De Profundis

De Profundis by Serge Lutens is a Floral fragrance for women and men. De Profundis was launched in 2011. The nose behind this fragrance is Christopher Sheldrake. The fragrance features Chrysanthemum, Green Notes, Violet, Soil Tincture, Incense and Plum Tree. De Profundis (De profundis clamavi - From the Depths I Cried) joined the exclusive line in 2011. Its composition is based on the chrysanthemum flower, with additional notes of violets, green and earthy notes. The fragrance is accompanied by the following words: "When death steals into our midst, its breath flutters through the black crepe of mourning, nips at funeral wreaths and crucifixes, and ripples through the gladiola, chrysanthemums and dahlias. If they end up in garlands in the Holy Land or the Galapagos Islands or on flower floats at the Annual Nice Carnival, so much the better! What if the hearse were taking the deceased, surrounded by abundant flourish, to a final resting place in France, and leading altar boys, priest, undertaker, beadle and gravediggers to some sort of celebration where they could indulge gleefully in vice? Now that would be divine! In French, the words beauty, war, religion, fear, life and death are all feminine, while challenge, combat, art, love, courage, suicide and vertigo remain within the realm of the masculine. Clearly, Death is a Woman. Her absence imposes a strange state of widowhood. Yet beauty cannot reach fulfilment without crime. The chrysanthemum is the sole pretext for writing these lines. Turning gravesites held in perpetuity over to Life – a familiar of these haunts – the chrysanthemum invites Death to leave the cemetery and offer us its flower. De profundis clamavi."