The Lover's Tale

This perfume is masculine initially and in the dry down, though it does dry down just a tiny bit more subdued. My beast of a skin as always drinks up every perfume and eventually turns it somehow feminine, so this smells like I rubbed myself all over my lover who wore this perfume himself. Projection is only slightly powerful on me because of aforementioned hoarder skin of mine. But that’s a pleasant thing since this scent is so dirty, so sexual and powerful that it could easily overwhelm. People said it lasts for days, eternal? No, it lasted 3 hours on me, and then I had to sniff my skin. Perhaps it lasts on clothing. But if your skin is a beast.. it isn’t eternal. It is polarizing and not for the faint of heart. warmth amplifies the leather, in summer you would smell like an actual animal. It is a scent that is highly stirring, highly salacious, that the word ( and please do not excuse me for the profanity) “fuck” replaces “lovemaking” here. It’s not feminine sexuality, (since it’s clearly not feminine to me) it’s animal and rough... that isn’t to say that feminine sexuality isn’t like that, but if you do dress somewhat feminine and have somewhat of a feminine disposition in all feminine facets- feral, dark, soft and airy, vicious, wild, sensual, it’s still a scent which might strike as incompatible to you because it’s really masculine. (to me) I tried it on and didn’t plan immediately going out.... but ended up having to, and people twisted their heads at me. Getting a hit of that leather is dirty alright! With all that being said, I wouldn’t buy a bottle. I’m too feminine in dress and in personality for it. That isn’t to say that I prefer good girl scents, but I do wear airy dresses, and lace. But I love deeply richly darkly seductive feminine scents... and I thought this will be like that. It’s not. I would love this on men, and on the rare women who can pull it off... As an art though, this is an absolute emotion and masterfully crafted and I love Francesca as a perfumer and woman. You just must sample, because even on men this can settle oddly. Also, people say it smells like the epitome of sex? Good lord, no. Well. Maybe animals in heat. Not a complete sexuality, but primordial sexuality. It smells more like a 1960s sex lounge, (particularly 1960s because of its contemporary brazen feel) ornamented with whips and leather accessories and unclad women with nipple tassels offering guests drinks, with leather seats and cigarette smoke. This is not sensual. Its dirty. Theres a mighty difference. One is suggestive, alluring, the other one grabs you by the ass and bruises you. it’s not even carnal, it’s vividly kinky. Or, When I say it’s sexual, I mean it in the most animalistic and distilled way. i mean mating. if you will. It depends on whos wearing it too. Dandyman above said “ Must say: Masculine, +30 years, motorcycle-crowd, big city, dark nights, sexual.” Spot on. This is for an older man, dominant, and animalistic, dark and contemporary. I would definitely be intoxicated with this on men. This is a scent I imagine alpha werewolves in disguise wearing, Think Jacob black.. EDIT- SAMPLE. It can sit on some people like the smell of a rotten dead cats body. I mean it.

Lovers Tale I have waited a long time to write anything on this fragrance. This was maybe the first or one of the first drops for her as a brand and named after herself. This is a big deal in case you glossed over that. Like in many forms of art, the beginnings are where there is a sort of sign and root of what sits at the core of the artist. So I was walking at night when I came across some bushes of a white flowering plant. (I think it's part of the jasmine family of plants.) I was shocked at how intense and yet how subtle all the various shades of this scent were. Words like "narcotic," "dense," "misty," "raw," "animallike," "light," "effervescent," etc. I am no stranger to this magical act of plants producing potent scents at certain times. Yet especially at night whenever I notice this, I am just shocked again and again. Why do I mention this? Because this is the part that makes this fragrance so amazing. Yes, there are animalic facets, (first time I smelled it, I felt a faint feeling of being sick). It's also got a sort of cheesy facet, especially gorgonzola cheese, as if you smell the dried packaging of this sort of cheese somewhere around you. Yes, it has leathery facets (which I won't go into directly....). BUT..... This is a floral fragrance in its most glorious state. Not only the descriptive scent but also the visceral impact it has. Like the write-up says, The Lover's Tale is a "naughty leathery jasmine." This is as if you are a jasmine plant...only...you are made of flesh, bones, and many organic fluids. So a leathery, human-animal being that oozes jasmine. If the jasmine plant stops me at night with how gloriously it lights up the whole area and carries its beauty with the wind. This scent blooms around a person as someone who is gloriously oozing his or her white floral essence with all of their human-ness. It took me 3 wears to realize that I need a bottle. I now own 2 bottles of this beauty. Like in many artistic creations (think of films), the first one is THE one. I respect and enjoy many of her fragrances. However, this one...just does something that, although I know it well. It just always stops me right in my tracks. Just like that plant stopped me, not caring if anyone sees a random person standing and just inhaling standing next to some blooming bushes. It feels as if the world disappears. Similar to when you are with that special person, how the rest seems to fade....

As I read thru the comments I realize how this fragrance is so different on different ppl. Which is why I decided on buying a 8ml decant from MaxAroma first, because i didn’t want to be stuck with a perfume that I’ll never wear. I actually ordered decants of all the perfumes she offers. I fell in love with all but one. I bought full bottles of 7 of them thus far. As for Lovers Tale, yes it starts out very unappealing and even I was put off, but....after about half an hour it changes into a beautiful and very wearable fragrance on my skin, I start to get the rose and the Labdanum and the beautiful sandalwood. It becomes so beautiful, but then about an hour later it’s a barely there skin scent. I can still smell it on my hand if I put my nose to it. So, yeah it starts out very loud and animalic but then the florals show up combined with the sandalwood and Labdanum, I also get a lil orris in there, it’s just so beautiful. If it only lasted at least 2-3 hrs on me, I’d buy a full bottle and back ups. I had to buy back ups of TYGER TYGER and under my skin immediately. I’m slowly getting back ups of the others. I wouldn’t need back ups if the bottles were 100ml but at 30mls, that’s just not enough juice for me. 30mls is what I consider a purse spray size. I love this house and I have not found any of the scents that I don’t love or like. Well, except for Sex and the Sea, I just can’t tolerate that one. I don’t know which note or notes are repulsive to my nose but it just ruins it for me. However, I did try Sex and the Sea Neroli and THAT one I do like very much, I’m about to buy a full bottle of it as well. She has improved it 100 times by adding neroli. I love neroli and imho it only improves anything it’s added to. Great move Francesca. As always these are my own opinions and experiences with this house :) you may have a much different experience with this fragrance. Oh, I also forgot to add that my skin just drinks up perfume like crazy. I often have to remember to use a heavy moisturizer and wait for it to be absorbed into my skin, then the scents seem to perform much better and last a bit longer. (Except for my neck, scents i spray there seem to last and project longer) I guess it’s just my post menopausal dry skin...sigh .....it is what it is.

New signature scent for sure. Lets break this down. Fecal? Barn full of poop and animals? I dont understand why people are saying this. Never had any whiff where i could see why people say that. This is pure brown leather jacket dripping castoreum and honey, surrounded by iris and rose. Opening is very strong due to the high concentration and the quality. So if you want to try this beast and actually give it a chance seeing why people love this, do yourself a favour and let it sit for a few minutes. After that, it turns into a beautiful leather dominant, while honey and rose come in to the play. Im not much familiar with castoreum so i cant say much about it but i sense something very smokey and animalic in this and im sure its the castoreum. It stays leathery all throughout so if you’re not into leather scents- I’d pass. Definitely unisex with sweetness so i think anyone can pull this off but if you are into sweet feminine perfumes i wouldn’t recommend this. If we compare another leather perfume like ombré leather, which is fully masculine and straight forward black leather jacket. The lover’s tale has its own twists while leather is the star of the show all the way. The creamy iris and the sweet honey make it a unisex brown leather. It has a lot more depth and warmth. I would die for this on a man. Yup, sex in a bottle, use with caution. Should you blind buy?- I blind bought BECAUSE of the interesting reviews and how controversial this perfume is. Im super adventurous with my perfumes so if you are ready to step into the next level of niche fragrances and like to experiment with unique scents- you might want to risk a blind buy with this one. I dont understand why so many people hated this, really. Its perfect. Although, not for any occasion. I wouldnt wear this to work. Its too dark and sexual (also very strong for the office). Suitable for all weather, more for winter and fall but i will rock this all summer. Best blind buy ever. I will comeback for an update about longevity. Update: its been 15 hours and still on. Also, im sick and woke up a few times at night and the first thing i felt in my senses was this perfume. Still leathery, touch of raw honey, animalic and sensual. Very comforting.

Oh, this is an animalic beast– primal, yet still refined. I only applied three sprays the first time I wore it, in an attempt to not overapply per the recommendations of many reviews. I should have gone with one spray; this is one of the most potent fragrances I’ve ever worn. The Lover’s Tale leads with high-quality castoreum and leather, followed distantly by honey, orris, and peach. It is not a sweet scent, nor is it for the faint of heart or those who prefer conventional perfumes. However, it has an intimate, beautifully crafted, earnest appeal. I would recommend sampling before buying as not everyone can tame this passionate beast. The sillage is very leathery. If smelled up-close to the skin, however, it is more muddled. I own more than 300 fragrances and have owned far more than that over the last two decades and I can say with 100% confidence that this is the most long-lasting scent I've ever tried. I wore three sprays under a sweater and undershirt. The perfume transfer to my Jeep's seatbelt when I drove to the store and remains weeks later. My whole jeep smells like leather because of the 30 minutes or so I drove while wearing it. The sweater itself has been washed THREE times, once on the heavy soil setting with hot water. The scent is still perfectly distinguishable to this day. Indeed, all the clothes that were with the sweater in the first and second wash smell like leather now too. It's a really pleasant smell, but good lord, it is indestructible. All of this is to say, go very easy on the trigger with this one. Focus more on the scent of the sillage than what it smells like from 1/2 inch away. If you do these things, you're more likely to have a good experience with The Lover's Tale.