Serge Lutens
Born in Lille right in the middle of World War II, Serge Lutens has risen to be one of the greatest perfumers alive today, but that’s not his only string to his bow. He was trained as a hair stylist, but moved to Paris in 1962 to take up his love of make up and fragrances, as well as dabbling in artistic photography. He continued to juggle his two passions with remarkable success - on the makeup side fashion house Christian Dior asked him to create a range of makeup, that was released 1967 to much fanfare (lauded by the fashion house itself as “one of the most important advancements in makeup”). Serge Lutens also had an exhibition in the Guggenheim Museum of a series of photographs in 1972, and has directed a number of short films.
Serge Lutens’ love of perfume began on a visit to North Africa (where he now resides), and walking through the markets in Marrakech, and their unique smells. One such smell was souk, where the 26 year old Lutens vowed to recreate. Thus became his lifelong love of fragrances.
Serge Lutens formed the brand Parfums-Beaute Serge Lutens, on which to launch his range of perfumes, which is wholly owned by a Japanese cosmetics manufacturer Shiseido. He agreed to work for it if Shiseido started manufacturing perfumes, to which the conglomerate agreed. A boutique in Paris was set up by Shiseido called “Les Salons du Palais Royal”, a veritable treasure trove of fragrances. Parfums-Beaute Serge Lutens has released 34 fragrances, but only 16 are available outside of his boutique in Paris. This has helped added to the mistyque of Les Salons du Palais Royal, and the boutique has become almost a pilgramage destination for perfume lovers worldwide.
