Luckyscent Videos: L'Eau des Sacres by Reims Parfums

L'Eau des Sacres by Reims Parfums, available through Luckyscent.com, translates to Water of the Sacrament or of the Rite. When I first heard the name, I thought, "Oh, maybe we're going to get a lot of incense and something kind of churchy." I always gravitate toward those kinds of fragrances. Sure enough, this scent does have some frankincense, a very nice lemony frankincense on the top.

What’s fascinating about this fragrance is how it pivots from light to dark, from feminine to masculine and back. It just keeps going in different directions, which was unexpected to me. It’s really something more I’m used to with classical perfumes—just full of complexity and elegance. This is definitely that.

The fragrance begins with a very pretty violet and lavender with a touch of rose. But as it dries down, it moves more into a soft amber feel. I think that comes from the Tonka bean, which adds a nice creaminess, as well as sandalwood. In fact, the dry down reminds me a little bit of Ambergris from Belman, a fragrance that had a big cult following and was a really interesting unisex amber sandalwood scent. Yet, L'Eau des Sacres has its own personality.

I love that it’s so complex, but I would expect nothing less from this perfumer, Bertrand Duchaufour, who’s just one of the best perfumers working right now. Give it a try, especially if you love those more complex, elegant, classical-style perfumes. L'Eau des Sacres is from France.