Serge Lutens La Dompteuse Encagee Review – Christopher Sheldrake; 2021

Another Lutens: another opportunity for me to mangle the French language. This time the word Uncle Serge has thrown into my poor jaws is ‘dompteuse’, which reportedly means ‘tamer’, as in the noun, as opposed to the comparative. I did my best to avoid saying it in episode 170 of Love At First Scent in which I reviewed the brand’s latest, La Dompteuse Encagee. You can watch the video above or by clicking on this link: Serge Lutens La Dompteuse Encagee review.

I can’t say this one has captured my imagination in quite the same way as last year’s Fils De Joie and Des Clous Pour Une Pelure did, but I find Lutens tends to be less impressive when he tries to play things quiet. There’s a brief section in La Dompteuse‘s development when it presents a tenderly beautiful sweet-wood note (shades of Lutens’ own L’Orpheline and perhaps Guerlain Heritage) that shows off the power of restraint to compelling effect. But this phase doesn’t last terribly long, and what comes afterwards is a less memorable (albeit always enjoyable) presentation of whispering white florals on musks.

Persolaise

[Serge Lutens La Dompteuse Encagee review based on a sample of eau de parfum provided by the brand in 2021.]

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