Cèdre - floral and woody and gorgeous

Photo: perfumeniche

The first time I smelled Cèdre was from the bottle I owned. It wasn’t a blind buy; it was a gift from a very generous friend who thought I would like it. 

You have to admit, it’s kind of gutsy to buy someone a fragrance they’ve never smelled before. I mean, as well as you think you may know someone or love someone, scent is very intimate. What you like the smell of might not be what they like to smell on themselves. This is really what sampling is for; it’s an inexpensive way for people to discover what scents they like. Gifting someone scent samples can save wasted money on blind buys. But my friend just rolled the dice. So how lucky was she? How predictable am I?

Launched in 2005,Cèdre was created by Christopher Sheldrake for Serge Lutens and is marketed as unisex. So far, so good. My friend, who knows me well, knows my partiality to Serge Lutens, my love of cedar.

A gift like this should be savoured, so I waited for the right time to give it the time it deserved. End of the day, chores done, quiet, uninterrupted time to myself.– no distractions, no demands, just time to experience. Spritz, spritz, spritz…both wrists. I always like to be generous with that first try. It’s hard to get a read on a meager dab. I like to smell it, feel it, see it on my skin so I can get to know it. 

Well, the first whiff was a real corker. Instead of the hit of cedar I was expecting, I got the camphor/menthol notes of Tubéreuse Criminelle, not a blast of it, but just enough to make you think ‘That’s weird’ and look at the label on the bottle again. No mistake, it says Cèdre. By the time you turn your attention back to sniffin’ the camphor/menthol phase has softened and indolic, fleshy, rich tuberose starts to bloom against a backdrop of cedar. The cool, dry, woody cedar balances the tuberose beautifully. Clove and cinnamon add spicy warmth to the mix, while amber at the base gives it a sweetness that is just right on me. Musk gives it smooth finish that mellows beautifully. Oh, oh, oh!

But is Cèdre really the best name for this fragrance? Well, first of all, I don’t name ‘em, I just smell ‘em, but if you were to buy this EDP thinking you were getting a full on cedar scent, a walk in the conifer woods, a hint of Christmas, you would be buying a bottle of disappointment. Cedar is there the whole time, make no mistake, mostly in the background at first, balancing the tuberose, highlighting and playing off its rich fleshiness, showing up a little stronger later on, but on me, tuberose is the most pronounced note beginning to end. Name aside, is Cèdre full bottle worthy? Absolutely. Its capital 'G' gorgeous and I've developed quite a weekness for it. Personally, I think this should be called ‘Kryptonite’. 

Did I tell you my friend was a carpenter? Yep, she cause nailed this one. She knows I love tuberose and cedar, so I’d say luck had nothing to do with this gift, she just knows me.

Check out Cèdre in our Shop.