Serge Lutens — Bas de Soie
Essence
Bas de Soie (2010) is the cool aldehydic green-floral outlier in the Lutens catalog - a hyacinth-and-iris composition with galbanum, musk and a soapy aldehydic shimmer that pulls the house toward Chanel No. 19 territory rather than the usual Moroccan resinous mode. The name translates “silk stockings.” Denyse Beaulieu on Grain de Musc described it as Lutens “doing Chanel” with menace: a “tight-grained, saturated and a little cruel” floral that “introduces an essential Frenchness to the Lutens vocabulary.” Although our internal status note marks it discontinued, sergelutens.com continues to list Bas de Soie as part of the Flacons de table (bell-jar) collection (record last updated 03/31/2026 confirms “It is still in production”), so the discontinuation is partial - it has receded from broad export rather than disappeared.
Scent Profile
The first ten to twenty minutes open with a sharp, almost aldehydic shimmer - clean and slightly soapy - pierced by a vivid hyacinth: green-stem, root-and-bulb, watery, with that particular plastic-leaf brightness real hyacinth has at the start of the bloom. Galbanum sits underneath and adds bitter green resinousness. Cool, blue-toned, mineral - Patty at Perfume Posse: “colder, metallic, a little soapy. There’s a cold softness to it.”
Performance
Projection is intentionally restrained - this is one of Lutens’s quieter perfumes by design. Sillage is moderate during the first hour, then close to skin. Longevity is the most common complaint: 4-6 hours on skin is typical, sometimes less. On fabric it persists longer (8-10 hours) but it never becomes a powerhouse. Megan at Megan in Sainte Maxime called it “sheer, cool and elegant” and “great in the cooler months and in spring” with longevity that requires reapplication.
Wearing Context
Spring is the canonical season; early summer and late winter both work. Patty at Perfume Posse and several others list it as a top spring perfume. Office and daytime use are natural - Bas de Soie reads as polished, restrained and adult, the rare Lutens that genuinely qualifies as office-friendly. Megan in Sainte Maxime: “a silky iris and hyacinth perfume with a cool French vibe… in fact, it’s one of those perfumes that will make you feel elegant all year round.”
Comparisons & DNA
The reference grid is short. Chanel No. 19 (EDT especially) is the closest cousin - green-iris-galbanum but more austere and chyprey, with oakmoss; Bas de Soie is sweeter and softer. Guerlain Chamade (hyacinth-galbanum) is the historic precedent in the same hyacinth-bulb territory; Bas de Soie is cleaner and more iris-forward. Goutal Heure Exquise (iris-rose-galbanum) - close cousin, more rose. Hermes Iris Ukiyoe is the watercolor-iris adjacent; Bas de Soie is denser. Within Lutens itself: Iris Silver Mist is the dark earthy iris counterpart - Patty’s review specifically warned that Bas de Soie is “not ISM-lite”; Bois de Violette is the violet-iris-cedar cousin in spirit; De Profundis is the cold-flower cousin in attitude.
Reception
Critical reception was strong but the perfume never achieved the cult status of the older Lutens. Denyse Beaulieu’s Grain de Musc review remains the defining critic piece. Mark Behnke at Colognoisseur was positive. Cafleurebon ran a positive review. Patty at Perfume Posse has revisited Bas de Soie multiple times, including a ten-year anniversary post in 2020 calling it a quiet masterpiece. Robin at NST treated it as a polished if subdued Lutens. Wearer response is similarly mixed: enthusiasts use words like “elegant” and “spring,” detractors call it “hyacinth aluminum” (Muse in Wooden Shoes’s memorable phrase: “a hyacinth made of aluminum. In a lab”). wearers treat it as a deep cut - not in the recommended-Lutens canon but well-known. Polarization axes: hyacinth tolerance; soapy-aldehydic tolerance; “is it boring or is it elegant.” Praise centers on the chic restraint and the photoreal hyacinth. Criticisms cluster on the soapy quality, the modest performance, and the perceived underdevelopment of the iris versus Iris Silver Mist. Blind buy verdict: low risk if you have already loved Chanel No. 19 and any hyacinth fragrance; high risk if you are coming to Lutens for the resinous orientals. Sample first, but the price of admission is moderate.
Versions & Reformulation
Originally launched 2010 in the 50ml export bottle. The export bottle has become difficult to find at standard retail; the 75ml bell jar remains actively listed on sergelutens.com as a Flacons de table item (wearers confirms in-production status as of March 2026). There are no concentration variants and no perfume confit. sentiment, especially on Now Smell This comment threads, notes that the export bottle has become hard to find and that prices on the secondary market have crept up. Single composition, no known reformulations during its main distribution.
Acquisition Notes
Availability varies by market; sample before buying when possible.
Notable Facts & Lore
- Lutens’s stated intent for Bas de Soie, in his accompanying copy, is genuinely odd: “A black mass where the voices are low, and soft as silk.
- A ritual, an image: slim fingers carefully slip the stocking up the leg, from ankle to thigh…
- The woman alone, scented with a blend of powdery iris and hyacinth, keeps our attention.
- The iridescence of a dragonfly’s wing.“ The “black mass mocking the Widow and Death” framing in the launch copy was unusually gothic for what is one of the lightest Lutens perfumes.