WHAT I SMELL:  Wow…Baptême du feu has a wonderful opening that’s cool to the touch, incredibly juicy and vibrant with a blast of bright citrus and bergamot.  The perfume begins to warm quickly and the juiciness subsides to reveal a ripened osmanthus along with an orange rind like sourness.  After 10 minutes or so, a ginger note begins to surface along with a wafting incense.  What was joyous and bright has moved to a mysterious tonality.  The perfume then takes another turn and the incense disappears and the perfume become fully ginger…and it grows exponentially in projection.  But of course, Uncle Serge needs to contradict my words and once again, a wafting incense reveals itself.  The ginger makes the perfume a little sweet, but not too much as there’s a light herbal base that resides under the candied root.  After an hour, the perfume begins to dust and powder with a metallic edge as the candied aspects are lessened.  In the end you’re left with a woody powdered ginger dustiness.

From the Serge Lutens website:

My emotions are fluid. Like liquid wax poured into a mould, they determine what seduces me—like this gingerbread heart. – Serge Lutens

The fragrance features gingerbread, powdery notes, tangerine, castoreum, osmanthus and woody notes.

WHAT IT SMELLS LIKE TO ME: Pippi Longstocking…it starts off bright, juicy and full of candied ginger…but as it wears it loses its initial gloss and becomes rather tiresome.

THREE WORDS THAT DESCRIBE BAPTÊME DU FEU: semi-sweet, pleasant, semi-interesting

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT BAPTÊME DU FEU:  Persolaise, Kafkaesque, Perfume Posse

BOTTOM LINE:  For the first 45 minutes of wear, I loved this perfume as its full of life and absolutely delightful.  After that, its pleasant enough. Ho-hum.

• Bone Rating:  3 out of possible 5 bones
• Scent:  Oriental
• Classification: Unisex
• Expense: $150 for 50 ml eau de parfum