Shade

The wind ushers the aroma of woodsy, herby floral incense, rousing you out of your sleep underneath a largely comforting tree with ample shady branches. That's what this fragrance is like; unique, ethereal, transcendent. Like many Lush fragrances, it is an experience that transports you somewhere so specific and niche, simply sublime. I have this in the solid tin and the bottled perfume. Sensual sandalwood, frankincense and myrrh, freshly bloomed lavender that's still a tad green and fresh, subtle jasmine, or similar seductive floral to my nose⁠—definitely a fragrance for incense lovers. Very long-lasting yet intimate on the skin, darkly sweet and suggestive. An enigmatic unisex fragrance. This is what a mythical woodland temptress adorns themself with; they offer you a guiding hand through an enchanted forest. They glide effortlessly through the trees, while you stumble and falter, you lose sight of them in the shadowy bush, yet your feet instinctively follow this bewitching scent of theirs. You wound up in a clearing, a cabin illuminated from within by candlelight and outdoor lanterns, something enthralling is in the air. They turn to you, putting your hands in theirs⁠—it is electric, mysterious, yet familiar⁠—a smile on their face. What comes after is a mystery hidden within Shade. Darkly beautiful, very rare.

[Shade] ⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️⚫️ Colour: Pearl, Ivory Texture: Velour, Silk, Skin For me, Shade is a beautiful wearing experience. It plays with your attention, coming in and out of your consciousness. Soft pulses of powder cast in and out by the most subtle of movements. It is a gorgeous aura. Shade is a nod to the classical fougere without the citric top. Lavender is present but it’s almost like Shade alludes to lavender without speaking it’s name, as the fragile perfume will completely fall apart if it is mentioned. The illusion is broken. It is a travesty that Lush have marketed this beauty with just two notes (Olibanum and Sandalwood) as this perfume has so much more to offer. The sandalwood isn’t stand out to me, it just softens the base and aids the coumarin in the dry down from becoming too sickly sweet. The Olibanum adds to the phenolic nature and pairs with the herbal aspects of lavender. In short, it’s bloody gorgeous and a release that will hopefully stick around for a while. Next on my agenda is ‘Sappho’, however I would only need the 30ml which they for some reason made unavailable soon after it’s initial release.

I love Lush, but I have always overlooked Shade - I tried it for the first time today, and it totally blew my mind. I love sandalwood but often find that where it's included in a perfume, it kind of floats in the background without being front and centre how I want it. This is such a delicious, creamy, slightly sweet sandalwood dream. It has a resin-y and almost incense-like quality to it. On a tester strip, this has survived a good 10 hours so far, and I was catching a whiff of it from my handbag for the following 5-6 hours that I was out. £25 for a bottle is incredibly good value, especially considering how long Lush perfumes typically last. I will absolutely purchase once I've used up some of my existing fragrances and can justify buying something new.

as someone else said, it's quite cozy. warm and slightly sweet but not cloying or too intense. it's extremely pleasant. Update 5/16/25: After having the solid version for a few months, I finally tried the liquid version in-store to see how it would sit on my skin. Very little difference between the two, although I find that the liquid is a bit more nuanced and the notes come through a bit more distinctly. I ended up purchasing the full-size bottle because I adore it so much. It doesn't project much but it lasts a long time on my skin. Can confirm what others are saying about the opening being harsh, but it dries down within a minute or two.

Bare skin & white fur. Bed linens warm from sleep. Delicately balanced between creaminess & cleanness, sweetness & freshness. Not the squeaky clean of soap, but the clean-sweet balminess of skin. The opening can feel astringent at first, but this warms quickly to a creamy, musky, ambery sandalwood. Never a scent I would have picked looking at it on paper, but the experience is addictive once you know what to expect. Memorable but subtle. Everything I wanted perfumes like Glossier You to be & got nothing but oily chemical vagueness. This feels languid & daring at once, purring but not too pretty. Simple & indescribable; cool, intuitive.

This is such a lovely perfume, and quite complex despite only having two notes. It begins with fresh, unisex lemongrassy notes, then settles to a rounded, more feminine woody scent. There's some incense but it's very clean, not in a churchy way at all (especially with the initial zing of the top notes). That's over fairly quickly but remaining all day is the most delightful creamy, cuddly skin-scent, still smelling woodsy but becoming sweeter - I can smell some vanilla in there too at this point. The projection isn't very strong but up-close it lasts quite a while. Cool, calm and collected, but a bit sexy too.

Lush is not a company that I have tried before despite reading a lot of the reviews over the years. While on a trip we wandered into Lush and both my husband and I liked Shade. I struggle to put into words how pleasantly middle of the road it is to me. It is warm, woody, and spicy but in the most mild versions of each. It is sweet but only a whisper. It is not a beast projector but walking alongside me my husband would catch wisps of it throughout the day. I don't think I would reach for this in the heat of the summer but is is soft, cozy, creamy (but not lactonic), and very wearable.

Shade is one of those gems that doesn’t smell perfume-y. You know when you are next to someone and they smell super-good, but you don’t think it’s a perfume because it has this soft presence? Like a fabric softener. There is an aromatic note in the opening, maybe rosemary which fades away within 5 mins. What is left is a lingering woody, sweetish veil with an intensity of a good body lotion. An absolute gem. Edit: The comment on the mild intensity was for the solid version. The perfume has great staying power and strong projection! P.S. LUSH, please make a body lotion version

Subtly sweet,earthy. Hint of citrus and resin/incense Love this one from Lush. It's not too one-note heavy. It has sandalwood but not overwhelmingly so...its buttery-creamy,but not heavy as there is that brightness(citrus?). It reminds me of fresh earth with a gourmand slant. It personally evokes walking through dark thick woods with some illumination from sunrays breaking through the trees Sorry. I wish I was more clear. But this is one of my faves from Lush. Another one of my go-to on the daily,when I just wanna grab a scent w/o overthinking it.

Shade smells like a Mediterranean summer - creamy sandalwood, lavender and citrus. I’ve bought this for a friend and am starting to regret not getting a bottle for myself. This and Breath of God are by far the best fragrances Lush currently has to offer - Breath of God for autumn/winter and Shade for spring/summer. And at £25 for 30ml they're so goddamn affordable... you could build such a comprehensive natural perfume wardrobe out of Lush's past and present offerings and I will never stop singing their praises

I just want to bathe in that perfume. When I applied it the very first time I smelled strong older people perfumes. Although my nose had to get used to the difference as I was coming from years of wearing “Lord of misrule”. So not being any patchouli in there, was something I had to get used to at first. Once it settled, I couldn’t get enough of it. Just absolutely lovely. Since then, it seems to have opened up my love for finer, more distinct fragrances, that are not too heavy. Love it.

I love this perfume so much but the first time I wore this my coworker said I smelled like baby powder and also yesterday I went out to smoke a cigarette on my friend's balcony and when I came back my friend said I smelled like her grandmother < / 3 This is a targeted smear campaign against me but it's not going to stop me. It's actually making me stronger. I will wear this every day now and give you sense memories of your dead catholic chainsmoking grandma just try and stop me.

I wore this scent during a weekend spent in a friend’s summer cabin. I slept by myself in a guest house and it was raining all weekend. It was the perfect setting for this soothing and mellow scent. Shade is almost melancholic in a way, like a distant memory. The herbal opening is reminiscent of the smell when you open a bottle of gin. The dry-down is a gorgeous, barely-there sandalwood. The best Lush scent I’ve experienced so far, and oh so perfect for rainy summer days.

THIS IS MY NEW SIGNATURE PERFUME. oh my god it smells so good to me!!!!!! im not very well versed in perfume speak but on me it smells very sweet incense not too smoky. kind of woody but honestly it’s just sweeeeeeet like so sweet but that’s probably my skin chemistry. i love it so much so yummy i ❤️ lush edit: im wearing it rn and its dried down proper powdery like baby powder ugh it smells so good if ur hot and cool i recommend this perfume fr

This is very strong, heavy for me. It starts out aggressive and strange but settles into a creamy sweetwood incense scent, but there's one note that builds up after an hour or two that is so strong and a little bit sickening. It's a really strong sweet, but burnt wood note. It just hits hard, man. I love this scent, but that hardness is sometimes too much. If you have a weak stomach, I don't know if you'll wear it often. Do not overspray it.

I recently bought the solid version of Shade, and I’m absolutely in love. It's the perfect blend of warm, resinous, and ambery notes, with the sandalwood adding a creamy, almost vanilla-like richness. The scent has a unique twist, reminding me of a creamsicle, but with a deeper, more resinous complexity. It’s beautifully simple yet utterly captivating. Versatile enough for any season, I’m especially enjoying it even in the heat of summer.

This is comforting, and the person wearing it seems like they smell good without trying. It smells like what someone wealthy would wear. Reminds me of a la labo scent. Simple, classy, comforting. The notes are not reflected accurately. This has west Timor sandalwood, olibanum, and guaiac wood. It’s slightly sweet, woodsy, and clean without musk and aldehydes. Still one of my favorites in my 400+ collection. Can we worn for any occasion.

I only use the stick version but BEST LUSH PERFUME SMELLS LIKE DOVE SOAP AND SANDALWOOD SHAVINGS OR LIKE SANDER DUST... super clean but in this expensive way, but not trying too hard either... John Galliano bully relaxed nerdy sort of scent, just incredibly pale blue and light light beige! Heaven! Poor man’s Glossier You if you get the travel size.

I have the solid perfume and it is the perfect nighttime scent. The sandalwood is very alluring and comforting and although the scent doesn't last very long, the convenience of it being in solid form makes it easy to reapply throughout the day in your moderation. It is definitely a staple in my perfume collection and fun to layer on top of scents.

This is the best perfume Lush has ever came out with. Buttery sandalwood, lavender, palo santo, incense, touch of citrus. It delicious and so unique. This is also a very underrated product that I think deserves more attention. It’s warm and sweet but not sickly sweet which is right up my alley. Bravo lush! This is my current signature