— fragrance —

Serge Lutens Bas de Soie EDP Perfume Review

March 21, 2012

Serge Lutens Bas de Soie

Purple Flowers Week – 2012

Sometimes I feel bad for the house of Serge Lutens. People expect so much from the house. People only expect dried plums, amber and leather. If the house doesn’t make an amber fragrance then perfume lovers get their panties in a bunch. I often see Serge Lutens as the girl that develops too early and can’t wear tank tops like all of her friends but doesn’t exactly get why she can’t wear the tank top she wore 3 months ago. Serge Lutens says, “Everyone else has an iris perfume, why can’t I?” And I don’t know what to tell Serge Lutens. So, here’s Serge Lutens attempt to make a nice iris.

Bas de Soie means “silk stockings” in French. With a name like that I expected a powdery, cosmetic-like, Old Hollywood glam orris scent. Instead I get a cool iris that reminds me of late winter/early spring. People complain that this iris is too generic or that it is too complicated. People say it’s high quality. Others say it is a synthetic mess. This is the problem with iris. People have no idea what it smells like and can only compare it to other perfumes that have “iris” in their name. And I feel that price affects what they think is a good iris.

You know that Bas de Soie is an iris scent as soon as you put it on. It’s a damp, earthy iris. There’s also bitter galbanum and a dewy “springness” to the scent. The hyacinth is realistic, heady, and like a honeyed rose.  Bas de Soie smells like spring. It’s cool, dewy. The scent smells fresh, clean and floral at this stage. It verges on soapy but I don’t find it too soapy. With time, you still get iris but it’s more of a “dark” orris than what it was before. Give it more time and you get a dry, powdery orris with a very delicate hint of spice. This scent is linear and the theme is iris.

Personally, I like a powdery orris like Malle Iris Poudre. I like warmer scents. I don’t love Chanel-esque irises. Bas de Soie smells like a modern iris fragrance. And yes, it smells synthetic but not in a bad way. It smells modern; hence, easier to wear. It doesn’t smell like powder and it doesn’t smell like aftershave. It’s cold and smooth like silk stockings. But, it doesn’t really give an inviting gaze in my opinion. It seems to say “You can look but can’t touch”.

Dorothy Sebastian

Notes listed include galbanum, hyacinth, spice, iris and musk. PERFUMER – Christopher Sheldrake

I find that this scent has average projection and average to above average longevity depending on how much you apply.

Give Bas de Soie if you are looking for an iris scent or if you like perfumes like Chanel 28 La Pausa, Malle Dans Tes Bras, Le Labo Iris 39, and/or Heeley Iris de Nuit. Bas de Soie isn’t an overly powdery iris. It isn’t an overly soapy spring floral. It’s just a cool iris that reminds me of cool spring days.

The 1.7 oz bottle of Bas de Soie retails for $120 at Beautyhabit and Harrods (UK). And let me rant – I hate that I think $120 is a steal these days. With today’s ridiculous niche prices, Serge Lutens scents seem like such a deal.

Victoria’s Final EauPINION – Cold iris. I like it but I don’t know if I’ll ever purchase a bottle because Malle Iris Poudre is on my list. But, I don’t think that Bas de Soie is a mess. I think it’s good. It’s just a boring topic – iris. What can anyone do to make an iris “soliflore” interesting at this stage? And poor Serge Lutens can’t do anything but dried fruits, Godzilla white florals, or sweaty armpits or people get all huffy.

Want more reviews? Try…

Bois de Jasmin

Olfactoria’s Travels

Now Smell This

1000 Fragrances

Perfume-Smellin’ Things

Ça Fleure Bon

The Scented Salamander

Pere de Pierre 

*Sample purchased by me. Product pic from Aedes. Dorothy Sebastian pic from www.fanpix.net. Post contains affiliate links.

18 thoughts on “Serge Lutens Bas de Soie EDP Perfume Review”

    1. So, I’m not the only person that likes it, right?
      As far as comparing it to Secretions Magnifiques, I can’t. I only sniffed that scent once and it was nasty.

    1. Exactly. I’ve always wanted to the person that can wear No. 19 but I feel like I’m faking it when I do. I can wear Bas de Soie because it seems “modern”.

  3. I loooove iris, especially when it’s cold. Somehow Bas de Soie never got sampled, even though Iris Silver Mist did (ISM was more of a respect than a love for me.) I think it’s because Bas de Soie wasn’t out when I first worked my way through the irises and I got busy sampling other notes, and never came back. I’ll need to rectify that.

    1. Get ya some! If you appreciate Iris Silver Mist but don’t feel like wearing it, try Bas de Soie. It’s really an easy to wear iris.

    1. It’s difficult to be good at something, I guess. The poor line can’t branch out or they viewed as “sell outs”. If they do something familiar then well, it’s too familiar to something they’ve already done.

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