Lü Bu

Intoxicating! I absolutely adore this fragrance especially the explosive opening.... Rolls my eyes back kind of thing and instant love! I was wearing Ganymede and did one spray on my hand and it overtook ganymede in a hurry. This fragrance is an adventure and the notes are not as crazy as they appear on paper. I don't get "blood" per say but i do get a mineralic vibes with iris. The blast of clove and "gun powder" discharge smoke is off the rip and that is very short lived. About as long as blowing off a a magazine from a pistol with the residual smoky discharge that lingers in the air. Once that smoke discipates, the cloves and iris show their colors with vanilla in the background. This deep dry downs into a real nice dark vanilla and tonka spiced nuance. If you hate cloves and vanilla, stay away from this. The opening is wow factor artistry for me. The notes look more wild than the fragrance really is.. I can see kind of Musc Ravageur vibes off especially after the opening. Its a broody vanilla and a bit mystery/badboy vibe. People commenting a steamy blood bath..... I can get that imagery if I work hard on it but it really isn't as wild as that. The hate is wild to me.... so obviously this is polarizing and not for everyone! Definetely worth sampling and you will fall on one side of the fence or the other. Seems to be either a love or a hate type of fragrance. When to wear this is a tough one... kind of like Musc Rav if you are familiar with that. Its a wild statement piece that is unique and slap you with a "what is that!?" type of scent. Bold and powerful... Mysterious and intoxicating... But the deep dry down is a safe darkened vanilla. I'd wear this in the evening going out where I want to draw attention and feeling bold rather than playful or laidback. This is not for the faint of heart.... if you are not feeling the charisma of being "The One" or dominant figure in the room, then this fragrance will wear you and it won't work. I look forward to more wears of this and will be grabbing a full bottle after this journey. Not one to ever wear in warm or hot weather... this is cold weather only. This is perhaps one of the most dominating fragrances I have ever experienced.

Sora Dora Lü Bu – A Warrior’s Scent Beyond the Narrative Lü Bu is a fragrance that tells a story with its choice of bold notes, but for me, it's much more than just a reference to a legendary Chinese warrior. While the listed blood and gunpowder might shock some readers or reviewers, I feel these notes are more about setting an image than being literally present. What shines through is a truly addictive blend in the tradition of classic sweet, spicy, smoky, and balsamic scents. The sweetness here is nuanced—a distinct almond cookie vibe that never crosses into the territory of being overly gourmand or cloying. It's comforting, gently nostalgic, and at the same time sophisticated. The much discussed 'metallic' undertone doesn't hit harsh or cold. Instead, I perceive something almost dreamy, like a glass of milk poured over ice—creamy but subtly cooling, a texture more than a flavor. As Lü Bu develops on skin, a smoky, tobacco-like atmosphere emerges. This smokiness is both present and understated, working as an anchor and adding depth rather than overwhelming the composition. It's evocative—imagine the scent of good, fresh paper, and then the faint, burnt edges of that paper after a fire is swiftly snuffed out. This interplay between balsamic richness and controlled smokiness keeps the fragrance intriguing and wearable. Overall, Lü Bu may lean into its warrior tale with dramatic notes, but it ultimately wins with its artistry: a balanced riff on beloved sweet, spicy, and smoky genres with clever nods to almond, tobacco, milk, and paper. It’s wearable, unique, and unexpectedly well-rounded Performance is superb - Over 8 hours easy | Can't tell about projection since I work from home but seems to be decent without being overwhelming I personally feel that Lü Bu deserves all the hype that Tales of amber has been getting in the latest weeks - Don't get me wrong, Tales is a wonderful fragrance and Le Helley's work is masterful - But Lü Bu is superior in my opinion

Incredibly underrated. It tells such as story! It is certainly not for the novice. The opening might come off a bit strong. It's necessary to communicate the story however. This is inspired by the Chinese warrior, the immortal man. There is Ash, blood, everything we would expect. You can smell the atmosphere, the aftermath, of the war. But there is also iris. And a little bit of sweetness. Animalic. It's very similar to Tonka Hysteria and Filthy Musk. Very sexy in my opinion. So what does it all mean? Yes there is strength in this composition, but there is also sadness here. Melancholy. I find myself being drawn to fragrances like this a lot. Not on purpose of course. Happy accident perhaps. In regards to this fragrance, it is almost like reincarnation does not exist for a warrior like this. There is resistance to this. Resistance to acceptance. He, instead, is making the environment his final resting place. So you get the smell of the ground, the atmosphere in the air, a little bit of the trees. All of it. So there is an aromatic quality to the fragrance as a whole. If you identify with any of this, you have to try this out. I would consider it masterpiece quality. But you have to be ready for it. You will find this repulsive if this entire concept is not for you. This is for darker and introspective people. It's not a happy fragrance at all. Nonetheless, it is beautiful. Heavily underrated. If you consider yourself cool in any regard, I highly recommend you try this and prove it to all of your friends.

Edit: This is one of the only fragrances I’ve been able to smell on myself by the end of the day! I kept getting whiffs of this beautiful smoky vanilla and clove scent wrapped around me all day ❤️ WOWWWW this is breathtaking! It opens up with smoky, velvety vanilla and cloves enveloped in a cloud of gunpowder. The base of woods, tonka bean and almond gives it a rich, warm depth. You get whispers of the paper and metal notes as well, like ancient scrolls with elaborate calligraphy and a battle-worn sword. This brought such vibrant imagery to mind for me and I love the inspiration for the fragrance. It feels like a battlefield that has become still and quiet, the smell left on clothing after walking through billowing clouds of cannon fire, temple rituals, contemplation, and aged paperback books. This is how I imagine a warrior who’s part of the nobility with a tragic past they don’t speak of and a mysterious scar in a fantasy historical fiction novel would smell. Someone like Guts from Berserk, Sephiroth from FF7, the Ghost of Tsushima universe. Ancient scrolls on parchment, warm smoky vanilla, rich nutty almond, metallic and velvety. Antique, ceremonial clove incense burning in a palace, a warrior removing their armor and changing into a thick cashmere cloak while fire crackles. There’s a celebratory feast but it’s silent save for silverware clinking and weapons being stowed away. Warmth and shadow. War banners blowing in the wind, drumbeats keeping time while an army marches home.

Arguably the best modern vanilla. This is one of those fragrances that if you pay attention to you can pick out the notes in the layers. The top and opening is clearly gun powder, almost incense like. The middle is a very soft iris, it's feint but there. And the bottom you can tell apart the vanilla, the almond, and the woods. Alot of fragrances kind of blend together (at least to me) where they become one smell, that doesn't happen here. This gives it a more complex profile then you might assume at first glance, something you have to work for. Once you find the iris, and the gun powder drys down, it becomes an incredibly pretty fragrance. Personally I'm glad this isn't something disgusting, as normally I like some stink, or something off putting in the fragrances I buy. But this evolves into a beautiful scent after the dry down in a way that is still provocative with the metallic blood scent, and the delicate iris mixing in a way that's photo realistic, or at least thought provoking. My only gripe with it is that after some hours it reminds me of tomato soup, it's not exactly like it but it was the first thing that came to mind once I noticed it. Either way, it's an incredible fragrance that if you can take the time to learn will be very rewarding.

whoa, this is nice, unique and very interesting, I was very unsure from the notes at first, but this is a very seductive iris, vanilla/tonka, almonds, blood and gunpowder combo that just works there's something violent but at the same time peaceful about this, the gunpowder/blood combo brings a metallicness, sharpness and smokiness that surprisingly balances everything really well, mostly on the spray and early dry down though, it eventually fades and leaves a nutty, sweet gourmand base while still keeping that sharpness and metallic edge from the blood/gunpowder in the background super unique for a vanilla gourmand, and honestly seeing how many gourmands are out there right now, it's really refreshing to come across something as interesting as this

This might be the kind of fragrance that heavily changes depending on your skin chemistry. Nonetheless it is super intriguing, despite not being what I initially expected! The initial spray is very gunpowder heavy and smoky, with spicy and sweet undertones. Kind of like a spiced incense which quickly fades. This is where it really took a surprising turn and became a very dusty, powdery blend of iris, vanilla, almond and clove. Very smooth and deep, with a lingering weird metallicness from the blood and gunpowder. I expected something way more graphic or polarising from the reviews, but this is beautiful and perfectly wearable to be honest. Very complex and distinctive, dark vanilla scent, unlike anything mainstream that I’ve smelled

A thick fog hangs outside. In her old, slightly dusty mansion, a very wealthy old lady has been burning moth paper. Her vanity is crammed with vintage powder and other slightly expired cosmetics from another era. She is making her way down into the cellar when she slips on a damp concrete step, knocking into a barrel packed with gunpowder. A cracked skull, velvet blood spilling across the floor. And in her place, as if by some strange magic, luxurious irises begin to grow, filling the whole room with a powdery, smoky, cold, and wickedly beautiful melody. This is how I visualize SORADORA's Lü Bu. Somehow this story is still comforting and you want to smell it more and more. Absolutely in love!

Absolutely loved this. Truly love at first sniff. I smelled it first time without looking at the notes listed here, and what I smelled was this: Started as a smoky, slightly bitter opening with hints of vanilla, and then developed to a smooth paper texture, gradually showing more sweetness. The base is very seductive and pleasant, as the vanilla + almond combo work extremely well. Throughout the whole trip you could smell a lingering metallicness, but not blood. Never trust these Fragrantica notes, as they can work as placebo before actually trying out the fragrance you wanna smell next. 10/10 for me, no blood or straight gunpowder scents, but there was smokyness and metalicness to it.

Love at first sniff. This is what niche perfumery is. What a magnificent scent. I went to my local niche perfumery to buy another perfume and came out with this wonderful creation in my hands. On my skin there was a soft and sweet metalic smell that actually reminded me of blood sometimes, like when you have a small cut on your lip. The base notes are wonderful. Not incredible sweet, like other Sora Dora fragrances, you can feel the almond mixed with the tonka bean with the woody note. Honestly, the paper note is marvelous... all that has to do with this perfume is an acquired taste. Give it a chance. 100% recommended, really.

I was looking for a perfume that combined gunpowder, blood and flowers, and got it as a suggestion based on the notes. As I tested it on a paper first, the reaction was ugh. However, after trying it on my skin and walking around in the fresh air for a while, I realised that I couldn't get enough of it. The gunpowder opening was quite strong but faded rather quickly, leaving a faint aftertaste and developing into a mix of warmth of vanilla, tonka beans and iris. I still cannot figure out where the blood note is, but I've been in love with this masterpiece ever since. In the end, getting the full size was absolutely worth it.

A big fan of Sora Dora but indeed the marketing iconography in LUBU's campaign were messy in the cultural appropriation arena. Reframing this to solely center Chinese heritage at its heart would rectify this. On the scent, I don't know if Margaux Le Paih Guérin is reading us, however I am clapping her for pushing the scent profile agenda with LU BU and I appreciate the house's approach to step away from its gourmand top earners to more adventurous releases. The film "Shadow" by Zhang Yimou, with its misty landscapes and mesmerising fight sequences comes to mind. Both dynamic and melancholic.

Very thick and delicious. The blood note is just an accord, it doesn’t mean it’s contained in the fragrance. Very characteristic SORA DORA DNA. It’s beautiful and long lasting. It has that it factor that makes the scent memorable and seductive. It’s sweet and spicy, a bit powdery, floral as well. A fantastic Iris adorns the heart 💜 Almond and Tonka Bean are key in this. There is nothing really weird about the composition. Unisex? Absolutely. Try it out and don’t judge this book by its cover.

This was included in a pack of samples I bought. I would have never gave this a chance based on the notes but wow. After that initial blast of confusion, it really settles into this unique spice and it's hitting a spot in my brain that is triggering satisfaction. I guess I'll have to expand my note preferences to include everything because sometimes what looks like a 'yes' ends up being a 'no'. And what looks like an 'absolutely not' turns into a 'wtf yes'.

I have no idea why anyone would find this particularly offensive. To me it is a pretty nice iris fragrance and therefore a bit papery in the beginning. It has a tiny bit of smoke at first, but it is not peaty or dirty in any way in my opinion. The base is very vanilla centric and reminds me a lot of the Sora Dora also by Margaux. Performance is insanely good. I am considering the full bottle. EDIT: I got the bottle :)

My favourite from the brand, although don't be fooled by the head and middle notes. At start it's a papery Iris without any sweetness and creamy feel. It's rough and a bit sour. But all of this is supported by vanilla gourmand base, that for me is identical to cinnamon corn flakes. And it's steel very wearable! Longevity is great, not offensive but comes with you through whole day.

I’m not sure what everyone else is getting, but this sits as a beautiful, powdery, metallic iris on my skin. The opening gunpowder is strong enough to burn my nostrils but as the dry-down begins there is a tantalizing interplay between the scent of fresh paper, cold metal, and iris that lasts quite long before dissolving into a smooth tonka bean & vanilla.

Ah, a scent only a true warrior can understand. I'm in love with it. Not a safe blind buy and not for the mainstream crowd. In fact, the first time I tested it I felt it was too much. I came back around like 8 months later and it's phenomenal to me now. So enchanting. It evokes love and hate, power and weakness, victory and defeat.

This fragrance made me realize I love a metallic bloody note. I loveee eau de protection from ELDO and now I need a bottle of this for fall. Blood and flowers. Divine.

But I'm only human after all I'm only human after all Don't put your blame on me Don't put your blame on me this is what i imagine when i smell the fragrance

Unique and amazing. I am obsessed!

I've had some time to sit with this one and for me I don't get that blood note that others seem to smell front and center. For me this is musky, a bit floral and sweetness with a hint of gunpowder (but in the faintest way). It actually sort of reminds me V&R's Flowerbomb Nectar (only that one is a lot sweeter, less powdery and the gunpowder note comes through more there) based on general vibe only. This one is quite strong though - so I can see it bothering people if they spray too much or too close to their noses (like on the neck).

It smells like a vanilla with metallic notes and a twist of gunpowder at the beginning. The idea is good and original as well, but for me this is too sweet with the vanilla covering almost everything beside the metallic. The gunpowder is the first to fade away (10 minutes I would say). Edit: I wore it during night and I found it amazing. It was really well balanced - vanilla, metallic and smoky notes - really intriguing.

Starts with a strange metallic, blood-like opening before settling into a woodsy, sweet, vanilla drydown. The drydown retains a bit of the metallic character. If you dislike sugary-sweet fragrances, I wouldn't be worried; it is far from a gourmand. Unique and polarizing. I don't see myself buying a full bottle, but a large decant may be in my future.

Just put in an order for this one - I have to ask though, do people really not read the notes to a perfume before they buy it? Notes on their website clearly list blood as a note? Why are we surprised when it smells a bit unsettling?

First thing I thought when I smelled this is "Wow this smells like someone bled to death in a bath with the steam and all" it seriously smells like a bath but not in a clean way like it smells like steaming bath water Very weird, personally I wouldn't wear just bc the bath water smelled a little too realistic, but honestly its wearable if you like weird fragrance. Tldr: someone died in the bath while the bath is still steaming, this is the smell

This fragrance is super heavy on the blood and gunpowder notes. I was expecting something a bit spicier and slightly sweet from the tonka and almond. Even the dry down is extremely metallic. It's definitely not a blind buy

The opening blast is all plastic PVC. Like you're giving mouth to mouth to a blow-up pool toy that's straight from the factory and still off-gassing. Then, as the perfume settles in, you can smell more of the inspiration: gunpowder, smoke, some vanilla. It's definitely marching to the beat of its own drum. But I just want to cover my ears and make it stop. EDITED TO ADD: This stuff will NOT wash off. Three rounds of scrubbing and it's still there. So A+ at least for longevity.

Yuck. I received a sample of this and tested it before knowing what the notes were. It was a suffocating blend of sweet, burning plastic. Let me come to find out, that's blood and gunpowder. I don't know why anyone would want to smell like this, ever. Beneath all that chaos, there is a lovely, sweet winter fragrance that is unfortunately buried and overpowered by some nasty notes.

Torture. Not enjoyable at all. It reminds me somewhat of Hibiscus Mahajád. Suffocating honeyed cloves. I tried my best, but I can’t wear it.

Very syrupy and synthetic fragrance. It gives very disturbing feeling. Would not want to smell like this.

This is just vile. And I'm not some wimp who hates animalics; on the contrary, I wear Varanasi with ease and have a preference for Gothic scents. This is so evocative of visiting the dentist and having your flesh cauterised - the pain, the stench, the absolute fucking horror! This triggers an adverse reaction in me - it is so weird and unsettling, almost Toskovat-esque in its strangeness. From the opening to the dry-down, this is just a no-no for me and reminds me of the orthodontic surgeries I had as a teenager. Unsettling, uncomfortable and totally unhinged. I will use my sample of this stuff to put a curse on someone I hate, since I see no other use for it.

I absolutely love Sora Dora. I have each of the white fragrances and are some of my favorite scents. I enjoy many avant garde fragrances. However, Lu Bu brings me to a place I don’t want to go. I can typically find something pleasant about most fragrances. Lu Bu left me perplexed. I kept trying. I came back to the tester strip again and again to ask myself what is this? I wanted to smell vanilla—it was buried so deep beneath the gunpowder. I even waited 24 hours to smell it. Again— same rancid opening. This is not for me. If you are a Sora Dora lover, do not blind buy this beast.

Des notes de poudre à canon et sang... La parfumerie ce n'est pas ça C'est un art , qui se travaille et se faconne avec des matières naturelles magnifique et vivante comme le oud , le santal , la vanille et la rose... Je n'arrive meme pas à appeler cette chose 'un parfum' , c'est horrible et je ne comprends vraiment pas les gens qui achètent et portent ce genre de chose Parfumez vous avec l'eau d'une boite de thon ou meme avec l'eau de vos toilette tant que vous y etes ca ne choquera plus personne !

This is among the worst thing I’ve smelled. Not worst fragrance. Worst thing. It’s like sulfur and bunch of other smells that no one can place. It literally makes me gag. I cannot describe how gross it is. There is no event to wear this except to your own funeral. My wife and I own all four of the Sora Dora white tops. We will not be buying this one. What were they thinking?

Absolutely disgusting 🤢, seriously this give me nausea. Such a metallic and sharp perfume. It’s everything I don’t want to smell ever. It’s disturbing and very potent and strong. This is NUCLEAR BOMB 💣. Totally disappointed with this launch. I love Sora Dora but this hits different in a negative way.

This perfume... how do I put it? Imagine a disaster in the bathroom quickly “fixed” with an industrial amount of bleach. Yeah. That.

When opening the new shoebox, that's the scent you'll get, maybe even worse... I don't want to wear this on the new year's day...

I am pretty sure this is what they say Immortelle smells like. It smells very similiar to Warm Bulb by Clue but screechier and louder. Wear warm bulb feels more 'yellow' and this feels 'white'. I can smell the hot white printer paper and I think I can smell the blood note because it smells a tiny bit like cooked meat if you think about the note and try to look for it but this fragrance is so loud and intense and sharp so it is very hard to notice, especially once it begins to dry down. In the dry down i start to smell a kind of 'white bar of soap' suddsy smell which makes it feel more clean. It might have been because of another review below but all I can think about is the smell of a human who has just electrocuted themselves in the bathtub, which even though I like spooky stuff, Is not something I would enjoy smelling like 😅 Edit to add: This is the hardest perfume I have ever had to get off. I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed my arm with exfoliating gloves, salicylic acid face wash, an oil cleanser, Miceller water, Isopropyl and finally 2x dawn dish soap scrubs and ONLY then did it become light enough to ignore it 😭 Get it away from me 🤣

Conjures up images of a war-torn feudal battlefield, soil upheaved, blood soaking the ground, Buddhist paper talismans flying about everywhere as two romanticized versions of Warring States-period Chinese warlords duel to the death with their spears and weaponized fans and whatnot. In other words, it's an absolutely perfect interpretation of the Dynasty Warriors video games (or what one might imagine from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms source material for a slightly less plebeian comparison). The paperiness evokes Zhuge Liang and his deadly paper folding fan before it does Lu Bu for me, but we're still right there in the setting. This is really, really awesome but I don't think it's really wearable out because of the strength. Still one I'm going to really enjoy wearing at home for myself. What a far cry from something as wholly unenjoyable for me as Sora Dora's Jany was to this.

Love this. Sora Dora proving again (to me) they're some of the most interesting, complex perfumes out there. This shares a similar savory-nuttiness that feels like parts of their other, heavier perfumes that feature sesame, even though they list almond here. The texture is indeed smooth like paper, and also a bit metallic in a sharp, bitter way. Vanilla plays a good part too, making it turn slightly ambered and seductive, but leaning just far enough into avant-garde, head scratching aromas. You could smell this a while and wonder how it all works together. It definitely comes close to some ambered, woody irises, with the texture and inviting warmth, but then stretches into flinty smoke, iodine, pine-like resins, and stone-ground nuts or seeds that give it a strange wheaty, flour-like dimension.

I received a sample of this perfume today. I purchased the sample because I was curious when I looked at the notes, I genuinely couldn’t imagine what it would smell like. I did not expect to fall in love instantly. It opens with this metallic iris.. cool, almost otherworldly. The gunpowder note settles in so beautifully, giving it this soft, powdery depth that feels both powerful and refined. It smells like a war goddess. It completely exceeded my expectations. I’m buying the full bottle.

What a sexy alien would smell like; metallic and mineral facets with cold iris. Artsy but very wearable. The dry down smells like gun powder, plastic and powdered Koolaid but somehow there’s an almond like vanilla accord lingering. Interesting and sweet in a non gourmand way. It’s not as odd as people make it seem, it’s unique, but of course it’s not for everyone and that’s a good thing.

Like the first spray of pressurized air from a canister cleaning the crusty fruity pebble crumbs off your PC keyboard, then mellowed out by the smell of polyfill from an antique couch. In other words, if someone spilled days old sweet syrup on all the furnishings inside of a smoker’s thrift store. Mysteriously delicious and also breathtaking in a disgusting way.

Beautifully blended. Sweet, spiced with a metallic note somewhere in the back. After a couple of hours (still projecting strongly) it dries down to a soft powdery almond. It's wearable, don't get overwhelmed by the notes.

by far the most unique sounding fragrance from Sora Dora, very very excited to try upon release! (hopefully it’s not just note bait)

blood mixed with a LOT of powdered sugar on a smokers couch

Heavy dose of moth balls! What is going on here? No no no:(

I had such high hopes but all I smell is moth balls.

synthetic smell as naked laundry... very synthetic