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· January 12, 2008 4:46 PM by
Audrey_H
· January 12, 2008 5:51 PM by
Dain
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Beauty Notes: Serge Lutens Tubéreuse Criminelle Review
Beauty Notes: Serge Lutens Tubéreuse Criminelle Review
Posted by Dain, Saturday, January 12, 2008 4:23 AM (Eastern)
Here is Titian's Venus of Urbino, which strikes me as the epitome of Italian style: wordly and sensual, a showier and more substantial sort of grace than the charm of the French or English schools. Only the Italians, looking back on the greatest decadence in Western culture, the Roman empire, could have coined the term Renaissance. I am more inclined to the saltier flavor of the Northern period (coming next), but not to give the Italians their due would be sore neglect on my part.
There is a sort of deliberate heaviness to this portrait, a profane elegance, if you will, that struck me as well suited to pair with Tubéreuse Criminelle. In spite of the meticulously painted background (a signature of Titian), drawn from observation not memory, this is quite obviously a nude, and by the look in her eye, not a very chaste one.
I could hardly claim to have smelled all of them, but in my mind this is the undisputed tuberose soliflore, my favorite floral. Only jasmine can match its extreme feminine sexuality, but tuberose is earthier and sweeter, no coy sense of delicacy at all. Or, at least, that is rather how I prefer it—not for me is Frédéric Malle Carnal Flower, Robert Piguet Fracas, either of the L'Artisans, or Chanel Gardénia—all of which are too sheer or too precious for my taste. I like them lush and narcotic and fairly straightforward: incense-laced Michael Kors and buttery Creed Tubereuse Indiana, and of course there are many I have yet to experience. As others have noted, as a sort of caveat, there is a slightly alienating mentholated blast before settling into the most glorious, true-to-nature tuberose you can imagine. Think of it as a great kiss, the kind that makes you dizzily euphoric, with the lingering memory of an after-dinner mint in his mouth.
I did a little botanical research, and apparently tuberose is in the lily family, so my associating TC with Un Lys, it seems, was not that far off.
Labels: perfume reviews, serge lutens
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January 12, 2008 4:46 PM,
Ah.. another classic. I highly recommend going to Uffizi (Florence) - Titian's Venus is stunning.
Go early in the morning though, to avoid a billion tourists with cameras. They annoy me.
January 12, 2008 5:51 PM,
Classics for classics. ; )
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