Fleurs de Citronnier

Notes: lemon blossom, neroli essence, tuberose, musk

Serge Luten's Fleurs de Citronnier starts out with a big hit of orange blossom followed by a wave of musk that smothers the floral notes like a big old wet blanket. There's some tuberose in there, valiantly attempting to throw off the suffocating musk, but it's not quite successful.

It's as if one took a summer's day and buried it underground. The "ground" in this case is actually several layers of glass bottles filled with musk-scented oils.  If you look down through the layers of bottles, you can almost catch a glimpse of the flowers and sunshine, but it's more than a bit obscured.

Fleurs de Citronnier is obnoxiously musky, in other words. Not necessarily a bad thing for musk lovers. Although the notes seem summery, the fragrance is way too rich and honeyed (and have I mentioned musky?) to wear in the heat of summer, but it's perfect for those chilly days of Spring, and the occasional cold Fall or Winter day when you wish the weather was warmer than it is. I actually like it (being a musk fan) and several hours into the dry down, I love it.