Serge Lutens · 2005 · Christopher Sheldrake

Chergui

Luxury$$$$, 4 of 5
Serge Lutens asks $330 for 100 ml
50 ml$230
100 ml$330

The houseUnisex

VersionEau de Parfum

Honey-sweet hay and tobacco leaf with a veil of iris, rose and incense, sinking into amber, sandalwood and musk.

Serge Lutens says

Its description mentions Sap, Resin, Juices (elixir), Amber, Candied aromas, Honey, Musk, Incense, Tobacco leaf, Hay, Iris, Rose and Sandalwood.

The drawn Chergui bottle

Top noteswhen you spray it

Heartas it settles

Dry-downwhat stays

Chergui’s scent picture, a draft: amber, honey, musk, frankincense, tobacco, hay drawn so far; dashed outlines where nothing is drawn yet

Top noteswhen you spray it

Chergui, top notes: Frankincense, Geranium, Bergamot, Mint, Lavender

Heartas it settles

Chergui, heart: Rose, Isoeugenol (clove)

Dry-downwhat stays

Chergui, dry-down: Amber, Honey, Musk, Tobacco, Hay, Iris, Sandalwood, Cedar, Iso E Super (pencil shavings on velvet), Coumarin (new-mown hay), Vanillin (vanilla)

What’s inside it

What Serge Lutens names

HoneyMuskIncenseTobacco leafHayIrisRoseSandalwood

What the label names

31 scent ingredients on the label, familiar names first.

A label must name certain ingredients, most of them ones that can cause allergies; some houses print more. It is never the whole recipe.

5 citrus10 herbs & lavender6 florals4 woods2 sweet3 spices1 musks

Citrus5

LimoneneBergamot oilCitralalpha-TerpineneTerpinolene

Herbs & lavender10

PineneBay laurel leaf oilSpearmint oilLavender oilSclareolCamphorLinaloolLinalyl acetateCarvoneTerpineol

Florals6

Geranium oilGeraniol (rose)CitronellolFarnesolDimethyl phenethyl acetateGeranyl acetate

Woods4

SantalolCedarwood oilIso E Super (pencil shavings on velvet)Vertofix

Sweet2

Vanillin (vanilla)Coumarin (new-mown hay)

Spices3

beta-CaryophylleneEugenolIsoeugenol (clove)

Musks1

Galaxolide (musk)
10 more lines on the label, not there for the smell

Not for the smell10

AlcoholDipropylene glycolWaterAvobenzone (a UV filter)Benzyl alcoholA light stabiliserBenzyl benzoateViolet 2Yellow 5Red 4

The label, as printed on the house’s page

Our match of the notes

Shares its notes

Gold WomanAmouage · shares cashmere knit, frankincense, orris, rose and 1 more$395 for 100 ml · about the same as Chergui’s $330
Gold ManAmouage · shares cashmere knit, frankincense, orris, rose and 1 more$395 for 100 ml · about the same as Chergui’s $330
Epic 56 WomanAmouage · shares cashmere knit, frankincense, orris, rose and 1 more$550 for 100 ml

Matched by the notes each house names. A shared note is not a promise they smell alike.