Luperci

[azhure]

... This scent is for the Luperci, the Chosen of Faunus, the Brothers of the Wolf: raw, down and dirty patchouli, Gurjam balsam, and essence of Sampson Root sweetened with the heightened sexuality of beeswax, virile juniper, oakmoss, ambrette seed over honey and East African musk.

In the vial: Musky and murky.

On the skin: I get a lovely incense-y scent for the first half hour or so. This resolves into two distinct notes on me - the patchouli and musk. I like it, but I don't love it.

Drying down: The note blend again, but this time the musk is dominant. It's a nice warm scent, reassuring.

[mandragora]

In the imp: Patchouli and musk.

Wet on me: Earthy smelling and sexy. The sweet hints of honey coming to fore.

Drydown: The patchouli and honey mellows, leaving a complex musky and decidedly lupine scent.

Verdict: Feral, dirty yet very sexy. I'm thinking this would be better on the hubby. On the scale of 1-5 this is a 4.

Edited March 10, 2006 by mandragora

[yeahbutnobut]

Luperci

 

Note: I apologise if this review is inaccurate, I have a cold and my nose is broken…this may be edited when I am better.

In the bottle: mmm, this is a woody, earthy patchouli with a hint of beeswax.

Wet on skin: there's a scent here that reminds me of roots in the earth, dug out of the soil. Is this the Sampson root? I also get patchouli and soft beeswax, and something balsamic which I'm assuming is the Gurjam balsam?

Dry on skin: ooh, this is nice! I don't know, but I get a slight nag champa like vibe from this scent (but that could be my crappy cold-infected nose distorting the patchouli, beeswax and balsam here) with honey and lots of oak moss. Yup, this is another Lupercalia scent which has an incense like base to it-most of the Lupercalia scents have that in common. I don't get a lot of juniper, but I do get this wonderful earthiness with the scent of patchouli, moss and roots. It's dirty, that's for sure, like sticking your hands in mossy soil and pulling out tree roots, but with honey and beeswax, which adds an interesting twist to the scent. This scent is so unique and so unusual and I can't stop sniffing it. It's also very unisex, and not as manly as I expected but I think it would be amazing on a guy.

After a while: this doesn't morph much, it still stays gorgeous and sweetly earthy with a hint of honeyed incense. I think the moss note is stronger now, it gives the scent slight hint of powder-I think it may also be enhanced by the musk. the scent also has a 'forest-y feel', like the soil around tree roots and the moss that grows there and decaying leaves. The incense like feel this has gives the scent an almost mystical feel-like an ancient ritual taking place in the woods. I think my skin chemistry/nose is off at the moment I think, because I get a tiny hint of something reminiscent of tobacco as well, which is nice.

Verdict: I am very impressed at the Lupercalia collection of LE scents, and this is another fascinating fragrance-it's not a favourite like Perfumed Garden and Night's Pavilion but I really like it, and it's so unique and fascinating. This scent is earthy-very earthy indeed, like soil and roots and moss on the ground in a forest, the earthiness of the scent enhanced by patchouli. But the honey and beeswax add an interesting dimension to it all, sweetening it and adding an interesting twist. There's also an incense like feel to the scent-at times reminiscent of nag champa, which adds another aspect to the scent…it's these that set this apart from the Lab's other 'earthy/dirty' scents and make this such an intriguing fragrance-one that is equally nice on both men and women. Another work of art from the Lab.

[GemmaCat]

This was all patchouli on me; woody and sharp. I couldn't detect any other notes so this ended up being swapped away very quickly.

[aine]

I have a friend who says "A wood blend is a wood blend is a wood blend....". Sacrilege, I know. So it was with much triumphant glee that I presented my Luperci slathered arm for olfactory evaluation. This is a gorgeously smooth 'wood blend', different entirely from any other I have had the pleasure to try. It is fascinating without being overpowering. Beautifully blended. Even my friend had to agree.

 

The only downside is - it was a LE, I love it, and I only have an imp. Waaahhh....

[astridclaire]

This was all juniper and musk on me, and not in a good way. However, on my boyfriend this is the sexiest, most lust-inducing perfume I have ever had the privilege of smelling on a man!!!

 

I don't know what I'm going to do when the bottle runs out and I can't nuzzle up to his Luperci clad neck and chest anymore.

[lookingglass]

Very woody, with that clean juniper edge (too much for my sweet taste, but RIGHT up DH's ally~I have his top 10 listed in my sig as well, if you want to compare tastes). The ambrette and musk combination is very masculine and sexual...quite a natural "man sex" smell, I think, without being overpowering. A deep, slightly sweet finish with the honey. This is DIVINE on my man. I am so glad I got some at the last minute!

[jewelbug]

 

Imp: This is swoon-worthy woodsiness. I get mostly balsam, and its indescribably lovely.

 

Wet: Honeyed woods. This actually reminds me of the renaissance festival for some reason. I think its that our local festival puts woodchips down, and when they’re still fresh and blonde, the scent is something like this. These are bright woods, a hint cedary, and just a tad sweet. FUnny, but wet, there is almost a minty note to this...

 

Dry: Sweet sandalwood (yes, I know there isn't sandalwood listed here)! I can see how people get pencil-shavings from this, but I actually love it. I keep huffing my wrist. It's fresh and woodsy. It does strike me as a more masculine blend, but I think it works as gender neutral because of the honeyed smell. Towards the later drydown, a bit of spicy incense emerges.

Overall: This is beautiful. Its got a fresh sawdust component to it, so it strikes a chord of sentiment in me--evocative of my grandad's carpenter shop. I don't know how much I'll wear this, but I enjoy huffing it, and my guess is that in the fall I will want to slather this all over. Great throw, but unfortunately I forgot to pay attention to how long it lasted--I was too busy huffing!

 

On him: I couldn't resist putting this on him, afterall….Wet it goes quite balsam-y, dry it is sweet woods--like tombstone without the vanilla. In 2 hrs it gets much stronger on the incense/patchouli notes. Its dead sexy on him--he gets a lot more balsam, and I seem to get something that smells more like cedar. Interesting….

[k00kaburra]

In bottle: Patchouli and musk. It's got quite a bit of wood, too, and not in a forest's way. It's not deep and dark, but it sure is down 'n' dirty.

On me: Patchouli hippy sex. Raunchy and racy and oh-so-much-fun! It's the dusty patchouli draped over the sweetness of honey. The wooden smell is still largely present, but it is more of a background to other activities in the foreground. It's like doing the nasty in the sun, only a few yards from a often-used trail with only a small thicket of trees seperating yourselves from the traffic. ****

[klio]

Another ancient Roman scent--how can I resist?

 

In the bottle: (Pea)nutty and bitter, over a musty floral.

 

On, both wet and dry: It's a little bit nutty, a little bit floral/sweet. After about an hour, the nuttiness wears away. The floral is soft and powdery, like alabaster pots of dried herbs on a sunny shelf, in a stone-walled shop somewhere along the ancient Tiber. It's the first bpal scent that strongly suggests a colour to me, in this case the greyish green of dried herbs. The label is an appropriately grey-green colour, as well.

 

I'm quite taken with this scent, but it's hard to pinpoint why. It does feel raw, down, and dirty; I can almost hear the stamping of bare feet running the Lupercalia path, swinging bundles of branches and herbs (and strips of fur, let us not forget the strips of fur) at wives and husbands and eager lovers. "Raw, down, and dirty" in an almost sacred sense--it is ceremony and priesthood and festival, not sweaty sheets and tangled legs. I was torn between wanting to try this scent, because of its associations, and wanting to stay far away from it, because of the patchouli. The balsam and juniper are evident, but the patchouli (thank goodness) is not.

 

It is long lasting--I put it on at night and still caught faint hints of it in the morning, but found it easy to wash off--but the throw is limited. This is a perfectly gender-neutral scent, understated for different reasons: on a woman, for its neutrality, its lack of floweriness or fruitiness; on a man, for its subtlety and lack of that "Hey! I'm a men's cologne! Bring on the old spice!" overpowering insistence that always seems to be the main characteristic of men's cologne sample cards in department stores.

 

I am a honey fanatic, but I completely forgot there was honey in this, or beeswax for that matter. The underlying sweetness could come from the honey.

 

Overall: It's a keeper, and possibly a going-on-an-interview scent because of its neutrality. My nose tells me it would layer extremely well with a more purely honey scent, as long as there's not too much else in the honey so that it doesn't go super-floral (or, heaven forbid, super-patchouli).

Edited April 27, 2006 by klio

[QueenFae]

This is a lovely, sexy patchouli scent. The patchouli note is definitely on top, and it's slathered over with juniper and oakmoss. There is an amazing array of spices underneath it all; they are so alluring and complex. The honeyed note gives everything a warm, soft, creamy sort of feel, and this really seals the deal for me. What a beautiful blend; this would be nice on either of the sexes, it's also strong and long lasting. I love it!

[Miss Lynx]

When I first tried this one, it was much fainter than I expected. Gently foresty, but not very obtrusive at all. I didn't get much in the way of a honey/beeswax scent at all -- it was just a very soft, almost bland foresty scent.

 

But after reading a lot of rave reviews of how good it apparently is on me, I decided I had to try it on my male partner (for those who are confused by this given that I'm married to a woman, we're poly). It did indeed smell very nice on him, and on whim I tried it again on me too, more heavily this time since I knew by now that it was a fairly light scent.

 

This time around, I think I like it more. I can definitely smell the honey much more, and the musk. It still has foresty elements, but it's not predominantly a forest scent any more. It's sort of like a drier, less incensey Titus Andronicus, but with a slightly powder-sweet overlay. Not particularly masculine at all, on me (but then, neither's Titus).

 

After settling in for a couple of hours, what's left is a dry, woody scent with a slight dusting of powdery honey-sweetness. Not bad, though not necessarily likely to become a favourite.

 

Grade: B

[themerrybaker]

I swapped away a bottle of Saturnalia for Luperci and almost dissolved into giggles when I first applied it. The initial note was extreme vetiver and almost identical to Saturnalia. Go figure - supposedly this does not contain vetiver.

 

 

 

Luperci exhibited maximum morphing power during the drydown, though. Patchouli, conifer, honey. After a couple hours, there was an incense blast and things ended up complex-lemony.

 

 

 

With the exception of the beeswax and honey, I wasn't thrilled with any of the notes in this (OK, maybe a bit thrilled by the balsam).

 

 

 

In spite of all, Luperci is surprisingly lovely: 5/5 lovely, new fave lovely, etc.

[Eunice]

I received Luperci along with a bottle of The Masque and although they are very similar in scent, Luperci is a lighter blend. The honeyed beeswax is foody sweet but not too overpowering. I don't get any juniper at all in this but the moss comes out nicely. Everything is well-rounded with the musk and patchouli. Musk and patchouli are always so strong on my skin but they do not seem to overpower any of the lighter notes. This is so light and lovely! I was expecting something stronger but I am pleased with the softness of Luperci.

[edenssixthday]

Luperci - I can definitely see why some would say this is a dirty-sexy scent, but on me, the patchouli is just way too strong to even consider wearing it again. The patchouli and honey notes do the exact same thing they do in Hetairae, which is to combine to form a very strangely sweet/stinky scent. It’s an odd combination, indeed. Like Night’s Pavilion, Luperci smells strongly of hippies and head shops and incense being burned to cover up the smell of pot having been smoked. It’s not an unpleasant scent at all, but I think a scent like this is much more appropriate for incense than it is for perfume, and I won’t be wearing it again myself (although I do have a friend who adores it!)

 

 

ETA 2/24/10: My skin chemistry has changed significantly in the last 18 months or so and honey no longer drives me far, far away, so I was curious to try this again. Turns out that it's now a great scent on me! The patchouli is the strongest note by far, but the honey doesn't turn wonky on me as it used to. The balsam is probably the second strongest note. This is a very woody scent, sweetened a bit by the honey, but not much. While it doesn't grab me, it doesn't turn me off the way it did previously. I wouldn't mind if my man smelled like this!

Edited February 24, 2010 by edenssixthday

[provocateur]

In bottle: Musky! and...balsam? is that what that is?

 

On skin, wet: Yay patchouli! And ....chocolate? (the balsam?!), slightly powdery.

 

On skin, dry: musky, chocolate powder.

 

Conclusion: I hate you body chemistry! It has all the things that I adore, but yet, choco-powder? Gah. 0/5

[karengypsy]

In the vial: Earthy, trees, patchouli

 

On me: Serious patchouli. I don't smell a lot other than that. There are hints of honey and musk and I think balsam. It's very hippie, but I like it.

 

Verdict: Keeper!

 

Rating: 4/5

[Melantha]

One word: Yum. I have discovered that I'm a patchouli fan, and here it is, along with a load of wonderful notes. It's sexy, and delicious, and sweet (ooh, honey!), and something I never would have tried, if eviltemptressdq hadn't brought it along and sold me the bottle!

 

Yay!

[midnight_aeval]

Hot damn. This is one of those blends that I can actually smell the majority of the notes... the patchouli, the musk, the honey, the beeswax, the wood notes, the oakmoss. Yum. I slathered this on today (used about 1/2 an imp I did!) because I was lucky enough to snatch up a bottle.

 

This will be one of those that I wear when I'm feeling extremely dirty It's pure sex, not Spanked, but damn near close! I'm guessing if you add a bit more sweetness (O) and some leather (De Sade), you might come close to Spanked. (and we all know how much I love to be Spanked)

 

[Shollin]

First sniff: This is utterly feral. I know Beth has an official Lykanthropos scent in the big upcoming list of joy, and I know the Luperci have nothing to do with werewolves (wolves yes, weres no), and maybe this is just because I’m smelling it on full moon, but… this scent very much says werewolf to me. Earthy and woodsy and musky and wild.

 

Wearing: The sun-dappled heart of the forest, and a brush of honeyed musk. Unusual, beautiful… and dangerous.

[ND¢]

In the bottle: Musk and something spicy-herbal, a hint of the 'honey' sweetness.

 

On me: But the strength of the musk is dominant, then the balsam and juniper come out. (This patchouli is more of what I'd expect of patchouli, not very unique, but fortunately not the main smell.) I tried on Medicine Show for comparison and this is far more sharp wood, muskiness, with a hint of richness behind (honey, beeswax?). Medicine Show is more gentle, insidious and herbal, though it does sharpen to something similar.

[kuanyin]

Raw down and dirty patchouli? Really? I almost bought a second bottle before the first one arrived (love eBay!) it sounded so me. But this is honey light and plays so nicely that I am glad I only popped for a partial bottle. It is lovely, yes it is. But I was hoping for raw sexuality screaming "TAKE me, big boy!"

 

Instead I got a subtle loveliness that became a second skin. I got whiffs of throw and nuthin' when I smelled my wrists. So, it's alright, I'm happy to have it, try it and I will for sure use it again...but it is not in my top ten.

[Meg]

In the bottle: Oakmoss and honey.

 

Wet: Ooh yeah, beeswax and honey, yum. And oakmoss developing.

 

Drydown: Hmm, the honey gets a bit dirty from patchouli and a bit of juniper, I think. The honey becomes the background note over which a load of resiny and spicy scents coming in. The oakmoss is slowly developing in the background along with various resins. I get juniper, very invigorating and a little bit shrill over the rest.

 

Overall: It's a musky, gender-neutral scent, with a very sensual touch of honey and depth from the oakmoss. On me, it's very well-balanced, nothing seems to be turning horrible, which is surprising, as both oakmoss and juniper are on my "to-avoid" list usually. It does become quite perfumy as it dries down, a classic oakmoss effect, but it works in this blend, making it quite elegant. I'm not sure if I'd wear it, but it's a very nice combination.

[kunoichi]

In the vial this is a sharply scented musky scent that has a sweetness to it, possibly from the honey. On my skin this becomes rounded with the musk and the touch of sweeter honey making it a deep, yet subtle blend as the complex notes of earth and wood join together in harmony. After a few hours on my skin the oakmoss (and possibly wood scents) have been left strong while the other notes have faded, leaving a ‘fuzzy’ scent on top of a faded darkish musk.

[mornatasare]

Luperci arrived today. My first impression: It is a SUPER-strong woody musk smell. Luperci says "I am a MANLY animal!" I'm not sure it's me, even though I'm wearing my tie and newsboy cap today.

 

I think it's the patchouli and musk that are giving it the animal smell. There's definitely the sharp juniper sting, but I've no idea what Sampson Root smells like, so it may be that. I'm not sure about this--I like a strong smell, but maybe not one that punches nearby people in the nose.

 

Edit after 5 hours on: the musk and honey have come out to play with wear. It's sweetened up and become a better smell for me--sort of a musky, warm scent. MANLY MAN FUNK has gone away, thankfully, but with it has gone most of the throw, which is sad since it's so nice now.