Exhale

Perhaps better known as being one half of the BNTBTBB/Gorilla/Lush blockbuster Breath of God, Exhale is a straight fragrance oil of vetiver, incense, and amberic woods. The smoke aspect of it - the combination of vetiver, incenses, and a cedar note that is so deep it's gone from its characteristic red hue to nearly black - is profoundly rich and robust. Don't expect bonfire smoke or any sort of chemically tarry qualities to the smoke, rather the total opposite. It's very smooth and supple. The smoke has lost all of its stringency and takes on an almost palpable liquid texture. The wood notes are deep and lacquered, with a touch of a chemical wood stain present - but, in keeping to the theme, this chemical stain note has no sharp edges to it as you'd expect; it's well sanded and well-aged. The final dry down pulls to my nose some loamy patchouli, woody and sweet labdanum, and dark animalic musks (it's not civet-y but certainly not soapy either). The overall effect in the last section of the perfume's life is something quite leathery, but it's a mirage. Ignore the details and you get dark and meaty leather, but peer into it with a magnifying glass and you realize that quite a few individual notes are very nicely stitched together. All in all, it's a very linear perfume, and when it does shift it's so subtle that it could be hard to notice. You won't mind this though, since Exhale has no need to be entertaining in order to get your attention and hold it. Wear with caution; as a perfume oil it will be strong and will stay so for a long time. And as such, it will be quite an experience: a smooth and seamless blend of the earth and all of its smells of the surface coalescing with those that wish to live in the air and sky. This is Mother Earth when she exhales. Excellent.

Very nice, non-cheap smelling way to get that "freshly washed&shaved" smell. Bought it for the boyfriend, somewhat has the same feel as "Dear John." Definitely high-end barbershop scent. Fancy!

This half of the Breath of God is really smoky, heavy, woody. It reminds me a whisky.

Deep smoke. This is half of LUSH's 'Breath of God' fragrance, which Luca Turin gave ★★★★★ in the 'A - Z Guide' The other half of BoG is 'Inhale'. Breath of God was first released by Cosmetics to Go and Be Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful. (In the round bottle above in the 'reminds me of' section'.) Lush started trading in 1995, after their first company, 'Cosmetics to Go' closed it's mail order buisness. If you love a dark, smoky, incensey scents, you should try this.

Exhale, accidentally layered with Inhale gave birth to what have become one of the most praised deliveries by the guys at Lush: Breath of God (originally released by the now extinct english firm B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful). While Inhale represents the bright fruity side, Exhale is entirely built on a woody/earthy vetiver accord enhanced in its smokiness by tarry notes and some leather. The overall effect will make the joy of any hardcore vetiver lover who likes its vetiver dark, smoky and slightly animalic. Excellent. Recently reintroduced in the Lush range as an oil. Rating: 8.5/10