D’ORSAY
Sur Tes Levres (E.Q.)
2023
PERFUMER
Dominique Ropion
ambrette absolute
pink berry
jasmine
orris
cashmeran
patchouli
Concrete Iris, Jasmine, Cashmeran: A Floral, Musky fragrance evoking endless love, imagined as the extension of a kiss by master perfumer Dominique Ropion for D’ORSAY. Your search for eternal love is finally coming to an end. With this perfume, surrender to this radiant union, and celebrate the iris and musk intertwining of your two bodies and souls.’ – D’Orsay
‘With the fragrance “Sur tes lèvres. E.Q.” I wanted to illustrate the sublime sensation of abandoning one’s lips to another. I built a musky floral fragrance around the airy, silky tones of iris with a luminous jasmine. In the background, to reinforce the sensuality of this creation, I worked on a trio of vibrant woody and amber notes.’ – Dominique Ropion
I have to say that Sur Tes Levres was a bit of an… odd one to sample. Not unpleasant, especially in the drydown, but not at all aligned with my expectations from what I knew of D’Orsay so far.
It’s also said to be 100% natural, which I definitely what I get from my experience with the brand so far, however, here, we are presented what seems to be a highly ‘molecular-musky,skin-scent’ type of fragrance. I’d never have perceived this to be an all natural or even mostly natural composition (Moreover, cashmeran, which does not occur in nature to my knowledge, is listed as note and seems to be a prominent feature for Sur Tes Levres).
The opening is very airy, with a fruity bubblegummy scent. It made me think of those cheap double-sided cherry lollipops. It doesn’t open the nicest in my opinion, with hints of a hair-spray. As mentioned, a complete 180 from the others that I’ve tried from D’Orsay and as contemporary as it gets.
As it dries down more, the iris-cashmeran bases comes through. Fizzy and still a bit bubblegummy. It made me think of Teo Cabanel’s Deja Vu. What saves it for me is some acidity that keeps cutting through, otherwise it would get too cardboard-like and muddy in the base. Very musky as well (throughout, but especially later on).
I don’t dislike it at all at this point. I love for example, Deja Vu, although I find that a bit nicer than Sur Tes Levres. I think I’m mostly just surprised to find this offering in the D’Orsay line-up.