Scent Celebration

When you’re five years old 30 years seems to be a lifetime, and at 50 years old 30 years seems like it goes by in a blink of an eye. We grow; we change; we learn. The world moves on as trends come and go over the years. Books get published, songs are written and climb the charts, movies are made that can make even the toughest men cry. Thirty years ago Madonna had two number one hits in the same year, Disneyland in Paris was just created, and Serge Luten created his first niche perfume, Féminité Du Bois. Find out more about the year 1992 and the following 3o in our story Scent Celebration Here.  

Many may know the name Serge Luten; a true renaissance man. He has been deeply involved and tied to the world of beauty and fashion throughout his career from 1956 to the present. He started off in the world of hair as an apprentice hairdresser at only 14. During this time he worked in many high-end salons and participated in many photoshoots. From there he grew and shifted into the world of photography where he soared. And like a true renaissance man, he didn’t stop there.

He decided to tackle the world of makeup by teaming up with Shiseido a well-known Japanese makeup company. In his time with Shiseido, he ventured out even more dipping his toes into the art of perfumery and creating Féminité Du Bois Serge Luten’s first perfume. This revolutionary perfume brought back the idea of unisex perfume from the fifties (before all perfumes were considered unisex) and re-modernized the idea making unisex perfume popular once more.

Like many classic perfumes this one was built off the 3 stages of scent by starting with base notes, then moving to the middle notes, and finally top notes. Starting from the base upwards; Féminité Du Bois’s base scents are vanilla, sandalwood, musk, and benzoin; which will be the foundation scents for the perfume and the scents that last the longest because they soak into your skin. Serge Luten’s next step was making the middle notes that would blend well with the top and base notes. The middle notes for Féminité Du Bois are African orange, rose, ylang-ylang, ginger, violet, and clove. Finally, our mad genius picked cinnamon, plum, peach, and Virginia cedar as his top notes; which means these scents make the first impression on the entire perfume.  

Féminité Du Bois has always had a very sleek and elegant bottle design. The original concept is very much a tall bottle with Serge Luten’s signature label of a black background with the name of the perfume and of course his name. For this 30-year scent celebration, however,  Serge Luten has created a limited edition bottle of Féminité Du Bois. This limited edition bottle comes with a special art deco inspired sketch of a person filling up the left side of the bottle. On the right side is the name of the perfume and Serge Lutens name in a beautiful font.

In 30 years so much can happen as our tastes change and we are constantly chasing after the next big thing. Yet through all the different trends, Féminité Du Bois has stayed a cornerstone scent.

In 1992, do you remember that “Gravity Grave” the song by the Verve climbed the charts to number one? Or maybe getting ready to watch the Oscars with your friends back in 2016 to see Leonardo DiCaprio finally winning an Oscar for Best Actor, and you prepared yourself for the glitz and glamour with a bit of Féminité Du Bois. If you’re not one for glitz and glamour that’s no trouble because the scent is even a good choice for a cosy day in reading 2020’s bestseller A Promised Land by Barrack Obama.

In 30 years so much can change whether it’s your music taste or your fashion sense. Maybe you’ve gone from Madonna to Radiohead or you’ve moved from flare pants to skinny jeans. The ebb and flow of life forever moving forever changing but thankfully, Féminité Du Bois still stands strong as an ox in the world of not just niche perfume but of Serge Luten himself.

Find out more about the Scent and the Man Here. If you enjoyed reading Scent Celebration, why not check out Pink, Red & and Gold

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