Library

Library is my second try from Vartan Perfumes, and like Carnelian, it's quite nicely done. A curious mix of bergamot, leather, fig, tobacco, whiskey, sandalwood, and musk, Library, like its name suggests, has a lot going on, and does smell of some natural woody/green mix in concert with some of the specific nuances of the notes themselves, such as the sweetness of the fig and whiskey, along with the brashness of the tobacco, and relative smoothness and inertness of the sandalwood and musk. The sandalwood and musk do little for me here, as they mostly take away from the more interesting opening and middle of the fragrance. More than four hours into wearing, Library is a bit more boring than at its opening, which is perhaps usually the case of any fragrance, but when it becomes base-notes-dominant, it becomes a lot less appealing. The opening, though, is nice, as all of the top and heart start to mix together into something fascinating. I don't specifically get bergamot, but the leather is palpable, and the dry down gives way to the sweet fig and whiskey, each of which blend quite well with the tobacco, but by the later dry down I'm a bit lost. Very interesting fragrance with the intended execution but it just doesn't quite evolve a way in which I would enjoy it. Performance overall is good, not quite as good as Carnelian, but still solid, and at pricing of $200 for 60ml, it's not totally impossible to contemplate, but I would need to love it a bit more. This is definitely worthy of being sampled, though, along with Carnelian. Very neat stuff coming out of this house. Try it yourself! 7 out of 10

At first glance, out of all the offerings from the house of Vartan, I was the most interested in this scent. It was the one that I placed on my test list and was keeping a lookout to test. I'm a librarian, so most scents with some relation to library catch my eye. Yet, when I was able to sample several from the house, it turned out to be my least favorite. Keep in mind that "least favorite" from Vartan is still very good. And this played distinctly better on paper than my skin, so tricky chemistry is at work.. The tobacco goes dusty/dry and skews to the arid aromatic side with a bit of sharpness; it's "prickly." It takes awhile for this to round back into the scent and not be the dominant (somewhat overwhelming) note. When it finally does, the whisky provides an element of sweetness and reins it in. Although I can sense that the fig and leather are there, I don't actually smell them as individual aspects themselves. The woods definitely ground the whole scent and linger on quite lovely and long in the drydown. But tobacco rules the day. It's somewhat subdued in character once that tobacco calms down and settles. Ultimately, I found it to be a pleasant scent, but I've experienced other tobacco-centric fragrances that I like much better. Library definitely smells like something that, in the more mainstream designer market, would absolutely be marketed for men, but that doesn't mean that it smells "masculine" in any distinct way to me.

Agreed, 'great stuff coming out of this house'! Though landshark has said it far better than I, it should be noted that Library is the most distinctly 'masculine' of any of the Vartan perfumes I've tested so far. (See my reviews - 3 perfumes and 2 oils.) That said, the manly aura can't keep this leather/library/tobacco/wood loving woman from wearing it with pleasure. :) Warm, woody, green tobacco! Leather is present also - so well named. It's not a photo realistic setting of an old, dusty, leather bound collection of books, but a fine tribute robed in classic male perfumery. Anyone who enjoys excellent leather or bay rum/whiskey fragrances will enjoy sampling this quality creation by the house of Vartan. Kudos!

A dusty sweet cinnamon/wood scent, reminds me faintly of books and paper, with a suggestion of leather, but it's a bit too sweet and doesn't actually smell like a library to me. The fig leaf and bergamot make it too green on my skin, which gives it a mildew impression that is unfortunately unpleasant. There's a super sweet note in the base that comes up like sticky honey on me, too, which I also don't care for. This could be the tobacco, as some tobacco synthetics come up very sweet on my skin. Overall not bad, but not something I'll wear. I scrubbed after several hours and now love it as it smells almost identical to Ayala Moriel's L'Herbe Rouge (a green/red herbal liquid sunshine scent), but it's not worth the actual wearing just to get that lovely end. Serious staying power though.