Libra 2016

[suki]

Cardinal air: the essence of balance. A blend of refined sensibilities: refined art, refined love, refined passion, and refined justice. Utilize this blend to enhance your appreciation of beauty and renew your fountain of artistic inspiration. It is a passionate blend, suffused with rose-tinted fire. The strawberries and roses of Venus gilded and polished into an urbane, elegant perfume by sheer white musk, mallow oudh, white incense, bourbon vanilla, red benzoin, and polished woods.

In The Bottle: Subtle but fresh strawberry and perhaps a bit of that mallow.

Wet On Skin: The strawberry reminds me of the original release of Strawberry Moon, from 2005. There's definitely an 'elegance' to this strawberry- this is not for tiny children. I get a hint of the 'polished woods' in the background, but it's mostly this sophisticated strawberry.

Dry Down: The strawberry holds firm. I thought for sure I'd get some rose in this, but no, it's really mostly a 'dry' kind of strawberry. I get little to no hint of any of the other notes, which is very odd, but this is what had happened on my skin.

In All: low throw, a subtle study in 'adult' strawberry. If strawberry is a beloved note for you, definitely get some of this. For myself, I will give it time to settle, but if it doesn't do something further for my skin, I have several beloved Libras who will no doubt be happy to have it!

[Kay Torres]

This is fresh out of the mail, so keep that in mind as you read my review. I wanted to get my impression out there in case it helps someone who is on the fence with this one.

 

In the bottle: Strawberry flavored booze. It's almost cough syrupy.

 

Wet: More strawberry. That's the strongest note. But not in a bubble gum, fruit punch type of way. At first it almost smells like melon, but not really. It's recognizable as strawberry, but in a way that I've never smelled one before. If strawberries can be fancy, this one is.

 

Dry: I burn through strawberry, so I don't smell it anymore. This has turned into a very, very elegant rose perfume on me. I can pick up the musk, resins and woods, and they're overlaid with rose in a combination that makes my nose happy. Sweet without being too sweet, perfumey in an understated, elegant way. And perfectly balanced. I'll definitely be backing up. It's got medium throw on me. Can't say how long it lasts yet.

Edited September 22, 2016 by SunsetKay

[roseus]

Generally I have no interest in smelling like strawberry, I usually find it too sweet and candy-like or too juicy. This one opens nicely, not too strong but it is the most identifiable note for me when in the bottle or wet. Dry the strawberry fades into the rose and they land somewhere between fruity and floral. It's gorgeous. The woods are really light and this has an almost airy quality (fitting for cardinal air). I think it might be the mallow oud and the white musk. This is a very refined blend. It's sweet but in a very grown-up and womanly way. Everything blends together so seamlessly. Beth did this Libra very proud with this one.

[Casablanca]

Wet on my skin, Libra is a polished, pale strawberry-rose musk. On the exhale I realize I'm sitting with mallow still in my nose. I didn't notice it on the inhale, but I smell it first on the next inhale. Gods, I love the lab's mallow. It's so fluffyyyy! The vanilla note melts right into it.

The other notes are well-blended and I wouldn't have found them without the list, but with the list I can pick out the incense. I don't find the others individually. They're just an accord of sweet sophistication.

Two hours later, it's almost the same as when it was applied. This is rare on my scent-eating skin... unicorn-rare.

A gorgeous blend. I am, with almost pleasant angst, considering a back-up bottle.

[puellacaerulea]

In the bottle, I mostly get strawberry and vanilla, with the other notes hanging out in the background -- it's like a grown-up, sophisticated strawberries and cream scent. Once it's on, the strawberry fades fast on me and my skin amps up the rose (which, unfortunately, goes powdery on me) and woods. The other notes are there, but very well-blended -- I'd have a hard time picking them out without the list of notes. After a while, the strawberry continues to hang out in the background, and the powdery rose dies down. The overall effect is resins, woods, and musk with a subtle sweetness. I'm a bit bummed about the rose note going powdery (rose might be my death note), but overall, this is subtle and sophisticated. This Libra/Scorpio cusp approves.

[joopjoop]

Libra is everything I hoped it would be.

 

The strawberry is fresh and smells real.

 

Once on, the rose rises up to meet it and there is a subtle creaminess in the background.

 

As others have noted, this is extremely well blended and the background notes give it depth and complexity. The overall effect is that of a very feminine fruity rose scent that is almost cloud-like. It smells fluffy in the best possible way.

 

My only complaint is that it is a little light - I wish it were stronger and had more throw. But still, I am SO GLAD I went for a bottle. Considering a backup.

 

"On a sheep-cropped knoll under a clump of elms we ate the strawberries and drank the wine - as Sebastian promised, they were delicious together - and we lit fat, Turkish cigarettes and lay on our backs, Sebastian's eyes on the leaves above him, mine on his profile, while the blue-grey smoke rose, untroubled by any wind, to the blue-green shadows of the foliage,...." - Brideshead Revisited

Edited October 9, 2016 by joopjoop

[Blood onmy hands]

The white musk made this a gamble for me, because I don't really like its sharp, perfumey, chemical qualities. It often smells sheer and washes out a scent for me.
Unfortunately, that's exactly what happens with Libra. The white musk is perfumey, cheap and slightly soapy. There's sweet strawberry and warm, toasty benzoin, but they're smothered in sharp musk. It gives it a chemical soup scent. I don't really get any mallow, vanilla or wood. Soapy, overly musky strawberry.

[annemathematics]

this is the first of the starstruck 2016s to not work on me. no matter how much i love the fruit and even the fake confectionery versions of the flavor, strawberry as a perfume oil is a fail on my skin. it starts off plasticky and dries down to a foul burnt meh in the few scents I've tried with it. alas, this includes libra. the other notes are all smothered and buried under the strawberry note. it's bizarrely and dramatically bad on me.

[ririchu]

I get a very woodsy "dry" strawberry, and the wood note kind of reminds me of peanuts (???). No explicit rose note on me. It's an intriguing blend, definitely non-linear. I'm going to let it rest for a few days/weeks and come back to it.

[Aviatrix]

This is a mellow strawberry-rose on my skin. There is a depth to the scent, but I can't pick out exactly what it is - probably a blend of woods and incense. It is one of the strawberry scents from the Lab that I have had the best luck with, so even if you don't normally do strawberry, you might want to give this a chance.

It feels golden and elegant to me, but with a freshness from the flowers and berries that prevents it from going too heavy or woody.

 

The throw is medium, and sadly it doesn't last very long on my skin.

[patina]

First applied, this is straight-up strawberry candy. Nothing but. It makes my teeth hurt. After a while it becomes more juicy and I can detect some subtle woods beneath. The white musk occasionally makes it smell clean, like a fancy fruit shampoo but it never turns to straight up soap.

 

The woods here are really giving the scent some much-needed balance and sophistication though they stay subtle and in the background. The throw is fairly low on me.

Edited October 17, 2016 by patina

[Elspethdixon]

This is a light, gauze-y sort of scent that's reminiscent of De Vos on me - maybe it's the combination of rose, fruit, vanilla, and white musk. The strawberry is detectable when wet, but as it dries the white musk becomes the dominant note on my skin (in my hair, the fruity/floral aspect dominated and lasted longer). Unlike previous strawberry scents I've tried, it doesn't turn into "vintage 1980s Strawberry Shortcake doll" on me, and the white musk never went high-pitched or turned into dryer sheets.

Throw is light, and so is the staying power - it was completely gone from my skin within two hours, and from my hair within three. Since I already have a couple light fruity/floral scents, I don't think I'll need a bottle of Libra, but I'll keep the imp to wear in my hair when I wear De Vos.

[zankoku_zen]

Mellow strawberry with pink roses and musky vanilla. I'm actually surprised at how much I actually like this. It's a very soft pink scent. The strawberry is fresh.

 

Actually, this is more along the lines of what I would have hoped DeVos to be. Pearlescent strawberry, roses and vanilla blend.

[Cali]

From the bottle this is nausiatingly sweet; crunchy marshmallow/strawberry sugar. The same sort of sugar similar in Fleurette's purple snails. But this is sweeter, more juicy. I'm not a fan, and I was hoping this would change to something delicious once applied, but on my skin it fades away leaving a trace of only to a wood note and the smallest touch of strawberry. Too bad. :c