Perfume Review: Chergui by Serge Lutens
August 7th, 2006
Does it ever happen to you? You own a scent, you wear it on occasion, you love it and all. Then you don’t wear it for a while, and when you finally do, it just hits you in the face with its beauty? As if saying, “Shame on you for forgetting how beautiful I am! So there, I’ll have you suffering over how perfect I work with your skin so you never feel tempted to go looking for another lover.” That’s what Chergui did to me yesterday.
Chergui refers to a hot, dry wind blowing across the desert. It was also my very first Serge Lutens and an immediate love. With the notes of sap, resins, tobacco leaf, hay sugar, musk, honey, incense, amber, iris, rose, sandalwood it smells like honeyed spicy goodness. It can be dry and smoky, and it can be soft and honeyed, completely randomly and without warning. In cold weather, it’s all bitter and spicy. In warm weather - it’s warm, intoxicatingly soft, resinous tobacco-honey elixir. I like it better in warm weather. In fact, I’ll be bold to suggest it’s meant to reveal its true beauty in warm air only, like the wind in the dessert.
Have there been any scents you’d been neglecting that you finally wore and were smitten by, all over again? Please share in your comments!
Image source: www.senteursdailleurs.com
Entry Filed under: Perfume Reviews
27 Comments Add your own
1. Elle | August 8th, 2006 at 6:06 am
Chergui truly is divine….beyond divine. But Bois et Fruits is the one I occasionally neglect and simply can’t understand how that is possible when I wear it again. I am thinking I should have my left ankle declared a BeF only zone….permanently. If possible, I’d like an invisible, but fragrant BeF tattoo (and even though invisible, heart shaped, arrow through it??) on my left ankle so that no matter what else I wear on my wrists, I will always be able to sniff my ankle and inhale my beloved BeF. Oh, and you’re right - Chergui really does come into its own in the heat of summer.
2. chaya ruchama | August 8th, 2006 at 6:22 am
I love them both-
A la Lutens, when I revisit un Santal de Mysore, I wonder why I everwear anything else…. so creamy,luscious,seductive, warm, envelopping-and anyone I come in contact with swoons…
Same with Sortilege, Parfum Sacre,Tabac Blond,Poivre Samarcande, Crepe de Chine, Mitsouko- on and on-
I don’t know how one can remain faithful to just one [unless you never smell anything else!]
Thanks for sharing your thoughts-
3. Judith | August 8th, 2006 at 7:12 am
Hmmmm. . . Well, Chergui is one I’ve been neglecting. I tend to think of it as a Fall perfume, but you’ve persuaded me to try it in warm weather. Also my Carons. . .I need to get to the Carons. ..
4. Ina | August 8th, 2006 at 8:43 am
Elle, Bois et Fruits is another one that gets neglected by me, too. LOL at the tatoo! You’re a nut.
5. Ina | August 8th, 2006 at 8:44 am
Chaya, love Santal de Mysore! But I’ve never had a chance to smell Sortilege and Crepe de Chine. I guess I should!
6. Ina | August 8th, 2006 at 8:44 am
Judith, go dig those Carons out!
7. Marina | August 8th, 2006 at 8:57 am
It does happen to meeverytime I put on Bois des Iles. It says to me, Why doth thou wear and buy other scents, when I am the most perfect one of all.
As for Chergui…this is one of those scents that SHOULD have worked for me like a charm, but they don’t. I am so sad about it. It just does not work on me, and it seemed to perfect!
8. Ina | August 8th, 2006 at 9:01 am
Ah, Bois des Iles! I keep neglecting it, too. What? Chergui didn’t work for you? You must revisit it NOW.
9. Patty | August 8th, 2006 at 9:05 am
I have so many I neglect, but I need to do Chergui before the summer fades, it really is an all-purpose stunner.
10. Ina | August 8th, 2006 at 9:15 am
Patty, do try it when it’s hot.
11. violetnoir | August 8th, 2006 at 10:30 am
Wow, Ina! Chergui in warm weather? I never imagined it could smell that good in summer, because I wear it in the winter. I may have to try that. I’ve heard that Passage d’Enfer smells good in warm weather, too. Somehow, I am unconvinced…lol!
I realized last night that I have not worn sous les buis all summer long. I need to wear it at some point this week. What was I thinking?
Hugs!
12. Ina | August 8th, 2006 at 10:37 am
Robin, YOU were the one who sent me my very first SL decant of Chergui!
Mwah! Sous le Buis is perfect for hot days! Wear it soon!
13. Tigs | August 8th, 2006 at 10:37 am
Ina, I consider it a glorious subconscious slip for you to have written “dessert” instead of “desert”, for Chergui turned out to be (sometimes) much sweeter and foody than I expected also. Some people I know hold this against it, but I think the sweetness blends beautifully with the hay and something I can only describe as a “camel poo” note.
14. Ina | August 8th, 2006 at 10:42 am
Tigs, oh my word! LOL! I totally missed it! Thank you! I totally agree with you, except I get no “camel poo” note.
But I do get the hay, yes.
15. Tom | August 8th, 2006 at 2:22 pm
Yes, I have been dreadfully neglecting Chergui, and I will correct that by wearing it tomorrow.
Sad that it’s now an exclusive- I think that may be the reason: I’m hoarding it. It’s too lovely to waste on the office.
16. Victoria | August 8th, 2006 at 2:23 pm
I was pining after my Serge Lutens this morning. I am away from home, and I am subsisting on a small portion of my collection.
BTW, I may be returning to C. very soon. I am currently making travel plans.
17. Ina | August 8th, 2006 at 3:06 pm
Tom, I feel like I should have hoarded it, too. Eep!
18. Ina | August 8th, 2006 at 3:06 pm
Vika, yay! I hope we can meet up again!
19. March | August 8th, 2006 at 3:33 pm
Chergui was my first SL purchase. Lordy, I love that stuff. Wouldn’t the world be a poorer place without it? I will have to try it out in this heat, you have made me very curious.
I forgot about my bottle of Mandragore, bumped into it the other day and had a moment … boy, that stuff smells great any old time.
20. Ina | August 8th, 2006 at 4:11 pm
March, the world would definitely not be the same without Chergui. Mandragore? Hmm… I wish it worked on me.
21. March | August 8th, 2006 at 4:33 pm
All you Mandragore-phobes … on me it is grapefruit and bergamot, period — no cat pee, nothing else awful. It’s wonderful. However, that is hardly the universal reaction!
22. chaya ruchama | August 8th, 2006 at 4:59 pm
Marchster, I’m with you-
Mandragore is lovely-it turns powdery and subtle, but everyone close enough to smell it, loves it-
I bought it for my men, too..
23. Ina | August 8th, 2006 at 7:37 pm
March, it’s wonderful on me in top notes, the drydown gets all icky.
24. Ina | August 8th, 2006 at 7:38 pm
Chaya, I’m glad it works for you, too.
25. dinazad | August 9th, 2006 at 2:35 am
Happens to me with Douce Amère. Every time. Elle - perfume on your ankles? You must be much, much younger than me… or a contortionist! LOL!
26. Ina | August 9th, 2006 at 8:15 am
Dinazad, I’ll have to revisit Douce Amere. Elle is indeed a contortionist.
27. Aromascope » Perfum&hellip | June 27th, 2007 at 9:41 pm
[…] I recall having a similar experience last summer with Chergui by Serge Lutens - it was amazing on hot days. What other perfumes do you find smell best in […]
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