Serge Lutens Point Du Jour, Penhaligon’s The Dandy, Akro Smile and other reviews – 2024

Given that Love At First Scent has been off the air for several weeks, it was perhaps appropriate that the first post-summer review was of a scent inspired by daybreak: the brand new Serge Lutens Point Du Jour, composed, as ever, by Christopher Sheldrake. A decidedly more nocturnal affair followed in the form of Penhaligon’s The Dandy (Fabrice Pellegrin), bridged by the mid-afternoon contentment of Akro Smile (Olivier Cresp). Finally, I shared a few of the vintage finds I made during my recent travels, including a Chanel Egoiste in sublime condition. Here are links to all the videos, followed by further thoughts on some of the scents: Serge Lutens Point Du Jour review — Penhaligon’s The Dandy review — Akro Smile review — vintage Chanel No. 19 edp, Chanel Egoiste and Montana Homme reviews.

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The curious, sour-fruity booziness at the start of The Dandy is suitably eccentric and bodes well for the scent’s development, but unfortunately, after the first act, Penhaligon’s latest becomes a fairly simplistic wood affair. Turns out that underneath all his quirky finery, this particular dandy’s underpants come from M&S.

Smile proves that Cresp can make any perfume genre worthy of interest. In this case, navigating the territory between CK One and his own D&G Light Blue, he works with the familiar structure of citrus-herb-fruit-musk to display his ability to balance contrasting elements with admirable finesse, never allowing any facet to dominate. It may not re-invent the scented wheel, but Smile is never less than convincing and yes, it does chase the gloom away.

Equally optimistic, albeit in an entirely different manner, is Serge Lutens Point Du Jour. Sadly, nowadays, we don’t often find mainstream brands embracing parched, dry notes, but that’s precisely what Sheldrake has done here, using what appears to be little more than eucalyptus, thyme and sage to conjure a high-summer Provencal morning, complete with cicadas, mountain vistas and twigs crackling underfoot. What it lacks in longevity it more than makes up for with character and evocativeness.

Finally, I spent a good deal of video number 4 pondering the curious state of perfumeries in certain, off-the-beaten-track Italian towns. If anyone could explain to me why many of them appear to have an overabundance of stock from the 1990s and the early 2000s, I’d be most grateful. Whatever the reason, they yielded the treasures I featured in the broadcast: an edp of Chanel No. 19, the aforementioned Egoiste and a Montana Homme. With the help of a few audience members, I’ve discovered that my bottle of the latter could be either the original Edouard Flechier composition or the Olivier Cresp version that was released a few years later. My own investigations haven’t enabled me to work out which it is, but I’m not complaining: it’s a lemony-spicy delight, full of the suave complexities that masculine scents weren’t afraid to display in that era.

And as for the Egoiste — well, the main thing I’ll say is that I feel incredibly fortunate to have found it. The current iteration is entirely recognisable as Egoiste — that slightly off-kilter candied fruit accord over sandalwood — and is indisputably pleasant and wearable. But moving from it to my vintage bottle feels like flicking from mono to stereo. Thanks mainly to the quality of the sandalwood, the entire composition appears to open up, filling the space around it with that distinctive mix of vulnerability and brashness. Egotism has never been so seductive.

Persolaise

[Review samples of the Penhaligon’s and the Akro were provided by the brands in 2024; the remainder were obtained by me.]

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