Labdanum 18 Le Labo for women and men

On me, Labdanum 18 starts off with a drier version of the Shalimar effect (rich, oriental/amber with a touch of wood/patchouli), but a few hours later what comes through - briefly - is a tangy note of sweat and an oily note resembling sesame oil (?), before the soft baby powder finish. (I can't distinguish if the oily smell is in the scent or generated in my mind, so take that with a pinch of salt.)

I grew up with women who smelled like this, and this frag casts a nostalgic aura over my afternoon. It reminds me of women who cook and smoke and sweat and wear perfume on special occasions and of a time when these were things working-class women did. Whether you'd want to smell like that is a different matter.

My grandmother wore Shalimar and Emeraude, but this does not remind me of her. She was quite a refined person. This reminds me of my dad's relatives and friends from their ethnic immigrant community, where people were miners and factory workers. I can't remember ever getting such a strong narrative from any fragrance. Goodness knows where this is coming from.

It's not for me, but I'm glad I tried it.

Update: I've jumped on the bandwagon. I received some compliments and i'm quiet suprised. I received a sample not too long ago and wasn't head-over-heels for this one, but when people told me I smelled good, I just asked them don't I smell like baby power? Nope. They couldn't describe what they were smelling. Which made me fond of Labdanum 18. I can't smell the civet; I guess I like animal fecal. I love Le Labo.

I expected more, not baby powder. I still love Le Labo, though this would not be in my collection. If I had money to spend, sure- why not?

Out of my 11 perfume samples recieved today, this one caught my nose the most, might be my love of amber that made the decision. It smells like a resinous amber take on Shalimar! It soooo reminded me of Shalimar with its powdery citrus animalic nature, but it also has that bit of resinous amber. It's golden sweet and musky

In a nut shell, this perfume is Powdery animalic amber and sweet vanilla. If you like Shalimar, you'll probably like this variation on the theme.

Powdery amber with labdanum. If you don't like powdery fragrances, don't even try it. Nice, comforting and warm but nothing remarkable to write about. In fact, the dry down reminds me of the smell of Pantene ProV shampoo.

I found this fragrance to be very nice and familiar in a way. It smelled leathery and smoky. Once I began to smell vanilla, I realized it reminded me of Shalimar. Since I can't wear Shalimar, this seems like a great alternative.

Also, the notes are incorrect. It should be ciste, civet, castoreum, musk, vanilla, birch tar, cinnamon, patchouli, Gurjaum balsam, and tonka beans.

This is a lovely, behaved, wearable animalic amber, if you can get over the fact that it's not labdanum at all. Maybe not worth the price point, but quite nice.

Roucel's interpretation of the labdanum is an average quality amber/vanilla with some spices on top and an almost imperceptible civet note. It sits somewhere bewteen Musc Ravageur and Ambre Sultan but lacks the brilliance of the former and the majesty of the latter. Nice but nowhere close being exciting or distinctive.

Surely not a standout.

Rating: 6.5/10

Cistus labdanum is a classic amber material and has many facets to it. I had hoped that the le Labo minimalist approach would lead to interesting results. Cistus is so rich that even a spare composition using it could have complexity, and cistus can align with so many other materials with beautiful results. Unfortunately, I found Labdanum 18 quite flat and uninteresting. It starts sweet yet without flavor, and travels quickly to a matter-of-fact powdery vanilla amber. I smell a bit of the civet that might add dimension, but it goes nowhere. I can’t say I actively dislike it, but I have no interest in wearing or paying for it.

Immediately upon spraying, it’s obvious that this is a sweet, very powdery, oriental-type amber scent with some vanilla gourmand touches. There’s a little bit of citrus and civet and musk, but at no point is there any detectable labdanum. Sillage is moderate.

As the scent dries down it stays sweet and powdery and musky, by the end developing into a creamy vanilla musk that stays on the skin for at least 12 hours. I like this, but can’t help wondering where the labdanum is.

The powdery-ness in Labdanum 18 is not baby-powdery to my nose. It has a very comforting, warm smell. The civet isn't spicy or dirty. It blends well, lasts long and I think is pretty versatile. Beautiful and simple.

Slightly disappointed with this Le Labo fragrance. All I get is a hefty dose of baby talc.

Without a doubt, my absolute favourite Le Labo fragrance. Labdanum 18 is just utter perfection ! ~ It's downright intoxicating and ever soooo smolderingly sexy to me.
I love it's mix of animalic and powder notes over the resinoid base. With the ethereal incense notes gently rising above. Like a shimmering opalescent silk edged with plaited purple & gold velvet. (And Byzantine drop pearls off the corners). ... Just a totally gorgeous scent !
It does have a certain feminine quality. But that of a statuesque androgynous deity, more so ! (One who turns into a panther by night).
It's the only powdery scent that I will gladly wear. And I'm a guy ! (Who usually hates powdery notes i frags). Here it just works. Beautifully balanced !

Labdanum 18 is yet another fragrance following in the trend of sweet, ambery incense scents.

Animalistic, but a little tame too, Labdanum 18 is beautiful. It has that dirtiness and rawness found in fragrances like Oud 27, Rose 31 and Patchouli 24, however this fragrance is much smoother, more feminine and sensual.

I'm tending to compare Labdanum 18 to Donna Karan's Essence Labdanum, although I find the latter a touch too linear and weak. This fragrance in particular has a deliciously sweet smokiness, which turns to powder towards the drydown.

The scent is minimalist yet effective. From all of Le Labo's oriental offerings, Labdanum 18 is the most feminine and incense-y.

I really loved the progression from the top notes to the heart, however in the drydown, while this fragrance still captivates me, I find it a little too predictable. My only gripe being that it shares many similarities with other incense-based scents.

In regards to longevity, Labdanum 18 does last considerably well. I found this fragrance very enjoyable on the day that I wore it, relishing in its smoothness and its exotic aura.

Resinous labdanum with a slightly green edge. Warm and smooth. Almost an opoponax scent, with that light warm powdered incense edge that suggests. Very nice.R

Labdanum 18 is not your average spicy oriental type of oriental, to me it's more like a oriental floral or a well-done floral woody musk.

Labdanum 18 smells really like absinthe vapour inhaled directly from the glass minus the strong alcoholic woody factor that makes me cough. Soon it gets sweeter in a floral way, plus a little bit powder which makes this perfume softer.

Then it gives off some kinda familiar powdery scent, soft, silky, but this is a cold powdery one. It reminds me quite a lot of Baby by Harajuku Lovers, but this is woody-sweeter and darker, it reminds me a little bit of Cyclades by Lancome, but this has a totally opposite mood—dark and kinda happily-wasted (think about absinthe), this reminds me a little bit of the cold, a little bit isolated, lonely-standing feeling that Flower by Kenzo gives me.

The dry down is quite sweet powdery musky and animalistic--something smells like really fainted soft leather, it’s kinda similar to Citizen Queen by Juliet Has a Gun, but wilder.

To me, Labdanum 18 is not a safe perfume to wear, there are days I absolutely love it and days I loathe it and feel sick from smelling the animalistic dirty and dark part of it. However, it is an interesting perfume to try on.