Joyful Jasmines: Serge Lutens A la Nuit, Nasomatto Nuda, and Rodin Olio Lusso




Jasmine is the violin of perfume materials.  Played badly, it can be shrill, spiky and annoying.  In the right hands and the right context, the smell of jasmine is lilting and insinuating, able to conjure sunshine and throbbing sensuality. Its volatile timbre is part of the flower's factory settings, which in nature puff out a siren call that ranges from bubblegum, to fruit, to spice, to skin, to decay.  Where you fall on the insect-to-mammal spectrum will determine which olfactory tone qualifies as a “siren call”.




This mammal loves the retro suntan oil treatment of jasmine, found in Bobbi Brown Beach and Jennifer Aniston (the perfume, not the Friend), and if I adjust the rabbit ears just so, I pick up a friendly Coppertone glow in the final final dry down Serge Lutens A la Nuit.  But that's not until after its opening shriek of bubblegum-sweetness practically grinds the enamel off my teeth.  It may be true-ish to life-ish, but I find A la Nuit's initial bright white light a little jangling.




More to my taste is Nasomatto Nuda, which anchors jasmine's treble with spice and skin.  Shadows of patchouli and musk mute the screech potential, although it wasn't the easiest first date.  On initial wearings, I found that Nuda did an fascinating slalom between earth, gas, blue-veined cheese and an almost-mildewy washcloth, until the gack factor evaporated into a heavenly puff of jasmine.  But with subsequent wearings, I've fully embraced Nuda's gack factor, which worryingly puts me closer to dung-loving insect than sun-worshipping mammal.




The jasminey joy built into the Olio Lusso line by Rodin moves me incrementally back up the evolutionary ladder.  “Ooooooooohhhhhh!” is the involuntary sound of pleasure that emerges from my lips every time I smell this lushly-scented range of body, face and hair oils.  Founded by model-turned-fashion-editor-turned-stylist Linda Rodin, Olio Lusso's signature whiff is the exuberant coupling of jasmine and neroli: simple, but not simplistic.  It's the face and body oils that grab me, with their lubricious blend of skin-drenching essential oils perfumed with sunny sultriness and happy citrus.

I love the tactility of schmearing that “ooooooooohhhhhh!” from stem to stern while feeling virtuous about doing something nice for my skin at the same time.  Although in practice said schmearing stops some ways between stem and stern, because the stuff costs big bucks and I must content myself with stealth oilings every time I “happen” to pass the Olio Lusso stand at Liberty in London.



Given my enthusiasm for the products, I couldn't wait to try Rodin perfume, the eau de parfum version of Olio Lusso's statement smell launched earlier this year.  Developed by David and Kavi Moltz of D.S. and Durga, Rodin perfume adds a sprig or two of lily of the valley to the original bouquet.

The effect of perfume (which as you'd expect lasts a lot longer than the oils' fragrance) is sharper, sweeter and more high-pitched than the oils, rendering the scent girlish rather than womanly.  But it's jasmine's animal nature that triggers the call of the wild in me, so in a police line-up of Rodin elixirs, I'll pick the skin oils every time.  They are the smell of smiling sunshine -- with a drop of sweat.  Perfect.


À la Nuit is available from Amazon.com at $97 for 1.7 oz.

Nuda is available from Amazon.com and LuckyScent.com at $185 for 1 oz.

Olio Lusso eau de parfum is $220 for 1 oz; the body oil is $110 for 4 oz; both available from OlioLusso.com. See also BeautyWorksWest.com and Liberty.co.uk.

Looking for a fragrance recommendation?  Visit Fume Finder: the Katie Puckrik Smells fragrance app.

Jasmine lady via

23 comments:

  1. Wow! That Olio Lusso body oil makes my new love of ko denmark's jasmine/neroli/rose blend positively frugal by comparison!

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    1. Em, now that Rodin has re-tuned my nose to jasmine's allure, I'm keen to try the ko denmark oil. I've also got my eye on the Organic Pharmacy's Rose & Jasmine Body Oil.

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  2. I love the Rodin face oil, but I just can't justify the price. It does smell gorgeous, though.

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    1. It is dangerously very, very hard to resist.

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    2. I used to avoid Olio Lusso too, afraid that I would fall in love with it and develop an addiction to another every expensive product.

      However, when I finally caved, I found that one small bottle of face oil lasts me about a year -- so actually pretty economical!

      Or at least that is how I justify it to myself :-)

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    3. Daisy, amortizing the daily cost of a luxury item is how I always justify these kinds of things. It makes economical sense: until I stand back and see how many of these little luxury items I've managed to cram into my life.

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    4. You don't call yourself the Queen of Sheba for nothing. I used to have something similar to the face oil, but instead of jasmine it was neroli and rose. I had no idea if it really did anything for my skin, but smelling it made me feel beautiful.

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    5. Nora, while I may not actually be the Queen of Sheba, I certainly aim to smell like her. I'm a firm believer in a beauty product's smell contributing to the efficacy of its performance. If something makes you feel beautiful, that's worth the money in the meter right there.

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  3. A la Nuit isn't my thing, but I'm so happy to see Nasomatto Nuda getting some love! I adored it from the very first time I sniffed its gloriously indolic opening note. The dry down is what really makes me happy as it softens into a hum of jasmine and base notes. This is one of those fragrances that feels both velvety textured and feral at the same time. I've clearly embraced my inner dung beetle. Now I need to step back into the sunshine with a test run of the Olio Lusso. It sounds positively luxurious.

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    1. m61, let us be happy little dung beetles together. I'm very interested to hear that Nuda twitches your antennae, too. I really love that dry down, too.

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  4. The Olio Lusso oils sound like pure heaven. There's a booth at our local farmers' market that sells tea, and the couple who own it go to China a few times a year to get it. Katrina the tea lady told me that in the winter time Chinese people drink a lot of jasmine tea. To fight the glum. Sometimes I just take a moment to quietly huff the dry tea leaves and jasmine flowers. With a paper bag.

    --Nora

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    1. I like this holistic way of beating SAD: huff a bag of tea and jasmine flowers.

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    2. I like your face.

      --Nora

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  5. Michel Almairac's Fire Island for Bond No. 9 has a lovely suntan lotion vibe too :)

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    1. Oh, don't I know it! Fire Island is one of my favorite Bond No. 9s.

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  6. I agree with what you said about jasmine being the violin of perfume materials. Sadly for me, I have yet to smell a jasmine based perfume that is actually delightful. Maybe I am trying the wrong ones?

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    1. Well, it all comes down to your personal jasmine tolerance. A good one for jas-o-phobes is Jasmin de Nuit by The Different Company, because the flower is buried under a lot of other stuff: spices and woods. Another barely jasmine number is Bulgari Jasmin Noir. I prefer the edp in that one.

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    2. I was given a little bottle of Jasmine de Nuit. It's pretty, but slutty, so I can't wear it to work since it's the perfume equivalent of showing cleavage and a lacy bra.
      --AnnieA

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    3. I want to wear that kind of perfume to work. I look like an Amish gothic librarian. It would really throw people for a loop.

      --Nora

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    4. "Amish gothic librarian" is a hawwwwwwt look.

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  7. What do you think about Acqua di Parma Gelsomino Nobile for jasmine? Love your reviews!
    Kris-

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    1. You've just reminded me of that one, Kris. I need to retry. I don't remember the earth moving when I smelled it.

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  8. I really like the Rodin facial oil and was curious about the perfume. The scent of the oil is great, but it can be strong, it sounds like there is a twist to the perfume. I need to check it out.

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