Serge Lutens La Proie Pour L'Ombre (losing the substance by grasping at the shadow) was released in 2021. Inspired by memories of his mother, Serge Lutens was separated from her while very young during World War II - abandonment, chasing the person through memories, finding only shadows.
It is a leather fragrance combined with immortelle. If you love immortelle and the old-school Goutal Sables and the Dior Eau Noire (retired, but getting re-released!), this is a must-try. Serge Lutens has had a series of not that interesting releases, but they are discontinuing 19 fragrances in 2022. With the release of this, I am hoping we will soon be back to the Serge days of old when every release was an adventure! Guessing notes of immortelle, leather, licorice and vanilla.
The Black Narcissus - "La Proie Pour L’Ombre, is warm and nuzzly; a familiarly Lutensian, strangely gorgeous and mysterious scent ostensibly centred around leather (and licorice and vanilla), a powerfully immortelle, almost celery-like note cedared with spice in the top that at first is disconcerting but then begins to pull you into its own unusual sense of unique gravity. D thinks it smells like butterscotch: the ambered texture is certainly odd; almost chocolatey; with tones redolent also of coffee absolute; but also medicinally enveloping and pungent like some of the more extreme and esoteric Japanese incense towards which I quite often find myself gravitating. Unlike the flamboyance of the two other perfumes I have been describing to you today, I feel that La Proie Pour L’Ombre is more private; a dark, shadowy-like-its-name fragrance that suits these particular times: less a leather for a publicly viewed sillage than a quiet, personal cove of introspective luxuriance."
Cafleurbon - "Serge Lutens La Proie pour l’Ombre is for me a “true Lutens”. That is, dark, deep, heady and seemingly difficult to pin down...draped in soft vanilla, which twists around a rosy floral note. I also perceive a chocolate facet which gives an even more delicious roundness to the skin. The earthy and sweet licorice is still present, but stays in the background, in perfect balance with the leathery and spicy side of immortelle. At the dry down the vanilla remains, but the perfume doesn’t lose its leathery intensity"
Fragrantica - "One of the best fragrances I've recently come across. Starts off with a leather note similar in Cuir Mauresque, with a vanilla and coffee-like back-bone, but after about 30 minutes-1 hour the salty, amazing licorice note begins to emerge. This brings about the actual focus of this fragrance, immortelle."
Fragrantica - "Sophisticated very French leather perfume. The leather note is surrounded by vanilla, licorice, cacao, woody and balsamic notes. ‘The Prey for the Shadow’ presumably named to highlight the juxtaposition of the leather and vanilla notes exudes a gentle sensual warmth. The unisex scent has moderate sillage and very good longevity. Nothing particularly new from the house that defined niche perfumery but very delectable and sexy and so wearable. Enjoy!
Fragrantica - "Wow, I was trying Fumerie Turque in the store (also another stunner from the brand) when the saleswoman asked me if I had already smelled La Proie pour l'Ombre and wow this is good. I agree on the resemblance with Dior's Eau Noire as this is a strong Licorice/Vanilla (and sober leather) with a touch of Curry/fenugreek/cloves (this may be my brain tricking me however the Curry/fenugreek is less potent than the one in Eau Noire) and a bit of what smells like coffee as well...A masterpiece, the opening is straight Coffee grounds and dark cocoa before going on the licorice/immortelle/vanilla combo this is otherworldly the more I smell it the more it differs from Eau Noire, it is way darker and more suited for very cold weather."
