Douce Amere Serge Lutens for women

This is a nice, woody scent that starts a little too sweet on my skin but after a while the sweetness seems not so overwhelming. It's elegant and comforting and feminine without trying too much. It's a perfume for every day and every season that won't ever offend anyone. At the same time, I find it a bit boring. Not too comfy for my tastes -I prefer stronger, 'rounder' scents like amber and vanilla (this is vanillic rather than vanilla to me) or cocoa for this role- not too fresh or spicy, just a bit of everything. Also, I don't get the absinthe as others do; I adore Fou d'absinthe by LAP and this is nothing like it.

I'd probably wear it once in a while if I somehow found myself a bottle of this, but I can't see myself stretching my budget's limits to get it. Lasting power though is great, 10 hours and counting.

Sensual, sexy yet innocent, warm and elegant.
In a word: feminine.

Have you a parfume you like to smell but not to wear? This is for me douce amere. Too dusty and dirty on my skin. It doesn't make me feel feminine and sexy. It doesn't protect me. It doesn't change me. And this is exactly what I ask a parfume: seduce me, protect me, change my mood. Anyway I understand it's a beautiful scent with a great idea: mixing bitter and sweet notes.

A fresh Oriental constructed on the absinthe scent. Absinthe gives the perfume its fresh top notes; anise sustains it throughout, and cinnamon melds with marigold, which lends a subtle candied note. With additional notes of jasmine, lily, vanilla, musk, and cedar.

A wonderful sensual scent which would work well either for summer evenings or winter. If you like Arabie but find it just too much, try Douce Amere. It has that definate 'Lutens' base of spice and is overlaid with a very Shalimar like oriental of vanilla with a light anise like freshness which keeps it bright and herbal, rather than really plush. I really like this, but will probably stick to Shalimar as the budget won't stretch to owning several slightly similar fragrances!

Oh this is nice and unlike anything else. I'm anticipating a new grandbaby, and this will be my new indulgence to wear around the baby. This to me is a comfort gourmand scent. Not unlike vanilla rice pudding with brown sugar and spices. This doesn't have to shout to be nice and noticed.

A very sensual( and now rare) interpretation of absinthe, in a very subtle manner. While it does not scream "Fee Verte", it is somehow similar to a vanilla white floral, but it gets some absinth-green aspects that remain throughout the entire stage of the perfume,
even in the drydown. It is an oriental perfume, and, for sure, unisex( officially by Serge Lutens ). Unfortunately, it will be added to the exclusive line. I mananged to buy one bottle at the printemps store in Paris for 79 Euros.

I found this one very strange when I first tried it, but it grew on me and became one of my all time favourites. It's a unique fragrance in my experience.

Wow, I see the notes above. From the sample I got, it smelled nothing like that. It was coconutty and minty. I almost smelled marshmallow with a hint of licorice. After a while, it got powdery, but I could still smell a hint of coconut. It really dries down to a spicy vanilla without coconut/licorice.

Intoxicating and spellbounding on a first whiff, if you smells it from the bottle, seems compact, but after first spray, it scatters in the air, so you can enjoy in wonderfull mix of bitter - sweet harmony of natural vanilla and absinth. I sad harmony, because isn't too sweet, and isn't too bitter, / in opening something smells like bitter almond in combination with airy vanilla /.
Far from gourmand or loud scent. Like a
voile that slides around you, and you want to catch it,but you couldn't.
But after very short time becomes quiet and just settled down on your skin.

At first sniff, I do get the pollen-like effect mentioned in the description – a lightly sweet, somewhat powdery scent with a bit of a dry herbal quality. This floats atop the aroma of a blooming white flower (I pick up jasmine mostly). The white flower scent is definately present, yet somehow softened, almost as if it were bleached by the sun.

As the perfume dries down, it develops more of a gourmand character. The sunny floral /herbal smell remains, but is now dusted with flakes of creamy chocolate just starting to melt in the warm air. The cinnamon and anise are not easily detectable to me, but do lend a delicate spiciness to the mix.

This fragrance is so well blended that none of the notes take over, but rather combine to form something unique and lovely. Why is this being discontinued?

i ordered a little miniature bottle few days ago... cant wait to get it and at the same time hope it will be really smth special and "ME"! have never tried Lutens before and since i am living now in New Zealand it's impossible thing to do!!:(((( heeeey, NZ, maybe someone knows a good shop with rare fragrances??hard to believe it is soooo boring!!!!!!!!

Surprise! On opening the sample vial, the first thing I smelled was lots of sandalwood, not what I thought an absinthe-inspired fragrance should smell like. Within seconds, however, the anise came through loud and clear, like pure ouzo being drunk from a sandalwood cup. There’s something dry and herbal along with the wood and anise, presumably the artemesia that one would think should be a prominent note, and just a little hint of flowers. I like the fact that the cinnamon doesn’t overpower the anise, but instead blends perfectly with it. Wow! Once this develops it is unique and marvellous.

After a few hours it dries down into a mostly woody scent with notes of sandalwood and cedar, nice in its own right. Later, the vanilla becomes prominent, and for the last several hours it is a sweet and almost ambery skin scent. It’s a lovely sequence of very different perfumes, three for the price of one. Sillage is good, and the scent lasts all day in one form or another.

I read that Douce Amere being discontinued - why, oh why, when it’s one of the best SL creations?

The opening is vibrant. There is Absinthe listed on my card from Serge Lutens, not listed above in the notes. In the opening, the Absinthe comes through like licorice, a spicy anise, with a cutting dryness.

The Vanilla peeks out, but awaits in the background, letting the florals burst and bloom and play out. I cannot individually distinguish the floral notes, but they are a pungent bouquet.

The dry down comes too quickly for me, but it's such a beautiful mix of spirited Cinnamon, creamy, gourmand Vanilla, and very light Absinthe remains. The dry down has lasted for many hours now.

This is an artistic, lucious, luxurious, inspiring scent. One might use it daily to exeperience the best sensations in life at all times, or, use it only with the finest black velvet dress for special nights, to savour it slowly.

An exquisite blend of greens, marigold, anise and dusty cocoa; it opens on a teasing, citrus burst of lime and mint, with a slightly bitter anisette tartness that could only be the wormwood impression, delivered up with a knowing wink. It then deepens into a spicer, dry-reediness---like crunchy marigold greens dried from a summer's day---against fresher, sweeter, velvety, marigold tabs. Here, a hypnotic oud-like fume arises, giving the impression of deep woods trickled over with playful, syrupy intoxication; polished, green stones skimming across the surface--the anise freshness flickers and dances over a powdery-peppery-tart, slightly bitter marigold before being dusted-over with a deep, dark cocoa. Dense, plummy and figgy dried fruits pack against eachother in a vat of citrusy, bitter liquor. The cocoa warms a bit and liquifies into a cinnamony hot-cocoa drink, with a side of sugared dates and dried currants; it's late evening at a winter party and your wilted floral corsage pinned against whispering, black velvet gives-off hints of peppery-green floral oiliness. Clink glasses of wassail spiked with absinthe, you naughty revelers--and "Cheers" to a New Year!

Douce Amere is quite unique, in the beginning as if it is not clear in which direction to develop, whether bitter or sweet (or vice versa) after a while you are lost in magic.I was amazed, I had to have it. I did not know even if I wore it, is not oriental, not spicy or citrus, and neither woody nor chypre. I have not felt so strange smell,tiare flower can be discerned, cinnamon is interesting, but I had the impression that there must be something more not mentioned, a closely guarded secret, endless and somewhat fragile.
Attracting and repelling me, as I'm not sure do I like it or not. I love to wear it,though rarely,but then really enjoys. If there was a group of floral-spicy, it was a Douce Amere - totally different from anything I tried, so unusual...for ladies somewhere in Paris a hundred years ago, but the fragrance is just as inspiring today (only not dressed in jeans).Although the fragrance came out recently(2002.) it's intriguing as it has a long history. You can not say that it is sweet, because there is bitterness in it or some bitter sweetness. Perfume, which has an unusually beautiful scented trail close to the skin.And lasts for hours!

Says here it's got an Absinthe (read: anise) base, with cinnamon, tiare (what the hell is THAT?), jasmine, and lily. Hey, urban Americans (apologies to others): Ever spend time in your city's little Italy? Most first generation Italian - Americans came from the south or Sicily, where they go gaga for anise and fennel. Ever walk into an Italian bakery and smell the anise cookies, straight out of the oven? Ol' Serge (bet he'd hate to hear himself called that) and his buddy Sheldrake have nailed that scent dead on, mounting it on top of that signature Lutens base that's his own personal Guerlinade. This one is scrumptiously edible, and it's probably the ideal perfume to wear when your'e going out ot a nice Italian restaurant. Highly recommended. Of course, I AM a cook...

I've never met a fragrance which fits its name so perfectly like this.
Douce Amere. Bittersweet.

My first experience with it tested on my wrist has been rather disappointing so in this light I was not prepared for the loveliness of Douce Amere, but being a hot sunny day today I craved for a refreshing scent so I gave it a second chance.

The choice was just perfect. Bitter and sweet notes blended beautifully, none of them tried to dominate. Soon after the first sniff I envisioned ouzo.
Ouzo is an anise flavoured spirit (optionally added other flavorings, such as star anise, coriander, cloves, and cinnamon) traditionally known in Greece (and Albania as I know from a friend). It does not change drastically on the skin, this note never really fades made the scent so lively throghout the day. The sweetness is presented by flowers but I am unable to identify them although I'm fairly sure that I can't smell jasmine which is one of my favourite notes.

The tenacity is exceptional - with a lovely sillage - considering that I sprayed it at 5am and 12 hours later I can still smell it in full bloom.

(I have to admit that I could seen Douce Amere to tend annoying when the wheather warms up because of the toothpaste-like freshness.
Nevertheless, I would definitely want a bottle for the hot summer days.)

I have regret my last review a little. I do love Douce Amere, but it´s a soft, laidback and quiet kind of love. Some perfumes from SL keep growing on me, it can take some months to realise that I really cant live without them, Douce Amere is one of these perfumes.

Longlasting, beautiful, soft, mature and extremly caressing. I am feeling totally comfortable when I wear this.

Last time I tried this I was so taken aback by the soft scent-texture,I missed some of the intricacies of the top notes. Now I have my own tester it's a different story! The flowers rest tenderly underneath this strange spell of cream and absinthe and lilies. There is this peculiar sense of artemisia very gently sweetened, a soft airy quality. My partner dismisses it as aniseed, but just for once I may have to buy irrespective of his opinion. This is elegant and unusual, whilst being easy for everyday wear - how often can one say that about a Serge Lutens fragrance?

Douce Amere smells herbal, bitterly and simultaneously sweetly. It have ideally proportions, is very interesting, however, has too heavy structure, as if it create perfumer of sculptor built, but not, , for example, jeweler. Too heavy smell, imo, for take away by woman, probably, that she is strong as antique Kariatyda.

Very nice. Like it a lot, but not really love tough. On me it smells very dry, herbal and a bit of hay... reminds me a lot of the north swedish countryside in the late summer, when the flowers have overbloomed and the hay is ready to been cut off (don´t know what it is called in english!?) Underneath the surface of dry herbs and hay there is something soft and lush lingering... like the next summers flowers waiting to bloom again...

Absolutly worth trying, nice non-offending, good stayingpower and with quite much personality...

Unusual indeed. Gives you a sensation of both cold and warmth at the same time. Very different.

I find that it can work for men but I wore it for a while and at firs it seemed to be ok but after a while it just didn't smell too good on my skin. I've let friends try it and it smells diff on them - so, I can't use it any longer! It's practically full - anyone want to trade it for something else?

This was my absolute favorite Serge Lutens I tried. It's incredible, not heavy, but not at all light. Very noticeable and great mix. Again, it turned out different on my skin. The man behind the counter sprayed it all over himself (he said it's his favorite) and it smelled perfect on him. It's not masculine, it is very much for a woman. Nice notes of jasmine and cinnamon. Alluring and elegant.