L'orpheline

You know when perfumistas, critics, and general consumers disagree over a perfume in some permutation, the perfume is, generally speaking, going to be well worth your time to try. The best art always begets disparate interpretations and experiences. L’Orpheline showed up around the period Lutens’s style began to change from big, striking, unusual Arabian influenced and/or bold (often times mind-warping) floral perfumes to quieter and more introspective perfumes (some might even say simpler, and I’m not sure I could disagree). The eauxs of the brand began making their appearance around the same period. Unsurprisingly, this change rankled the Lutens rank-and-file wearers, but it could hardly be called a surprise that L’Orpheline neatly slotted like a puzzle piece into the picture of the brand’s new direction. To me, this one of the most heartfelt perfumes Lutens has ever created, and Sheldrake executes it to a standard of excellence uniquely his own. The perfume is meant to evocate an identity crisis. Who hasn’t had one of those? Every young human at some point in their early teens to late 20s (and some beyond) struggle with laying the foundation of their personhood, whether it’s for a few months, a few years, or more. Serge Lutens tells us L’Orpheline is his story, where he felt this dichotomous pull - presuming he knew he was an outlier artistic/creative type, though he might not have - between what it meant to be culturally a “man” or culturally a “woman”; what did it mean to be a son; who was this feminine persona he felt lurking around inside of him; he was “at war” - in between the front lines - of his father and who he expected him to be and his mother and who she expected him to be; and, more to the important point, who did he want to be? Perhaps because we live in a heart-on-the-sleeve age where identity crises are de rigeur, especially as far as social media is concerned, the opening of L’Orpheline is what strikes people the most, and is frequently the most liked by all. Something very tense, large, and impending in the form of aldehydes, juniper, pepper, and a funky incense is pleasantly unsettling. It asks a big question you want to hear, but you are not ready to answer. Without context, it will make you sit up and pay attention short of grabbing at your nose to do it. Then the top notes dispense and play with this idea of dichotomy, or a cold war between two factions, in the form of florals and a leathery fougere structure. Lutens sort of gives away the plot here, where the florals of carnations, indolic jasmine, and a touch of pink rose seem to fight a losing battle with the leather and woody base that consistently reinforce their position from beneath. For Guerlain fans, you’ll love this part of L’Orpheline; there is more than a tenuous link to Guerlain’s old fougeres in the dry down from the heart and base. Finally, L’Orpheline seems to settle and make a decision: forced masculinity. There is a masculine and animalic leather but taking the form of suede, leather but gently so, likely thanks to a decent helping of cashmeran and musks. Light notes of cedar and sandalwood reinforce the message. A touch later, a gentle peppery patchouli provides the coup de grâce to the crisis demanding, unequivocally, a “man” of the variety the culture should expect. At no point does L’Orpheline seem confident. It’s always quiet and shaky, unsteady on its feet. Perhaps that’s one reason many perfumistas and critics don’t care for it, confusing diffidence with a lack of technical direction. Even in its final moments, when the message is clear, it feels resigned rather than resolved and resolute. Have any of you ever felt that you could’ve been someone else? Serge Lutens has. If yes, you know and understand L’Orpheline.

A super unique and very interesting-GORGEOUS Unisex-Leaning slightly masculine (On MY skin) "Chameleon" of a fragrance. L'orpheline smells really amazing! Now again, (On MY skin) the "Fougere accord" is quite prominent (IF) I over-spray, yet If I just do my normal 5 to 7 spritzes the Fougere Accord is still noticable, but much more subdued thus letting the Insence, musks and other notes shine more. Now as for the Aldehydes, unless I've just become so used to them bc of my recent OBSESSION with the note, I get ZERO aldehydes and I think the note simply adds a nice "effervescence" to L'orpheline. Now, Ive had this fragrance since 8/23/25 (bout a month) and can most definately attest to the fact that after letting some air into the bottle and just letting it "Maturate" in a cool, dark place for atleast a month, this fragrance gets more potent, longer-lasting, and the actual DNA smoothes out and becomes less linear. At first this scent didn't last more than 4 to 5 hours on my skin, yet after doing just 2 spritzes on my arm before bed last night, I could STILL smell it on my arm 8 to 9 hours later when I woke up this morning. On clothes, Fo-Get-Abouditt! A couple days easy! So if I were to offer ANY advice when purchasing this, I'd go ahaead and just let this "Mature" a tad after initially spraying some out so as to NOT waste it on Over-Spraying to try and get good longevity and therefore basically wasting it. (Ya'll know L'orpheline ain't cheap.) Also, I do suggest that Ladies DO NOT over-spray bc atleast ON MY SKIN, it leans more "Masculine" bc that Fougere Accord becomes more prominent if over-done giving it a Classic-Gentlemanly smell, again tho, if just sprayed lightly or 5-ish spritzes I honestly cant even distinguish a "Fougere Accord" bc all the other notes then stand out together and then it smells how I think its actually meant to, a PERFECTLY "Unisex Fragrance." L'orpheline has somewhat intimate to moderate projection which hangs in the air and trails more that projecting, but you'll catch nice lil' whiffs of it throughout your day (Which I LOVE) And best part is I dont seem to go nose blind to it! Now imo I feel that L'orpheline is versitle in that I can dress it up or down and is perfection for Spring, and great during Summer bc the heat really seems ro "activate" the Sillage, but Im not sure bout Fall/Winter again bc of the soft projection, but I may be wrong as I have yet to even try it during colder months... We shall see! An 8.5 outta 10 fragrance which is SUPERB in MY book! Makes an AMAZING Signature Scent for Guy and Gals!🫠. Thanks to whomever took time to read my thoughts on this AWESOME "Hidden Gem!" GRACIAS!! P.S. I know I probably did too much with iving advice on this and all, but I REALLY like this scent and it would be a shame if folks got scared off and/or didnt give L'orpheline a chance bc of the "Unisex Thing." LOL! Its a really great scent and can be had for around $60 for a 1.6 oz. Totally worth it😉

I'm getting a dry soft floral toothpaste and Incense like clean musk. Like you opened up the Incense cabinet. It's inviting, soft, and fluffy. A contradiction from what I thought I understood about this story. While I may have wanted a brooding Gothic isolated feeling with rigid boundaries against conformity. Instead I got very welcoming and comfortable feeling. I like the way this story played out more than I enjoy wearing it so far. I'm just getting into this one. The story Serge tells is hard to comprehend. They use words in a very playful way that has me using the old dictionary and thesaurus. This scent weaves the story together. The artistry from Serge in this one is what makes it so great. It's a head scratcher. Maybe it does lend to isolated reflection. It's pretty soft yet it does envelope you in a faint cloud that actually last awhile. I was disappointed at first. Maybe I just really want to like it. When I woke up still smelling that faint cloud my gears started turning. It's not a fart sniffer. But it does tell a very intelligent and emotional tale with a stoic edge. Please excuse me for trying hard on this one. I can put some words together but i seem to have forgotten most of the process. Anyway, i have wanted to get this for while. I am happy to finally experince it. I feel Serge did an irony here. Irony is one of the most profound and difficult things to capture and display in art. So i hope I'm not abusing it's use here. What a contradiction from my expectations. I thought I was going to get a story of brooding teenage angst. Instead I'm getting some well textured innocence, no anger, rage, guilt, shame, or remorse. Amazing art. It's much more than smelly water. One more thought is about the frankincense in here. It's a gummy frankincense. Light, sweet, floral, gummy frankincense. The stuff I heard about getting chewed. Upon further review it has become more distinct after the primes bloom. The smoke, frankincense, and clean soapy musk stand out more. I can detect some other familiar Serge smells also. It's gotten much more interesting. The leftover skin scent is a more familiar dry frankincense smell that I can still get a hint of after a shower. I enjoy wearing it now and look forward to more chances. I love Incense and this is unique in my collection. Much love and appreciation Now in my top 5. It's magnetic now. 10 out of 10 I absolutely love it.

*** Update*** As usual, I like to give an update as to the performance after my bottles have "Maturated" or "aged" a bit after purchase as they almost ALWAYS improve, sometimes drastically. Its a shame how some fragrances get judged when theyre brand-new and just sprayed for the first time bc its usually NOT a fair representation of how said fragrance is meant to smell/perform. Anyhow, Ive had my "Black Label bottle" for just over 3 months now and man! This beauty stays on my skin ALL FRIGGIN' DAY! If I spray just a bit before bed youd better believe Ill be able to smell it CLEARLY on my skin when I wake up into the early afternoon! Im a "Performance Whore" and wouldn't be claiming this if it weren't true! Its got soft/moderate projection and makes a perfect signature scent. A treat to wear and a STUNNING scent ---------------------'-----------------------'---------! Such an AMAZING, well crafted, unique yet somehow nostalgic fragrance! I have a few Serge Lutens fragrances and I love them all, but L'orpheline is the only full-size 3.4 oz bottle I own. The others are the 1.7oz bottles and at first I sorta regretted having blind-bought this in the full-size 3.4 oz, but now I am SO HAPPY that I went for it! One of THEE coolest aspects of L'orpheline is how the "Fougere Accord" is use. When Id first sprayed my bottle I didnt understand why they claimed it had a Fougere Accord, but it actually is VERY noticable but that's (ONLY) if ya over-spray L'orpheline way too much, then it really does smell of an Older Gentleman, but if sprayed or just "Over-sprayed" just a bit then that Fougere Accord is pretty much imperceptible. L'orpheline is completely "Unisex" maybe even leaning a bit feminine yet I can totally see it worn confidently by ANYONE. It has Soft/Moderate projection but man, once it Maturates for a month or two it really does stay on my skin like ALLL DAY LONG, which I really love about it! Plus the projection improves as well. Theres something super comforting about this scent, although some say it's "Somber or Melancholic", but I completely dissagree. I hardly ever give this high a score, but L'orpheline truley is a 10 outta 10 fragrance imo. It really is just Superb, and makes THEE PERFECT "Signature Scent" for any guy or gal! Cheers and thanks for taking the time!😉2

The scent of burning incense to spend the night alone in an old underground warehouse after losing a group on a snowy winter night. But I bought this perfume without a fragrance and I didn't feel that it was more common than I thought and I didn't feel that I should buy this perfume because I had too much expectation. But I fell in love with this perfume and I will buy it again when I use it up. I don't know if I was the only one who felt it, but I was surprised by the spiciness similar to the pepper scent sprinkled on the food at first. This spice disappeared after a few minutes, leaving only Insense and Musk. If you want more complicated and unique, I want you to find another perfume. And I've seen a lot of reviews that 'Serge Lutens' perfumes generally have a lot of likes and dislikes, especially this perfume is not recommended to buy it with a blind without tasting it, and I wondered why I only bought this perfume now. I think I've become a fan of 'Serge Lutens' from today. I'm a student living in Korea, so it would have been nice if the price was a little cheaper. One last time, if you love Insense, be sure to buy this perfume. I want to soak all the places I pass and my whole body with this perfume. I should have bought a bigger capacity from the beginning. In addition, I know that this perfume is not easy to get and expensive (at least in Korea), so I thought I should use it sparingly, so I just sprinkled it on my wrist once and tapped both wrists, but I have a dull sense of smell that can't smell very well, and even though I have dry and cold skin that smells quickly, it's been about two hours, but I can still smell the afterglow if I put my wrist to my nose. It may be a natural fact, but it's my first experience. I don't think you need to doubt the quality.

i might be totally crazy but here goes my review 😂 so this is actually nothing like i expected, it was a blind buy for me (i know i know) but it was actually a successful one. from what i read about it i thought it was gonna be a lot like passage d’enfer, cold church incense and funeral vibes, which i also like a lot, but it’s not even close. it reminds me of fir and artemisia actually, a crime it was discontinued 😭 im one of those people that feel a strong patchouli blast in the opening that gives it a cold feeling, kinda like perles de lalique that people also describe as cold for that same reason i think, but this one is not headache inducing and goes away pretty quickly to reveal the incense, musky, woody character of the perfume. the incense is not really a church one, its more of an incense stick and the combination with wood and musk, to me, reads very much like cinnamon which was crazy unexpected to me. not the gourmand cinnamon you put in lattes and cakes, but straight up cut from the tree bark cinnamon, maybe sitting in the forest still 😂 at this point i feel like l’orpheline goes from the cold opening to a warm and spicy base. i read a lot that it’s melancholic and even depressing, but i feel like it’s more nostalgic and comforting to me, the picture it paints in my brain is christmas in eastern europe, maybe that truly is depressing to some 😂 concrete communist buildings, snow outside, but on the inside the apartments are warm and lit up by christmas trees, that is what l’orpheline is to me. overall gothy and moody, but not in the way i thought, perfectly unisex and an amazing fragrance that probably fits chilly days better, super nostalgic vibe, but not actually sad.

I reviewed this one awhile back. I got more into the poetry and lore. I got a new bottle for myself and I'm very happy. I was really confused when I got this the first time. I had been reading up on Serge and this one had really grabbed my attention. It's not a somber lonely scent to me although it does fit well with meditation and reflection. Mindfulness yoga. Lol. Anyway. It's a wonderful blend that starts off like multiple grooming products in a spacious bathroom that has minimal aesthetics done in cold white marble. Smells like some bergamot and lavender is in there to go along with the mint, clove, patchouli, oak moss and of course the star of the show, sweet gummy frankincense; ends up being a classic and classy fougére barbershop aftershave type smell. The dry down is majestic. The incense shines. The most beautiful light smokey incense. Soft, fluffy, sweet, musky white petals. A little hint of gummy in the tree resins. Like the sweet chewy frankincense resins. This is a favorite of mine. There are some feminine qualities to this fragrance but I think it's a little bit more on the masculine side as it has those fougere qualities. Of course we can wear whatever we like. I'm kind of an older gym bro now who wears floral powdery girls perfume if I want. This is no challenge. There is even a hint of grey flannel in here. And I'm not talking just about the feeling. I sprayed this on after wearing Grey Flannel one day. The opening of L'orphaline and the dry down of Grey Flannel share some somber similarities. Luckily the dry down of Grey Flannel is the best part. Then L'orphaline goes on to become the most gorgeous sweet frankincense skin musk.

Smelling this... it's like being in a grey world with no colors. Everything is chrome or silver. The moon eclipses the sun, and the world is covered in a strange damp light. It's like the feeling of running after someone and always being a bit too slow, like those kinds of nightmares you have when your legs become heavy and you only can struggle against the weight unable to do anything about it. It's such a sad fragrance. There is some hint of warmth, of comfort, and it does eventually build to that. But what is that comfort? It's like warmed earth in the dead of night. The after heat of the sun. It's detached and foreign and far away from you. A fascinating fragrance, a fascinating concept. It's green, it's musky, it's a bit woody, very incense-y, something certainly with aldehydes making it bright and gleaming. Quite a bit soapy. Dusty, silvery, almost like dirt or rain... the adjectives just add up. And then it shifts into something a bit warmer and deeper, like proper church incense. It becomes woody and a bit spicy. I waver between love and like, the way it wavers between brightness and darkness. It's quite serene. I don't really love the austere start, but I love and adore it as it continues to sit and vanish into my skin becoming more amberish, more like incense, more woody, warmer and more inviting. I think it's a good rounded 8/10... on paper, I must say it's a little bit more complex and interesting than on skin. I feel mixed about it. Overall I think this is a good fragrance for musky, cool toned incense fragrance lovers. It's a very conceptual perfume, reflective, a bit sad... above all, really rather interesting.

Just finished my initial test wear and liked L'Orpheline enough to buy a full bottle at a great price. There IS something enigmatic about this somewhat austere scent profile. As almost everyone describes it, it's cold gunmetal grey, ethereal, and melancholic. And mysterious. A "rainy day scent" is apt. It's the sunset after all the crimson color has transitioned into the sad gunmetal grey's of the fading light. I keep reading of the "fougere-ish" "shaving foam" and "barbershop" associations but I don't get that at all. The Fougere is my favorite genre and I have an absolute ton of them in my collection. But L'Orpheline simply does not fit imo. And it is certainly not a "clean girl" scent. I've read that description too. While the name is a feminine gendered noun - hommage to Coco Chanel perhaps? - the scent profile is a masculine-leaning unisex, which is the same as saying its a witch's scent. There are certainly more notes than the typically austere house list of Incense and musk, although those two notes are the focus. Patchouli probably. Woods. And more. L'Orpheline is interesting. And surprisingly wearable as a singular artistic expression. But I perceive it as a perfect layering partner for a similarly gothic, mideaval, mysterious scent profile. Maybe my current Halloween scent, Dark Rebel Rider by John Varvatos. I'll try that combo. Maybe with Houbigant Patchouli Sauvage. I'll try layering with Ozzie Osborne's sig scent, Czech & Speake No. 88 Cologne too. That one is Dracula laying on a moonlit beach with a rose between his teeth, with a fruit cocktail in hand. It might work.

The two lone notes listed side by side here are musk and incense, aptly put--these emerge prominently holding hands. Something spicy and floral is going on as well, it's hard to pinpoint (clove? but perhaps I'm reading into the resinous compound). The powdery stain of the musk and haze of incense obfuscates this lingering delicacy. That incense, to my nose, is the gentle hum of myrrh, lending the impression of something vaguely ritualistic or sacred. This lacks a smoky note, the incense is clean, as unburned resins. It wears down to flowery resins and the musk dampens into dry woodiness, gracing my garments with its elegiac impression even days afterwards. Earthy, solemn, delicate, dark. The little orphan girl without a mother or father, the darkened facet of ourselves, once denied, now surging forth attaining to destiny. I had a mind to complain of the lack of dynamism wearing this, it lacks distinctive scenes. It emerges as a whole and decays the same, something delicate and precious contained in the dark. Projection is mild but it lingers on skin and fabric significantly. Not the most complex or fascinating I've smelled from Serge, but it is a simple and well executed idea. Some of his others I've smelled are like this, yes, despite his artsy lyricism they're rather simplistic, but of quality and nonetheless delightful. I've had my eye on L'orpheline, myself taken by this house after encountering Chergui and Tubereuse Criminelle, and purchased my bottle a couple months ago. A blind buy, I received precisely what I wanted. It's pensive, gothic, and hauntingly pretty.

Now finally I put my hands on this. A lot of these reviews were confusing. Like I do get what people mean by “coldness” but I don’t feel this fragrance as being sad or melancholic at all. Not bright not dark it’s just in the middle. When I first sniffed this my first thought was “oh I never thought about this” i was expecting a very cold incense and churchlike incense but it’s the opposite. More like dusty incense. I saw people here comparing it with the new Nosferatu movie. I wouldn’t say it matches with that movie. That makes me wonder how many people actually been in a centuries old castle. In a castle you have a dusty dry air smth that you know smells old. But this fragrance ? Not really on thay vibe it’s close but it lacks something. That something very crucial and important. Now I do not smell any mosc. I get the incese and I get a dusty smell not that pungent. I went to serge lutens website and I saw black papper and yes that’s where the dusty tone came from. Other people mentioned “shaving cream” while I do get that comparison a bit i wouldn’t say it’s a barbershop fragrance. Idk how to describe this. It seems simple yet so complicated. Now for the longevity since I just sprayed it on 15 mins ago I cannot say. But seeing how this smells I wouldn’t expect for more than 6-7 hours which is ok. The projection i would expect to be at best moderate for 1-2 hours and the a skin scent but I am ok with that. It wasn’t supposed to be beastmode fragrance. Interesting fragrance this is my first serge lutens. I will definitely check more of his work

The official "musk and incense" declaration is Lutens refusing to cooperate. Thanks, Uncle Serge, very helpful. The opening is this strange swirl of aldehydes and something cool and rooty that I am absolutely certain is iris/orris. It is, bafflingly, a skin scent that can suddenly project across a room. It will let you believe it has faded. It has not faded. It is right there, waiting. The drydown is cold and lonely, but not in a gloomy way. Serene is the word. The patchouli is there, slightly dirty the way patchouli sometimes insists on being, but it keeps getting overruled by what I am still calling iris, and no one can stop me. Then musk, skin-close. And then, inexplicably, licorice - which is not listed, not discussed, not acknowledged by anyone in any official capacity, and yet there it is every single time. I've stopped questioning it. Some things you just accept. What I have not accepted, and probably won't, is that this is where it ended. Not with a bang but with a hush. Everything released after is pleasant, some of it genuinely good, but pleasant is not what L'Orpheline does or what Lutens' other masterpieces do. L'Orpheline makes you nostalgic for things you have never experienced. Sad in a way that isn't desperate, isn't looking for a resolution, just quietly, with a smile aching for some unnamed place you've never been or a life you never had and somehow miss anyway.

this fragrance is my every day perfume but reading these reviews i’m shocked it gets lumped in as a fougère in any world. it may be my skin chemistry, but i’m surprised how few reviews talk about how sweet it is. it doesn’t immediately seem to have an oak moss base (at least to my nose) or a bergamot top (again, to my nose) so i can only blame the lavender. i definitely see the “lonely” vibe, but to me it is so comforting and consistent that i don’t want to disparage it by saying it’s sad— even though i know that’s kinda the point. maybe it’s just the time i’m at in my life, but l’orpheline is perfect. i am a perfume maniac with dozens of perfectly wearable bottles and still reach for this one almost every day. for the (fragrancenet) price, you really can’t beat it. it may not be reinventing the wheel completely (although i think it’s still innovative), but it’s doing a lot of things that rarely work perfectly really, really well. incense and musk are hard to balance perfectly (especially with the simplicity of the note breakdown) and im still impressed with the mastery of this composition. i’ve also seen longevity complaints, but i smell this all day. i’ve only had the bottle for like 6 months and it’s already almost gone— it’s just a perfect little frag. i will keep it in my collection as long as i possibly can.

I smelled this at the department store and it immediately hit that sad, lonely, nostalgic scent of distant chimney fires in Winter, and then nothing else. It kind of leaves you hanging. This is a perfume for people who have been disappointed by life's mundanity, dullness, and misery, and learn to anticipate it. It's anhedonia. It's pure smoke, but not in an unpleasant way. I personally imagine the austere wood of church pews, where cold light draws out the wood's coldest undertones. It's the dry skin of wind bitten fingers, and smell of dust in a dry, untouched attic. It's lonely, and characterised by apathy. It's the slow and heavy melancholy of chronic depression, rather than most people's anticipated raw aching sadness and tears. It resonates with a very deep part of me. This perfume is a manner of projecting myself, of speaking for myself to others. Also, in the department store it smelled nothing like the 'cologne' scent people are claiming, but I assume that's only IF you macerate it. Luckily, the bottle comes with both a regular round screw cap, as well as a spray. That makes it easy to get some air inside. I bought this in the Summer, so I am very very very excited to wear it in Winter. I will inevitably return to write more poetry about it.

It is much more than just incense and musk in my opinion. There is a distinct scent of pumpkin, and cold, wet autumn leaves. Not in a pumpkin spice way -- and it is not a "sugary" perfume. By the end of the day, the base notes remain pleasant and warming, smells like Kiehl's Original Musk oil. It's not like hippie scent but a way to achieve incense/musk without a hint of smokiness. Layer with other scents with musk base notes to bring out the incense notes in L'Orpheline. Personally it evokes the exact memory of fall leaves in kindergarten, the smell of a Halloween parade. There is an undertone of whiskey, and something slightly sour yet lactonic, like lingering lemon cleaning powder. This sounds like it would smell bad but it actually smells beautiful. It adds dimension to the scent, it lets it tell a story. I would describe it metaphorically as two memories overlaying each other. One memory is from childhood when everything was innocent, you made construction paper art and had no idea what the adults were going on about; the other memory is from high school when you were drunk at a Halloween party and throwing up in the bushes, longing for the days when Halloween was just costumes and you didn't know what curse words were.

delicate musk and sacred incense. a scent so personal and close to the heart. It's the relic of a soul forgotten, now fading deeper into the fleetingness of time, devolving into memory. the scent wears you, wraps around the flesh desperately and devotedly, unwilling to be forgotten, so much so that it's impossible to discern where the scent ends and the skin begins. beautiful, visceral, and haunting, despite its simplicity. a quiet stillness looms just beyond the frigid feeling of isolation and indifference. at its core, a vestigial flicker of warmth and humanness. Almost invisible, lingering unnoticed until it has departed the room, where its incorporeal essence takes shape and clings to the air like fog over a cemetery. It's something to be felt, an unnerving awareness of something not quite dead nor alive. not cold in the sense of melancholy or sadness, but of apathy and distance. This is the beauty of storytelling in perfumery. As it develops on my skin, the story unfolds, until there’s nothing left of it but the residual musk of the soul forgotten. it's more than a scent, it is spiritual alchemy; an unveiling of the cathartic transformation of matter into spirit

Writing a defense of L'orpheline after a few less-than-flattering reviews. I consider myself a connoisseur of smoky and powdery fragrances and I think this is a masterpiece. But it has to be your thing. If you don't cherish the nuances in musky and incense fragrances, you might not see the beauty. Yes some of the positive reviews (and brand marketing) are a bit overwrought - maybe inspiring a contrarian instinct in some reviewers. To me, this perfume is so moving, if I'm in an existential mood this will send me spiraling. It's got this aldehydic coldness which pushes you away but them the contemplative musk pulls you closer. I don't find it too masculine, I don't get any soap or barbershop. Brokesta911 wrote two down: "While the Musk is furry and powdery that creates contrast with the sharp and crisp Incense accord." YES. That contrast is so beautiful. I don't smell the exact notes they called out, especially not cedar which I am sensitive too, but that's the beauty of interpretation. Try this perfume on its merits. And even if you disagree with a negative review, don't vote it down. It's interesting and sparks this discussion.

Nothing could have prepared me for this fragrance. It is absolutely heavenly. It opens up, starting from a smoky, sort of dusty feel if you sniff it straight from the diffuser, but on the skin it unfurls into musk and sweet incense like a flower that doesn’t exist, coming into bloom to lament its birth or lack thereof. I’m shocked. It is powdery, neither feminine nor masculine and yet somehow not even unisex. It is religious in a way. I can’t explain it. I wouldn’t even call it spicy. There’s an old quality to it, yet a youthfulness turned uniquely sad... but would I call it sad? After a little thinking, I think my answer is yes, but not in a defeated and apathetic way. I would call it highly emotional, in a dull, painful, aching manner, cathartic and dramatic with the hands grasping the mouth of the orphan closed... it’s just such a beautiful scent. I sprayed it on my shirt on my first night of owning it and in the morning it greeted me, still there, like a ghost of a ghost begging to be allowed to haunt. I’m sure daytime wear will be different, but it hardly matters when you smell this way.

I picture myself taking a long walk in the rain, the skies grey and misty, before reaching a churchyard with a poignant Virgin Mary statue. I see an old derelict church thats been abandoned for years. I enter and can smell the dampness of my clothes, musty wooden furniture, old bibles and church incense long burned out yet it still lingers in the air. It's silent, all I can hear is the rain and my footsteps on cracked tiles. I sit on a pew, flicking through a bible thick with mould. I see an old man sitting across from me, reading a bible in silence. I light a cigarette, and slowly breathe out, closing my eyes and shutting my thoughts away for just a moment. I then slowly leave, then I return home, change into warm dry clothes and sit with a coffee, and think about the journey I had just taken. Finding beauty and solace in the mundane and melancholy. TL;DR: This is smooth, clean, grey incense smoke that calmly wraps around you like a safety blanket. I find it very meditative, haunting and strangely comforting. My rainy day fragrance. 🖤

The very opening of this juice rushes in an almost offensive waft of something medicinal - the kind of smell you remember from some weird unlabelled syrup or tincture you had to take when you were very, VERY sick as a child. God forbid you had a painful childhood, because that will instantly take you back. However... If you allow yourself to suffer for the first few moments, you will be rewarded with a cashmere-like cloud of a scent that’s both masculine and feminine, delicate yet ever-present, soothing yet highly erotic. And it feels deeply personal, like stumbling upon a diary, its pages stained with tears. I do not say this often about perfumes - just like with wine and other filthy small luxuries, it can be so tempting to get very pretentious real quick, and I refuse - but it is very clear that L’Orpheline is a cerebral experience as much as it is sensory. This truly is a work of art that was created with real intellect and intention, and it is an exquisite pleasure to experience.