Labores Solis

[Lamia]

This is the Labores Solis: the sun’s rays expressed through frankincense, amber, heliotrope, saffron, and chamomile, crossed with Luna’s Artemisias, manifesting in darkness.

Frankincense first, surprisingly rough and gravelly. Then amber. Bah, foo, ptui. Trade bag.

I should have known that if Wwindy loves it this much, that it WILL NOT WORK AT ALL on me


Edited to add scent description. Edited January 3, 2010 by Shollin

[Little Bird]

Bpal's amber notes often go powdery, and heliotrope is a sweet, powdery floral, so Labores Solis goes very powdery on me. I get a little bit of something like a sweet floral incense underneath the baby powder. I like parts of this a lot, but it's too powdery for me to actually wear.

 

I like all of the listed notes, but this sadly is not for me

[crebbsgirl]

It's pretty much an herbal incense blend on my skin. Frankincense and Heliotrope are in the foreground after drying, and the amber sort of drifts through the scent. I can faintly detect a hint of saffron here, and the chamomile is light. I should also note that my skin usually turns frankincense to playdoh and that's not happening here. Its a lighter incense scent than I typically wear, but it's pretty. I don't know how often I will reach for it, but I can appreciate it.

[Wwindy]

Frankincense first, surprisingly rough and gravelly. Then amber. Bah, foo, ptui. Trade bag.

 

I should have known that if Wwindy loves it this much, that it WILL NOT WORK AT ALL on me

 

Hee! It's true, Lamia and I are pretty much textbook examples of scent opposites. I plead innocent on this particular failure, though... it's The Sportive Sun that I adore!

 

However, I have to echo tartchef's well-written comparison of Sportive Sun and Labores Solis -- there really are strong similarities between the two, with Labores Solis having a more shadowy, cool-toned, almost "blue" feel. This one hovers much closer to the dreaded baby-powder amber effect for me (I don't have that problem with Sportive Sun at all), but the frankincense and the light fresh herbal aspects seem to keep it just on the right side of the line.

 

Oh, look, Lamia... you were right! I like it.

[Gin]

Labores Solis - I get a lot of frankencense from this, and not much else. A bit of amber in the background, maybe.

[mgrazulis]

Bitter chamomile, herbs in the vial...rather nondescipt in the wet for me. Drydown becomes a nicely resinous from the frankincense and lightly spiced from the almondy heliotrope and saffron but the powdery doom of amber means this one will not see the light of day on me again!

 

 

[Bluestocking]

In the bottle: Really interesting. Faint and somehow shadowy, but not without a little resiny sweetness. It's definitely herbal, and the chamomile and Artemisia are out in front, a little bit lemony-pungent and a touch bitter—not overwhelmingly so, but enough to make this dark. Beneath the dark herbs, I smell primarily frankincense with some amber, spicy and sweeter and more golden, a bit incensey. The dark and light elements balance each other perfectly, and I can see why this is a solar eclipse blend. Reminds me just a bit of No. 93 Engine, though this is less sweet.

On, wet: Much sweeter on my skin, although the herbal, tangy, slightly bitter Artemisia and chamomile are still out in front. This is a dark and shadowed gold scent, with the warmth and spicy sweetness of the resins bubbling underneath the darkness of the herbs. Saffron is very faint, and I haven't smelled much in the way of heliotrope, either… but wow, what a perfect representation of an eclipse.

On, dry: Frankincense and heliotrope, warmed by the amber and complicated by the chamomile and a hint of saffron. Thick, spicy-sweet, resinous and gorgeous, very golden and glowing, though still in a burnished sort of way. The sun is beginning to emerge from the shadows of the eclipse, and it's beautiful.

Later: Blended golden sweet resinous floral. It's a bit incensey from the frankincense, but mostly it's just warm and spicy, with a slight herbal-woody twinge to keep it from getting too sweet.

Much later: Frankincense and sweet, vanilla/almond-tinged heliotrope. Nothing remotely powdery for me; just rich golden yum.

Overall: I almost didn't get this one when I few initial reviews came back mentioning the dreaded Vetiver, but I'm SO GLAD I didn't let that put me off, because this is beautiful--very subtle and a great example of the perfumer's art. I don't get anything remotely like vetiver from this, thank god, although I can see how the chamomile and Artemisia could be a bit pungent for some. But they add just the right amount of balancing darkness to all the warm, sweet, golden spicyness, which is what gives this the stunning eclipse effect. The extreme dry down is majestic and lovely, and the throw is even better. I think that lovers of No. 93 Engine might be pleased here, because Labores Solis does have something of that combination of tangy/pungent herbals overlaid on warm, sweet, rich resins. (For the Sportive Sun comparisons, I can't comment, because I haven't sniffed SS.) I have a feeling that this is going to age magnificently, too. Win!

 

 

[ralenth]

Source: Lab

 

In the Bottle: Pungent incense and herbs. It really hits me in the back of the throat, almost like I'm sucking down smoke.

 

Wet: Sharp green with a dash of charcoal.

 

Drydown: The "charcoal" diminishes, and LS becomes a warm spicy cocoon weaving itself around my initial sharp green impression, which also has mellowed.

 

Dry: A tinge of sweetness, but mostly resin and herby goodness. It's very different than most of the resins I have. Perhaps the addition of the herbs?

 

Overall: It's very intriguing. I keep sniffing it. I think I'm expecting Labores Solis to whisper dark secrets into my ear. Together we will dominate the world (or so it tells me).

[rayvn1]

Dark scent. Nothing really coming to the fore here, just a general sense of thick darkness that hangs out in a little cloud around my arm. Not a lot of throw and unfortunately smells pretty generic on me despite many notes I love

[Monster]

After reading the reviews for this i had to order a bottle

 

In the bottle: Warm amber and heliotrope

 

Wet: Ooohhh this oil is thick! Hmmm this has a real "perfume" quality to it. Labores Solis is a herbal and resinous amber. It's bright, warm and slightly sharp.

 

Dry: Dryyyyyyyy is where this turns to LOVE The sharp, green notes have completley faded away leaving a warm, soft amber/frankincense incense mixed with sweet herbs. I can't stop sniffing my wrist. It reminds me a bit of Aesops Mystra perfume.

 

Overall: I'm SO happy I decided to pick up a bottle of this. If you love resin and incense scents, you really need to try this one!

[Pika]

Ah, this smelled great in the imp. I love amber, and the rest was nicely blended and warm/dry smelling as well.

 

On me though, it went straight to powder. Like, immediately. Sigh.

[Schmoozy]

 

Oh this is heaven. Labores Solis feels dry and hot. Amber mingles with frankincense and chamomile. I adore the smell of chamomile it is slightly earthy, a little perfumey but most of all it is relaxing and soothing. Amber is one of my go to scents and along with frankincense, produces this herbal resiny sunbaked scent. Perhaps one of my favorite LE's that has been released this year.

[Jupita]

I should tell one thing, before I review this scent.

 

I spent this summer in Spain, near Barcelona... it was like hell to me - hot, fiery hell.

Then, in the last days of july, we had to come back to Paris, and my mother decided that a car trip was in order, to show our russian friends the south of France.

 

There are grottes near Carcassonne, the Grotte of Limousis.

We decided to visit it... afterwards, my brother spottet some apple trees, and we made a halt to "take" some...

Nearby, there was mint growing.

The day was hot, the grass was yellow and dry and everything around was dry too.

 

A few days later, I got my decants, with Labores Solis in them...

 

The first thing I can smell in this, is sweet incense...

But then, this becomes more herbal, and dry...

Like that day... near Сarcassonne.

 

This smells like a late evening in the South of France, with dry herbs and grass around you.

It smells hot - like heat is hot (I'm not making any sexual alussions here)...

 

And to be truthfull, I really like it... even if I hate heat, I hate summer and I hate southern places...

 

 

[greenranger]

Wet on me, and drying, this is sweet. I don't find anything bitter at all. The initial blast of scent was nearly candyish, but, it has settled down a little.

 

Dry, this is all sweet herbs and frankincense.

[voodoocatwoman]

I found this to be sweet when applied. But on drydown, it has taken on a slightly bitter quality. I still smell sweet, almost an incense, but the bitter is lurking in the background.

 

Ok but not fantastic. Probably good for winter.

[Cereus]

In the bottle: chamomile and saffron cough syrup

Wet: chamomile with a spicy edge of amber and frankincense

As it dries: the amber and frankincense come to the fore and heliotrope rounds it out

Dried down: oh my goodness heliotrope and frankincense and saffron, and eventually a little artemisia rounds it all off with an almost tangy note

 

I am amazed by how well the 'eclipse' effect comes across. This was the first bottle I ordered untested, just for the notes, and I am truly amazed and pleased by the result.

[Venneh]

In the decant, I get dark sunlight, or, in note terms, chamomile and amber, with a hint of frankincense. Hmm.

 

Once on my skin, I'm getting chamomile and amber, with a hint of frankincense rising that slowly comes to dominate the blend, with a bit of an herbal side to it. We'll see what this does. And then it goes to nothing. Not even five minutes later, and I can barely smell this, except for a faint chamomile scent. Not working on me, sadly, so to the swaps with it.

Edited November 26, 2009 by Venneh

[milo]

Wet, this is bitter, soapy orange peel with a touch of warm amber. As it dries, the amber comes out, and it's only slightly soapy now. Mmm, half an hour later, I get my beloved frankincence. Now, it is a slightly spicy, warm ambery frankincence blend with a touch of golden citrus. This really reminds me of a hot summer day, with sweet grasses that are going yellow, with the sun beating down on them. I really like this, and may hunt down more than the decant that I have.

[milica]

I think that my decant is now ready for wearing. I've tried it a couple of times since I got it last summer, it was nice and mostly herbal, amber still needed to age.

 

And what I have now is golden, sunny amber/inscence scent that I like a lot! I don't get as much herbs as I used to, only in first few stages, because this changes a few times before it settles down. It reminds me of Sol Invictus for some reason, but where Sol Invictus gets colder in some way and reminds me of the winter sun, Labores Solis after an hour or two becomes golden and hot and reminds me of the late summer sun. Will be wearing it a lot this summer.

[obsidienne]

This is so very pretty. It makes me think of an eclipse. It's deep, rich, and golden, with little flashes of the sun's rays.

 

It's also very well blended on my skin, so much so that the notes really don't distinguish themselves too overtly as "saffron", "heliotrope", "amber", etc. There is a slightly herbal note, but very subtle... not that this scent is subtle, it's quite intense and a little goes a long way. That said... as it dries down... something is going terribly wrong. The culprit is chamomile, which is always a problem note for me in blends (and in tea). It ruined Sachs for me. Dreaded chamomile.

 

Yet another fail! I have been trying to step outside the box with new scents and having nothing but bad luck lately. I think I need to rest my chemistry.

[Brighid]

I bought this one when it came out and tried it a couple times, but stuck it in my BPAL box because I was in absolute love with Leanan Sidhe at the time. I put it on again a few days ago on a whim, and I could not stop smiling. This smells *exactly* like the inside of a couple of the witch shops in Salem, and the association is so strong that if I close my eyes, I'm back there.

[countessmouse]

Chamomile can do odd things on my skin, so I was a bit leery about trying this one after the last chamomile disaster. And, wouldn't you know it, I only have a sniffy of this and I love it. It's dry, sweet frankincense and herbs with just a touch of floral.

 

Dammit. Now I have to go search for a bottle...

[Gold Dust Kitten]

Labores Solis is a chamomile scent that doesn't smell funky on me. I love the frankincense, amber and saffron, and I think if there were no florals in this I would love it. I think it's a lighter, floral cousin of Jacob's Ladder.

[JazzieCazzie]

This was one of the many new-to-me blends on my wishlist and was very happy to be able to swap for a bottle of it!

 

IN THE BOTTLE: Fresh golden amber.

 

Dabbed on one wrist and in crook of arm.

 

WET: Lovely throw. I get a summer vibe, for sure, though none of the incense others mentioned. It's evoking more images than specific notes for me -- green and gold and flowers. It is very much a scent of sunshine and so definitely met its goal. However, I'm getting a little bit of what I think of as a "gum" scent ... not a deal-breaker necessarily, but it's distracting and keeps it from being perfect.

 

DRYDOWN: Sadly, on drydown, this becomes more of a generic perfume on me. I have a feeling it's the chamomile, which I've noticed can be something of a ... well, not a "death note" but a "bummer I don't like this as much" note. A little fruity and sweet and powdery. And definitely more perfumey than I'd like.

 

OVERALL: Don't get me wrong, this is a very nice scent. But as I've been filling out and cataloguing my collection, and as I'm getting older and will never be able to go through everything I have as it is, I'm becoming much more selective about what I keep. It's no longer enough to just be a very nice scent. It has to be something I would say "Hey, I really want to wear (fill in the blank) today." And I don't see that happening with Labores Solis. So despite a pretty high score it goes onto the swap list.

 

On a scale of 1-5, a 4.

[filigree_shadow]

I'm not totally sure why I even have a decant of this, because a lot of the notes in it aren't my favorites. I'm betting I wanted it because of the saffron, which is both unusual and a favorite of mine. I think I can smell the saffron in it, but the amber is a little powdery, and I'm not a fan of the incense in the combination. Also, something about it is a bit pungent, and I'm not sure what that is. I'm glad I tried it but it didn't work out for me.

Edited December 24, 2015 by filigree_shadow