Sappho

An important bit of context to this review is that I typically HATE the smell of jasmine in fragrances - I'm sure it's similar to the 'coriander tastes like soap' phenomenon, but 90% of perfumes containing jasmine are so indolic they smell like bad breath to me. I've given away countless perfumes that I've blind bought or been gifted due to this, and didn't even risk a test spray of Sappho on myself for fear of smelling like tooth decay for the rest of the day. The good news is that Sappho is in the 10% of jasmine-forward perfumes that smell absolutely gorgeous to me, likely because the tobacco and orris offset the jasmine and bring out its best qualities to my nose. I test sprayed this at least a dozen times over the course of a year, graduating from a tentative spray on test paper to dousing myself in it every time I visited the Oxford Street store, until my best friend got sick of my shit and gifted me a bottle. The jasmine is ripe and heady, the tobacco is almost creamy, there's a boozy note that I find myself wanting to huff and the base notes of powdery vanilla keep it on the right side of weird to use as a signature scent. It's sexy and smokey and as poetic as its namesake, evoking an image of a sapphic siren all the straight girls fancy.

Rich and creamy, this is a dream to wear, buttery orris and smooth tobacco, the jasmine isn't sharp or screechy, rather it blends beautifully with the other notes so that nothing is really that noticeable. This is a comfort scent, it smells clean and is an easy wear for any occasion. The vanilla doesn't show it's head for several hours into the wear but when it does it's in a subtle manner, not foody at all. There's a touch of powderiness here but mostly I'd call it creamy. Development is very light and you don't really notice as the fragrance moves through it's journey. Longevity is excellent, over 10 hours. If you haven't always enjoyed Lush perfumes do still try this as it's so perfectly blended and made with extremely high quality ingredients. I'm wearing it today and it's making me feel posh!

This fragrance helped me greatly in determining notes that I personally love in perfume. The opening is sweet floral jasmine entwined with Orris and Tobacco. The orris brings a powdery, almost chalk like texture and scent, while the tobacco creates a richer, darker smokey note. For me, sandalwood is the dominant note through out the perfume, but especially in the heart and base stage of the fragrance. A sweet wooden note, lightly powdery and warm, getting stronger as time goes on and I can never tell when the sandalwood ends and vanilla starts. This has excellent longevity, I can spritz it once on my décolletage and still smell it seven hours later. My only gripe is that this was limited edition in my country, but is available year round in the UK??? Shame!

Gorgeous! Sandalwood and/or iris fans- Lush Sappho is for you. Sappho is a gorgeous, smooth, warm sandalwood and iris scent. The vanilla and tonka are not pronounced (this is not a gourmand scent) they just add to the smoothness and round out the base of this fragrance. The jasmine is almost non-existent. No stank at all here- very clean, soft, cozy, smooth sandalwood & iris scent. Very comforting and easy to wear. Gorgeous autumn/winter/early spring scent.

My friend just shocked me by gifting me a bottle of this from the giant Virginia LUSH store after I told her I wanted to smell it so bad. It's nice! It smells like purple flowers, cedar and síbín. Shout out to the reviewer with the Arataka Reigen pfp who said to shake the bottle - I did, and I think it needed it.

when i first bought this i was really disappointed because it had a very strong floral note and nothing else, but after shaking the bottle its a very strong and complex smell, lasts all day very smokey and powdery

Very reminiscent of L'Heure Bleue, but minus it's huge spicy carnation note.

one of my favourite perfumes ever. smells like a butch from 1890.

Not gonna lie, upon the first spray, it does remind me of play-doh, probably from the tonka/vanilla/sandalwood combination. Also a barbershop? It's very harsh with the floral/alcohol upfront, but it does calm down. It then becomes very smokey, deep, floral and it really smells good. After a few hours, I'm left with a light, vanilla cake-ish scent on my skin. It takes you for a ride, and I wish the vanilla was a little more upfront, but I can always layer to add more vanilla. I do like it and I feel like the mysterious, dark woman that I always dreamed to be when I wear it.

I really like this. Like Lush scents in general, there is not much complexity or layered blending but its made out of natural ingredients giving it pureness and variation present in natural essences. Very enjoyable, thick, tar like scent but female tar like, female tobacco with vanilla. Its earthy and powerful and sensual. Not for wussies, you have to own your sexuality to wear this. Colder weather scent for sure, earthy, come closer and let me ravage you sandalwood, vanilla, tonka and orris. Yum.

This smells exactly like fizzy cola bottles to me!

this is what lesbians smell like.

I remember sampling this during Covid days before all Lush shops shut down and really liking it. Ordered it a couple of years later and I’m really confused and sorry, actually, that I don’t like it as much as I wish I would. The perfume smells like an old lady’s vanity, with a bunch of heavy vintage sweet aromas mixed. Or like a library in a rich granny’s house, where she used to keep her 50-60’s makeup in for some reason. With time it turns from rich-heavy-floral to light-sweet. I’m a big fan of complex perfumes but this one’s not for me. I’m too young, awkward and unsexy for such a sultry and confident perfume.

I'm usually hesitant to describe a perfume as a "knock-off" of something more famous (and I hate the word "dupe" being used to describe anything that's in the same general note category as something famous). HAVING SAID THAT, I put Lush on my arm to sample and later smelled it and thought "When did I apply L'Heure Bleu?" I'm not saying this to devalue Sappho, just as a way of assuring anyone who missed out on it and is desperately trying to source a sample or is considering buying a bottle at some ludicrously jacked up post-discontinuation price: this isn't some holy grail, just go try L'Heure Bleu instead.

Progressively I take an alcoholic beginning of tonka, tons of tobacco soaked in jasmine, buttery iris, cream of sandalwood and vanilla. But above all aldehydes in the background!.. In the first hour, it smells like the 80's and like the inside of my mom's bags. A feminine and "iconic" Lush initially vivid and slowly calmer, comfortable,amber,simple pownder,welcoming and sweet in the drydown. Familiar.

This is a powdery, very clean scent. Think more iris than orris, TBH. I was expecting creamier than it was because of the supposed tonka and vanilla note. All and all a good clean scent, not as warm as it reads in the notes. It's good, but should be better for the price point.

I was really hoping to love this but it smelt like sunscreen and just weird and my brother agreed too. I dont know hopefully next time when im somewhere near a lush store ill try and revisit it and like it. I really loved the idea of a perfume based around sappho and being lesbian and all but 😔 doesnt agree with my senses Just saw im the only negative written review for this perfume😭 sorry

Sweet, dry pipe tobacco atop vanillic resins. Sensual and smooth. The orris and tonka create a powdery veil around the whole composition, complimenting the dry tobacco beautifully. The jasmine is ripe and lush yet tame, it isn’t indolic or projecting any urine-like facets. Here, jasmine doesn’t make a grand entrance (on my skin anyway) She’s mysterious and quietly announces herself, fades, then peeps out here and there. My chemistry really pulls out the tobacco, tonka and vanilla—deep, sultry and gently sweet. It feels balsamic but the type that reers a little crystallised, perhaps even powdery. I’m used to smelling overly sweetened tobacco or honeyed/gourmand leaning tobacco scents, or those tempered by a rose. This is still rich, though. It has a slightly boozy undercurrent. The only tobacco scent I’ve smelt that gives off remotely a similar feel to this is Habanita, but she is much more complex, with layers of florals and hints of fruits. The sandalwood grounds the fragrance lending a slightly meditative woodiness with a creamy edge. There’s a little vintage charm in here. Sappho is comforting, warm and addictive. Longevity is eternal with this, I bathed both of my babies back to back and I can still smell it on my wrists and arms. Old soul with a siren’s gaze.

Sappho is a perfume of poetic longing. tragic yet romantic, nostalgic yet timeless. The moment I smelled it, I thought of The Death of Sappho by Miguel Carbonell Selva—melancholic, poetic, and full of longing. It opens with a powdery orris, reminiscent of faded letters and distant memories. The tonka and tobacco add a smoky depth, making it feel almost cinematic. Then comes the jasmine—indolic, slightly animalic—haunting the sweeter, more polite notes like a ghost. Though it has a classic feel, it never smells outdated. Instead, it feels eternal, suspended in time. Sappho is beautiful, but in a bittersweet way. It smells like missing someone you will never see again, like a love you wish you could hold onto forever.

A very bitter dry, herbal iris. An interesting scent and good deviation from the sweet gourmandish scents at Lush (e.g. Snow Fairy) but also not something I could wear as a cis-female.

Hello, is anyone here who could send me the 5-10 ml sample to Czech republic? Not for free of course. Send me a message pretty please. :)

If anyone wants to sell a bottle (or even a sample), please PM me! This is on my must-try list - I'm in the US :) help a sapphic babe out

Dying to get my hands on a bottle of this ! Please message me of you are selling one and could ship to France :) x

I’m in the US and am DYING to try this. If anyone is willing to ship me a sample please private message me 🙏🏻🙏🏻

Someone mailed me a sample. I have fallen in LOVE. I wish Lush would release it in NA.

Smells very opulent and beautifully vintage like navy inky blue velvet Stunnig

Is anyone willing to mail a sample to the U.S.? I have been dying to try this.

ISO a bottle (or sample) of this! Please message me. I’m located in the US.

Now why is this £150 pounds? For real? Better smell heavenly.

lowkey lesbophobic i don't have any access to this perfume..

I would love to try this scent. I wish I could find it.