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HELP: LE LABO - Labdanum 18 or Oud 27?

post #1 of 10
9/16/10 at 9:05am
Thread Starter 
Hey guys I need your noses again! I cannot decide which one to get. Doing a blind buy again. My friend is going to Paris end of September and I'm asking her to get me a Le Labo from Colette. But I don't know which one is nice?! So I need your opinions.

Thank you in advance!



Are they worth it? Any recommendations from Le Labo? I'm not sure if I will like Rose 31 because I don't like the cumin. Smells like BO.
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post #2 of 10
9/16/10 at 9:23am
Labdanum is one of my top favourites and I wear it all the time , it is a sweet powdery with very animalic top notes . Not massively complex its just a great fragrance , I just love it .

I only ever tried Oud 27 on a testing strip , very difficult sharp , medicinal , spikey and woody , not at all bad by any means but definatly not a safe blind buy IMO
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post #3 of 10
9/16/10 at 9:28am
Thread Starter 
^^ I see. I am actually leaning towards Lab 18 because it is more wearable. But I believe Oud 27 is more unique? I like Musc Ravageur of Malle. And I like Oud Wood of Tom Ford and M7 which are oud themed fragrances. I almost liked Al Oudh of L'artisan Parfumeur but because of the cumin, it smells like BO.
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post #4 of 10
9/16/10 at 9:31am
Oud 27 is a very, very "difficult" fragrance. My first reaction upon testing it at the Le Labo boutique in NYC was "Oh my, it smells like Band-Aids!" - which did not amuse the sales rep, though she managed to smile anyway. It dried down to something more pleasant, although it still maintained a "meaty" aspect which I found rather off-putting. And this is coming from someone who loves oud and woody frags in general - YSL M7, Tom Ford's Oud Wood, and L'Artisan's Al Oudh are all among my all-time favorite scents.

So I guess that's cautioning against a blind buy of Oud 27. Never tried the Labdanum 18, but I'm thinking it's a hard note to make unpleasant. (Famous last words, right?)

Of the other Le Labo's I've tried, the Bergamote 22 was probably the most conventionally "pleasant" to my nose (even though bergamot often makes my head hurt), and the Vetiver 46 was nice too despite not smelling particularly of vetiver.
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post #5 of 10
9/16/10 at 9:34am
Quote:
Originally Posted by volley2 View Post

I like Musc Ravageur of Malle. And I like Oud Wood of Tom Ford and M7 which are oud themed fragrances. I almost liked Al Oudh of L'artisan Parfumeur but because of the cumin, it smells like BO.

The Oud 27 smells nothing at all like Musc Ravageur. And if you're put off by the cumin in Al Oudh, something tells me the "meaty" aspect of the Oud 27 won't be much to your liking either.
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post #6 of 10
9/16/10 at 9:35am
Thread Starter 
^^ Al Oudh of L'artisan has the same opening of a newly opened band aid box. Quite frankly, I liked it. The smell of band aids never seemed bad. Hmmm?
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post #7 of 10
9/16/10 at 9:41am
Quote:
Originally Posted by volley2 View Post

^^ Al Oudh of L'artisan has the same opening of a newly opened band aid box. Quite frankly, I liked it. The smell of band aids never seemed bad. Hmmm?

In that case, you may indeed love the Oud 27! I see what you mean about the Band Aid-y note in Al Oudh - it's a property of ouds in general, I suppose - but something about the attendant notes in Oud 27 amplified the chemical/"rubbery" aspect of Band Aids for me in a way that was very unpleasant. And that "meaty" note later on during the dry down was a deal breaker.

Does Colette offer the Le Labo sample/travel pack? (Three 10 ml frags for less than the price of a small bottle, I believe.) Might be worth having your friend pick up one of those for you instead ...
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post #8 of 10
9/16/10 at 9:51am
Thread Starter 
^^ Let's see. She will let me know once she gets there....as she sniffs the frags she will report to me here in Shanghai via mobile phone. She knows my taste. I want to get the best this line offers and which ever it is, I want to have 1 full bottle in my collection.
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post #9 of 10
9/16/10 at 5:34pm
I wouldn't buy the Oud 27 blind. I tend to like the more difficult scents but I couldn't get into it, it's really oily & sour. I haven't tried the Labdanum 18. Why don't you instead buy the discovery set, which is your liking of 3 X 5ml sprays for $45-$55.
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post #10 of 10
9/16/10 at 5:44pm
Thread Starter 
^^ The discovery set sounds interesting. But if I buy 3 X 5ml and I really like one of them, 5ml is not enough for me. =)
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