After a first spray it is a pure incense. But not this holy smoky incense of Russian Orthodox Church, that surrounds you with blue sweet cloud and lifts up you spirit… This is some toxic substance, that is almost intolerable!

But I've been very brave and waited long hour for the perfume to open. After about 40 min it became softer, with some slight sweet note, and after an hour or a bit more it disappeared from my skin without leaving a memory…

Even if the aroma would be long lasting, WHERE would one wear it?…

The strangest thing–it's been a crisp, New England night and I've layered “Douce Amere” and gingercake-spice-bomb “Five O'Clock Gingebre”. Both are often super spicy-sweet; excepting “Douce Amere” with it's usual “naughty-absinthe” kick. I thought the combination would knock me on the floor before shoving my head in a spice bin. Not so–both seem to recognize eachother and as if improvising a choreography, mellow out into a soothing, clear breeze, reminiscent of that gloriously hazy, sterilized fume of “Gris Clair”. How weird is that? The Lutens' are also some of the best to reapplying throughout the day. Like maintaining a fire, the scent evolves as you throw more “fuel” on it—”Douce Amere” might smell bright and sweet upon a morning application, as it ought to, only to smell richer when an evening application is re-applied over lingering base notes. It should all be too much, but it rarely is. I anticipate finding a long term fragrance mate from this house.

http://typogabor.com/serge_lutens/

Anyway, all the French articles I've read about the scent have mentioned the fabric. It's not a theory. French is not a terribly flexible language: you cannot make it say what it doesn't, if the grammar, etc. doesn't support it, and in this case nothing else works. Serge Noire = Black Serge (the fabric – it's the same word in English). As I said, I am French (French is my mother tongue) and I understand what Serge Noire means, even if others don't.

I'm actually losing the will to live now. :-/