Underneath The Ashes – Review: Idole de Lubin

By Olfactoria

May I just say, to get the pesky things out of the way, how much I do not like that bottle. I refrained from saying “hate with a passion” since that would be putting entirely too much emotion into that essentially irrelevant issue, but just to be clear, I do not enjoy the visual input of that bottle, Serge Mansau creation or not. So, that is that.

Idole was released in 2005, the name is borrowed from another Lubin fragrance from the 1960ies, but the juice is not the same. Idole was created by Olivia Giacobetti.

The notes include rum absolute, saffron, bitter orange peel, black cumin, Doum palm, smoked ebony, sugar cane, leather and red sandalwood.

How does it smell? It sure sounds like a heavyweight from that list of notes. But remember – we are dealing with the Queen of Translucency here. I have yet to encounter a dense and heavy Giacobetti scent. ( I am willing to be corrected of course!)

The first thing that comes to mind is some kind of cocktail. Spices swirling in a heady cloud of alcohol, but as soon as the rum note wears off, the orange and spices shine nicely on a backdrop of leathery wood. It is not at all strong, it does not project very far, but stays rather close and is gone after three hours. There is fruity-ness to the top that I do not entirely enjoy.

I start to appreciate Idole about an hour into wear-time. It is then that the spices take on a dark, subdued glow, like the remains of a fire, the coals still glowing under a heap of ashes. The drydown is sweeter, making it cozier, something to sink into after the stormier, more exiting ride that it was before.

Idole is probably ideal on a man, I would love to smell it on a man, unfortunately my own is of the opinion that he has found his scent of the year, and I am welcome to approach him with perfume wearing requests again in 2012.

I’ll update then.

Image Credit: flickr