Itasca

"Itasca" is a refined woody fragrance that balances all its elements terrifically well. Sharp, cool, fresh, piney, peppery, smoky, sweet, soft, romantic, rugged...it's a lot of things! The woods here are realistic, but are composed in such a way as to not make you smell like a forest. Pine stands out with its bracing freshness, but there is also that 'sanded wardrobe' effect I get from vetiver, and the vaguest traces of smoke alluding to a distant campfire. Spices and geranium add a delicate piquancy, and the juicy freshness of citrus and juniper give zest to the heart, avoiding the astringent 'disinfectant' accord that plagues so many other citrus/vetiver compositions. In the background, a mellow tonka bean provides a perfectly measured sweetness, giving warmth and sensuality. Quite easy to imagine a handsome, stubble-jawed cowboy sitting casually on a log pile, carving wooden figurines with a flick knife. I imagine women would go wild for a guy wearing this. It's about one of the sexiest masculine fragrances I've encountered. One of Lubin's best.

Well, I absolutely adore vetiver. It's one of my favourite smells, and therefore, I love Itasca. I also love masculine perfumes, lots of them. The vetiver is divine in Itasca, but really, on me, the little bit of floral, and fruit are quite noticeable, and it smells rather feminine. Must be my skin. On my husband it is very very masculine - sharp, fresh, crisp, smoky, piney, all the masculine things, but it's really a lot softer, less sharp, more gentle, on me. It starts off very fruity/citrusy, quite delicious, with a lovely hint of florals, and then moves into a more oriental, spicy, herby, incense woody, a little piney, resinous ambience, which smells soooo divine! I love it, it's a fantastic combination. But the vetiver is the magical part. The beautiful musty, dry, woody, smoky, bitter-chocolatey smell of vetiver just turns me on; I adore it. So Itasca is a delight, for both of us. A wonderful, slightly bracing, but full of many contrasting smells, and completely delicious, perfume.

Itasca is a well blended complex non-linear fragrance that took me a few wears to get my nose around. The marigold at the top is floral and aromatic, functioning like lavender but smelling very unique at the same time. This is a note I will look out for in the future, it’s really intriguing. The citruses play a supporting role, just adding some brightness at the top. As the marigold fades the spices come to the fore along with the pine and resins, similar to a classic fougere. The final act though is my favourite as it darkens into a pine forest vetiver, lightly smoky with a smooth leather like quality, although this isn’t listed so that might just be me. Itasca never shouts but it lasts for 8+ hours on my skin and leaves a really sexy earthy skin sent behind. I imagine this on a mature man or woman who enjoys the outdoors as much as they enjoy life’s more refined pleasures. Great versatility, any season, casual or formal.

As a Minnesotan, I know all about the woods and forests. I spent many years hunting deer near Itasca. It is a place of breathtaking beauty and scents. I was a little skeptical over how a company based in France could understand and create such a fragrance that represents the mystery and beauty of Itasca's forests. Here's what I found: This was a recommendation from a fellow member. I had never even heard of it but, it really intrigued me. It soon made it's way to my top 5 scents, truly a beautiful fragrance! A very well blended creation with a little bit of everything. The one thing that stays in your soul forever once you have visited a Minnesota forest is the smell of pine. This fragrance has it, and it's used beautifully. It's a pretty linear scent but it smells so good that it doesn't really matter! It's fresh and dark at the same time, green, mysterious and a little bit of warm spice. I love it.

I’m so devastated I waited too long to buy a full bottle. The newer bottles are all I can find but they’re so fugly compared to the one pictured above. I saw a couple listings offering this bottle with the brown and I was so excited to own it one day but now they’re all gone. I don’t want it anymore I hate the new design so much. It’s not even really that bad but the thought of looking at it knowing I could’ve owned the original beauty would make me SICK. The scent itself in the most phenomenal masculine scent I’ve ever smelled in my life. I like unisex fem leaning scents but this makes me not give a damn! Edit: it’s all good I found an original bottle. Feels so good in the hand with this copper outer layer. Also this scent started my journey into masculine scents and I’m starting to prefer them now

If everyone agrees Tauer 02 is a feminine-leaning unisex masterpiece then Itasca must be masculine (not taking likability into account - merely whether the scent is ideally balanced/formulated; if we were talking likeable then obviously it would be Aventus :P ) I don't smell anything evergreen in this, which usually is a turnoff because when I buy a perfume I want a combination of aromas, not just the same experience I would get from picking a bunch of pine greenery and crushing it. It's so subtle. It makes me feel like I'm in the presence of a very mature calm imaginary man. Maybe a very young grandfather. But he smells dreamy, not like simple aftershave. THIS is what I want from perfumes when I'm not looking for a realistic one - notes so well blended I have no idea what the components are.

Lubin Itasca...I was looking to try this one for a while as the bottle looked interesting and the themes seem right up my street. Man was I right! Itasca opens with a perfect breeze of citrus, masculine pine, woods and vetiver, and resin fresh but earthy and perfectly evocative of lakes flanked by forrest. This is in a typical mould of woody aromatics leaning toward the masculine on my skin but absolutely unisex by the same score. It's not a deep sledgehammer of a fragrance and has a subtle classy feel to it without being intrusive in any way. The drydown transforms the heart of pine into a resinous, amber which is very slight and close to the skin but smells amazing...almost leathery. Longevity and projection are not all that great but Itasca is worthy consideration...I enjoy it!

Itasca is a beautiful perfume, offering a very dry way to evoke the idea of freshness and forests. There are certainly coniferous notes in here, but they do not dominate as they usually do in fragrances which feature them: the dryness of the vetiver, the geranium, and the light spices make the entire thing seem crisper and cleaner. I grew up in Minnesota, and this does not remind me so much of the deep woods up north that the advertising copy pointedly invokes, but rather the peaceful feeling of the many Minnesota lake cabins. This would be a wonderful scent to wear to the office because it's not at all cumbersome. It may be a little lighter than I would like, but this makes it actually ideal for four season wear (this is actually very wearable in winter).

First of all let me tell you that Le Vetiver and Itasca are two completely different scent (I have both). Le Vetiver is citrus based and more aromatic with very prominent vetiver note. Itasca is a warm spicy woody scent with vetiver hiding behind other notes. Overall I fell in love with this scent shortly after I sprayed it on my wrist. All notes are blended well together and the fragrance is very smooth but rich. I get freshness from fir and pine, some sweetness from spices and cedar and a hint of smoke that seems to tie all notes together nicely. This scents evokes memories of my childhood and those magical winter holidays when the house was filled with aromas of the real Christmas tree and spiced mulled wine.

Yes! This is what I would love my man to smell like. It opened with a fantastic mix of vetiver and pine simply taking my breath away. Soon citruses joined in and I was left with a lovely heart part where still vetiver plays the biggest lead, but also smoky incense joins in followed by balmy resins making this very sweet, sexual and comfy. It has the best qualities one could ask for, it has a great silage and staying power is superb, it is made very masculine and strong yet subtle enough to make this a perfect go to scent for everyday use. Do try this, a lovely surprise for everyone who loves vetiver. Surely will get you many compliments.

Breathtakingly beautiful vetiver centered aromatic scent now available in a more concentrated EDP version. The perfume is a tribute to a legendary land of ancient American Indians and evokes the aura of an unknown mystical region. The perfume opens with notes of citruses, neroli, marigold and juniper berries. The heart has notes of cloves, nutmeg, sage, geranium and tonka bean. The perfume settles on the dense vetiver base surrounded by benzoin, incense, amber, cedar, pine and fir. Unisex masculine leaning with pronounced sillage and projection and very good longevity. Absolutely beautiful and eminently wearable. Enjoy!

Vintage scent profile with a modern execution — this one is a real GEM... This fragrance may put a few extra hairs on your chest...much prefer this type of “manliness” to today’s direction of fragrances that smell like poop, sweat, or urine — usually draped with oud or other middle eastern try-hardism (I don’t like the dethroning of euro masculine fragrance leanings for this rank direction)...Itasca melds aromatic, spicy, woody, and resinous facets seamlessly to produce an apex “alpha male” aesthetic that has an ultra foresty vibe...has formidable performance...and is of good value. Get familiar...

Amazing scent. It opens strong with smokey incense, pine and juniper. Instead of coming across dark or brooding theres an ethereal, transparent quality to it. Like crisp, cold mountain air fragranced by a nearby campfire. It eventually dies down to a soft vetiver tempered with ashy incense and some just-subtle-enough spiciness. Lasts a solid 8 hours on me and it never gets boring. The aforementioned transparency makes it wearable at all times of the year. I really love this and will probably be getting a bottle soon!

After having a sample for a few years, last spring I bought a full bottle but chose to wait until colder weather to become better acquainted with it. This is my new go-to winter delight! It doesn't fit in any rigid perfume genre and that adds to my pleasure wearing it. As the perfume develops on my skin I smell incense/resins, I smell spices, I smell citrus, I smell greenness and herbs and most definitely a forest of conifers!!! Definitely a new love!!

This is breath of FRESH clean early morning air, in the great outdoors. Manly and clean yet beautiful. Refined, spicy vetiver, without tobacco and I pick up an ever so slightly minty clean scent. Underneath it all the incense gives it some balls. Manly and beautiful, I love it from start to finish. This can easily be a signature scent. Read Jack Hunter's review, he gives a great break down of this fragrance.

this is a successful variation on the vetiver theme. it is really jazzed up with sweet woods, spices and a beautifully astringent vetiver note that lubin does well. it doesn't really remind me of ontario (or minnesota for that matter) but like a jazz tune, you can call a perfume practically anything..... bought it and really enjoyed it this spring

Definitely too masculine for me, but the quality of Lubin is certainly there. Vetyver is a note I struggle with because it can go sour on me easily. This is nicely balanced with woody and green pine, so while there is a good dose of vetyver, the other notes are very complimentary. Lovers of woody evergreen perfumes should give this a shot.

I’m wearing Lubin Itasca now, and it’s really, really good. Fresh, soapy, piney, and woodsy. The dry down is great. Could a women wear it? Yes of course, but to me, this has masculine vibes from the old school perfume days, but with niche quality. Unfortunately, no one is going feral on me, but who knows? Cheers my fragrant friends.

Itasca is a wonderfully spicy, woody, incense and resin nuanced, fruity, florally vetiver. It is absolutely stunning. A unique masterpiece. I can't get enough of it. It sends me into delirious bliss. I really love it. It's so fresh and scintillating, but also has some warmth, and softness. It's delicious.

I really like it a lot with more wears. A woody vetiver seems to be the focus though there are several other elements present such as pine, spices, smoke, tobacco, and musk. It's not a fresh woody scent nor a dark scent, but a rugged lumberjack fragrance. Masculine, complex and attractive.