Serge Lutens — Tubereuse Criminelle

Decanting from Gratte Ciel bottle (exactly like the one on the image).

The opening will make you flinch — a blast of menthol, camphor, and eucalyptus that smells more like a medicine cabinet than a perfume. This is intentional. Sheldrake was told to emphasize the most challenging facets of tuberose rather than suppress them, and the result is one of the most discussed openings in perfumery. Give it twenty minutes. What emerges is extraordinary: the real tuberose in full, narcotic, slightly animalic bloom, joined by jasmine, orange blossom, and hyacinth, all warmed by clove and nutmeg into something deeply sensual and complex. The styrax base keeps it slightly leathery and raw in the drydown. One of the finest tuberose fragrances ever created, and emphatically not a blind buy — but those who connect with it tend to call it untouchable.

Notes: 

Top notes: Menthol, Eucalyptus, Clove
Middle notes: Tuberose, Jasmine, Orange Blossom, Hyacinth
Base notes: Vanilla, Styrax, Musk, Resins