La Dompteuse Encagée
Serge Lutens (2021)

Reminds me of warm nights in India when the intoxicating smell of Frangipani blooms drifts in from the dark, bringing sweet dreams...

The Caged Tamer is an odd and intriguing image. Someone with a great deal of discipline, control, and bravery, capable of controlling big and dangerous beasts, has been put in a cage. Does this mean that someone who is already steady and under control will present as even more restrained? What you smell certainly seems to suggest so.

Frangipani and ylang ylang, certainly not typically known for their restraint, are kept very timid and docile. Frangipani comes through with its qualities of gardenia, cream, and peachy tropical sweetness. The ylang ylang is also as it usually is, starchy and banana-like yellow floral. All of this peaches and bananas and cream make for a pretty sweet perfume, but naturalistically so, not sickeningly syrupy sugary sweet. There are almond slivers just barely detectable at the opening and even less so in the heart to add a touch of minerality and unctuousness. The perfume is nice, very quiet, but pretty mundane at this point, then it goes the route of an even quieter soap musk dry down, which is about as boring and derivative as you can get.

La Dompteuse Encagee is not a bad perfume, it uses good materials and they’ve been handled with care, but to say this probably wasn’t a fully-fleshed-out idea feels like an understatement. If you have a weakness for tropical yellow florals like frangipani and ylang ylang, and are not bothered by plain soap musk dry downs, you’ll love it. I personally think La Dompteuse is pretty boring.

Plumeria, where art thou been? Growing up in the tropic, I was more used to jasmine and plumeria than roses. La Dompteuse Encagee brought back childhood memories of when I was resting from the summer heat enjoying my ice tea, surrounding me was plumeria in bloom. This perfume is not at all projecting but its presence is undeniably pleasant. Sure I have to reapply mid-day but I don't mind that one bit. This is a keeper.

The polite and demure child of Datura Noir and A La Nuit. It's ok, nothing special and I'm not blown away by it. If you want real almonds try Louve.

It also reminds me of tauers le maroc pour elle

Sweet yellow floral with a hint of citrus. Apparently there is a "tropical" element, but I don't really get it. Doesn't capture my attention.

Thumbs up if you are looking for a radiant ylang-ylang fragrance. It starts with a subtle spice blend and a whiff of peach but soon ylang-ylang becomes the main note. It reminds me of Terracotta by Guerlain, though not as blindingly bright. If you are looking for a sophisticated tropical, beachy scent, this might do nicely,