Miller Harris L’Air de Rien is a bespoke perfume by fashion icon Jane Birkin. And Jane wanted this to smell like dusty libraries. Instead of libraries, I think of Jane’s influential Hermès Birkin bag. This scent is soft, supple with the feel of luxury leather.
L’Air de Rien may remind me of luxury bags, but this scent is more than a “soft leather”. It’s surprisingly animalic but in a really sexy way, like in a way that genuinely pertains to sex. It has a certain “clean crotch” accord thing going on that is sweaty yet powdery. I used to think of L’Air de Rien as like a horse barn amber. It’s nutty hay and honeyed amber. But, sometimes I wear it and think of a pair of silk panties that were once stored in a lovely lingerie drawer with a powdery sachet…except the panties have been worn and instead of being in a drawer are now on the floor. L’Air de Rein wears as a powdery musk and hay-like amber. The white floral in this reads as both hay-like and slightly indolic. It’s softened by a supple leather, sweet musk and a balsamic amber. And some boho incense lingering in the background.
Don’t ask how, but I’ve sniffed antique deer musk before. And it’s glorious. Oddly enough, most of L’Air de Rein reminds me of antique deer musk – nutty, slightly floral, powdery and well, musky. L’Air de Rien is one of those ultimate skin scents, a skin musk. It wears close, has warmth and smells like bare skin.
Notes listed include French oak moss, Tunisian neroli, sweet musk, amber, patchouli and vanilla. Launched 2006.
Give L’Air de Rein a try if you like musks or ambers. Or if you like perfumes like Parfums d’Empire Musc Tonkin, Serge Lutens Daim Blonde, Guerlain Cuir Beluga, Bottega Veneta and/or Mona di Orio Le’s Nombres d’Or Musc.
L’Air de Rein wears closely to the skin. Projection is above average.
The 1.7 oz retails for £65 at Miller Harris.
Victoria’s Final EauPINION – A lived-in musk; an amazing “skin scent”. I really can’t complain about a perfume that reminds me of luxury leather goods, silk panties, horse barns and antique musk.
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You’ve made this sound incredibly sexy, despite the fact I don’t generally care for musky or powdery scents you’ve made me want to try this! 🙂
It’s worth a try if you ever stumble across it 🙂
I think this perfume has probably caused more of a stir, over the years, than any other animalic perfume, with maybe the exception of SL Muscs Koublai Khan. (Caused a stir on the Internet perfume blogs and forums, I should say). With good reason, too, as it really does live up to its muse (even if its muse wanted it to be about libraries) – and your lovely, intimate and slightly risqué review makes that clear.
Thanks for the link! (And I won’t ask you where you smelled antique deer musk, though you do have me curious.)
I agree! It’s one of those musks that keeps us talking.
This is one of my all-time favorite perfumes! I even briefly considered making it my signature scent (except I could never really only wear one scent). I forget how I initially found out about it, but once I tried it, it just felt/smelled familiar. Great review!
It’s a really great perfume that I think “adapts” to wearers, like it can change (usually in a good way) to someone’s body chemistry. Oh, and I also just noticed that there is a candle in this scent 😉
I really like this one too! I personally like a bit of funk in my perfumes so I find it very sexy.
I don’t usually use “sexy” as a descriptor for perfumes but I think this one is sexy 🙂
Loved your review and I know this one is talked about a lot and is on the try list. I’m not sure that I’m a total musk lover yet though but I like quite a few of the perfumes you listed beneath so here’s hoping.
It has some skankiness but I don’t think it’s totally overwhelming (in comparison to other dirty musks). There’s enough “prettiness” there too that makes it soft and comforting (yet still sexy). It’s worth sampling if you can get your hands on it. I’m trying to talk myself out of buying the candle, lol.
Thank you for sharing the article. I’d love to try it. Hope to hear more from you.
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