For about the last year Serge Lutens has been experiencing with the idea of perfume that doesn’t smell like perfume, the anti-perfume. This was always going to be an interesting direction for a perfumer who was known for Perfume with a capital P. The three anti-perfumes; Nuit de Cellophane, L’Eau, and Bas de Soie were scattershot at best to me. I liked Bas de Soie and Nuit de Cellophane but actively disliked the most anti of the anti-perfumes L’Eau. As each new release came out I found myself wanting the anti-perfumer to take a break and the perfumer to return. Thanks to the early reviews on Grain de Musc and Bois de Jasmin I had early warning that Serge Lutens had returned to form. Once I received my decant of Boxeuses the early reviews were right the Perfumer, with a capital P, was back in the House.

 

Boxeuses  translates to “female boxers” and this turns out to be a very apt name because the central accord in Boxeuses and the only named one in the press materials is leather. Boxeuses jabs away like the best boxers, female or otherwise, as it has one of the best leather accords I’ve encountered in years. In a line known for its leather entries I think Boxeuses is the best leather in the Serge Lutens Line. Ever since I first smelled it I haven’t been able to go a day without a spritz of it.

 

The first jab is a full shot of leather right to the nose. This leather accord is exquisite and as both Denyse and Victoria have commented previously very like Chanel Cuir de Russie but then, what is becoming a trademark of the best Serge Lutens perfumes, an intense dark fruit note arrives to go with the leather accord. I think each wearer of Boxeuses is going to identify it slightly differently as the ionones and damascones joining the leather will come off slightly different. Denyse and Victoria had different experiences and it looks like mine is also different but closest to Denyse’s. I get what I would identify as a rich date accord pungent and candied slightly sweet with a fruity intensity. It is that intensity that we all agree on and I think that might be the brilliance of Boxeuses. Every wearer will experience the rich Russian Leather similarly but as the leather mellows it will almost become a fragrant Rohrschach test to see which fruit appears in the boxing glove. The one thing I am sure of is everyone who loves leather and dark fruit is going to find Boxeuses their kind of perfume, with a capital P.

 

Boxeuses has excellent longevity and above average sillage.

In the Dog Days of August before the first new fall releases begin to arrive I think most perfumistas go through a momentary bout of despair. Then like magic the new fall releases begin to arrive and our fascination with fragrance is re-kindled. In a fall of some excellent releases already, Boxeuses was the spark that set my perfumed desire blazing again.

Disclosure: This review was based on a decant purchased from The Perfumed Court.

-Mark Behnke, Managing Editor