Larrea

This truly is an amazing fragrance. It captures the smell of the high desert southwest with uncanny accuracy. The opening is one of cold, rain charged skies. The smell of earth and electricity mix with one of the most accurate saddle leathers I've ever smelled in perfumery. This fades within half an hour to the wafting, acrid semi-sweetness of desert creosote, and chaparral. The storm cloud smell of water that was strong in the opening has subsided, giving way to the scent of cold desert air. And just like being in the actual desert, comes and goes with varying intensity throughout the life of the fragrance. This gives the feeling of being out in a wide open, scrub brush filled plain that narrowly avoided a fall downpour. Magical. Longevity is very good. I easily get 10 + hours on my skin, with elbow length projection for the first 4 to 5. After about 7-8 it is essentially a skin scent but pleasant and detectable. This absolutely shines in Autumn, and early spring. I have worn this in summer a couple of times but realized that the creosote becomes too sweet and strong (during daytime wear). This is a cooler weather scent. Niche quality, hands down. I suggest buying a sample before committing to a full bottle as this may not be for everyone. This is an experience and a journey - not a statement being made. But for those familiar with, or wanting to smell the actual desert southwest of the United States - It doesn't get any better than Larrea..

La Curie Larrea Description per site: Ghosts of a desert monsoon. Dust encounters rain, chaparral, musk, petrichor, ozone, leather Inspired by the southwest rainstorms. Unisex - Eau de Parfum. You will NEVER hear me say a fragrance is exactly as described!!! However, this one is just that! I've been in the middle of the desert right before and during a heavy yet brief storm. This it it in a bottle! The dust is in the air sometimes thick, the approaching rain you smell, the ozonic note...yep, its there. The rain pours down from the sky, heavy and fast. You literally see the rain move in and out. You are left with wet dirt, dust still floating around yet the air feels cleansed. A small fire smolders in the distance. Leather from a worn saddle drenched by the rain wafting. It's good....REALLY good! It's a bit nostalgic and memory inducing which is a gift I think with a fragrance. So many are so similar to each other that you cant really define or remember exactly what you were doing. This IS a memory! I absolutely LOVE this! The perfumer created a beauty here!!!!!

very much a snapshot fragrance, which is something that I think this house does very very well. I feel like it transports me to the place it describes. Leathery, earthy, and oh so complex. It has good staying power but the sillage isn't very far, which I personally like for a fragrance that I would say lean more 'interesting' rather than 'universally accepted'. I'd rate this a year round fragrance, including the spring and summer months. I think too often any fragrance that isn't citris or bright florals gets shoved into the fall and winter categories. But personally a dry desert makes me think summer and I love leather as a summer scent. I found this fragrance on reddit looking for 'cowboy' scents and I dont think the recommender was wrong for listing this one. Overall a beautiful complex unisex scent that leaves me chasing each note and dreaming of cracked earth and praying for rain. VERY subtle on me, though

Holy my gosh! My hubby & I grew up in the Mojave Desert, surrounded by Creosote bushes (which we called Greasewood) and this perfume just blew us away! It smells like home, especially after a rainstorm. I have looked long & hard for something that smelled remotely close to our beloved Greasewood and this is it. After trying a sample (I ordered the sample set), I went right to her Etsy site and bough a full bottle. Anyone who is from the desert should certainly try this lovely, amazing scent. Thank you Lesli Wood. Can't wait to try all your other scents. Follow up: wore this again yesterday. It it lasted much longer than I remembered, with my skin well lotioned. And on long dry down, hubby and I noticed that it took on a lovely subtle maple syrup scent. A perfect finish for this amazing fav of ours.

It's rare that a fragrance perfectly captures an ephemeral scent from nature, and Larrea succeeds in invoking the feel of charged summer air right before a heavy downpour. I feel like I'm repeating what other reviewers have said, but the perfume is THAT precise in its connotations. It's a pretty remarkable feat to so clearly capture an atmospheric scent so viscerally. I really don't have much to add - it's just impeccably executed. Believe the hype.