Vitriol d'Oeillet - friend or foe (and a draw)

It seems that lately there isn't so much love for the SL releases. Beats the hell out of me why that is so, because to me, they are still so very Lutenesque. And by that I mean, it takes several wearings for me to get to know it and then get friendly with it and then, comes love for life.
That's my usual path with any SL perfume (exceptions exist but aren't many).

Therefore, I don't get disappointed if a SL perfume doesn't instantly sweep me off my feet. It is usually a complex stranger you would be wrong to take at initial value.
So, I don't. :)

I've been testing and wearing it for some time now and what can I say? :) I'm a huge clove fan. For some reason, I keep thinking of this as a clove perfume even though it exhibits the carnation most of the time.

Notes: cayenne pepper, black pepper, pink pepper, clove, carnation, wallflower, lily, ylang-ylang, nutmeg.

I guess you can tell by all the peppers it's going to smell sharp on the start (clove helps too). If you ever smelled an SL creation, you probably know that no description can prepare you for what you're going to smell. So, when I say it starts peppery sharp with a clove twist, I'm hoping you're imagining your nose tinkling in response. :)
But before that happens, just after the initial spray, before the pepper takes over for a while, you will get the  sweet whiffs of nutmeg being propped by ylang-yland and lily. I'm still not sure on how good the lily part is  but it seems to work. Later, it will take much more work to smell all this under the peppers.

For me this perfume emits a constant light charge - each time I smell it, it seems my nose gets a little electrical charge. Quite interesting really. And then I smell the carnation. But for the life of me, I can't think of this as a carnation perfume. :) Yes, most of the time, it smells like carnations. But those are metallic, strange carnations, emiting even a lightly meaty smell at one time. Ok, so that last part might not sound enticing but it's not bad.
And yes, I noticed my constant use of "buts". :) That's because I keep thinking that while I'm describing this, I'm making it sound bad and my opinion couldn't be further away.

Once the carnation gets going, there's not much change, it lasts and slowly loses the charge. Less clove-y, more floral.

And each time I wear it, it seems more friendly and easier to love (less sharp, more sweet). Luckily, I'm not going to run out of it any time soon... :)


As I was the lucky recipient of a whole bottle, courtesy of Ca Fleure Bon and  Serge Lutens (it was supposed to be a mini bottle but they generously sent me the whole), I have 2 little decants and a sample to give. State your interest in the comments, and let me know whether you think you can like this or not.