La Lugubre Gondola

[SophieCedar]

Golden amber, 7-year aged labdanum, and oudh.

I agree with comparisons to The Lion. However this doesn't have the weird effect of said feline: overwhelming me.

The oudh is what makes this so different. Slightly saffrony, rosey, dark, tart notes make the amber stand alert in Gondola. Reminds me of sticking my nose in a big assorted box of incense and essential oils imported from india. I love it. http://www.bpal.org/public/style_emoticons/#EMO_DIR#/wub2.gif

[fiddlehead]

This opens with a very woody note, very strong. It morphs into a softer scent quickly, though. The other notes appear and the whole thing just comes together in a really good amber perfume. I'm a little sorry I didn't get two bottles. I did grab a bottle of Hesiod's Phoenix to compare it with. I think the oudh is a little more prominent in Hesiod's. I like this a little better, but wearing both of them at once is magical.

[Aviatrix]

Holy resins, Batman! This one opens with a blast of resins, which is of course not surprising given the listed notes.

I'm not good at distinguishing different types of resins, though, so to me it's just "resinous".

 

It mellows out and becomes this soft, cuddly fragrance wafting around me when I move my arms. I think I am specifically detecting the amber now. It is really good.

 

This is like a resin lover's dream come true. Soft and sweet and cloudy and nice. I would describe it as glorious. And totally bottle worthy!

[tziporra]

I took a long time getting to this review because I was quite confused about why I do not want to wear this oil. I was so confused that I even ordered a bottle after trying the decant and not going crazy over it because resins (!) and I'm a resin lover, right?

 

Er, maybe.

 

After extensive thought on the matter, I've concluded that while I like resins as a base, I need, absolutely have to have, something shiny sitting on top of them. I love So Below because there is lovely amber and Copal, but sitting on top is COCONUT and CARDAMOM. I love Hope and Fear Set Free because frankincense, but sitting on top is VANILLA BOURBON. So. This has no top. It is warm and dark and mellow and everything everyone says it is, but it turns out I need a brightness in my scent that this doesn't, unfortunately, contain. It would probably be very good layered, but I have another too-flat amber scent I like better to layer, and this one is too much in demand to hoard when I am not crazy about it. In fact, I've already sold both the bottle and the decant. And I've learned something pretty valuable about my preferences in the process.

 

Regards,

 

Tzi

[liquidtrance]

Amber, clouded over by a resinous wood smell. This scent is like waking up and uncurling from inside a warm, well-worn and well-loved wooden box (having once been the resting place of incense) stored beneath an attic window, mid-day in early fall, sunlight pouring in over you.

 

I haven't been able to stop wearing this scent. I love to put it on my wrists just before bed, curl up under the covers in my cold, drafty bedroom with my dog, and fall asleep to this smell. It is incredibly soothing and comforting to me. Dry, but very warm and reassuring.

 

Unfortunately, this scent dissipates in strength drastically after about 15 minutes. For the first fifteen minutes it has the perfect throw. Modest, but enough to easily envelope just my personal bubble. Not something that comes storming into the room with you. But, as noted, it very quickly becomes a second-skin smell on me. Not a horrible thing, but I know I'll go through it much faster this way.

 

This is one of the VERY few scents that I have bought not one, but TWO bottles of. This says a lot for my collection.

[ljaylh]

Cola-ish amber with a bit of oudh. I get very little throw.

 

Monday has pretty much written my review for me here ^^

 

Applying this from the bottle, I have a sadface I didn't buy this initially (I have no idea why not, since I am an oudh and amber lover!) so I finally managed to track a bottle down all these months later - having read the reviews from so many people about this awesome amber and amazing oudh. So why none of that for meeeeeeee?

 

This one is... erm... weird at first. If I didn't know the notes, I would have said it's got red musk and mahogany in it. Wut? Yep. On my skin, this turns into dry cola (which is what red musk does to me) with vanilla-ish wood. It spends the first 20 minutes like that - doing this weird cola + dark wood thing, but with a slight bitter furniture-polish-y edge... but then about half an hour in, the amber comes out - glowing, warm, beautiful. Now it's making more sense... that sweet cola smell is fading, and the oudh is more up front. The labdanum adds a sticky resin base that's a really interesting partner to the soft duskiness of the amber.

 

After about 40 minutes, I'm happy with the way this smells - the lovely golden amber is holding strong, the oudh has mellowed to a gorgeous warm woodsy sweetness, and I'm really lovely the sticky labdanum. But I have to lean in real close to get a good hold on the fragrance - it has very little throw, and it's fading pretty fast.

 

One hour in, I'm left with just a hint of the oudh and labdanum, and just a soft breath of the amber. And remnants of cola.

[Suusje]

I have a few bits of solid amber resin and La Lugubre Gondola smells just like it. Truly wonderful.

[Schmoozy]

This is beyond stunning. As soon as I apply - this is all resin y amber. Extremely woodsy and while golden and bright, it is also dry.

In the beginning La Lugubre Gondola is loud and the throw is unreal. After 15 minutes it morphs into this amazing, stick to your skin amber oil, it's like all the notes dial it down a notch and my love affair begins. Absolute love. If you adore amber like I do, you must own this.

Edited May 1, 2015 by Schmoozy

[LizziesLuck]

Gah, this so so pretty. Amber amps hugely on me, and it's hard to find amber blends that aren't pretty much single note on me. The labdanum in this holds its own though, and is lovely with the rich amber. I really like this, and need more! MOAR!!

[Lucchesa]

OK, now I understand why I see La Lugubre Gondola in so many wishlists. This is gorgeous, and it has probably just kept getting better and better since the day it was created as that 7-year-old labdanum is now 12-year-old labdanum. Amber is the standout here, deep golden amber so rich it is almost spicy. This is backed by dark syrupy labdanum. I'm not sure I can really make out the oudh, which is a good thing because when oudh is pronounced on me, it's almost always stanky. No throw (which is normal for me) but when I sniff my wrist I am transported into a golden world of amber.