not dominated by frankincense I definitely get that from L'incendiaire too. The only negative I can think of is that I didn't buy it in the spot. I do have Clive Christian C and have had the chance to get others (I view as pale in comparison) but for all it's likeness this new Serge Lutens still has merit and I suspect when trailed side by side the differences will be even more apparent. I loved it. Top marks from me. hmmmm...Update. Well I say above "...not dominated by frankincense..." ??? yeah...that's wrong. After a turbulent and opulent opening this fragrance dries down to a perfectly high quality and slightly darker Olibanum than usual...but it is just that....olibanum. I must've been nose blind first time out, I stick to what I said about L'incendiaire it gives a complex impression when first applied but doesn't take long to die down to a heady frankincense and I'm so sorry to SL and Sheldrake but I can get that (I except not quite this) elsewhere cheaper. It shouldn't be about money but in this case I have to pass on this fragrance.

Probably the most beautiful combination of frankincense and oud created in the world, this is an out of this world scent that is one of those where luxurious beauty is achieved without any concerns to price. The oud (in sap form) and incense (the most beautiful I have encountered) are beautifully blended with amber, castoreum, and a bit of tar to achieve a real otherworldly effect. Like the Phoenix emerging from the fiery ashes, this one really glows on your skin with with its beautiful and very pronounced sillage and projection. The beauty of this one lies in its understated refinement like Bois d' Encens. Next I need to address the issue of the price. I obtained the bottle at half of its retail and it still feels like an overindulgent luxury, even though it is so beautifully blended. But I think that was the point of the house in creating this perfume in the first place. Enjoy!

Notes identified by kafkaesqueblog - Ginger, cloves, cumin, plums, stewed fruits, incense, labdanum, amber, cedar, patchouli, styrax resin, tolu balsam, oud, brown sugar sap, possibly a pinch of birch tar. ---------- I find this to be an arrestingly beautiful and unique fragrance. It ebbs and flows gently, sometimes seeming light, then redoubling its brooding, throbbing burn, rather like the embers of a fire that don't die, but just keep glowing and cooling, then glowing again as breezes stir the remaining fuel. It manages to skirt several genres, never quite settling anywhere specifically, but always burning and glowing. It's a work of staggering technical genius to keep twisting and turning and playing tricks, all the while remaining one unified scent experience. For me this is a classic, unforgettable masterpiece, and I'll cherish what I have for as long as possible.

I bought a 5ml spray decant to get a better feel for L'incendiaire after previously sampling a tiny vial. It's not as strong as I remember from the first time but I do like it alot. It's a slightly chocolatey oud-musk-leather scent that by second wearing is very addictive. I don't get as much smoke or charred wood as I remember or as others mention below. Perhaps there never was any of that and my mind is playing tricks on me. Anyway, it's very pleasant and I think the most remarkable takeaway from L'incendiaire is that it's a perfectly balanced, luxurious, modern leather and oud fragrance. If it were a new Saint Laurent release that retailed for $90, with an ad campaign featuring Javier Bardem, it would be a hit. I hope it gets heavily discounted before it is discontinued because I will be forever wanting this. Good stuff.

After I sprayed my wrist with this I let out a gasp, it's that beautiful to me. Yes, the notes are all there,incense,oud, clove blah blah blah, but this is so much more than a perfume,this is hmmm...I don't know, this is emotion in a perfume bottle, I can feel this.

I am sad to say that this might be the only SL that I love and never actually own a bottle of. It’s a gentle western oud kind of thing, tasteful, smokey and purrs like a cat. But I’m not paying $600 for it. 5 out of 5.

Salut tout le monde ,je veux m’en séparer de ma pièce comme neuf ,contacter moi si intéressé 200€ pour 45ml

Were I given to titling my reviews, this one would be called "The Prattle and the Price." And it would go like this: Gentle readers, who does Serge Lutens think he is these days? Is he having an identity crisis? A midlife crisis? Why can't he just buy a convertible and get an inappropriately young girlfriend and deal with it like a normal man, and spare us, his paying public, the ridiculous half-baked fairy tales that now stand in for sensible press releases? And the laughable, unjustifiable price? Does SL actually want to sell perfume, or simply to make a statement about perfume-the statement in this case being something like "I have entirely divided material reality from common sense" or "I think my customers must be fools?" This is not to say that L'Incendiare isn't a good perfume. It's a very good perfume. It simply isn't $600 worth of perfume. L'I opens with carnation and incensy resins before doing a quick change to smoky, smoky leather. It smells ripely of candied fruit and has an old-wooden-church saturated-incense quality in the drydown that is delicious and reminds me a bit of cedar. The sillage is very good, and the longevity is too. But the price-! L'Incendiare doesn't do anything that other smoky incense perfumes don't do just as well for less money. Try Tauer's Incense Extreme, or anything from the Comme des Garcons incense series. Try Encre Noir! All in all, a lovely perfume that I think is destined for a quick extinction due to inept handling by its marketing department.

L'Incendiaire is surprisingly straightforward on my skin. At its core, L'Incendiaire is an oud. At first, it disguised itself with a plum-like decadence, resulting something at the intersection of Féminité du Bois and Boxeuses sans spices. It then sheds away the sweetness with time, revealing an animalic oud in the end. There's some incense aspect of the oud, but more prominent is the leathery, almost horse-like aroma of the oud. The sillage of L'Incendiaire is quite close, and the longevity is around 9 hours. I loved its animalic characteristics in the dry down. Its intimate sillage also allows it to be worn without too much effort. However, its high price also made me expect something more complex and opulent, which L'Incendiaire ultimately comes up short. I think it's worth a try if you're interested in a remix of Lutens style sweet wood and animalic oud, but I would hesitate to recommend it otherwise, partly because of its high price, and partly because I don't think it's among the most interesting Lutens offerings.

Slight disappointment - this is cosy, not smouldering, let alone incendiary. Only going off a used partial bottle bought off eBay, which I do believe is legit, but might have suffered from wrong or over-long storage - and all I get is a very pleasant but frustratingly low-key (I mean like almost imperceptible) assembly of very gentle, powdery, sweet resins, mostly benzoin /labdanum /myrrh, with a tiny tang of leather. Slight shades of something dark-woody, a little honey perhaps, but nothing at all threatening, outlandish or remarkable. True unisex for those who like resins and so discreet I can't see many colleagues or passers-by even detecting it, much less objecting to it. Could perhaps be compared to Cuir Mauresque, or even Guerlain's Songe d'un Bois d'Ete, but with the volume turned down to 0.5. So, it's very nice indeed, but disappointingly weak... and if I'd paid full retail, I'd be raging. Possibly I'm anosmic to a bit of it. Try before you buy - and don't pay the insane list price - in my opinion.

I have been wearing this today, an early Christmas treat for myself (I know it's only October) I took to plunge and bought it. It's well blended and balanced, sweet, smoky, oudy, musky and gourmand in construction. It has great longevity and sillage. And I confess I am a fan of almost every component of this perfume, the packaging is sublime to boot. I say ALMOST every component - but the price - wowzers, it's hefty. So, is it worth the price tag? - well I am a sucker for SL perfumes so I intended to buy L`incendiaire regardless. I would say there are probably better SL frags, Arabie, Ambre Sultan, MKK for example. Don't get me wrong, it is lovely, really lovely but not AMAZING.

I sprized this at les Salon,and wound up buying several bell jars instead. It was lovely and nice, but the price (which was comparatively lower in Paris)...! So all of you have me laughing (below). You all now have even more balloons, and the reviews are generally right on. Luxury scents are one thing, but insanity is another. And I'm right there with the reviewer who said Barney's would have to burn down....lol!

From a structural standpoint, L’Incendiaire is a polished and smoky Oriental built upon a resinous scaffold. The initial impact is a smooth surface, immediately lacking phenolic grit or angularity found in Lutens' earlier perfumes of a similar vein. It centers on a blend of smokey olibanum and dense, amber-rich labdanum. This resinous core is augmented by a highly sanitized, almost translucent oud - a profile that delivers the abstract suggestion of agarwood rather than its natural, barnyard-inflected complexity. The overall effect is less of a consuming fire (the "Incendiaire") and more of a golden brown and dim glow. It is very linear, exhibiting a critical absence of top-note contrast or challenging animalic depth in the base that would otherwise suggest the dangerous intensity promised by the narrative. The smooth, candied quality, often interpreted as dried fruits or brown sugar sap, merely buffers the central amber. For a parfum concentration commanding such a punitive price, the performance is baffling. L'Incendiaire ultimately functions as a luxury statement rather than a bold piece of perfumery, serving only as proof that technical proficiency alone cannot salvage a creatively unambitious composition. It is a high-cost, low-impact exercise in opulence that echoes the past instead of igniting the future.

It's pointless to even review such an overpriced perfume. 600$ for 50 ml?? Like, dislike nevermind. Such big words used in the description. I love Serge lutens but now this is just making me angry. Unless it contains hand-picked flowers from the top of Mount everest, resins from war-torn Iraq and incense sticks from the moon GUESS WHAT it's disrespectfuly overpriced! period. :)

I will uncharacteristically keep this short. Plummy incense with apparently some oud in it. No oud in sight imo. Absolute waste of money and Bond has a plum scent that does this better ;) Oh and the price is in the three figures lol

Priced at $600 for 50ml, L’Incendiaire (The Arsonist) marks Serge Lutens’s contribution to the fairly recent trend of obscenely expensive perfume. Alongside fragrances such as 777’s Ô Hira, ERH1012’s Dead of Night, and the entire Roja Dove line, this new Barney’s exclusive wears its exclusivity on its 200-count sleeve. While the more cynical of us might view these price points and cloistered releases as a last-ditch effort to resuscitate “niche”—a term that no longer signifies in a meaningful way—the most apparent question is “is it worth the price?” Well, that’s relative. Although I doubt there’s anything in this fragrance that warrants such a lofty tag, L’Incendiaire is a nice enough scent—albeit one that doesn’t quite resemble a Lutens. Listed notes are largely pointless these days, and the accompanying gloss seems to suffer from a dodgy translation. Consequently, there’s little in the way of context or pointers as to what the goals for this scent were. Style-wise, it’s in a comparable camp to Serge Noire—largely due to the smokiness. But where Serge Noire is a tad unkempt in its phenolic camphor, L’Incendiaire is primped and groomed with rigor. Barney’s provides little assistance, claiming “rare resins, saps, and ambers” as the main components. However, what stands out is the mention of “tarmac”—a fantasy accord (I hope) that one might ordinarily picture as being more up CdG’s urban alley—but it certainly comes through in this perfume in an evocative way. Upon application the scent smells charred and a bit rubbery; an array of charcoal greys and deep brown oils against a textured canvas. There are various woods present alongside an oud that’s neither western nagarmotha nor eastern cheese. There’s an incidental chocolate and some delicate musks that I’d place in the ambrette family. Furthermore, there’s a weird watery note running beneath the surface (weird in relation to the namesake, not the composition). It's not bilgy, but is a bit dank—a part-petrichor, part-oakmoss kind of touch. But what guides the scent primarily is the scorched effect that sits somewhere between smoldering wood and fire at the tire yard. It’s all folded together in a busy yet relatively civilized blend, sitting close to the skin for a good few hours, getting mossier as it goes. If I were forced to give an ultra-reductive description, I’d go with exotic wood, sprinkled with chocolate, singed by a blowtorch. What’s puzzling to me, though, is that the scent feels more like something Amouage might have released prior to their recent westernization. The scent’s reflective of the kind of cultural tourism that’s at the heart of the oud-wave—a wave that probably should have crashed on the shore some time ago. Furthermore, the charred effect spins it a bit more avant-garde than we might expect from Lutens. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice enough, but it feels like a bit of a vulgar attempt to appeal to specific audiences rather than creating an object of beauty unto itself. It’s well-rendered and structurally sound, but the level of polish sends it skidding a bit too close to the Liberace-opulence of its high-ticket brethren—a point not lost on Barney’s PR department who describe it as “insanely elegant.” While plenty of Lutens’ releases have conveyed their fair share of elegance, could this extra adjective perhaps relate more to the uber-exclusive pricing that’s, for lack of a better term, insane? While there’s a lot to like about L’Incendiaire, it does feel a tad ostentatious which, again, affirms suspicions about who this is aimed at and in what ways. But this is nitpicky, really. While it’s certainly not on the same level as some of the bell jars, it has its charms. But does it warrant $12 per ml? For me, absolutely not. But for someone else, it just might be the perfect Lutens.

Houdini4 may state this better than I. He nailed it. Here is what I think Retails for....... $600 for 50ml WHAT??? If you look you can find it as cheap as $475 You cant find much on the notes on-line. Here is what I could find From Serge Lutens website quoted from Serge Lutens The fire is not within the perfume but within me. I want to ignite the smouldering embers of the perfume world, to put the fire" back in perfume! From Twisted Lilly also stated from Serge Lutens “I use the word section to describe a breakaway, a separation. This departure from a black world brings forth a bright new division. This divided version of me awakens a forgotten yet timeless image from the very first moments of my life. To the right of me, touching the edge of my shadow, in another light, it illuminates a crown, one that could belong to my other. I am the protagonist in this story, turning my anger into passion. My aggressiveness hides my fear and mends my courage. L’incendiaire provides me with the spark I need, and by declaring my flame I ignite what burns within me, and consumes me. My heroine surges from deep within my cowardice and my flaws reveal the golden brilliance of her virtues. It is the love which sustains me in my darkest hour, even as I grieve for its loss. Your crimes are mine, and I take them with me to the guillotine, where the executioner is waiting to cut the ruffian’s – my – story short. But my destiny is entirely in your hands!” The notes listed on Twisted Lilly Resin, Sap, Amber, Tar, Incense, Woods The initial spray screamed quality to me and is nothing like MiP IMO. MiP is sweet leather and tonka and this IS NOT THAT! This is a smoky heated wood. Not like the smell of burning wood but more like a dense hardwood charcoal burning bright. This is incense with a smooth note of Amber. I don't get much in the way or Tar. I like it a lot! It remind me of a cleaner non barnyard Oud. The hot dry variety. The performance is already letting me down and I am kind of glad in a way. I mean $475.... I don't think so! Now I am feeling a little stuffy today(thanks to my sick wife I am sure). So this maybe impacting my opinion some. Overall I think he nailed what he describes. It does make me think fire and hot embers. Now should you run out and buy a bottle. Maybe if you drive a Ferrari or Bentley Brooklands.

Leather, dates, smoke, bitter coffee that forms what is supposed to be oud, and it is the European style oud. I kind of sense ambergris, agarwood, ebony, & rosewood. A blend that i have sniffed many many times as i can form a list of the similarity. Let's see: + A lighter version of "Sultan Leather" by The Merchant of Venice. + Also a lighter version of "Songe d'un Bois d'Ete" by Guerlain + A lighter version of "Leather Oud" by Christian Dior I believe this is a hit back then but not anymore! i mean i wouldn't pay 400 GBP for this blend when i have a stronger and much cheaper in price blends like the ones i mentioned above. However, Serge is most probably created a revolution by coming up with this blend and that's why MoV, & Dior followed him with the blends mentioned above specially that Dior already ripped of one of Serge's blends (Cuir Maurisque by creating Cuir Cannage) but "L'incendiaire" came after "Songe d'un Bois" by Guerlain which made me think in depth about this statement somehow!

Nice frag. If I had met this a couple of years ago, I would have bought it. But nowadays I prefer white florals so I pass. Seriously it reminds me very much of Bvlgari Black that I used to wear through years: incense; ebony; guaiac wood; vanilla; musk. It smells really nice, I couldn't take my nose off my wrist for hours - but maybe because it reminded me of the good old days of total happiness. The longevity is more than 8 hours on my perfume-eating skin. After that something metallic and rather unpleasant came out... but then disappeared as suddenly. I spent all those hours in a Vietnamese cafe with a friend and she kept on repeating that she was feeling it all the time! Despite all those Vietnamese food smells that are very far being subtle. I understand all the complaints about price but... try it. It's so beautiful and comforting and cosy... I don't know, when I love a perfume, I'll buy it whatever it costs. Merry Christmas to everybody!

'Betsywoodbright' the only thing you should be sorry for is entering a review WITHOUT even sampling the perfume which you seen to know nothing about so how can you put forth a review JUST ON THE PRICE TAG? Deemed ridiculous, because of the price tag! The line clearly sells, I'm not the only person to enjoy over priced things. The perfumes are amongst the best I've ever encountered! Obviously, some people are 'OKAY' with their favourite fragrances. That's great but I want to feel more than OKAY, I want to feel and smell like a goddess and for that, you need to aim higher than 'okay'. And seriously, you want some bang for your buck, by smothering the occupants of large rooms and suffocating yourself for a solid week at a time after each application? Inducing headaches etc? That's what you'd want for the price tag? Hmm.