Smuggler's Soul

Smuggler's Soul hit the market in 2014, as part of the latest line of fragrances from Gorilla Perfume brand, called "Volume 3". My review is for the Body Spray version, which is an Eau de Toilette with 200ml. It arrived in Brazil before the other versions (EDP and solid perfume) and taking into account our climate and the cost x benefit relation, it is a real gem. Nothing is said about the concept, but I researched and found that the image of the label and the fragrance composition were inspired by the story of Veerappan, an Indian smuggler of sandalwood and ivory, who was involved in dozens of murders. By the way, Simon Constantine also wrote an illustrated book on the subject, called "On the Trail Of Sandalwood Smugglers". Therefore, in its composition were combined two types of essential oils of sandalwood, essential oil of chinchilho (also known as Tagetes Minuta or Marigolds), essential oils of Lemongrass and vetiver from Madagascar, as well as chemical compounds such as Geraniol (enhancing the floral aspect) and Linalool (which gives sweet-floral aroma). Smuggler's Soul is slightly Woody, Balsamic and filled with herbal nuances. For those who like this type of scent, it's a treasure. I've read some other reviews that speak very well about the presence of sandalwood. However, what I would like to highlight and praise in this fragrance is the vetiver. Since the day I met at the store, the vetiver smiled at my nose. On the skin, it's like an incense that is burning while receives layers of other substances on top, just to keep burning together. First comes the sandalwood, then a touch of lemongrass, the stems from marigolds, and then, layers of sandalwood. A delight! Smuggler's Soul is, in my humble opinion, another perfume marketed as unisex, which was thought to be worn by men, though. As much as the scent smells great on women, is the perfect fragrance for men. It has versatility, exudes and lasts way beyond reproach (even for an EDT) and does not have a common smell. At the moment, is my favorite of the Gorilla Perfume brand and I don't get tired of wearing it. Go test Smmugler's Soul and let this smuggler steal your heart.

Got daddy issues? This is the perfume for you. Astringent lemongrass, comforting sandalwood and earthy, almost smokey vetivert combine to smell like what I can only describe as a dad fresh from the barbershop. He lets you investigate the stubble on the back of his neck as you breathe in whichever crowd pleasing yet cheap aftershave your mum bought him last Christmas and the memory of a cigarette he once smoked clinging to the suede jacket he's wearing. Simultaneously fresh and earthy, comforting and uplifting, full of happy memories yet creates a pull in your gut that is probably nostalgia but feels a bit like sadness. I love it on me, I love it on my man, it's inoffensive enough for work but wearing it around others feels like having the protection of a doting patriarch with you all day. It reminds me of my dear, departed old dad when he would get a fresh trim on a Saturday morning then slow dance with a toddler me so I could feel the spiky hair on the nape of his neck.

After reading Luca Turin's review of this ("lipstick & fireworks"), I was even more eager to try this. The published notes for this scent didn't sound like any lipstick like smells should be present, but after the lemony opening wears off, a big, beautiful, gloriously waxy, powdery lipstick emerges. Smuggler's Soul is even more of a pronounced lipstick scent than Dior Homme Intense or MM Lipstick On. Longevity could be better, but I'll happily re-apply. Edit: longevity is actually very good (all day) when I apply 4-5 sprays. I absolutely love this fragrance, even though I still can't figure out how sandalwood+vetiver+lemongrass=lipstick. I suppose it doesn't matter if I can make sense of it as long as it smells wonderful. (And it does!) My review is for the 50ml spray, but the labels on the bottle don't specify a concentration (EDP, EDT ??)

The lemongrass and vetiver is indeed quite prominent over the woody notes. For me personally it was love at first sniff. Not a complex scent, that's true, and I also can't disagree with other reviews saying there's not much depth to it. But still, there's something really beautiful in it, and I find it quite calming as well. I have only worn it on its own, and I quite like it that way, but maybe it's also good for layering? I'm thinking it might go well with something smokey, or leathery. I'll maybe try that. Also, I wouldn't suggest blind buying it, it's not for everyone. Unisex, leaning more to the masculine side, but can definitely be worn by women as well imo.

An excellent complex sandalwood with a hint of floral plushness (rose probably) and citrus in the opening. A mixture of woody oils extend the olfactory footprint of the sandalwood heart. Mostly vetiver and glorious rosewood which has a creamy, sweet character that complements the spice of sandalwood and grassy quality of vetiver. Smells like an old fashioned silver makeup compact - powdery, waxy and faintly sweet, heavy but penetratable. Of all the LUSH fragrances, this is the easily the best, and harkens back the most to vintage perfumes. Ultimately unisex, but you need to be a strong character to pull it off well. This fragrance pulls no punches.

Drink up me hearties yo ho! The opening to me is a bit animalistic and musky, just a tad. Like leather, or civet. That litteraly goes away in the first few minutes. Then the citusy part of it kicks in. Vetivert and lemongrass. Fresh and soapy. A bit like a barbershop. But the heart of this fragrance is what you really want. Salty planks and sandalwood. Chests filled with bottles of rum. A bit smokey. Makes you feel like a luxury scallywag. I have this in the perfume version, and as much as I like it, It just doesn't last on me. 2 hours tops. Thats a bugger.

Bu markanın en beğendiğim parfümü. Yukarıda açıklanan notalar eksik. Açılışta gerçek limon yağı var ve ardından oldukça keyifli bir vetiver geliyor. Vetiver kaybolmuyor ve sandalwood ile devam ediyor. Bir sandalwood parfümü değil. Vetiver ile karışımı çok başarılı. Buna benzeyen başka bir parfüm görmedim. Karşımızda bir klasik parfüm yok. Farklı ama popüler tarzı sevenlerin ilgisini çekecektir. Kalıcılık makul Sillage ise sanırım farklılığı sebebiyle oldukça yüksek. Bu parfümü krem olarak da satıyorlar ancak tavsiye etmem.

Smuggler's soul is not straight out sandalwood, although it is the main note. This is a musky, floral scent with (sandal)woody base and a bit of a green, citrusy edge. On the bottle label, besides the sandalwood, there is also tagetes, vetivert and lemongrass. This is not a dark scent comparable to Bug or Icon, as I expected, but it's sophisticated and captivating. It has a more classic, timeless feel. I can easily see it in a Chanel bottle. Although I quite like the bottle made by LUSH and their new "comic book" design.

Warm and lightly spicy. I purchased it for the aromatherapy, as this composition sounds comforting and calming, yet uplifting. To expand the notes listed in Fragrantica's description, there are several oils noted on the bottle, which are perfectly "visible" in the composition: besides Indian Sandalwood, there are Madagascan Vetivert, Tagetes, and Lemongrass. Tagetes are exactly the note, which seems to be so familiar after the first sniff:)

Absolutely love this! On me it reminds me of something between Mitsouko and Bandit, both which I love, but I really want to buy cruelty free / vegan brands going forward so this fits the bill perfectly and the price point is great too. Stumbled on this one accidentally after scouring reviews for Lush, it's an unexpected delight, love the name too! A really lovely, woody citrus. The Lush perfumes are a great addition to my new collection.

I used to own the solid version of Smuggler’s Soul and was recently inspired to repurchase it. Sooo sad to find out it’s been discontinued. I dream about this scent. Woody, earthy, green, a little pungent, with a slight powdery dry-down that creates depth and warmth. It’s definitely more masc leaning but so incredibly sexy and intriguing. Like an old leather jacket belonging to someone who has traveled to every continent.

A a former Lush employee, we used to wear this as a relaxing evening perfume but some of us went further and used it for sleep time. I put this on every night before going to bed for six years and I can tell you that as soon as i uncap it my muscles loosen up. It is very masculine but it really does not have that typical mens perfume smell. Its warm, a bit dry and comforting. It lets you take a breath.

Sweet, powdery Sandalwood. unique. Long lasting. Beastly Sillage and Longevity project this into my favorites category! Clearly visible oil's in this fragrance are a real treat. This dissolves into a powder bomb sandalwood that radiates off the skin for hours (until you wash it off really). Sweet, pleasant and quite unique. There is nothing I can think of to compare this to! Grade A Stuff!

There’s certainly more going on here than the listed notes may lead you to believe. The vetiver and bergamot are potent in the opening then a clear but subtle incense and resins. I thought that the “reminds me of” votes where crazy but it does smell like Shalimar. Although, it has more vetiver and lacks the vanilla and animatic notes, which kinda makes this it’s own thing.

Ive got the perfume solid. I really like it. I get lots of wood note s and some sandalwood. There is definitely something citrus here as well. I can definitely see the Shalimar similarity. Its sad that sillage is poor on me but I will use it as a base for layering. For just £2 how can I go wrong lol

The ingredients list lemongrass, which is definitely prominent in the opening, but on me this scent settles beautifully into a soft, warm, creamy sandalwood mingled with vetiver. Comforting, inoffensive, sophisticated yet simple. One of my favourite lush scents.

this is one of my top three go-to fragrances for day wear. it's very simple but heady, and i often get compliments on it. it has a pleasantly masculine vibe, without feeling like you're wearing straight-up men's cologne.

I adore this scent, which surprised me because I am not usually a sandalwood fan. I have bought it and were it often, I also find that if it is blended with Sun it is even better.

A beautiful vetiver fragrance (similar to pure vetiver oil), freshened by citrus and a shy creamy sandalwood note in the background. Nicely done. Spring/Fall days, 30+

Grandma's wooden dressing table with a three part mirror, in her dusty dim foyer, and I am a child, looking through her perfumes and old lipsticks

Reminds me of Estee Lauder. A strange mix between Knowing and Beautiful. Not what I'd expect a smugglers soul to smell like but I love it.

This is such a lovely, calming scent. I agree with sensationseeker, in that it doesn't have much in the ways of development, but the overall chord is fairly complex. I think the biggest word I'd use to describe Smuggler's Soul is "soft"....the powdery-ness really rounds out all the wood tones, making it so gentle and even a little sweet, especially once it's been on a few hours. I always imagine like, a dark wooden cellar, filled with barrels, with sunlight peeking through the gaps in the wood ceiling overhead. Kind of like the below deck of a ship, but distinctly NOT marine. It's like if you barreled moss and left it to dry in the warm, sweet sun. If you want to spice it up a little, pair it up with a sharper woody scent - currently I've got on an added spritz of El Laboratorio's The Avant 22, an EDP for men I got at giant tiger for five (5!!!!) bucks. It complements Smuggler's Soul beautifully (and is in and of itself a lovely perfume - highly recommend checking it out if you can!)

My opinion of this has changed over time from dislike to tentative like - when worn by others. Like all Lush fragrances the high quality is apparent - and Smuggler’s Soul is a pleasant composition, but there is one dominant note in particular I can’t identify that persists through the drydown. Some reviews mention lemongrass, which could well be the culprit - on my skin this smells like rat urine, but it smells fine on others. Someone had told me this was a sandalwood fragrance but that’s not the case with the one I have (which could of course be a bad batch etc). There is sandalwood present but it’s virtually undetectable - from start to finish Smuggler’s Soul is slightly green, slightly sweet, slightly herbaceous and slightly camphoraceous, with monstrous tenacity and longevity. Reminds me of an ageless hippy lady selling blueberry lassis at Byron Bay markets many years ago.

I like the smell of Lemon , I like the smell of Grass - BUT - somehow I find the smell of Lemongrass, singularly unattractive. If your like me, you are going to find the front end of Smuggler's a bit hard to take. It's a big blast of 'lemongrassy' scent bubbling up on a sort of Alka Seltzer fizz. The start is mixed up with a sweet wood and what smells to me like a newly broken chuck of raw Ginger - all rooty spice. It's big and bold, and a bit rough and ratty. On me it only projects for the first half hour and then settles to a citrusy woody smell, which seems slanted male. This bit is smoother, more pleasant, but unexceptional - although it does maintain a background fizzzzzz. Not one of my fave Lush scents but still very wearable for most. As a fairly light skin scent about 6 hours on me.

The opening was fresh and green, with a lemony/vetiver backdrop. As it dries down, though, it gets more and more woody, and once it settles, it smells like TF Santal Blush minus the spices: loooooooots of sandalwood (the real one, not javanol). It's the Lush's fragrance I've enjoyed the most so far. Longevity and sillage are in the mid-range: maybe 6 h or so. Very casual, completely unisex, and year-round, except for maybe hot and humid weather. 7/10

Using the body spray, terribly big and clumsy bottle looking like something for the bbq but I guess it is the inside that counts. For me this smell has tree very different parts, the good thing is they are all very nice. First a fresh citrus that goes away quickly leaving room for a cozy and warm sandalwood. When this one also fades after several hours what is left is a soft and sweet notion of cinnamon. Like it a lot!

I also have the solid version, which is a fine composition. The scent is aptly titled, you can feel a bit of sea and adventure. Furthermore, it's original but not annoying. At the end of the day, however, it's not ingenious enough to become a classic. I doubt it will be on the market in 2025. But for now, it makes a pleasant, fashionable, and very manly scent. ***

Sandalwood that smells like it used to in fragrances before synthetics took over. Dry yet somehow oily at the same time with undertones of spice, smoke and salt. Vetiver adds dimension, lemongrass a little zing and pep. And that's it. Smuggler's Soul is all about the back-to-basics/less-is-more approach. A very enjoyable experience indeed.

I highly recommend this to Sandalwood lovers. Woody, crisp, warm.... it really is a comforting scent. Longevity is fantastic on my oily skin. The body spray and fragrance are both extremely long lasting and dry down to such a nostalgic dream. Quite masculine, although this lady cannot stop sniffing herself!

A couple of years ago I purchased a solid perfume version of this one. It was green and the colour fit it perfectly, it smelt like banknotes, I always imagined freshly printed rustling dollars while randomly sniffing this perfume out of the box.

The opening is lovely, then Smuggler’s Soul quickly (in 15 minutes) dries down to the same bleak sandalwood as Dirty. Another puzzling marketing idea; picking a late mobster, a serial killer of 184 and 900 elephants as an emblem to products.

this bitter stinky vegetable soup smelling like fresh tomato leaves and pepper smells less sandalwood to my nose,less sweet and warm welcoming,reminds me of Geoffrey Beene,blend is crude. projection is worth praise.

It's indeed a sandal perfume but with a hard twist, especially on its opening. Harsh yet comforting. There's this pungent smell maybe from birch. Almost rubbery pungent and ended with amber musky dry down.

Strong woodsy scent. Wet, pungent sandalwood and a touch of Haitian vetiver. Green and seriously woodsy. VG and kind of matches its name if you have a vivid imagination.

What starts as an unusual rugged journey into smuggling circles under a seaside town, quickly devolves into soapy, headache inducing annoyance. If you can find this perfume brand new, you are a lucky soul indeed. It hasn't been flogged brand new by Lush in many a year, and for good reason. Their current perfume range is much more developed and exquisite, like a snog with a successful architect. This old rubber johnny is exactly that - old, tired, and a bit spent. All units left in the world of this are likely shadows of their former selves, as the purely essential oil content will have much degraded by now. No amount of sunlight blockage can save essential oil perfumes from scent death. If you see a unit going for a cheap thrill on eBay or whatever, then have a quick punt on it. But you won't be missing much if you don't win it. 4/10. It was good in it's salad days, but it's been left in the dust by much better perfumes.

The drawing on the packaging is misleading, makes it look like a perfume for machete-armed raiders - sort of - but it's not. To me Smuggler Soul is more on the hippie side and would be jist perfect with a paisley shirt. Soon after the opening blast of woodsy citronella, the sandalwood shows up. Absolutely unisex. No way to get rid of that citronella note completely, but all in all, a very likable sandalwood. I got both the solid perfume and the body spray. I didn't buy the perfume (the one in the tiny bottle with the dropper); in hindsight I regret it because this one doesn't last long enough and it's a bit...underwhelming! As for the solid stuff, that's nice and entertaining, especially if used as hair perfume. Unfortunately, short longevity for this one too.

This is a rather woody-herbal, bright-and-dusty, light-green take on vetiver that transforms it into something completely different than I’m used to: a relaxed, natural blend that feels t-shirt-casual and outdoorsy. The sandalwood isn’t the creamy-spicy Mysore kind (which is endangered and almost impossible to find) but the drier, sharper Australian kind. I’d say Smuggler’s Soul is masculine-of-center, and a bit too pale and dry to really be my thing; it needs some warmer base notes for balance maybe. But good quality, lots of natural materials, very solid longevity. It’s one of these perfumes that’s built like a brick: no development, just the same chord all the way through, but the chord itself is plenty complex.

This was a blind buy for me. Based on the reviews this must be great for sandalwood lovers but I don't think that's me. It is definitely unisex IMO. I had the solid version so take this with a grain of salt but I did not smell citrus in this at all unfortunately. I could not wear this by itself because it's very strong (although fleeting) and it made me smell like a DIY store or furniture shop... I don't dislike that smell, I just don't want to smell it on me. I can see the appeal and in the future I might sample the spray version to see if it's better, but for now it's a no go for me. Would recommend people to smell this before buying if possible.

I don't smell sandalwood. To me is kind of citrusy, don't know why. I hoped to like it better but for something woody by Lush I'd rather choose "Shade" (maybe "Breath of God")

Was excited to try this one after seeing a YouTube review from a channel i really enjoy. This was a let down the opening has a overpowering blast of citrus and i just don’t personally like citrus with my sandlewood. On the dry down the citrus never really goes away and you get that scent that smells like all lush stores inside. Its a lovely scent but for baths not for a fragrance. Also the sandlewood just smells synthetic and doesn’t really even smell that much like sandlewood. I think after buying the masterpiece tam dao from diptyque no other sandlewood fragrance will ever stand up to that one.

One of my favorites from Lush. Somehow this reminds me of the lipstick/powder smell that can be found in Creed's Love In Black. Only brighter in the beginning with citrus. I get a pleasant and warm sandalwood throughout. There has to be more notes than what's listed above. Get's more subtle after the citric opening and turns a little soapy. Love this stuff.

I have been wearing this a bit lately, and my unfortunate conclusion is: This smells borderline cleaning product. I feel I have used something similar to clean my floors. I love the sandalwood, but the lemon is quite prominent and does make me think of household chores. Also there is vetiver I think and salt.

This not only woody, it contains Vetiver, Tagetes and Lemongrass. I feel the somehow harsh Tagete flower scent and the lemongrass which has never been a favorite of mine. I wish the Sandalwood was stronger here. Not my favorite but definitively unique.

I smelt this on somebody's wrist, probably not the best way to try this out but it literally smelled like gasoline to me. At least by it's opening. If I smell this again on myself I'll update this

Mixing lovely old school barbershop vetiver with two kinds of sandalwood oil, Smugglers Soul is a bearded hipster's dream scent whether intended or not, though the drawing of the man on the label with the exaggerated mustache leads me to believe it was. Read any of my reviews for Gorilla Perfumes and you'll see that we mostly don't get along. Maybe I'm extra critical because their unique aesthetics make me want to like them, their descriptions sound great, and aside from Lush regional issues, they're so easy to find. Unforutnately I usually end up underwhelmed. This father and son team are prolific as hell though, and I do think they've improved over the years, as any artist should. Early scents like the Bug and Hellstone were disasters, though I've come to enjoy more recent stuff like Kerbside Violet, and now Smuggler's Soul. When I first sprayed this on, or rather, had one of Lush's notoriously annoying mosquito like employees spray it on me, I thought "where's the wood?" I get sharp, pez like lemongrass, vetiver, and something almost like gin. Again, a very nice dose of classic barbershop. It takes a few minutes before one can pick up on any trace of sandalwood, but it's there lurking in the shadows, albeit a little too much of an afterthought. It's a luscious (no pun intended) concoction, but I'd like to echo a review below that sums it up perfectly: Smuggler's Soul feels incomplete. On a side note, Luca Turin claimed this smells like "lipstick and fireworks", though I have absolutely no idea what the hell he's talking about. But let's toss the critics aside and while we're at it, gender too. Because despite it's hyper masculine impression, Smuggler's Soul seems to have a ton of female fans. Almost a winner, if only the woods weren't so subdued.

This review is for the oil version. I have to admit, this one was a let-down. I really like Lush scents in general, and have been drooling over this (and a few others from Gorilla 3) since it was announced. In true Lush style, it’s hard to come by outside of extremely limited distribution, but I was able to snag a bottle (for too much money) and see what all the fuss was about. It opens with an almost vintage-smelling aromatic citrus — a strong lemon verbena kind of note. This burns off fast and it shifts into a linear vetiver with some modern sharpness to it. There’s a buttery sandalwood humming away somewhere in the background, but it’s pitifully quiet. Thankfully, this isn’t relying on hideous synthetic sandalwoods (no sourness), but the sandalwood that it is using is holistic at best. The end result is a slightly old-school and brisk smelling citrus / vetiver combo — and that’s about it. It doesn’t smell minimal; it smells incomplete. As a freestanding aromatic, it’s average. As a sandalwood scent, it’s poor. Performance is mediocre at a couple of hours, and although I still want to try Kerbside Violet (if Lush can get their distribution problems sorted), my hopes have been dashed by this one. I suspect the body spray is the better option than the perfume when it comes to Smuggler’s Soul.

Retro lush version: I got my hands on some retro lush fragrances via a second hand website. I used to adore everything lush, before the reformulations so this got me hella excited. Smuggler's soul is a very comforting scent. It opens up citrussy for a moment then quickly blossoms into a creamy sandalwood. It's a very natural sandalwood, most people are actually anosmic to it. I stop perceiving this fragrance after an hour or so but i do get occasional whiffs of something sweet and creamy so i know it's still there and probably quite vividly for others but me. It reminds of a walk through the sandy dunes. The sun feels sharp on the skin and you're surrounded by sundried golden patches of grass and tall white trees. That's the place i'm at whenever i smell this. I spray this one whenever i want to feel comfy and safe. :) i just love the old school bottles and i love that the retro perfumes are actually strong and long lasting. They are rich and wellrounded! *sigh* how i miss them.

I'm not a fan of Lush perfumes. I was attracted by the all-natural claim, but I usually end up with something that it's not me at all. This Smuggler's Soul is a bit different. As soon as I heard "sandalwood" I needed to try it! Well, it's a nice scent, not overpowering but quite strong in the opening. Woody, raw but smooth, no flower detected, instead a big dose of lemongrass, which I'm not so fond of when taken so blatantly. At last came a Lush that I could wear, but it's not complete. It misses something to be my taste. I wanted more luscious flowers and a tiny bit of vanilla, but that was not the aim of the perfumer. This perfume is very unisex, exotic woody, a little oily (I tried the concentrated version), elegant in a raw way. It's very longlasting on my skin with little projection. Not totally for me, but not bad.

I'm really surprised that nobody else has mentioned Smugglers Soul's resemblance to the current formulation of Chanel No 5. I got a bottle of No. 5 as a Valentines gift and when it hit my skin I thought, "Wow, this smells a bit like Smugglers Soul." So later when I couldn't shake the similarity, I smelled side by side and they definitely have major commonalities! Smugglers is like a more unisex No 5 (I think all fragrances are without gender, but I mean unisex by standard definition) with a amped up sandalwood in place of the aldehydes and white florals. The overal effect is similar enough to mention. I have always loved Smugglers, love No 5 too. Try it!

This smells like it is shimmering with aldehydes, but since it's Lush, I highly doubt it. In any case, for the first few minutes, Smuggler's Soul smells like sparkling furniture polish. Later on, it's a pleasant but somewhat jumbled woody scent. I like it! Some woody scents smell like stale lumber or pencil shavings, but Smuggler's Soul smells like sweet, fragrant woods that I can't quite place. Laced throughout is what I can only describe as that "breathy" quality that Lush fragrances have -- it's sort of a dank, earthy, sweet, and humid quality. It's practically their trademark! Very interesting.