Luctor Et Emergo

As I’ve been obsessed with this fragrance for over a month, I thought it was high time for a review. I preface this by saying I’m infatuated. No other fragrance has hit me this strongly. The initial whiff of the small sample I’d ordered gave me pause. Cherry Cloraseptic was all I could smell. But I didn’t hate it, so waited to see what happened. Within 30 minutes, the almond accord was mingling with the cherry and softening the sharper medicinal bits. Then the incense came forth. Quiet, but just enough the pull the whole thing together. And that was it. I was in love. It’s a cherry, almond, marzipan, incense wonder. It’s sweet, and I could see this being cloying for some. Not a blind buy IMO. However, I have found my love very short lived. I do not smell it even two hours after applying. I kept dousing myself in that sample until it was gone. Not willing the spend $185 quite yet, I ordered a decant, and I feel the longevity is even worse. I imagine I’m that poor soul that has found their true love, but he’s just a ghost. He pops in momentarily and then disappears. I’ve been bathing in this stuff, even layering over neutral oils to sustain it. No such luck. Sure there must be some sort of dupe for this cult favorite, and hoping an oil would play nicer with my skin, I scoured the Internet for days. Yes, days! The only current one in production I’ve found is an oil called Embargo, found on Amazon. While this is very close, it lacks the incense note. Instead, a cheap musk takes its place. If only that musk was incense, I could say it’s a 90% dupe. And it lasts much longer on my skin. As my husband is sick of hearing me wax poetic about my new love, thanks for letting me share here LOL. He’s like “just buy it already”. And I’m sure I will. I only wish it was more than a fleeting whisper on me.

I emailed Luckyscent about 6 weeks ago, asking when LEE would be back in stock as I'm desperate for a backup bottle. Someone emailed back and told me this version (the parfum) had been discontinued by People of the Labyrinths, but that the EDT was still being produced and they were waiting for their shipment to arrive. She didn't have an estimate either. That info doesn't jive with the info ceeceelee got direct from POTL. I was ready to take whatever version I could get, but I'm hopeful now that the parfum hasn't been DC'd. I check Luckyscent EVERY damn day. Looks like I have to start calling and begging LOL. If Covid ever ends, I'm gonna have to fly to Amsterdam and bring back as many bottles as I can fit in my suitcase 😂 I've yet to find another perfume that scratches the itch of LEE. It's my absolute HG and I'm hoarding what's left in my bottle. DSH perfumes has La Fete Nouvelle, which to my nose has the base down, it's sweet, almondy, grassy hay, but its a bit sharp at times and it's missing the cherry note that puts LEE over the top for me. There is also a dupe oil by Zaja Natural (aka The Beer Soap Company) called Embargo. It's not exactly a dupe to my nose, smells more like cherry incense and Playdoh, but it gives the vibe of LEE fairly well. The oil smells heavier, too thick and syrupy, maybe too much amber or incense, whereas the OG feels much airier and wafts over me in varying waves. But if you're as desperate as me, you might want to try a bottle for $16 and see if it can tide you over.

A sweet and creamy mélange of almond, cherry and vanilla, this reminds me of the heady bliss of walking into a tobaconnist's for the almost narcotic-sweetness of the fruit essences blended with tobacco - not for every taste (I've never been a smoker), but it's definitely a kind of perfume with the power to comfort and enthrall. Cherry pits contain cyanide, which is redolent of almonds, by the way, so the cherry/amaretto type accord is a hand-in-glove style combo that Nature herself first assembled. Vanilla is very easy to over-do for me, but the balance of the vanilla here is perfect and not overpowering. The woodsy undertones grant some structure that makes a nice framework for what could easily have tipped into a cloying, too-sweet accord. This is glorious. Another thought-- I'm a fulltime older university student, and my young classmates almost monolithically adore sweet fruity fragrances, whereas I favor woody/spicy/orientals. This fragrance seems to bridge the gap, and yet manages to smell like nothing else I've experienced. There is a mere suggestion of the cherry/almond of my beloved Hypnotic Poison, but this one is not hammering a diner over in the next county while I'm wearing it. On polarity, this says it's for women, but this is OMNI for me: whether male or female, the person who wears this may be in danger of being devoured, but what a way to go! This one is a definite stand-out for me, and is on my "want" list now.

Smells of lipstick and Barbie furniture. In the best way. Not much of a statement, but the bottle, the name, and that plastic/cherry accord...make me feel...modern? Sweetly abstract? Like sipping boba-milk tea while reclining on white plastic chairs in the cafe next to MOCA in downtown L.A. There's something so future-from-the-past about this scent...like Space Odyssey. In the same way that L'Artisan fragrances are very Jules Verne to me. Does this make any sense at all? o.O The modelling clay (or, 'play-doh') accord here is most likely due to the use of heliotropin, a chemical derivative of the heliotrope flower. Poison has it in spades, as does Kenzo Amour...hate the former (80s frags! UGH!), like the latter, and it's a scent that you either love or hate, not much in between. I get the sweet hay side of the heliotropin here--well done POTL noses. It is a joy; emotive, evocative. Reminiscent of Le Feu D'Issey...that milky almond, plus sweet tobacco...orgeat, amaretto, old books resting on time-worn and lovingly waxed mahogany. LOVE, and, as is the case with most complex fragrances (Tauer, L'Artisan etc etc), this is definitely one better sprayed liberally than merely sampled. I never knew how much I loved it until I choked and purchased the full-bottle parfum (very different from the EDT! Consider yourself warned!) directly from POTL. One can't indulge in a feast with a single bite. One to douse and savour.

Ugh, I caved and just bought from Lucky Scent. I've been waffling bc, well, I think I'm addicted to perfume, lol. Hello ~ my name is CC and I'm a perfume addict. But all kidding aside, I wasn't sure about this one. I kept dabbing the scent on bc that's how the sample comes but I wasn't getting what my fellow devotees were. I had 3 samples so I decanted into a sprayer and WOW! What a difference this makes with the EdT. I finally got out of the medicinal cherry phase, which I'm ok with, but it never went any further just dabbing on. Spraying on, it just becomes this ethereal fragrance of lightly cherry, sweet almond, a little (lleettllee) powdery that just floats around you, enveloping you in a cloud of good feelings. For me, if I make sure I'm moisturized up the yeng yang, it lasts about 4-6 hours with 4-5 sprays and bc it's an EdT, sillage is surprisingly decent. I'm not a huge fan of others smelling my perfumes, but I was complimented twice by people (ladies, lol) walking in the cosmetic department of Target, where I was looking for the new Solinote perfume, Amande. (By the way, you can buy Amande online at Target😁) Hello ~ my name is CC and I'm a perfume addict. Ugh.

8:30 - Doll heads and cherries. I like it. Woods and (maybe) some sweet almonds. 10:00 - An hour later and I can't smell it, even with my nose to my wrist. BRB, grabbing coworker. Ok. She says she can smell it and it smells like "perfume". Doesn't seem all that enthused. Put on lotion because I read an article about things everyone is doing wrong when we wear perfume and everything else I did correctly. Now I can smell the plastic again, but I'm not sure if the lotion just also happens to have that scent. I guess it's cool either way? 10:10 - Ef it, put on more. Nobody needs to be coming into my office anywho. Defeats the purpose of having a door if they keep barging in. It smells like when you first take an inflatable floatie out of the box. Still into it. 10:40 - I think I may have too much on. Need to go outside. Update 2 months later - this is going to be my next purchase. While I'm still not impressed with the longevity, it is one of my favorites in how the scent evolves during wear. I relish the whole plastiky beginning. Don't know why it's so satisfying, but it is. Eventually it turns into a warm but light woody amber.

This is from my wife's collection, but it's perfectly suited for a man and I often steal a few sprays when the mood hits. I'm a big fan of amaretto and this is one of the best in the category. The opening is heavy on the booze and cherry, with monster projection. My biggest complaint about LEE is that I do get a restroom vibe from it, reminding me of hand soap, or urinal cakes, or both. Not sure. It's a pleasant aroma, but maybe something you'd rather not be likened to. All of this smell is largely in the opening; as it dries down it becomes more like a sweet and comforting blanket of cherry pipe tobacco. Performance is ace - you will still smell this on your clothes the next day. Maintains its strength for hours, like few fragrances I've owned can. Luctor Et Emergo is a real gem, packaged in a jank little bottle capped with a horrendous atomizer. It comes out in spatters, but what does come out smells wonderful.

A winner from my "Absolutely certain I will hate this" pile. I inexplicably love this and totally get why it would garner such polarizing reactions. On me it's a delicious dry incense of sweet almonds and cherry with a counterpoint of plastic doll heads. Weird, but compelling. I loathe plastic notes, sweet gourmands and anything obviously synthetic, and yet. I think the dryness is what makes this work for me and keeps it from going all sweet and juvenile. Happily, I get no play doh, though I can easily see this going that way on a different skin type. I think this fragrance walks a very fine line between compelling and completely unwearable, just the slightest shift in balance and I would loathe this as much as I expected to. Definitely try this on skin before committing to a purchase.

This is intoxicating and sweet. It's beautiful. I agree with the reviewers that it is in fact quite similar to the heliotrope. I can quite compare it to the Initio's Side Effect due to this kind of floral-fruity sweetness with ambery accents (due to almonds). Side Effect is just slightly stronger and is more boozy, if that makes sense, due to presence of rum note there. But they are quite similar, and definitely share a theme for me. It is cozy. The cherry here is different from Cherry in Khaltat Night. Khaltat Night is even sweeter to me. Khaltat Night has cinnamons and roses, so it leans in a similar direction, but is also more floral, intense and spicy. I love this perfume and definitely would consider a larger decant to try it better!

I adore heliotrope in all its forms (definitely try growing it if you're into plants, we're zone 6 so it's container only but a champion bloomer, I kept deadheading & it bloomed straight through winter in my bedroom window) but I know not everyone does. The most common critiques I see about heliotrope-heavy scents are "it smells like Playdoh" or "eww, marzipan." I love both, so not a deterrent. All the almond/cherry scents for me. But if any of that does not appeal maybe don't bother with Luctor et Emergo's cult masterpiece. People of the Labyrinths is heliotrope to the Nth power. & slow-creep addicting. I started off liking it, now I crave it. Beware. Cozy with a flash of danger. Yes, please. UPDATE: Uggghhhhh discontinued

Luctor et emergo smells like my favorite florist's shop, the one where i always suspect that, to raise sales, they have a scent generator hidden in a corner. That shop makes me want to linger there forever, maybe even train to become a florist myself. This perfume smells like a vanilla orchid in a lush rainforest. It is so delicious... Spicy, warm, earth-like, edible. I think it could even be worn by a man. It's extraordinary, yet light enough to wear in the day/to work. I think there's a fair amount of tonkabean in the base notes, although the ingredients above do not mention it. Applied in the morning, I can still smell it the evening of the next day.

I just got an email back from the People of the Labyrinths, said that they still make it, not discontinued but that bc of the shipping restrictions due to flammable liquids and something about terrorism, they can't ship world wide anymore. That even shipping within EU countries was restricted as well, but that they have a distributor here in the US. Luckyscent. But Luckyscent has not reordered this EdT bc of demand being low. They still carry their rose scent. She asked if I wanted to CALL Luckysent and request it, lol, that would help the most. So I guess I'm calling🙃 I'm dying to try, its almost become a perfume cult favorite as Gloria has.

Thanks to a generous fragrantica member, I tried a sample of the EDP yesterday, and it has completely blown my mind. It's absolutely AMAZING. At first it smells like cherry cone incense--smokey and woody, with cherry and a little vanilla. As the scent warms up, it becomes sweeter, but it stays very woody on me. (UPDATE: I must add that after a good three hours wearing it, the fragrance is going strong and the cherry is re-emerging as a dominant note. Oh, how I love this fragrance!) I find this scent experience grounding and invigorating at the same time. This is EXACTLY how I want to smell, and it makes me feel more like "me".

I had not worn nor even really thought about this in years until recently I got a craving for a cherry scent. I’ve got like 15ml or so left in the bottle I’ve had since the mid 2000s, and it’s still wonderful. Extremely tart, waxy cherry, almond, incense, green grass. It’s ethereal and weird, like the you’d imagine some enchanted glade full of mischievous pixies to smell. Fantastic. Of course it’s discontinued 😭 I’m sad that I just forgot and slept on it for so long, (to say I have too much perfume would be a staggering understatement) but am happy to have unearthed the small amount I have left and I shall treasure it.

It is composed of aromas of green grass, white flowers, vanilla, almond, sour cherry and precious wood, as a memory of the 19th ct.fragrances. I pull mainly cherry/almond/vanilla, with occasional wafts of fresh green grass and smoky wood. The white flowers might blend with the green grass, for I don't catch a single whiff of any florals. This is unique and appealing. However I have to wait until another day, as this juice is rather pricy and other things must currently take precedence. Someday... Someday... If you like this, get it...this seems pretty unique.

I have a tester sample from 2005 that I hang on to for dear life, as this fantastic fragrance has been discontinued. I have messaged the POTL brand several times to ask if they would ever bring it back but they keep saying no. This fragrance is very 80's retro London neo-punk for me. In a good way. Clean, smelling of hay and sunshine, nonsexual, not boozy/smoky or intentionally bedroomy/naughty like many other cherry frags. POTL is very good and comforting, and not any cherry fragrance that I've tried comes even close to it.

Said to be a cult classic and I can see why. When I first smelled it, I thought it was dominated by cinnamon but it turns out there isn’t any according to Fragrantica! I think this warm and spicy feel is coming from cherry and perhaps amber (also not listed.) I don’t get a PlayDoh vibe from it thankfully. Reminds me of warm, freshly baked cookies (like the scent of baked goods from Great American Cookies that fill up my local mall!) Simply scrumptious! A unique almond scent, a must-try for gourmand lovers.

I am completely smitten. I thought there'd be little chance of me liking this from all the reviews. I was expecting something way more girly. This is so incredibly delicious. Cherries and almonds with a subtle vanilla smokiness in the drydown. It's not overly sweet, though there is definitely SOME sweetness there, of the creamy variety. It is quite light on me, more of a skin scent and slightly powdery towards the end. You could really wear this anywhere.

I am one of the lucky few that this blooms on :) I get luscious creamy almond cherry on a subtle wood base. I don't get the grass and floral unless that's what makes the "sour" cherry softer and sweet without being syrupy. I can't get over how this scent affects me. I am generally hesitant about saying I love anything (I'm a fickle perfumista most times) but I really really love this!!

I think Luctor et Emergo is one of the most stunning, unusual, delightful perfumes I've ever smelled. Something about this stuff is magical on my skin. It begins with a boozy cherry liqueur, and warms to almond-tobacco-cognac. Occasionally I get whiffs of violin rosin, and old wood, which are personally evocative, but overall this is a fragrance entity in itself.