Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Labdanum


It seems that lately this is the note I come across most often as interesting, hard to define, and not being able to distinguish. I swapped with Carol from WAFT by Carol and got DK Labdanum (which I loved) and after that, labdanum started appearing everywhere (it probably just seemed so to me). And everytime it appears in a perfume in a somewhat large amount, I like the scent. So, yesterday finally, after trying one of Boadicea scents and finding listing of labdanum, I came home and took out my Coulisse de parfums to try the original scent.

OH MY GOD! Is there a variant of this in a perfume bottle? Because if there is, I need it - badly. Very badly. :) Btw, if there was any variant of this Labdanum in Boadicea's Complex, it never reached my nose. Being new to the world of perfumery, my guess is there are probably variants of the Labdanum which might not all smell the same. This one is Rockrose Labdanum and it's absolutely wonderful. It smells sweet, slightly medicinal to me (herbaceous - most medicine I had when I was a child was herbal, so now I tend to associate the two) and ambery-boozy. The booklet that came with the coffret described it as floral as well, but I have to admit, I didn't get any floral. Today, my little strip did start emiting slightly leathery whiffs, but I still can't get any musk. Hmm. Maybe because I still do not really know how musk is supposed to smell...?

Anyway, if anyone has a suggestion as to something that smells pretty much like the labdanum from the Coulisse, please share. :)


Photo by:/www.monrovia.com

2 comments:

  1. Hi Ines!

    Labdanum is a wonderful material and you're right, it's delicious. Rockrose and labdanum are the same, but there are two varieties, the Cretan (cistus creticus) and the Spanish (cistus ladaniferus)> the difference is more of a matter of production rather than actual smell (there is a small difference of course). You might find this Perfumeshrine article of mine on Labdanum of interest: It confirms your association of it with medicine and offers some perfume suggestions at the bottom.

    I also insist you try Madame X by Ava Luxe (please mail me with an address and I will send you along a sample for free!) :-)

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  2. Dear E, thank you for the great and informative link. I will definitely hunt down some of the suggestions and try them. :) And thanks for the offer - I will definitely take you up on it.
    Labdanum is truly a wonderful discovery for me.

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