Review: Bas de Soie by Serge Lutens

This is it--my perfect hyacinth. I love hyacinths so much. They are fairly rare where I live, so when I encounter them in bloom, I absolutely have to stop and sniff. The actual flower smells green and spicy at the same time. Hyacinth perfumes can be really sharp. Piercing. Painful. Headache-inducing. But Bas de Soie is smooth and clean. Perfectly crisp, spicy, fresh and dewy but also contains a base that seems slightly soapy/musky.

As a reference point, Bas de Soie smells like a modern, simplified version of Chanel No.19 (specifically the EdT, one of my favorite Chanels ever), with it's powder/hyacinth/iris/galbanum combo--the exact combo that makes No.19 so special.
When I smell Bas de Soie, I am transported to a garden in London in the winter. The scent is like cold rain puddles building up in a flower bed.
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From where I stand, this is one of those rare perfumes that has an ange-ou-demon complex. While it is clean, oddly sweet, and seems innocent enough, as it wears I start to feel it gives an aura of feminine sensuality that kind of makes one turn their head and say, "Wait a minute--I thought you were innocent?" It's subtle, but I am pretty sure this perfume has a poker face.

Perfumes such as Bas de Soie, ones that make me contemplate them deeply, are the ones I consider to be masterpieces. It was immediately full bottle worthy for me.

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