Labdanum 18

Update: Having this for a while and loving woody fragrances: The Gurjam balsam, is a fantastic fresh, spicy, and woody note here. I have both Musc Ravageur and Labdanum 18. So I will make some comparisons. The opening of MR is more aggressive, dark and masculine. Lab 18 has a smoother opening. In the mid they become most similar. Lab 18 is less gourmand than MR. Lab 18 is a spicy, peppery "like", Labdanum; with the nice anamalics. The musc is about the same in both, more understated, especially in the opening of Lab 18. Lab 18 is modern. I appreciate that it's unusual for a Labdanum fragrance. The Labdanum is in a spicy fragrance accord, so it doesn't really smell like any Labdanums, of the many I have tried. I enjoy the smooth castoreum. It makes it exciting, adding a piquant note. It's in some of my favorite Winter orientals, Tom Ford "London", and TF "Tobacco Oud Intense". This is overall very smooth and conforting. It's not heavy, so it can work for any season, except very hot Summer days. The soft baby powder smell balances the peppery spiciness. The best fragrances balance contrast really well. Lab 18 does it beautifully. The projection is softly moderate, some call it a skin scent. The opening 30 minutes it's louder, then when it began to fade, I thought it was going to disappear and just have poor longevity; But no, the longevity is pretty good, it just gets soft for a long time. It has nice gourmand aspects, with the cinnamon, tonka and vanilla, giving it a bit of a gingerbread cake smell. The spices, musc and Labdanum keep things in a nice enjoyable balance. I have 4 Le Labo now, Santal 33 still being my favorite, and this would be my #2. This has the least synthetics/ aldehydes of any Le Labo; Mostly good natural notes and original modern blending here. Rating 9/10 God bless. John 3:16

I purchased a bunch of factory samples from Le Labo and the fragrance that I thought I would like the least I wound up liking the most. I've never smelled Musc Ravageur, so I couldn't compare it to that. But on first spray, and throughout the dry down, this strongly reminded me of 3 perfumes I already have. On first spray this smelled just like Moschino Moschino to me, with its sweet, resinous, spicy opening. It then morphs into a lighter Le Lion, with the same labdanum I love but with a much softer profile, more feminine, and a barely there leather note. The heavy amber aspect also reminds me of Shalimar to a degree too. Even though birch is listed in the notes, it doesn't smell like the typical birch tar leather note that is in a fragrance like Le Lion. What it smells like is castoreum, as I've smelled that same type of leather note in a vintage bottle of Floris's Edwardian Bouquet. Castoreum has an animalic oiliness to me, almost like oiled leather or the oiliness of the coat of a wild animal, and this has that same note to my nose. On final dry down it reminds me of softer Fendi Asja, with its ambery, balsamic, lightly sweet powdery vanilla musk. Pretty good silage and longevity too. I might just purchase one of the smaller bottles in the future.

I first tried this one 4-5 years ago and loved, but I'd sort of forgotten about it until recently trying it again at Le Labo, and I fell in love with it all over again. I recently purchased a bottle of this one from a trusted seller on Mercari. I chose it over Musc Ravageur, and although I like that one too, the newer formula doesn't feel dirty enough. I also tested Le Lion but my skin amplifies the smoke into the stratosphere with that one. This is an old fashioned elegant perfume in the same vein as Shalimar but less woody, and despite the old world powdered feeling, reads more like a masculine dandy perfume with my skin chemistry. There's a big dose of benzoin that smells creamy and delicious along with a bit of cinnamon and banana that combined with the musk and animalic notes, make this one a show stopper. It starts dirty and progressively gets ckeaner as time goes on. I have to be very careful in warmer temps as it becomes extremely animalic, moreso than Musc Ravageur. Old world charm, and a joy to wear. ------------------------------------------------------------- Scent 98/100 Performance 80/100

One of the best oriental fragrances I've ever tried. I was tempted to buy this, but I want to compare this with musc ravageur first before deciding on which one to get. After all, musc ravageur is by the same perfumer and he made it before he made labdanum 18; also the former is much more successful and well-known. So about why this is one of my favourite orientals. Firstly, you can never go wrong with labdanum, vanilla, amber, and tonka bean. It's just one of those combinations that you cannot dislike unless you hate vanilla and amber (unlucky you, you're missing out). Secondly, I love how the labdanum is blended with the civet and castoreum; the animal facets aren't overbearing, but are noticeably there. Thirdly (and lastly), this oriental masterpiece reminds me of my grandparents' apartment (they live in China so of course their apartment smells oriental) and triggers my nostalgia like crazy. My only complaint for this fragrance is that the opening smells like Chinese food, but not in a gourmand way, in a strangely strange way.

I left a review for this when I first got a bunch of Le Labo samples. I wound up buying one of the 15ml. bottles. I don't need more than that now because once on, you have to wash it off to remove it. So, performance is spectacular. Every time I wear this, I get something else out of it, and I love it more and more. On me it opens with a lot of birch and leathery castoreum which sticks around for quite some time. Slowly it evolves into a spicy, vanilla, ambery, labdanum elixir that I really love. I'm surprised that I like the vanilla here, because I am so done with that note, and even though the vanilla is strong it's lightly spicy from the cinnamon, so I am having an easier time with it than I do with most dominate vanilla perfumes. The longer this wears on, the more it reminds me of Shalimar extrait with a dusting of cinnamon and also Fragonard's Grain de Soleil. It shares many of same notes of both. It's really a great fragrance that smells wonderful on these cold winter days.

MASSIVE LOVE!!! Nice soft, powdery MUSK/tonka/vanilla fragrance. Labdanum 18 has some similarity to Musc Ravageur and Shalimar (Roucel said Shalimar was a bit of a muse for this one). Beautifully blended and doesn't evolve a whole lot, it is fairly linear. But in a very good way. Very musky and sexy yet also soft and clean. Like grown up baby powder. If you love the dry down of Musc Ravageur but don't care much for the massive opening, this is a great happy medium. Maurice Roucel created both Labdanum 18 and also MR and his signature on both is clearly apparent. While both are unique, they share some similarities. This is a fragrance that will draw a lot of compliments. It doesn't announce itself but can not be missed when someone is close. I hugged 3 people today and all three commented very enthusiastically about how good I smell. Labdanum 18 is one of my favorites musky powdery fragrances of all time. I can not imagine ever tiring of it.

This is certainly one of my favourite fragrances to come out of the LeLabo house. The dance between the labdanum, vanilla, and amber makes for a warm hug of a fragrance that simply calms my nerves. Its my comfort fragrance that brings back memories of good times with the people I love. It also has this almost melancholy quality to it that reminds me of a rainy day after a fight with someone you love. The memories and feelings this invokes within me makes it something that will be a forever staple of my collection, and I will assuredly be buying a larger bottle once i run through the one i bought the last time I was in-person at the LeLabo Boutique in Chicago. This fragrance makes me happy, and I love it. Though I prefer fragrances that mingle in the "feminine" quality that society imposes on smells, this has a slight masculine edge that feels like something my dear grandfather would wear on a nice occasion, like christmas or thanksgiving.

Labdanum 18 is really jeopardizing. When I thought I'd be done with Le Labo's Labdanum 18 forever, I had a sample...and it got to me. It is no love-hate: I just did not find newer formulas performed really well on various occasions during various seasons. I did love the original formula though! Strange as it gets: I have previously been smelling the new formula as fecal play dough and too moderate to deserve its spot in the higher niche rankings. However, Labdanum 18 recently got me compliments, I noticed other accords and my appreciation tends to gravitate towards love. I wish Labdanum was less linear, play-dough like. I can comprehend why Labdanum is regarded an incomplicated, toned down reminiscent of Musc Ravageur. However, Labdanum is a notable clean musc, whereas the dirty musc in MR is much more distinctive. Musc Ravageur is enigmatic. But when mixing Labdanum 18 with Musc Ravageur, I found that these scents fill each other in.

You either love it or hate it. My bottle is very animalic and I love the juxtaposition of musk, castoreum, and civet contrasted with the warm and powdery amber, vanilla, cinnamon and tonka. The resins and birtch tar add to the depth. I love raw musks, and Le Labo executes it amazingly in Labdanum 18, Musc 25, and Tonka 25. When I first freshly spray this on a cold autumn or winter morning, it makes my eyes roll back in my head. It also makes me want to go back to bed because it's so relaxing. It's also sexy and a very carnal experience. I've tried all the competitors, and this one is perfect for my taste. I've never paid retail for it, but it's one of the few that is actually worth the steep niche price imo. ××××××××××××××××××××××××××××× Scent 99/100 Performance 80/100 ××××××××××××××××××××××××××××× P.S. Be careful in the heat. I accidentally wore this in the heat and it was brutal🦝

A praise for softness, it's not gourmand nor sugary at all, really elegant and comfortable; Maurice Roucel is a master for vanilla-amber scents, and here again he proved it. The animalic notes mixed with a hint of spices and leather, are perfectly balanced by a clean musc (I bet Velvione, as in Helmut Lang EDP) and a huge amount of creamy / balsamic / resinous vanilla. When I wear it sometimes I have the same feeling as if, coming from outside drenched by a storm, I wrapped myself in a super soft wool blanket, surrounded by Nordic blond wood furniture. I can't deny the baby powder side, but it so much more than that. And yes, it may belong to the Shalimar - Musc Ravageur family, but it clearly stands by its own... I really love it and It became my signature, (along with MR and Helmut Lang, created by the same M. Roucel btw, I'm a fan I guess...)

I really love how this performs in cooler weather. As many say, it is similar to MR by FM. Someone said the drydown was similar to MR, and the opening was different, but I disagree. To me, it's the opposite. The openings are similar, but the drydown in MR is more musky and more gourmand with its clove and cinnamon, whereas this one is more powdery and smells like an expensive French powder. I love them both and wear them both, but MR is what led me to buy this one. I find that this one is an easy reach for me, whereas I don't wear MR if I am having an average day in which I am around other people because MR is one of my most comforting scents, and seems more personal. This one is also comforting, but isn't as personal to me as MR. They both have their place in my collection and are used mainly in fall and winter.

My very first sample from this house and I absolutely love it. I have just ordered a full size bottle. And more samples of other perfumes they have. It’s rare for me to fall in love so fast with a scent but this one just grabbed me. I can’t stop sniffing my wrist . I am treasuring the 5ml sample til i get my bottle in . Hey Initio, you can take a lesson in perfume making from a house like Le Labo. Ughh Initio and their crap overpriced full of chemicals “perfumes”. Never believe the hype. I’m starting to think Initio is paying ppl to leave rave fake reviews. They do it on YouTube all the time. Give a Youtube reviewer a free vacation and a bunch of your free crap perfumes and watch him lie his ass off and just praise how each one is just sooo wonderful...yeah ok. Right Sebastian? Wink wink. We all know now.

I have no experience with Le Labo at all. I was walking through the Lagaurdia airport and saw their store so just randomly chose two scents and sprayed them on different wrists. One was the noir, which I’ll write a seperate review on. The other was labdanum 19 or whatever this is called. It’s such beautiful scent, but it’s way more animalic than I was expecting. My brother thinks it smells like poop, but I disagree, although the civet and castoreum are challenging. This smells like a sweeter and more wearable version of Zoologists Hyrax. This is musky, rubbery, animalic, a tad smoky, and very well blended. I’m happy with this, although the plane may not me 😬 This is such a gorgeous perfume, and definitely squashes the myth that Le labo makes boring clean and mass appealing scents only

I am madly in love with this fragrance! I bought Le Labo's full sampler and redeemed my full size for this one. A lot of the fragrances were just fine but this one... I cannot stop pining for it. It starts out very powdery, animalic, and a littttttle hint of maybe smoke? It ends like creamy milk. I'm not usually into powdery fragrances but this one is stunning. It's similar to Shalimar, but this is everything I hoped Shalimar would be. Shalimar smells like citric animals and powder. I don't get any off putting dirty diaper smells a lot of people are reporting, so I only hope people in my vicinity aren't thinking I smell like poop. Lasts all day, mild sillage, definitely unisex. Perfect for warm evenings, or any time during colder weather.

From my previous reviews it is obvious that I have been disappointed by the new formula of Labdanum 18 before. It is not a full hate-love affair, but Labdanum just left me with a bland sense bordering between love and blankness. Last year I finally ordered an example of Labdanum 18. Someone entering the room was stunned by the scent after its drydown. She asked me what fragrance I was wearing. I showed her the bottle and she immediately referred to positive online reviews on Labdanum she had watched on YT. I said "Just try it!" and she applied a couple of drops. Like her, I have heard from other people that they find this fragrance delicious. Also when a loose whiff lingers in the room.

Oh no! I sampled this one again, on my skin as well as on a cotton cloth. Lately my interest for this fragrance was evoked again. I want to love Labdanum, even though she lacks exciting notes as she mostly smells after play dough and is the epitome of a linear fragrance. There is something comforting about Labdanum, which doesn't even resemble genuine Labdanum. But my last experience with Labdanum felt off-putting. Instead of a comforting musky, gourmand-noted association, she gave me an impression of cat shit. I cannot unthink the fecal note again. What has been smelled, cannot be unsmelled- I wish L18 was like I remembered her!

I thought I couldn't love a powdery "animalic" musk more than I do (err, did?) Musc Ravageur. But this... This is incredible. It is a softer, more fur-lined, fluffier, sweeter, more feminine version of M.R. Pronounced labdanum and soft woods, more and sweeter resins, less spices. I found myself "softening" M.R with Glossier "You" to tone the lavender, tobacco, and cinnamon down. Labdanum 18 is perfection, no feminization necessary. L 18 will surround you with warm, clean, floofy and cute ragdoll kittens for 8+ hours. A cozy, familiar, comforting and delightful fragrance.

I agree that the perfume is very intense. I do smell light animalic notes. It's beautiful though. Amber, labdanum and vanilla are the most pronounced and strongest notes for me. The perfume is very intense, warm, cozy, fall-inspired. It's a bit too intense for my liking. I do like strong perfume, but I am not a huge fan of strong incense-like perfumes. This definitely has some incense accords, even though they are hidden in the background. I do recommend it as a masculine perfume for fall, to those who prefer great silage, longevity and intense aura.

This fragrance changes a lot depending on the wearer's skin chemistry. It simply doesn't work on my own skin, but the most wonderful powdery, musky, cottony notes emerge when my husband wears it for example. Having been at home all day, snuggled up in your woollen blanket, you thought the weather outside was just harsh. But then you smell Labdanum 18 in the comforting embrace of a loved one who's just come in from the snowy cold, and you understand it's actually a dreamlike winter wonderland out there.

I sold my musc ravageur. And was one of my favorite fragrances. I love it, but that clove was a little to much sometimes.. Then i tried this.. it got all the elements of MR, but softer and no clove😁 Only thing is the lasting power, not that strong or long lasting. Its Kindle of soft after 4 hours now. But i have been to the gym as well. Edit. The one i tried in store lastet 10+hours with soft projection. The one i bought is super weak. Last 5 hours! Edit. Now after some months it last at least 10 hours