L de Lubin (1975)
by Lubin

Horrible powdery floral chypre . I simply put hate these kind of scents. It is obviously not wearable by men (or who am I to judge?) but I would be repulsed even if I smelled this on some woman.

Very old school. One of those scents that smells very make-up-like to me; Face powder, lipsticks and stuff. The result is a fragrance that smells like some perfumed skin lotion which has been putrefied.

Cloying and almost, I hate to say; sickening fragrance.


And you know, this following description from the manufacturer doesn’t help at all:

“L de Lubin is a heady Eau de Toilette redolent of the disco era and was apparently favoured by the pop divas of the seventies…”

Yikes.

Lubin L de Lubin (re-release)

Notes: Sicilian Lemon, Calabrian Bergamot, white Gardenia, black pepper, ylang ylang, Egyptian Jasmine, May rose, iris and lily, cloves, Tonka bean, Rosewood, Patchouli, Mysore Sandalwood, Heliotrope, Vanilla and Musk (from luckyscent.com)

The first time I tried L de Lubin, I thought I had stumbled across a cleaner, more modernized version of Dior Diorella. Immediately after spraying, LdL has a plastic and peppery hairspray note. Thankfully this fades fast, but there are times when I get the impression of plastic. Thankfully, LdL mostly goes on with juicy lemon, perfect in that it does not seem like an edible lemon dessert or any kind of furniture polish. In the top notes there are also some slightly sweet white florals, subtle peppery spice and a hint of vanilla. It is quite gorgeous when first applied (after the alcohol dries), and even has that Diorella meaty melon note. LdL also has some resemblance to the simultaneously dry-sweet lemon-vanilla accord from Guerlain Habit Rouge EDC. The spices add an interesting zing without being heavy--they complement the citrus notes and add some continuity as the fruity lemon fades.

The top and mid development lasts around 40-60 minutes, and then LdL becomes much less compelling. The drydown is nothing special--vanilla, non-descript musk, some tart synthetic fruit notes (must be the Heliotrope) and some lightly lingering mixed florals. At this point, it smells so much like a common designer fragrance that I completely lose interest. Where did all the good stuff go? Needless to say, while there is hardly anything offensive about the base notes of LdL, the best parts of this fragrance do not last nearly long enough.

L de Lubin is a traditional aldehydic green-floral chypre, very much in the mold of Givenchy III and the original Calèche, though set in a somewhat higher register. It opens on a sour, vinegary top note that I don’t much care for, but this dissipates within ten minutes of wear as the central chypre accord assembles. The heart has all of the dark earthiness of a classic chypre, including the mushroomy, forest floor funk of the lichen known in perfumery as oakmoss.

Perhaps it’s all the aldehydes, or perhaps it’s the powdery aspect of L de Lubin’s floral notes, but for whatever reason, this scent reads to me as intensely retro in character. Compared even with older chypres like Mitsouko or 1000 (no lightweights themselves,) L de Lubin seems heavily “perfumey,” with a strong grandma’s closet vibe to it. Consistent with that, L de Lubin is a potent scent: it projects at least a yard from the wearer and leaves an ample cloud of sillage behind it to boot.

Both a little too loud and a little too shrill, L de Lubin comes off as crass and clumsy next to more rounded and subtly blended chypres like Aqua di Parma Profumo, Heure Exquise, or the aforementioned Givenchy and Hermès scents. I see it as a throwback scent, and not one that adds anything unique or original to the chypre genre. With the far more suave and subtle Givenchy III back on the market, L de Lubin seems superfluous.