Lye

Radiating in all it’s glory Lye is exactly this, a beautiful scent that is bright and gladdening. Imagine a sunny day post covid where your fragrances will be enhanced by the sun, humidity, wind and air. A sillage that isn’t just amazing, it is radiating. Imagine, a mask free world - one where smell and sound can compete fairly. You will want to wear a scent that is just strong enough for you to get a waft and others, but not too strong to offend. One that is pleasant and uplifting and unisex. This is the scent for such a time and such an experience. You will smell light citrus, warm patchouli and a nice vanillic powdery base, accentuated by rich resins. This is a very artistic fragrance and house, and is ideal for the warmer months or the promise of sunshine. It is composed of mostly natural high quality materials and is compared to exceptional frags from Christian Dior and a soon to be famous Dominic Ropion creation (Vanagloria). There is even a slight resemblance to the recent masterpiece Le Lion. Lye is more lemony, light and luminous that the latter. I see the resemblance but appreciate this for what it is - a glorious underflowed amber. Let the sunshine in. 4.37/5

sharply alcoholic on first spray. then for a second it smells almost bloody (maybe the incense and the citrus?). goes ambery and earthy for a stroke then finally resides to an actually pretty cozy iris that's like creamy and sweet. quite nice I like it! I also had blind bought the 10ml so I'm glad it turned out well. as someone who thought she didn't like patchouli, it's either that there's not enough there for me to notice or that it blends in pretty well. I believe it's the latter because of the earthy tones it tends to have. Intimate projection and not necessarily a winter scent.

The comparison to VCA bois d'iris is accurate af, i also understand the bois d'argent comparison but this leans more towards bois d'iris imo, BUT imagine if le labo another 13 + bois d'iris had a baby: There's a cooling effect I get from another 13 that is to me a bit masculine, and I get that here too but with the base DNA of bois d'iris. The projection is quite good for the type of frag this is and i hate the word wet, but this thing resembles wetness for me though it's not at all aquatic.

Incense, leather and patchouli with some really bright, almost aldehydic sparks : shadow and light. Histoires des Parfums Petroleum has a similar use of aldehydes over a really dark and moldy base, yet here they make the whole thing radiate and feel almost not weird. I don't read iris at all, I read aldehydes, ambroxan, maybe even the image from Lye's own description: "The smell of the sun drying the clothes just hung out.". And for a brief moment, there's this perfect and rare balance between earthy and luminous: as if there really was such thing as "sunshine accord" in perfect contrast with that patchoulious incense base. I would love it in summer, in a rustic house near the sea, where the shadows of stone walls keep the temperature away, but you still have a glimpse of the blinding light outside. That's the middle stage of this scent; after that, the more usual darkly fragrant substances start to dominate.

I really like this fragrance. To my nose it smells exactly like Juliette has a gun Not a Perfume. Almost identical. The price point of this one is a little more than Not a Perfume, but this smells a little stronger and projects a little more. If you like fresh and woody fragrances, this is a good buy.