Le Lèthè

[jkfagtongpun]

Red musk and sweat-damp golden skin musk with labdanum, golden amber, nutmeg, tobacco absolute, black orchid, and hemlock accord.

I also cannot believe there is only one page of reviews for this so far! I am SO glad this is now GC.

Why did I not try this one earlier??

On wet I get red musk, golden musk, amber and a very, very subdued floral.

As it warms on my skin the floral note/notes come out a bit more and have a slight bitter edge, which I really like - florals can go very bad for me if they are too sweet.

As it dries down the sweet, sharp tobacco comes out so I get a beautiful, sexy, dark, heady, musky scent - my gawd, I love this. It's not a floral, it's not foody... it's, well, just gorgeous. To me it's a warm, brown, eveloping scent... if you know what I mean.

I think I've found my new favourite. Definitely a 5ml purchase!

[mermaidsdream]

I just received this as a frimp with my eBay win. OMG, THANK YOU Puddin'! I've never had an imp I had to try immediately, but this was love at first sniff.

 

In the imp, it was all musk and something deeper, something very sexy.

 

Applied: after a few minutes, I start getting the nutmeg, but the musk is still there, warm and sexy. This is another one where I may have to surgically remove my wrist from my nose!

[ccelaya]

Wet - amber and black orchid

 

On skin - UMMM i love this scent on. The florals with the dark musk are amazing.

 

As it dries the tobacco absolute comes out with subtle floral and notes of hemlock. The subtle hints of warm nutmeg.

 

I definitely need to order more of this. Its definitely a favorite! 5 stars.

[WidgetAlley]

Imp: Thick heavy red musk, reminiscent of Snake Charmer and Smut. A little tobacco, a little nutmeg, not much else.

 

Wet: I had no idea what to expect from red musk and hemlock and nutmeg but the end result smells like Sin had a baby with a wet conifer. I'm getting amber and orchid and the other, sweeter components now too, but this is definitely one of Beth's Red Musk Blends.

 

Dry: Red musk, spice, a touch of floral. Pretty, but very very close to both Scherazade and Sin on me.

[Atrous]

Most of the notes in Le Lethe work on me but I wasn't sure about Black Orchid or Hemlock notes since I hadn't tried a blend with them before. I'm always skeptical of floral notes because so many of them have ruined a scent for me.

Well, apparently hemlock and orchid work on my skin because Le Lethe is drop dead sexy! Hot damn, I'm gonna have to reorder my top ten list.

 

In the imp: Red musk and amber

 

Wet: What the...citrus? Weird. Plus, both musks and nutmeg.

 

Dry: That citrus scent goes away but what I end up with is a very complex scent. spicy, smokey musk on top followed by a soft, powdery amber mixed with a light floral in the middle. All of this layered on top of a sharp-ish note (maybe the hemlock) at the base.

Absolutely wrist-eating good Getting a bottle of this on my next order.

[mistri]

Reminds me a little of Hell's Belle. Otherwise I'm mostly getting red musk and the orchid and it's nice, but on my skin nothing special. Sorry lovely perfume.

[Harvest Fox]

In the bottle: a strong woodsy, musk scent

 

Wet on skin: The weirdest thing, an obvious bitter note followed by an aquatic scent in the background. I'm taking a wild guess that the bitterness comes from either the tobacco or the labdanum while that aquatic note must be the orchid. It really smells like eating the bitter skins of nuts while sitting on a boat

 

After 1 hour: still bitter but the sultry scent of musk is a bit stronger now. Still smelling that aquatic note though.

 

After several hours: it tranforms into a very masculin scent for me, the kind older men who smoke pipes would wear. Quite chique and summarized as: sultry aquatic wood.

 

Verdict: Not for me but I would love to smell it on a man.

[Circaea]

I could pretty much quote the above review verbatim. It's the tobacco which turns almost everything that has it into men's cologne on me. Le Lethe is quite sharp on my skin, with the tobacco and hemlock front and center, and it's not doing me any favors.

[Teaker]

I laughed out loud the first time I tested this because it was just so bizarre on me: sauteed celery. I kid you not, it smells like celery that is being sauteed with spices and maybe a touch of chicken stock. Quite savory and tasty, and not an unpleasant smell at all. But NOT something I want from a perfume. Can you say "skin chemistry fail"? I've since let it age for a couple months and tested it twice more, with no change. Sorry Le Lethe, looks like it isn't meant to be.

[Deliciousness]

In the imp: I can tell there is red musk in this one ... I'm off to look up notes ... Yup! Red musk.

 

Wet on skin: The damp scent of skin peeks thru the red musk, dirtying things up a bit. There is a sweetness not associated with the red musk that is making itself known, but is a bit cloying. It's hitting the back of my throat in a ticklish way. Not too sure I really like that part.

 

Dry down: This scent seems to settle into a slightly powdery floral musk scent, but with a slightly off putting high pitched sweet note. I don't know where that sweet note is coming from, tobacco maybe? Alas, this scent isn't really working for me.

[Morsigne925]

Been having issues with many old scents I loved turning to baby-powder on me after trying them again after a long time (some musks seem to do it on me) and was worried about this one with the red musk, but happy to find that it doesn't seem to! Stays a bright, beautiful rich floral to me even after a while - definitely get the golden amber smell as well as a fruitier note from what I think must be the orchid. I really enjoy this one! 4 stars!

[theseagrows]

this starts off with red musk which slowly gives way to tobacco, nutmeg, orchid and hemlock in the background, but it's pretty red musk prominent overall. it reminds me of smut a bit, but just the red musk. and i haven't tried smut in a long time so i could be completely wrong anyway the labdanum comes out more giving this a kind of leathery quality (at least, i think it's labdanum) along with the musk, it's gotten more unisex/masculine now. also the nutmeg and orchid seem to have disappeared and the hemlock is more prominent adding a slight herbal/greenness way in the back. i like this but don't love it, however, i think i'd like to smell it on my boyfriend.

Edited October 12, 2014 by theseagrows

[mystery213]

This starts out on me as a beautiful red musk, and almost instantly turns into an intense soapy smell. Straight up traditional bar soap over a hint of musky floral (orchid?). Like someone dumped a musky but yet floral perfume on themselves, and then roughly scrubbed it off with white bar soap. The soap smell fades a bit on the dry down, but not much. Not what I expected at all.....

[Aviatrix]

Note: Red musk amper here!

 

So, this is mostly red musk on me, unsurprisingly. When I concentrate, I can pick out a bit of the tobacco and resins on drydown as well, but it really is mostly a heavy, sweet red musk.

So it's not really for me, sadly.

[Lunasariel]

In the imp: Ooh, this one is interesting! Predominantly musky amber, but with an interestingly spicy note that brings incense to mind, but isn't incense itself. The labdanum, I want to say?

 

Wet: I appear to be amping the musk (sorry, my nose isn't yet skilled enough to distinguish which kind), but my beloved amber is still going strong. There's also a new, sharp edge - hemlock, perhaps? Nutmeg? Tobacco? It's hard to pin down. Anyway, the sharp note isn't there for long, and it settles down into a lovely spicy-sweet musk blend after a few minutes.

 

Dry: Labdanum and amber, with just a hint of smoke. At once a comforting and powerful scent - I like!

[stellamaris]

this is geeeeeeoooooorgeous...I get the Sin and Scheherazade comparisons, but this is different enough to be worth it. It soothes my incense red musk loving soul without the dreaded Ye Olde Hippie syndrome...you won't smell like a wizard's booth at a Dungeon's and Dragons con...

This could be my Snake Oil, must buy many many bottles of this...

 

it's funny, from the notes I would have thought this would be a hot mess on me, but it works.

Edited January 29, 2015 by stellamaris

[DiesMali]

In the imp: Dry, bitter.

 

Wet on my skin: Still dry and bitter, dusty, and musky. Odd, and somewhat unpleasant.

 

Dry: I think I'm going to need to let this one age for a while, because it's just not working on my skin today. I usually do great things with amber, musks, and orchid, but not right now. It's almost all light, dry musk and dust, with something bitter-green that I think might be the hemlock. Will re-edit in a month or so if it improves!

[Shahmeran]

In the imp: Weird. Really weird. What the heck is that? I can't place anything. *reads the description* Oh yeah, that's red musk and nutmeg. Maybe a little tobacco. It's a weird combo for me. I was hoping for more amber in there, and I don't get anything that makes me think blackcurrant at all, which I was hoping to smell since I love blackcurrant as a flavor and have never really experienced it as a scent. I'm not sure exactly what hemlock or orchid smell like, but I'm not really getting anything herbal or floral here.

 

Wet: Still weird. STRONG. Mostly musk and a little nutmeg.

 

Dry: MUSK! MUSKMUSKMUSK!! MUUUUUSK! This has gone all head-shop-musk-incense on me. I don't think I've ever washed an oil off before, but this one's gotta go o.O; I think I must be one of those people who can't wear red musk.

Edited June 30, 2015 by Shahmeran

[cassier]

~12/19/15 Smells like sitting in a library of leather-bound books while someone smokes a pipe. Like everything is... not luxurious, but well crafted, comfortable, not lacking in any way. I love this scent. It makes me feel like I have no needs or worries.

[LizziesLuck]

Wet: Musk, tobacco, something woody. Not as sweet as I had hoped.

 

Dry: A really dry tobacco. Not the caramelly, chewy kind I like. It's nice, but not really wowing me.

[Casablanca]

Bottle: Dark, earthy, slightly ambery blend. Nothing stands out by itself.
Wet: Red musk dirty with tobacco and something a little peppery.
Dry: Dirty nutmeg tobacco with a little blending amber. The amber comes out more with time.

I'm not familiar with orchid or hemlock. I think I get a slight conifer thing for the hemlock. Pass.

[badseed1980]

Oh dear. I put this one on, and had to wipe it off with alcohol. It doesn't smell BAD, exactly, but...it made me smell like a Yankee candle.
I would have at least waited for the drydown to see if it got any better, but I'm going out to dinner tonight with my husband and friends, and I don't want to take the chance that I'll smell like a Yankee candle during dinner! I put on my Sed Non Satiata instead. (Incidentally, this time, I got some of the "peanut butter" notes, but I think they're fading.)

[lizabelle]

This leans extremely masculine on me, and I'm not sure what's doing it. Tobacco, probably. For once the amber doesn't take over, but tobacco does, and the orchid completely disappears. I love orchid notes, so this is borderline-devastating. It's a dry, smoky tobacco note in here but it's strong enough to leave the mentholated feeling in the back of my nose/throat that turns me off tobacco-heavy scents. The nutmeg is definitely present and it rounds things out a bit, but not enough. Amber is also lurking in the base and is appearing more with time, so this is a hard no from me. Would probably be great on someone more drawn to masculine scents than I am.

[gloame]

Beautiful smoky scent. I kept thinking leather, but it must actually be tobacco. It reminds me of an old library and it’s just really wonderful. Goes on sharp, but settles into a soft, warm tobacco. Wonderful on a date to a speakeasy.

Unisex, woody, tobacco-y, smooth.

ETA Where I'd wear it: A speakeasy date

Edited July 16, 2017 by gloame

[Laurel the Woodfairy]

A generous frimp from the Lab, with a really sexy-sounding list of notes! However, on me it's quite dark and masculine, reading more as black musk than red/gold (maybe because of the hemlock?) with only a faint hint of spice. The orchid comes out on the drydown, a "papery" note. I don't really like it on me, but I think it will make an excellent fall scent in my oil burner.