Metamorphosis

This is another Lush creation that I like a lot. Its an odd combination of oomph in the notes/scent itself without having a strong sillage. I find myself wanting to spray more but that does not increase the sillage. Still, the scent itself is lovely. The cloves is very noticeable and I thought it was with bergamot but notes read red mandarin as the citrus (the blood orange shown above in the notes is an error; should be corrected). There is a soft cola like scent in there, a tiny bit like in the Sikkim Girls, another Lush favourite. Metamorphosis is a little bit mysterious, a little bit incense like (maybe the sandalwood which is listed in notes, and the strong labdanum which I always like), but yet it is somehow fresh at the same time (the red mandarin and the neroli). Its a little bit like a natural version of Estee Lauder’s Youth Dew but with extra cloves. Does not change much over time on my skin. Very wearable and enjoyable, a scent you want to spend your day in. A tiny bit more projection and longevity would make this even better.

Since this has been discontinued for a while, I managed to get hold of an in-date full bottle on eBay as this was one I have been wanting to try. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect as the listed ingredients are a bit of a hodge-podge, but I was very pleasantly surprised. On first spray, I am immediately reminded of Fentiman’s cola, cinnamon jawbreakers or aniseed balls and Christmas potpourri. Front and centre are cloves and the same red mandarin as in their Icon perfume. There’s a dusky, antiquated background of the labdanum and sandalwood, a combination that conjures images of dark wooden furniture; the worn shelves in which the jars of spiced goodies sit. That would be the image for this perfume, an old fashioned candy shop, but by no means is this blatantly saccharine, it is very subtly sweet, hiding behind all the rich spices. If it were not for the poor projection and longevity, I would declare this perfume as one of Lush’s best. Still beautiful though.

This is nice as a "smell" and a bit less effective as a "perfume". It has 3 distinct phases, but the volume of the first two is much, much louder than the drydown, and the first two phases are very short lived. Metamorphosis opens with spicy woods, bitter floral, and sweet citrus. While dry woody labdanum peppered with spicy clove is the star of this show, the opening curtain is a petitgrain-leaning orange blossom and mandarin. The clove of this fragrance is very classic clean spice. The combination of petitgrain and clove are reminiscent of a fresh morning: Listerine and aftershave. The mandarin and petitgrain/orange blossom fade quickly and the labdanum and clove pervade for 2-4 hours, the clove fades, then the labdanum as well. The labdanum is dry--no amber or resin here--very woody and dark. The last hurrah of the fragrance is a skinscent that is reminiscent of a dry myrrh or a very modern sandalwood, albeit at a barely detectable level. I believe the inclusion of "benzoin" in the Fragrantica notes is a mistake. Though "benzyl benzoate" is a component of the materials, there is no balmy vanilla benzoin smell anywhere in this fragrance. As someone who loves labdanum, cloves, woods, and spicy chypres but enjoys an occasional break from oakmoss, this smell hit the spot for me for late summer/early fall daytime wear. It's not "pretty" but it is "interesting" and it definitely smells "good". To my nose it's perfectly unisex. Unfortunately, the longevity is short and there is very little development. But it's a nice straightforward Autumn scent nevertheless.