Le Lèthè

[Spaztic]

Red musk and sweat-damp golden skin musk with labdanum, golden amber, nutmeg, tobacco absolute, black orchid, and hemlock accord.

 

This one is now in my "to-buy" pile

It's starts off all red musk, which I like but I already have enough of

Then it starts to warm to my skin and I get the golden skin musk & amber + the nutmeg and this is amazing!

[agirlnamedfury]

It's hard to pick any particular notes out of this, but it doesn't really do anything for me anyway. Normally I'd save it for re-testing down the line, but I'm trying to cull the stash, so off to swaps it goes!

[fenharel]

in the imp: there is a masculine sharpness to it. the labdanum and black orchid hit hard. the nutmeg lingers beneath and adds a compelling, interesting sweetness.

 

wet: my skin amps the nutmeg and it completely takes over. tempered only by sharp, acrid resins. the combination, with my skin chemistry, is unpleasant and reminds me somewhat of Youth Dew. gave me a mild headache for the first hour or so. fortunately it dries down to a much more pleasant soft tobacco-musk. i don't love this but i don't hate it. it's a truly unique and challenging fragrance. i probably won't wear it often but i will keep it around.

[sarandipitee]

Oh wow here’s a red musk blend where I can smell more than just the musk (which I really amp). The tobacco, labdanum and Amber are all stunning. This is going to be a bottle upgrade. So lovely.

[dementia_divine]

In the imp: Red musk. And it is strong! I'm also getting the resins, tobacco, skin musk, nutmeg, and something sharp – I'm not sure if it is the black orchid or hemlock accord.

 

Wet: The musk notes are intertwining with each other, with the skin musk being stronger than it had been in the imp. I'm also getting a lot of nutmeg, far more than I did in the imp, and the smoky tobacco over the resins. The red musk note ends up dominating, as it is wont to do, but it isn't nearly as problematic on me as it usually is – I guess the other notes are helping to keep it in check.

 

Dry: The red musk note is still going strong, as is the skin musk, nutmeg, tobacco, and resins. The combination of the skin musk and nutmeg with the tobacco and resins is really nice. But the red musk is still a little too much for me.

 

After a while, the red musk does calm down enough to really let the golden skin musk shine with the nutmeg, tobacco, and resins. I wonder if there's golden champaca in this musk, or if the combination of notes here is just giving me that vibe.

 

Verdict: The red musk is stronger than I would like it to be for a while, but the scent is really wonderful after the red musk has calmed down and it has been dry for a while. I'll be hanging onto my imp, but I don't think I need a bottle, unless I end up reaching for it a lot and the red musk becomes smoother with age.

[Aveya]

Source: Swap from a forumite

Preconceptions: Some reason I didn't know this one existed until I saw it in a swap-list. I thought "Huh those notes sounds interesting". I'm attracted to "Skin Musk" scents, after have success a few times with that. Lately I'm realizing Tobacco scents are actually incredible (I always assumed they'd be too masculine for me). And I also recently learned I shouldn't be afraid of labdanum - Dunno what it is exactly but I'm learning. Anyways - educated dice roll.

 

Bottle: Kind of empty to be honest.

Skin: I'm not going to bother with the stages on this one - it's dark, musky, warm, nay hot, summer nights. Sweaty with a breeze. Smooth but dirty. Sandalwood-esq in overall vibe. Sweet but salty. God why didn't I try this years ago?

 

This is going to be a slaterer for me. This is incredible.

 

Verdict: Sex in the back of his car at midnight in the middle of a hot summer. With a foreboding breeze trickling through.

 

Strong sillage to start, incredible staying power. It feels feminine to me but honestly I don't know why. Really sexy musty.