Serge Lutens Collection Noire x 9

We won’t lie. The French perfumer’s unisex fragrances are not easy to understand, and sometimes not easy to like.

Portrait of Tammy Strobel

We won’t lie. The French perfumer’s unisex fragrances are not easy to understand, and sometimes not easy to like. They can swing from surprisingly pleasant or complex and strange to what-was-he-thinking weird. That hasn’t made his products (a commercial line, below, and a super-exclusive one) any less desirable – the 75-year-old guy has a cult following. How do we know? He has upsized h is 16 best-selling EDPs from 50ml to 100ml, because his fans said so.

Here are the nine we prefer. $280 each, Escentials. Each bottle comes with an additional spray nozzle. – SW

Spicysmoky-
woody.
Smells like
Old Spice.
Spicysmoky- woody. Smells like Old Spice.
Mostly
smoky (from
tobacco) and
slightly sweet
(from honey).
Mostly smoky (from tobacco) and slightly sweet (from honey).
Serge
Lutens first
created this heavy
fruity-woody scent for
Shiseido in 1992.
He added it to his
line in 2009, and it
remains his global
bestseller.
Serge Lutens first created this heavy fruity-woody scent for Shiseido in 1992. He added it to his line in 2009, and it remains his global bestseller.
Clean
linen-ish
with a
synthetic
kick.
Clean linen-ish with a synthetic kick.
This
one is a
super-normal,
sophisticated,
fruity floral.
This one is a super-normal, sophisticated, fruity floral.
Bitter
grass –
but not
piercing.
Bitter grass – but not piercing.
This
herbalsmelling
rose is the
bestseller in
Singapore.
This herbalsmelling rose is the bestseller in Singapore.
It’s not
just orangey;
it’s smoky
orangey.
It’s not just orangey; it’s smoky orangey.
It’s
like vanilla
ice cream
with coconut
essence.
It’s like vanilla ice cream with coconut essence.