Our take
What does Jeux de Peau smell like?
Serge Lutens previewed Jeux de Peau at the Palais-Royal on 1 February 2011, ahead of a March release. Christopher Sheldrake composed it, and the house was clear about the idea: bread straight out of the oven. The opening pairs warm milk with licorice. Candied apricot follows right away. Osmanthus, which smells of apricot and soft leather itself, pushes that dried fruit effect further. Immortelle brings its maple syrup and hay tone along with a few spices. The base is where things get loud. Toasted notes border on burnt, sitting over creamy sandalwood with a little incense and labdanum. On skin it reads like an apricot tart left in the oven a minute too long. It is less resinous than Ambre Sultan from the same house and leans on crumb and caramel rather than herbs and amber.
When to wear it
Save it for cold days and spray it on a wool sweater or the inside of a wrist. One spray is plenty, because the toasted notes fill a closed room fast.
It belongs to the Woody, Gourmand family. Jeux de Peau is one of 31 creations by Serge Lutens in our encyclopedia.
