Point Du Jour

I smelled this at the Palais Royal store. It has incense first and foremost, then thyme. It's pretty lovely, I want to try it on my skin. Update: I have a bottle and it's becoming a favourite.. The opening is a massive, photorealistic, bone-dry whack of thyme. Imagine the lavender of Pour Un Homme de Caron before that gives way to the softer vanilla etc, it's like that but thyme. Not really like a perfume, more of a spa aromatherapy treatment. But then, oh my god, the incense dry-down.... If you love incense perfumes as I do, check this one out. The dry down introduces just the slightest touch of something sweet, with a lovely, non-burning, churchey incense, and the delicate remnants of the thyme, and it stays like this (quite close to the skin) for much longer than I expected. So while the opening didn't make my heart skip, the dry-down does. I mean to be honest, the Lutens-Sheldrake dream duo can't really do any wrong for me, so I'm glad this didn't disappoint either. If you know the others in the line, it is instantly part of that DNA, but it's probably the most different, in terms of not being fresh aldehydes, soapy etc. Update: Today I sprayed CDG Avignon on one arm and was immediately reminded of Point du Jour, and wanted to see if the similarity was real. So I sprayed PdJ on the other arm. While the opening of the latter is herby, it quickly dries down into the incense that indeed is extremely similar to Avignon (disclaimer: I only have a sample of Avignon so haven't spent proper time with it). This isn't a bad thing in my book, and I prefer PdJ, as it performs better on my skin. ....and I just went to the "reminds me" section to put in Avignon, and voilà, it's already there, told you so lol.

Imagine crushing dry thyme, clary sage leaves, and olibanum tears with a mortar and pestle, then inhale. Thyme, with its piney facets, slightly savory, smoky, and peppery, marries beautifully with frankincense in Point du Jour, underlined with a tea-like clary sage. At one stage it feels like a cool, dusty space made of stone, meant for an ascetic to meditate. I wear it tonight as I ingested a dropper-full of kava tincture with water and as my heart decelerates and breathing is slower and intentional, Point du Jour really begins to take effect. I respond to it as if it is aromatherapy, and that concept may elude some looking for the more conventional sort of perfume, but this is no essential oil blend from a farmer's market in Vermont, this is Serge Lutens, and there is much more here. A sweet cassia cinnamon and something reminiscent of fresh eucalyptus leaves joins the incense dry down, and there is a slow and meditative outro; it feels as if the skin has been anointed.

This Lutens release is a must-have for those who love aromatic fragrances. The scent is both effervescent and meditative at the same time. The eucalyptus note is unique. The thyme is very naturalistic. However, there's nothing edible about Point du Jour (unlike the herbal, kitchen-like effect I perceive in fragrances like Pout Pourri by Santa Maria Novella). The clary sage dominates the base, softening it without ever veering into the herbal toothpaste effect. The longevity is more than decent. Considering it can be found for under 60 euros, this fragrance offers exceptional value for money and, in my opinion, is a strong contender for one of the best releases of 2024.

I find it questionable that people voted hate on this perfume. There is nothing to hate here. It is a really enjoyable, pleasurable fragrance. It is like a fresh, herby, airy version of Avingon with an emphasis on thyme. If I didn't have Avignon already I would have bought this, as I in fact prefer it over Avignon. It is an excellent offering and a true morning fragrance. 9/10

Simple, clean, zen-like aromatics at play here. If you're goal was to attract everyone with your loud aventus type DNA this is certainly not the fragrance for you. This fragrance makes you think, reflect, enjoy life for what it is. Super meditative fragrance that doesnt interrupt but let's you know it's there. Spicebombs more sophisticated older brother. 8/10

I loooooove this fragrance and would nuy iy imediately but my boyfriend hates it :( its just straight forward sage, like walking througj your little herb garden at evening sipping on a cup of sage tea. So dark yet comforting and complex. A little incensey in a sort of spiritual way, not in a headache way like it usually is for me. A 10/10

Simple lovely aromatic scent made of a combination of thyme, sage and eucalyptus with synthetic musk. The scent is calming and therapeutic and truly evokes a quiet contemplative feel. It can be worn anytime in any setting and leans slight masculine with moderate sillage and longevity. Enjoy!

100% natural smelling; not perfume-y at all. Perfect for those occasions where you want that.

As herbal as it can be! Mainly thyme and a hint of eucalyptus, Not perfumy. I love it. 8.5/10

Layer with New York Intense. You're welcome 😎

Imagine a hippy personal care brand like Desert Essence or JASON made a classic foamy white shaving cream, that’s what this smells like to me. It’s deeper and more complex than that, with a hint of incense in the background, but it’s really giving the beauty section at a health food store. In a good way. Starts off intensely herbal and mentholated but it quickly dries down to a beautifuly creamy and therapeutic skin scent. Wears really well layered over Skin Food body lotion :)

Invigorating peppery herbals. Smells like some rosemary in addition to the listed notes. Not sure if I have smelled anything more purely herbal than this. It’s almost a little culinary because of the thyme which could turn off some people. Dries down to a more floral soda like herbal if that makes sense. Distinct and pretty pure in execution, maybe a good layering tool. Like a reviewer said below it’s more like an aromatherapy spa scent by itself.

pencil shavings with ink is what I get from this one. If I have to force the idea of herbs, that's in the background. This one is on the dry and fresher side (but by no means light-weight). Easy to wear yet would not recommend blind-buy.

its smells fresh and clean but not saopy more like herb fresh and calm.

The aggressively herbal scent evokes memories of how some older apartments and saunas in the Alps smell. For me, it also leans a bit into a medicinal, apothecary-like vibe. The eucalyptus in this fragrance reminds me of traditional herbal rubbing alcohols. It feels truly unisex and very niche, but I can't imagine who could successfully pull this off or in what setting. The projection on my skin is intimate to moderate. I wouldn't blind-buy this one.

Rural, dusty and herbaceous. Clary sage is beautifully developed at the opening, the base is more about camphorous eucalyptus. Usually I love thyme, but in this composition isn't appetizing, only green. To be honest, it is enjoyable to try it, but I can't imagine I'd wear this perfume. The aesthetics and purity is perspicuous, but not likeable. --- Projection is moderate, longevity 2-3 hours. Autumn-winter season.

Serge Lutens #6 - Longing for Summer Sunday mornings Point du Jour translates to Dawn or Daybreak, and what a fitting name it is! You stretch your legs on silk linen sheets touched by a warm Sunday’s pale morning light shining through the curtains. A glass of crystal clear sparkling water sits on the bedside table, with slices of lemon in it. Its a fresh scent that doesn't feature citruses but fools you into thinking it does. Make no mistake, this is not an ordinary freshie, there's more at play here because of a camphorous side that gives off an almost vintage hue. This side of the scent made me purchase it. To me it also evokes quiet strolls around town squares and parks on Sunday summer afternoons, when most people eighter rest at home or went out in nature. Those quiet afternoons when you feel like you have the city to yourself, with only a handful of people walking their dogs or enjoying an icecream. I deliberately wear it on such ocassions. It shares the note of Eucalyptus with Parole D’eau but out of the two i much prefer Point du Jour. They are sibling perfumes that share an immaculate cleanliness, unreal quality and naturalness but Parole D’Eau is more watery green, more fragrancy, made to be worn, whilst Point du Jour is more herbal spicy but also more evocative. I've seen a lady from Russia describe it as waxy, candle-like and i'd agree with her aswell. I feel guilty because Serge Lutens fragrances turn me into a niche snob. Serge Lutens is a relatively new house in the grand scheme of things, yet his fragrances feel like they stood right beside the greats that wrote history, namely the Chanels, Guerlains, Diors, Lanvins, Molinards and the list goes on. Update: I noticed that sometimes, with more sprays, the herbal part of the scent overpowers. With gentle applications, the beautiful camphorous part is allowed to "speak" and its this part that i've fallen in love with. For me less is more with this one and i believe dabbing the perfume would work better because of this.

Cold dry loose-leaf herbal tea over incense fumes After experiencing the not so pleasant offerings of this clear bottle line up, I am incredibly impressed by how solid this one is, genuinely one of the best Lutens offerings of the last few years. The idea is similar to Encens et Lavande from the bell jar line, essentially the polar opposites to the caramel vanilla lavender Caron Pour un Homme. Think of a bundle of bone dry provincial herbs over the lightest hints of cold incense fumes. It’s pretty magical. The name ’point of dawn' is spot on, assuming it’s a late October morning where dew and frost are practically indistinguishable. Overtime the thyme and clary sage persists, bringing an interesting tea like quality. A touch of warm sweetness manifests at the very dry down resembling thyme infused honey. Abstract, evocative, unique, beautiful from start to finish. I like to wear it on chill morning runs where I need something strongly meditative but also invigorating.

Point du jour is green, and it is herbal, but forget anything of the kitchen variety. It is foremost an incense fragrance, regardless of any notes listed here. And by incense I mean that there is prominent frankincense/olibanum here that gives the composition a green, smoky and at times slightly soapy character. The herbs give it something extra, but don't make it what it is. I feel that Point du jour perfectly matches the ambiguously grey color of its juice. It's a fragment of that still, suspended moment in the day, a rainy morning, the instrospective veil of twilight.

This perfume made me laugh when I tried it on. It does smell like dry thyme, a lot of it, with dusty frankincense. Yet it's also idealized: It's somber but oddly fresh/invigorating, which the latter facet smells similar to brushing your hands against pine needles or having soap linger on your skin after a cold shower. This would make as a great unconventional summer fragrance, or a nice everyday easy wear. This is probably the first entry in this range that I'd consider buying.